Vol 22 No 6 June 2023

IJLTER.
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International Journal
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Learning, Teaching
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Educational Research
p-ISSN: 1694-2493
e-ISSN: 1694-2116
Vol.22 No.6
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
(IJLTER)
Vol. 22, No. 6 (June 2023)
Print version: 1694-2493
Online version: 1694-2116
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VOLUME 22 NUMBER 6 June 2023
Table of Contents
Generative AI Chatbots - ChatGPT versus YouChat versus Chatsonic: Use Cases of Selected Areas of Applied
English Language Studies...................................................................................................................................................... 1
Chaka Chaka
Influence of Teacher-Targeted Bullying Behaviour on Teachers in Selected Schools in South Africa ...................... 20
Japsile Sambo, Sumeshni Govender
Validating and Testing the Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) Scale in Drug Education among Secondary School
Teachers ................................................................................................................................................................................. 45
Ciptro Handrianto, Ahmad Jazimin Jusoh, Nazre Abdul Rashid, Muh Khairul Wajedi Imami, Suzaily Wahab, M Arinal
Rahman, Ary Kiswanto Kenedi
Voices from the Field: Pre-Service Teachers’ First Time Experiences of Teaching Physical Sciences during School-
Based Experience .................................................................................................................................................................. 59
Sakyiwaa Boateng, Benjamin Tatira
The Development of an Online Study Adaptability Scale for Chinese College Students During the Global COVID-
19 Pandemic........................................................................................................................................................................... 78
Guo Jun Tan, Jia Qi Wei, Chia Ching Tu
The Influence of Information and Communication Technology in the Teaching and Learning of Physics ............. 98
Abdussamad Ringim Hussaini, Shehu Ibrahim, Kingsley Eghonghon Ukhurebor, Grace Jokthan, Juliana Ngozi Ndunagu,
Adeyinka Oluwabusayo Abiodun, Fwa Enoch Leonard, Benjamin Maxwell Eneche, Dorothy Nalwadda
Examining Philology Teachers’ Lesson Planning Competencies in Vietnam ............................................................. 121

Hien Thu Thi Pham, Nguyet Minh Thi Le, Huyen Thanh Thi Doan, Hien Thi Luong
Promoting Critical Thinking through Socratic Questions in Health Sciences Work-Integrated Learning ............. 137
Zijing Hu
Mobile Learning in Higher Education: Insights from a Bibliometric Analysis of the Body of Knowledge ............ 152
Godwin Kaisara, Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
Entrepreneurship Education: Encouraging Entrepreneurial Intentions for Equality Education Students in

Semarang ............................................................................................................................................................................. 175
Imam Shofwan, Sunardi Sunardi, Gunarhadi Gunarhadi, Abdul Rahman
English Language Skills and Becoming a Global Entrepreneur: Lessons for Entrepreneurship Education ........... 195
Ismail Sheikh Ahmad, Zarinah Jan Yusof Khan
Motivational Factors that Influence the Course Completion Rate of Massive Open Online Courses in South Africa
............................................................................................................................................................................................... 212
Liezel Cilliers, Hossana Twinomurinzi, Obrain Murire
The Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Electronic
Assessment: A Mediation Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 226
Ahmed M. Asfahani
Problem-based Learning (PBL) with Reading Questioning and Answering (RQA) of Preservice Elementary
School Teachers ................................................................................................................................................................... 245
Marleny Leasa, Abednego Abednego, John Rafafy Batlolona
Using the ADDIE Model to Teach Creativity in the Synthesis of Raw Materials ...................................................... 262
Hussein Ahmed Shahat, Sherif Adel Gaber, Hussam Khalifah Aldawsari
A Systematic Review of the Practicum Experience in Preservice Teacher Education During the COVID-19
Pandemic.............................................................................................................................................................................. 282
Taghreed Abdulaziz Almuqayteeb, Dalal Alzahrani
Gamification in Engineering Education during COVID-19: A Systematic Review on Design Considerations and
Success Factors in its Implementation.............................................................................................................................. 301
Omar Chamorro-Atalaya, Guillermo Morales-Romero, Nicéforo Trinidad-Loli, Beatriz Caycho-Salas, Teresa Guía-
Altamirano, Elizabeth Auqui-Ramos, Yadit Rocca-Carvajal, Maritza Arones, José Antonio Arévalo-Tuesta, Roxana
Gonzales-Huaytahuilca
The Role of Metacognitive Strategies in Academic Writing Skills in Higher Education ........................................... 328
Lilis Amaliah Rosdiana, Vismaia S. Damaianti, Yeti Mulyati, Andoyo Sastromiharjo
Parental Occupation, Social Class, and School Choice in Southern Philippines: Their Implications to Educational
Public-Private Partnership vis-à-vis the K-12 SHS Voucher Program ......................................................................... 345
Fernigil L. Colicol, Fauzia K. Sali-Latif
Learning Moral Values Through Cartoons for Malaysian Preschool-aged Children ................................................ 370
Muhammad Alif Redzuan Abdullah
An Investigation into Communication between Teachers and Parents of Students with Autism Spectrum
Disorder ............................................................................................................................................................................... 395
Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Hamad, Sherif Adel Gaber, Sayed Ibrahim Ali
The Effects of an MMORPG on Thai EFL University Students’ Reading for Main Ideas ......................................... 415
Wanwisa Changkwian, Suksan Suppasetseree
Developing Elementary School Teacher’s Professional Competence in Composing Traditional Songs: An Action
Research in Indonesia ......................................................................................................................................................... 435
J. Julia, Tedi Supriyadi, Enjang Yusup Ali, Egi Agustian, Afi Fadlilah
Emotional Competency in Teaching: A Qualitative Study of Practices among Preschool and Elementary School
Teachers ............................................................................................................................................................................... 459
Laila Ouchen, Lahcen Tifroute, Khadija El Hariri
Piloting Supplementary Materials Aimed at Developing Students’ Problem-Solving and Self-Regulated Learning
Skills...................................................................................................................................................................................... 475
Liena Hacatrjana, Inga Linde
Axiological Study of Educational Projects in Schools .................................................................................................... 494

Rodrigo Arellano Saavedra, Andrew Philominraj, Ranjeeva Ranjan, Claudio Andrés Ceron Urzua
The Impact of Combination of Natural Sciences and the Humanities on the Quality of Modern Education ........ 515
Kateryna Kyrylenko, Mykhailo Martyniuk, Tetiana Mahomet, Volodymyr Mykolaiko, Iryna Tiahai, Olesia Beniuk
The Relationship between Malaysian Students’ Socio-Economic Status and their Academic Achievement in STEM
education.............................................................................................................................................................................. 533
Saras Krishnan, Enriqueta Reston, Sheila Devi Sukumaran
Value of clinical observational learning in work-integrated learning in health sciences education: Students’ views
and experiences ................................................................................................................................................................... 479
Darren Carpenter, Zijing Hu
Representation of National Identity and Culture in the Saudi EFL Textbook Series Mega Goal: A Critical
Discourse Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................. 568
Ali Abbas Falah Alzubi, Khaled Nasser Ali Al-Mwzaiji, Mohd Nazim
Assessing the Effectiveness of Computer-Aided Instructional Techniques in Enhancing Students’ 3D Geometry

Spatial Visualization Skills Among Secondary School Students in Tanzania ............................................................. 613
Marcellina Andrea Mjenda, Vedaste Mutarutinya, Owiti Dickson
Demo Lessons and Peer Observation to Enhance Student Teachers’ Competencies and Exit Profiles ................... 638
Agnes Orosz, Uvaldo Recino, Maria Caridad Ochoa
Gender Equality in Science Classrooms: Examining the Implementation of Gender-responsive Approach and its
Impact on Science Education ............................................................................................................................................. 659
Peter Paul Canuto, Felina Espique
Teacher Recruitment and the Right Career Choice: Parents’ Perceptions of the Teaching Profession in Oman ... 679
Khalaf M. Al‘ Abri, Omer H. Ismail, Aieman A. Al-Omari
Role of Executive Functions in Improving Students' Narrative Text Writing Ability ............................................... 694
Rastya Mutiarani Zahra, Sumiyadi Sumiyadi, Isah Cahyani, Andoyo Sastromiharjo
1

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 1-19, June 2023
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.6.1
Received Mar 24, 2023; Revised May 16, 2023; Accepted May 22, 2023
Generative AI Chatbots - ChatGPT versus

YouChat versus Chatsonic: Use Cases of Selected
Areas of Applied English Language Studies
Chaka Chaka
University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract. This paper reports on the comparison of the accuracy and

quality of the responses produced by the three artificial intelligence (AI)
chatbots, ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic, based on the prompts (use
cases) related to selected areas of applied English language studies
(AELS). An exploratory research design was employed and we utilised
purposive sampling. The three aforementioned AI chatbots were used to
collect data sets. Of the three chatbots, YouChat was technically unstable
and unreliable, and had some inconsistency in generating responses. The
other two chatbots, ChatGPT and Chatsonic, consistently exhibited a
tendency to plagiarise responses from internet information without
acknowledging the sources. In certain cases, the three chatbots all
generated almost similar responses for different and unrelated prompts.
This made their responses look like run-of-the-mill responses that lacked
credibility, accuracy, and quality. One chatbot (ChatGPT) could not
recognise a scholar mentioned in one of the prompts, while the other one
(Chatsonic) misrecognised this scholar, and ended up rambling parts of
its response. Additionally, the three chatbots all mechanically and
superficially generated phrases and ideas in their responses without
detecting the related critical nuances in the original sources in which they
were used. This made the knowledge communicated by those responses
appearing too fluffy. In this paper the educational and knowledge
implications of the generated responses for AELS were educed. Based on
the shortcomings the three AI chatbots displayed, I concluded that these
three chatbots are not yet credible and reliable generators of knowledge
for the aspects of AELS discussed.
Keywords: ChatGPT; YouChat; Chatsonic; AI chatbots; responses;

applied English language studies
1. Introduction
Shortly after ChatGPT, an OpenAI-owned artificial intelligence (AI) powered,
generative chatbot, was launched in late November 2022, followed by an AI and
Internet search engine race, similar, maybe, to the space race. Of course, prior to
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
2
this, AI has been making its presence visible in, for example, areas such as drones,
self-driving cars, mobile phones, and robotic personal assistants (Chaka, 2020). If
so, then, what has changed now? The sudden and almost unannounced arrival of
ChatGPT seems to have changed and rattled the generative AI world. Existing
Internet search engines such as Bing and Google instantly started incorporating
AI chatbots like Bing AI and Bard AI into their search engine ecosystems,
respectively. Bard AI seems to be Google’s answer to, or its intended killer of
ChatGPT and Bing AI (Eliaçık, 2023a; Kamran, 2023; Knight, 2023; ul Haq, 2023).
Similarly, other new AI chatbots suddenly emerged. These include Caktus,

Chatsonic, Chinchilla, Jasper Chat, Perplexity, and YouChat. At the moment, the
general view is that ChatGPT rules the roost on a first come, first served basis
(Eliaçık, 2023b), even though the final determinant of the ultimate ruler will be the
best large language model each of these AI-powered chatbots will have when
compared to one another. On this score alone, Chinchilla, which is still in its beta
stage, is likely to be the winner as it has 1.4 trillion training tokens vis-à-vis
ChatGPT’s 300 billion training tokens (Eliaçık, 2023c). These are staggering and
intimidating numbers. But in the realm of generative AI spheres, an entity is not
a winner until it has won the contest. Be that as it may, a human brain comprises,
as Nawrocki (2011) points out, about 100 billion neurons and almost 1,000 trillion
synaptic connections organised into many and varied areas that perform different
brain functions, which include, among others, complex cognitive functions
(Ackerman, 1992; Atallah et al., 2004; Deacon, 1997; cf. Adesso, 2023). While this
analogy is way too far-fetched as it does not represent a like-like comparison, it,
nonetheless, brings home the vast difference between the capacity (and the depth
and breadth) of the current generative AI chatbots and that of a human brain.
The emerging impact of AI chatbots is felt in various spheres of human lives and
in different sectors of life. This is because, by their very nature, these chatbots
serve multiple purposes in each sector. In the education sector, these purposes are
many and varied. For example, they can operate as online search engines, respond
to written prompts, write essays on topics (Anders, 2023; Kumar, 2023; Pittalwala,
2023), summarise and translate text, and correct grammar errors (Eliaçık, 2023c;
SGA Knowledge Team, 2023). They can also define concepts/terms, remix, edit
and improve writing, and generate lesson plans (Cutcliffe, 2022; Harris, 2022).
Moreover, they can offer advice on conducting research in the digital age, create
a structure for a research proposal, offer advice about given aspects of a research
proposal, and provide sources of citations (at least some of them) (Chaka, 2023a).
Given the multiple purposes that AI chatbots can serve within the education
sector as outlined above, assertions have been made that these chatbots are a big
deal for education (Anders, 2023), may challenge disciplinary specialisation (they
can generate responses across a range of academic disciplinary boundaries
[Chaka, 2023b]), could be game-changers (Harris, 2022) and disruptors (Fraser,
2023), possess essay-writing skills that can stun teachers (Bowman, 2023; Hern,
2022), and can do homework for students (Pittalwala, 2023). Taking into account
the multiple functions the AI chatbots can perform and considering the foregoing
assertions made about them within the education sector, it appears that these
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chatbots can do almost anything. Therefore, there are concerns that AI chatbots
will churn out plagiarised information (Dilmegani, 2023; Pittalwala, 2023),
generate responses containing factual inaccuracies, and invent fictitious names
(Browne, 2023), hallucinate about things (ul Haq, 2023), waffle facts and
misattribute work (Ceres, 2023). These may be used by students in their academic
tasks without them noticing all these drawbacks.
However, regardless of the afore-mentioned issues, some suggested positive

educational applications of ChatGPT exist. Dilmegani (2023), for example,
suggests the following for teachers and for students:
• For teachers: Content creation; grammar and writing corrections (e.g., proof-
reading and editing, offering student feedback, and writing-skills teaching);
grading; designing course outlines (e.g., course goals and objectives,
generating course topics, lesson plans, and locating and identifying course
materials and resources).
• For students: Assisting with homework (e.g., answering questions,
reinforcing concepts, improving writing skills, and solving problems);
research (e.g., selecting a topic, topic background information, locating and
identifying suitable resources, organising research, and locating citations or
sources of reference); and learning language (Dilmegani, 2023; cf. Chaka,
2023a).
A case that employed a different AI chatbot is the one used by Wiggers (2023).
The used case entailed generating samples of writing covering diverse genres.
These diverse writing genres (applications) were:
• An application letter for a paralegal position

• A curriculum vitae for a software engineer
• An email message to market shoe polish
• An online news article covering the 2020 U.S. presidential elections
• An essay outline focusing on the merits of gun control (in the U.S.)
• A college-level essay on the fall of Rome
• An encyclopaedia entry for Mesoamerica (Wiggers, 2023).
Taking cognisance of the diverse applications of chatbots, the current paper

argues that, thus far, there have not yet been enough documented-use cases of AI
chatbots that focus on given academic disciplines in the higher education (HE)
sector, particularly, on the specific aspects of such academic disciplines. Mostly,
AI chatbots have been used to respond to generic prompts that are not related to
specific academic disciplines. Even in instances where they have been used to
respond to generic prompts as in Wiggers’s (2023) case, they have not been
employed in a sustained and robust manner to interrogate the types of responses
they generate in respect of specific aspects of given academic disciplines in the HE
sector. Against this background, in this paper an attempt is made to fill the gap
that has not yet been explored by using three generative AI chatbots, namely
ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic, to generate responses related to selected areas
of applied English language studies (AELS). The aim was to compare the accuracy
4
and quality of the responses these three AI chatbots generated about the selected
areas of AELS as informed by the specific prompts provided as input.
In this regard, in this paper it was strived to find answers to the following two
research questions (RQs):
• How accurate are the responses generated by ChatGPT, YouChat, and
Chatsonic to selected areas of applied English language studies such as
decolonial applied linguistics, critical southern decoloniality, and
translanguaging, multilanguaging, and languaging as based on the prompts
inputted to them?
• What is the quality of the responses of these three AI chatbots?
2. ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic: A Brief Overview

As, at the time of writing this paper, there were not yet scholarly papers published
on the use cases of AI chatbots in AELS in the HE sector, as highlighted above, the
paper rather offers a brief overview of the three AI chatbots it employed for its
use case.
2.1 ChatGPT
Since its release in late November 2022, ChatGPT has had several comments,
reports, descriptive analyses, and reviews (Bowman, 2023; Cutcliffe, 2022; Harris,
2022; Hern, 2022; Meghmala, 2023; Ofgang, 2023; Solé, 2023). At the time of
writing this paper, the number of such comments, reports, descriptive analyses,
and reviews was increasing exponentially. ChatGPT is an AI chatbot, whose
parent company is OpenAI. On its website, OpenAI says that it is “an AI research
and deployment company”, whose mission “is to ensure that artificial intelligence
benefits all of humanity”. It defines artificial general intelligence as “AI systems
that are generally smarter than humans” (OpenAI, 2015-2023). The GPT in
ChatGPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. As an AI-powered
chatbot, ChatGPT is one of the new-generation AIs that employ large language
models (LLMs). As Eliaçık (2023c) points out, LLMs utilise deep learning, which
relies on multi-layered neural networks for collecting, processing, and analysing
complex datasets with a view to making predictions and generating natural
language responses (OpenAI, 2022; SGA Knowledge Team, 2023; Stiennon et al.,
2020).
Moreover, as a third generation of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-

3) based chatbot, ChatGPT also utilises an autoregressive language model that
helps it to generate text that cannot be distinguished from human-written text
(Eliaçık, 2023c). Importantly, ChatGPT has a reinforcement learning from human
feedback (RLHF) enhancement, which is a form of machine learning that enables a
tool to learn through trial-and-error experimentation (Aleem, 2023; SGA
Knowledge Team, 2023; ul Haq, 2023). As SGA Knowledge Team (2023) puts it,
RLHR offers an added layer of input training, which helps the chatbot to have the
ability to learn from the input and follow prompts so that it can generate
satisfactory responses (Kumar, 2023).
5
2.1.1 Capabilities
ChatGPT, as an AI chatbot has many and diverse capabilities. For example, it is
pre-trained on large amounts of data that enable it to predict an accurate sequence
of words in a sentence. It does this in an autocompletion form in generating
sentences and paragraphs (Kumar, 2023). To this end, Aleem (2023) states that
ChatGPT possesses a hyper-sophisticated autocomplete function. In this sense, it
is an autoregressive model that uses past behaviour (data) to predict future
behaviour (data) (Eliaçık, 2023c). As a GPT 3.5 system, ChatGPT also was trained
on massive databases sourced from the internet, reddit discussions (Kumar, 2023);
Wikipedia, web texts, online articles, books, and other internet-related
information. Together, these databases amount to 570GB (Fraser, 2023; Hughes,
2023; Sharma, 2023).
Additionally, ChatGPT possesses a natural language comprehension because of

its ability to figure out various levels of abstraction from text input. This allows it,
among other things, to answer questions, summarise text, and analyse sentiments,
meaning that it has generative capabilities. Therefore, as a generative AI
employing LLM, ChatGPT can produce large chunks of human-like sentences and
paragraphs, and massive human-like conversational responses. It is able to
remember what was said to it in previous conversations, and allows for follow-
up corrections, including regenerating responses (OpenAI, 2015-2023). Crucially,
ChatGPT possesses contextual language embeddings that help it have a better
semantic understanding through linking words and phrases within their
provided context (Eliaçık, 2023c).
2.1.2 Uses
ChatGPT has different uses or applications. For example, it can respond to written
queries and can write poems, short stories, and songs (in line with an author’s
style) in addition to being able to write essays on nearly any topic. It is able to
create structures for articles (Anders, 2023; Kumar, 2023). Its other application is
to summarise different types of articles or documents, translate text (Eliaçık,
2023c; SGA Knowledge Team, 2023), rectify grammar mistakes, and make
customised recommendations (Eliaçık, 2023c).
What is more, it can edit, remix, and mend writing, as well as define concepts or
terms and simple or complex explanations. Moreover, it can write reports and
cover letters, and produce lesson plans, reports, and email drafts (Cutcliffe, 2022;
Harris, 2022; Hetler, 2023).
2.1.3 Limitations
ChatGPT’s limitations are well known. Even its parent company, OpenAI, openly
flags and acknowledges them on its website. First, some of the information in its
training data lacks recency because the cut-off date for its training data was
September 2021. It has been programmed not to provide harmful or toxic
information (Kumar, 2023; OpenAI, 2015-2023; SGA Knowledge Team, 2023).
Second, there are times when it provides inaccurate or wildly incorrect responses
or answers (Kumar, 2023; OpenAI, 2015-2023; SGA Knowledge Team, 2023; ul
Haq, 2023), or plausible-sounding answers that are nonsensical (OpenAI, 2022).
Called artificial hallucination, this is a propensity in which ChatGPT unexpectedly
6
deviates from its training data output (ul Haq, 2023). The chatbot is also sensitive
to input phrasal tweaks, especially when feeding it the same prompt several times.
For example, it may claim to not know the answer when a prompt is phrased one
way, but will provide the answer when the prompt is tweaked in another way.
Third, the chatbot is sometimes prone to verbosity and overusing certain phrases
due to training data bias. It even has the tendency to guess the intent of the user’s
prompts rather than asking for clarification when the prompt is ambiguous. At
times it displays biased responses or responds to harmful prompts,
notwithstanding a disclaimer that it cannot do so (OpenAI, 2022). Fourth, the
quality of its output depends on the quality of the input it receives (Kumar, 2023;
SGA Knowledge Team, 2023).
Another limitation, but which also may be an advantage, depending on how it is

perceived, is that ChatGPT generates different text responses at different instants
(Aleem, 2023). Moreover, ChatGPT does not understand the sentences it churns
out, nor does it possess the capacity to reason like humans. Instead, all it does is
mimic and reorder human language based on vast numbers of datasets it has been
trained in, and make probabilistic calculations concerning words related to an
answer without even comprehending the underlying concepts for those words.
So, it is reasonable to say that it operates more in the realm of the plausibility of
words than in the truth or moral value of words. To suggest otherwise would be
to commit an anthropomorphic error (Aleem, 2023).
Beyond its limitations, two of its major criticisms have been plagiarism and
copyright laundering. The latter refers to a practice in which information is derived
from existing sources, especially from internet sources, without breaching
copyright (Chaka, 2023b; Hern, 2022). Something worth noting is that as at the
time of writing this paper, OpenAI announced the launch of GPT-4, a ChatGPT
successor. It is said that GPT-4 can respond to images, and caption and describe
them, and process 25,000 words, which is eight times as many as ChatGPT can
(Derico & Kleinman, 2023).
2.2 YouChat
YouChat, which is owned by You.com and was released on 30 December 2022, is
a free-to-use, alternative generative AI to ChatGPT. At the time of writing this
paper, it was still in a beta stage (Ortiz, 2023), and there were not yet many
comments, reports, reviews, analyses, and use cases written about it. However, it
was already functional with no waitlist requirement such as currently
characterising Bing AI (Eliaçık, 2023d). It combines both a generative AI tool and
a search engine (Conroy, 2023; Eliaçık, 2023b, 2023d), and has a conversational or
natural language offering (Eliaçık (2023d). In terms of its architecture, it uses
OpenAI’s GPT-3 model that has been slightly refined. On its website, it states that
it can reply to general queries, suggest ideas, explain things, summarise text,
translate, write code, and compose emails, among other things (Conroy, 2023;
Eliaçık, 2023b, 2023d; Ortiz, 2023; YouChat, 2023). YouChat can also create images,
send letters (Eliaçık, 2023b, 2023d), and respond to math prompts (Ortiz, 2023).
Besides its being a free AI chatbot, two of YouChat’s major differentiating features
7
are that it provides citations to its responses and offers sources from which its
citations have been derived. Sources it cites are from Google. In this case, it has
access to the latest internet sources, which is something that ChatGPT does not
have (Conroy, 2023; Ortiz, 2023).
Moreover, YouChat is capable of generating charts, photos, videos, tables, graphs,

text, or code through its YouChat 2.0’s C-A-L (Chat, Apps, and Links) LLM. All
of this is enabled by YouChat’s integrated YouChat, YouCode, YouWrite, and
YouImagine features (Eliaçık, 2023d). Nevertheless, like any other AI tool, it has
drawbacks, one of which is that it, too, at times, generates incorrect answers or
responses. This is something it acknowledges on its website (YouChat, 2023).
2.3 Chatsonic AI
Chatsonic AI is owned by Writesonic. Like YouChat, at the time of writing this
paper not many comments, reports, reviews, analyses, and use cases had been
written about it. It is based on ChatGPT’s foundational structure and leverages its
capabilities. However, unlike ChatGPT, it has access to the internet as is the case
with YouChat. Four of its differentiating features are: different personas, real-time
data access, a web browser extension, and up-to-datedness. It has a free trial
version and a premium version. The former has a 2,500-word limit per month
(Eliaçık, 2023b), which can be consumed in a large, single response, or, which can
be staggered in smaller responses over a month. This free trial version has been
used for this paper. Chatsonic is supported by Google, has an AI image generator,
and offers voice dictation. The voice dictation feature allows the user to initiate
voice-powered prompts (Ortiz, 2023). As is the case with any AI tool, Chatsonic,
too, is prone to generating incorrect answers or responses.
3. Research Methodology
3.1 Study Design
This study was exploratory in nature. Exploratory research studies are employed
for exploring new areas, or for investigating areas that have not been studied
much (Leavy, 2017; Nkhobo & Chaka, 2021, 2023). The use cases of AI chatbots in
relation to applied English language studies (AELS) in higher education (HE) are
new areas that have not yet been investigated much as the AI chatbots under
study in this paper only came into existence after 30 November 2022.
3.2 Sampling
The study utilised purposive sampling to collect its data sets. Two of the salient
features of purposive sampling are: approaching the sample with a specific
purpose in mind, and predetermining the criteria of what is to be included in the
sample (Alvi, 2016). For this study, the data comprised the responses generated
by ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic on the selected areas of AELS as informed
by the four prompts stated below. These selected areas were: decolonial applied
linguistics, critical southern decoloniality, and translanguaging, multilanguaging,
and languaging. The purpose was to find out the accuracy and the quality of the
responses these three AI chatbots would generate in these selected areas, based
on the four prompts. AELS is one of research interests of the writer of this paper
8
and the selected areas are some of the areas in which the writer has published
journal articles.
3.3 Data Collection Procedure and Data Analysis

As mentioned above, four prompts related to selected areas of AELS were used as
input to each of the three AI chatbots to yield responses from each of them. These
four prompts, which were in the form of queries, were phrased as follows:
• What is decolonial applied linguistics?
• What is critical southern decoloniality?
• What does Chaka say about critical southern decoloniality?
• What is the difference between translanguaging, multilanguaging, and
languaging?
All the queries were used as input to ChatGPT on 29 January 2023, while all were
used as input to both YouChat and Chatsonic on 07 March 2023. The reason for
this temporal difference is that before 07 March 2023, I did not know about nor
was I aware of the existence of YouChat and Chatsonic including the other
generative AI chatbots mentioned earlier.
All the responses generated by each AI chatbot, as per their respective prompts,
were copied and stored in MS Word files (Appendices A, B and C). The accuracy
and quality of the generated responses were verified and benchmarked against
the relevant sources that were cited by YouChat. In some instances, it failed to cite
sources. Both ChatGPT and Chatsonic generated responses that did not provide
cited sources. This, then, constituted the manner in which these AI chatbot-
generated responses, as data sets for this paper, were analysed.
4. Findings and Discussion

4.1 What Is Decolonial Applied Linguistics?
ChatGPT generated a definitional response to this prompt as depicted in
Appendix A. It viewed decolonial applied linguistics as a theoretical and
methodological framework for studying language and power, the aim of which is
to question and disrupt colonial representations and legacies in applied linguistic
research and practice, and which focuses on colonial impacts on language and
society. It did not cite any source for its generated response. On its landing page,
ChatGPT mentions its capabilities and limitations, and displays its disclaimer
statement (Appendix D). Initially, when YouChat was fed the same prompt, it had
a technical glitch, and exhibited a message that read, “😕 Sorry, too many people
have been asking me questions at once. Give me a moment and try again”, which
was prefaced by a sadness emoji. It also depicted a disclaimer that read as follows:
“This product is in beta and its accuracy may be limited. You.com is not liable for
content generated” (Appendix B). Nonetheless, it was able to display three
possible sources that dealt with some aspects of decolonial applied linguistics, one
of which was from Rosa and Flores’ (2021) Decolonization, language, and race in
applied linguistics and social justice (Appendix B). When, finally, YouChat was able
to generate its response to the prompt under the spotlight, it identified decolonial
applied linguistics as a field of study the purpose of which is to decolonise
language and linguistics through challenging the power dynamics and
9
assumptions informing traditional language studies. It also contended that this

type of linguistics attempts to disrupt and problematise Eurocentric biases and
colonial legacies underpinning language and discourse, and advocates just,
inclusive, and equitable linguistic environment in which all languages and
language varieties have equal respect and value (Appendix B). However, no
sources were cited.
The same prompt was used as input to Chatsonic. The chatbot, which has a
Regenerate feature that ChatGPT also has, identified decolonial applied
linguistics as a field of study aiming at challenging colonial legacies and power
imbalances inherent in language and linguistics, and Western, Eurocentric views
informing traditional approaches. It stated that this linguistics decentres these
views so as to create an inclusive, equitable approach to language, which
accommodates diverse and marginalised linguistic practices. Additionally, it
pointed out that this type of linguistics is aligned with postcolonial studies, critical
race theory, and interdisciplinary approaches that question hegemonic power
structures (Appendix C). Chatsonic, too, did not cite sources for its generated
response.
At a mechanical, academic level, the three AI chatbots managed to respond to this

prompt, even though YouChat initially had a technical glitch. However, not one
of them cited or referenced the sources of their responses, even when it was
manifestly evident that they stitched together their responses from some currently
published online sources. In this case, this highlights their proclivity to plagiarise
others’ ideas in generating their responses to a prompt. The odd thing is that
YouChat provided titles of its reference sources in an instance in which it did not
give an actual response to this prompt due to its technical glitch. This points to
some inconsistency on its part. Both YouChat and Chatsonic identified decolonial
applied linguistics as a field of study, while ChatGPT recognised it as a theoretical
and methodological framework for studying language and power.
At a substantive, qualitative level, the three chatbots responses shared certain core
aspects. Two of these aspects are inclusivity and equitability, two notions which
have to do with social justice, or, in this case, with linguistic justice (Piller, 2021;
Randolph Jr. & Johnson, 2017). One of the sources listed by YouChat in an instance
in which it could not provide a response as mentioned above, which deals with
inclusion and equality, is Rosa and Flores’ (2021) work (journal article). This work
critiques the notions of inclusion, equity and affirmation as they relate to
marginalised languages, and as advocated and promoted by mainstream applied
linguistics. It maintains that these notions are a deceptive trap that feeds into
normative sociolinguistic and applied linguistic logics and notions (e.g., linguistic
deficiency frequently associated with “raciolinguistic Others”) (Rosa & Flores,
2021, p. 1164), which are grounded on global colonialism, racism, and whiteness.
Additionally, it foregrounds a raciolinguistic perspective in which racism and
colonialism, and not conventional language use, are centred in engaging with
applied linguistics. While this work has a decolonial angle, it explicitly states that
it has less interest in associating itself with any specific decolonial or anticolonial
10
perspective, but rather, that it is more inclined to centring and critiquing global
colonialisms.
These points of departure in this particular work are some of the nuances that the
three AI chatbots could not pick up in their responses. Their responses lacked
qualitative richness (essential qualitative nuances) and the accuracy of detail.
They all tended to uncritically associate decolonial applied linguistics with
inclusivity and equity. The same applies to the other two reference sources, Motha
(2020) and Canagarajah (2022), listed by YouChat. For example, the former
reference source is focused on antiracist and decolonising applied linguistics, and
not just on decolonial linguistics, while the latter reference source foregrounds
disability studies and (crip) linguistics. Needless to say, there are other online
sources dealing with some aspects of decolonial applied linguistics, aspects of
which comprise the three responses, but which have not been acknowledged in
any of these responses (Appendix E). Two of such online sources are Chaka (2021)
and Makoni and Severo (2022).
4.2 What Is Critical Southern Decoloniality?

Concerning this prompt, the three chatbots responded and reacted in a manner
similar to how they responded to the first prompt. For example, YouChat
exhibited its system’s instability and unreliability: it had the same technical glitch
and only generated a response in the second attempt, except that it did not list any
reference source related to the prompt in the first attempt. Rather, it did so with
the second attempt when it was able to generate a response. It listed six sources,
which it had not cited within its response. Two of these listed reference sources
were Chaka (2022a) and Chaka (2022b) (Appendix B). Pertaining to the three
chatbots’ responses, two of them, a ChatGPT’s response and a YouChat’s
response, mimicked, verbatim, some of the phrases and clauses they had
generated for responding to the first prompt, What is decolonial applied linguistics?
That is, of ChatGPT’s response comprising 131 words, 37 words were the same
as those it used in its first response. Similarly, 69 words of the 114 words that
YouChat used to respond to the second prompt were exactly the same as those it
generated in responding to the first prompt (Appendices A and B). Chatsonic’s
response to the second prompt sparingly replicated the words it had used in its
first response to the first prompt. Both ChatGPT and Chatsonic had few identical
phrases in their responses, two examples of which were passive recipient and active
resistance.
This second prompt, again, reflects the inconsistency in which YouChat generated
its response: listing sources it had failed to cite or acknowledge. It also
demonstrates the propensity for both ChatGPT and Chatsonic to generate
responses without citing their reference sources and without providing any
reference list for them. This practice, which they displayed in their responses to
the first prompt, is tantamount to plagiarism, as the responses they generated are
scholarly published information available online. Of the six sources listed by
YouChat for its unacknowledged response, only two were directly related to
critical southern decoloniality (CSD). The rest were not. In fact, they have little to
do with this notion in its current conceptualisation. The two reference sources that
11
have a direct relation to CSD are Chaka (2022a) and Chaka (2022b). Both of these
reference sources use the acronym, CSD, which YouChat also uses right at the
beginning of its response, and twice in this response. However, they are employed
in two different and unrelated contexts: CSD as an approach to datafication,
algorithms, and digital citizenship; and CSD as a two-eyed framing to critique,
problematise, and challenge knowledge production practices (the geopolitics of
knowledge production) in applied English language studies (AELS). By contrast,
the responses generated by the three AI chatbots referred to CSD generically in
relation to traditional language studies, non-Western languages (cf. YouChat’s
response in Appendix B), colonialism, imperialism, and the Global South (cf.
ChatGPT’s response and Chatsonic’s response in Appendices A and C,
respectively). They could not detect these finer nuances and their accompanying
differential usage contexts. It should, nonetheless, be mentioned that ChatGPT’s
response made reference to the fact that CSD critiques (dominant) research and
knowledge production. But that was all it could say. It is also worth mentioning,
as pointed out earlier on, that of the three chatbots, ChatGPT’s training data cut-
off date is 2021. Overall, then, the three AI chatbots’ responses lacked the accuracy
of detail and were devoid of fundamental subtle differences inherent in the use of
CSD by Chaka (2022a) and Chaka (2022b).
4.3 What Does Chaka Say About Critical Southern Decoloniality?

Regarding this prompt, only YouChat generated, at face value, a rather
convincing response, that had in-text citations and references for the cited sources.
The other two chatbots responses were not up to scratch. For example, ChatGPT
said that “I’m not aware of any specific quotes or writings from an individual
named ‘Chaka’ on the topic of critical southern decoloniality” (Appendix A). Then
it went on to assert that CSD is a relatively recent (new and emerging) framework.
Yet, in its response to the second prompt above, it never made such a claim. It,
thereafter, offered completely different and new information about CSD as a
complex and multidisciplinary framework. Chatsonic started its response by
making up a surname for Chaka, and continued to assert that this person had
written much on both CSD and decolonisation. Besides, mimicking some of the
terms and phrases it used in its response to the second prompt, most of the views
it attributed to Chaka, barring knowledge production, had nothing to do with
Chaka’s views of CSD as highlighted under the second prompt above.
With reference to YouChat, it correctly identified Chaka’s professional title, his

academic department, and his affiliation, and referenced this information using
Chaka’s Academia.edu’s online profile. Then, it regurgitated the phrases and
clauses it used in its response to the second prompt by providing two in-text
citations for one part of its response, but not by offering any citation for the
remaining part. The two citations it referenced were Chaka’s ResearchGate’s
online profile and Chaka (2022a). The three sources of reference it listed at the end
of its response were Chaka (2022a), Chaka (2022b), and Ndlangamandla and
Chaka (2022). As the focus of the first two reference sources and their use of CSD
were mentioned under the second prompt above, only the third reference source
is worth contextualising. This source of reference employs CSD specifically for
challenging Eurocentric scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) practices and
12
colonialist English language paradigms. It does not appropriate it in a broad-

stroke manner suggested by YouChat’s response.
What emerges from the three chatbots’ responses to this prompt is that YouChat
correctly identified the personal, professional, and affiliation detail of the scholar
whose name was mentioned in the prompt. It provided in-text citations for one
part of its response, but did not do so for the other part, something which lends
itself well to plagiarism. It offered a correct reference list for its cited sources, even
for the other two sources it had not cited. In this sense, it was consistent in one
instance, but inconsistent in another instance. ChatGPT could not recognise the
scholar mentioned in the prompt, but went on to provide the new information
about CSD, which it did not provide in its response to the second prompt above.
In addition, it plagiarised its response as it did not acknowledge it. For its part,
Chatsonic invented the surname of the scholar mentioned in the prompt, moved
on to regurgitate parts of its response to the second prompt, and started
hallucinating (Anders, 2023; Browne, 2023; Knight, 2023; Metz, 2022; ul Haq, 2023)
certain parts of its response, which it misattributed to the scholar in question.
Again, the three AI chatbots responses lacked the accuracy of substantive details,
except for the correct mechanical/personal details that YouChat generated.
Additionally, these three responses did not reflect the fundamental subtle
differences Chaka (2022a), Chaka (2022b), and Ndlangamandla and Chaka (2022)
make in their use of CSD.
4.4 What Is the Difference Between Translanguaging, Multilanguaging, and

Languaging?
The three AI chatbots responses to these fourth prompts resembled their
responses to the first two prompts. For instance, YouChat was unstable and
unreliable in the first prompt that it was fed. It only generated the actual response
in subsequent attempts. It listed its three sources of reference at the end of its
response for which it had not provided in-text citations. And, its response was
way shorter (96 words) compared to ChatGPT’s 292-word-long response and to
Chatsonic’s 209-word-long response. The three responses exhibited a similarity of
words and phrases, and none of them had any in-text citations. With its
telegraphic definition and differentiation of the three concepts mentioned in the
prompt, YouChat regards translanguaging as a process in which multiple
languages and varieties of language are used for effective and accurate
communication. It states that multilanguaging is similar to translanguaging, even
though it is about using multiple languages in a single interaction. Then, it says
languaging is a process in which multiple languages and varieties of language are
used in an interaction. To this end, it points out that the major difference between
these three concepts is that translanguaging focuses on the fluidity of language
use, while both multilanguaging and languaging are about using multiple
languages in an interaction (Appendix B).
ChatGPT starts off its response by stating that the three concepts are both related
but different. It sees translanguaging as a framework involving the dynamic and
fluid use of language by speakers possessing wide-ranging linguistic resources,
which they use simultaneously in a given context. Its view of multilanguaging is
that it entails the use of multiple languages by speakers in different domains or
13
contexts (e.g., home, school, or workplace). Concerning languaging, it points out

that it is an ongoing and dynamic process (the act of making language itself) in
which speakers use language creatively to construct and communicate meaning.
It, then, maintains that the three concepts involve multilingualism and language
use (Appendix A).
For its part, Chatsonic begins by saying that the three concepts are related in that
they focus on fluid and dynamic language use, even though their meanings are
slightly different. It regards translanguaging as a meaning-making and effective
communication process in which speakers draw on all available linguistic
resources, including different languages, dialects, and registers. This process
entails moving between languages fluidly/fluently. In addition, it asserts that
multilanguaging has similarity to translanguaging, but that it foregrounds the use
of multiple languages (multilingualism) in a single interaction or conversation. It
states that languaging is a broader concept referring to the process in which
meaning is made by means of any kind of communication that includes language,
facial expressions, gestures, and other types of non-verbal communication.
Finally, Chatsonic contends that the common point shared by the three concepts
is their emphasis on the fluid and dynamic use of language and their valorising
of linguistic and cultural diversity. However, it says their difference lies in their
focus and scope, with both translanguaging and multilanguaging foregrounding
the use of multiple languages, whereas languaging is more generic as it entails all
communication forms.
YouChat regards the three concepts mentioned in the fourth prompt as processes
involving the use of multiple languages for communication (translanguaging) in
a single interaction (multilanguaging and languaging). This is more of an
alternation between various languages. It sees translanguaging’s focus on the
fluidity of language use as its differentiating factor. The view of translanguaging,
multilanguaging, and languaging as processes is too limiting and superficial. The
same applies to fluidity as a differentiating factor between translanguaging and
multilanguaging and languaging, and to reducing the three concepts to
communication alone. ChatGPT sees the three concepts as simultaneously related
and unrelated, and maintains that translanguaging is a framework (unnamed) for
the dynamic and fluid use of language. Its view of multilanguaging is not
dissimilar to the perspective it attaches to translanguaging. Its characterisation of
translanguaging is actually an alternation among multiple languages, and among
varieties of language. Thus, its view of these three concepts and its
characterisation of them are too shallow and mechanical. Chatsonic, like
ChatGPT, asserts that the three terms are both related and unrelated (their
meanings slightly differ), with their relatedness being the fluid and dynamic
language use. It says the slight difference in the meanings of the three terms is
their focus and scope. This is very vague and unhelpful as one does not know
what both focus and scope in this case entail. Its reference to languaging as a more
generic term for communication is equally vague and shallow.
This, then, takes us to the three reference sources YouChat listed at the end of its
response, but which it did not cite within its response. These were Li (2018a), Li
14
(2018b), and Mora et al. (2022). I will briefly use the first source as a case in point,
and highlight only its key relevant aspects related to the three responses. Li
(2018a), who uses translanguaging with a capital “T” and whose article’s major
objective is to explicate the theoretical reasons for translanguaging, responds to
some of the questions asked about it, and clarifies some of the confusion related
to its increasing usage, talks about translanguaging as a theory of language
(theoretical concept) and as a pedagogical practice. He also focuses on a
translanguaging space, the translanguaging instinct, and translanguaging and
multimodality. Additionally, he argues that translanguaging is transformative
and re-envisions language as a multilingual, multimodal, multi-semiotic, and
multisensory resource for meaning- and sense-making. Importantly, he contends
that translanguaging challenges and breaks border between named languages,
and between language varieties. Concerning languaging, which Li (2018a)
varyingly writes in lower-case “l” and in capital “L”, and whose origins he traces
to multidisciplinary fields of study, it might do to sum up his view of it as a
heterogeneous human linguistic performance that challenges named and
nameable languages, formalistic language structures, and the divide between
linguistic, paralinguistic, and extralinguistic properties of human communication.
All of these truncated nuances of both translanguaging and languaging are what
the three AI chatbots’ responses could not pick up. Rather, their responses strung
together some of the words and phrases used in Li’s work (2018a) without
matching them to their related and underlying finer nuances.
5. Implications for Applied English Language Studies (AELS)

Of the three AI chatbots tested and discussed in this paper, YouChat appears to
be an AI chatbot dogged by technical glitches and instability. It also displayed
inconsistency in generating responses: in some instances, it never provided in-text
citations for its responses, but in one instance it did. This inconsistency is a
drawback for AELS undergraduate and graduate students looking for generated
responses related to their discipline, which are always acknowledged through in-
text citations. Even in instances where it provided lists of references for its
responses, some of the sources listed in those reference lists were not entirely
relevant to the generated information. This is another pitfall. The other two AI
chatbots, ChatGPT and Chatsonic, exhibited a proclivity to generate uncited
responses. As such, they seem to be prone to generating plagiarised information
from their training data (ChatGPT) and from the internet (Chatsonic). This is one
of the major shortcomings these two chatbots currently have. All these
shortcomings displayed by the three chatbots manifestly imply that AELS
undergraduate and graduate students need to consult the relevant sources of
information (e.g., journal articles, books, and monographs), many of which are
now available online, and for their teachers/professors to know that others’ views
are always acknowledged, and for students to master citation and referencing
skills.
Additionally, the three chatbots displayed a tendency to generate almost similar

responses for different and unrelated prompts. Not only that, but in one instance,
one of them (ChatGPT) could not recognise a scholar mentioned in the prompt,
while the other one (Chatsonic) misrecognised the scholar in question and
15
misappropriated the views it generated in its response to him. Thereafter, it

reproduced parts of its response to the second prompt, and hallucinated the other
parts of its response. Again, in this case, AELS undergraduate and graduate
students have to rely on relevant original sources and on their teachers/professors
to get the credible and reliable type of scholarly information.
Moreover, the three AI chatbots simplistically and superficially parsed phrases

and ideas from uncited sources without detecting the nuances inherent in the
ideas with which those sources deal. Importantly, the responses of the three AI
chatbots lacked the accuracy of substantive details. All of this is tantamount to
generating a fluffy form of knowledge, which flies in the face of the deep, credible,
nuanced form of knowledge that AELS undergraduate and graduate students are
eagerly looking for in their discipline.
All of the above-mentioned shortcomings mean that AELS undergraduate and

graduate students and scholars need always to double-check the authenticity,
credibility, and depth of the responses generated by these three AI chatbots. These
shortcomings also mean that only the uninitiated undergraduate and graduate
students might be persuaded to believe and blindly accept the responses
(answers) generated by these chatbots to the prompts they were fed in this paper
as the correct and credible responses. Undergraduate and graduate students who
are well-grounded in the AELS aspects discussed in this paper will not be
persuaded to do so. In view of how the three chatbots performed pertaining to the
prompts they were required to respond to in this paper, it is plausible to say that
they do not yet signal the end of nor a threat to human-generated or classroom-
based knowledge. Neither do they spell the end of original thinking or original
ideas (Careen, 2023; Coleman, 2023). Maybe, in this case, the role these chatbots
can play is that of primers and catalysts for discussing and debating the types of
AELS information generated by AELS undergraduate and graduate students and
scholars.
6. Conclusion and Future Research

This paper was aimed at comparing the accuracy and quality of the responses
produced by the three AI chatbots, ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic, based on
the prompts related to selected areas of applied English language studies (AELS).
It also provided the educational and knowledge implications of the generated
responses for AELS. YouChat stood out as a technically unstable and unreliable
chatbot with a degree of inconsistency in generating responses. The other two
chatbots, ChatGPT and Chatsonic, consistently displayed a propensity to
plagiarise responses from the information available on the internet without
acknowledging sources. In certain instances, the three chatbots generated nearly
similar responses for different and unrelated prompts, something which made
their responses look like run-of-the-mill responses that lacked credibility,
accuracy, and quality. One chatbot (ChatGPT) failed to recognise a scholar
mentioned in a prompt, while the other one (Chatsonic) misrecognised this
scholar, and ended up hallucinating parts of its response. Again, the three
chatbots mechanically and superficially strung together phrases and ideas in their
responses without detecting the subtleties associated with them in the original
16
sources that used them. This caused the knowledge embedded in those responses
to appear too flossy and to lack nuances. Given all these shortcomings, these three
AI chatbots are not yet credible and reliable generators of knowledge for the
aspects of AELS discussed in this paper.
As generative AI chatbots are emerging technologies, the presence of which has

been heralded by ChatGPT, more research is needed to study the accuracy and
quality of the responses these AI technologies generate in AELS as well as in other
academic subject areas offered at the higher education (HE) level. This is crucial
as there is an ever-increasing overload of information across academic disciplines
in HE. In the midst of incremental information overload and in the era of AI
chatbots, there is a need to verify and authenticate the credibility and integrity of
the information provided by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic,
and many others, by both faculty and students. Failure to do so, will result in a
shoddy and fluffy form of knowledge being accepted as credible and sound. This
is what the current study has attempted to avoid by investigating the types of
academic responses the three AI chatbots generated in respect of selected areas of
AELS.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 20-44, June 2023
Received Jan 19, 2023; Revised Apr 19, 2023; Accepted Jun 10, 2023
Influence of Teacher-Targeted Bullying

Behaviour on Teachers in Selected Schools in
South Africa
Japsile Sambo and Sumeshni Govender

University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Abstract. South African schools seem to be experiencing an increase in

incidents of teacher-targeted bullying (TTB). Previous studies conducted
in South Africa and abroad have proved that teacher-targeted bullying
is a serious challenge in schools and needs immediate intervention. This
study explored the influence of learners’ bullying behaviour on teachers
in selected schools in Ehlanzeni District. A semi-rural area in
Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. A qualitative approach was
applied in this investigation, and a sample of six teachers was
purposefully selected from three high schools. The data collected from a
questionnaire, was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed
that teachers have experienced verbal bullying, physical bullying,
psychological bullying, cyberbullying, and sexual bullying, in incidents
which normally take place in the classroom or elsewhere on the school
premises. These experiences reportedly evoked disturbing emotions,
affected teachers’ lives at school, their personal lives, and undermined
their professional standing. Findings further indicated that there are no
strategic interventions put in place by schools or the Department of
Basic Education to assist teachers who are victims of teacher-targeted
bullying. It can be concluded that TTB poses a significant threat to
teachers’ mental health, physical health, performance and to the
teaching profession as a whole. If the Department of Education does not
introduce intervention strategies to try and resolve this issue, there may
be an increase in the number of teachers resigning from their jobs, which
will escalate the crisis.
Keywords: bullying; learner; teacher; teacher-targeted bullying
1. Introduction
Bullying affects teachers worldwide. This study explored the extent of teacher
bullying in selected schools in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province, South
Africa. Previous international studies on teacher-targeted bullying (TTB)
conducted in Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa
and Turkey (Kõiv & Aia-Utsal, 2021), revealed that there is a greater need for the
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0
21
recognition of TTB by learners within the whole-school organisation (Hoffmann,

2013). Jacobs and de Wet (2018) stated that bullies are disobedient learners who
lack parental support or guidance. Management styles may motivate classroom
and school TTB, and an absence of constructive values in society, along with a
disrespect for authority figures, perpetuate bullying. According to Jacobs and de
Wet (2018), teachers are essential in any country’s Department of Education.
They therefore need protection from learners who are bullying them. The
education system should look at more productive ways that need to be
implemented to show that learners’ bullying of their teachers is taken as
seriously as any other bullying that occurs in the country. This would assist
those teachers who were bullied in regaining their self-confidence and dignity.
Teacher-targeted bullying seems to be a discourse that is prevalent in South

African schools. This discourse has not been given much attention since most
studies focus on bullying that is inflicted on learners by other learners or
perpetrated by their teachers. Teachers in South Africa experience verbal,
physical, indirect and cyber bullying (Jacobs & de Wet, 2018). Bullying leads to
serious challenges for the teachers who are experiencing it, so the government
and schools may want to consider ways of supporting teachers who face teacher-
targeted bullying (Santos & Tin, 2018). Some teachers manage to cope with and
survive the fact that they are bullied in their work environment, but others may
not, since human beings react differently to different situations. There are
limited strategies and policies which are currently being implemented by the
Department of Education that are aimed at eradicating teacher-targeted
bullying.
The term ‘teacher-targeted bullying’ has been used by researchers in reference to

bullying which is committed by learners against their teachers in school. This
term was adopted in this study. Specifically, the research study attempted to
answer the following questions:
1. What types of bullying behaviour do learners use against teachers in selected
schools?
2. What influence does learners’ bullying behaviour have on teachers in
selected schools?
3. Which strategies would assist teachers who experience learners’ bullying
behaviour to better manage the situation in selected schools?
2. Literature Review
2.1. Background on Teacher-Targeted Bullying
Teacher-targeted bullying has been defined as a variety of aggressive behaviour
involving the victimisation of teachers by learners (Moon & McCluskey, 2016).
Teachers are not only bullied by learners, but they also experience bullying from
their colleagues and school management team (such as the principal and
administrative staff) at the school (Pyhältö, Pietarinen, & Soini, 2015; Woudstra,
2015; Jacobs & de Wet, 2018). Bullying occurs where there are interactions, and
since teachers interact with all the learners, the School Management Team (SMT)
and other teachers, there is a possibility of bullying taking place. Teacher-
targeted bullying is a form of workplace bullying because it occurs in teachers'
22
work environments. However, this type of bullying is different from other

perceived workplace bullying, in that the individual who has a lower position
within the organisation inflicts the bullying behaviour on someone of a higher
position (Santos & Tin, 2018).
Work on TTB started at the end of the previous century, but research on this
type of workplace bullying has barely moved beyond the creation of awareness
that learners direct bullying at their teachers. This is an area that has not been
given much attention in the past in terms of research (Hoffmann, 2013;
Woudstra, 2015; Jacobs & de Wet, 2018; Qiao, 2018; Santos & Tin, 2018;
Woudstra, et al., 2018; Payne & Gottfredson, 2019; Yang, et al., 2019). Few
studies were found to acknowledge the presence of TTB (Hoffmann, 2013;
Woudstra, 2015; Qiao, 2018; Woudstra, et al., 2018; Billett et al., 2019). There is a
need for greater recognition of TTB by learners within the school context
(Hoffmann, 2013). A limited but increasing number of studies have revealed that
TTB is a serious matter (Santos & Tin, 2018).
2.2. Types of Learner Bullying

A systematic literature review has revealed that the most predominant types of
TTB of teachers are verbal bullying, emotional bullying, physical bullying,
cyberbullying, sexually orientated, insistent class disturbance, intimidating and
threatening behaviour, and personal property offenses (Garrett, 2014).
2.2.1 Verbal Bullying

Verbal bullying is an act of mistreatment by virtue of either spoken or written
words (de Wet & Jacobs, 2018). This is a form of direct bullying which includes
making threats, teasing, name-calling, improper sexual remarks, taunting,
making fun of a person, spreading rumours, insults, sarcastic comments,
discriminatory and refusing to talk to someone (Kõiv & Aia-Utsal, 2021). In most
cases, if no action is taken to resolve verbal bullying, it can grow into physical
bullying (de Wet & Jacobs, 2018). Studies in teacher-targeted bullying have
found verbal bullying to be the foremost type of bullying learners use on
teachers (Woudstra et al., 2018; Billett et al., 2019). This type of bullying is
experienced mostly by females (Bayer et al., 2018).
2.2.2 Psychological Bullying

Psychological bullying refers to harming an individual through emotional abuse,
therefore causing significant stress and interfering with an individual’s
capability to develop healthy and stable patterns of relating to other people
(Hlophe, Morojele & Motsa, 2017). It is often conducted by an individual or a
group of individuals, who repeatedly and intentionally use words or actions
which cause psychological harm to another individual (Antiri, 2016).
This is a form of indirect bullying which includes actions like intentionally

leaving somebody out, excluding somebody from a group or activities,
embarrassing somebody in public, and spreading rumours as well as gossiping
about someone (Smith & Thompson, 2017). Hlophe et al. (2017) stated that
stealing and damaging other individuals’ belongings amounts to indirect
23
bullying. Intimidation, manipulation and stalking of an individual are also part

of psychological bullying (Antiri, 2016). This type of bullying often happens
amongst close individuals, and impacts one’s self-esteem (Hlophe et al., 2017).
The perpetrator of this bullying stokes an individual up emotionally to try to
make him or her uncomfortable, disturbed and mentally destabilised (Antiri,
2016).
2.2.3 Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is any activity conducted by a bully to inflict physical harm on
a victim (Thompson, 2019). The bully must physically make contact with the
victim so that this act can happen (Potocki, 2015). This is a direct form of
bullying which includes hitting, kicking, pinching, spitting, tripping, pushing,
taking somebody's belongings, breaking or damaging somebody’s belongings,
and making somebody do things they do not want to do (Uz & Bayraktar, 2019).
A perpetrator of physical bullying normally performs the bullying act when the
victim is not aware that bullying is about to happen (Potocki, 2015). Homes,
schools and workplaces are always affected by numerous occurrences of
physical bullying (Antiri, 2016). Learners who commit physical bullying are
more likely to worsen in their fierce behaviour and criminal offences
(Thompson, 2019). Physical bullying is easy for people to detect in school
because of the visibility of physical actions (Thompson, 2019). This type of
bullying is experienced mostly by males (Bayer et al., 2018). A challenge for
schools to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment is presented by
physical bullying, hence it tends to be given more attention from school
employees than other types of bullying (Antiri, 2016).
2.4.4 Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is any technology-mediated bullying behaviour recognised in
social media, websites and instant messaging which comprises repetitive
behaviour like mailing, posting, messaging, sending images, videos with
abusive content; the deliberate prohibiting of a person in the online space;
spreading false information, and hacking of private accounts such as email
(Palaghia, 2019). It is a type of indirect bullying which favours the perpetrator's
invisible and anonymous state (Navarro et al., 2015). Cyberbullying behaviour is
perpetrated by individuals who experienced or who are experiencing real-world
abuse or strained relationships with others that trigger tension such as hostile
interactions between parents and children (Yamin, Shalahudin, Rosidin, &
Somantri, 2019). Victims of real-world abuse may conduct cyberbullying to
express anger towards the individuals who bullied them in the real world,
hoping they are aware of their mistakes, wanting to overthrow and humiliate
them, feeling hurt and wanting to retaliate, seeking attention and pleasure
(Yamin et al., 2019). Lack of inhibition and social disengagement are significant
factors which may be responsible for online violence (Navarro et al., 2015). The
main reason for teenagers to cyberbully people is because to them, it is a way of
joking. They may also want revenge, because they are angry, or hate the person
they direct the bullying towards (Yamin et al., 2019). Teachers are not often
cyberbullied, but the few reported incidents have damaging effects on those
24
who have experienced them Cyberbullying is a tremendously harmful

psychosocial phenomenon in constructive school life (Navarro et al., 2015).
2.5. Influences of Learner Bullying on Teachers

Bullying has a destructive influence on its victims. Sometimes it results in harm
for the bullying perpetrators as well (Siregar et al., 2019). Regardless of the type
of bullying that an individual has experienced, they all tend to have a similar
influence on people. Bullying is hurtful towards its victims and may cause
health problems for some victims; some might end up avoiding the places where
the bullying took place in order to minimise the chances of being bullied again.
This in turn disrupts their lives as it limits some of the basic human rights
enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa. These include freedom of movement, freedom of association and the
right to a healthy environment (RSA, 1996).
2.6 Strategies to Assist Teachers

South Africa is currently facing the challenge of protecting teachers and creating
sufficient resources to abolish learner-to-teacher bullying so that teachers'
mental health will be improved (Woudstra, 2015). In South Africa, there are
currently limited laws in place that strictly protect teachers from learners'
bullying them at work. However, the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa (RSA, 1996), legislation and common law, provide a legal framework in
relation to TTB (Jacobs & de Wet, 2018). Learners should obey the laws of the
country, which state that teachers have rights too, and need to be treated with
respect and dignity within their workplace (Jacobs & de Wet, 2018).
The study used a qualitative research design to explore the influence of learners’
bullying on teachers. An interpretive paradigm was used to gain insights into
TTB.
3.1. Participants
The researchers used a total of six participants from three selected high schools
(two participants per school) in Sikhulile Circuit in the Ehlanzeni District,
Mpumalanga Province. Purposive sampling, which falls under the non-
probability sampling method, was applied in this study.
Table 1: Participants’ biographical information

Participants Age Female Male South Teaching Educational Subjects
African and experience qualifications
SiSwati- (in years)
speaking
Participant 1 45 ✓ ✓ 19 Standard Life
Teacher Orientation
Diploma (S.T.D)
Participant 2 31 ✓ ✓ 8 Bachelor of English (First
Education (FET) Additional
& BA Honours Language)
Participant 3 32 ✓ ✓ 8 Bachelor of Mathematical
Education (FET) Literacy
25
Participant 4 31 ✓ ✓ 5 Bachelor of Economic and

Education (FET) Management
Science
Participant 5 46 ✓ ✓ 24 Honours in Geography
Education
Participant 6 26 ✓ ✓ 4 Bachelor of Geography
Education (FET)
The researchers used the following criteria for participants’ inclusion in the
study:
1. Participants had to express a willingness to be interviewed.
2. Participants had to be employed as teachers at the time of the study and be
teachers by profession.
3. Participants had to be teaching in one or other of the three selected schools.
4. Participants had to perceive themselves as teachers who had experienced
learners’ bullying.
3.2. Data collection instrument

The research questionnaire included two sections, A and B. Section A required
biographical details from the participants, and they had to fill in this section by
hand. The biographical details included information on age, gender,
qualification, number of years as a teacher and subjects they teach. Section B was
the interview schedule, which had eight sets of questions intended to yield
qualitative data on learners’ bullying of teachers. Semi-structured interviews
were used to obtain data in this study and participants’ responses were recorded
using an audio recorder. The research instrument’s reliability and validity were
ensured through the use of an audio recorder to record the interviews; notes
were taken to supplement the data recorded. The interview schedule (see
Appendices 1 & 2) was provided in two versions (English and SiSwati) for
participants to choose the language with which they were comfortable. It
contained a set of open-ended and closed-ended questions. All the questions
were based on the research objectives. The open-ended questions required in-
depth responses from participants. This semi-structured interview guide is a
diagrammatic demonstration of questions or topics, which allowed the
interviewers to explore further if necessary (Jamshed, 2014). The researchers
thus gathered qualitative data which answered the research objectives and
questions. All the participants were given the same interview schedule, and they
answered the same set of questions.
3.3. Data collection procedures

The data was collected over a period of three days, one day for each school; two
participants were interviewed per day. Before each interview, a briefing session
was held to discuss the purpose of the study, allowing participants to make an
informed decision regarding their participation. After the briefing session,
participants signed the informed consent for participation in the study and for
the audio recorded notes. Each interview was conducted in a private space so
that the participants would feel comfortable and free to share. A 45-minute
session was allocated for each participant and an audio recorder was used to
capture the information. The participants had a copy of the interview schedule
26
to peruse while questions were asked in real-time, in either English or SiSwati

(the participant’s choice). During the interviews, the researchers asked the
participants to clarify vague responses (if the participant’s response was not
clear) and asked probing questions to obtain more data. The researchers were
cautious because bullying is a sensitive issue and may create emotional distress.
Open-ended questions allowed the teachers to elaborate freely on the questions
that were posed.
3.4. Data analysis procedure

Thematic data analysis was used to summarise information gathered from
participants regarding learners’ bullying. According to Javadi and Zarea (2016),
thematic data analysis is used to extract meaning and concepts from gathered
data, which can be in the form of interview transcripts, notes, documents,
pictures or videos, and it comprises pinpointing, examining and recording
certain patterns or themes.
Stage 1: Getting Familiar with the Data. The researchers listened to the
participants’ recorded audios to be familiar with the data they had provided. All
the participants were SiSwati speakers, so they answered some questions in their
home language, and others in English. Translation of the information provided
in SiSwati was conducted by the SiSwati speaking researcher.
Stage 2: Transcription. The researchers transcribed the verbal data gathered from
the participants’ interviews in a sequential form, starting from the participant
that was interviewed first and ending with the one that was interviewed last. All
the transcribed data were compiled to form one transcript.
Stage 3: Finding Meaningful Data. The researchers read the transcript which
contained the transcribed data from all six participants, and highlighted
sentences, phrases, or paragraphs that seemed to be meaningful and relevant to
the research questions.
Stage 4: Reviewing the Highlighted Information. The researchers went back to

review the highlighted data on the transcript to ascertain if it really linked to the
research questions. Irrelevant data were eliminated and stored in a separate
document.
Stage 5: Developing Patterns. The researchers named each set of data, and the
information that was connected was grouped together to form patterns, which
were summed up using a phrase (Percy et al., 2015). The patterns were then
gathered and identified as sub-emerging themes which were related to the
research questions, and were coded (Hlophe, Morojele, & Motsa, 2017).
Stage 6: Naming Themes and Producing the Report. From the participants’
interviews, open-ended questions were arranged into themes. For each theme, a
comprehensive abstract analysis clarifying the scope and component of the
theme was written. This procedure was conducted for each participant’s data
(Percy et al., 2015).
27
3.5. Ethical considerations

The prescribed ethical principles were followed and all policy and guideline
documents that were provided by the University of Zululand, HPCSA and other
regulatory bodies, which stipulated ethical practices, were taken into
consideration when conducting research. These prohibit the researchers from
plagiarism, harm or violation of the rights of others who are directly and
indirectly involved in the research study.
a. Permission to conduct research

Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Research Committee of
the University of Zululand, Faculty of Education and Department of Education,
Mpumalanga. The researchers wrote a letter which clearly outlined the study
details and objectives to the Head of the Mpumalanga Department of Education,
Ehlanzeni District, as well as the selected school principals, requesting
permission to conduct the study. The Head of the Mpumalanga Department of
Education, Ehlanzeni District, and the school principals provided the researchers
with written permission to conduct research at the schools. Informed consent
forms were signed by the participants as proof of willingness to participate in
the study and to record the interviews. They were assured that confidentiality
and anonymity of records would be maintained.
b. Informed consent
Information concerning participation, as well as information that might have
reasonably been expected to affect their willingness to participate in the study,
was distributed to all participants. The researchers provided informed consent
forms to participants in a language they clearly understood, and made them
aware that participation was completely voluntary, and that they were free to
withdraw from the study at any time should they so wish. The researchers made
sure that participants who were involved in the study all had the capacity to
consent.
c. Privacy, confidentiality and anonymity

The researchers did not record participants’ names or any private, identifying
details in the semi-structured interviews. Pseudonyms were used to protect the
information obtained from the participants. For confidentiality, the researchers
ensured that information collected from participants was not disclosed to any
individual who was not involved in the study, and stored information obtained
from the participants in a safe location. Questions that were sensitive or
embarrassing to the participants were avoided by the researchers (a senior
psychologist and student psychologist), who made participants aware that
should they feel emotional discomfort at any time, they could discuss this with
the researchers.
4. Results
4.1. Types of bullying behaviour learners use against teachers
a. Teachers’ experiences of teacher-targeted bullying
This study revealed that teachers experienced learners’ bullying behaviour in
different ways and some encountered repeated bullying experiences. Teachers
28
are frequently exposed to different forms of bullying behaviours over time. The
study also revealed that teachers are bullied by both female and male learners.
As supported by Hoffmann (2013), there are no gender differences when it
comes to bullying behaviours, as both girls and boys bully equally in the school
setting.
The results indicate that most participants experienced physical and verbal
bullying, while a few experienced psychological bullying, cyberbullying and
sexual abuse. Most of the learners bullied their teachers in the classroom and
around the school premises in front of fellow schoolmates. This shows that
bullying normally occurs when teachers try to instil appropriate classroom
behaviours on the learners. A study conducted by Hoffmann (2013) discovered
that learners conduct bullying acts towards teachers when they are being
approached and called into order after being disrespectful.
b. Characteristics of learners who bully teachers

Participants reported that the bullying behaviour was conducted by learners
across different grades; however, most of those learners were not age
appropriate to the grade. A study conducted by Steyn and Singh (2018) reported
that learners who are too old for the grade and those who are repeating grades
often tend to be bully others. The data revealed that age is one of the common
influencing factors of bullying perpetration, and according to Steyn and Singh
(2018), is a fundamental element for bullies since it creates a feeling of
dominance. Learners who are three or four years above an assigned grade are
often the ones who tend to bully their teachers. However, it was observed that
even though age is found to be a dominant factor contributing to bullying, it was
not the only factor. Some learners were age appropriate to their grades but were
bullying their teachers, and these behaviours were facilitated by drug abuse.
Singh (2016) indicated that schools are pressured to deal with learners who
abuse drugs, and who portray little or no respect for acceptable social norms.
These learners believe that they have the right to engage in violent and
disruptive behaviour. Hence the use of drugs is also a contributing factor (Jacobs
& de Wet, 2018).
4.2. Influence of learners’ bullying behaviour on teachers

a. Emotions evoked by teacher-targeted bullying
With regard to the different bullying behaviours teachers have experienced, the
study indicates that various emotions were aroused by the bullying behaviours.
Two participants reported that they felt disrespected, others reported feeling
hurt, disappointed, angry, scared, puzzled, confused, and not feeling good about
attending work the next day. Qiao (2018) indicated that because of TTB
behaviours experienced, teachers became angry and worried about being
disrespected. One participant reported that she cried right after the bullying
incident. de Vos (2013) stated that teachers who were bullied cried at home and
at work because of the TTB behaviours.
The study indicates that all teachers experienced emotions differently as a result
of their bullying experiences, regardless of the fact that the behaviours might be
29
of a similar nature. However, feeling disrespected was common among certain

teachers. This study also revealed that some teachers experience not just one
emotion, but a series of emotions right after being bullied. TTB may cause the
victims to experience numerous negative emotions. These emotions may have a
negative impact on teachers’ passion towards the teaching field and lower the
standard of their work.
b. Effects of teacher-targeted bullying: teacher’s life at school

The TTB behaviours changed the lives of teacher at school. They started losing
confidence, being afraid, avoiding classes, losing courage, being embarrassed
and being scared around the school. One of the participants reported that she
felt like the bullying act compromised her dignity. A study by Qiao (2018)
mentioned that bullying behaviours from learners has the power to deprive
teachers of their pride and dignity. As stated by de Vos (2013), bullying towards
teachers tends to affect their human dignity and self-worth. These findings
indicate that the teachers’ lived experiences changed in and around the school
setting which resulted in a change in the way they interacted with learners
within the school environment. TTB behaviours impact negatively on teachers’
attitude and behaviour towards learners which, in turn, could negatively impact
teaching and learning as well as the educational system as whole. In addition, a
study conducted by Mollema (2018) also revealed that TTB has an impact on
teachers’ performance, the teacher-learner relationship and teaching:
“…sometimes when you go to the class you will spend 60 percent of your time
scolding the learner who mistreats you instead of teaching, so learners end up
losing most of their academic learning time” (participant 6). The results indicate
that because of TTB behaviours, teachers started to feel disempowered in as
teachers, and some then showed avoidance behaviours towards the learners.
c. Impact of teacher-targeted bullying: The teacher’s personal life

All participants reported that the bullying experiences that they encountered
from learners at school had an impact on their personal lives outside school.
Effects on their physical, psychological and social heath were reported by most
participants. A study conducted by de Vos (2013) and Matsela (2014) confirmed
that the experience of bullying of teachers in their workplace negatively affects
their physical, psychological and social heath. Psychological health effects are
defined as harmful effects which occur as mental symptoms in the victim of
bullying (Matsela, 2014), were more prevalent for the teachers in this study, as
five teachers reported experiencing them. Teachers reported being diagnosed
with illness, having negative thoughts, being afraid, feeling anxious, avoiding
certain places and noting changes in their personality.
These findings indicate that the experience of TTB behaviours of teachers tends
to change their lives outside school. Teacher’s mental health is affected and that
changes who they are. A teacher reported to have changed from being a quiet
person to a loud out-spoken person, signifying a complete change in personality.
As de Vos (2013) stated, the personalities of some teachers who are victims of
bullying tend to change because of the bullying experience. Families tend to
suffer due to teacher’s moods. Matsela (2014) reported that teachers’
30
relationships with other people were affected as a result of the moods that they
experience because of being bullied at work. Hoffmann (2013) found out that
bullied teachers tend to avoid the bully as a coping strategy. This study also
indicates that teachers started to be cautious of the places they went to and to
avoid certain places because they might meet the learners or friends of the
learners who bullied them at school.
d. Teachers’ perceptions of the profession after experiencing teacher-targeted

bullying
Teachers seem to be a bit overwhelmed by the teaching profession currently.
Participants reported studying towards a different course, and planning on
taking a different field of study; some would like to switch within the teaching
profession, and some were keen to jump into opportunities presented by fields
other than teaching, if such opportunities presented.
Teacher-targeted bullying behaviours resulted in participants changing their

perspectives towards their profession and reporting no longer wanting anything
to do with the teaching profession, because their passion had vanished due to
TTB. They reported that they were still teaching because they have
responsibilities such as feeding their families and taking care of their children’s
education. If it was not for these responsibilities, they would give up the
teaching profession.
Teachers stated that work was difficult; they no longer enjoyed the experience
and had lost their confidence in their vocation. Billett et al. (2019) also revealed
that TTB results in teachers having low self-esteem, self-efficacy and enjoyment
in the school environment.
4.3. Strategies that assist teachers who experience learners’ bullying

a. Reporting of teacher-targeted bullying
Billett et al. (2019) stated that that teachers trust in the principal and other people
in management positions to deal with the TTB towards teachers. This study
showed that teachers believed that the principal and other staff from the
management team are the appropriate people to whom one reports the bullying.
Most participants stated that they reported TTB behaviours to the school
management right after it happened; however, all participants felt that not much
was done to assist them. According to Billett et al. (2019) and Mollema (2018),
teachers who were victims of bullying behaviours reported that little or no
support was provided to them by the school management. While most teachers
felt the need to report an experience, one of the participants did not see the need
to report the bullying experiences.
The research found that there seemed to be no procedures that are to be

followed when teachers report bullying behaviours that are conducted by
learners towards them. Most of them indicated that they reported the bullying
behaviours orally, immediately after it occurred. Steps that the management
normally take to resolve the bullying cases did not seem to help since the
learners’ behaviours did not seem to change after the meeting.
31
b. Management of teacher-targeted bullying at schools

Three participants reported that the school did nothing to handle TTB. They
seemed dissatisfied by how school management teams handle TTB. They
indicated that the schools have no interventions in place to correct teacher-
targeting bullying. Teachers have to find their own way to deal with the
experience. Some tend to ignore the fact that they have been bullied; they control
their anger to avoid fighting back and move on with their lives as if nothing
happened.
Teachers seemed to be dissatisfied with how the schools handle their bullying
cases. They wanted the school management to implement more measures which
will assist in dealing with TTB. Researchers agree that it is necessary steps must
be taken to make sure that teachers’ working environments are safe (Billett et al.,
2019). Teachers felt like the rights of the learners who are perpetrators of the
bullying behaviours were prioritised when they were trying to resolve the
matter and that they were not taken into consideration. The study indicates that
there are no other stakeholders which tend to intervene in this matter as it ends
internally. One teacher voiced the opinion that the South African Council of
Educators (SACE) is supposed to be protecting them, but it seems as if they do
not take teachers’ personal lives into consideration. SACE prohibits workplace
bullying, and teachers should be able to turn to them for support, as there are
procedures to be followed when filing a complaint (Jacobs & de Wet, 2015).
c. How teachers want schools to manage teacher-targeted bullying

Teachers shared different views on strategies that they believe will be effective
in assisting the school in handling TTB. They believed that a policy on TTB; a
disciplinary committee; being provided with professional help; suspending the
bully and taking TTB seriously, could effectively help in management of this
phenomenon at schools.
This study indicates that participants felt that it would be helpful if schools
could design a policy to deal with TTB. In a study conducted by Billett et al.
(2019), teachers also suggested that a zero-tolerance policy with clearly
stipulated guidelines should indicate all forms of behaviours that are classified
as TTB and what consequences will be faced by perpetrators of TTB. de Wet &
Jacobs (2013) argued that policies that address work-place bullying should cover
all South African employees, including teachers. Participants also suggested that
the schools should have a committee that will take act decisively on TTB and
enforce disciplinary measures on the perpetrators.
Participants felt that the school’s security was not tight enough and learners
were often found carrying weapons to school, resulting in bullying behaviour
and harassment. Steyn and Singh (2018) found that bullying and carrying of
weapons such as knives and guns by learners at school, have led to some
consideration on introducing more stringent security measures at school. Qiao
(2018) reported that teachers who were bullied by learners recommended that
the learners who committed the bullying behaviours should be suspended.
32
It was suggested by participants that learners who are perpetrators of TTB

should be suspended from school so that they understand the seriousness of
their actions. Bullying in schools is a serious challenge and a violation of a
person’s human rights (Mollema, 2018); it has varied negative implications and
therefore needs to be urgently addressed. Hence participants also suggested that
management should consider the seriousness of bullying of teachers by learners.
d. Teachers’ expectations of the Department of Basic Education in the

management of teacher-targeted bullying
Diverse views were shared by the participants on how they want the
Department of Basic Education to deal with the bullying behaviours they
encounter in their work environment from learners. Participants believed that if
the Department of Basic Education could place members of the South African
Police Services (SAPS) and social workers at schools, the environment will be
safe. Teachers would like the Department of Basic Education to state its
strategies to discipline learners, develop programmes to assist both parents and
learners, devise ways to suspend learners and introduce appropriate channels to
report TTB; these would be effective measures to handle this matter.
Steyn and Singh (2018) stated that involvement of police officers and other
agencies may better influence how much faster TTB behaviours at school are
addressed, since learners give more respect to leaders from their own society.
This study indicates that the participants believe that the police officers could
effectively enforce discipline in school if learners get out of hand. They suggest
that the Department of Basic Education should assign police officers who will
operate at schools.
Some participants suggested that a social worker should be assigned to schools

to work with both the victims and perpetrators of TTB, because in some
instances, the learners who bully teachers may also be experiencing personal
problems; they need to be assisted too. As suggested by Steyn and Singh (2018),
the Department of Basic Education should allocate a guidance counsellor in each
school to assist learners with behavioural problems and support victims who are
experiencing psychological pain emerging from their interaction with the
perpetrators of TTB. If the problem is not adequately resolved at the school level,
then a request for assistance from the Department of Basic Education should be
made by the school principal, to get a specialist like a social worker or
psychologist to address the issue (Steyn & Singh, 2018). They also suggested that
effective strategies must be clearly stated since the one that was quite effective
was corporal punishment, and it was removed. Most policies and procedures do
not provide guided or directed plans to manage TBB.
Qiao (2018) stated that genes, family environment, parenting style and school
environment all have an influence on aggression, which is closely associated
with bullying. Participants suggested that the Department of Basic Education
should put in place programmes that will target parents and learners since some
learners who bully teachers have burdens which emanate from challenges they
33
may be facing at home. Another factor is the unavailability of after school

programmes in rural societies, which results in learners engaging in unwanted
activities which tend to affect their behaviour (Steyn & Singh, 2018).
Participants also wanted the Department of Basic Education to allow schools to

suspend learners who are perpetrators of bullying behaviour because they
violated teachers’ rights. Therefore, the Department of Basic Education should
create specific reporting strategies that will allow teachers to report TTB since
there appears to be no established reporting channels that focus on the
management of TTB.
5. Discussion
The study findings show that learners’ bullying of teachers is a serious challenge
that schools are currently facing. Some participants reported more than one
bullying experience from learners. Through examination of the teachers’
experiences in the Ehlanzeni District, the current study has found physical,
verbal, psychological, cyberbullying and sexual bullying to be the types of
bullying learners use against teachers. These acts were reportedly committed by
learners who were over-age and under the influence of drugs.
Physical and verbal bullying were identified as the most frequent types of TTB
behaviour towards participants. The current study findings were aligned with
those of previous studies conducted by Hoffmann (2013), McMahon et al. (2014)
and Woudstra et al. (2018), which indicated that teachers tend to experience
psychological and verbal bullying more often than any other forms of TTB.
However, a study conducted by Rea Garrett (2015) found class disruption to be
the most prevalent bullying which teachers experience daily. Moon and
McCluskey (2016) found non-physical contact aggressive behaviours to be
predominant in TTB. This includes throwing, kicking or destroying things in the
teacher’s presence.
The current study has found that teachers least experienced psychological
bullying, cyberbullying and sexual bullying. These findings are similar to those
of the studies by Hoffmann (2013) and Moon and McCluskey (2016), which
revealed that cyberbullying and sexual bullying were not often experienced by
teachers. Nevertheless, Qiao (2018), found sexual bullying to be the most
prevalent type of TTB in China.
Teacher targeted-bullying results in teachers feeling disrespected, hurt,

disappointed, angry, scared, puzzled, confused and distressed about going to
work the next day. Studies by Hoffmann (2013) and de Vos and Kirsten (2015)
indicated that anger is the common emotion teachers experience. Hoffmann
(2013) reported that teachers also feel insecure, vulnerable, helpless, belittled,
powerless and hurt. Billett et al. (2019) noted that teachers tend to feel powerless
after a bullying experience, and Qiao (2018) stated that it leads to discomfort.
Findings of this study show that participants’ lives at school are affected because
of TTB. These findings echo those of previous studies by Woudstra (2015), Moon
34
and McCluskey (2016), Santos and Tin (2018), Woudstra et al. (2018) and
Booysen (2020), which indicated that teachers’ professional lives are severely
impaired due to TTB. Teachers reported losing self-esteem, avoiding classes,
losing courage, having their dignity compromised and being fearful around the
school premises, while Woudstra et al. (2018) found that bullying affected
teachers’ mental health, causing low self-esteem, and affecting interaction with
their learners.
This study has revealed that participants’ personal lives were affected as a result
of TTB. Participants reported physical, psychological, social and sexual health
effects. Psychological effects reported by teachers include depression, anxiety,
and personality change. Some of these are chronic mental health illnesses which
teachers must live with forever. It may be difficult for them to cope with the
bullying experiences since they spend most of their time at school or in the
classroom where the bullying experiences often occur; therefore, this might lead
to them having flashbacks of the bullying incidents. The current study findings
aligned with those of a study conducted by Matsela (2014), which indicated that
feeling depressed and anxious are psychological effects experienced by teachers,
and revealed that they also include being aggressive, demotivated and
demoralized, have sleep problems and feel paranoid. de Vos and Kirsten (2015)
reported change in personality, low self-esteem and a feeling of worthlessness,
indications that teachers may have internalised the bullying experiences.
Physical health effects reported by participants include both physical injury and
somatic symptoms. They reported injury to a finger, change in their sleeping
patterns and frequent headaches. These results concur with those of the studies
conducted by de Vos (2013), de Vos and Kirsten (2015) and Booysen (2020),
which also revealed that TTB disrupts teachers’ sleeping patterns. Some teachers
have nightmares and suffer from headaches. Other symptoms include fatigue,
weight gain, musculoskeletal pains, gastro-intestinal problems, and
cardiovascular-related problems, including hypertension and a rapid heartbeat.
These symptoms are often long-term physical health effects that TTB victims
experience, caused by the anxiety and stress resulting from the bullying
experiences.
Based on the findings of the study, it can be inferred that participants’ social
lives are affected because of TTB. One participant reported to have noticed
behavioural change and is now communicating harshly with her son; she
describes herself as always being angry around their home. de Vos and Kirsten
(2015) stated that the bullying experience causes uncharacteristic anger in
teachers. In some instances, they tend to project these feelings onto their own
children at home. de Vos (2013) and de Vos and Kirsten (2015) indicated that
teachers’ marital relationships and those at work also suffer.
Teachers seem to have internalised the bullying experiences, and this results in
them being angry and aggressive towards other people. The embarrassment and
fear that is caused by being bullied may result in teachers lacking trust in people
and always fearing that they might be bullied again; therefore, their mistrust
35
may cause them to doubt and always be suspicious of people, and their
relationships might suffer.
de Vos (2013) and de Vos and Kirsten (2015) revealed that sexual problems also
result from TTB. The current study findings revealed that a teacher could not
engage in any sexual activities with her partner for a week after the bullying
experience. Victims of sexual bullying may experience depression, anxiety or
low self-esteem as a result of the incident, resulting in low sexual desire as they
might be blaming themselves for the perpetrators’ actions.
Because of their bullying experiences, participants’ perception of the teaching

profession changed. They reported to be studying or planning to study different
courses, wanting to switch within the teaching profession and engage with
adults rather than children, and that they would not hesitate to leave the
teaching profession and work in a different field if an opportunity presented
itself. These findings are similar with those of studies conducted by Smith
(2013), Santoro (2016), Santos and Tin (2018) and Booysen (2020), which
underlined that learners’ bullying behaviours may cause teachers’ dissatisfaction
and intent to leave the teaching profession. de Vos (2013) reported that teachers
lost passion towards their profession, their performance depreciated,
absenteeism increased owing to health issues, and they resigned from the
profession. Jacobs and de Wet (2018), Santos and Tin (2018), Woudstra et al.
(2018) and Booysen (2020), found that teachers become less dedicated to their
profession, which results in lowered productivity in the classrooms. Santos and
Tin’s (2018) findings further indicated that teachers become passive-aggressive
towards learners because of TTB, and that may affect them professionally:
teachers fear that they might lose their careers if they fight back when a learner
bullies them. Teachers may express their frustration though actions such as
keeping themselves busy with other things to avoid their classes, showing less
dedication to their work, and performing duties with less efficiency.
Findings of the study indicated that participants have not yet established
appropriate measures to manage TTB. They reported that they tend to control
their anger to avoid fighting back, ignore the bullying experience, and move on
with their lives as if nothing happened. The findings indicated that in some
instances, the learners’ parents are called to school to discuss the matter with the
School management Team (SMT) and the School Governing Body (SGB), but
participants felt that the bullying learner still takes priority when the school
looked into the matter. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA,
1996) states that in consultations with teachers, parents and learners, the SGB
has to implement a code of conduct for learners at the school and conduct
disciplinary hearings when there is a need. The code of conduct must
acknowledge TTB and include it as non-compliance with the code (Jacobs & de
Wet, 2018). One participant reported to have tried reaching out to SACE about
her TTB experience, but the matter was not taken seriously. Jacobs and de Wet
(2018) recommended that SACE, the Department of Basic Education, and
researchers at Higher Education Institutions should collaborate and conduct
research on anti-TTB programmes.
36
The findings revealed that participants want their schools to manage TTB by
formulating a policy, establishing a well-functioning committee, providing
therapeutic interventions, tightening security systems, suspending the
perpetrators, and having TTB taken more seriously. Billett et al. (2019) found
that teachers wanted to be shown support by their SMTs and the schools, to
create and implement a code of conduct which states that all types of behaviour
which are considered as TTB will not be condoned and that if it occurs, it will
include penalties that learners will face for breaching the code. They wanted
stronger procedures to prevent perpetrators from coming back to class. School
needs to look into implementing policies that could help in addressing TTB.
Yang et al. (2018) stated that since findings indicated that there is a high rate of
TTB, mental health professionals who are based in the schools, such as
psychologists, social workers and counsellors, could offer support to teachers
who are bullied, by providing therapy to deal with the stressful emotions caused
by the experience, such as anger, hate, sadness and anxiety. Therapy can be
provided as individual therapy or in groups. These mental health professionals
can also work with TTB perpetrators and provide them with anger management
therapy or assist them to change their behaviour by using different behaviour
modification strategies. A psychologist can also assist the school by designing
and implementing bullying intervention programmes that will involve learners
and teachers. He/she can also conduct seminars to psycho-educate members of
the SMT, the School Based Support Team, teachers, parents and learners about
bullying, its effects on both the victim and the perpetrators, and ways to manage
it.
The findings also revealed that participants want the Department of Basic
Education to manage TTB by allowing the schools to work together with the
South African Police Services (SAPS); obtaining professional help from social
workers; designing strategies that will replace corporal punishment; developing
parent and child programmes to tackle problems faced at home; allowing
suspension of the bully and developing appropriate channels for teachers to
direct complaints. Nowadays, learners carry weapons and drugs to school, and
that creates an unsafe environment which leads to teachers seeking security
from the SAPS. In the past, teachers may have used corporal punishment as a
way of fighting back against those learners who disrespected them, but since it
was banned, they feel powerless, as in most cases the learners’ education is
paramount.
Jacobs and de Wet (2018) stated that the Department of Basic Education should
design a policy that will prevent and handle TTB, so that schools will be able to
become accustomed to the implementation of the policy. Bradshaw (2015) found
that programmes that involve a family component are highly effective in
bullying prevention. Children’s development is affected by parents and their
parenting styles. In most cases, learners who are bullying perpetrators learn that
kind of behaviour from home, from their peers or from society. If parents are
37
involved in bullying prevention programmes, they will also learn effective

parenting styles, and to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour.
6. Conclusion
Based on the data collected from participants, findings indicate that TTB is a
serious problem faced by schools. Most teachers have experienced verbal TTB,
and it occurs more frequently than the other types. TTB changed the lives of
teachers at school: they started losing confidence, being afraid, avoiding classes,
losing courage, being embarrassed and being scared around the school. Their
lives outside school also changed; their mental health was affected and it
completely changed their personality. They began to feel as if they had lost
control and were ineffective because of their circumstances. South Africa is
currently facing the challenge of protecting teachers from TTB and creating
sufficient resources to eradicate TTB to improve the teaching and learning
environment. There are laws in place that protect teachers from the bullying
behaviours they experience at work, but these are currently limited in terms of
scope and specificity. Therefore, the South African Constitution should be taken
into consideration when dealing with TTB. Teachers also have rights, so learners
need to obey the laws of the country and treat teachers with respect and dignity.
The school needs to take action to protect teachers’ right to work in an
environment where they feel respected and valued.
7. Limitation and recommendation

A limitation of this study is typical to many qualitative studies, namely, that the
findings are based on a small sample. Therefore, these findings cannot be
generalised and do not necessarily apply to the remaining three districts in
Mpumalanga province; nor can they be generalised to other populations. The
researchers also used a self-reported data collection instrument rather than a
multi-informant approach, which may have resulted in bias and limited
reliability in the study findings.
From the findings and conclusion, this study recommends that future research
should focus on why TTB occurs, the consequences it has on the teaching
profession, and learners’ education, as well as examine the use of a multi-
informant approach to gain an understanding of the phenomenon from learners,
members of the School-Based Support Team, the School Management Team and
other stakeholders. Also, exploring how participants cope or deal with TTB may
help with the identification of effective coping strategies, and researching
effective disciplinary measures may can assist in reducing the frequency of
learner bullying.
It is further recommended that the findings from this study be used as a

foothold to further examine the area under study. The study was conducted in a
semi-rural area in Mpumalanga and could be broadened to include townships
and urban areas which may provide further insight into teachers’ experiences.
The study should be conducted in different areas (possibly provinces) in South
Africa. A larger sample may enhance the quality and relevance of the findings
and will also allow generalisation of the results, making it easy to evaluate the
38
sample’s representativeness. Finally, diversity in terms of race and gender can

be increased to increase the validity of the findings.
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41
Appendix 1: Interview Schedule (English Version)
The purpose of this interview is to gather information on your

experiences with learners’ bullying behaviours and its influence on
teachers. The researcher will ensure confidentiality and anonymity.
Participation is voluntary and you can withdraw at any time.
BULLYING BEHAVIOUR
For this study the authors chose to define teacher-targeted bulling as “a
communication process that involves a real or perceived power imbalance where
a teacher is subjected, by one or more students [or their parents], to interaction
that he or she perceives as insulting, upsetting or intimidating this may be
verbal, nonverbal or physical in nature, it may be premeditated or opportunistic,
be a single instance or recurring and or of short or long duration.
(Billett, Fogelgarn, & Burns, 2019)
SECTION A
Biographical Information
Age: _______________
Gender: _____________
No. of years teaching: _____________
What are your educational qualifications? _______________________
SECTION B
Interview Questions:
1. Describe, in detail, the nature of the bullying behaviour that occurred?
2. Where did the bullying behaviour/incidents take place?
3. How did the (se) bullying experience(s) affect your life at school?
4. Can you describe the impact that the bullying behaviour may have had on
other aspects of your life, outside of school?
5. Did reporting of the bullying behaviour(s) help you?
5.1 If yes, explain the process of reporting the bullying behaviour.

(Who?, When?, Where, How?)
42
5.2 If no, explain why you did not report the learner’s bullying behaviour.
6. How does your school deal with teacher-targeted bullying?
7. How would you like your school to deal with teacher-targeted bullying?
8. What measures do you think the Department of Education should put in

place in an attempt to address learners bullying behaviours towards teachers?
Thank you for participating in this research study.
43
Appendix 2: Interview Schedule (Siswati Version)
Inhloso yale ngcoco kucokelela mininingwane nge lwati lwakho mayelana

nemtselela webantwana besikolo wekucaphata kwabo thishela. Umcwaningi
utawucinisekisa kugcina imfihlo nokungatiwa kwakho. Kubamba lichaza or
kutibandzakanya kungokutitsandzela futsi unalo lilungelo lokuyekela noma
ngabe kunini.
BULLYING BEHAVIOUR
For this study the authors chose to define teacher-targeted bulling as “a
communication process that involves a real or perceived power imbalance where
a teacher is subjected, by one or more students [or their parents], to interaction
that he or she perceives as insulting, upsetting or intimidating this may be
verbal, nonverbal or physical in nature, it may be premeditated or opportunistic,
be a single instance or recurring and or of short or long duration
(Billett, Fogelgarn, & Burns, 2019)
SIGABA A
Mininingwane
Minyaka _____________
Bulili ________________
Unombolo yeminyaka lonayo ufundzisa ____________
Ngitiphi ticu lonato _____________________
SIGABA B
Imibuti Yelicwaningo
1. Chaza kabanti ngeluhlobo lesento sekuchashwatwa lesenteka.
2. Lesento sokuchaswatwa sententeka kuphi?
3. Letigameko tekuchashatwa tayitsintsa njan impilo yakho eskolweni?
4. Ungawuchaza umitselela lekungenteka kutsi letento tokuchashwatwa tibe

nawo kuletinye tici tempilo yakho, ngaphandle kwaseskolweni.
5. Kubika ngalesento(tento) sokuchashwatwa kwakusita yin?
5.1. Umakungenjalo, chaza lenqubo yokubika kwesento sokuchashatwa. (kubani,

nini, kuphi, njani)
44
5.2. Umakungenjalo, chaza kuts kungani ungabikanga lesento sekuchashwatwa

mfundzi.
6. Sikolo sakho sibukana njan nekuchashatwa lokucondziswe kubo thisela?
7. Ungatsandza kuts sikolo sakho sibukane njan nekuchashatwa lokucondziswe

kubo thisela?
8. Ngitiphi tinqubo mgomo locabanga kutsi kelelwe tifakwe Litiko Letenfundvo

njengemizamo yokulungisa sento sebafundzi sokuchashatwa khabothishela.
Siyabonga ngokutstsa lichaza kulelicwaningo.
45

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 45-58, June 2023
Received Mar 22, 2023; Revised May 25, 2023; Accepted Jun 10, 2023
Validating and Testing the Teacher Self-Efficacy

(TSE) Scale in Drug Education among Secondary
School Teachers
Ciptro Handrianto , Ahmad Jazimin Jusoh* ,

Nazre Abdul Rashid and Muh Khairul Wajedi Imami
Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim, Malaysia
Suzaily Wahab
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
M Arinal Rahman
Akademi Maritim Nusantara, Banjarmasin, Indonesia
Ary Kiswanto Kenedi

Universitas Samudra, Indonesia, Aceh, Indonesia
Abstract. Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) in drug education is critical because

it is linked to teachers’ beliefs and ability to deliver learning material
about drug abuse to students. There is scant literature about TSE in drug
education. This might be due to the lack of valid instruments measuring
TSE in drug education. This study aimed to validate and test the TSE Scale
among secondary school teachers in drug education. The TSE Scale was
adapted from the instrument of teacher efficacy by Tschannen-Moran and
Hoy (2001). One hundred and thirteen public secondary school teachers
in Johor, Malaysia were involved in this quantitative study. Cronbach’s
alpha was used to examine the internal consistency and factor analysis
through factor loading to confirm the items in each construct. The results
reveal that the scale has internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha value
greater than .7. Furthermore, the factor loading results confirm the
structure of the instrument, where each item had a factor loading greater
than .5 and was loaded in each construct. Therefore, the TSE Scale is a
valid tool to measure secondary school teacher self-efficacy in drug
education. The instrument can be used in studies related to drug
prevention activities in secondary schools.
*
Corresponding author: Ahmad Jazimin Jusoh, jazimin@fpm.upsi.edu.my
©Authors
46
Keywords: drug education; instrument; secondary school teachers;

teacher self-efficacy; teaching-learning
1. Introduction
The drug prevention program in Malaysia is a long-term effort that involves
various parties, including government and non-governmental organizations
(Mallow, 2020; Mohamad et al., 2018; Nawi et al., 2021). Drug prevention
programs in secondary school aim to develop students’ self-awareness,
understanding, and resilience to avoid drug abuse (Bahramnejad et al., 2020). The
government has devised and implemented the SHIELDS program (from Sayangi
Diri Elak Derita Selamanya – .i.e., Love Yourself, Avoid Suffering Forever) to
provide opportunity for students to develop their social skills and build good
relations with their peers while at the same time committing to avoiding the
negative effects of their environment (Liu, 2020; Walid et al., 2021). The program
is part of the co-curricular activities involving public secondary school students
in drug abuse prevention.
The main purpose of drug prevention programs in Malaysia is to prevent students

from abusing drugs by improving their skills and knowledge. For example,
Program Intelek Asuhan Rohani (PINTAR) aims to develop students’ awareness
and self-esteem, Program Sifar Dadah Sekolah Rendah (PROSIDAR) in the form
of night camps focuses on improving students’ life skills, and SHIELDS aims to
increase students’ awareness (Walid et al., 2021). Teachers organize activities for
students, such as talks or seminars about drug abuse, inviting guests from anti-
drug agencies to share knowledge about the dangers and misuse of drugs.
Furthermore, teachers or counsellors also distribute posters or brochures
containing drug education materials for the students (Amat et al., 2020).
In the curriculum context, classroom teachers play a significant role in preventing

drug and substance abuse in secondary school (Nebhinani & Kuppili, 2018;
Tremblay et al., 2020). Drug education refers to the efforts of subject teachers to
integrate drug topics into their teaching material in a classroom situation. The
main purpose of drug education is to increase awareness and knowledge about
the negative effects of drugs (Zakaria et al., 2021). Therefore, teachers have
suggested incorporating the drug topics by involving students in discussing the
dangers of drugs in their lives (Rahman et al., 2022; Yan et al., 2020). Teachers
should be able to deliver essential knowledge, promote student participation, and
present attractive classroom activities to achieve positive outcomes in drug
education (Walid et al., 2021). In this case, teachers have a big responsibility in
drug education, which requires them to have the appropriate psychological traits,
one of which is self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy generally refers to self-belief about oneself to attain selected

performance standards (Kamarudin et al., 2020). For teachers, self-efficacy is
defined as how much they believe they can carry out their duties as teachers
(Mokhtar et al., 2021). It affects how teachers think, feel, are motivated, and
behave in the classroom. Kamarudin et al. (2020) stated that self-efficacy affects
an individual’s behavior to complete the task given successfully. Therefore,
47
teacher self-efficacy (TSE) in drug education is critical because it is linked to

teachers’ beliefs and ability to deliver learning material on drug abuse to the
students (De-Smul et al., 2019; Sayed et al., 2019; Uzun & Kelleci, 2018). Sukor and
Hussin (2019) explained that the effectiveness of drug education is greatly affected
by teachers’ self-efficacy in handling program activities.
Through self-efficacy, teachers will have confidence, knowledge, information, and

good classroom management skills to engage secondary school students to
participate in drug abuse prevention discussed in their classes (Nengsih et al.,
2022; Sithole, 2023; Zainil et al., 2023). Furthermore, self-efficacy is said to be a
mediator for teachers to enhance their service provision in drug education (Sukor
& Hussin, 2019). Despite the importance of TSE, little research has been done
about TSE in drug education in Malaysia. Some related research about TSE in
drug education in Malaysia is: TSE as a predictor of teacher job satisfaction in drug
education in Malaysia (Sukor & Hussin, 2019); the rubric of TSE development in
drug education based on the ADDIE model (Jusoh et al., 2022); and the mediating
role of TSE between teacher job satisfaction and teacher commitment (Mokhtar et
al., 2021). No research has directly measured TSE in drug education.
The lack of research about TSE in drug education might be due to the lack of valid
instruments measuring TSE in drug education. In the Malaysian context, self-
efficacy is validated in the context of science self-efficacy (Dzin & Lay, 2021),
counselling self-efficacy (Pei-Boon et al., 2020), and exercise self-efficacy (Hidrus
et al., 2020). Still, no research has validated TSE in drug education. Therefore, this
study aimed to validate and test the TSE Scale by involving classroom teachers in
secondary schools in Malaysia. This research will contribute to a complete
instrument that can be used to measure the efficacy of Malaysian secondary school
teachers in drug education. This is important since, currently, there is no specific
instrument measuring TSE in drug education. Therefore, the instrument can be
used by other researchers or scholars in drug education research practice in the
future.
The idea that an individual is capable of effectively executing the actions that are
necessary to accomplish the results that are sought can be characterized as
self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a term that is used interchangeably with
self-confidence. Educators with a high level of self-efficacy in teaching and
learning have the self-assurance necessary to convey learning information and
develop teaching strategies involving students to accomplish active learning. The
same is said about having “self-efficacy in teaching and learning”. Educators who
have a solid understanding of their abilities in the classroom, in terms of teaching
and learning, stand a better chance of experiencing the personal and professional
satisfaction that comes with success in their chosen field (Gcabashe & Ndlovu,
2022; Najwan et al., 2022).
The teacher’s self-efficacy is an important link between the teacher and students
because it determines the quality of classroom management (Makhananesa &
Sepeng, 2022; Wong et al., 2019). There is a connection between the teacher’s level
48
of self-efficacy and the level of commitment, involvement, and achievement

demonstrated by secondary school students in the classroom. Secondary school
teachers’ level of self-efficacy in their ability to instruct affects their thought
processes. These factors drive them to excel in their jobs, the quality of their work,
their perceptions of their competence, and how they rate their performance.
Teachers’ level of self-efficacy in their ability to instruct also affects the quality of
their work (Muliati et al., 2022). Establishing substantial contact with students and
assisting them in developing their critical thinking are crucial factors that teachers
must devote careful attention to if they want to be effective in their roles. If
teachers have high self-efficacy, they will likely be inspired to encourage their
students to improve their academic achievement. This is because it is likely that
teachers will have a good feeling about their capabilities. Teachers make it a
priority to improve their knowledge and expertise while they are on the job to be
able to provide students with services that are of a high standard. They are
prepared to be evaluated and engage in self-assessment to strengthen their
capacity to fulfil their professional responsibilities as educators (Freer & Keefer,
2022). This preparation also includes the ability to self-assess their performance.
In addition, they will also be able to provide and receive feedback to and from
peers.
Drugs were first brought to Malaysia in the 19th century by workers from China
and India. At the time, the drugs were still not considered harmful since there
were no regulations or restrictions on their usage (Arshad et al., 2020). Today, the
number of drug abusers in Malaysia increases annually. Hasani et al. (2021)
reported that drug abusers increased from 1.5% to 3.4% between 2012 and 2017.
The number of drug users in 2017 was 12,089, increasing to 12,520 in 2018
(Sulaiman et al., 2021). Cheah et al. (2020) reported that in 2017, 33,500 of the
59,600 convicts in prison in Malaysia were there because of drug abuse offences.
Another study revealed that in 2015, half of the Malaysian jail population of 30,000
were convicted of drug abuse (Abdalrazak et al., 2019). Drug abuse in Malaysia is
not a small problem, and the government has launched numerous efforts to
combat this (Sulaiman & Zainuddin, 2019). Various programs by various
Malaysian government agencies have been conducted, for example by the
Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Education, and the National
Population and Family Development Board (Yusof et al., 2019).
Drug abuse affects not only adolescents but also children. In Malaysia, drug abuse
among children is a hot topic to discuss since drug abuse among youth keeps
increasing (Sulaiman & Zainuddin, 2019). Hasani et al. (2021) stated that
schoolchildren are of the age that is associated with a high risk of drug usage. Data
from the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) Malaysia revealed that there was
an increasing number of drug abusers among youth in Malaysia; where there
were 18,417 drug cases in 2018, this increased to 18,986 in 2019 (Ahmad, 2022; Mey
et al., 2020). Ismail et al. (2022) reported that in 2010, there were 13.8 million drug
abusers worldwide aged between 15 and 16, which accounts for (5.6% of all drug
abusers. For Malaysia, 9.25% or 2138 of all drug abusers fell in this age category
for 2010. This emphasizes the high number of youth drug abusers worldwide in
general and in Malaysia in particular. Youth are prone to drug addiction because
49
of curiosity, susceptibility to peer pressure, and poor self-worth (Ismail et al.,

2022). They are developing physically and psychologically at this age. Drug use is
prevalent during this critical growth period (Wahab et al., 2021).
Shafi and Chandrashekar (2020) stated that three aspects should be considered to
prevent youth from becoming drug abusers: family relationships, peer pressure,
and academic stress. Some aspects of drug abuse are related to school, for example
peer pressure and academic stress. This indicates the importance of preventive
action to be taken in school. Furthermore, the concept of drug abuse needs to be
introduced to the students early on, since their childhood experiences can affect
their perspective for the rest of their life (Mustapha et al., 2019). Therefore, the
Malaysian Government initiated several drug prevention programs in schools.
3. Methodology
3.1 Respondents
This study is a quantitative study validating the TSE Scale in drug education. Data
were collected in Johor, Malaysia. A total of 113 secondary school teachers
participated in this research. The respondents were selected based on the stratified
sampling method. The stratified sampling method separates the population into
strata, which are individuals based on shared and distinctive traits (Berndt, 2020).
In this study, the population has the same teaching characteristics in drug
education. Therefore, respondents selected were teachers teaching drug abuse
topics in their subject. The respondents taught Islamic education, Malay language,
moral education, science, technological design, and physical and health education
in the school. Female teachers dominated this study, where 63.7% of the
respondents were female and 36.3% were male. Furthermore, most respondents
(32.74%) had teaching experience ranging from 11 to 15 years. Detailed
demographic information about the respondents can be seen in Table 1.
Table 1. Demographic profile of respondents
Characteristic Number (n) %
Gender
Male 41 36.03
Female 72 63.07
Age
20–29 17 15.04
30–39 46 40.71
40–49 37 32.74
50–59 13 11.51
Monthly income
RM2001 – RM3000 17 15.00
RM3001 – RM4000 14 12.04
RM4001 – RM5000 34 30.01
> RM5000 48 42.05
Years teaching
1–5 22 19.47
6–10 15 13.27
11–15 37 32.74
16–20 24 21.25
> 20 15 13.27
50
Teaching subject
Islamic education 22 19.05
Malay language 22 19.05
Moral education 14 12.04
Science 23 20.04
Technological design 14 12.04
Physical and health education 18 15.09
3.2 Instrument
The TSE instrument used in this study was adapted from the instrument Teacher
efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). We
received permission to use and modify the instrument, which consists of two
questionnaires. The first questionnaire relates to respondent demographics,
inquiring about respondents’ gender, age, monthly income, and teaching subject.
The second questionnaire is a TSE Scale comprising 21 items measuring TSE in
drug education. Experts from Malaysian public universities evaluated the new
version of the instrument before distributing it to secondary school teachers for
testing. It received positive feedback from expert evaluators, and some comments
were taken into account to improve the quality of the instrument. There were
three constructs of the self-efficacy instrument: efficacy in students’ engagement,
efficacy in instructional strategies, and efficacy in classroom management. Each
of the constructs consisted of eight item questions. The instrument items were
employed using a five-point Likert scale: SD = strongly disagree, D = disagree,
M = moderate, A = agree, and SA = strongly disagree.
3.3 Data analysis

This study used SPSS version 23.0 statistical software to analyze the data.
Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis were applied to the TSE Scale responses.
Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the internal consistency of the scale.
Internal consistency is defined as the degree to which every item on a scale
measures various facets of the same attribute (Olaniyi, 2019). The interpretation
of Cronbach alpha for this study is as follows: α < .5 for low reliability, .5 < α < .8
for moderate (acceptable) reliability, and α > .8 for high (good) reliability (Ekolu
& Quainoo, 2019). In factor analysis, factor loading is examined. Factor loading
displays the relationship between the items and the construct, where items with
factor loading greater than .4 indicate that the item represents the construct
(Shrestha, 2021). Therefore, in this study, the item adequately represents the
construct if the factor loading is greater than .4.
4. Results
4.1 Factor Analysis Results
The items that did not weigh heavily towards either factor were assumed not to
represent teachers’ self-efficacy in drug education and were removed prior to data
analysis. The questions and factor analysis for the items included in the final
version of the TSE instrument are shown in Table 2.
51
Table 2. Items of the questionnaire and factor loading as the final version of the TSE
Scale in drug education
Construct Item Factor
loading
Student Can you approach students who face learning
.683
engagement difficulties?
Are you able to encourage students to think critically
.772
about the dangers of drugs?
Can you motivate students to participate in classroom
.718
teaching?
Are you able to help students be confident about
.725
staying away from drugs?
Are you able to develop the positive behavior of
.796
students in teaching?
Are you able to improve students’ creativity in drug
.802
prevention efforts?
Are you able to increase students’ understanding of the
.756
dangers of drugs?
Can you collaborate with parents to encourage students
.688
to do positive things?
Instructional Are you able to answer the questions related to drug
.816
strategies abuse from students?
Are you able to measure to what extent the students
.809
understand what you have taught?
Are you able to create some questions about the dangers
.846
of drug abuse for students?
Are you able to adapt lessons to the level of abilities of
.740
each student?
Can you use various drug prevention assessment
.792
strategies in the classroom?
Can you give explanations when students are confused
.803
about understanding the subject matter?
Are you able to implement alternative strategies in the
.740
classroom in drug prevention efforts?
Are you able to give challenges to students who are
.824
capable of fighting against drugs?
Classroom Are you able to control disruptive behaviors in classes? .719
management Can you prevent students from getting involved with
.750
drug abuse?
Can you set various strategies so that my teaching and
.787
learning activities can run smoothly?
Are you able to make students follow the rules to stay
.748
away from drugs?
Are you able to calm down the students who are
.730
making noise in class?
Are you able to improve classroom management by
.801
cooperating with each group of students?
Are you able to manage students who have a preference
.812
to try drugs?
Are you able to overcome students who have problems
.828
in class?
52
Table 2 shows the results of the factor analysis based on factor loading for each
item in the instrument of TSE in drug education in secondary schools. Generally,
items greater than 5 are considered to factor “highly” on that scale. Based on the
data, no one item was lower than .5. All the items in the instrument were
suggested as factor determinants in the quality of teachers’ self-efficacy in drug
education in secondary schools.
4.2 Cronbach Alpha Results

Factor loading examines the correlation between the items and the constructs. The
analysis revealed three constructs, and each construct consisted of eight items.
The researcher then examines the internal consistency of the item through
Cronbach’s alpha. The results of the Cronbach alpha analysis can be seen in
Table 3.
Table 3. Cronbach alpha results

Factor Cronbach alpha
Student engagement .926
Instructional strategies .948
Classroom management .952
The results indicate that all constructs were categorized as having good Cronbach
alpha values which exceeded the threshold of .7. The construct of student
engagement had a Cronbach alpha of .926, the construct of instructional strategies
had a Cronbach alpha of .948, and the construct of classroom management had a
Cronbach alpha of .952.
5. Discussion
This study aimed to validate the TSE Scale in drug education. Cronbach alpha
measures the internal consistency of the scale and factor loading frames the
relationship between the items with the construct. The results reveal that the scale
was valid for drug education research. The scale had Cronbach alpha values that
exceeded the threshold of .7, and each item in the scale loaded in each construct
with satisfactory factor loading. Ultimately, the scale consists of three constructs:
student engagement, classroom management, and instructional strategies. The
finding is similar to the research conducted by Poulou et al. (2019), where TSE is
related to student engagement, classroom management, and instructional
strategies. Regarding management skills, TSE is an important mediator of
classroom management skills.
Regarding student engagement, TSE connects with the commitment,

involvement, and achievement demonstrated by secondary school students in the
classroom. Other than that, secondary school teachers’ level of self-efficacy in their
ability to instruct affects their thought processes. These factors drive them to excel
in their jobs, the quality of their work, their perceptions of their competence, and
how they rate their performance. In addition, teachers’ level of self-efficacy in
their ability to instruct affects the quality of their work (Muliati et al., 2022).
53
Self-efficacy is a term that is used interchangeably with self-confidence. Educators

with a high level of self-efficacy in teaching and learning have the self-assurance
necessary to convey learning information and develop teaching strategies
involving students to accomplish active learning. This is exactly what is said about
having self-efficacy in teaching and learning. Educators who have a solid
understanding of their abilities in the classroom, in terms of teaching and
learning, stand a better chance of experiencing the personal and professional
satisfaction that comes with success in their chosen field (Gcabashe & Ndlovu,
2022; Najwan et al., 2022). Other than that, secondary school teachers have access
to resources linked to substance abuse that can be utilized as learning media to
pique students’ interests in their academic activities. They can come across these
resources in print and on the internet. Using a rubric that compares a teacher’s
performance in the classroom and a set of standards makes it possible to
accurately evaluate a teacher’s efficacy in the field of drug education (Jusoh et al.,
2022). It is conceivable to use the construct produced from the TSE instrument as
the foundation for developing the rubric. This could be done with the results of
this study.
Self-efficacy is an essential component of drug education to guarantee that

educators have the necessary skills and the appropriate mentality to address
drug-related topics in a classroom setting. Self-efficacy is the belief that one can
complete a task or accomplish a goal despite constraints (Hong, 2021; Wang et al.,
2020). Teachers’ self-efficacy in drug education for secondary school is not related
to skills possessed but to individual confidence (Hajovsky et al., 2020). They can
use their knowledge to educate students about the dangers involved with drug
addiction and provide suggestions on how students can protect themselves by
adopting preventative measures. They can also use their knowledge to educate
students about the dangers associated with drug addiction (Naegele et al., 2022).
Therefore, students can curb their drug consumption habits. Furthermore,
teachers with high levels of self-efficacy will be inspired to encourage their
students to improve their academic achievement. This is because it is likely that
teachers will have a good sense of their capabilities.
It has been determined through factor analysis and the Cronbach alpha coefficient
that the TSE Scale is a valid instrument for determining the effectiveness of
secondary school teachers in drug education. These findings are made possible
because the scale measures the degree to which teachers believe they can educate
their students about drug topics. In order to investigate the extent to which the
TSE Scale is present among secondary school teachers who are engaged in drug
education, the instrument can be used in expansive research projects, which
necessitates the recruitment of a larger sample. Because the instrument can be
used in such projects, it is possible to investigate the presence of the TSE Scale
(Okamoto et al., 2019). The findings also reveal that teachers have a greater
possibility of being effective in avoiding the use of drugs in classroom settings
when they have a higher degree of self-efficacy. Classroom teachers with high
self-efficacy perceive that they can develop a positive classroom management
style, successfully manage instructional approaches, and increase the number of
students participating in drug education (Lindquist-Grantz et al., 2021).
54
5. Conclusion
This study was designed to validate and test the TSE Scale of secondary school
teachers in drug education. The instrument was validated by adapting constructs
and items from previous research on teachers’ self-efficacy. The current version of
the instrument was validated and tested with secondary school teachers in Johor,
Malaysia. Based on the study, the TSE Scale is valid based on factor analysis and
Cronbach alpha values. The instrument is valuable enough to be implemented in
a study to measure teachers’ self-efficacy in drug education in Malaysian
secondary schools. This study contributes to providing a valid instrument to be
used in drug education. Therefore, future researchers can utilize the instrument
to measure the level of TSE in drug education.
6. Acknowledgement
This study was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia through
Long Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS/1/2019/UKM/02/2/4), with the
project title “Developing and conceptualising a model of drug-free school
environment prevention strategy at selected hot spots” (grant number:
2019025610742). We want to express our gratitude to the editorial team and
reviewers who spent their priceless time reviewing and improving this article.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 59-77, June 2023
Voices from the Field: Pre-Service Teachers’ First

Time Experiences of Teaching Physical Sciences
during School-Based Experience
Sakyiwaa Boateng* and Benjamin Tatira

Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
Abstract. School-Based Experience, commonly known as teaching

practice, is widely acknowledged as an essential component of teacher
education in institutions around the world. This study explored second-
year pre-service teachers’ first-time experiences of teaching physical
sciences during teaching practice. We contextualised the study within
Dewey’s Theory of Experience to understand pre-service teachers’
experiences at a place of practice. The study utilised a qualitative
phenomenological research design with 10 purposively and
conveniently sampled pre-service teachers randomly chosen from a
higher education institution in the Eastern Cape Province of South
Africa. Data from interviews, observations, journal reflections and
document analysis were triangulated and analysed using thematic
content analysis. The study found benefits and drawbacks that pre-
service science teachers experienced during their first time on teaching
practice, which provided important clues to understanding differences
in what pre-service teachers appear to learn during teaching practices.
The study has implications for faculties of universities that are engaged
in teacher training to help pre-service teachers balance experiences of
doing and undergoing as they progress through a teacher education
programme. The study therefore recommends that universities establish
partnerships with the Department of Basic Education to train all in-
service teachers on specific expectations of pre-service teachers at
schools during teaching practice.
Keywords: mentor; physical sciences; school-based experience; pre-

service teacher
1. Introduction
The post-1994 social and educational context, particularly the transition to
Outcomes-Based Education, requires a complete overhaul of South Africa's
teacher training programmes' curricula. In 2011, the post-apartheid South
*
Corresponding author: Sakyiwaa Boateng, sboateng@wsu.ac.za
@2018 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

60
African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) established the

basic standards for teacher education degrees with the intention of "regulating
teacher education qualification programmes" (DHET, 2011, p.5). This curriculum
provided new teachers with the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge that
expanded their professional boundaries through the dynamic application of
their theoretical knowledge, with the consequence that what was learned and
taught was both suitable and rigorous. Although the purpose of teacher
education is to produce effective teachers who meet the challenge of education
for social change, the question of how to best prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs)
to be “good enough teachers” (Reid, 2019, p.717) and effective classroom
practitioners has been discussed by teacher educators around the world for
many years. Because outstanding PST education is the foundation of quality
education in the country, special attention should be paid to the preparation of
PSTs. With continuous guidance and monitoring from teacher educators, these
PSTs will learn how to manage not only their daily lessons, but also their
learners and classrooms.
In contrast, a substantial body of research has indicated that most teacher

education programmes have failed to adequately prepare PSTs for the realities
of the classroom (Stuart & Thurlow, 2000). Novice teachers reported having
difficulties dealing with issues such as classroom discipline, non-attendance,
assessing students' work, dealing with individual differences and interactions
with parents (Du Plessis & Mestry, 2019; Vaughn et al., 1997). These challenges
often discourage teachers from taking teaching as a profession. Therefore, these
issues must be addressed since they may have an impact on PSTs' performance
during School-Based Experience (SBE) as well as their perceptions of the
teaching profession.
Physical science in South African schools comprises both Physics and Chemistry
for grades 10, 11 and 12. The programme covers six strands or units. The units
include Matter and Materials, Chemical Systems, Chemical Change, Mechanics,
Waves, Sound and Light, and Electricity and Magnetism. However, since
independence, Reddy et al. (2022) have raised concerns about the low
achievement of South African learners in mathematics and physical sciences.
Among the many hypotheses offered is insufficient training for PSTs to
implement the current physical sciences curriculum. According to the
Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for the Further Education
and Training (FET) phase (Department of Basic Education [DBE], 2011), physical
sciences aims to
“promote knowledge and skills in scientific inquiry and problem-
solving, the construction and application of scientific and technological
knowledge and an understanding of the nature of science and its
relations to technology, society and the environment and further prepare
learners for the future learning” (p.8).
If this is to be accomplished among South African learners, then those

responsible for teaching physical sciences at the FET phase must possess
comprehensive pedagogical content knowledge that informs their teaching
proficiencies to improve the performance of learners in the subject. Hence,
61
teacher educators need to prepare PSTs to enable them to acquire skills in both
content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge sufficiently enough to
implement the curriculum effectively.
Internationally, there is widespread agreement that SBE is fundamental to the

preparation of teachers, as "a good teacher education programme must seek to
assist individual teachers in growing and developing as people, providing them
with the necessary skills and professional abilities to help them become
effective teachers" (Fafunwa, 2001, p. 81). Thus, the concept of SBE is rooted in
an effort to cultivate competent and professional educators. This gives PSTs a
chance to practice and develop their own theories and approaches to education
in a real-world setting. This study aimed to explore PSTs’ first-time experiences
in teaching physical sciences during SBE.
1.1 The context: Physical sciences teacher education in South Africa

The background of the study considers the four year B. Ed (Senior Phase [SP]
and Further Education and Training phase [FET]) Natural Science degree
programme at the university where this study was carried out, which begins the
early years of the teacher education programme with theoretical courses (with
higher credits in both mathematics and physical sciences). During the second
semester, first-year PSTs also complete a two-week mandatory school-based
observation for their three major subjects. In the second year of study, PSTs are
introduced to 12-credit pedagogical modules for each of their three majors and a
16-credit content module for physical sciences. A mandatory micro-teaching
activity on campus and student presentation form part of the programme as well
as three weeks of SBE in the second semester. In the third year of the
programme, PSTs register for a 32-credit physical sciences content course, a 12-
credit physical sciences FET Teaching II module and a five-week SBE in the
second semester. In the fourth year of study, PSTs register for course work,
including physical sciences FET Teaching III of 16 credits. In addition, they
undergo a mandatory 10 weeks of SBE. Throughout their training, PSTs also
register for mandatory education courses as part of their training programmes. It
is anticipated that PSTs would have acquired the appropriate skills and
pedagogical content knowledge of the subjects they would teach in high schools
at the end of their training.
Accordingly, higher education institutions in South Africa that offer teacher

education programmes are obligated by education policies to ensure that PSTs
are placed in schools where they may interact with the reality of classroom
teaching and the broader educational community (DHET, 2011). The skills that
the PSTs acquire during their training are often put to the test during SBE.
While a substantial amount of research on PSTs’ teaching experiences appears to

have been influenced by the desire of teacher educators to prepare PSTs
(Orland-Barak & Wang, 2021), relatively little attention has been paid to how the
various players interpret their roles and perceive their impacts on one another.
There has also been considerable research on how the triad interacts to shape the
PSTs’ experiences (Mpate et al., 2021), as well as the mentoring of PSTs in the
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field (Smit & Du Toit, 2021) and the influence in-service teachers have on PSTs
(Chaliès et al., 2012). However, few studies reflect on PSTs’ first time experiences
of teaching during SBE (Moosa & Rembach, 2020). The one study that
highlighted the PSTs first year of SBE reflected on their encounters with their
mentors (Moosa & Rembach, 2020) and did not specifically mention the voices of
physical science PSTs from the field in implementing the CAPS curriculum and
their experiences with the triad. Hence, this study aimed to fill the gap in the
literature by exploring the first-time experiences of physical sciences PSTs
during SBE. In doing so, the study contributes to knowledge on how best
teacher training programmes and teacher training educators could equip PSTs
with skills to implement the curriculum effectively and to meet the goals and
objectives of the physical sciences CAPS curriculum.
The following research questions guided the study:

1. What are the pre-service teachers’ experiences of teaching physical sciences
during the school-based experience?
2. What is the connection between pre-service teachers training and the teaching
of physical sciences during the school-based experience?
2.1 The practice of teaching within teacher education
According to Marais and Meier (2004), "the term teaching practice represents the
range of experiences to which PSTs are exposed when they work in classrooms
and schools" (p.221). It is also referred to as school-based experience (SBE) in this
context. SBE is the culminating experience in a teacher education programme
and is identified in the literature as a context-based activity that exposes PSTs to
the actual practice of teaching. Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2007) reiterate
that SBE is a common phenomenon world-wide and one where PSTs are
exposed to professional development opportunities for the enhancement of
content and pedagogical knowledge and skills. Nkambule (2017) concurs with
the above assertion and argues that SBE is essential to the training of PSTs in
order to help them grow as individuals while equipping them with the required
skills and professional competencies to become effective teachers. In addition,
PSTs will have the “opportunity to grow their self-confidence in a safe setting
while enhancing their skills and awareness of the intricacies of teaching and
learning" (Moody, 2009, p. 169).
During SBE, PSTs observe experienced teachers, interact with peers and
learners, and use diverse approaches, strategies and skills with the goal of
fostering meaningful learning (Kiggundu & Nayimuli, 2009). This experience
has a profound impact on the PSTs, who must navigate the responsibilities of
teaching, and all that it includes while creating and cultivating connections with
one or more in-service teachers in the field of practice. As PSTs begin their SBE,
they experience a mixture of anticipation, distress, excitement and uneasiness,
and thus need emotional support (Murray-Harvey et al., 2000; Perry, 2004).
Therefore, SBE provides PSTs with the opportunity to express their personal
educational philosophies, theories and understandings.
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In practice, SBE also introduces PSTs to school personnel that include the school
management team, teachers, non-teaching staff, learners and parents. These
personnel help PSTs apply classroom knowledge to the community and life
outside the school. PSTs are offered multiple opportunities to create their own
conception of practice by learning from their mentors. The multiple
opportunities afforded to PSTs boost their learning (Gardner, 1999) as these
experiences enable them to bridge theory and practice (Darling-Hammond,
2014), enhancing their self-confidence.
Although numerous studies have shown the benefits of SBE (Gómez et al., 2019;
Marais & Meier, 2004), however, other studies have provided evidence that
several PSTs face challenges in their host schools, such as underestimating the
conceptual complexity of teaching (Brondyk et al., 2013), especially physical
sciences, the teaching of subjects unrelated to their major areas and coping with
learners of varying abilities (Annan-Brew & Arhin, 2022). As a result,
institutions of higher learning are attempting to enhance SBE. These measures
have included boosting funding for PSTs during SBE (provision of stipend),
provision of stationery and improving collaborations with schools through
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes. Despite these efforts, there are
still issues regarding PSTs’ preparedness for SBE, the knowledge gained during
SBEs, and PSTs’ views about the profession in general.
A study was conducted by Heeralal and Bayaga (2011) conducted a study on

physical science PSTs' experiences during SBE to determine how to equip them
effectively to cope during SBE. The study found that SBE added a substantial
amount of experience to their studies that they were able to apply in their future
professions. However, the study further indicated that few mentors provided
guidance and monitored their progress during the entire SBE process. In
agreement, Kiggundu and Nayimuli’s (2009) study on PSTs' perceptions of the
teaching profession experiences on SBE found that the majority of PSTs found
SBE exciting and that they enjoyed teaching. However, the study also found that
there were no clear policies governing SBE to direct PSTs in their host schools.
2.2 Experiences of pre-service teachers with the triad and the subject
PSTs partake in SBE in various educational settings, interacting with other PSTs,
mentors and their university lecturers of varying personalities and dispositions.
Often referred to as the triad, it is crucial that all three parties regard the
collaboration as mutually beneficial, multidimensional, and growing as the
experience progresses (Rust & Clift, 2015).
The mentor collaborates daily with the PST. During these encounters, it is the
mentor's responsibility to ensure that the PST is supported and given the
opportunity to learn and experiment (Linton & Gordon, 2015). According to
Schaap and De Bruijn (2018), giving PSTs social support helps them develop a
positive self-image. However, Izadinia (2017) believes that the mere existence of
a mentor is insufficient therefore Hudson (2010) proposes that mentors display
professionalism and personal qualities that would assist in the growth of PSTs
into competent, capable teachers. Poznanski et al. (2018) add that mentors are
64
required to give instructional support and provide feedback to help PSTs to

model acceptable teaching behaviours. Mentors’ enthusiastic participation in
guiding PSTs through the processes of creating and delivering lessons has a
significant impact on the quality of those lessons and on the learners they
ultimately teach.
When PSTs embark on SBE, their university lecturers are required to follow
them to assess their progress. The goal is to identify good practices and
weaknesses that need to be addressed and provide an overall assessment of their
progress to contribute to their professional development (Tillema, 2009).
According to Barahona (2019), university lecturers who supervise PSTs should
engage in both formative and summative assessments to facilitate their
professional development. However, evidence from the literature has shown
that the assessment method tends to be summative rather than formative (Dann,
2018). Thus, decreasing the effectiveness of SBE process.
The reflections of PSTs on physical science teaching in their teaching practice

point to the learning that occurs during these experiences. According to Sadler
(2006), PSTs' experiences in the science classroom emphasise self-reflection as
they engage in seminars to exchange ideas on physical sciences, offer
encouragement and understanding to one another, and reflect on their own
teaching practices. On the other hand, Black’s (2004) study on science PSTs’
experiences found that there are real challenges for future science teachers
making the transition from theory to practice and that PSTs experienced a
shortage of resources for the science classroom, time to complete activities
within the changing nature of the classroom, and class management concerns.
3. Theoretical Framework
This study was grounded in John Dewey’s (1963) Theory of Experience as the
theoretical lens to study PSTs’ experiences during SBE. Dewey’s (1963) Theory
of Experience emphasises the process through which human beings learn and
grow. Dewey (1963) believed in the continuity of experience and the connection
between student learning experiences and students’ future decisions and
behaviours. Dewey (1963) acknowledges that "everything depends upon the
quality of the experience which is had" (p. 27), in this case, the experiences of
students in the classroom and in the school. He assessed its quality based on two
principles. According to the interaction principle, individuals construct meaning
from an event by interacting with its physical and social contexts. The principle
of continuity states that the effect of experience is cumulative, with each
experience shaped by prior experiences and, in turn, shaping future experiences.
Thus, each experience changes the person undergoing it in ways that influence
what may be learned from subsequent experiences (Schmidt, 2010). Dewey
suggests that real-world learning experiences provide PSTs with opportunities
to enhance their learning in ways not accessible when confined to classroom
environments implying that educational experiences provide opportunities to
implement new knowledge and validate one's ideas against the experiences of
others. This theory was a good fit for this study because, as PSTs engage with
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their learners, mentors and other adults in the school, they are continually
exposed to new information through these interrelationships.
4. Method
4.1 Research design
The interpretive nature of this study was grounded in the field of qualitative
research as defined by Creswell (2009). In this study, we conducted qualitative
phenomenological research to hear directly from PSTs while recounting their
lived experiences of their first SBE and to understand the interrelation between
their classroom practices and their reflection of their practices (Bugg & Dewey,
1934). Our intention was to learn first-hand about their experiences during their
first SBE and to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences as they
provided a narrative account of their time at the host schools.
4.2 Participants
This study employed purposive and convenient sampling to select participants
from one university in the Eastern Cape Province. These participants were
purposively selected because they were considered suitable to reveal the
information that was required by this study. The respondents included PSTs in
their second year of study towards the degree of Bachelor of Education,
majoring in physical sciences and mathematics. Of this number, ten (five males
and five females) were randomly selected from one tutorial class using simple
random sampling. The selected PSTs were placed in rural township schools in
Mthatha district. The university introduced the curriculum offered by these
students in the year 2021. This was their first-time SBE as PSTs, where they are
required to teach. One of the researchers was the lecturer who taught the
module on Physical Sciences Teaching (FET) 1. The content for the first semester
was completed before the commencement of SBE. All PSTs taught the same
units (chemical change in grade 10 and electricity and magnetism in grade 11) as
prescribed for FET for Term 3 of the curriculum according to ATP (Annual
Teaching Plan) for 2022.
4.3 Data collection procedures

We were granted permission to conduct the study from the appropriate
authorities. Consent was sought and obtained from participants and all
participants were informed that the information they provided would be treated
confidentially and that their identities would not be disclosed. In order to
safeguard their identities, pseudonyms were used. In addition, participants were
informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time if they so
desired. Data were collected from the second week of SBE and at the end of the
three weeks of SBE through interviews, observations, journal reflections and
document analysis. The interview questions were used to gather data about their
experiences in terms of interactions (with mentors, staff, learners and
supervisors), classroom practices, the subject (topics they taught) and their
training. A classroom observation schedule was used to gather information
about PSTs’ teaching practices (teaching skills, class management and content
knowledge of the subject). The document analysis was used to gather
information on their lesson plans and module content covered in the semester.
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All instruments were piloted and also given to an expert to read. There was only
one interview session for each PST, which was conducted at the end of SBE.
Non-participant observation was employed throughout data collection. PSTs
wrote their journal reflections of SBE, which they submitted with their portfolios
at the end of the third week of SBE.
4.4 Data analysis

We transcribed all data. Then, we immersed ourselves in the data by reading
and rereading the transcripts to understand PSTs’ individual experiences while
preserving the individuality of each participant's lived experience. When we
were convinced that the texts had become understandable, we identified,
characterised and extracted the main themes, employing thematic content
analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), paying particular attention to themes that began
to develop and interact with one another. For example, we discovered that the
responses of PSTs focused primarily on how their programmes facilitated or
impeded their progress during SBE. Hence, we categorised such experiences as
positive and negative experiences. To ensure the credibility of our findings, we
used multiple data sources (interviews, classroom observations, journal
reflection entries and document analysis) for triangulation. Finally, we returned
all transcripts to PSTs for member checking (Lincoln & Guba, 1986). We
presented the data in accordance with the themes and sub-themes that emerged.
5. Results
5.1 Demographic data
Participants provided biographical information regarding age and gender, as we
had earlier recorded their year of study and the phase and the qualification they
were working towards. According to the descriptive statistical analysis of the
demographic data in Table 1, most of the participants (90%) were aged below 30
years. The gender balance was, as expected, even with 50% being female
participants and 50% being male participants. Pseudonyms were used for each
participant.
Table 1: Demographic information of participants

Gender Female 5
Male 5
Age 19 - 24 8
25 - 29 1
30 - older 1
Pseudonyms of participants: 10
Asanda, Aviwe, Khaya, Mdu, Nana,
Nandipha, Sinazo, Siya, Thabo, Yanga.
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5.2 Positive and negative experiences of pre-service teachers
Table 2: Generated themes and sub-themes

Research question Generated themes Generated sub-themes
What are the pre-service Theme 1: positive • Preparedness of PSTs for the
teachers’ experiences of experiences profession.
teaching physical
sciences during school- • Effectiveness of teaching practice
based experience? to enhance teaching skills.
• Support from other stakeholders.

• Feedback.
Theme 2: negative • Learners’ lack of interest in
experiences learning physical sciences.
• Inadequate university-school
partnerships.
• Language proficiency fears in
physical sciences classroom.
• Classroom level and school level

constraints.
What is the connection Theme 3: teacher • Bridging theory and practice.
between their teacher training and teaching of
training and the physical sciences
teaching of physical • How PSTs taught physical
sciences during the sciences
school-based
experience?
5.2.1 Theme 1: Positive experiences

5.2.1.1 Preparedness of pre-service teachers for the profession
Most participants in this study were looking forward to entering the teaching
profession and remaining in the profession after graduation and indicated their
level of preparedness for the profession. It was a valuable experience for them
because they could put all they had learnt about their methodological courses
into practice. One PST shared this sentiment:
“My first year of teaching practice was great and a lot of experience was
gained from the weeks spent teaching. We spent the first semester
preparing for the teaching practice and had the opportunity to do
microteaching, where we taught our own classmates and prepared
countless lesson plans. Although initially, we had a challenge of lesson
plans, however, over time, we became familiar with the techniques of
lesson plans, but now I think I am prepared for the teaching profession”
(Asanda, interview excerpt).
Participants were of the view that the module Physical Sciences Teaching 1
prepared them for SBE, especially on the methods of teaching to accommodate
all learners in the science classroom. They were also convinced that the module
68
had equipped them to adequately meet the challenges they would face in
schools. Most of these respondents were motivated and determined to succeed
as science teachers. One PST gave a narrative account:
“Well, the module played an important role in shaping and equipping
me with important skills even on how to deliver the lesson to the class in
a well meaningful and successful way. I know which method to use to
suit the learners’ learning styles in each particular lesson.” (Siya,
reflective journal entry)
5.2.1.2 Effectiveness of SBE to enhance teaching skills

This theme relates to the effectiveness of SBE in enhancing teaching skills of
PSTs. The participants believed that SBE was a crucial component of their
training towards becoming science teachers, especially as this was their first time
teaching in a real life environment. PSTs acknowledged that SBE taught them
some pedagogical skills they did not learn at university. One of the participants
narrated:
“At the beginning of my teaching practice, I noticed that some of the
lesson objectives were not met because I was not quite familiar with the
skills of teaching in real authentic classrooms. I normally set so many
lesson objectives only to find that I am able to fulfil just a few. However,
as time went by, I mastered the skills and was able to set achievable
lesson objectives of which I was able to fulfil before the end of the
lesson.” (Nana, reflective journal entry).
PSTs revealed that SBE had exposed them to the realities of the classroom.
Although they had experienced teaching during micro-teaching, they were
relieved to gain insight into effective teaching techniques and approaches, as
well as how to execute them during the teaching-learning process, in order to
meet the needs of their learners. Their teaching experience prepared them to
teach learners with varied learning styles. Nandipha narrated:
“To be honest, I was so afraid and wondering if I could be able to
conduct my lesson. But then as time went by, I gained confidence in
teaching and teaching skills and made my lessons much more
interesting. I have also mastered the skills of introducing a lesson, and
what is expected when I go to class, how to manage a classroom and how
to present a lesson in front of the learners” (interview excerpt).
5.2.1.3 Support from other stakeholders

PSTs were of the view that they received support from the school management
team (SMT), their mentors, and their university lecturers during SBE. Interviews
and reflective journals revealed that PSTs were introduced to their mentor
teachers and the classes they were expected to teach by the school's
management. This increased their confidence in their ability to teach. One pre-
service teacher commented:
“On my first day at this school, I was welcomed by the SMT as I was
the first PST to practice teaching at the school. I was introduced to my
mentor, who further introduced me to the learners. I was given a
teacher’s desk next to my mentor. My mentor handed to me textbooks
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and all resources I will need during my practice.” (Thabo, interview

excerpt)
The participants believed that they had received support in lesson plan
preparations, classroom management strategies, monitoring of classroom
teaching and provision of teaching and learning resources from their mentors
and other staff in their schools. One PST had this to say:
“Well, to me, I will say my mentor supported me with lesson plan
preparations and shared her experiences in physical sciences teaching
and how to overcome challenges in the classroom, and that increased my
confidence. I also had several meetings with her to discuss topics to teach
and how to design resources to be used in the classroom.” (Sinazo,
interview excerpt)
5.2.1.4 Constructive feedback

Participants were of the view that they received constructive feedback from their
module lecturers and their mentors during SBE. During the interviews, it
emerged that some PSTs were visited once a week for three weeks by their
mentors. Mdu remarked:
“I was assessed by my mentor three times during teaching practice. My
university lecturer also assessed me. However, she told me that, since it
was our first time of SBE, the university will not assess for grading
purposes. We had a discussion after the classroom observation. The
feedback I received from both my mentor and university lecturer enabled
me to develop skills in planning and classroom management, and that
has helped me to gain classroom confidence.” (Journal reflection entry)
The participants seemed pleased with the comments they received from their
mentors, as evidenced by Yanga’s comment:
“Hahaha! First comment was writing on the chalkboard. The feedbacks I
received from my mentor really helped me a lot especially on matters to
do with: writing properly on the chalkboard; setting of formal
assessment questions to use during my lessons; how to set clear and
achievable lesson objectives; how to prepare suitable teaching resources
for my lessons; and provided guidance on how to overcome challenges.”
(Interview excerpt).
This indicates that PSTs learned from mentors and university lecturers
throughout practicum.
5.2.2. Theme 2: Negative Experiences

5.2.2.1 Learner’s lack of interest in learning physical sciences
The majority of the respondents were concerned about their learners' lack of
motivation to learn physical sciences. They observed that there was element of
anxiety among some learners when it came to physical sciences. Some of the
learners complained about the subject being difficult to understand despite the
effort put in by their teachers. Khanya lamented:
“This school is an underperforming school. I have observed that majority

of the learners doing physical sciences are not doing so well. Most of
70
times, learners return to school without completing their homework. I

can attest that they have no interest to learn physical sciences.”
(Interview excerpt)
PSTs were of the view that their institution writes letters to schools to request
placement for SBEs. The letters further request schools to mentor and assess
them during SBEs. The university gives PSTs logbooks and other stationery. The
university further visits and assesses them. The interviews revealed that the
respondents were observed by their lecturers and mentors. However, some
respondents complained that they did not hold any meetings with mentors to
discuss their progress afterwards. Aviwe lamented:
“I was assessed by both my university lecturer and my mentor.
However, I did not have any discussion with my mentor afterwards.
Each time she visits my class, she will write some comments in the
logbook and just leave.” (Interview excerpt)
It also emerged from the interview that some mentors did not mentor PSTs
assigned to them. They rather allocated classrooms and work, and did not visit
them in their classrooms. Some PSTs also complained that their mentors did not
trust them enough to allow them to teach the grade they were allocated.
Nandipha shared her frustration:
My mentor never trusted me to handle a class. He gave me two lessons
per week, and he goes back to the classroom and teaches the same topic I
taught in the previous day. I guess, he never thought I could do
anything with the learners.” (Interview excerpt)
5.2.2.3 Language proficiency fears in the physical sciences classroom

Data from document analysis from the CAPS document showed that physical
sciences are taught in English. Yet, PSTs observed that most teachers in their
practising schools code-switch in their classrooms. This practice also forced
them to code-switch, thus spending more time on one topic. This practice also
led to learner misconceptions and misinterpretation of key concepts in physical
sciences. Nana shared this sentiment:
“Eish, I have observed that my learners have this fear of the English
language. Even when I try to speak English, my learners will say I must
teach in IsiXhosa for them to understand better. I also observed that
most of my learners like it very much when I explain physical sciences
concepts in IsiXhosa.” (Interview excerpt)
Language limitations prevented most PSTs from implementing the physical

sciences curriculum effectively.
5.2.2.4 Classroom level and school level constraints

It emerged from classroom observation and during the interviews that PSTs
experienced constraints in the classroom and in the school. PSTs experienced
large class sizes, which impeded the effectiveness of physical science instruction.
In addition, PSTs complained about limited time allocated to them which was
insufficient for them to provide personalised instruction to learners with special
needs. Yanga narrated:
71
“Eish, I had 78 learners in my physical sciences classroom. Most of the

time, it was difficult to reach out to everyone. Even when I decided to
put learners into groups to conduct an activity, I was unable to reach
out to every group due to the big numbers.” (Interview and classroom
observation excerpt)
Fear gripped PSTs when they were required to deliver lessons on the first week
of SBE. One PST had this to say:
“On my very first day in class, I experienced nervousness when I saw
the large number of learners. I could not speak loudly. I was even
sweating on winter morning, and I made a lot of mistakes with words
and actions. I guess my learners would have noticed.” (Aviwe,
Interview excerpt)
It also emerged that PSTs had difficulties managing their classrooms as a result
of the high numbers of learners. This led to misbehaviour and learners who did
not take their PSTs seriously.
Most participants also indicated a lack of instructional materials in their

practising schools. The lack of resources made it difficult for them to teach
successfully. However, PSTs were not able to improvise because of a lack of
training. The PSTs also complained about how some of the schools conducted
themselves. They mentioned chaos in the schools due to learner misbehaviour,
late coming to school, dirty classrooms and a lack of discipline, among other
things.
5.2.3 Theme 3: Bridging theory and practice: Contributing factors

PSTs disclosed that the university provided them with the theory through
content modules. In addition, the university provided methodology for teaching
a particular content course. These modules helped them to gain a holistic view
of the subject. Hence, they were able to implement the physical sciences
curriculum.
“I offered Physics 1 and 2, together with Chemistry 1 and 2 in the first
and second year. In the second year, I am offering Physical Science
Teaching 1 as a methodological module. These modules enhanced my
content knowledge of the subject I taught during SBE.” (Asanda,
interview excerpt, document analysis)
PSTs believed the content knowledge acquired from the content courses and the
pedagogical knowledge they received from the methodological courses
prepared them for SBE. The presentation and microteaching activities prepared
them for the actual teaching in a context outside of the university.
However, they expressed frustration with the planning of lessons which they
regarded as a laborious chore. Their concern was that, while in the field of
practice, they were required to compile a portfolio which contained details of all
activities conducted during SBE. Having said that, they appreciated the
opportunity to practice what they had learnt and put theory into practice.
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5.2.4 How PSTs taught physical sciences

Document analysis of lesson plans showed that the majority of the PSTs were
familiar with lesson plans and were able to plan their lessons appropriately
before teaching, stating clear and measurable objectives. When the researcher
observed PSTs in their classrooms while they taught, she noted that PSTs used
different instructional strategies to teach electricity and magnetism (grade 11)
and chemical change (grade 10). As a result, participants were able to implement
the curriculum in their respective science classrooms. However, only a few PSTs
struggled to plan their lessons well and teach the content effectively. When these
PSTs were interviewed, Siya lamented:
“Eish, I find it difficult to complete my lesson each day during teaching
practice. It is either my objectives are too many for a one-hour period or
too few. I always struggle to break down my lesson objectives in such a
way that I could complete the lesson on time. The topic chemical change
I taught was not challenging, only few concepts that I struggled to
explain to my learners.” (Interview excerpt, document analysis)
6. Discussion
This study explored the first-time SBE of PSTs. The results of the study indicate
the benefits and drawbacks that PSTs experienced through a three week period
of SBE. The discussions now focus on how the benefits and drawbacks relate to
Dewey’s Theory of Experience and pertinent literature.
According to Dewey’s (1963) Theory of Experience, opportunities for PSTs to

reflect on their experiences can assist them in creating continuity and meaning
from those experiences and are therefore an essential element of all educative
experiences. Dewey also believes that sharing ideas with others in the
community is a crucial component of making sense of and learning from
experience (Dewey, 2005). In general, the first-time SBE was a new experience
for most of the PSTs. The majority of PSTs were enthusiastic about entering and
remaining in the teaching profession after graduating and indicated their level
of preparedness for the profession. It was a valuable experience for them
because they could put all they had learnt about their methodological courses
into practice. This supports the finding of Moosa and Rembach (2020) who
indicated that PSTs could learn how teachers acquire and apply pedagogical and
subject-matter knowledge to create engaging lessons for their learners during
SBE and to provide meaningful learning opportunities for the learners during
lesson delivery.
SBE is an integral part of teacher preparation as it provides PSTs with

experiences in a real teaching and learning setting. The study found that the
benefits of teaching physical sciences during the period was the enhancement of
pedagogical and methodological competencies that PSTs were not exposed to
during their time at the university. This finding is consistent with the findings of
Moody (2009), who believes that PSTs required teaching practice in order to be
equipped with appropriate teaching skills and abilities, and to allow them to
develop their identities in a safe setting while enhancing their skills and
awareness of the complexities of teaching and learning. PSTs interacted with
and made sense of their teaching experiences to connect prior and present
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experiences in meaningful ways to “learn” particular ideas, as Dewey (1963)

described it, and to create continuity in their learning.
PSTs felt support from their school management team, mentors and lecturers
during SBE. The findings showed that PSTs received warm welcomes from the
heads of their host schools who further introduced them to mentor teachers and
their classes. Their mentors further provided support to get them acclimatised to
the new environment. This finding corroborates with the finding by Schaap and
De Bruijn (2018), who assert that providing social support helps PSTs to improve
their sense of self.
The constructive feedback PSTs received from the triad during SBE improved
their knowledge and confidence in their subjects. Dann (2018) supports this
finding and recommends that, to achieve PSTs’ professional growth during
teaching practice, university lecturers should engage in continuous assessment
and feedback provision to PSTs. Dewey (1963) notes that opportunities for PSTs
to reflect on their experiences can assist them in creating continuity and meaning
and are therefore an essential element of all educative experiences.
On the other hand, PSTs also experienced some drawbacks that slowed their
progress during teaching practice. Findings from this study reveal that PSTs
were anxious and uncertain on their first week of SBE. Murray-Harvey et al.
(2000) reiterate that SBE is the most difficult aspect of teacher training.
Therefore, PSTs needed support from mentors and university lecturers to
develop their self-identities. The findings further show that some PSTs did not
receive feedback from mentors and university lecturers. Consistent with the
literature, Dann (2018) indicates that insufficient feedback hindered the potential
for skills development during the practice period.
The findings show that PSTs experienced constraints in both classrooms and in
the schools. Most of these schools in the district had large class sizes, which
impeded the effectiveness of physical science instruction and learning. Mkhasibe
and Mncube (2020) agree with this finding that PSTs struggle to control their
classrooms. In addition, PSTs complained that there was insufficient time to
provide personalised attention to learners with special needs. This impacted on
the science lessons as demonstrations and experiments were not possible.
Rodman (2010) also opines that learning is affected by context. In the South
African context, physical science teaching could be enhanced through effective
teaching and provision of resources for hands-on activities.
The university provides PSTs with the theory through content courses. In
addition, the university provides methodological courses for teaching a
particular content course. The study found that the content of the physical
sciences curriculum PSTs received at the university was similar to those at the
high school, but at a higher level. This means that the PSTs received higher
content knowledge to teach physical sciences at the high school level. As a
result, participants were able to implement the curriculum in their respective
74
science classrooms. They planned their lessons well and delivered the lessons to
the class.
7. Conclusions and recommendations

A mandatory component of teacher preparation is an SBE, where PSTs can
practice teaching at a host school. A critical review of the literature shows that
basic schools need to be adequately equipped to fulfil their new responsibilities
of nurturing PSTs to become professionals. In addition, teachers in the field are
expected to play a crucial part in teacher education as mentors. The study,
therefore, revealed that SBE plays a critical role in developing future
professional physical sciences teachers. However, the PSTs expressed
dissatisfaction with the lack of support from the school and inadequate
university-school partnerships, citing difficulty with class management,
mentors' lack of interest in their mentoring, a lack of teaching-learning resources
and language proficiency fears, among others. Thus, as evidenced by the results
of this study, there is a need for research on the contexts and practices of
mentoring PSTs in secondary schools.
Our findings have significant ramifications for the education of physical science
teachers, highlighting the need for the university to (1) strengthen teacher
education and professional development programmes by incorporating them
into work-integrated learning; and (2) establish an effective collaboration with
the DBE to enable in-service teachers to guide PSTs effectively during their SBE
in schools. This could lead to a collaboration between the DHET and the DBE to
provide in-service training to optimise the triad experience. This could be in the
form of incentives such as issuing certificates to mentors.
Dewey’s (1963) theory has provided some important clues in understanding

what PSTs learn in the university and during SBEs. Our recommendation is that
teacher educators recognise the roles that may be played by Dewey’s principles
of interaction, continuity, and learning within community in shaping PSTs’
learning and consider ways to help PSTs balance experiences of doing and
undergoing as they progress through a teacher education programme. It is also
recommended that universities develop science resource packs for PSTs
practising in deep rural schools to assist them in implementing the curriculum
effectively.
8. Acknowledgement
The Research Team in the Department of Mathematics and Science Education
gratefully acknowledge the responses and feedback from the research
participants.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 78-97, June 2023
The Development of an Online Study

Adaptability Scale for Chinese College Students
During the Global COVID-19 Pandemic
Guo Jun Tan

Krirk University, International College, Bangkok, Thailand
Jia Qi Wei
Liming Vocational University, Department of Student Affairs, Quanzhou, China
Chia Ching Tu*

Krirk University, International College, Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract. This study proposes a structural model for the online

studying adaptability of college students during the global pandemic
based on a questionnaire survey. A total of 1367 college students
from H University in Fujian province participated in the study. Study
items were evaluated and verified using item analysis, exploratory
factor analysis, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis,
convergence validity analysis, and discriminant validity analysis.
The scale that includes four dimensions namely: attitude towards
study, auto-didactic ability, studying and communication, and the
study environment, had a good reliability and validity. There was a
significant difference between students’ adaptability by grade and
major but not by gender. Thus the scale can be used as a tool to
evaluate the adaptability of college students to online studying in a
global pandemic and to lay the foundation for future research in this
area.
Keywords: on online study adaptability; scale; confirmatory factor
analysis; reliability; validity
1. Introduction
Since January 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 forced the world into intense
pandemic prevention and control strategies due to its high transmissibility and
*
Corresponding author: Chia Ching Tu; tulisa0929@gmail.com
©Authors
79
long incubation period. By July 2020, the pandemic had affected almost all
countries and regions (Sintema, 2020) including 98.6% of students from preschool
to higher education and a total of 1.725 billion children and youths from than 200
countries (Brief, 2020). The education system faced its greatest challenge in human
history (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021).
According to China's Ministry of Education (2021), in the spring semester of 2020,
all regular undergraduate universities in China implemented online teaching
during the unprecedented pandemic with 1.08 million teachers conducting 1.1
million courses. A total of 22.59 million college students participated in online
studying. Online studying therefore became a practical method within the
teaching and learning processes, and students had to adapt to the sudden
transition from offline studying to synchronous online studying (Besser et al.,
2022; Razak et al., 2022). The outbreak transformed teaching models from simply
offline teaching and "online + offline" blended teaching to "large-scale and long-
term" full-time online studying (Zhai et al., 2020) with serious impacts on
students, teachers, and educational organizations worldwide (Almanthari et al.,
2020). For the first time, the online teaching platform that covered all subjects at
all levels, exposed online education to many difficulties (Zhao et al., 2020).
Online studying enabled students pursue their studies during the school closures
(Subedi et al., 2020). However, there were many problems in the implementation
of online studying including a lack of study facilities and operational techniques
in universities, and educators’ negative attitudes (Alqudah et al., 2020).
Furthermore, it took time for both students and teachers to adapt to the sudden
changes from school to online learning and self-study for the students, and from
classroom teaching to online teaching for the teachers (Zhao et al., 2020). In
addition, some students failed effectively interact with their teachers and peers
through the internet; a failure that troubled both the students and their teachers
(Kurucay & Inan, 2017). Therefore, educators developed feasible solutions to
online study problems (Kandri, 2020). Lyall and Mcnamara (2000) found that
learning maladjustments are common in the network environment as online
studying is suitable for students who are more mature, self-disciplined, and
intrinsically motivated.
Although the technology is commonly used to support student learning at the
tertiary level (Isssroff & Scanlon, 2002), during the pandemic teachers and
students had to engage in exclusive online distance learning. Teachers and
students were unable to quickly adapt to new teaching methods, learning
approaches, course materials, and ways of thinking. As a result, both learners and
teachers felt isolated, helpless, or anxious (Yang & Yang, 2021). Research studies
on the adaptability of online learning not only aims to improve online study
quality (Chen & Chen, 2021), but also to aide to students’ survival and
development. At present, measurement tools for college students' online studying
adaptability in China only measure the unilateral study form of college students'
online recording. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ)
compiled by Baker and Siryk (1984) are widely recognized by international
scholars. The Test of Reaction and Adaptation in College (TRAC) designed by
Simon and Rorand (1995) is also renown. However, due to differences between
the Chinese higher education and training modes and the students' study style,
80
there are very few localized verifications of foreign adaptation questionnaires in

China. Since the outbreak, college students’ adaptation to studying has garnered
more attention as the students are expected to maintain a high level of motivation
and adapt to a virtual study environment (Bao, 2020).
Many scholars have developed learning adaptation scales (Feng & Li, 2002; Wang,
2006; Martin et al., 2012; Qin, 2019; Wu, 2020; Guo, 2021; Li, 2021; Liu, 2022).
However, Feng and Li (2002), Wang (2006), Li (2021), and Liu (2022) only used
exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and did not use confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) to validate the suitability of the scales. A measurement model constructed
by confirmatory factor analysis has the following three characteristics. First, each
observed variable can correctly measure the latent variable to which it belongs.
Second, the standardized regression coefficient of each observed variable is only
significant as pertains to the latent variable to which it belongs. Third, the overall
fit of the measurement model is good (Kline, 1998). When conducting analyses of
construct validity, EFA and CFA should be combined for cross-validation to
ensure the certainty, stability, and reliability measured by the scale, and it will
also be a trend developed in psychological scale research (Li & Huang, 2007).
Therefore, exploratory factor analysis was performed followed by confirmatory
factor analysis in constructing a scale. This paper evaluated contemporary college
students' study adaptability to compile a set of suitable study adaptability
questionnaires with good reliability and validity for examining contemporary
college students’ adaptability to online learning during the pandemic.
Thus, this study posed two questions: (a) How to construct an online study
adaptability scale for university students; (b) How applicable is the scale in
measuring university students' Online study adaptation in a pandemic context.
2.1 Definition of Online Studying Adaptability
Adaptability is the ability to change to different situations or behaviors of
different people (Vandenbos, 2007). Martin et al. (2013) describe adaptability as
the ability of individuals to adjust their own cognition, behavior, and emotions in
the face of uncertain and novel internal and external situations. Students'
adaptability is measured using both intrinsic values and external values. Intrinsic
values refer to the motive, emotions, and spirit linked to the students' virtual
study. Extrinsic values relate to how the students deal with the environment, such
as the physical environment, and the way that they interact with others (Razak et
al., 2021).
These researchers' definition of learning adaptation includes factors such as
attitude, emotion, ability, and environment. Baker et al. (1985) believed that
learning adaptability refers to an individual's positive attitude towards
establishing learning goals and completing academic tasks, as well as the
effectiveness of the efforts made in meeting said needs and adapting to the
learning environment. Gerdes and Mallinckrodt (1994) pointed out that learning
adaptability not only involves the students' potential for academic success, but
also the students' ability to adjust their own psychological, emotional, and
behavioral factors. Feng and Li (2002) believe that study adaptability refers to a
behavioral process in which subjects strive to suitably adjust themselves to a state
81
of balance within the study environment. Martin et al. (2012) describe study
adaptability as the achievement of balance between individuals and their study
environment based on their constant self- adjustment.
Researchers proposed a novel definition of online studying adaptability in the
context of the global pandemic. Online studying adaptability refers to a certain
ability held by a subject to integrate his/her own psychology with the outside
environment in the process of online studying because of an interaction between
his/her personality factors and environmental factors (Guo, 2021). In this study,
the adaptability to online studying is defined as the ability to appropriately adjust
one’s cognition, emotions, and behavior in the face of an online study
environment.
2.2 Online Studying Adaptability Scale

Feng and Li (2002) pioneered the use of questionnaires to study the main
dimensions of the college students' study adaptability including study motive,
learning ability, environmental factors, teaching mode, and study attitude.
Wang (2006) states that college students' study adaptability consists of seven
dimensions namely study attitude, learning ability, study technique, study
autonomy, study environment, teaching method, and study content.
The Learning Adaptability Scale compiled by Martin et al. (2012) divides learning
adaptability into four dimensions: a response to novelty, change, variability
and/or uncertainty; cognitive, behavioral, or affective functions; regulation,
adjustment, revision and/or a new way to access to these three functions; and a
constructive purpose or outcome.
Qin (2019) compiled the Study Adaptability Scale based on a MOOC hybrid study.
Qin’s (2019) scale included the six dimensions of attitude, task, autonomy,
communication, and the environment, as well as physical and mental health.
Wu (2020) denotes college students' study adaptability as consisting of nine
dimensions, including attitudes to learning, motivation, approaches to learning,
information literacy, teacher expertise, teacher emotional support, cognitive
support, self-mastery, and the learning environment.
Guo (2021) developed the Online Learning Adaptation Questionnaire for College
Students based on the characteristics of their online learning situation. The
questionnaire had 24 questions on learning motivation, teaching mode, learning
ability, learning attitude, and learning environment.
Li (2021) preliminarily proposed examining the English learning adaptability of
college students using AI support. Li (2021) examined their study attitude
adaptation, autonomy in study adaptation, study interaction adaptation, physical
and mental health adaptation, and study environment adaptation.
Liu (2022) measured study adaptability using five commonly utilized dimensions:
motives, teaching mode, learning ability, attitude, and environment.
Previous research studies on the study adaptability scale were not done in the
context of a pandemic. Some scales have low reliability (Wu, 2020), a lack of factor
loadings (Liu, 2022), and only use a single analysis method (Feng & Li, 2002; Wang,
82
2006; Li, 2021; Liu, 2022). In addition, researchers divided the content of the
Learning Adaptability Scale into personal and environmental factors. Personal
factors include learning attitudes, motivation, learning ability, learning autonomy,
and learning communication, while environmental factors include learning
environment, teacher support, and teaching methods. Researchers always prefer
to study learning attitudes and motivation together because they are somewhat
related (Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011; Sengkey & Galag, 2018). The learning
environment, which includes a teacher element as part of the classroom
environment (Zhang, 2012), is particularly important in the adaptation to online
learning in a pandemic context. This study divided the scale of online studying
adaptability of college students during the global pandemic into four dimensions
based on a combination online studying adaptability scales developed by
previous researchers: study attitude, auto-didactic ability, study and
communication, and the study environment.
2.3 Attitude Towards Studying

In psychology, studying attitude is the relatively stable inner psychological
tendency of students toward studying. Studying attitude is mainly composed of
affective, cognitive, and behavioral factors (Cheng & Zhang, 2011). For example,
Zhang and Geng (2009) pointed out that study attitude refers to the students'
views on study activities and their words and behavior during study activities
including their positive or negative behavioral tendencies and reactions (Liu et al.,
2014).
Online learning can influence students’ behavior and attitudes (Male et al., 2020).
A good study attitude can help the students quickly accept online learning (Liu,
2022). Students' attitudes towards learning significantly affects their willingness
to learn and their learning processes (Aguilera-Hermida, 2020). Simonson et al.
(2019) posit that attitude is one of the most important factors that affect learners'
success within the online learning. This study posits that attitude is a lasting
positive or negative behavioral tendency and students’ reaction to distance
learning.
2.4 Auto-didactic Ability

Holec (1981) first introduced the concept of "autonomous study" to foreign
language teaching. Auto-didactic ability refers to students’ ability to determine
the study objectives, contents, materials, and methods, the time, place, and
progress of learning, and the ability to evaluate their own study. It is believed that
auto-didactic ability is the capability to control self-learning. For instance, Benson
(2007) defined autonomous study as the ability to control one's own study, viz.
their study management, their cognitive processes, and their study content, which
mainly involves motives, concept, strategy, and so on.
Students are vulnerable to selective difficulties in the presence of abundant study
resources. A strong auto-didactic ability is required to identify essential
knowledge and make breakthroughs in the process of study (Liu, 2022). When
undertaking online courses, studying is an active and meaningful activity and the
students have more autonomy. The present study defined auto-didactic ability as
83
students’ ability to control their study objectives, study management, study

methods, and the study process during the pandemic.
2.5 Study and Communication

Education is essentially a process of dialogue; therefore communication plays an
important role in the learning process (Liang, 2018). In a systematic discussion of
adaptability, Abu Talib et al. (2021) argue that learning needs to address
potentially serious problems such as poor quality of communication. Suboptimal
learning and communication results from students’ maladjustment: good
communication and interaction is important in students' learning adaptation (Qin,
2019). Students share knowledge through social media and interact with their
teachers and classmates in knowledge construction (Liu, 2022). Moore (1989)
proposed that communication in online education includes communication
between the students and teachers, students and their teaching resources, and
among students themselves. Hong et al. (2000) emphasized that “humane
exchange,” that is, real-time interaction, communication, and exchange between
teachers and students should occur in an online environment akin to that in the
classroom teaching setting. Adnan and Anwar (2020) pointed out in
underdeveloped countries like Pakistan where a vast majority of students are
unable to access the internet due to technical as well as monetary issues that limit
interaction with the instructor, rapid response time, and traditional classroom
socialization, online learning cannot produce the desired results.
This study defined study and communication as the students' communication
with their teachers and peers during online learning.
2.6 Study Environment

Yang (2000) describes the study environment as a combination of various study
resources that support students in carrying out constructive learning and not only
as information resources. Jonassen (2000) defined the study environment as a
space where the students study together or support each other. Students control
their study activities and use the information resources and knowledge
construction tools in the study environment to solve problems.
The study environment plays an important role in study adaptation. Löf (2010)
and Porter et al. (2010) described study adaptation the students’ efforts to self-
adjust to achieve harmony between the objective environment and self-learning.
Di Pietro et al. (2020) pointed out that while emergency distance teaching was
implemented for continuity of education during the pandemic, students were
separated from their on-the-spot study environment during isolation or
confinement, and this may have led to study damage. The design of the learning
environment can have a considerable impact on learning outcomes (Bower, 2019).
In summary, this study adopted Jonassen’s (2000) definition of the study
environment.
In this study, the above four dimensions were extracted by fusing and organizing
previous dimensions related to learning adaptability. The four dimensions of the
scale can measure the learning adaptability of university students during the
global pandemic and avoid censoring questions due to covariance issues.
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3. Research Procedures and Methods

3.1 Research procedures
In this study, the research process consisted of five steps. The questionnaire,
formulated on the basis an analysis of original literature, was used to collect
secondary data. A purposive sampling method was used to collect accurate and
reliable data and reduces non-response rates (Murairwa, 2015). The data collected
in the pre-test was used for the item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and
reliability analysis. The data from the formal questionnaire was subjected to
confirmatory factor analysis. Ultimately, the formal Online Learning Adaptation
Scale was developed as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Research process and results
Steps Research process Research results
1 Analysis literature Formation of the first draft of the scale with
4 dimensions and 38 questions
2 Questionnaire survey Pre-test analysis collected 300 valid
questionnaires. A formal sample of 1367
valid questionnaires was collected.
3 Item analysis Three categories with 6 judgment criteria; 2
questions were deleted and 36 questions
were retained.
4 Exploratory factor analysis The four dimensional factor loadings
(EFA) ranged from .530 to .838. The eigenvalues
were all greater than 1 with a cumulative
explained variance of 68.903% and a KMO
value of .950 (p=0.000). Finally, 12 questions
deleted.
5 Confirmatory factor analysis Good model fit. For example:
(CFA) RMSEA=0.075, RMR=0.038, GFI=0.866,
NFI=0.909, IFI=0.918, PNFI=0.810,
PCFI=0.818, CN=191. Formation of the final
scale with 4 dimensions and 24 questions.
3.2 Research Tools

The Scale of College Student Adaptability to Online Studying during the Global
Pandemic is divided into four dimensions namely: study attitude, auto-didactic
ability, study and communication, and study environment. The scale has 24
questions rated on a 5-point Likert score. Among them, the 3 questions on the
study environment have reversing scores (Table 2). The basic data collected in this
research study included participants’ gender, grade, and major classification. The
questionnaire had two questions that served as a lie-detector test: "I like to
participate in online courses" and "I do not like to participate in online courses." If
the same responses were provided to the two questions, the participant failed the
lie detector test. When the questionnaires were collected, responses from
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participants that failed to pass the lie detector test or completed the questionnaire
in a very short of a period of time were regarded as invalid.
Table 2: The connotation and items of the online studying adaptability scale
Dimensions Definition Items

A1 During online studying, I am able to
maintain a high thirst for knowledge
A2 During online studying, I am able to
actively eliminate negative emotions
Study attitude refers to A3 It’s meaningful for me to participate in
the students' persistent online studying during the pandemic
positive or negative A6 During online studying, I am proactive
behavioral tendencies and willing to participate in relevant
A. Study
or behavioral response activities
attitude
to distance learning A7 During online studying, I am able to
during the global correct my attitude towards studying to be
pandemic (Liu et al., aggressive and hard-working
2014) A8 When faced with the temptation of the
internet, I am able to concentrate on my
studies
A9 I am able to refrain from looking up
irrelevant material on the internet
B1 During online studying, I am able to set
corresponding goals based on the overall
goals of the course
B2 During online studying, I am able to
make corresponding plans according to the
overall goals of the course
Auto-didactic ability adjust my study plan according to the
refers to the ability of actual circumstances
students to control the B4. During online studying, I am able to
study objectives, study develop corresponding methods for myself
Auto-didactic
management, study according to the teachers’ content of the
ability
methods, and study courses
process during the B5 During online studying, I am able to
global pandemic make an objective evaluation of my study
(Benson, 2007). B9 During online studying, I am able to
determine the type and scope of
information required
summarize the main ideas found from
within the data
B11 I am able to innovate on the basis of
integrating information
A space for the C1 During online studying, I am able to
students to learn actively answer the questions raised by the
Study and together as a course teachers
communicati community where the C2 During online studying, I am able to
on students can use online take the initiative to consult the course
information resources teacher when I encounter problems beyond
to solve problems my ability
86
(semantic citation of C3 During online studying, there is no

this study). obstacle in my communication with the
course teachers
C4 During online studying, when other
students raise doubts, I will actively reply
and participate in the discussion
C5 During online studying, I am willing to
share my experience with others
C9 During online studying, there are no
obstacles in my communication with my
classmates
A space where the D1 During online studying, there are
students study always distracting information
together and/or D2 During online studying, I don't always
support each other. get feedback from others in time
The students control
Study
the study activities and
environment
implement information
D3 I felt uncomfortable with the disconnect
resources and kno
between online teaching and reality
wledge construction
tools to solve problems
(Jonassen, 2000).
3.3 Research Subjects

This study enrolled students from H University, a comprehensive university in
Fujian Province, as its research object. The university has 26 colleges and 90
departments with 25,000 full-time undergraduate students undertaking various
majors. H university is one of the largest universities in China with a high number
of overseas students. During the pandemic, H university implemented relevant
national pandemic prevention policies and its students were engaged in online
studying for more than 300 days before the 2020 Chinese Lunar New Year. The
students had to study online two weeks prior to the start of semester (October 14),
with in-person classes beginning in the third week. Study questionnaires were
administered during the first week of face-to-face teaching to facilitate the
comparison between online studying adaptability and face-to face teaching. Study
respondents volunteered to participate and has the advantages of good subject
cooperation and high questionnaire recovery.
3.4 Pre-test Analysis

Item Analysis
The questionnaire initially had a total of 38 questions including 9 questions about
study attitude, 11 questions about auto-didactic ability, 9 questions about study
communication, and 9 questions about the study environment.
Item analysis was conducted to evaluate the relevance of the scale and to
determine whether the topic of each scale was discriminative using various
measurement indicators (Qiu, 2006). Item analysis was also done to enhance the
scale by deleting unnecessary topics based on specific measurement indicators.
The study adopted the item analysis criteria of Wu (2009). Item analysis was
divided into three categories with six judgment criteria as the basis of item
deletion: extreme group comparison (decision value ≥ 3.0), the correlation test
(where the correlation between the item and total score is greater than or equal to
87
0.4 and the correlation between the correction item and total score is less than)
and the homogeneity test (α value verification after item deletion, commonality
greater than or equal to .20, factor load greater than or equal to.45). Item deletion
proceeded if an item met more than 3 judgement criteria.
A total of 400 pre-test questionnaires were issued, 390 were collected of which 300
were valid. After the item analysis, question 6 of the auto-didactic ability
dimension and question 4 of the study environment dimension were deleted and
the other questions were retained.
Exploratory Factor Analysis
When conducting exploratory factor analysis index, the eigenvalue should be
greater than 1, the cumulative explanatory variation should be more than 50%,
the KMO value should be more than 8, and the Bartley’s spherical test should be
significant. Based on these indicators, questions 4 and 5 on the study attitude
dimension, questions 7 and 8 on auto-didactic ability, questions 6, 7 and 8 on the
study communication dimensions, and questions 4, 5, 6 and 7 on the study
environment were deleted. The eigenvalues after these questions were deleted
were all greater than 1, the cumulative explanatory variation was 68.903%, the
KMO value was .950, and the Bartley's spherical test value was significant (5373.924;
p=0.000). The common factors found in the correlation matrix are shown in Table
3.
Table 3: Factor analysis summary table
Dimensions
Item Study Auto-didactic Study & Study
attitude ability communication environment
A1 .652
A2 .610
A3 .652
A6 .714
A7 .792
A8 .728
A9 .732
B1 .730
B2 .697
B3 .631
B4 .619
B5 .595
B9 .652
88
B10 .580
B11 .530
C1 .683
C2 .754
C3 .646
C4 .765
C5 .634
C9 .611
D1 .749
D2 .838
D3 .781
eigenvalue 4.880 5.034 4.093 2.368
variance 26.406% 17.380% 14.520% 10.597%
Cumulative
explanatory 68.903%
variation
KMO Quantity of
sampling .950
suitability
Bartlett Spherical
5373.924***
verification
Reliability Analysis
The Cronbach's α coefficient of the "study attitude" dimension was .918, the
Cronbach's α coefficient of the "auto-didactic ability" dimension was .927, and the
Cronbach's α coefficient of the "study and communication" dimension was .881.
The Cronbach's α coefficient of the "study environment" dimension was .802 and
the total Cronbach's α coefficient was .956 after the above-mentioned items in the
exploratory factor analysis were deleted. The Cronbach's coefficients for the total
scale and subscales of the four dimensions were high indicating the scale’s
internal consistency.
4. Research Results and Analysis

4.1 Formal Sampling
In this study, a total of 2000 questionnaires were distributed to the college
students in a comprehensive university in Fujian Province. In total, 1897
questionnaires were collected with 1367 found to be valid. In the sample of this
89
study, there are 412 male students, accounting for 30.1% of the total number, and
955 female students, accounting for 69.9% of the total number. The number of
freshmen was 411 (30.1%), followed by 728 sophomores (53.3%), 152 juniors
(11.1%), and 76 seniors (5.6%). By major, 839 or 61.4% of students majored in
literature and history, 305 or 22.3% of students majored in science and technology,
and 223 or 16.3% of students majored in art and sports.
4.2 Confirmatory Factor Analysis

In this study, AMOS was used to conduct the confirmatory factor analysis using
all of the data. First, a normality test was performed and the test results showed
that the absolute value of the Skew coefficient was less than 3 (Kline, 1998). The
Kurtosis absolute values were all less than 10 (Huang, 2015), indicating that the
sample data was in line with normal distribution. Furthermore, there was no
negative error variance (EV), a standardized regression weighting coefficient (SE)
greater than 0.95, and a standard error (SE) greater than 0.95 in the check model
index, therefore there were no violation estimation phenomenon found in the
model. Finally, when the suitability index was used to judge the suitability of the
mode, the standard was roughly as follows (Figure 1): RMSEA should be less than
.080, while NFI, IFI, and CFI should be more than .900 (Qiu, 2006). Confirmatory
factor analysis was conducted to test the fit of the model. In this study, the RMSEA
value was .075, the RMR value was .038, the GFI value was .866, the NFI value
was .909, and the IFI value was .918. PNFI and PCFI should be greater than .500
(Hair et al., 2006) where there is a PNFI value of .810, a PCFI value of .818, and a
CN value of 191. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis show that all of
the indexes were up to the adaptation standard which reflects that the model is
basically suitable.
90
Figure 1: Measurement model
4.3 Convergent Validity

The factor loading of the latent variables in the scale of online studying
adaptability - "study attitude," "auto-didactic ability," "study and
communication,” and “study environment” – ranged from .530 to.838, all of which
are greater than .500. The combined reliability results were study attitude (.920),
auto-didactic ability (.931), study and communication (.881), and the study
environment (.780), all of which were higher than .600 (the standard of good
constructed reliability). The mean variances were study attitude (.624), auto-
didactic ability (.629), study and communication (.554), and the study
environment (.544). According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), the combinatorial
reliability should be greater than .600. Based on the constructed reliability alone,
the researchers were able to determine that there was appropriate construct
aggregation validity. However, considering the actual data orientation, an AVE
higher than 0.36 can also be considered a reluctantly accepted standard.
Therefore, this study believes that the scale has constructive validity.
91
4.4 Discriminant Validity

Hair et al. (2012) suggests a judgment criterion where the number of AVE square
roots for each facet greater than the correlation coefficients must account for at
least 75% of the total number of comparisons. Take Table 4 as an example. It can
be judged that the scale has discriminant validity which again proves that the
intrinsic quality of the measurement model is better.
After the preliminary test and formal questionnaire analysis, the Scale of College
Students' Adaptability to Online Studying during the Global Pandemic compiled
in this study was finished. It contains 24 questions within four dimensions: study
attitude, auto-didactic ability, study and communication, and study environment
as shown in the table below.
Table 4: Discriminant validity of on-line study adaptability
M SD 1 2 3 4
1. Study attitude 2.589 0.811 .790
2. Auto-didactic ability 2.470 0.767 .834** .793
3. Study & communication 2.584 0.783 .716** .767** .744
4. Study environment 3.058 0.890 .467** .397** .392** .738
The diagonal line is the square root of AVE value of each variable, and the non-diagonal
line is the correlation coefficient; Source: this research.
4.5 Difference Analysis

To explore the differences in the adaptability of online learning among the college
students of different genders, an independent sample was adopted for the t-test
analysis. The findings were as follows: different genders of the college students
and network adaptability (t=0.201, p =.841), study attitude (t=-0.312, p =.755),
auto-didactic ability (t=-0.015, p =.988), study and communication (t=-0.881, p
=.379), and the study environment (t=1.674, p =.094).
In this study, single-factor independent sample ANOVA was used to analyze the
differences in the adaptability of the students with different grades to online
studying. The results showed that the variance was homogenous. The Scheffe
method was used to test this, and it was found that there was no significant
difference in the adaptability of students with different grades in relation to online
studying (F=1.401, p=.241). However, there were significant differences among
the different grades in the dimension of the study environment [Freshman year
(M=2.996, SD=0.875); sophomore year (M=3.148, SD=0.875); junior year (M=2.969,
SD=0.934); senior year (M=2.890, SD=0.774); junior year (M=2.969, SD=0.875);
senior year (M=2.890, SD=0.774). p=.003]. Additionally, the adaptability to online
92
studying among freshmen was significantly lower than it was among

sophomores.
In this study, a single factor independent sample ANOVA was used to analyze
the differences in the adaptability of the students from different majors in relation
to online studying. The results show that there were significant differences in the
adaptability of the students from different majors in relation to online studying
(F=16.088, p=.002). There were significant differences in study attitude, auto-
didactic ability, study and communication, and the study environment. The art
majors’ results were significantly less for study attitude, auto-didactic ability,
study and communication, and the study environment compared to the literature,
history, and science and technology majors.
5. Discussion
This study constructed the Adaptation to Online Learning Scale for College
Students to evaluate college students’ adaptation to online learning in a global
pandemic through item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory
factor analysis. The scale, that has a total of 24 questions, is divided into four
dimensions: learning attitude, independent learning ability, learning
communication, and learning environment. Item analysis shows that the scale
items are well-differentiated. The scale’s cumulative explanatory variance
indicates its ability to examine more than half of the students' adjustment
problems. The factor loadings for the four dimensions range from .530 to .838.
Confirmatory factor analysis confirms that the scale has good construct validity
and meet psychometric requirements. Additionally, reliability analysis results
that denotes that the scale’s internal consistency coefficient of .956 demonstrates
good measurement requirements. Therefore, the scale is an appropriate tool for
evaluating college students' adaptation to online learning in a global pandemic
context.
In contrast to the previous studies on scale construction, some scales have low
reliability (Wu, 2020), a lack of factor loadings (Liu, 2022), and have adopted a
single statistical validation for (Feng & Li, 2002; Wang, 2006; Li, 2021; Liu, 2022).
In this study, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were
used to improve the scale’s reliability and validity. The scale, which contains both
personal and environmental factors, namely the students' attitude and learning
abilities, their communication with both their peers and teachers, and their
adaptation to the overall learning environment, are appropriate for measuring the
learners' adaptation to learning in the specific context of online learning.
Gender did not influence the online studying adaptability of college students,
because all students, regardless of gender, were suddenly faced with having to
adapt to undertake online learning.
There was a relationship between a student’s grade and his or her adaptability to
online studying. Sophomores’ adaptability to the online study environment
exceeded that of freshmen. Freshmen were new to university life; an experience
further challenged by sudden transition to online classes. On the other hand,
sophomores had already adapted to the learning environment and may have
found it easier to adapt to the internet than freshmen. Over time, the changes in
93
students’ study methods and thinking ability gradually strengthens their study
ability (Li & Gu, 2011).
There were significant differences in the college students’ adaptability to online
studying by university major. Students majoring in art were less adaptable to
online learning when compared to students majoring in literature, history,
science, and technology in all dimensions. It is possible that most art majors
focused on practice, and their teachers were unable to directly guide them after
offline teaching was suspended.
6. Conclusion
Generally speaking, scale development is a continuous process and additional
verification procedures can enhance its reliability and validity. The scale had good
reliability and validity based on the results of the exploratory and confirmatory
factor analyses. The factor loadings also demonstrate the scale’s good convergent
validity and discriminant validity. The scale can therefore be used as a research
tool to assess the online learning adaptability of university students.
But all questionnaires were administered to students at one university in Fujian
Province and sampling deviation may have a certain impact on the research
results. There were imbalances in the gender and proportion of majors in each
grade. Thus, future research should expand the research’s subjects and scope to
include vocational students and postgraduate students to better understand the
differences among the different subjects. Furthermore, interviews and participant
observations would furnish more information regarding understanding
adaptation to online learning. Despite some limitations, this study adds to the
growing body of knowledge on the effectiveness of adaptive tools for online
learning and sets the stage for future research in this area. It is anticipated that the
results of this study will encourage educators to explore other online learning
adaptive tools in their teaching practices and to continue developing innovative
approaches to improve student learning and achievement.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 98-120, June 2023
The Influence of Information and

Communication Technology in the Teaching and
Learning of Physics
Abdussamad Ringim Hussaini
National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
Shehu Ibrahim
Kingsley Eghonghon Ukhurebor*

Edo State University, Uzairue, Edo State, Nigeria
Grace Jokthan
ACETEL, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
Juliana Ngozi Ndunagu

Adeyinka Oluwabusayo Abiodun

Fwa Enoch Leonard

Benjamin Maxwell Eneche

Dorothy Nalwadda
Mezzanine Ware Limited, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Abstract. This study analyses the significance of ICT apparatuses and

factors influencing the utilization of ICT instruments in educating and
learning physics. This investigation utilized a survey research design
which involved the participation of 31,765 physics students and 103
physics instructors from selected public and private schools in northwest
*
Corresponding author: Kingsley Eghonghon Ukhurebor, ukeghonghon@gmail.com
©Authors
99
senatorial district of Jigawa State, Nigeria. A total of 379 participants were

randomly chosen by 72 physics educators. The information gathered from
the pilot study was utilized to figure the unwavering quality coefficient
using the split-half technique and the Pearson product moment
correlation coefficient (r) for the variables from the pilot study, which
gave 0.87. Four exploration questions and four invalids hypotheses were
defined to direct the investigation., A chi-square factual apparatus, at a
0.05 level of significance, was used to test the hypotheses. Our findings
reveal that the ICT instruments available to impact physics education and
learning were very much outfitted down to earth laboratories with ICT
devices. ICT instruments ought to have attributes of perceivability,
straightforwardness, fascination, and lucidity. The study also found that
ICT is critical in influencing physics education and learning. However,
educators' experience was the main factor influencing the utilization of
ICT devices to impact instruction and learning in senior auxiliary schools.
Proposals were made in light of the findings, which include physics
educators attempting to use and ad lib ICT apparatuses for effective
physics instruction in senior auxiliary schools. Appropriateness of
utilizing ICT apparatus as teaching and learning tools in teaching physics
is necessary to transmit knowledge to the learners effectively.
Keywords: education; ICT; Instruction; physics; student; learning;

teaching
1. Introduction
The impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on advancing
instruction and learning in instructional improvement is undeniable (Emeka et al.,
2023; Olusegun et al., 2023). Physics is a part of science that deals with energy,
matter, and their interaction. It is sometimes referred to as the study of estimation,
and its knowledge has greatly aided in the development of instruments and
gadgets which have been of enormous benefit to humanity (Titilayo, 2019). In
Nigeria, physics is being taught as one of the science subjects at the senior
auxiliary school. The significance of physics can't be overemphasized as it frames
the reason for mechanical progress in any country (Yusuf et al., 2019). Its
investigation can prompt a few logical fields and callings like designing,
assembling, mining, and developing enterprises. Likewise, the information on
physics assumes a huge part in the monetary advancement of any country
(Chukwunenye and Adegoke, 2014). Because of the various benefits of physics, it
has been presented in Nigerian schools at the senior level to accomplish the
accompanying targets: to impart fundamental physics knowledge to the general
public for practical living; to obtain fundamental physics ideas and standards as
a foundation for further research; to procure fundamental logical abilities and
mentalities as a groundwork for the mechanical utilization of physics; and to
animate and improve innovativeness (Yusuf et al., 2019).
The specialist of a subject is dictated by the presentation of the participants in a

particular subject at a recommended assessment. Any collaboration between
instructors and students is required to obtain the students' accomplishments.
Nonetheless, when such action neglects to deliver an adjustment of the student's
conduct, then, at that point, there is an issue.
100
The instructor cannot provide all of the conditions necessary for a viable
educational and learning measure. Hence, additional supporting materials must
be provided. The participants learn better when the greater part of the faculties is
dedicated to the guidance and utilization of data correspondence innovations in
the learning of physics, which has added another measurement to the positive
advancement of the instruction and learning measures. This provides students
with the genuinely required tactile encounters for compelling and significant
social change. Data correspondence innovation is intended to work on personal
satisfaction and comprehensive training. Its application in education promotes
strong scholarly performance of physics students in schools (Emeka et al., 2023;
Olusegun et al., 2023).
Education and learning on the planet have progressed past the instructor standing
in front of a group of students and disseminating knowledge to them (Nwankwo
& Ukhurebor, 2020). Educating has been made simpler by the utilization of
innovatively improved tools. Educating is an endeavour to help participants
secure or change a few abilities, information, ideals, mentalities, or appreciations
(Lison, 2012; Odinakachi et al., 2023). Education has a test that requires extended
periods of time and arrangements. As a result, the driving force of effective
instruction is primarily dependent on academic educators, whose ability in
utilizing data correspondence innovation offices should be related to the
participants' exercises (Nneji et al., 2022).
The global pattern is currently revolving around innovative progression in all

aspects of human events (Nwankwo et al., 2020; Aidonojie et al., 2023). The
emphasis these days is on the application of data innovation in all aspects of life
(Asanga et al., 2023). The personal computer (PC) has become a significant
instrument in the present society. PC is currently being utilized to do, for all
intents and purposes, everything in both public and private areas. Data and ICT
devices have evolved into critical tools that have influenced how we perceive and
live in the world (Odinakachi et al., 2023). Today, the role of ICTs in education
and the world at large cannot be undermined. ICT apparatuses are strife that
incorporates the use of PCs, the Web, and other media transmission innovations
in all aspects of human endeavour (Emeka et al., 2023). ICT apparatuses are
progressively assuming a significant role in associations and in the public's
capacity to create access, embrace, and apply data (Asanga et al., 2023).
The field of education has unquestionably been influenced by the pervasive

impact of ICT apparatuses both globally and in developed nations; ICT
apparatuses have had a significant and astounding impact on the quality and
quantity of educating and learning (Odinakachi et al., 2023). The use of ICT tools
in education and learning is becoming more common. This is genuine on the
grounds that its appropriation by educators will improve compelling instruction.
Instruction and learning have gone beyond the educator remaining before a
gathering of participants and dispersing data to them without the participants'
sufficient cooperation (Olusegun et al., 2023). The use of ICT devices in Nigeria
and other African countries is growing and expanding. Nonetheless, there is a lot
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of information about how ICT apparatuses are being utilized in created nations
just as data on how ICT devices are being utilized by instructors in developed
nations to complete their educating and learning exercises across the globe
(Onche, 2014; Oguguo et al., 2020). However, in developing countries such as
Nigeria, there is little data on how educators use ICT tools to complete their means
of teaching and learning (Egunjobi & Adetunji, 2014).
Physics instruction and learning in senior secondary schools have long been
reliant on standard reading material (both familiar and unfamiliar) and the
application of teaching techniques. The circumstance has continued in spite of the
development and accessibility of PCs and web offices, and a wide scope of physics
shows materials that are PC-based. Regardless, there is still limited information
about the various ways educators use ICT apparatuses as an instructive device in
the instruction and learning measures, as well as the roles of partners in
influencing the utilization of ICT in schools in Nigeria. Hence, this study expects
to find out whether there are central offices at the senior auxiliary schools and,
additionally, whether the educators could utilize these offices enough in the
instruction of physics. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of
data correspondence innovation apparatuses in educating and learning physics in
senior auxiliary schools in the northwest senatorial region of Jigawa state, Nigeria.
The study also looked into the impact of data correspondence innovation through
ICT apparatuses in teaching and learning physics in senior secondary schools in
Jigawa state's northwest senatorial district, and sought answers to the following
questions:
1. Are ICT tools used in your school to teach and learn physics?
2. What are the qualities of the ICT instruments utilized in educating and
learning physics in senior auxiliary schools in the northwest senatorial area of
Jigawa state, Nigeria?
3. What is the significance of ICT apparatuses in educating and learning about
physics in senior auxiliary schools in the northwest senatorial region of Jigawa
State, Nigeria?
4. What factors influence the use of ICT devices in teaching and learning physics
in senior auxiliary schools in the senatorial region of Jigawa state, Nigeria?
Also, the accompanying invalid theories (Ho) were expressed to direct the study.
1. There is no critical relationship between the use of ICT instruments in
instruction and learning of physics and participants' academic performance in
senatorial region Jigawa state, Nigeria.
2. There is no significant relationship between the qualities of ICT devices used
in instruction and learning of physics and participants' scholarly performance
in senior auxiliary schools in Jigawa state, Nigeria.
3. There is no critical connection between the significance of utilizing ICT
devices in educating and learning physics and u participants' scholarly
exhibition in senior auxiliary schools in the senatorial area. Jigawa State,
Nigeria
4. There is no significant relationship between the factors influencing the use of
ICT devices in educating and learning physics and the participants' academic
performance in senior auxiliary schools in Jigawa state, Nigeria.
102
This exploration is huge and helpful in the instruction and learning of physics.
Discoveries from this examination will assist with surveying the viability of the
accompanying purposes.
1. Distinguish between the various ICT devices for instruction and learning of
physics in senior auxiliary schools, decide the attributes of ICT apparatuses
that can be utilized to impact educating and learning physics in senior
auxiliary schools, assess the significance of utilizing ICT devices to accomplish
educating and learning physics in senior auxiliary schools, and analyse the
variables influencing the utilization of ICT devices to impact educating and
learning physics in senior auxiliary schools.
2. Accordingly, the discoveries from the study would help physics instructors in
picking the proper ICT devices to limit participants' strain towards the subject,
thereby working on participants' scholastic exhibition. It will also spur physics
instructors to foster revenue towards using reasonable teaching materials and
ICT devices, which would be potential methods towards lessening
disappointment in the teaching and learning of physics.
3. Furthermore, the results of this investigation will be extremely important to
the organizers of physics educational programs. The work will be useful to
educational program designers in checking on the physics educational
program by genuinely emphasizing the use of ICT devices in order to meet
the rising needs of the general public. This study will be of enormous help to
physicists by providing a reason for further research into the use of ICT
apparatuses and educators' quality all-around learning parts of physics as a
subject.
4. The examination will also highlight partners and the need to provide data
correspondence innovation devices to teach and learn physics in senior
secondary schools. It's anything but a reference to the resulting scientists.
2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research design
A survey research design was used in this study. Data on specific characters was
collected from a randomly selected sampling of the target population located at
various points throughout the study areas. The findings from the descriptive
survey design were used to generalize the researcher’s results about the target
population. The subjects, or respondents, were given questionnaires as the
instruments to collect the data. According to Castellacci & Tveito (2018),
descriptive survey design gives an accurate assessment of the characteristics of
the whole population of people. It is also more realistic than the experiment in
that it investigates phenomena in their natural setting.
2.2. Population for the study

The total population for the study was ninety-two schools in government and
private secondary schools in the four zonal offices of the twelve Local
Government Areas in the northwest senatorial district. The physics students’
target population was set at thirty-one thousand, seven hundred, and sixty-five,
with a total of twenty-three thousand, seven hundred, and twenty-eight male
physics students and eight thousand, thirty-seven female physics students. There
was also a total of seventy-two physics teachers, comprising sixty-two male
physics teachers and ten female physics teachers (see Table 1).
103
Table 1. Population of the study

Zonal Total Total Student Total Sample Total Total Sample
Offices Sampled Population Size for Physics Size for
School Student Teachers Physic
Respondents Teachers
Respondents
Babura 18 26 21 5 3,998
Gumel 15 22 22 - 9,703
Kazaure 29 48 45 3 11,843
Ringim 30 45 44 1 6,221
Total 92 141 132 9 31,765
2.3. Sample size and sampling procedure

The selected schools that represent the sample were all the government and
private senior secondary schools. There were ninety-two senior secondary
schools, whose serial numbers were written on pieces of paper, and seventy-three
schools were picked one after the other. The researcher wrote "yes" on some
papers and "no" on others when selecting physics students to represent the
sample. Students who answered "yes" were chosen to represent a sample of the
population. Oguguo et al. (2020), confirmed that the more restricted part of that
group or individuals that have one or more characteristics in common that are of
interest to the researcher, the better, in order to generalize the result appropriately
to the entire population. Those who picked "no" were not selected to represent the
student’s sample. There were two (2) physics teachers for each of the sampled
senior secondary schools (see Table 2).
Table 2. A sample distribution of physics teachers and their students

Zonal Total Sampled Sample Physics Sample Physics
Offices School Teachers Students
Babura 14 23 76
Gumel 13 20 70
Kazaure 22 30 110
Ringim 24 30 123
Total 73 103 379
2.4. Instrument for data collection

A questionnaire, which contained questions ordered methodically based on the
research topics, was utilized as the tool for gathering data from both physics’
students and teachers in the 73 government and private senior secondary schools
chosen for the study.
There were two (2) sections in the questionnaire for teachers and students (the
questions are in 4 parts; Likert format). Section 1 was designed to gather
information on the respondents’ profile, while Section 2 contained questions
pertaining to the study topics, and these were further divided into 4 parts as
shown below:
Part 1: Identify the types of ICT tools available for use to influence the teaching
and learning of physics.
104
Part 2: Determine the characteristics of ICT tools being used to influence the
teaching and learning of physics.
Part 3: Evaluate the importance of using ICT tools to influence teaching and
learning of physics.
Part 4: Examine the factors affecting the use of ICT tools to influence the teaching
2.5. Validation and reliability of the instrument

The instruments used in data collection were reviewed and validated by experts.
This was done to evaluate the instruments' face and content validity. Nonetheless,
the item or study statement was rebuilt in accordance with all necessary revisions
and modifications provided by the experts.
2.5.1. Pilot testing of the research instruments

A pilot testing was conducted at Ringim's Government Senior Secondary School
Chai Chai. Jigawa State Local Government, which was not among the seventy-
three (73) sampled senior secondary schools. A questionnaire was distributed to
thirty (30) students and eight (8) physics teachers in total. The purpose of the pilot
testing was to evaluate the reliability, level of difficulty, ambiguity of the
questions, and discriminative power of the instruments. The researcher
administered and graded the test themselves. This was done to allow time for any
last-minute questionnaire item revisions before the potential start of fieldwork.
2.5.2. Reliability of the instrument

The reliability coefficient was calculated using the split-half method or other
techniques using the information gathered from the pilot study. The reliability
coefficient of the instrument was also determined using the Pearson Product
Moment Correlation Coefficient (r), which was 0.87. This demonstrated that the
goods' reliability was within reasonable bounds.
Oguguo et al. (2020) asserts that a correlation coefficient average value that is
greater than 0.80 is necessary for internal consistency. With the assistance of four
(4) research assistants, the researcher administered the instruments
(questionnaires) to the subjects or responders. Approval was obtained from the
Jigawa State Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Dutse, through a
letter of introduction from the researcher before going to the sampled senior
secondary schools. A questionnaire was given to physics professors and students
at all the seventy-three (73) senior secondary public and private schools in Jigawa
State's four (4) northwest senatorial districts. Three hundred and seventy-nine
(379) copies of the questionnaire were given to the students over the course of two
(2) weeks, and a total of 103 copies were given to the physics teachers.
2.6. Method of data analysis

The frequencies and percentages of the demographic factors for the respondents
were used to examine the teachers' and students' biodata as well as the research
topics. According to the Likert-type scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and
Strongly Disagree) was used, hence a percentage (%) was calculated for each:
105
Strongly Agree (SA) - 4 points
Agree (A) - 3 points
Disagree (D) - 2 points
Strongly Disagree (SD) - 1 point
The data was calculated using contingency chi-square (X2) statistical tools. Null
hypotheses (Ho) 1–4 was tested using contingency chi-square statistics at the 0.05
level of significance for a 2-tailed non-directional test as this was the most suitable
inferential statistical tool that can determine whether significant relationships
exist or not. It also examined the extent to which the frequencies that were actually
observed in the study differ from the frequencies that would be expected if the
null hypotheses were correct.
3. Findings
The exploration work was on the influence of data correspondence innovations in
instruction and learning of physics. The first information arrangements in terms
of frequencies and rates on segment factors of respondents were introduced quite
some time ago. The exploration questions were introduced in a table of
frequencies and rates for applicable things, while the last arrangements of
information were the aftereffects of tried but invalid theories. In the investigation
of the information, the two gatherings of respondents were dealt with
independently, but the outcomes acquired were added together in addressing the
exploration questions and the trial of invalid speculations. The information
gathered was summed up into "concurred" and "conflicted." Aside from the bio-
information investigation, all calculations were based on the rating scale design,
as illustrated in the following passages. The examination of each exploration
question displays the outline of reactions to investigation questions.
3.1. Demographic variables

The demographic variables of the respondents were presented in Table 3-6.
Table 3. Gender of Teachers

Gender Frequency Percentage (%)
Male 90 87.38
Female 13 12.62
Total 103 100
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Table 4. Highest Qualification of Teachers

Highest Qualification Frequency Percentage (%)
NCE 25 24.27
HND/PGDE 13 12.62
B. Ed/ B.Sc. 20 19.42
B. Physics 15 14.56
B.A/B.Sc. (Ed). 30 29.13
M. A/ M. Ed - -
M. Sc/M.Sc. (Ed). - -
PhD - -
Total 103 100
Table 5. Number of Years of Teaching Experience

Years of Teaching Experience Frequency Percentage (%)
5-10 28 26.03
11-15 49 46.57
16-20 12 10. 96
21 and above 14 16.44
Total 103 100
Table 6. Gender of Students

Gender Frequency Percentage (%)
Male 197 51.98
Female 182 48.02
Total 379 100
Table 3 shows the distribution of respondents by gender. It indicates that 90

(87.38%) were males and 13 (12.62%) were females. This revealed that there were
more male physics teachers than female physics teachers in the study area. Table
4 showed teachers' highest educational qualifications. Teachers who had
B.A/B.Sc. (Ed) 30% (29.13%) formed the majority of the respondents. Those with
N.C.E. followed with 25% (24.7%). While 20% had a B. Ed. or B. Sc. (19.42%), 15%
(14.56%) had a B. Phys. had and 13 (12.62%) had a HND or PGDE. None of the
respondents had an M.A., M.Ed., M.Sc., or M.Sc. Ed., or PhD degrees. This
indicated that the majority of physics teachers were B.A. or B.Sc. (Ed.), which
might mean that they did not go for further studies. Table 5 showed the
distribution of teachers (respondents) by number of years of experience. Th results
show that the majority of the respondents, 34 (46.57%), were in their 11–15 years
of teaching experience, while those with 5–10 years of experience represented only
19 (26.03%). Also, 12 respondents (16.44%) had 20 or more years of experience,
while 8 respondents (10.96%) had 16–20 years of teaching experience. This
indicated that physics teachers had many years of teaching experience since the
majority of them had 11–15 years of experience. Table 6 revealed that there were
97 male students, representing 51.98% of the total, and 82 female students,
107
representing 48.02% of the total. This indicate that there are more male physics
students than females.
3.2. Types of ICT tools available for use to influence the teaching and learning
of physics
In the course of the analysis, opinions of teachers and students were categorized
into two groups of "agreed" and "disagreed" for a better understanding and
clearer interpretation of the data, and the responses were scored using a four-
point rating scale. Table 7 shows the responses of the respondents on the research
question number 1 which is the determination of the ICT tools available for use in
the school to influence the teaching and learning of Physics.
Table 7. The summary of responses on the types of ICT tools available for use
Qi SA A D SD TA TD TR %A %D Rate Remark
Std Tch Std Tch Std Tch Std Tch
1 403 92 174 87 178 68 114 23 755 383 1138 66.34 33.66 5th N/S
2 340 76 267 84 174 68 118 22 767 382 1149 66.75 33.25 4th Sig.
3 564 132 387 93 132 51 43 17 1176 243 1419 82.88 17.12 1st Sig.
4 388 108 498 111 146 48 41 18 1105 253 1358 81.37 18.63 2nd Sig.
5 336 88 327 78 174 68 98 23 829 359 1188 69.78 30.22 3rd Sig.
Total 4632 1620 6252 367.1 132.9
Qi= Questionnaire item, TR=Total Response, SA=Strongly Agreed, %A=Percentage Agreed,
A=Agreed, %D=Percentage Disagreed, D= Disagreed, Std = Student, SD =Strongly
Disagreed, Tch=Teacher, TA=Total Agreed, N=Number of Respondents, TD=Total Disagreed,
Sig.=Significant, N/S=Not Significant, Std = student, Tch = teacher
Table 7 displays the respondents' ratings of the various ICT tools available for use
in influencing ICT in teaching and learning physics. This survey question as to
evaluate whether great and significant course readings are important to impact
the scholastic presentation of participants in physics. In light of this, respondents
who unequivocally concurred scored 403 for participants and 92 for instructors,
while individuals who concurred scored 174 and 87 for participants and educators
separately. Respondents who differ scored 178 and 68 for participants and
instructors separately, while individuals who emphatically differ had 118 and 23
for participants and educators individually. The score for complete concurrence
for item one remained at 755, addressing 66.34%, as against a score of 243 for
differ, addressing 33.66%. Two surveys were conducted to see if the media
influenced physics instruction and learning. Reacting to this, respondents who
firmly concurred scored 340 and 76 for participants and educators separately.
There were 267 students and 84 teachers among those who agreed. Participants'
respondents who differ scored 174, while instructors' respondents scored 68,
while respondents who unequivocally differ scored 118 and 22 focuses for
participants and educators separately.
The overall consensus for item two remained at 767 points, representing 66.75%,
while distinction scored 382 points, representing 33.25%. Poll Item 3 tried to
decide if a very well-equipped common-sense laboratory was needed. ICT
apparatuses impact the instruction and learning of physics. Because of this,
understudy respondents who firmly concurred scored 564, while educators
108
scored 132. Respondents who concurred scored 387 and 93 for participants and
educators separately.
The individuals who differ scored 132 for participants and 51 for educators, while
the respondents who firmly differ had 43 and 17 participants and instructors,
respectively. The overall agreement for item three remained at 1176 points
separately (82.88%), as opposed to 243 points for differing addresses (17.12%). The
fourth step was to decide how programming carried out in the PC laboratory will
impact instruction and learning of physics had on the participants' scholastic
exhibition in physics. Reacting to this, respondents who emphatically concurred
scored 388 and 108 for participants and instructors, respectively.
The individuals who confirmed received 498 points for participants and 111
points for instructors. Respondents who disagreed received 146 and 48 points,
respectively, for participants and instructors, while understudy respondents who
strongly disagreed received 41 points and educator respondents received 18
points. It was completely agreed that PC programming is done in the PC
laboratory. Physics instruction and learning received 1105 focuses addressed by
81.37%, while 253 received 18.63%. Poll item five looked to see if instructors
utilized fitting graphs and outlines for the prompt representation of physics
exercise. Reacting to this, respondents who unequivocally concurred scored 336
and 88 for participants and instructors separately. Individuals who agreed scored
327 for students and 78 for educators. Respondents who disagreed scored 174 and
64 for participants and instructors separately, respectively, while understudy
respondents who strongly disagreed scored 98, and educator respondents had 23
focuses. Respondents who concurred that inspiration and the premium educators
place on ad lib ICT instruments impact participants' scholarly execution scored
829 focuses addressed by 69.78% as against 359 addressing 30.22%.
The general score of the individuals who concurred for research question one was
4,632, compared to a score of 1,620, for the individuals who disagreed. From the
rating of the kinds of ICT instruments accessible for use to the impact of ICT in
instruction and learning of physics in Table 7, item 3 (how a fully equipped
functional laboratory with ICT apparatuses affects teaching and learning Physics
was evaluated first because it is critical to influencing Physics participants'
scholarly exhibition). The second evaluation discovered that PC programming in
the PC laboratory has an impact on teaching and learning physics.
The third item is that educators utilized fitted graphs and charts for the quick
outline of physics exercises. Items two and four: mixed media impact on
education and learning in physics and an understudy's scholarly exhibition in
physics Furthermore, item one was evaluated last (fifth) and stated that good
applicable reading material was critical to impacting education and learning
physics. This meant that both students and teachers agreed that the most
important ICT device that could influence students' is the PC.
3.3. Attributes of data correspondence innovation in instruction and learning of
physics
Table 8 shows the responses of the respondents regarding the research question
number 2 which is the attributes of data correspondence innovation in instruction
109
Table 8. The summary of responses on the characteristics of ICT tools being used
Qi SA A D SD TA TD TR %A %D
6 736 116 348 105 88 44 34 17 1305 183 1488 87.7 12.3
7 648 148 369 81 76 38 40 18 1246 172 1418 87.9 12.13
8 784 172 360 78 42 36 28 26 1394 132 1526 91.4 8.65
9 292 84 231 78 211 80 105 25 685 421 1106 61.9 38.07
10 348108 522 75 160 38 37 18 1053 253 1306 80.6 19.6
Total 5683 1161 6844 410 90.75
Where, Qi= Questionnaire item, TR=Total Response, SA=Strongly Agreed, %A=Percentage Agreed,
A=Agreed, %D=Percentage Disagreed, D= Disagreed, Std = Student, SD =Strongly Disagreed,
Tch=Teacher, TA=Total Agreed, N=Number of Respondents, TD=Total Disagreed, Sig.=Significant,
N/S=Not Significant, Std = student, Tch = teacher
Table 8 displayed the respondents' reactions to the characteristics of the ICT

apparatuses being used to influence physics education and learning. Item six of
the poll sought to determine whether the ICT devices to be used should be
obvious to all students in the class. Because of this, respondents who firmly
obtained a score of 736 and 116 for participants and instructors respectively, while
individuals who obtained a score of 348 for participants and 105 for educators,
respectively. Respondents who disagreed scored 88 and 44 points for participants
and educators, respectively, while those who strongly disagreed had 34 points for
participants and 17 points for instructors.
The overall concurrence remained at 1,305 points, addressing 87.70%, with an

absolute difference of 183 points, addressing 12.30% for poll item six. Item seven
investigated whether the ease of use of ICT devices influenced physics teaching
and learning. Reacting to this, the understudy respondents who firmly agreed,
scored 648 points, and the instructor respondents scored 148 points. Respondents
who concurred had 369 and 81 for u participants and instructors separately.
Respondents who disagreed scored 76 and 38 points for participants and
educators separately, while those who strongly disagreed scored 40 and 18 points
for participants and instructors separately.
The overall agreed score for item seven remained at 1246 points (87.87%) as
opposed to 172 points (12.13%). Item eight of the survey sought to determine
whether the ICT devices to be used were appropriate and applicable to both the
point and the participants. Respondents who unequivocally agreed scored 784
and 172 points for participants and educators separately; those who agreed scored
360 and 78 points for instructors and participants separately. Respondents who
disagreed had 42 and 36 points for participants and educators separately, while
those who agreed had 28 and 26 points for participants and instructors separately.
Absolute respondents who agreed received a score of 1,394, representing 91.35%,
compared to a complete difference score of 132, representing 8.65%. Item nine
looked at the adequacy and fascination of ICT devices impact instruction and
learning of physics. Respondents who unequivocally agreed received 292 and 84
points for u participants and educators, respectively; those who agreed received
110
231 points for participants and 78 points for instructors. Individuals who strongly
disagreed with participants scored 211, and instructors scored 80 points, while
those who strongly disagreed with participants and educators scored 105 and 25
points, respectively. Item 10 attempted to determine whether ICT devices
influence learning and work on physics educators' skills. Respondents who
strongly agreed received 348 and 108 points, respectively, for participants and
educators. Individuals who agreed received 522 and 75 points, respectively, for
participants and educators. Respondents who disagreed had 160 and 38 points for
participants and instructors separately, while those who strongly disagreed had
37 points for participants and 18 points for educators.
The overall disagreement remained at 1,053, accounting for 80.63% of the overall
difference score of 253, which was addressed by 19.60% for survey item 10. On the
generally agreed scale, the score remained at 5,682 points 48% for those
respondents who agreed that perceivability, ease of use, significance to the theme,
and allure were the characteristics of ICT instruments being utilized to impact
educating and learning physics, as opposed to a different score of 1161 points,
addressing 90.75%. This demonstrated that ICT tools for use, like participants,
should have qualities of suitability and significance to the point.
3.4. Impact of ICT utilization to educating and learning Physics

number 3 which is identifying the significance of utilization of ICT to impact
educating and learning physics.
Table 9. The summary of responses on the importance of ICT tools.

Qi SA A D SD TA TD TR %A %D
11 732 168 396 98 72 38 27 26 1394 163 1556 89.6 10.48
12 292 88 231 78 228 58 80 35 689 401 1090 63.2 36.79
13 284 88 276 69 270 52 46 41 717 414 1131 63.4 36.6
14 524 132 525 105 76 38 27 26 1286 167 1453 88.5 11.49
15 288 144 486 84 82 42 28 28 1002 180 1182 84.8 15.23
Total 5088 1325 6412 390 110.6
Where, Qi= Questionnaire item, TR=Total Response, SA=Strongly Agreed, %A=Percentage
Agreed, A=Agreed, %D=Percentage Disagreed, D= Disagreed, Std = Student, SD
=Strongly Disagreed, Tch=Teacher, TA=Total Agreed, N=Number of Respondents,
TD=Total Disagreed, Sig.=Significant, N/S=Not Significant, Std = student, Tch = teacher
Table 9 showed the reactions of the respondents to the significance of ICT

instruments in impacting the instruction and learning of physics. Poll item eleven
investigated whether ICT devices can rearrange and explain what is
unpredictable and difficult to communicate in words. As a result, for
unequivocally concurring, understudy respondents received 732 agreed and
instructors received 168 focuses; respondents who concurred received 396 and 98
focuses, respectively, from understudy respondents and educators. Respondents
who disagree scored 72 points for participants and 38 points for educators, while
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those who strongly disagree scored 27 points for participants and 26 points for
instructors.
The overall concurrence for item eleven remained at 1,394 points, representing
89.59%, with an absolute difference of 163 points, representing 10.41%. Item 12
tried to see if inspirational worth influences the utilization of ICT devices in
instruction and learning of physics. As a result, students who strongly agreed
received 292 points, while educators received 88 points. Individuals who agreed
had 231 and 78 points for participants and educators, respectively. Respondents
who disagreed scored 228 and 58 points for participants and instructors
separately, while those who strongly disagreed scored 80 points for participants
and 35 points for educators.
The overall agreed score for survey item twelve remained at 696 points,
accounting for 63.39%, as opposed to 401 points, accounting for 36.79%. Question
thirteen attempted to determine whether ICT tools save time and advance
consideration. As a result, respondents who strongly agreed scored 284 and 88
points for students and educators separately, while those who agreed scored 276
and 69 points for students and educators separately. Respondents that differ
scored 270 for participants and 52 for educators, while the individuals who
emphatically differ scored 46 for participants and 41 for instructors.
The overall agreed score for poll item thirteen remained at 717 points,
representing 63.39%, against an overall difference of 414 points, representing
36.60%. Item 14 tried to evaluate whether ICT instruments excite interest by
standing out from physics participants. In response to the question, those who
unequivocally agreed received 524 and 132 points, respectively, for participants
and instructors. Individuals who agreed scored 525 points for participants and
105 points for instructors. Respondents who disagreed scored 76 points for
participants and 38 points for educators, while those who agreed scored 27 and
26 points for participants and instructors separately. Absolute agreement for
survey item fourteen remained at 1,286 points, addressing 88.51%, versus an
overall difference score of 167 points, addressing 11.49%. Survey Task 15
investigated whether ICT devices piqued the interest of physics participants.
Respondents who unequivocally agreed scored 288 and 144 points for
participants and educators separately, while those who agreed scored 486 and 84
points for participants and instructors separately. Respondents who disagree
scored 82 points for participants and 42 points for educators, while those who
strongly disagree scored 28 points for all participants and educators.
The overall agreed score for survey item fifteen was 1,002 points, or 84.77%,
compared to a score of 180 points, or 15.23%. The overall score of those who
agreed with research question three remained at 5,088, focusing on addressing
389.47% versus an overall difference score of 1324, addressing 110.59%. This
demonstrated that the two instructors and participants concurred that ICT
apparatuses can rearrange and explain what is mind-boggling and hard to
communicate in words.
112
3.5. Factors influencing the use of ICT devices to impact physics teaching and
learning
number 4 which is the factors influencing the use of ICT devices to impact physics
teaching and learning.
Table 10. The summary of responses on factors affecting the use of ICT Tools to
influence teaching and learning physics
Qi SA A D SD TA TD TR %A %D Rate
Std Tch std Tch Std Tch Std Tch
16 904 168 255 81 70 36 30 26 1408 162 1570 89.68 10.32 1st
17 228 80 174 60 274 70 124 38 542 506 1048 39.94 48.28 5th
18 348 104 612 87 104 40 35 27 1151 206 1357 84.82 15.18 2nd
19 288 80 456 63 218 62 118 36 887 434 1321 67.15 38.85 4th
20 520 112 438 122 126 38 39 26 958 229 1187 80.71 19.29 3rd
TOTAL 4946 1537 6483 362.3 131.9
Where, Qi= Questionnaire item, TR=Total Response, SA=Strongly Agreed, %A=Percentage
Agreed, A=Agreed, %D=Percentage Disagreed, D= Disagreed, Std = Student, SD
=Strongly Disagreed, Tch=Teacher, TA=Total Agreed, N=Number of Respondents,
TD=Total Disagreed, Sig.=Significant, N/S=Not Significant, Std = student, Tch = teacher
Table 10 displays the responses of students and educators to the factors that
influence the use of ICT devices. The purpose of survey task sixteen was to
determine if the instructors' experiences were the components that influenced the
utilization of ICT devices in educating and learning physics. Respondents who
strongly agreed scored 904 and 168 points for participants and educators
separately, while those who agreed scored 255 and 81 points for participants and
instructors separately. Respondents who disagree scored 70 points for
participants and 36 points for educators, while those who strongly disagree scored
30 points for participants and 26 points for educators separately.
The total agreed score for poll item sixteen remained at 1,408 points,
corresponding to 89.68%, versus a total differ score of 162 points, corresponding
to 10.32%. Poll item seventeen investigated whether the number of students in
crowded classes had an effect on the use of ICT apparatuses in instruction and
learning of physics. As a result, understudy respondents who strongly agreed
received 228 points, while instructors received 80 points. Respondents who
agreed had 174 and 60 points for participants and educators separately; those who
disagreed had 274 and 70 points for participants and instructors separately; and
those who strongly disagreed had 124 points for participants and 38 points for
instructors. Complete agreement for poll question sixteen remained at 542 points,
addressing 51.72%, as opposed to 506 points, addressing 48.23%. Item 18 of the
survey sought to determine whether physical offices and community assets
influence the use of ICT tools in teaching and learning physics. In light of this,
respondents who unequivocally concurred scored 348 focuses, while educators
scored 104 focuses, and the individuals who concurred scored 612 and 87 focuses
for participants and instructors separately. Respondents who differ had 104 for
participants and 40 for educators, while the individuals who firmly differ scored
113
35 for participants and 27 for instructors. Absolute agreement for poll question
eighteen remained at 1151 points, representing 84.82%, as opposed to an overall
difference of 206 points, representing 15.18%.
Poll item 19 investigated whether the educator's instructional style influences the
use of ICT tools in physics education and learning. Respondents who strongly
agreed received 288 and 80 points for participants and instructors, respectively,
while those who agreed received 456 points for participants and 63 points for
educators. Respondents who disagreed scored 218 and 62 points for participants
and instructors, respectively, while those who disagreed scored 118 points for
participants and 36 points for educators.
The total agreed score for survey item 19 remained at 887 points, corresponding
to 67.15 percent, as opposed to an absolute difference score of 434 points,
corresponding to 38.85 percent. Poll item 20 attempted to determine whether an
understudy's inspiration and interest influence the educator's use of educational
materials. Because of this, respondents who unequivocally concurred scored 520
for participants and 112 for educators, while individuals who concurred had 438
and 122 for participants and instructors separately. Respondents who disagree
scored 126 and 38 points for participants and instructors, respectively, while those
who strongly disagree scored 39 points for participants and 26 points for
educators.
The overall agreed score for survey item twenty remained at 958 points (80.71%),
as opposed to an absolute difference score of 229 points (19.29%). Overall, for
research question 4, the agreed score remained at 1408 points, equivalent to
89.68%, as opposed to an absolute difference of 162 points, representing 10.32%.
From the rating of the elements that influence the utilization of ICT instruments
in instruction and learning of physics in Table 10, item sixteen was evaluated first,
followed by item eighteen in second, item twenty in third, item nineteen in fourth,
and item seventeen in fifth. This inferred that educators' experiences were the
main considerations influencing the utilization of ICT in instruction and learning
of physics.
3.6. Testing of null hypotheses

Possibility Chi-squared insights were utilized to test every one of the four invalid
theories. The decision to use this factual device for these invalid theories was
based on the grounds that it gives a means of estimating the degree of connection
among autonomous and subordinate factors. Nworgu (2006), expressed that it has
broad applications in many fields of study since it is appropriate in the
examination of information in terms of types of frequencies or classifications.
Every one of the four invalid speculations was given a 0.05 degree of importance.
Simultaneously, the invalid theory will be rejected if the determined chi-squared
huge worth (X2) is greater than the level of importance esteem (X2). This infers that
there is a critical connection between the factors. The invalid hypothesis will be
held if the chi-squared huge worth (X2) determined is not exactly the basic worth
of level of importance esteem (X2). This suggests that there is no huge connection
between the factors. The synopsis of the outcomes for the trial of invalid theories
is displayed in Tables 11–14.
114
Null hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between the use of readily

available ICT apparatuses and the teaching and learning of physics in senior auxiliary
school.
The possibility of chi-squared insights was utilized to test invalid speculations of

0.05 degree of importance, namely the utilization of accessible ICT instruments
and instruction and learning of physics. As a result, the discovery is presented in
Table 8.
Table 11. Summary of chi-square test result for research question one
Value df Asymp.Sig (2 sided)
Person chi-square 20.000 a 16 0.220
Likelihood Ratio 16.094 16 0.449
Linear by linear association 3.976 1 0.46
N of valid cases 5
a25 cells (100.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 20. Df =
degrees of freedom, Asymp. Sig. = Alpha value.
From Table 11, the chi-square significant value of 0.220 calculated is greater than
the level of significance of 0.05 and therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. This
implied that the use of available ICT tools can influence the teaching and learning
of physics in senior secondary schools in the northwest senatorial district of
Jigawa state.
Null hypothesis 2: There is no huge connection between the qualities of the ICT
apparatuses used to impact educating and learning physics in senior auxiliary schools in
the northwest senatorial area. Jigawa state.
A chi-squared analysis was used to test the relationship between ICT apparatus
qualities and the teaching and learning of physics at 0.05 degree of importance.
The outline is as introduced in Table 12.
Table 12. Summary of chi-square test result for research question two
Value df Asymp. Sig (2 sided)
N of valid cases 5
a25 cells (100.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .20. Df =
From Table 12, it was clearly seen that there is a critical connection between the
attributes of the ICT instruments utilized and educating and learning physics.
This was supported by the chi-square worth of importance switch (0.220), which
is more prominent than the worth of dismissal limit (0.05). Consequently, the
invalid theory was dismissed. This suggests that ICT apparatuses with
fundamental qualities can have an emphatic impact on educating and learning
physics.
115
Null hypothesis 3: There is no huge connection between the significance of utilizing ICT
instruments and instruction and learning of physics in senior auxiliary schools in the
northwest senatorial area of Jigawa State.
At a 0.05 level of significance, possible chi-square measurements were also used

to test the invalid hypothesis of a link between the significance of utilizing ICT
apparatuses and teaching and learning physics. The analysis is shown in Table 13.
Table 13. Summary of Chi-square test result for research question three
N of valid cases 5
a25 cells (100.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .20. Df =
Table 13 revealed a significant relationship between the importance of using ICT

tools and teaching and learning physics. This was revealed by the chi-squared
worth of the importance switch (0.220), which is more prominent than the worth
of the dismissal limit (0.05). In this way, the invalid theory was dismissed. This
demonstrated that ICT tools can be used as a significant fix to impact physics
teaching and learning.
Null hypothesis 4: There is no critical connection between the variables influencing the
utilization of ICT devices and instruction and learning of physics in senior auxiliary
schools in the northwest senatorial area of Jigawa State.
At the 0.05 level of significance, the hypothesis was tested using possible chi-
square insights to build up the relationship between the variables influencing the
utilization of ICT apparatuses and instruction and learning of physics. The
rundown of the outcomes is as introduced in Table 14.
Table 14. Summary of Chi-Square test Result for Research Question Four
Person chi-square 20.000a 16 0.220
N of valid cases 5
a. 25 cells (100.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .20. Df =
From Table 14, it was seen that there is a significant connection between the
elements influencing the utilization of ICT instruments and instruction and
learning of physics. This was supported by the chi-square worth of the importance
switch (0.220) and is more noteworthy than the worth of the dismissal edge (0.05).
Along these lines, the invalid theory was dismissed. This showed that
116
components influencing the utilization of ICT instruments can impact instruction

4. Discussion of Findings
The discoveries of the aftereffects of the tried and invalid hypotheses included,
among other things, a very well-outfitted viable laboratory with ICT instruments
that influence instruction and learning of physics. ICT devices should have the
attributes of perceivability, adequacy, simplicity, fascination, lucidity, and other
characteristics, since use of ICT apparatuses is critical to influencing teaching and
learning physics. Hence, educators' and students' experiences are the primary
factors influencing the use of ICT apparatuses.
The purpose of the investigation was to determine the impact of ICT on physics
education and learning, and hence an investigation of some senior auxiliary
schools in the northwest senatorial region, Jigawa State, Nigeria was carried out.
To accomplish this goal, four explicit objectives, four examination questions, and
four invalid speculations were formulated. Basic rates and frequencies were
utilized in dissecting the individual information of respondents and addressing
the examination questions. At the 0.05 level of significance, possible chi-square
measurements were used to test the four invalid theories.
The second objective of the examination was to determine the qualities of ICT
instruments that can be utilized to impact the teaching and learning of physics.
On the basis of the investigation of the information gathered from the
respondents, it was determined that ICT apparatuses should have the attributes
of perceivability, adequacy, effortlessness, fascination, propriety, and importance
to the subject, as well as straightforwardness on the off chance that they should
be utilized to impact instruction and learning of physics. This finding is similar to
that of Florin et al. (2019), who expressed that decent ICT instruments should be
noticeable, appealing, and worthy of consideration.
The third goal was to assess the significance of utilizing ICT devices to impact
education and learning in physics. Information gathered to accomplish this goal
was introduced in Table 4.2.3, in which the outcome showed that ICT instruments
are vital to impacting instruction and learning of physics. This finding was
buttressed by Keskin & Yurdugül (2020), who expressed that ICT instruments
ought to be utilized to enhance oral clarification and representations.
The fourth goal was to analyse the elements influencing the utilization of ICT
devices to impact instruction and learning of physics. Information gathered in
regard to this goal is presented in Table 4.2.4. The items were appraised, and it
was seen that instructors' experience in the utilization of ICT apparatuses was the
central point influencing the successful utilization of ICT devices to impact
educating and learning physics. Additionally, it was found that inspiration,
offices and materials, the amount of time available, the number of students, and
others were factors that could influence the successful utilization of ICT devices.
This finding concurs with Major (2020), who recorded variables influencing the
117
utilization of ICT devices to incorporate: nature of the topic, objective to be

achieved, premium, educators' capacity, etc.
5. Conclusion
The investigation was done to determine the influence of ICT in instruction and
learning of physics. An investigation of some senior auxiliary schools in the
northwest area of Jigawa State, Nigeria, was carried out to accomplish this level-
headedness. Four explicit goals were set, which included identifying the kinds of
ICT devices for instruction and learning of physics in senior optional schools. In
order to achieve these goals, four exploration questions were formulated and four
invalid hypotheses were made. The absolute population for the study consisted
of 92 government and private secondary schools, which were comprised of 31,765
physics participants and 141 physics teachers in the 4 instructional zones of the 12
local government areas in Jigawa State. The scientist utilized surveying
questionnaires as the instrument for collecting data.
An aggregate of 482 respondents, comprising of participants and instructors, were

utilized for the investigation. The information gathered was presented in tables
and examined using simple rates and frequencies. At a significance level of 0.05,
the four invalid theories were tested using possibility chi-squared insights.
In view of the findings obtained in this study, the following conclusions were
drawn:
1. The disappointment level of participants will be reduced if physics
instructors are made to use proper and pertinent ICT devices while
showing physics in senior auxiliary schools.
2. Participants will perform better in physics if ICT devices have the qualities
of fittingness, importance, perceivability, adequacy, straightforwardness,
and fascination.
3. Because they could improve and explain what was difficult to
communicate in words, ICT devices were essential for teaching and
learning physics.
4. Physics information and subsequent execution become more fascinating
when participants in senior auxiliary schools taking physics as a subject
are educated by experienced, all-around committed, and qualified physics
instructors.
6. Recommendations
The accompanying proposals were made following the discoveries of this study.
1. Physics instructors should try to use and improvise ICT apparatuses for
successful physics education in senior auxiliary schools.
2. The government ought to guarantee the satisfactory work of devoted and
qualified physics educators to teach the subject in all senior auxiliary
schools in the examination region and in the state.
3. There is a need for an exceptional research facility to be viable. This will
go a long way toward ensuring that u participants are exposed to various
aspects of reasonable learning.
118
4. The government should make accessible assets and support the educators'
participation at gatherings, courses, and workshops on the use of ICT
instruments.
5. The public authority, through the Ministry of Education, Science, and
Technology, should make physics ICT devices accessible for use by
instructors to upgrade participants' scholarly presentations in physics.
6. Guardians must not be overlooked in the drive to provide and encourage
the effective use of ICT tools by their children in senior secondary schools.
When guardians and watchmen understand the significance of ICT
apparatuses in the training of their kids and wards, they won't stop for a
second to give good, material, and monetary help for the utilization of ICT
devices.
7. A larger example from all the neighbourhood government spaces of
Jigawa State's northwest senatorial area could be used to guarantee a
higher level for this examination. Future exploration work should
endeavour to utilize more examples drawn from the northwest senatorial
locale of Jigawa State.
8. Studies should be conducted on instructors’ or educators' attitudes toward
impromptu showings of assets for compelling physics instruction.
9. This investigation focused on the use of ICT in teaching and learning
physics, but other subjects, such as chemistry, English, mathematics, and
biology, should also be investigated for an all-around improvement of
education in Nigeria.
10. It is also necessary to assess the capabilities of physics educators. This is to
survey the work force taking care of the education of physics and organize
their skill building.
11. Additionally, it is suggested that fundamental ICT apparatuses for special
participants (disabled) be applied in practice and address the challenges
that may arise in implementing these recommendations.
Data availability
Completely, data produced or investigated during this work were involved in this
submitted article.
Conflicts of interest
There is no conflict whatsoever to declare.
Funding statement
This study has not received any specific grant from funding agencies in the public,
commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed significantly to this study.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the Africa Centre of Excellence on Technology Enhanced Learning
(ACETEL), National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, for supporting this research.
119
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 121-136, June 2023
Received Apr 11, 2023; Revised Jun 11, 2023; Accepted Jun 23, 2023
Examining Philology Teachers’ Lesson Planning

Competencies in Vietnam
Hien Thu Thi Pham
VNU University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nguyet Minh Thi Le*

Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam
Huyen Thanh Thi Doan

Hien Thi Luong

Abstract. Planning lessons is an essential responsibility for any competent

teacher. This study focuses on examining Vietnamese Philology teachers’
competencies in developing lesson plans. We employ a quantitative
research approach by surveying 1,001 primary, lower secondary and
upper secondary teachers in different provinces and cities in Vietnam.
The results show that teachers spend a significant amount of time
developing their lesson plans and they normally prepare their lesson
plans one to two weeks before teaching in the classroom. They usually
collaborate with their colleagues to develop lesson plans. Textbooks,
teacher books, and materials from the internet are the main resources they
use to design their lesson plans. They encounter many difficulties in the
lesson planning processes, such as large class sizes, new curricula, and
new textbooks Training and retraining of teachers are essential for
developing appropriate lesson plans.
Keywords: lesson plan; Vietnamese general education; new curriculum;

lesson planning competence
1. Introduction
In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the 2030
Agenda with 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the
planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The Agenda includes Goal 4: Quality
*
Corresponding author: Nguyet Minh Thi Le, nguyetltm@hnue@edu.vn
©Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives 4.0
122
Education, which focuses on ensuring quality, open and equitable education, and
enhancing lifelong learning opportunities for every person (United Nations, n.d.).
In addition, UNESCO's perspective on education for sustainable development
also emphasizes that the quality of education depends heavily on teachers’
competence which consists of teaching and educational competences (UNESCO,
2020). Developing sustainable professional capacity for teachers requires paying
attention to building teaching competencies, including the ability to develop
lesson plans.
Planning lessons is an important part of a teacher's job. Consequently, teachers

dedicate a significant amount of time to this task. The purpose of lesson planning
is to help teachers prepare and organize their teaching materials and methods
while taking into account the diverse abilities, prior knowledge, and motivations
of their students (Saad et al., 2010). This means that lesson planning is an essential
component of a teacher's daily work, and can be mentally taxing as it requires
considerable cognitive effort before actual teaching and interaction with students
can take place (König et al., 2021). Moreover, lesson planning plays a vital role in
the effective teaching and learning process, providing teachers with a structured
framework and facilitating the seamless progression of lessons. It serves as a
roadmap for teachers, outlining the key learning objectives and the most effective
methods to achieve them within the allotted class time (Sehweil et al., 2022).
Effective lesson planning ensures that students have meaningful learning
experiences. To create a successful lesson plan, teachers need to utilize their
expertise in the relevant subject area, as well as their understanding of the
students they teach, the community they serve, and the curriculum they are
required to follow (Sawyer & Myers, 2018).
Vietnam, adeveloping country in Asia, recently implemented a nationwide

comprehensive curriculum reform for its general education system. A new
curriculum was launched in 2018 and has been put into effect since 2020. Its
primary objective is to offer students increased opportunities to learn more
relevant and engaging knowledge and skills. Under this new curriculum, students
are encouraged to undertake self-exploration of knowledge and apply new
concepts in practical situations. Meanwhile, the role of teachers has shifted from
primarily delivering knowledge to facilitating student exploration (K. T. Pham et
al., 2023). Consequently, the new curriculum requires changes of the textbooks,
teaching and assessment methods including lesson planning (MOET, 2022b). In
fact, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has issued seven guidelines
on lesson planning at the general education level since 2017 (Nguyen, 2022).
Among the subjects, Philology was required to reform in teaching, learning and
assessment by MOET (MOET, 2022a; Thanh Hung, 2022).
This study was designed to examine the perspectives of Vietnamese Philology

teachers on lesson planning, the difficulties they have encountered, and their
recommendations. The following questions were developed to guide the research:
1. How do they develop their lesson plans?
2. What resources they have used to develop their lesson plans?
3. What difficulties have the teacher encountered when they develop their lesson
plans?
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4. What do they suggest having appropriate lesson plans?
2. Literature review
2.1. Concepts and characteristics of lesson planning
Lesson planning has been the subject of numerous research studies. First of all,
Enow and Goodwyn (2018) defines lesson planning as “the design of learning for
groups of students” (p. 121). In addition, Sardo-Brown (1996) associates lesson
planning with the teaching and learning choices made by teachers before
presenting a lesson. Lai and Lam (2011) further elaborate that lesson planning
involves the collaboration between teachers and specific content to determine the
appropriate method and manner of delivering the content to meet the individual
needs of each teaching scenario.
When it comes to lesson planning, teachers must handle a range of cognitive

demands. One such challenge is to tailor planning elements to suit the needs of
their particular group of learners. Experienced teachers are knowledgeable about
their students' requirements and incorporate them into their planning process
(Enow & Goodwyn, 2018). Taking into account individual differences in learning
tendencies and using assessment data to guide their teaching, these teachers can
create instructional plans that are tailored to the specific needs of their students
(Indeed Editorial Team, 2023; Stigler & Miller, 2018). Effective teachers approach
lesson planning by skillfully combining their conceptual knowledge with
situational awareness. They carefully consider the unique aspects of each
planning situation, and use this information to progressively integrate teaching
and learning activities into their lesson plans (Enow & Goodwyn, 2018; König,
Bremerich-Vos, Buchholtz, Fladung, et al., 2020). In contrast, novice teachers have
a less adaptable, formulaic instruction methods. They may encounter challenges
in accommodating the instructional situation, predicting the direction of teaching,
and creating lesson plans tailored to their particular cohort of learners (Chizhik &
Chizhik, 2018; König et al., 2021).
While other types of planning, such as unit planning or long-term planning, may
also be discussed, lesson planning is typically the most emphasized and well-
defined aspect of teacher preparation. When designing their lesson plans, teachers
must make decisions regarding what material to teach, how to represent and
convey the subject matter to their students, and how to measure their students'
studying (Lai & Lam, 2011). According to König et al. (2021), lesson planning can
be broken down into six stages. These include: (i) transforming content into a
format that is accessible and meaningful for students, (ii) selecting and creating
appropriate learning activities, (iii) adapting to the unique learning tendencies of
individual students and the group as a whole, (iv) establishing clear study goals
for instructors and learner, (v) structuring the unit within the educational
framework, and (vi) pacing the lesson appropriately.
2.2. Resources used in developing lesson plans

The associated literature points out that teachers spend a significant amount of
time searching for resources to use in their classes. The resources they come across
greatly influence their perception of teaching language arts and their classroom
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practices (Grossman & Thompson, 2008). In addition, the results of Lai and Lam's
(2011) study indicate that the internet, news, and textbooks are essential sources
of information for teachers. These resources provide educators with access to a
wealth of information, including subject matter knowledge, teaching strategies,
and curriculum standards. Specifically, newspapers and television programs play
a pivotal role in providing ideas and information for teachers. During the main
design stage, teachers seek out newspapers and TV programs to locate
educational materials that can assist learner studying in their units. For several
teachers, the process of designing a lesson plan begins with current events that
are pertinent to the lesson content. Numerous scheduled instructional sessions
utilize contemporary news stories to aid students in comprehending content ideas
or concepts.
In addition, Sawyer and Myers (2018) highlight that teachers utilize both physical
and internet resources when developing lesson plans. Physical resources refer to
any object or individual that is physically present and can serve as an inspiration
for teachers. On the other hand, internet resources refer to any assistance teachers
receive from websites they find online, including YouTube, Pinterest, and other
websites. The study indicates that teachers can access an endless supply of
instructional materials available online by simply entering a single keyword.
Teachers tend to use the most popular resources available on websites to develop
their lesson plans. The research findings demonstrate the significant role the
Internet plays in providing teachers with a broad range of lesson plan resources,
which can enhance the quality of their teaching and improve student outcomes.
Therefore, educators should be encouraged to explore various online resources
and incorporate them into their lesson planning process.
Furthermore, Lai and Lam (2011) highlight that the Internet is a potent source of
information for lesson planning, particularly in the primary design stage.
Teachers commonly search for information on the Internet when starting to plan
their lessons. This information search is thought to help teachers refine their initial
lesson ideas and transform them into practical lesson plans. The study indicates
that online collections of teaching materials, created by education authorities or
other parties, are among the most valuable Internet resources for teachers. These
Internet-based repositories of educational aids provide lesson content suggestions
and guidelines for sequencing the content, which is particularly helpful when
teachers are dealing with unfamiliar topics. Therefore, web-based resource banks
are found to be the most useful resource when planning lessons, providing
teachers with the necessary information and guidance to create effective and
engaging lesson plans. These findings emphasize the importance of the Internet
as a tool for teachers in developing lesson plans and encourage educators to take
advantage of these resources to enhance their teaching practice. Recently, Lodge
(2023) points out that Generative AI in general, and ChatGPT in particular, can
help develop lesson plans for teachers.
2.3. Effective lesson planning

To effectively guide students in the learning process, teachers create a lesson plan
that outlines what the students will study and how it will be taught in the
classroom. Prior to creating a lesson plan, teachers first need to determine the
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learning objectives for the class. (Milkova, n.d.) suggests six steps to help teachers
develop their lesson plans: (1) defining learning outcomes, (2) creating an
introduction, (3) developing purposeful teaching strategies, (4) designing
assessments to check for understanding, (5) formulating a summary and preview,
and (6) establishing a realistic timeline. By following these steps, teachers can
create suitable instructional tasks, devise methods to gather student learning
assessments, and ensure that their lessons are effective.
Additionally, according to Van Der Schaaf et al. (2019), setting learning outcomes
is a crucial part of teachers' pre-lesson preparation. The teacher sets these
objectives to attain a clear understanding of the subject matter. Nevertheless, these
outcomes also play a vital role in student learning success as clarity is essential for
effective teaching. Evidence suggests that teachers need to clarify learning
outcomes to inform students of the anticipated learning objectives (Maulana et al.,
2017; UNESCO, 2023). Students need to understand the learning objectives clearly
so that they can integrate them into their individual learning processes. Therefore,
to communicate well-defined anticipations, teachers are expected to present the
lesson's objectives or provide students with an outline of the lesson's structure
(König et al., 2021; Kyriakides et al., 2018; Singapore Management University,
2023).
Furthermore, König et al. (2021) point out that lesson planning places particular
cognitive demands on teachers that they need to meet in order to achieve high-
quality teaching. They must take into account their learners’ comprehension, prior
expertise, and common misconceptions about the area of study. This creates a
complex interaction between the cognitive challenges of designing a lesson and
the complexity of mutual understanding in classroom interactions.
3. Methods
The research utilizes a quantitative research approach, which involved collecting
data through a survey questionnaire with primary, lower secondary and upper
secondary teachers working in different schools across all regions in Vietnam.
This questionnaire was designed to examine teachers’ perspectives on lesson
planning. Several sources including the new curriculum in Philology (MOET,
2018), characteristics of lesson planning (González et al., 2020), lesson planning
skills (König, Bremerich-Vos, Buchholtz, Fladung, et al., 2020), and technical and
pedagogical support for lesson planning (Janssen et al., 2019) were used to
develop the first version of the questionnaire. The researchers then invited nine
Philology teachers to read and answer the questions as well as to give their
comments. A pilot studty was conducted with 30 teachers. The researchers
finalized the questionnaire which consists of six sections and 27 closed-ended
questions. Specifically, the first section with four questions asked participants
about their personal information. The second section with seven questions
focused on how teachers developed their lesson plans. The third section with six
questions was designed to understand the materials and resources teachers used
to create their lesson plans. The fourth section with seven questions asked teachers
about their priorities on lesson planning. The fifth section with two questions
focused on difficulties and challenges teachers encountered during their lesson
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planning processes. The final section with one question sought to get participants’
suggestions about effective lesson planning.
Convenience sampling was employed to select respondents from all primary,

lower secondary and upper secondary schools in all cities and provinces in
Vietnam. This sampling technique is the most common form of non-probabilistic
sampling and it often selects “participants that are available around a location
[…], Internet site, or customer-membership list” (Stratton, 2021, p. 373).
Specifically, Google Forms was used to develop the survey in the middle of
February 2023 and its link was sent to potential participants. Moreover, teachers
who received the link was also asked to send the link to their colleagues. In total,
at the end of March 2023, the survey received 1,001 valid responses. The IBM SPSS
Statistics version 26 was used to analyze the data. The main information of the
participants is summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Participants’ main information (N = 1,001)

Number Percentage
Level of teaching
Primary 469 66.8
Lower secondary 316 31.6
Upper secondary 216 21.6
Years of teaching
1 < 3 years 85 8.5
3<5 83 8.3
7 < 10 years 136 13.6
10 < 15 years 181 18.1
15 < 20 years 153 15.3
>=20 years 363 36.2
Textbooks used for teaching at present
Old textbooks (for 2006 curriculum) 197 19.7
New textbooks (for 2018 curriculum) 383 38.3
Both old textbooks and new textbooks 421 42.0
Level of studying the general education curriculum in Philology
Not studied 57 5.7
Only a little 240 24.0
Relatively well-studied 615 61.4
Thoroughly studied 89 8.9
4. Results
4.1. Lesson planning
The first four questions in this section asked teachers about the time used for
lesson planning, collaboration in designing lesson plans, and the frequency of
using the general education curriculum in developing lesson plans. The results
are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Teachers’ responses in lesson planning (N = 1,001)

Number Percentage
Time spent on lesson planning
Very little 6 0.6
Relatively little 70 7.0
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Quite a lot 746 74.5

A lot 179 17.9
Time length between developing a lesson plan and teaching
1 semester 24 2.4
1-2 months 89 8.9
1-2 weeks 662 66.1
1-2 days 226 22.6
Frequencies of collaboration with other teachers to develop lesson plans
Never 19 1.9
Rarely 50 5.0
Sometimes 390 39.0
Usually 542 54.1
Frequencies of using the Philology curriculum in developing lesson plans
Never 23 2.3
Rarely 99 9.9
Sometimes 722 72.1
Usually 157 15.7
In addition, the teachers showed their approaches in designing lesson plans.

Among the five options, collaborating with colleagues to develop a lesson plan
received the most selections (501; 50% while using the colleagues’ lesson plans
received the fewest choices (130; 13%) (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Approaches in designing lesson plans
The results from the current research also showed that teachers used a variety of
resources to develop their lesson plans. The highest was for the teacher books
while the lowest was for the documents (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Resources used to develop lesson plans
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The teachers also revealed their purposes of using the reference materials. While
831 teachers (83.1%) chose “To understand the lesson plan framework”, only 178
teachers (17.8%) selected “To copy the use of teaching aids, equipment and
assessment” (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Purposes of using the reference materials
4.2. Teachers’ evaluation of the materials and resources used for lesson
planning
The teachers participating in this research showed the evaluation of the resources
and materials used for developing their lesson plans. Table 3 highlights their
evaluation on the textbooks, teacher books, lesson plan guiding books, and lesson
plans on the Internet.
Table 3: Teachers’ evaluation of materials and resources for lesson planning

(N = 1,001)
Number Percentage
Advantage of the 2018 curriculum textbooks for lesson planning
Totally disadvantageous 19 1.9
Less advantageous 158 15.8
Quite advantageous 750 74.9
Very advantageous 74 7.4
Advantage of the 2018 curriculum teacher books for lesson planning
Totally disadvantageous 16 1.6
Less advantageous 164 16.4
Quite advantageous 749 74.8
Very advantageous 72 7.2
Quality of lesson plan guiding books
Not good 12 1.2
So-so 301 30.1
Quite good 628 62.7
Very good 60 6.0
Quality of lesson plans on the Internet
Not good 45 4.5
So-so 510 50.9
Quite good 413 41.3
Very good 33 3.3
Appropriateness of the lesson plans on the Internet for all teachers and students
Totally inappropriate for everyone 19 1.9
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Only appropriate for some people 570 56.9

Appropriate for many people 373 37.3
Appropriate for everyone 39 3.9
Whether or not the use of lesson plans from reference books and on the Internet
reduces the teacher’s creativeness
It does not reduce the teacher’s creativeness 272 27.2
It rarely reduces the teacher’s creativeness 356 35.5
It reduces the teacher’s creativeness relatively. 335 33.5
It reduces the teacher’s creativeness a lot. 38 3.8
4.3. Teachers’ interests when designing their lesson plans

The teachers expressed their attention and interest when developed their lesson
plans. Specifically, they paid attention to their students’ abilities, lesson objectives,
differentiation, teaching aids, and review of the lesson plans (Table 4).
Table 4. Teachers’ interest and attention when developing the lesson plans (N = 1,001)
Number Percentage
Interest in analyzing students’ abilities when designing lesson plans
Not interested 5 0.5
Rarely interested 35 3.5
Quite interested 532 53.1
Always interested 429 42.9
Interest in making the lesson objectives relevant to students
Not interested 0 0
Rarely interested 34 3.4
Quite interested 407 40.7
Always interested 559 55.8
Appropriateness of teaching processes and activities for all students
Completely inappropriate 11 1.1
Rarely appropriate 12 1.2
Quite appropriate 791 79.0
Very appropriate 187 18.7
Frequency of paying attention to differentiation when designing questions and

exercises
Never 0 0
Rarely 49 4.9
Usually 711 71.0
Always 241 24.1
Frequency of paying attention to specific teaching aids when designing lesson plans
Never 5 0.5
Rarely 42 4.2
Usually 699 69.8
Always 255 25.5
The most important thing when designing lesson plans
Teaching objectives 608 60.7
Teaching equipment 10 1.0
Questions and exercises 143 14.3
The lesson content 97 9.7
Teaching techniques 143 14.3
130
Frequency of revising the lesson plans

Never 2 0.2
Rarely 103 10.3
Usually 698 69.7
Always 198 19.8
4.4. Difficulties during the lesson planning processes

The teachers expressed the difficulties they encountered when they designed their
lesson plans. The most difficult things were that they had little time to prepare
their lesson plans (583 selections, accounting for 58.2%), and large class, diverse
in level (502 selections, accounting for 50.1%) (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Difficulties during the lesson planning processes
The teachers also pointed out the causes of the difficulties. The main reasons were
that the curriculum and textbooks were new, and they did not have experience
with them (582 selections, accounting for 58.1%), and students’ competence was
limited, they were not interested in Philology (559 selection, accounting for 55.8%)
(Table 5).
Table 5. Causes of difficulties (N = 1,001)

Causes of difficulties Number Percentage
The curriculum and textbooks are new. 582 58.1%
Students’ competence is limited, they are not 559 55.8%
interested in Philology.
There are few references for designing lesson 442 44.2%
plans.
I am too busy with teaching, so I do not have time 394 39.4%
to prepare my lesson plans or learn from my
colleagues.
Facilities and equipment for teaching are not 328 32.8%
good.
The teaching guidelines are not clear enough. 213 21.3%
I have not been properly trained on how to teach 187 18.7%
with the new curriculum and textbooks.
I do not have much teaching experience. 129 12.9%
My knowledge and teaching skills are outdated. 86 8.6%
131
My knowledge of language and Philology are 80 8.0%

uncertain.
I have been teaching for only a few years. 78 7.8%
I am quite old. 61 6.1%
My school leaders have not created favourable 25 2.5%
conditions for teaching innovation.
4.5. Recommendations
The teachers who participated in the survey recommended the contents they
would like to be trained to improve their competencies in developing their lesson
plans (Table 6). They teachers were interested in all suggested options. Nearly
60% of the participants would like to be trained about how to design questions
and exercises for teaching and assessment. In addition, more than 50% of the
respondents would like to be trained about how to organize each activity in the
teaching process.
Table 6: Recommendations of training contents

Training content recommended Number Percentage
How to design questions and exercises for teaching 597 59.6%
and assessment
How to organize each activity in the teaching 568 55.8%
process
How to find teaching and assessment materials 477 47.7%
How to guide students to self-study 456 45.6%
How to use teaching equipment and apply ICT in 440 44.0%
teaching and assessment
How to develop lesson plans based on the 436 43.6%
curriculum
How to analyze the structure and requirements of 401 40.1%
the lessons in the textbooks
How to analyze the 2018 Philology curriculum 345 34.5%
How to analyze the structure and requirements of 313 31.3%
the lesson plans issued by the Ministry of
Education and Training
5. Discussion
The results of the study indicated that the majority of teachers spend a significant
amount of time preparing their lesson plans. Nevertheless, recent research shows
that the amount of time varies by country, with Chinese teachers spending an
average of two hours per day compared to 30 minutes for U.S. teachers (Bieda et
al., 2020). Typically, teachers start planning their lessons one to two weeks before
the classroom teaching, although a few (22.6%) only plan their lessons 1-2 days in
advance. The study also found that many teachers (54.1%) collaborate with their
colleagues when developing their lesson plans. Collaborative planning has been
shown to enhance teachers' professional development by allowing them to share
knowledge and skills related to lesson planning (Voogt et al., 2015). This is
132
especially helpful for novice teachers and those using unfamiliar teaching
approaches (Park et al., 2022).
To develop their lesson plans, the teachers who participated in this study used
different resources, including textbooks, workbooks, the new curriculum, the
templates issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, and materials from
the Internet. Our finding echoes that of Lai and Lam (2011), who argue that
teachers' lesson planning is influenced by various factors such as their knowledge,
curricular requirements, and the availability of resources. Among the resources
commonly used by teachers, textbooks and teacher books are the most frequently
used ones. In Asia, it is common for teachers to use textbooks to teach reading, as
noted by Tam (2013) and T. T. H. Pham (2023). Textbooks are also considered as
vital resources for lesson planning in general education, particularly when
teachers need to prepare for lessons on unfamiliar topics, according to Lai and
Lam (2011). Textbooks provide a summary of the primary subject matter that is
addressed across various topics, making them helpful for teachers in preparing
their lessons.
A significant proportion of the teachers in this study (52.8%) utilized online

resources when preparing their lesson plans. As highlighted by González et al.
(2020), teachers commonly source materials for their lessons from both textbooks
and the Internet. Indeed, the availability of online resources has transformed the
approach of practicing teachers to lesson planning and instructional delivery
(Haleem et al., 2022; Salajan et al., 2016; Sawyer & Myers, 2018). This observation
supports previous studies indicating that the Internet has a considerable influence
on teachers' lesson planning practices, particularly for those who are new to the
profession and seeking additional support (Kivunja, 2013; McMeans, 2015;
Sawyer & Myers, 2018).
Our study shows that the most important thing teachers paid attention to when
designing their lesson plans was the teaching objectives. This finding is partially
consistent with that of König, Bremerich-Vos, Buchholtz, & Glutsch (2020) who
stated that when planning their lessons, teachers placed importance on factors
such as student demands, course materials, objectives, and instructions.
According to Rusznyak and Walton (2011), teachers are expected to consider the
purpose of the lesson, their understanding of the content to be learned, the
characteristics of the learners, and appropriate teaching and learning strategies.
However, Sawyer and Myers (2018) argue that instead of prioritizing objectives,
teachers lean to focus more on subject matter expertise and activities.
The teachers who participated in this research encountered several difficulties

during their lesson planning processes. The most difficult oneswere having little
time to design a lesson plan, large class and diverse in levels, there were a lot of
new methods and techniques, and the new lesson plan templates were difficult to
understand. Previous studies have investigated the challenges that teachers face
during the lesson planning process (González et al., 2020). These challenges
include difficulties in defining clear learning objectives, using evaluation methods
that align with learning objectives, and deciding how to initiate a lesson. Teachers
may also struggle to align learning objectives, delivery, and evaluation in a
133
cohesive manner (Liyanage & Bartlett, 2010). Additionally, they may find it
challenging to create tasks that are both engaging and effective in achieving
learning objectives (Ainley, 2012). Teachers may lack knowledge of how to
identify student needs, make informed decisions, and reconcile differences
between their planned lessons and their subject understanding (Parry & Metzger,
2023; Schmidt, 2005). Finally, they may struggle to integrate their discipline-
specific knowledge into their lesson planning (González et al., 2020; van Dijk et
al., 2022).
The teachers proposed several training contents to help them improve their lesson
plan designing competence. The contents that received the most selections were:
the ways to design questions and exercises for teaching and assessment (59.6%),
the ways to organize each activity in the teaching process (55.8%), and the ways
to find teaching and assessment materials (47.7%). The associated literature
reveals similar findings. For example, to design lessons that cater to a diverse
student population, educators must rethink the way they plan and structure
lessons, according to Causton-Theoharis et al., (2008). Additionally, teachers can
analyze and enhance the design processes in their lesson plans, as stated by
González et al. (2020) and Ndihokubwayo et al. (2022). Adapting designing
elements to meet the needs of specific study groups is one of the primary
difficulties that teachers encounter during lesson planning, as suggested by
König, Bremerich-Vos, Buchholtz, Fladung, et al. (2020).
6. Conclusion
The learning activities that teachers plan prior to classroom delivery have a
significant impact on the knowledge acquisition (González et al., 2020). For
beginning instructors with a limited repertoire, developing lesson plans plays a
crucial part in their classroom activities, and they are often found to be relying on
original lesson plans (Lai & Lam, 2011). This study examined Vietnamese
Philology teachers’ lesson planning competencies. Our results showed the current
status of lesson planning, materials and resources used in developing lesson
plans, teachers’ interests and priorities when designing their lesson plans, the
difficulties they encountered during the processes of developing their lesson
plans, and the training contents they proposed to improve their lesson planning
competencies.
Given that this research was carried out exclusively in Vietnam, its results cannot
be automatically applied to other countries. Nonetheless, the study's relevance
may extend beyond its specific setting. In-service teachers all over the world have
encountered the transitional period from pre-service education to actual teaching,
as demonstrated by Vietnam's induction phase, which can be especially
demanding. Novice teachers often lack established routines and the knowledge
structure of experienced teachers, making it challenging for them to adjust their
teaching methods to accommodate students' individual needs.
7. References
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 137-151, June 2023
Received Mar 7, 2023; Revised May 12, 2023; Accepted May 29, 2023
Promoting Critical Thinking through Socratic

Questions in Health Sciences Work-Integrated
Learning
Zijing Hu*
Department of Complementary Medicine,
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract. Critical thinking is an essential skill that needs to be developed

in students to provide quality support, care and well-being for their
patients. It is an important skill that includes critical decision-making,
evaluating the situation, communicating and participating in the
decision-making. These skills are aligned with the 21st century work skills
required for efficient and quality outputs. The Socratic question technique
has been found to be an effective approach to promote and enhance
students’ critical thinking during their work-integrated learning. This
study aimed to explore students’ experiences of Socratic questioning to
promote their critical thinking skills during the work-integrated learning
of an acupuncture programme at a South African higher education
institution. This study used a qualitative case study design embedded
within an interpretivist paradigm. The research setting was a public
university in Gauteng province. The purposive sampling technique was
used to invite participants. Six (6) participants voluntarily agreed to
participate. The data collection instrument was text-based interviews.
Data were analysed inductively whereby themes were identified and
analysed. Trustworthiness and its relevant principles were adhered
throughout the study. The findings of this study revealed that students
acknowledged the value of Socratic questioning in work-integrated
learning to improve critical thinking. They further agreed that the
technique gave them the opportunity to be self-reflective. However,
participants indicated that there is a need for academics to be thoroughly
familiar with Socratic questioning to add value to their learning. More
time should be allocated for Socratic questioning during work-integrated
learning. This study concluded that Socratic questioning was essential
and pertinent to promote students’ critical thinking during work-
integrated learning. There is a need to provide training for academics and
clinical instructors to be knowledgeable on how to utilise Socratic
questioning methods appropriately. Further studies are recommended to
be conducted at international levels with different research approaches.
*
Corresponding author: Zijing Hu; zhu@uj.ac.za
©Authors
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Keywords: socratic questioning; critical thinking; work-integrated

learning; higher education; clinical training
1. Introduction
Critical thinking is a mental process, that requires acute perception, analysis,
synthesis and evaluation of collected information (Papathanasiou et al., 2014).
This is done through observation, shared experience, participation and
communication. These are skills that are required by health sciences students who
should have diverse knowledge to manage and handle various situations during
their work-integrated learning (WIL). According to Van Nguyen and Liu (2021),
there is evidence that critical thinking skills have improved patient outcomes and
care and support. During WIL, students are faced with various medical conditions;
therefore, critical thinking skills become a necessity for them to ask appropriate
questions and critique the solutions. The author opines that critical thinking is a
necessity for practising medical students; however, anecdotal evidence has shown
that students lack the ability to ask appropriate questions and make evaluative
judgements. The world of work is demanding, and it is expected of students to be
‘quick at wit’ and acute in their observations. However, according to Oraison,
Konjarski and Howe (2019) the primary aim of tertiary education is to prepare
students for the world of work; it is debatable whether higher education institutes
adequately and appropriately provide their students with 21st century workplace
skills. For this reason, the author aimed to explore students’ experiences of
promoting critical thinking skills through the use of Socratic questioning.
Specifically, it addressed the research question on ‘How do students experience
Socratic questioning in promoting their critical thinking in WIL?’
There is much criticism regarding the misalignment in students’ training and the
requirement from the world of work in health sciences (Oraison et al., 2019).
Students are unable to critically think, make appropriate decisions regarding their
practice. Hu et al. (2022) concur with Paul and Elder (2008) that the weakness of
critical thinking is a significant contributor that negatively affects students’
competencies in clinical practice. Abidah (2022) and Oyler and Romanelli (2014)
believe that critical thinking is a fundamental 21st-century skill, particularly in
health sciences where quick appropriate decisions are required. Despite the
absence of a universal definition of critical thinking, Fahim and Bagheri (2012)
agree with Paul (1988) that critical thinking refers to the ability to explore
authentic and accurate knowledge to reach sound conclusions through
observation and information. To improve students’ critical thinking, Kusmaryani
(2020) suggests that Socratic questioning is an effective approach since it helps
students to think critically by focusing explicitly on their own thinking processes
(reflective thinking). However, there is a lack of research that focuses on exploring
students’ experiences, using Socratic questioning to promoting critical thinking
during WIL within the South African context.
Zare and Mukundan (2015) concur with Ennis (1987:10), who explains critical
thinking as “reasonable reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to
believe or do”. In their work, Paul and Elder (2001) state that critical thinking
focuses on reasoning with the aim of sharpening one’s thinking by analysing and
139
evaluating information (Abidah, 2022). Critical thinking assists students in

assessing their own thinking through their existing knowledge (Fahim & Bagheri,
2012). Sahamid (2016) articulates that the characteristic of critical thinking is the
ability to think logically and abstractly, and to reason theoretically. The author
believes that Socratic questioning stresses the importance of questioning for
learning. Kusmaryani (2020) and Sahamid (2016) both articulate that asking the
right questions in Socratic questioning is of profound importance since good
thinking derived from asking questions stimulates thought.Venville (2018) points
out that WIL is prevalent in medical training since it provides lived experiences
and knowledge in the working world. According to Jeong and McMillan (2015),
WIL is organised through practice-based learning activities in real contexts.
2.1 Explanation of Socratic questioning
Socratic questioning is defined as systematic questions that facilitate students to
reflect on their misconceptions or incorrect conclusions on specific topics (Fahim
& Bagheri, 2012; Nair & Ramasubramaniam, 2021). Acim (2018) and Katsara and
De Witte (2019) contend that Socratic questioning is a technique to achieve logical
thinking through inference. Kusmaryani (2020) further explains that Socratic
questioning is performed with frequent and systematic questioning. The role of a
lecturer in Socratic questioning is to facilitate students’ self-reflection to identify
their deficiencies and weaknesses (Acim, 2018). Socratic questioning promotes
critical thinking in the world of work because it assists students in synthesising
their views, analysing and evaluating solutions (Cekin, 2015). Socratic
questioning assists others in identifying what is untrue; because it is difficult for
them to identify their own mistakes without others’ questioning (Suhardiana,
2019). This view concurs with Katsara and De Witte (2019) who highlight that
Socratic questioning aims to probe and reveal contradictions by cross-
examination of information.
Kinney (2022) states that the Socratic method of inquiry is an inspiring process
since the questions are asked both to draw individual answers and encourage
individuals’ fundamental insight into the issue under discussion. Kusmaryani
(2020) mentions that critical thinking consists of the following components: active
involvement, thinking elements, thinking standards and thinking systems. In the
process of Socratic questioning, students are asked to think carefully and answer
open-ended questions to texts that foster controversy about issues and values
(Katsara & De Witte, 2019). This kind of questioning will strengthen students’
understanding of information and the perspectives discussed (Pihlgren, 2014). In
the author’s opinion, promoting students’ understanding of information and
critical thinking in clinical practice is of profound significance. The reason is that
the accuracy of understanding in WIL will influence students’ critical thinking
when making decisions. The author believes that although Socratic questioning
requires more comprehensive skills from lecturers, continuous practice will lead
to success.
Nair and Ramasubramaniam (2021) are of the view that Socratic questioning
requires lecturers to guide students toward their self-reflection on their
140
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values (KSAV). Therefore, lecturers do not merely
provide answers to questions asked; instead, they probe for the answers and
facilitate students to discover the correct conclusions by themselves (Kusmaryani,
2020). These questions are for the purpose of facilitating students to evaluate their
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values instead of judgment. In Socratic
questioning, the role of lecturers is to assist students in justifying their thoughts.
Therefore, in the Socratic approach, lecturers facilitate students to construct their
opinion and identify inconsistencies and contradictions in their thoughts (Barnes
& Payette, 2017). Active involvement in discovering answers significantly
promotes critical thinking (Nair & Ramasubramaniam, 2021). Although Socratic
questioning appears simple, it is in fact intensely rigorous. Venkatesan (2020)
explains that Socratic questioning is an effective approach that leads to self-
discovery and self-rectifying of errors in thinking. Therefore, it focuses on
identifying the validity of ideas by asking systematic questions. Suhardiana (2019)
are of the view that the utmost goal of Socratic questioning is changing minds;
therefore, questions that are not designed to change minds cannot be considered
as Socratic questioning. Once a response is made, it is followed up by asking more
probing questions (Overholser, 2018). In a sense, Socratic questioning uses the W-
Question format covering the what-where-which-whom-when-how and why the
sequence of asking queries (although may not be in the same order) for each
statement made by respondents (Dinkins & Cangelosi, 2019).
2.2 Value of Socratic questioning in promoting critical thinking

In their work, Fahim and Bagheri (2012) contend that through the effective use of
Socratic questioning, students will improve their skills in identifying, exposing,
and evaluating their KSAV. Furthermore, students will identify contrary
assertions and experiences that significantly promote critical thinking in clinical
practice (Pihlgren, 2014). Zare and Mukundan (2015) indicate that lecturers
should ask questions that assist students in identifying fundamental elements and
their evolution. Furthermore, lecturers should prepare to provide follow-up
inquiries based on students’ answers. Paul and Elder (2008) explain that Socratic
questioning can be categorised into three categories, namely spontaneous,
exploratory and focused. Each of these modes of questioning assists in students’
critical thinking from diverse perspectives (Paul & Elder, 2006). In particular, the
author concurs with Zare and Mukundan (2015) who contend that focused
Socratic questioning provides an opportunity for students to explore specific
topics in-depth and extensively. Through focused Socratic questioning, students
can identify the known and unknown. Students will be able to identify
misconceptions in critical thinking. To achieve the best outcomes of focused
Socratic questioning, Paul and Elder (2008) believe that lecturers should pre-plan
the topic. They need to identify what they want students to think through possible
perspectives on an issue; grounds for conclusions; problematic concepts,
implications, consequences; and so forth. It is also useful to anticipate student
responses to questions. Therefore, the role of lecturers shifts from simply
transmission of knowledge to facilitating students to identify misconceptions
(Barnes & Payette, 2017).
141
Socratic questioning is one of the most popular pedagogies that effectively

engages students in inquiry toward higher levels of thinking, thus strengthening
students’ critical thinking (Barnes & Payette, 2017). The author opines that the
case-based Socratic method in WIL is useful for preparing students’ competencies
in clinical practice. This view concurs with Fahim and Bagheri (2012) who indicate
that Socratic questioning is of particular significance in promoting students’
critical thinking and reaching a deeper level of understanding of particular
phenomena through systematic questioning. Socratic questioning aims to help
students become aware of their weaknesses in thinking, lack of knowledge, wrong
inferences, and false hypotheses (Zare & Mukundan, 2015). Consequently, the
author believes that it is crucial for lecturers to acquire the skills of asking good
and deep questions in questioning. This view concurs with Sahamid (2016) who
affirms that, in the context of learning, students’ critical thinking can be developed
if teachers have the skill to conduct questioning and to ask appropriate questions.
Nair and Ramasubramaniam (2021) further state that follow-up questions should
be able to probe students’ understanding and misconceptions that underlie the
initial answers. Through Socratic questioning, students also learn how to justify
their arguments and understanding. A person who trains and disciplines his mind
to think in a prescribed manner, consistently using the same set of procedures to
guide that thinking, would be able to raise his standard of thinking (Zare &
Mukundan, 2015).
Chian (2020) and Zare and Mukundan (2015) further articulate that the purpose
of questioning is to raise self-awareness of misconceptions. They are of the view
that in the Socratic approach, students do not need to memorise and read
textbooks (Zare & Mukundan, 2015). Moreover, Socratic questioning motivates
and inspires students’ self-reflection through questioning (Barnes & Payette, 2017;
Chian, 2020). The author argues that students should acquire relevant knowledge
before participating in answering questions. The reason is that students need to
have fundamental knowledge and understanding of the content knowledge to
apply critical thinking in a clinical setting. Sahamid (2016) reports that students
who have gone through the learning process of Socratic questioning demonstrate
the ability to deliver a more in-depth discussion. In a similar vein, a study
conducted by Kinney (2022) reveals that Socratic questioning significantly
promotes students’ critical thinking skills.
2.3 Challenges in Work-Integrated Learning (WIL)

Scholars, such as Govender and Wait (2018) and Wilson et al. (2022), concur that
WIL improves students’ competencies in the working world since the role of
WIL is to encourage learning for performance. These researchers agree that WIL
offers an opportunity for students to identify their learning needs and optimise
their practical skills from actual practice in the real world. The author believes
that the authentic practice context provides opportunities for students to
connect their practice to the course curriculum through novel situations arising
from the dynamic environment in which professionals work. However, Hu et al.
(2022) and Paul and Elder (2008) point out that there is an absence of effective
approaches to promote students’ critical thinking in WIL. Furthermore, despite
Socratic questioning being an effective method to improve critical thinking,
142
Venkatesan (2020) argues that merely asking questions cannot necessarily be

considered Socratic questioning. Lecturers must acquire adequate skills in
questioning, which should redirect to topics towards the purpose of the
discussion and conclusion (Barnes & Payette, 2017). Kinney (2022) contends that
the success of Socratic questioning depends on the lecturers who prepare the
questions. Therefore, it is of profound importance that lecturers are competent
in facilitating the learning process using the Socratic method. They should be
able to ask good questions systematically. Suhardiana (2019) believes good
questions should lead to deeper thought. Misconceptions pose a great barrier to
learning and often lead to frustration with the subject.
Universities need to ensure that their students can make sound judgements and
decisions in the world of work. Many lecturers cannot make use of the Socratic
questioning method to engage students in WIL effectively (Barnes & Payette,
2017). Students are unaware of misconceptions, which pose significant barriers
to teaching and learning (Chian, 2020). Therefore, there is a need to strengthen
lecturers’ competencies in the application of Socratic questioning techniques in
WIL. Sahamid (2016) is of the view that there is no practical manual for Socratic
questioning. The reason is that there are no step-by-step questions that can be
followed. The author believes the absence of practical manuals places significant
challenges in teaching and learning; because the quality of the Socratic
questioning process in particular courses depend on lecturers’ skills (Paul &
Elder, 2008). Furthermore, Grondin (2018) reports that a large class poses
challenges in Socratic questioning since limited time is allocated to a particular
class. The author concurs with Grondin (2018) that even in a small classroom,
answers from one student do not necessarily represent the understanding of the
entire class.
3. Conceptual Framework
This study was anchored to the conceptual framework adapted from the revised
Bloom’s Taxonomy developed by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) and Paul’s
classification of the six types of Socratic questions (Mason, 2011; Paul, 1990).
Bloom’s Taxonomy has been introduced in education to evaluate diverse goals
since the 1950s. In 2001, Anderson and Krathwohl proposed the revised Bloom’s
Taxonomy, which was developed from Bloom’s Taxonomy (Hu, Venketsamy &
Pellow, 2022). Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) propose four types of knowledge,
which are factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and
metacognitive knowledge. This knowledge is further categorised into six
processes: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and
creating [See Figure 1] (Barari et al., 2020; Chandio et al., 2016).
The revised Bloom’s Taxonomy is a valuable resource to guide teaching and

institutional planning. According to Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) and Barari
et al. (2020), the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy consists of six cognitive levels. Firstly,
remembering questions emphasises memory, which requires students to recall
information in a particular course; secondly, understanding questions measures
students’ abilities to explain what they have learned; thirdly, students are
requested to apply the knowledge in a novel situation, which is applying
questions; fourthly, students are requested to explore the relationships among
143
information – analysing questions. The fifth level is evaluative questions, which

invite students to determine a conclusion. Lastly, students are requested to
develop novel approaches for specific situations (creating questions).
Figure 1. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (As adapted from Barari et al., 2020)
According to Mason (2011) and Paul and Elder (2008), there are six types of
Socratic questions. Table 1 below illustrates different types of Socratic questions.
Chandio et al. (2016) and Fahim and Bagheri (2012) further explain that based on
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and Paul’s six types of Socratic Questions, there are
different types of questions that lecturers can use to promote students’
understanding and assess their knowledge. The author believes that the revised
Bloom’s Taxonomy and the six types of Socratic questions are effective
approaches to guide Socratic questioning in WIL to promote students’ critical
thinking.
Table 1. Six Types of Socratic Questions (As adapted from Mason, 2011; Paul, 1990)
Types of questions Examples
1. Questions that clarify. What do you mean?
2. Questions that challenge assumptions. How will you justify your argument?
3. Questions that examine evidence or What are the risk factors for …?
reasons. Can you provide any evidence to
support your conclusion?
4. Questions about viewpoints and Can you provide rationale for your
perspectives. conclusion?
5. Questions that explore implications What are the consequences or
and consequences. complications?
6. Questions about the question. How will you advise the patient and
why?
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4. Methodology
Research design
Research methodology is a bridge between the worldview and the findings of
research (Venketsamy & Hu, 2022). The author adopted a qualitative case study
approach to explore South African students’ views and experiences of Socratic
questioning in WIL. The research setting was an identified public university in
Gauteng province. The author utilised a single case study design within an
interpretivist paradigm. The interpretivist paradigm was of particular
significance in this study as it provided an opportunity for the author to
comprehend students’ lived experiences in WIL. The author concurs with Hu and
Venketsamy (2022) and Yin (2018) who substantiate that single case design is
appropriate when the identified case is critical, and the researcher has access to
the identified case.
Research setting
This study was conducted at an identified public university in Gauteng province.
Sampling and participants

The author employed a purposive sampling strategy to recruit participants for
this study. A research invitation post was displayed on the noticeboard on the
identified campus. The participants of the study were those students, who
responded to the invitation, and qualify the following inclusion criteria: a)
participants must be registered students with the Bachelor’s Degree of Health
Sciences in Complementary Medicine; b) participants had to be in the fourth year
of their study in the acupuncture programme; c) participants must be above the
age of 18; d) participants must express their willingness to voluntarily participate
in the study by signing the research consent forms. Five students were recruited
for this study because only five students responded to the research invitation.
Data collection
In this study, the author utilised text-based interviews as the data collection
instrument. At the identified university, students participated in Socratic
questioning activities after they saw patients in the clinic (WIL). The text-based
interviews were conducted after the Socratic questioning activities which took
place between March 2022 and April 2022. Table 1 below illustrates the
participants and the respective codes used in the data analysis. To ensure
confidentiality and anonymity, pseudonyms were used throughout the research.
Table 2. Biographical data of participants

Pseudonyms Gender Year of study
P1 Female 4th-year
P2 Female 4th-year
P3 Male 4th-year
P4 Male 4th-year
P5 Female 4th-year
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Data analysis
In this study, the author utilised thematic analysis to analyse students’ lived
experiences. The reason is that the author concurs with Venketsamy et al. (2022)
and Hu et al. (2022) who articulate that important perspectives of data will be
identified through a systematic process of analysis. The six-step thematic analysis
proposed by Creswell (2014) was followed in this study. The data were analysed
inductively. The author applied qualitative validity criteria to ensure the
trustworthiness of the findings, which included credibility, conformability,
dependability and transferability. To improve the trustworthiness of this study,
the author employed multiple techniques in this study. These techniques included
well-planned research design and methods, rich descriptions, and an audit trail
that was audited by a second coder.
Ethical consideration
The ethical clearance for this study was approved and obtained from a research
committee at a public university in Gauteng province (Ref: REC-1443-2022).
5. Findings
This study explored students’ experiences of Socratic questioning in clinical
practice. All participants in this study acknowledged the importance of Socratic
questioning in WIL. They highlighted several benefits of conducting Socratic
questioning in their clinical training. However, some participants reported that
there was a need to strengthen lecturers’ skills in Socratic questioning. During the
data analysis, two major themes emerged, which are presented below. Direct
quotes are presented in the findings as well.
Theme 1: Benefits of Socratic questioning

The findings of this study revealed that all participants recognised the value of
Socratic questioning in WIL. They concurred that Socratic questioning
significantly promoted their critical thinking in clinical practice. Furthermore,
through the questioning, they would be able to identify their deficiencies in
content knowledge. P1, P2 and P4 all agreed that they were able to identify specific
shortages in their critical thinking through the questioning. They further
highlighted that Socratic questioning assisted them in clarifying what to focus on
in their studies.
P1 indicated: “The [Socratic] questioning challenges critical thinking and it always
forces me go back to study the content knowledge that I do not understand.”
P2 said,
I enjoy the [Socratic] questioning in the clinic. I felt like I could perform better
even under stress. Answering questions increases my stress limit since I need
to answer the questions well in front of all students. In particular, the
Socratic questions guide me to think step by step, which leads me to the
correct conclusion.
P3 added: “It [Socratic questioning] helps me to identify where I go wrong in my

thinking.” P4 stated: “[Through Socratic questioning], I could see I made mistakes [in
my critical thinking], and we learned from each other’s mistakes.”
146
In her response, P5 said: “The Socratic questioning forces me to go back and revise
content knowledge because the questioning helps me to clarify my weaknesses in my
knowledge.”
Theme 2: Challenges of Socratic questioning in WIL

Despite all participants acknowledging the significance of Socratic questioning in
improving their critical thinking, they reported some challenges in WIL. These
challenges were primarily related to inconsistency, incompetency of instructors,
insufficient time and limited space and infrastructure in the clinic. Some
participants believed that there was an inconsistency among lecturers
(instructors). They received different instructions and feedback from different
lecturers for the same topics. The inconsistency in Socratic questioning negatively
influenced their learning experiences. To this, P1 stated,
I felt frustrated by the different instructions that I received from clinicians
in the clinic on campus. For instance, Dr X indicated that I should analyse
the case in one way, while Dr Y told me that I should not think of the case
in this way. There seem to be inconsistencies among clinicians. This was
discouraging as I did not know which was the correct way that I should
follow. I believed the inconsistency of how to think critically negatively
affected my study.
P3 said: “The different feedback from the [Socratic] questioning confused me a lot. As I
did not know which part was correct.” In their opinions, P2 and P4 stated that there
was a shortage of competent clinicians in WIL. P5 believed that sufficient time
should be allocated for the Socratic questioning. They all agreed that the shortage
of clinicians further affected the concern about insufficient time. The reason was
that students were waiting for a long time before they could have opportunities
to discuss with clinicians. To this, P2 stated: “From my experiences in the clinics with
different clinicians, I felt like one of the most challenging parts was clinicians’
competencies.” P4 added: “I realised that some clinicians asked random questions which
might not lead to a conclusion.”
P3 said: “We will benefit more if we can have the discussion [Socratic questioning] longer.
Because I felt like we rushed to the end because we did not have sufficient time to discuss
with the clinician.” P5 articulated: “I had to wait for 20 minutes before I could discuss
my case with the clinician. Because the clinic was discussing with other students. It would
be great if there were more clinicians supervising simultaneously in the clinic.”
Furthermore, P1, P2 and P4 were of the opinion that there was limited space in
the clinic where the questioning was conducted. They believed that the absence
to sufficient space negatively affected their learning. To this, P1 stated: “The clinic
was so crowded. We don’t even have space to stand.” P2 said: “I cannot hear what the
discussion was about. Because the clinician room was full of students and I could not go
into the clinician room.” P4 added: “I had to stand outside the door of the clinician room.”
6. Discussion
Critical thinking is of profound importance in the world of work. Scholars, such
as Kusmaryani (2020) and Sahamid (2016), concur that Socratic questioning is an
effective approach to promote students’ critical thinking in WIL. Fahim and
147
Bagheri (2012) point out that lecturers should assist students to recognise their
misconceptions through their existing knowledge. The findings of this study
concur with Katsara and De Witte (2019) and Zare and Mukundan (2015) who
indicate that Socratic questioning assists in identifying contradictions; for instance,
P3 said: “It [Socratic questioning] helps me to identify where I go wrong in my thinking.”
P4 stated: “[Through Socratic questioning], I could see I made mistakes [in my critical
thinking].” Researchers highlight the significance of Socratic questioning in
strengthening students’ critical thinking in WIL (Abidah, 2022; Fahim & Bagheri,
2012; Venville, 2018). In the author’s opinion, Socratic questioning significantly
improves students’ critical thinking, which facilitates students to clarify
misconceptions and reach correct conclusions. Moreover, Socratic questioning
promotes students’ learning. Evidence can be found in participants’ responses. P1
indicated: “[Socratic] questioning forces me to go back to study the content knowledge
that I do not understand.”
Despite the profound significance of Socratic questioning in promoting critical

thinking in WIL, the literature reveals that there are some challenges in
implementing WIL (Hu et al., 2022; Pau & Elder, 2008). Barnes and Payette (2017)
contend that one of the most critical barriers to Socratic questioning in WIL is the
absence of competent lecturers. The reason is that the successful implementation
of Socratic questioning relies on skilled lecturers/instructors who can ask
appropriate questions (Suhardiana, 2019)). The findings of this study highlighted
the importance of competent lecturers and clinical instructors.
According to the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001;
Mason, 2011), it is crucial that lecturers should be able to use diverse questions
effectively. These questions should reflect different levels of skills. In the author’s
opinion, questions that are utilised in Socratic methods should be at applying,
analysing, evaluating and creating levels. To achieve the best outcome of Socratic
questioning, lecturers should have an in-depth understanding of the difference in
questions and ask these questions in a coherent order (Fahim & Bagheri, 2012;
Paul & Elder, 2007). Therefore, the author believes there is an urgent need to
improve lecturers’ questioning skills in order to utilise Socratic questioning
effectively in WIL.
The findings of this study reveal that to implement Socratic questioning

effectively, there is a need to allocate sufficient time in WIL. The author contends
that insufficient time for Socratic questioning in WIL is also negatively influenced
by the shortage of competent lecturers. Because students have to wait for
relatively long periods before the discussions. This finding supports a study
conducted by Grondin (2018) who reports that not all students have an
opportunity to participate in Socratic questioning in WIL when there is a large
group of students. P2 indicated: “Sometimes I do not have a chance to answer questions
because all of us have to leave at 16:00 when the clinic is closed.” The author believes
that the inadequate opportunity to actively participate in Socratic questioning
negatively affects students learning of critical thinking.
The finding of this study reveals that there is limited space in the clinic for WIL.
When answering the question: “Please describe the challenges that you
148
experienced in the WIL”, P3 stated: “I have to stand outside the clinician room when
students are discussing with the clinician.” The author is of the view that the poor
infrastructure in African countries negatively influences students’ learning. This
view concurs with Hu and Venketsamy (2022) and Hu et al. (2022) who report
that there is a need for policy makers to consider improving infrastructure, in
order to promote learning at higher education institutions (HEI).
7. Conclusion and Recommendations

This study contributes to the body of knowledge and the use of Socratic
questioning to enhance critical thinking skills among students. Evidence from the
study highlighted participants’ satisfaction and enthusiasm for the use of Socratic
questioning to improve their critical thinking skills to make trustworthy decisions
when treating patients. The study is significant in that it has the potential to
change teaching and learning in the health science programmes at HEIs by
encouraging students to be self-reflective in their practices. Furthermore, it gives
lecturers the opportunity to simulate clinical situations ‘out of the box’ which
would allow students to assess, evaluate, reflect, and make on the spot decisions
regarding the well-being of their patients.
Higher education institutions are responsible for their students to be competent
in making sound decisions (Hu et al., 2022). Critical thinking is one of the most
essential 21st century skills in the world of work. Kinney (2022) agrees with Barnes
and Payette (2017) that Socratic questioning significantly strengthens students’
critical thinking. This study focused on exploring students’ experiences of Socratic
questioning in WIL to promote critical thinking. The findings of this study
confirm the importance of Socratic questioning in WIL for the improvement of
critical thinking. It is crucial to ensure lecturers are skilled and competent to apply
the Socratic method effectively (Barnes & Payette, 2017; Overholser, 2018).
Moreover, this study reveals that poor infrastructure in WIL negatively influences
students’ learning. The author recommends that the value of Socratic questioning
should be explored at international universities. The author also recommends that
further studies can adopt diverse research approaches to investigate students’
experiences of Socratic questioning in promoting critical thinking.
Based on the above conclusion, the following recommendations are made:
1) It is recommended that Socratic questioning should be implemented in the
curriculum in health sciences to improve students’ critical thinking. This is of
particular significance in WIL where students obtain their clinical experiences
in authentic scenarios.
2) It is further recommended that Socratic questioning should be utilised in case-
based clinical training where students engage with patients and commence in
the working world directly.
3) It is of significant importance to ensure lecturers are competent in conducting
clinical supervision with Socratic questioning. It is further recommended that
HEIs should provide appropriate training for emerging staff so that they can
conduct Socratic questioning effectively.
4) Further research can be conducted at international universities with other
research approaches.
149
8. Limitations of this study

This study was limited to explore one HEI in South Africa; therefore, there was a
lack of comparison of the findings. The author employed a qualitative approach
in this study; however, the author believed that this topic could also be
investigated through quantitative or mixed methods approaches. In this study,
the interpretivism paradigm was employed to analyse students’ experiences of
Socratic questioning, the subjective interpretation within the interpretivism
paradigm also seemed as a limitation. The author followed a rigorous research
procedure to ensure the trustworthiness of this study.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express his sincere thanks to the Department of
Complementary Medicine, at the University of Johannesburg, for allowing him to
conduct this study. The author would also like to express his sincere thanks to
Prof Roy Venketsamy from the University of the Free State for critical advising of
this study.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 152-174, June 2023
Received Jan 12, 2023; Revised Mar 28, 2023; Accepted Apr 13, 2023
Mobile Learning in Higher Education: Insights

from a Bibliometric Analysis of the Body of
Knowledge
Godwin Kaisara
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya

Sohar University, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract. Mobile learning is a research domain that has gained wide

prominence in contemporary Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) literature. As a result, there is a need for periodic and
extensive review studies to keep abreast with the latest scholarly trends.
Nevertheless, review studies on mobile learning, particularly in the post-
COVID-19 era, are still limited. This article presents a bibliometric
overview of mobile learning in higher education literature published
between 1 January 2002 and 15 November 2022. The methodology used
in this research is enshrined in the core principles of scientometrics
forming the basis of the bibliometric approach utilised in the study. The
articles for analysis were extracted from the Web of Science (WoS)
database and analysed according to defined bibliometric indicators. The
VOSviewer software tool (version 1.6.18) was employed in mapping the
bibliometric articles. The findings of this research reveal that mobile
learning scholarship has grown consistently in the period of analysis
covered in this study. It was observed in the bibliometric analysis that the
most productive countries in mobile learning in higher education are the
USA and China. The most influential author is M.A. Almaiah. In the
recent past, universities in the Middle East have demonstrated an
excellent growth projectile in mobile learning research. Education and
Information Technologies produced most content on mobile learning
research demonstrating its stature as a leading publication platform
advancing scholarly debate on mobile learning relating to context,
augmented reality, COVID-19, continuance intention and knowledge.
From the foregoing, possible future research avenues are discussed.
Keywords: mobile learning; higher education; bibliometric analysis;

VOSviewer; trends
©Authors
153
1. Introduction
The exponential rise in the development of handheld technology, as well as the
increasing ubiquity of mobile internet, offers society several developmental
opportunities. Reflecting on the increased importance of mobile devices in
modern society, there is an emergent body of research under the banner of
Mobiles for Development (M4D), which studies the impact of mobile devices on
various facets of contemporary society (Traxler, 2016). One of the areas that
benefited greatly from mobile technology is knowledge management in the higher
education sector (Liaw et al., 2010), thereby giving rise to the concept of mobile
learning (m-learning). In the Knowledge Society, m-learning is an important part
of knowledge management in academic contexts (Alshehri & Cumming, 2020),
helping to facilitate users’ knowledge management (Liaw et al., 2010), enabling
knowledge building in various contexts (Basak et al., 2018) and providing a
reliable learning environment where knowledge can be easily acquired and
disseminated (Al-Emran et al., 2020). Consequently, m-learning has attracted
huge interest from both industry and academia, considering its critical role in
ensuring the continued dissemination and accessibility of academic information
at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies demonstrate that scholarship on
m-learning has increased in recent years (Goksu, 2021), owing to myriad
purported benefits. In higher education, m-learning is a useful asset in students’
knowledge acquisition endeavours (Zhonggen et al., 2019), as the majority of
students use m-learning to access information (Goksu, 2021). M-learning in this
context has proven to subsequently enhance students’ academic performance and
motivation.
Even though m-learning research cannot be categorised as a recent domain area,

the COVID-19 pandemic led to an exponential rise in ICT-mediated information
acquisition approaches such as m-learning. Considering the demonstrably vital
role of m-learning in the Knowledge Society, with its direct impact on social well-
being, the scholarly body of evidence concerning m-learning has been advancing
rapidly. Arguably, the volume of m-learning literature would have increased
considerably owing to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, like
any scientific domain, the increase in the volume of mobile literature is
accompanied by an evolution in research trends. The evolution of scientific
disciplines is a constant process driven by various progressive factors (Coccia,
2018), which is also true for m-learning.
We believe that the exponential rise in m-learning literature necessitates the need
to collate the scattered research from various contexts and understand the latest
trends of m-learning. Commenting on the attention given to COVID-19-related
issues, some commentators opine that ‘never before have so many researchers all
over the world focused so urgently on one single topic’ (Fassin, 2021, p. 5305)
which subsequently led to one of the ‘the biggest explosions of scientific literature
ever’ (Brainard, 2020). As a result, there have been suggestions that scientists are
drowning in COVID-19 papers. Furthermore, m-learning is an evolving research
area (Khan & Gupta, 2022). As aptly noted by Djeki, Dégila and Bondiombouy
(2021), all researchers, be they novices or experienced scholars, need to be aware
of the latest research trends, like the most influential journals, authors, scholars,
154
countries, papers, collaboration trends and the general evolution of their

discipline over the years. All these can be accentuated by a comprehensive
bibliometric study of a phenomenon through any of the major academic
databases.
Khan and Gupta (2022) postulate that while there are several m-learning studies,
very few studies adopt bibliometric mapping techniques. As highlighted earlier,
bibliometric mapping helps scholars in identifying trends in a particular field
through the quantification of research characteristics in that given field (Chigbu
et al., 2023; Goksu, 2021). Using WoS, Elaish et al. (2019) conducted a bibliometric
study that covered the period 1982 to 2015. With a focus on English M-learning,
Khodabandelou et al. (2022) analysed 5 343 articles extracted from WoS. Their
study was not comprehensive but rather had a specific focus on the use of m-
learning in learning the English language. Goksu's (2021) bibliometric study on
m-learning included both proceedings and articles published as of September
2019 and the preceding period. However, COVID-19, and the subsequent
migration from contact classes to various online modes like e-learning and m-
learning, took place at the end of 2019. The body of evidence is likely to have
grown exponentially during the ‘COVID-19 period’. To the best of our knowledge,
there are very few papers exploring m-learning in higher education which have
been published in the post-COVID-19 era. Therefore, this study responds to this
vacuity in literature to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive inventory on m-
learning research in higher education.
Furthermore, because m-learning, like the broader ICT domain, is a highly

dynamic field, it would be prudent to periodically assess the latest research trends
through updated bibliometric data.
The study was informed by the following research questions:

1. What is the current level of research in m-learning in Higher Education?
2. Which disciplines mostly publish m-learning literature?
3. What are the trends in m-learning research?
4. Which are the most influential countries by publication?
5. Who are the most productive and influential authors in m-learning
research?
6. Which are the most prominent journal outlets in m-learning?
7. Which are the top contributing institutions to m-learning research?
The bibliometric approach has its roots in the library and information science
discipline, anchored on quantitative methods (Inamdar et al., 2021). The
proliferation of bibliometric studies suggests that the bibliometric approach has
the approbation of scholars. Indeed, various scholars have extolled the virtues of
bibliometric mapping for understanding research trends in fields like library and
information science (Okeji, 2019), management, entrepreneurship, economics and
accounting (Bonilla et al., 2015). According to Kuzior and Sira (2022), bibliometric
analysis is a common and accurate method of analysing large volumes of scientific
data to present a current view of important and emerging research trends.
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Although systematic literature reviews have been highly useful in advancing

knowledge, they do not provide as much quantitative depth as the bibliometric
approach. Donthu et al. (2021) observe that while discussions on bibliometric
mapping started in the 1950s, the proliferation of articles using bibliometrics is
fairly new. Bibliometric techniques “are considered unbiased and free of a
researcher’s subjective” judgements (Abhishek & Srivastava, 2021, p. 979),
although interpretations can be both objective and subjective (Donthu et al., 2021).
As scientific literature in a specific discipline becomes more voluminous, it
becomes overwhelming and oftentimes challenging for scholars to have a
structured and nuanced overview of the extant body of evidence. In today’s
contemporary society characterised by Big Data, the voluminous increase in m-
learning makes bibliometric studies a useful tool for providing an overarching
view of trends in the discipline.
3. Methodology
In this study, a literature review espousing on both scientometric and bibliometric
standpoints was adopted. As discussed earlier, bibliometric analyses allow
researchers to analyse much larger volumes of data than systematic literature
reviews. For this study, parameters were developed, which then influenced the
search string and the subsequent results, that is, the data extracted. In the case of
this research, we focused on all studies in m-learning in higher education
published in WoS. In the following subsections, we elaborate on the data
collection and analysis phases of the methodology.
3.1 Data Collection

In undertaking bibliometric studies, there are several academic databases
available to scholars, like Scopus, (WoS), PubMed and Directory of Open Access
Journals, with Scopus and WoS being the most extensive (Chadegani et al., 2013;
Pranckute, 2021). According to Chadegani et al. (2013), while Scopus coverage
includes more journals, they tend to have a lower impact. On the other hand, WoS
is the oldest multidisciplinary database, with stronger coverage (Chadegani et al.,
2013; Singh et al., 2021) and better quality. Taking cognisance of the foregoing,
this bibliometric study focused on journal articles covered by WoS. The following
search string was used to locate relevant articles:
“mobile learning” OR “m-learning” AND “higher education” (topic) AND “2002-2022”

(year published) AND “article” (document type).
The use of parentheses allowed the researchers to find records containing both m-
learning and higher education or both m-learning and higher education. The
article search was confined to the period 2002 to 2022, which according to
Frohberg, Göth and Schwabe (2009, p. 309), is the year (2002) when m-learning
gained prominence through the very first Mobile Learning conference. Owing to
our language restrictions, the search was restricted to papers published in English.
Figure 1 is a screenshot highlighting the data that was captured and used to search
for articles in the WoS database.
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Figure 1: Screenshot of search string
The above search returned 567 documents, which subsequently formed the basis
of this study. Donthu et al. (2021) suggest that bibliometric studies that constitute
about 500 or more papers can be considered sufficient for useful bibliometric
analysis.
4. Data Analysis
This study employed a two-stage data analysis approach. The first stage involved
analysing WoS data that was extracted after a search using the search string
mentioned above.
The second approach involved extracting data from WoS and loading it into
VOSviewer (version 1.6.18.) Several software tools have been developed to
facilitate bibliometric analysis of the corpus of literature because the importance
of bibliometric techniques has grown. One of the most popular software tools is
VOSviewer, which was employed in this phase of the study. VOSviewer enables
researchers to create network maps for researchers, journals, keywords and
publications based on co-citation, coupling and co-authoring relationships, and
visualising the resultant output (Meng et al., 2020). Owing to the foregoing
qualities of VOSviewer, it was deemed suitable for this study.
4.1 The Evolution of M-learning in Higher Education Research

Although the date for the search starts in 2002, the search results commence from
the year 2005 (Figure 2). The results extracted show that m-learning in higher
education research has witnessed a consistently incremental trend, both in terms
of publications and citations. According to Khan and Gupta (2022), such upward
trajectories suggest the relevancy and novelty of the issue or topic being analysed,
in this case, m-learning.
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Figure 2: Evolution of m-learning research
4.2 Disciplines Publishing M-learning Articles

We sought to establish the top 10 leading disciplines in the publication of m-
learning literature. The findings of this study indicate that m-learning research in
higher education is conducted across diverse fields, with Education being the
predominant domain. This is followed by Computer Science (Information
Systems), Computer Science (Interdisciplinary applications), Information Science
(Library Science), Education (Scientific Disciplines), Telecommunications,
Engineering (Multidisciplinary), Engineering (Electrical/Electronic), Social
Sciences (Interdisciplinary) and Green Sustainable Science Technology.
Figure 3 shows that 337 of the 567 journal articles included in this study are from
the education discipline, although it is worth noting that the chart areas are not
necessarily strictly proportional to the values of each category.
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Figure 3: Leading disciplines in the publication of m-learning
4.3 Research Trends in M-learning: Keyword Analysis

To better understand the focus of m-learning research, keyword co-occurrence
was used. From the corpus of 567 articles underpinning this study, 1 833
keywords were used by various scholars. To reduce the number to a more
manageable size for keyword co-occurrence analysis, only keywords used a
minimum of 10 times across various articles were included in the analysis. A total
of 78 keywords met this threshold. Our initial findings revealed that ‘mobile
learning’, ‘m-learning’, ‘higher education’, and ‘higher-education’ were the most
common keywords (see Figure 4). However, since these were also the keywords
used in our search in the WoS database, we decided to exclude the
aforementioned keywords.
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Figure 4: M-learning trends through keyword analysis
After excluding the mentioned keywords, our second search produced three
clusters (Figure 5), as opposed to the four depicted in Figure 4.
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Figure 5: M-learning research trends through keyword analysis
It is observable that m-learning research remains very student-centric, with the

keyword ’students’ being the most prominent, with a total link strength of 417. Of
these, the strongest links are between the terms ’students’ and ’adoption’, as well
as ‘adoption” and ‘’user acceptance’. On further analysis of the three clusters, we
attempted to draw inferences from them and develop themes which could
highlight research areas of interest to scholars. We interpreted them as follows;
• Red circular cluster (Student use of m-learning): this cluster seems to address
the ‘how’ question, that is how students use mobile technologies in m-
learning, as well as the technologies used. The nodes show that students use
mobile technologies for languages, gamification, augmented reality, mobile
applications, among others.
• Green rectangular cluster (Adoption and Behavioural Intention): the biggest
node in this cluster is adoption. The rest of the keywords in this cluster seem
to point to student pre-adoption perceptions, intentions and determinants, all
of which influence m-learning adoption behaviour.
• Blue square cluster (Post-adoption Perceptions): the majority of the keywords
in this cluster seem to capture pre-adoption perceptions. When considering
the connection between the keywords in this cluster, issues like perceived
impact, perceived performance, and system performance emerge.
The VOSviewer ‘Overlay Visualization’ functionality allows for the identification

of contemporary or trending research topics through keyword co-occurrence
analysis, whereby the yellow-shaded topics are the more recent ones (Figure 6).
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Figure 6: Keyword occurrence analysis by recency
Some of the more recent focal areas in m-learning research include issues around
context, knowledge, augmented reality, intentions, COVID-19 and continuance
intentions. Of the more recent areas (indicated by the yellow shading) Intentions
has the strongest Total Link Strength at 194, with links to various keywords such
as COVID-19, systems, TAM and perceived usefulness. Intentions shares their
strongest link with user acceptance. It is worth noting that acceptance is further
captured as technology acceptance and, simply, acceptance. This suggests a strong
focus on m-learning acceptance.
4.4 Most Influential Countries by Publication

It is of utmost importance to understand the power and influence that different
countries have on the development of a body of knowledge in any particular
discipline (Valenzuela Fernandez et al., 2019). WoS regards countries as the
number of publications produced by authors in a particular country. However, as
aptly noted by Valenzuela Fernandez et al. (2019), countries should not be
conflated with authors. Scholars may be domiciled in one country, but publish
under a university located in a different country. In the process of mapping the
most influential countries, the minimum document threshold was set at five.
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Figure 7: Most influential countries in m-learning research
As highlighted in Figure 7, the USA is the most productive country in the world
in the domain area of m-learning in higher education, followed by the People’s
Republic of China and Spain. This is indicated by the size of the circle or node: the
larger it is, the more documents there are originating from that country.
Furthermore, the thickest link is between the People’s Republic of China and the
USA (link strength of 14), thereby indicating a strong co-authorship relationship
between the two countries. The network overlay feature of VOSviewer indicates
that in the recent past, Saudi Arabia has been the most active source of m-learning
research.
4.5 Most Productive and Influential Authors

Citations are increasingly being used as performance indicators to gauge an
article’s or author’s relevance, impact and influence in academic settings (Aksnes
et al., 2019; Ellegaard & Wallin, 2015), where higher citations denote more
influence and opinion leadership (Sharara et al., 2011), although this has also led
to some perfunctory citations. Some scholars argue that the number of citations
attained by a scholar is more important since it reflects the influence of a
researcher (Bonilla et al., 2015). Similarly, citations have been preferred over the
number of publications as a measure of influence since they suggest that the
researcher is publishing interesting and effective research (Goksu, 2021).
Therefore, using citation analysis, we also sought to establish the most
published/cited authors in the m-learning domain. Initially, we only considered
authors with five or more articles, which resulted in nine authors meeting the
threshold (Table 1).
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Table 1: Most influential authors by citations and productivity

Total link
Author Documents Citations
strength
Almaiah, Mohammed Amin 11 384 20
Chiu, Dickson K. W. 6 121 19
Lo, Patrick 6 121 19
Ho, Kevin K. W. 5 93 17
Al-Adwan, Ahmad Samed 6 160 15
Al-Emran, Mostafa 5 345 11
Aznar-Diaz, Inmaculada 5 58 3
Hinojo-Lucena, Francisco-Javier 5 56 3
Romero-Rodriguez, Jose-Maria 6 61 3
As reflected in Table 1, M.A. Almaiah is the most influential author by citations,

as well as the number of articles that made up our analysis. We then proceeded to
lower the threshold to a minimum of three articles, which increased the number
of authors to 53. This was done to ensure a greater representation of authors in
our analysis. Of the 53 authors, 50 were connected in a network, which we
subsequently used for further analysis. This resulted in six clusters, as indicated
by the six different colours in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Author clusters
Additionally, we conducted a citation analysis to establish the most influential

articles in m-learning research. We set the threshold of citations at a minimum of
100, which subsequently reduced the articles to 14. Nevertheless, we restricted our
search to the top 10 most influential papers by citations.
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Table 2: Most influential articles by citation
Authors and Year Title of Article Journal Citations

Mobile computing devices
in higher education:
Gikas & Grant Student perspectives on The Internet and
570
(2013) learning with cell phones, Higher Education
smartphones and social
media
An investigation of mobile
learning readiness in
Cheon, Lee, Crooks Computers &
higher education based on 463
& Song (2012) Education
the Theory of Planned
Behavior
Mobile learning: A Computers &
Motiwalla (2007) 416
framework and evaluation Education
The effectiveness of mobile
learning in the form of Computers &
Evans (2008) 388
podcast revision lectures in Education
higher education
Investigating attitudes
Al-Emran, Elsherif towards the use of mobile Computers in
220
& Shaalan (2016) learning in higher Human Behavior
education
Defining mobile learning Educational
El-Hussein &
in the higher education Technology & 219
Cronje (2010)
landscape Society
Factors influencing International Review
Abu-Al-Aish & students’ acceptance of m- of Research in Open
155
Love (2013) learning: an investigation and Distributed
in higher education Learning
iTunes University and the
McKinney, Dyck & Computers &
classroom: Can podcasts 142
Luber (2009) Education
replace Professors?
Analysis of the essential
factors for the adoption of
Hamidi & mobile learning in higher Telematics and
131
Chavoshi (2018) education: a case of Informatics
students of the University
of Technology
To use or not to use? Social
Computers in
Sobaih et al. (2016) media in higher education 123
Human Behavior
in developing countries
Although the African continent is under-represented in m-learning research, it is

worth noting that among the topmost cited papers is one co-authored by a scholar
based in South Africa, that is, Johannes Cronje. Of the top cited articles in Table 2,
we observed that the majority, that is, four out of ten articles, were published in
Computers and Education journal. Naturally, this triggered a question; could
Computers and Education be the most influential journal publishing in m-
learning in Higher Education? To answer this question, we proceeded to assess
the topmost contributing journals in the field of m-learning.
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4.6 Most Promiment Journals Publishing on M-learning in Higher Education

A further citation analysis was undertaken to establish the most prominent
journal outlets where mobile researchers commonly publish. The identification of
top journals in any field has several advantages. Therefore, the ability to publish
in top journals is an important consideration among social scientists, as it predicts
long-term impact and career success (Hou et al., 2022). For this exercise, we
undertook a citation analysis of sources to identify the most influential journals.
Only journals that had five or more documents qualified for inclusion in this
analysis, which led to 30 journals being included in the analysis.
Figure 9: Most active journals in m-learning research
As depicted in Figure 9, ‘Education and Information Technologies’ is the most

active journal, followed by ‘Computers and Education’. The ‘Overlay
Visualisation’ feature shows that while Computers and Education was the most
active journal around the year 2016, Education and Information Technologies,
Sustainability, IEEE Access, Technology in Society and Electronics have recently
been more active, as indicated by the yellow shading in Figure 10.
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Figure 10: The most active journals in the recent past
We decided to browse through the ‘Aims and Scope’ sections of the most active
journals to get a better understanding of the foci. Sustainability, IEEE Access,
Electronics and Technology in Society are multidisciplinary in nature, while IEEE
Access, Electronics and Technology in Society restrict themselves to papers where
the main foundation of the paper is the role of technology in any facet of society.
On the other hand, Education and Information Technologies restricts itself to
research on the role of various computing devices on both formal and informal
learning.
4.7 Most Productive Institutions

We employed citation analysis to identify the top contributing organisations or
institutions to m-learning research. We observed that 716 institutions were
covered in the data set we used. Of the 716 institutions, 15 had five or more
documents in the data set.
We noticed that the majority of the universities on the list were from the Middle
East (Table 3). All but two of the universities on the list were from three regions,
namely, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia. The most productive institutions
are domiciled in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Likely, the Kingdom’s National e-
Learning Centre which was established in 2017 to support educational institutions
and eLearning has been influential in promoting scholarship on m-learning in
recent years. Furthermore, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Education implemented a
national learning management system named Madrasati, and prioritised research
and development efforts to promote all forms of online learning (UNESCO, 2022),
which could also have benefited m-learning research.
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Table 3: The most productive institutions in m-learning research

Organisation/Institution No. of Articles Citations Country
King Faisal University 12 295 Saudi Arabia
Universiti Teknologi
8 169 Malaysia
Malaysia
King Saud University 6 131 Saudi Arabia
Al-Ahliyya Amman
5 124 Jordan
University
Universiti Sains Malaysia 8 138 Malaysia
University of Granada 14 115 Granada
People’s Rep. of
University of Hong Kong 9 181
China
National Chung Hsing
5 28 Taiwan
University
University of Guam 5 93 USA
King Abdulaziz University 6 58 Saudi Arabia
University of Murcia 5 88 Spain
University of Sharjah 5 89 UAE
Zayed University 5 18 UAE
Bond University 5 199 Australia
University of Salamanca 5 37 Spain
5. Discussion
Our findings indicate that m-learning is a highly dynamic field, which continues
to attract the attention of researchers. The COVID-19 pandemic brought all forms
of online learning under the spotlight, which further led to a proliferation of
literature from various countries. Our findings align with those of Goksu (2021)
and Khan and Gupta (2022), whose earlier bibliometric studies found m-learning
to be on an upward trajectory. Thus, Traxler (2016) argues that the growth of m-
learning research suggests that there is still a need for more research to underpin
investments, and inform issues such as policy, capacity building as well as raising
awareness.
We observed that m-learning research cuts across various disciplines, although

education remains the primary discipline publishing m-learning literature. Our
observations are consistent with Khan and Gupta's (2022) findings, as well as
Imtinan, Chang and Issa (2012, p. 190), who reasoned that the adoption of theories
from disciplines such as Information Systems, Education, Human-Computer
Interaction and Telecommunication Engineering had ‘made m-learning a
multidisciplinary research field, indeed’. The multidisciplinary nature of m-
learning research means that the field benefits from diverse perspectives, thus
ameliorating the various challenges that it faces. According to the European
Commission (2022), the synergistic collaboration of different disciplines can lead
to invaluable insight beyond current intellectual boundaries, thereby developing
novel and useful solutions to complex problems. Similarly, Coccia (2018) notes
that the combination of different perspectives from diverse disciplines can help to
solve more complex problems, as well as generate new ideas. Furthermore, new
technology, along with socio-economic factors, is one of the key factors that leads
to the evolution of scientific disciplines. Consequently, with ICT being at the core
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of m-learning, it is fathomable that the evolution of ICT will continue stimulating

more research questions.
Although there is substantial interest in the opportunities for m-learning

appropriation in the developing world (Traxler, 2016), relatively well-off
countries remain the most influential countries. Recently, Springer Nature
analysed their largest paper contributors. They found the USA to be the most
prolific publishing nation, followed closely by the People’s Republic of China
which was ‘closing the gap with astonishing rapidity’ (Springer Nature, 2019).
Furthermore, in 2018 the Chinese were also the Americans’ biggest collaborative
partners. By contrast, Khan and Gupta (2022) identified Taiwan as the most
influential country in m-learning research. However, it is worth noting that our
study focused exclusively on m-learning in higher education, while Khan and
Gupta's (2022) study was more inclusive. Additionally, our findings corroborate
those of Djeki, Dégila and Bondiombouy (2021), in that African developing
countries lag their developed peers in terms of research in educational
technologies such as m-learning. The under-representation of poor or developing
countries is not limited to m-learning research but includes other areas such as
public health (Plancikova et al., 2021). In fact, in a study that also assessed the
representation of various countries in three large academic databases, namely,
WoS, Scopus and Dimensions, no African country was found among the top 20 in
any of the databases (Singh et al., 2021). Of the most productive countries in m-
learning research, only Ghana appeared on the list. It is worth mentioning that
Ghana appears on the periphery, with very weak links to other countries. The
poor representation of African countries was also noted in other bibliometric
studies on m-learning (e.g. Khan and Gupta, 2022).
We observed that authors from the developing world, particularly Africa, are
under-represented in literature. However, Plancikova, Duric and O’May (2021)
argue that it is well documented that variables where a scholar grows up or lives
may play a role in influencing their opportunity to publish in high-impact
journals. Scholars from resource-constrained countries often have to contend with
problems like the lack of interest from elite journals, editorial prejudice, weak peer
networks and a lack of research funding. As aptly noted by Traxler (2016), while
the publication of journal articles is sometimes rewarded in the Global South,
often it is not, thus negatively impacting the productivity of researchers.
However, when discussing the influence of authors based on WoS citations,
caution must be taken. Some scholars (see Singh et al., 2021) argue that WoS
should not be used in isolation as it tends to exclude citations outside the WoS
coverage. Nevertheless, the same argument could be made against any other
database.
Authors mostly cited by m-learning scholars include Venkatesh et al. (2003) and
Davis (1989). It is worth noting that Venkatesh and his colleagues developed the
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, while
Davis developed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM model. As noted by
several scholars (Chao, 2019; Chibisa & Mutambara, 2022; Kaisara & Bwalya,
2022), these models are the two most commonly used theoretical frameworks in
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m-learning research. While the two frameworks have demonstrated their utility
in several m-learning studies, this could suggest that the discipline is missing out
on some insights that could come through the adoption of different frameworks.
According to Park (2011), the lack of a solid theoretical framework to guide m-
learning interventions remains the most serious challenge faced by m-learning.
While Park made this observation over a decade ago, a cursory glance at the extant
literature suggests that this concern remains valid.
Surprisingly, the most active university is not based in any of the traditional
research heavyweights, that is, China, the USA or Taiwan but in Saudi Arabia.
This could suggest that there could be only a handful of Saudi universities that
produce significant research on m-learning, while it could be more spread out
among many universities in China and the USA, which then cumulatively leads
to a high country output. The Overlay Visualisation feature of VOSviewer
indicates that in the recent past, the Middle East has witnessed a noticeable
growth in m-learning literature output.
Education and Information Technologies was the most prominent journal outlet
publishing m-learning literature, followed by Computers and Education.
Computers and Education has been identified in various m-learning studies as a
prominent outlet favoured by many researchers (Goksu, 2021; Khan & Gupta,
2022; Krull & Duart, 2017). Based on the results of these studies, insight is
provided to authors who wish to identify and consult the most influential journals
for their purposes, be it to publish or seek new m-learning resources, such as new
articles.
Of the fifteen most productive universities in m-learning in higher education

research, the majority come from Asia. Of these, ten are in the Middle East, also
known as West Asia. The dominance of Asian institutions mirrors the findings of
Khodabandelou et al. (2022), whose study found that eight of the ten most
productive institutions in m-learning research are located in Asia. Asian
universities were also prominent in study. In the present study, most of the
leading institutions are based in Saudi Arabia, while in Khodabandelou et al.'s
(2022) study, most of the top institutions are based in Taiwan. A key difference
between this study and that of Khodabandelou et al., (2022) is that their study
focused on using m-learning to learn the English language, while our study was
focused on broader m-learning in higher education.
6. Future Research Agenda

The bibliometric analysis has highlighted several issues that could inform future
research endeavours. Scholars from the Global South need to have their voices
heard. As noted by Plancikova, Duric and O’May (2021), it is important that
editors and editorial boards of leading international journals provide more
opportunities for researchers domiciled in the Global South. Similar sentiments
are echoed by Moosavi (2020, p. 342), who argues that “it is our duty to locate and
amplify these voices, even if this is challenging”. From the keyword analysis, it is
apparent that issues around contextualising m-learning research are gaining
importance. Through the keyword co-occurrence network visualisation feature of
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VOSviewer, we can identify some potential future research avenues through the
linking of different keywords.
Our results revealed a link between ‘Context’ and ‘Knowledge’. This potentially
suggests that contemporary research is focusing more on ‘contextual knowledge’.
Currently, there is very little research emanating from the Global South, which is
necessary if developing countries are to be equal partners in the increasingly
competitive global knowledge society. Therefore, rather than seeking to develop
generalisations, more research is needed to accentuate contextual factors. We also
observed a link between ‘framework’ and ‘context’. The keyword ‘framework’ is
linked to only two contemporary (yellow-shaded) keywords, namely; ‘context’
and ‘online’. This possibly suggests that there is increasing interest in developing
frameworks that are contextually bound, as well as useable in an online setting.
The interest in context, while perhaps under-reported in m-learning literature, is
well documented in the broader knowledge management literature. The
importance of context in knowledge management is well discussed by Thompson
and Walsham (2004), who lament the insufficient attention paid to the context
where meaningful activity takes place. In m-learning, some scholars (see Hamidi
and Chavoshi, 2018) have extended the popular TAM model to include ‘context’
as an independent variable. By being sensitive to context, researchers collect data
that is unique to a location, time and environment (Basak et al., 2018).
‘Students’ are the stakeholder that is the primary focus of most of the extant
literature. The keyword co-occurrence analysis did not reveal any other
stakeholders (except teachers), which suggests a gap in the body of knowledge.
There is a clear overemphasis on students (Total Link Strength of 432) in m-
learning literature. The focus on students is evident both in contemporary studies
and those conducted in the immediate past. Therefore, it is important that other
stakeholders are included in m-learning foci. Other stakeholders may include
government, telecommunications corporations, university ICT administrators
and management.
More research is also needed in new but under-researched areas such as the role
of social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp in m-learning. The influence
of COVID-19 on m-learning research is inarguable. Furthermore, the adoption of
m-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was mostly non-volitional. Therefore,
it would be useful to undertake further studies on continuance intentions to use
m-learning in the post-COVID-19 era.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, it seems there is an overemphasis on adoption-

related research (Total Link Strength of 524). Adoption shares its strongest link
with acceptance (link strength of 27). More research is needed on pre-adoption
factors, such as m-learning implementation critical success factors and potential
challenges that implementers may face.
Finally, there is a need to increase m-learning research from other non-education

disciplines. The dominance of education may lead to the drowning out of critical
contributions from smaller but important disciplines such as information science,
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knowledge management and telecommunications. Our findings show symptoms

of a dynamic field that is evolving and yet to reach maturity, which is likely to
continue to be driven by technological developments and contributions from
various research contexts.
7. Limitations of the Study

The study is not without its limitations. Firstly, the results of a bibliometric study
are to a great extent influenced by the keywords used. Therefore, using other
keywords may have yielded different results. Secondly, this study used data
extracted from one database, namely, WoS. This review was limited only to
papers written in English. Therefore, important knowledge presented in
languages other than English may have been missed. Other studies may also use
other databases such as Scopus and Dimensions to expand the body of
knowledge.
8. Conclusion and Recommendations

This study was designed to explore and highlight the make-up and status of m-
learning in higher education research. Metadata was extracted from WoS database
and quantitatively analysed using VOSviewer software. The study demonstrates
that learning in the higher education field is on an upward growth trajectory, with
noticeable growth in the Middle East. The developing world, particularly Africa
and South America, is still under-represented. We believe that the study provides
invaluable insights regarding the contribution, or lack thereof, of various actors
in the m-learning discipline. Although the study is not without its limitations, it
provides a glimpse into the m-learning research trends in the extant body of
knowledge and elucidates gaps which could be considered for further research by
other scholars. With the continued attention paid to m-learning in higher
education, regular bibliometric studies may be needed to keep appraisal of
developments in the m-learning domain
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175

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 175-194, June 2023
Entrepreneurship Education: Encouraging

Entrepreneurial Intentions for Equality
Education Students in Semarang
Imam Shofwan*
Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia
Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia
Sunardi Sunardi , Gunarhadi Gunarhadi and Abdul Rahman

Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia
Abstract. This study aimed to determine the factors that influence

students' entrepreneurial intentions and the influence of
entrepreneurship education on students' intention to become
entrepreneurs. This research study used a mixed methods approach. The
collection of research data was carried out with the help of a questionnaire
(for quantitative data) and through group discussion forums (for
qualitative data). Respondents in the study were 100 students who
attended equality education in Semarang. This shows found there is a
difference between the levels of interest of students who take part in
entrepreneurship learning and those who do not. Family background and
income have positive effects on students' intentions to become
entrepreneurs. Students with entrepreneurial family backgrounds tend to
be more interested in becoming entrepreneurs than students who do not
have an entrepreneurial family background. In addition, students'
perspectives on entrepreneurship positively affected their
entrepreneurial intentions. Significance: Students' perspectives on
entrepreneurship are related to their motivation to start new businesses
that would be easily accepted by the social environment. All respondents
agreed that entrepreneurial intentions could be improved through the
role of entrepreneurship education during inequality education. To
ensure the education is more targeted and all entrepreneurship education
goals are achieved, it should have more effective curricula, methods, and
learning system models. Cooperation between all elements incorporated
in the entrepreneurship education system is indispensable for generating
successful young entrepreneurs through entrepreneurship education.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship Intention; Entrepreneurship Education;

Equality Education
*
Corresponding author: Imam Shofwan; ishofwan@mail.unnes.ac.id
©Authors
176
1. Introduction
Education has the potential to create quality young people who are able to
contribute significantly to national development, especially through
entrepreneurship. This article will discuss how we can encourage students'
entrepreneurial intentions in entrepreneurship education through
entrepreneurship education. According to research, introducing and teaching
children about entrepreneurship from an early age can be an important key to
arousing the spirit of entrepreneurship in students. However, the challenge is
knowing how to build and implement an effective entrepreneurship education
curriculum characterized by equality in non-formal education pathways, which
often has its own set of challenges and obstacles.
In Indonesia, the unemployment rate among students of productive age is still
relatively high, due to unwillingness and lack of interest or desire of students to
have their own business. Concrete efforts are needed to reduce the unemployment
rate by increasing the number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. One of the concrete
activities could be to include entrepreneurship in the entrepreneurship education
curriculum through subjects that are taught from elementary school and junior
high school levels. The government has attempted to introduce entrepreneurship
at schools, but these efforts have obviously not had a significant effect, because
there are still many unproductive citizens. In practice, if schools are to instill
entrepreneurial values in students, there are several things that can be done,
including 1) Improving the curriculum; 2) Increasing the role of schools in
preparing businesspersons; 3) Improving the organization of the learning process;
and 4) Encouraging self-improvement of teachers and, 5) Implementation of
entrepreneurship education (Mulyani, 2021). Becoming an entrepreneur requires
expertise to identify and understand all possibilities, gather the resources needed,
and acting by taking advantage of existing opportunities to create a new
businesses and creating business fields (Samala et al., 2022).
Education plays an important role and is key to driving entrepreneurship and
innovation in global markets and rapid technological change in the world
(Laurikainen et al., 2018). Economic growth, technological innovation, and
increased employment in European countries are driven by the development of
entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship can be grown through the process of
entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial activities, one of which is
through subjects at school or courses conducted by higher education institutions
(Amalia & Korflesch, 2021).
Entrepreneurship can be defined as any form of activity that involves the
discovery, evaluation, and expansion of opportunities to create new ventures
(Igwe et al., 2022), while entrepreneurship education can be described as an
educational program or a single course that promotes the expansion of
entrepreneurial knowledge and the development of entrepreneurial abilities to
create and manage new ventures or businesses (Schuhmacher & Thieu, 2022).
Therefore, what is needed in Indonesian education is to develop an educational
model that can be applied from early education – from elementary school – to final
education or undergraduate school level. If the education of entrepreneurship
develops rapidly, it will have an impact on improving individuals’ financial
situation and improving the community's economy.
177
Researchers have examined the reasons why people’s motivation to be

entrepreneurs tends to be low (Samala et al., 2022). Research has found that
success in entrepreneurship is influenced by various factors, one of which is
entrepreneurship education (Lawal & Ojodu, 2022). Entrepreneurship education
can be an effective catalyst to stimulate entrepreneurship for socioeconomic
development through job creation and improving well-being. Entrepreneurship
education involves a combination of pedagogical approaches to empower,
develop and strengthen the foundation of people’s knowledge, skills, and
entrepreneurial attitudes, so that they are able to form an entrepreneurial mindset
that is sensitive to opportunities to create, grow, and even manage new businesses
(Nunfam et al., 2022). New businesses that seek to expand internationally require
individuals with soft skills and a focus on self-development, so that they can
continue growing and developing; these skills can be acquired through
entrepreneurship education (Banha et al., 2022). In general, academics agree that
entrepreneurship education has a positive impact on a person's entrepreneurial
attitudes and interests, especially the ability to adapt, start and develop a business
or develop a regional economy (Zeng et al., 2022).
The rapid globalization of the world economy brings severe challenges to
domestic markets. The importance of entrepreneurship was realized by the
Chinese government, which released a policy package to strengthen
entrepreneurship education (Jin, 2022; Irvansyah et al., 2023). In addition, Ebonyi
state, Nigeria, is one of the regions that has proven that entrepreneurs who are
active and dedicated in their communities due to entrepreneurship education
they received at school are able to help build the economic base of a region. This
can be achieved through the development of practical insights related to the
feasibility study processes and desire for responsibility in entrepreneurs, into
active educational and vocational activities. In addition, entrepreneurship
education for community members can increase people's awareness and
willingness to engage in entrepreneurship (Fabian et al., 2021).
Entrepreneurship education is aimed at equipping aspiring entrepreneurs to take
risks and develop new business ideas and increase their understanding and
knowledge of entrepreneurship and companies. In higher education programs in
America, entrepreneurship courses have been part of the curriculum of such
educational programs for more than 50 years, while in Europe entrepreneurship
courses have been around for about 20 years (Dao, 2018).
Entrepreneurship education programs have expanded globally since the first
entrepreneurship courses were offered at Harvard Business School in 1947. In
recent decades, academics agree that entrepreneurship education has a positive
impact on a person's entrepreneurial attitudes and interests, especially the ability
to adapt, start and develop a business or develop a regional economy (Zeng et al.,
2022). In Vietnam, in recent years, as start-ups and global economic competition
started to emerge, the demand for entrepreneurship education increase.
Therefore, the population of Vietnam is becoming more enthusiastic about
adapting new business ideas to the local market. The Vietnamese government has
introduced policies and provided intensive government support for students and
recent graduates to stimulate their interest in entrepreneurship, so that they want
to develop new businesses and introduce business innovations in companies
178
(Dao, 2018). A cultural approach to entrepreneurship education requires more

profound individual action and innovation in the context of entrepreneurship
(Lounsbury et al., 2019).
In Sweden, the concept of entrepreneurship education was introduced in the mid-
1990s, and addressed the importance of education for the Swedish population to
increase their interest in entrepreneurship. However, in the last two decades, the
concept of entrepreneurship education has been considered mainstream, so, in
2011, it was implemented in every school to foster students' interest in developing
the entrepreneurial spirit (Dahlstedt & Fejes, 2019). Unlike other countries, the
position of Italy and Latvia on entrepreneurship education is not strong.
Nevertheless, both countries have incorporated entrepreneurship education into
the education curriculum in a teacher of secondary schools students (Johansen,
2018).
The number of education institutions that implement entrepreneurship education
curricula have increased rapidly in recent decades. However, consensus about an
optimal learning system for and approach to entrepreneurship education is still
not available, partly because educators still do not agree on the paradigm for
teaching entrepreneurship (Amalia & Korflesch, 2021). Although
entrepreneurship education is widespread, large investments in entrepreneurship
education do not significantly increase students' entrepreneurial interest over the
short term (Li & Wu, 2019). The entrepreneurship education curriculum in
Indonesia starts at Grade 10 with the type of entrepreneurship education subjects
that motivate and stimulate participants to acquire the ability to do business and
to create business vacancies in their environment.
Although entrepreneurship education has grown rapidly, there is a need for an
intellectual foundation at the theoretical and methodological level, to help
educators obtain a more constructive view of entrepreneurship education (Bell &
Bell, 2020). Entrepreneurship education conceptualizes an education system that
focuses on managing current and future demands of competing industries by
innovating and exploring business opportunities. The dramatic growth of
entrepreneurship education and investment in entrepreneurship education
programs continues to increase. Therefore, the increase in entrepreneurship
education indicates to researchers and educators that the topic is important (Hou
et al., 2022; Pratomo & Shofwan, 2022).
The influence of various elements and factors on the effect of entrepreneurship
education needs to be clarified, to ensure that entrepreneurship education can
achieve practical results for students in getting jobs and succeeding in new
ventures (Yang, 2022). This research discusses entrepreneurship education from
the perspective of equality education students (non-formal education aimed at
citizens who do not have the opportunity to receive formal education at schools
such as elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools) in Semarang.
This study sought to investigate students' perceptions of entrepreneurship
education and to examine the factors driving students' interest in becoming
entrepreneurs.
179
Entrepreneurship education is the process of conveying information and
educating with the aim of the student being able to start a business independently.
Entrepreneurship education aims to increase awareness and knowledge about the
process of starting a business (Kayed et al., 2022). Entrepreneurship education is
not limited to transferring knowledge, but also teaches skills and instills attitudes
that are important for success in the business world. This knowledge includes
business planning, financial management, marketing, and business operations.
However, what is most important is the development of skills, such as problem-
solving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills, and increasing awareness and
understanding of the process of starting a business. However, entrepreneurship
education must also encourage and support students in taking the next step –
evaluating business ideas, creating a business plan. Entrepreneurship education
also has an important role in changing mindsets, among other things, many
people have erroneous idea that being an entrepreneur is a risky and uncertain
career choice. However, with the right education, students can learn that
entrepreneurship is a path that can lead to great personal and professional
satisfaction and success, while also contributing to the economic and social
development of the surrounding community. Thus, entrepreneurship education
is an important investment in preparing young people for a successful and
productive future, either as entrepreneurs, or as employees who think
entrepreneurially in their jobs.
There is consensus in academic, business, and policymaking communities that the
benefits of increased entrepreneurship can be used to spur economic growth,
reduce poverty, and increase employment. In response to this consensus,
academic institutions around the world have started to focus on developing
entrepreneurship education programs to stimulate the dynamism of
entrepreneurship. Globally, entrepreneurship education is seen as the main policy
initiative that can lift developing countries out of poverty. In addition,
entrepreneurship education can be the main foundation of economic and social
development, and a tool for developing entrepreneurship through courses
designed to promote the skills and talents students need to be entrepreneurs. The
purpose of entrepreneurship education programs is to increase the number of
entrepreneurs among students, to create jobs, reduce poverty, and encourage
national economic development (Dobson & Muhammad, 2022).
Entrepreneurship education is a capacity that connects quality, quantity, and a
combination of resources that are consistent with profit-taking in conditions of
risk and uncertainty (Lawal & Ojodu, 2022). The act of entrepreneurship can be
interpreted as an innovative action that is organized and combined with various
resources directed to the achievement of a specific goal. Innovative action in this
case is creativity, because an entrepreneurial mindset cannot arise in the absence
of creativity. An entrepreneur draws conclusions from a problem based on reality,
identifies problems, creates, and innovates new problems (Barba-Sánchez &
Atienza Sahuquillo, 2018).
The purpose of the entrepreneurship program is to start preparing students to
start businesses independently, and to identify entrepreneurial intentions in
students (Ustav & Venesaar, 2018). The objectives and curriculum of
180
entrepreneurship education are diverse and vary in different countries. For

example, in the United States, entrepreneurship education aims to develop
entrepreneurial traits and skills, as well as analyze business problems, while in
Europe, entrepreneurship education is focused on developing functional
management skills and entrepreneurial mindsets, to build and manage new
companies and increase worker productivity. However, in contrast to the United
States and Europe, South Africa, as a developing country, positions
entrepreneurship education as a way to overcome high unemployment, by
focusing on developing entrepreneurship skills and attitudes for greater
independence in setting their own goals and making the right decisions for
businesses. In China, entrepreneurship is emphasized as an alternative source of
employment, and entrepreneurship knowledge and skills are provided through
entrepreneurship education (Botha & Obeng-Koranteng, 2022).
In addition to being diverse, the goals and curriculum of entrepreneurship
education are broad and ambiguous. Some of the reasons that support the
entrepreneurship education curriculum ambigous appearance include a lack of
agreement related to the paradigm and theory of entrepreneurship, and different
stakeholders' expectations and understanding of entrepreneurship education
(Botha & Obeng-Koranteng, 2022). The objectives of entrepreneurship education,
in general, include developing business and management skills to prepare
aspiring entrepreneurs, especially students, to work after graduating from school.
Policymakers provide recommendations for creating a vision of entrepreneurial
life in the learning process, thus, helping students to see the relevance and
meaning of entrepreneurship from various disciplines (Ustav & Venesaar, 2018).
A strong conceptual foundation for the field of entrepreneurship education
should be drawn from the integration of knowledge from the fields of
entrepreneurship and education, because some experts believe that the fields of
education and entrepreneurship have the same perspective, that is, the idea of
bridging the fields of entrepreneurship and education (Farrokhnia et al., 2022).
Entrepreneurship education is a rapidly developing field of knowledge and is
directed at increasing entrepreneurial intentions and skills in work environments.
Broadly speaking, the entrepreneurial process is divided into two phases, namely
Phase 1, which represents the "know-how" learning process, and Phase 2, which
represents the "practical process", which is directed at problem-solving and value
creation (Igwe et al., 2022).
Phase 1, which represents the learning process, begins with awareness, analyzing
and evaluating opportunities, and making new discoveries through formal
(entrepreneurship education and work environment) or informal (family or
social) learning. Meanwhile, Phase 2, which represents the practical process,
involves problem solving, leadership, responsibility and value creation, the
incorporation of creativity, and ideas, problem identification, innovation and
practical action (Igwe et al., 2022) (see Figure 1).
181
Figure 1. Entrepreneurship as a Process Model
Entrepreneurship as a process model is presented as a cycle of exploration,

application, and evaluation of knowledge in entrepreneurship education.
However, in practice, it has been found that the model is not particularly effective
(Igwe et al., 2022).
Entrepreneurship education refers to the scope of additional courses or programs
that specifically focus on the sensitivity to and qualifications of participants in
relation to activities related to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education and
training is intended to generate authorized capital, to increase business
opportunities. Entrepreneurship education programs offer methods and
techniques, business planning and market analysis, so as to help students to
recognize new business ideas. Some of the key elements of entrepreneurship
include the transition of business ideas to the market, market entry strategies,
resource acquisition, and how to organize and manage new businesses (Hou et
al., 2022).
Entrepreneurs not only have a good influence on themselves, but will also have
an influence on the surrounding community in improving the community's
economy, so that it can strengthen a country's economy (Hameed & Irfan, 2019).
Entrepreneurial intention can be defined as a person's desire to start and manage
any new business. The entrepreneurial intention model describes the influence of
desire, personal attitude, social norms, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial
knowledge on entrepreneurial intention (Mukesh et al., 2020).
Students and other people with a strong background in entrepreneurship
education are expected to be able to run businesses professionally, therefore, in
entrepreneurship education programs it is necessary to include courses and
practical experiences for students to awaken their intentions and interests to
become entrepreneurs (Kayed et al., 2022). In the field of entrepreneurship
research, social psychological theory can be used to describe students' attitudes
towards entrepreneurial interests (Dobson & Muhammad, 2022).
182
3. Research Methods
3.1. Research Design
This research was a descriptive study that used mixed methods research, in which
researchers combined elements of qualitative and quantitative approaches into
one research study, to sharpen the understanding and proof of social phenomena
(Baškarada & Koronios, 2018). Mixed methods research explicitly offers a
framework for combining methods (Timans et al., 2019). The advantage of the
mixed methods approach is that using different data collection methods can
minimize the weaknesses of single-method research. In addition, some experts
believe that the mixed method approach provides a way to improve the validity
of the data that are collected, and provides stronger evidence of the results
obtained (Khoo-Lattimore et al., 2019).
The study, thus, collected qualitative and quantitative data. Each of these types of
data was processed and analyzed separately and independently. Qualitative data
were obtained from offline focus group discussions, while quantitative data were
obtained from survey questionnaires. Qualitative data are information related to
students' perspectives on entrepreneurship education at the Semarang equality
education institution (non-formal education aimed at citizens who had not had
the opportunity to receive formal education in schools such as senior high
schools), while quantitative data were used to test the research hypothesis that
entrepreneurial learning, family background and income, and students'
perceptions of entrepreneurship positively affected students' intention to become
entrepreneurs.
3.2. Research Instruments

The instruments used in the study were intended to facilitate the process of
collecting the required data. The research instrument for collecting quantitative
data is a questionnaire of which the questions referred to previous studies, and
were modified for this study (Amalia & Korflesch, 2021). The questionnaire
contains 15 question items. Each question was answered using a Likert scale
ranging from 1 to 5. The questionnaire was tested by three experts who work as
lecturers in the Faculty of Economics and Management at Semarang State
University. The questionnaire trial was intended to evaluate the suitability and
representativeness of the questions contained in the questionnaire, and to ensure
they were valid. After the trial, and after the questionnaire had been improved,
the questionnaire was distributed through Google Forms.
In addition, to collect qualitative data in the form of student perspectives related
to entrepreneurship education, students participated in a focus group discussion,
during which researchers asked participants questions that were expected to yield
information on the following matters:
1. The knowledge students need to start new businesses;
2. Effective learning methods to increase student interest;
3. Problems and obstacles that students may face in entrepreneurship after
graduation; and.
4. Opinions of students about the role of institutions and educators in increasing
students' intentions to become entrepreneurs.
183
3.3. Characteristics and Sampling

The respondents of the study numbered 100 equality education students at
Semarang, of whom 40 were male (40%) and 60 were female students (60%). The
majority (85%) of respondents were aged 19–22 years.
3.4. Data Analysis

Respondents were divided into two groups, namely students who participated in
entrepreneurship learning (A1) and students who did not participate in
entrepreneurship learning (A2). Table 1 shows student participation in learning
about and interest in becoming entrepreneurs.
Table 1. Student Participation in Learning about Entrepreneurship and Interest in

Becoming Entrepreneurs.
Respondents interested in becoming entrepreneurs
Participation in 1 2 3 4 5
Entrepreneurship Education Strongly Totally
Disagree Neutral Agree
disagree agree
Participated in
entrepreneurship education 8,2% 11,5% 27,9% 29,5% 23,0%
(A1)
Did not participate in
entrepreneurship education 7,7% 23,1% 20,5% 28,2% 20,5%
(A2)
The group of students who participated in entrepreneurship education numbered

61 students, while the other 39 students did not participate in entrepreneurship
learning. Table 2, which shows the extent of student participation in
entrepreneurship learning and interest in becoming entrepreneurs, indicates that
students who participated in entrepreneurship learning tended to have a greater
interest in becoming entrepreneurs than students who did not participate in
entrepreneurship learning.
To determine the difference in the level of participation of the two groups of
students in entrepreneurship education intended to increase students' interest in
becoming entrepreneurs, a non-parametric test was carried out in the form of the
U-Mann-Whitney test. The test results obtained a Z score of 2.664 and a p-value
of 0.046 < 0.05. Based on the results of these tests, hypothesis 1 is accepted. This
means that there are differences between students’ interest in becoming
entrepreneurs and whether they take part in entrepreneurship learning.
Table 2. Background, Family Income, and Intention to Become Entrepreneurs.

Respondents intend to become entrepreneurs
1 2 3 4 5
Family Background Income
Strongly Totally
disagree Agree
From families that High 0,0% 0,0% 23,5% 58,8% 17,6%
have entrepreneurs
Low 0,0% 4,0% 40,0% 36,0% 20,0%
Not from families High 23,7% 36,8% 18,4% 13,2% 7,9%
that have
35,0% 30,0% 25,0% 5,0% 5,0%
entrepreneurs Low
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Of the 100 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 42 reported their family
group had entrepreneurs; of these, 17 students were from high-income families
and 25 students were from low-income families. Meanwhile, 58 respondents were
from family groups that did not have entrepreneurs, of whom 38 students were
from high-income families and 20 students were from low-income families. Table
3 shows that students with family backgrounds with entrepreneurs – both high-
and low-income families – tend to have intentions to become entrepreneurs
themselves. However, students who do not come from families with
entrepreneurs also have the intention to become entrepreneurs, although not to
the same extent as students who have family backgrounds of entrepreneurship.
To test the research hypothesis, a U-Mann-Whitney test was carried out and a Z-
score of 4.542 and p-value of 0.037 < 0.05 were obtained, which lead to hypothesis
2 being accepted. This means that family background and income have a
significant positive effect on students' intentions to become entrepreneurs.
Table 3. Student Perceptions and Intentions to Become Entrepreneurs
Respondents intend to become entrepreneur
1 2 3 4 5 Final
Factor
Strongly Totally Percentage
disagree Agree
Perceived
2,9% 5,9% 11,8% 44,1% 35,3% 34,0%
Appropriateness (C1)
Perceived
0,0% 12,0% 16,0% 40,0% 32,0% 25,0%
Consistency (C2)
Perceived
7,3% 2,4% 22,0% 26,8% 41,5% 41,0%
Effectiveness (C3)
Table 3 shows that perceived effectiveness is one of the drivers of a student's

intention to become an entrepreneur. Perceived effectiveness is the assumption
that entrepreneurial activities and careers can provide results that are in
accordance with the wishes of prospective entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs. It is a
factor that supports students' intention to become entrepreneurs. This perception
can be used as motivation for students to realize their desires through
entrepreneurship. Based on the result of the analysis, all supporting factors in
Table 3 can increase students’ intentions to become entrepreneurs.
A hypothesis test with the U-Mann-Whitney test provided a Z-score value of 2.021
and p-value of 0.001 < 0.05, and hypothesis 3 was accepted. This means that
students' perceptions that career, social environment, and success can be achieved
through entrepreneurship have a positive effect on students' intentions to become
entrepreneurs.
3.5. Findings of Focus Group Discussion

The focus group discussion was intended to determine students' perspectives on
entrepreneurship education at Semarang equality education institutions
(community learning centers). Based on the findings of the group discussions,
answering questions about the knowledge students need to start businesses in
general, the prior knowledge needed by students to start a new business was
knowledge of business plan readiness and its potential for success, target
consumers, marketing processes, market analysis, and financial management. The
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following are examples of how this knowledge would be applied in business

practice:
Business Plan Readiness and Potential: For example, students can design a
business plan for a bakery that includes an analysis of production costs, sales
estimates, profit projections, and growth strategies. In addition, the business plan
should discuss the potential of this business to be successful, such as the growth
of the bakery market, consumer trends, and the competitive advantages of the
products offered.
Target consumer: If students are planning to open a bakery, they need to know
who their target customer is. Do they target members of the middle class and offer
premium bakery products, or do they focus more on consumers with a more
limited budget and offer budget bakery products?
Marketing process: Students have to think about how they will promote their
bakery. Will they use social media, flyers, radio ads, or a combination of these
methods? How will they attract their first customers and how will they retain
those customers?
Market analysis: Students need to understand the bakery market in Semarang.
How many bakeries are there already? What are the consumer preferences for
choosing bread? What are the challenges and opportunities in this market?
Financial management: Students must understand how to manage the finances of
their bakery. This includes determining the right prices for their products,
managing production costs, monitoring cash, and calculating profitability. In a
focus group discussion, students shared and learned from each other's
experiences and knowledge, and received constructive feedback and suggestions.
Also, some students believe that, in order to build a successful business, they need
to know about legal requirements, business development, strategies to capture the
interest of customers, and digital marketing through a variety of online sales
platforms.
In the focus group discussion, 30% of the respondents said they already planned
to launch their own businesses, particularly MSMEs (micro, small and medium
enterprises). This ambition was particularly strong among respondents who came
from entrepreneurial families. Limited understanding is often the reason for
prospective entrepreneurs not following through on their ambitions. Incorrect
responses to circumstances and situations, and unpreparedness for analyzing
problems that arise often have a fatal impact on the success of businesses, so
entrepreneurship education was very important to these students, and served as
a guideline for starting businesses independently.
What are the entrepreneurial learning methods that are considered effective, according to
students?
The learning method of entrepreneurship education that was considered effective
by some students was the material learning method accompanied by practice and
fieldwork. For example, for digital marketing, students were taught the process
directly: how to register for the platform, how to promote through advertising,
and so on. Practical knwoledge was not the only need students had; on the other
hand, students also expected academics knowledge to conduct comparative
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studies or invite well-known figures in the business field to share experiences.

Students expressed that the learning process is unproductive and tedious if
alternative, more engaging approaches are not used, because, up to that point of
their entrepreneurship education, the entrepreneurship learning process had only
taken place in a classroom setting. Students agreed that learning materials of the
entrepreneurship education curriculum would have a less significant impact on
increasing students' readiness for entrepreneurship if it is not followed by field
learning that reflects the proper world of entrepreneurship.
What are the problems and obstacles students face in starting new businesses?
Most of the students were from families with entrepreneurship backgrounds,
however, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses had
experienced a decrease in turnover, store closures, and bankruptcy. Students
expressed the hope that the entrepreneurship education they were undergoing
would provide solutions to these problems, for example, learning about online
marketing. In addition, the problem that is often faced by students when they start
new businesses is that they lack capital. Students need business facilities and
platforms for entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses, but are constrained
by a lack of capital.
So, based on the results of discussions related to problems and obstacles, the main
obstacle facing students in starting businesses is lack of capital. The capital they
have is limited, so they are hesitant to start new businesses or run their family’s
businesses. Once the problem of capital has been resolved and the business has
been established, another problem that arises is fluctuating or erratic turnover.
These problems often mean that operating profits do not cover the initial capital.
So, what is the solution? A solution could be expanding the marketing of business
products online.
What do students think is the role of academics and educators in stimulating students'
intentions to become entrepreneurs?
According to some students they expect education institutions, as providers of
entrepreneurship education, to support and provide positive motivation for
students who want to be entrepreneurs after graduation. Many students consider
the institution to be more than a place to gain basic knowledge of
entrepreneurship through the entrepreneurship education curriculum and the
role of teachers, in addition, they want entrepreneurship education to provide an
opportunity to motivate the intentions of students who have started
entrepreneurship simply to motivate the belief in entrepreneurship for those who
just want to start it. Education institutions, educators, and students should work
together to improve the regional economy by stimulating young entrepreneurs
from an equal education environment. The positive affirmations given by
educators, especially in the entrepreneurship education curriculum, are
considered to have a positive impact on the students who follow them.
Based on the findings of the discussion, students expected the role of education
institutions to involve more than being a place to gain knowledge. Instead,
education institutions were expected to be the main bridge that leads students in
becoming entrepreneurs. Positive appreciation expressed by education
institutions really helped students to increase their confidence to become
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entrepreneurs in the future. Even if success cannot be guaranteed, If they are not
sure, at least they gained knowledge on how to become entrepreneurs.
Do students, education institutions, educators, and entrepreneurship education stimulate
students' intentions to become entrepreneurs?
According to some students, all the elements that are linked in the entrepreneurial
education chain are interrelated. If this is the case, do all these elements have an
impact on increasing students' intentions to become entrepreneurs? All the
respondents agreed that all elements who joined and contributed to the
entrepreneurship education program could heighten their intention to become
entrepreneurs, although they argued that the increase in entrepreneurship desire
was not great. However, for them, the positive affirmations given by all elements
(student, education institutions, educators, and entrepreneurship education) in
the entrepreneurship education program had an impact on their intentions to
become entrepreneurs.
4. Discussion
This study aimed to interpret the implementation of entrepreneurship education
to encourage entrepreneurship intentions based on the perspectives of students
in equality education at Semarang Equality Education institution.
Research question 1: Is there a difference in the levels of interest of students of
Semarang equality education institution to become entrepreneurs who are
engaged in entrepreneurship education, and students who are not? Based on the
results of data analysis, student participation in entrepreneurship learning affects
their interest in becoming entrepreneurs. Students who participate in
entrepreneurship learning tend to have a greater intention to become
entrepreneurs than students who do not participate in entrepreneurship learning.
This finding corresponds with the findings of Igwe et al. (2022), although the
results show that there is no significant difference in entrepreneurial intentions of
business students who participate in entrepreneurship education and students
who do not, though this study reveals that the number of students who take
entrepreneurship courses is slightly higher among those who do not participate.
In contrast, Herman (2019) found that student participation in entrepreneurship
education has no significant effect on students' entrepreneurship intentions.
Differences in the physical learning environment, technology and infrastructure,
social interaction in diverse learning environments can spur students' cognitive
growth and strengthen their intellectual performance while developing critical
thinking that contributes to the successful transfer of knowledge (Chen et al.,
2022). The development of instrumental skills leads to an increase in competence
arising from one's abilities (Mets et al., 2022). In addition, competency-based
learning is more successful in increasing student participation and involvement
in entrepreneurship education than traditional learning which focuses on
theoretical knowledge alone (Knox, 2022). Basically, entrepreneurship education
is intended as a forum for students to acquire, learn, and knowledge about
entrepreneurship.
According to students who participated in this study, the knowledge needed to
start a business is basic knowledge about entrepreneurship for success, including
188
the readiness of business plans and an indication of their potential, knowledge of

target consumers, marketing processes, market analysis, and financial
management. These findings correspond with that of Byun et al., (2018), namely
that the knowledge that is important in relation to the basic concept of
entrepreneurship and start-ups is being aware of business opportunities,
knowledge of business feasibility analysis, writing business plans, practical
accounting, finance and marketing. According to Li et al., (2022) the theory of
entrepreneurship has a positive impact on the independence of entrepreneurs in
China, if applied through a classical teaching approach.
Research question 2: Does family background and income affect a student's
intention to become an entrepreneur? The survey results found that family
background and income positively affect students' intentions to become
entrepreneur (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Student an Entrepreneur Intention Survey

This finding is that 17% of students who have low-income entrepreneurial
backgrounds intend becoming entrepreneurs, as do 25% of students who have
high-income entrepreneurial backgrounds. Some of these students become
involved in businesses that started as family businesses. Meanwhile, 38% of
students who do not have entrepreneurial backgrounds and relatively high family
incomes intended to become entrepreneurs, while only 20% of students who did
not have entrepreneurial backgrounds, and low family incomes wanted to
become entrepreneurs. Students who had entrepreneurial family backgrounds
and low family incomes wanted to become entrepreneurs. Student who had
entrepreneurial family backgrounds with either high or low incomes tend to have
a greater intention to become entrepreneurs than students who do not have
entrepreneurial family backgrounds.
The findings of the study confirm the research of Herman (2019), who found that
a student's entrepreneurial family background and entrepreneurial personality
traits positively affected their entrepreneurial intentions in the future. There was
a greater intention to engage in entrepreneurship among students who benefited
from informal entrepreneurship education through parental observation or
engaging in family business activities. Similar research findings are the results of
a study by Zhang et al. (2022), that individuals whose family members had
189
entrepreneurship experience had a stronger sense of self-efficacy for

entrepreneurship than individuals whose family members had no
entrepreneurship experience. The findings of the study by Zhang et al. differ from
the findings of Nguyen (2018), who found that students who have self-employed
parents do not show higher entrepreneurship intentions than students whose
parents are not self-employed. There is a tendency for students to start new
businesses or follow in the footsteps of their parents to do business (Rosado-
Cubero et al., 2022).
Research question 3: Do students' perceptions of entrepreneurship affect students'
intention to become entrepreneurs? Student perceptions, in the form of perceived
appropriateness, perceived consistency, and perceived effectiveness affect
students' entrepreneurship intentions. However, from these three perceptions,
perceived effectiveness is considered to have a greater impact on increasing
students' entrepreneurship intentions. These findings are confirmed by the
research findings of of Boubker and Ouajdouni (2021), that perceived
appropriateness and perceived effectiveness affect intentions. Attitudes towards
and behavioral controls for entrepreneurship tend to be positively related to
entrepreneurship intentions, but social norms do not have an important effect
(Küttim et al., 2014). The entrepreneurial traits of students will develop if they
participate in entrepreneurship programs. Student motivation and engagement
will foster awareness of their abilities through a practical approach to encouraging
student readiness to face all possibilities in entrepreneurship development
(Colombelli et al., 2022).
Research question 4: Can entrepreneurship education heighten a student's
intention to become an entrepreneur? In discussions with students, they agreed
that entrepreneurship education had a positive effect on their intentions to
become entrepreneurs. In addition, an effective entrepreneurship education
learning system requires the cooperation of all parties involved, including
education institutions, educators, curriculum developers, and students, in order
to produce entrepreneurs that contribute to reducing unemployment among
people of a productive age.
The study Iwu et al. (2021) found that entrepreneurship education has a
significant impact on students' entrepreneurship intentions. Insights into the
importance of entrepreneurship education need to be included in the equality
education curriculum. Conformity between academic programs and competent
educator components can encourage students' entrepreneurial spirit, which can
be expected to motivate students' entrepreneurial interest and drive (Iwu et al.,
2021). The study of Handayati et al. (2020) had similar findings. Research by
Othman et al. (2022) found that entrepreneurship education had a positive impact
on students developing themselves to enter the world of entrepreneurship.
According to Cascavilla et al. (2022), orienting a learning system for
entrepreneurship education to practice rather than theory is considered more
effective. Costin et al. (2022) found an increase in entrepreneurial talent after
students had participated in entrepreneurship education programs. Therefore,
entrepreneurship education is likely to be an effective means of developing
business knowledge and skills.
190
According to Guerrero et al. (2020), educational programs have an important role

in helping individuals develop skills and the ability to identify business and
employment opportunities in uncertain situations, so that, if individuals undergo
educational programs, they can achieve the highest level of work tolerance, as
required to be an entrepreneur. Frederiksen and Berglund (2020) explain that
teaching theory and practice in entrepreneurship education leads to an increase
in student interest in the concept of work identity, which is part of the integral
learning of entrepreneurship. Increased student engagement in business activities
is an early sign that the curriculum is successful in promoting entrepreneurship
(Blimpo & Pugatch, 2020). It is important to introduce a framework for
entrepreneurship education that supports comparative analysis, and to promote
subsequent research in the context of entrepreneurship education (Thomassen et
al., 2020).
Entrepreneurship is considered to be the best approach to achieving economic
growth for a country. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the effectiveness
of entrepreneurship education in the entrepreneurship education curriculum, and
to consider that the role of education is to provide human resources employability
and to adjust skills to meet the needs of the labor market (Herman, 2019).
Academics play a role in providing the means to bridge the roles of educators and
students (Jones, 2019). To activate an entrepreneurship education program, it is
necessary to find direction in the development and improvement of the program
(Byun et al., 2018). Psychological empowerment during the process of
entrepreneurship education positively affects students' entrepreneurial intentions
to build businesses independently (Kayed et al., 2022).
5. Conclusion
This research faced limitations in interpreting the findings of the study. First, the
research was focused on students' perceptions of entrepreneurship education
programs, which means that the perspectives of equality education institutions
and educators on the impact of organizing entrepreneurship education programs
to increase students’ entrepreneurial intentions is not yet known. Second, even
though the respondents were equality education students in community learning
centers at Semarang, the percentage of students of equality education who took
part in the study is less than 10% of the total. Thus, this study does not represent
the opinions of all the students regarding the implementation of entrepreneurship
education. Third, the scope of research was narrow. Further research is needed to
investigate other issues in the world of entrepreneurship education, such as
effective entrepreneurship learning methods and models, entrepreneurship
education curriculum standards, and so on.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 195-211, June 2023
English Language Skills and Becoming a Global

Entrepreneur: Lessons for Entrepreneurship
Education
Ismail Sheikh Ahmad and Zarinah Jan Yusof Khan

International Islamic University Malaysia
Abstract. This paper discusses the results of a case study that

focused on the importance of English language skills in helping
students become global entrepreneurs. A critical element that is
often missing in courses on Entrepreneurship Education is the
inclusion of the language component that helps build oral
English proficiency. In the entrepreneurship education courses,
the importance of teaching English skills to prepare students to
become global entrepreneurs is seldom instilled among
students—an especially crucial aspect when teaching students for
whom English is a second or foreign language—as it would not
only motivate them to use English more, but also help them
overcome their challenges in using English. By using an online
survey and focus group discussions, this study obtained the
views of 177 undergraduate students of an Entrepreneurship
Education course conducted by the Faculty of Economics of a
Malaysian public university. The attitudes of the students
towards using English for entrepreneurship and the challenges
they faced in doing so are highlighted, and implications are
drawn for teaching English in entrepreneurship courses.
Keywords: English for business communication; English for

Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship Education; oral English
skills; global entrepreneurship
1. Introduction
Entrepreneurship is seen as a catalyst for economic development (Carree et
al., 2002; Muhammad et al., 2011; Byrne, Fayolle & Toutain, 2014) as it helps
in creating new business ventures which are the major contributors to the job
creation of a nation (Kuratko & Hodgetts, 2004; Mansor & Othman, 2011). Its
importance for a country’s development prompted the Harvard Business
School to start a programme on entrepreneurship education in 1945, which
became so popular with other business schools in the USA that by 1980, more
than 300 universities in the US offered entrepreneurship education (Vesper &
©Authors
196
Gartner, 1997). As time went on, entrepreneurship education sparked a

growing interest in scientific research around the world from the viewpoint of
promoting creativity, developing entrepreneurial capacities, and changing the
mindsets of the students from job seekers to job creators (European
Commission, 2008; Fayolle & Gally, 2008; Nabi & Holden, 2008).
The central aims of entrepreneurship education are to cultivate an entrepreneurial

mindset and to develop the entrepreneurial skills and behaviour to enable
students to be successful in their entrepreneurship endeavours (Lazear, 2004;
Galloway et al., 2005); Byrne et al., 2014; Audretsch et al., 2016). It also aims to
help students deal with and manage the uncertainties or challenges in the
economy by laying strong social links that are multifaceted and diverse (Brian &
Norma, 2010). Shepherd and Douglas (1997) suggest the following definition of
entrepreneurship education:
“…the ability to envision and chart a course for a new business venture
by combining information from the functional disciplines and from the
external environment in the context of the extraordinary uncertainty and
ambiguity which faces a new business venture. It manifests itself in
creative strategies, innovative tactics, uncanny perception of trends and
market mood changes, courageous leadership when the way forward is not
obvious, and so on. What we teach in our entrepreneurship classes should
serve to instil and enhance these abilities” (cited in Fatoki & Oni, 2014
pp. 587).
In addition, Alberti et al. (2004) describe entrepreneurship as a transformation of

entrepreneurial abilities in relation to theories, skills and understanding from the
initial stage of business to the expansion of the venture.
Interestingly, Kirby (2002) views entrepreneurship from a different angle,

asserting that the traditional management studies play an important role in
forming a strong basis for entrepreneurial skills to flourish. Other researchers (as
cited in Rahim et al., 2015) further elaborate that the effectiveness of an
entrepreneurship education course is somehow associated with experiential
learning (Kolb, 1984), training of entrepreneurial skills (Gibb, 1999), action-
learning (Smith, 2001) and work-related learning (Dwerryhouse, 2001)—meaning
to say, the process of learning and launching a new venture involves an
integration of skills, experiences, and knowledge. In short, entrepreneurship
education is seen as a valuable platform to generate new entrepreneurs.
Alberti et al. (2004), as cited in Niyonkuru, (2005, p.15), identified three sources of
demands for entrepreneurship education in academic institutions, namely,
“governmental, students and education, and the business world”. The demand
from the government focuses mainly on the shift towards job creation among
small businesses to tackle the problem of unemployment, while the demand from
the students comes from their desire to become owners of their own businesses,
to gain additional knowledge that would offer brighter opportunities to work in
larger companies, and as a safeguard against the economic downturn (Jack &
Anderson, 1999). The third demand is felt in the business world, brought about
197
by situations where the actors perceive themselves as lacking skills in managing

small and medium companies and the requirements for ongoing production and
services (Alberti et al., 2004). All these demands have prompted many graduates
to develop their entrepreneurial careers.
1.1 The Malaysian scenario

In Malaysia, entrepreneurship education was adopted by the country’s higher
learning institutions to foster the development of the economy (Herbert & Link,
2011; Yusuf et al., 2015; Cheng et al., 2009), to develop a sustainable society (Abu
Sufian, 2012) and to prepare graduates for employment (Ahmad, 2013). To further
understand the importance of implementing this form of education, Shamsudin
et al. (2016), in their review of the policies and practices for entrepreneurial
education in Malaysia, discussed the relevance of the New Economic Policy (NEP,
1971-1990), which was an initiative to reduce the disparity among races in the
economy (Gomez, 2003). In addition, the National Development Policy (NDP,
1991-2000) was introduced, with a strong emphasis on ensuring political stability
and national unity, which allows all Malaysians to be involved in economic
activities (Economic Planning Unit). Subsequently, in 2010, the New Economic
Model (NEM, 2010) was announced, aimed at propelling Malaysia towards
becoming a fully developed country based on the country’s Vision 2020
aspiration. Under the same policy, entrepreneurship is viewed as being important
in generating a competitive domestic economy (Abdullah et al., 2014).
Given the importance that the government saw in incorporating entrepreneurial

values and culture in the education system—especially among the higher learning
institutions—the Higher Educational Entrepreneurship Development Policy
(HEEDP) was launched in 2010, which was intended to intensify the
entrepreneurship programmes to make them more holistic to produce graduates
with entrepreneurial mindsets and characteristics. The policy would also see an
increase in graduates establishing themselves as business owners (Yusuf et al.,
2015; Cheng et al., 2009; Abdullah et al., 2014).
To further realise the objectives of the policy, the Ministry of Education

introduced the “six thrusts” as the guiding tools to empower the entrepreneurial
programmes. As described by Shamsudin et al. (2016), the first is to encourage the
establishment of an entrepreneurship centre in every Higher Learning Institution,
while the second is to advocate the provision of a holistic and systematic
entrepreneurial education and programme. Empowering the entrepreneurial
development programmes at the higher learning institutions and upskilling their
entrepreneurship instructors and facilitators to be more competent in their
abilities are the third and fourth thrusts, respectively. The next thrust is to provide
a conducive environment for entrepreneurship development, while the sixth is to
improve the effectiveness of the implementation and development of
entrepreneurial education (Ministry of Education, 2012).
1.2 The Need to Improve Entrepreneurship Education in Malaysia

Despite the numerous studies conducted both locally and abroad that have
shown that entrepreneurship education has helped to change the attitudes of
graduates towards wanting to be self-employed (Ronstadt, 1987; Katz, 2003;
198
Othman & Othman, 2019), several studies have also highlighted the need to
improve further entrepreneurship education in Malaysia (Cheng, Chan &
Mahmood, 2009; Mansor & Othman, 2017). For instance, a large-scale study
carried out by Yusuf and Kamil (2015), which reviewed the entrepreneurship
education practices of 20 public universities in Malaysia, found that these
programmes suffered a lack of funding, a weak support system, ambiguity in
their policies and objectives, and an ineffective delivery mode. The study also
found that the students at these institutions lacked soft skills, mainly English
communicative skills. The results correlate with the findings of the National
Graduate Employability Blueprint 2012–2017 and 2013–2025, which stated that
the problem of unemployment among graduates had to do with a lack of
English language skills (Ministry of Higher Education, 2010; Yusof et al., 2015;
Ministry of Education, 2012).
It is essential, at this point, to emphasise that having good English

communicative skills is crucial in business dealings. Mydans (2007) contends
that success in business mainly hinges on effective communication in English,
which is the lingua franca or the major language of international business,
diplomacy, education, science and technology and the professions; thus, English
plays an important role in global entrepreneurship. In her book titled Teaching
English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Perspective, McKay
(2002) states that good English language skills underpin the growth of an
individual, as well as the growth of national wealth by attracting foreign
investments and interest. Enterprises worldwide have noted the need to run a
company with employees that are competent in English if they wish to benefit
from the great opportunities in the global market. In their study on the role of
communication in entrepreneurship, Abbasi et al. (2011) concluded that, “The
basic need for interaction cannot be accomplished without effective
communication between individuals…The most important trait of the
entrepreneurially minded business students is the way they communicate, the
way they convey their message” (p. 249).
Hence, English language skills are needed and should be taught to produce
graduates who can promote their business worldwide. The researchers
observed that no importance is placed on the inclusion of English oral
communication skills in the entrepreneurship education curriculum, even
though its importance is universally acknowledged as the main medium of
communication in the global business arena. In addition, the notion of the
importance of English for global entrepreneurship is seldom instilled in
students—an especially crucial aspect when teaching students for whom
English is a second or foreign language—as it would not only motivate them to
use English more, but also help them overcome their challenges in using
English. Although the aim of producing “quality, viable, resilient, and
competitive entrepreneurs with a global mindset” (NEP, p.iii) is explicitly
mentioned as one of the objectives under the Malaysian National
Entrepreneurship Policy 2030, these important elements have not been given
much emphasis in the implementation of the entrepreneurship education
syllabus (NEP, 2030). Given the tremendous importance of English skills among
199
entrepreneurs, there is a need for English oral communicative skills to be

embedded in the course content of the entrepreneurship education programme
if we are to produce effective and successful global entrepreneurs.
This paper discusses the results of a case study that focused on the importance
of English language skills in helping students become global entrepreneurs. It
also highlights the students’ attitudes towards including English oral
communication skills in an entrepreneurship course. The paper discusses the
challenges students faced while using English in the entrepreneurship course.
Finally, implications are drawn for the teaching of English in entrepreneurship
education courses.
2. Methodology
The data for this paper were obtained from a few sources to allow for cross-
referencing and validation of the results. Firstly, the quantitative data were
obtained from the students’ responses to an online survey, which was designed
to gauge their perceptions of the importance of including English oral
communication skills in an entrepreneurship course. The first part of the online
survey included nine statements related to the students’ perceptions of the topic
where students were requested to choose their preference based on a five-point
Likert-type scale of between “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. The second
part of the questionnaire included two open-ended questions, which allowed
students to elaborate on what they felt about the entrepreneurship course and
the challenges they faced in using English in the course.
Further, the study also obtained data from a focus group discussion which was
carried out with a selected group of students from the Business Management
Department. The students who participated in this discussion had successfully
undergone the entrepreneurship education course and were randomly selected
by the Head of the Entrepreneurship Division Centre. This form of interview is
chosen as it presents the opportunity to observe a large amount of interaction
on the issue discussed which will help to retrieve a substantial volume of
concentrated data related to the interest (Morgan, 1997). The aim of this focus
group discussion is to help validate the responses to the online survey and assist
in understanding the students’ feelings about the importance of including
English oral communication skills in the entrepreneurship course and what
challenges they faced using English during their course.
2.1 Participants
The participants of the study were undergraduate students at a public
university. The main criterion for selecting the participants for this study was
that they had completed the entrepreneurship course to ensure that they had
had the practical experience of using the English oral communication skills. A
total of 177 students were randomly selected from the Business Management
Department because it offers the entrepreneurship courses to its management
students as an elective subject. Of the 177 students, 71 were male (40.1%) and
106 were female (59.9%). For the focus group discussion (FGD), six students
200
were purposively selected as participants to share their related experiences. In

the entrepreneurship courses, English is used as the language of instruction.
2.2 Procedure
Prior to the focus group session, the researcher sent a consent letter to the Dean
of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, to seek permission to
carry out the study. Subsequently, appointments were set with six students
selected from three sections of the elective courses by the coordinator of the
entrepreneurship course in the Department of Business Management. The time
and venue were set by the Head of the Department. The FGD took place at the
meeting room of the Entrepreneurship Division Centre (EDC). Interview
protocols were prepared by the researcher prior to the interview sessions. The
students were briefed on the objectives of the research to be carried out before
the session. Students took turns to respond to the interview questions and the
oral session was recorded with their consent.
The online survey was administered by the course facilitators and the link to the
online survey was shared to all the students during their class hours. Students
were requested to respond to all the sections within the given time and submit
the completed forms online. The online responses were later retrieved by the
researcher for data analysis. Of a total of 200 students registered for the course,
177 responded to the online survey, representing a response rate of 89.5%.
2.3 Data analysis
Data from the online survey were analysed using descriptive analysis while
data collected from the interviews were transcribed. Selected key ideas or
excerpts from the interview data and students' responses to the open-ended
questions were then used to add more depth to the quantitative results. rom the
interviews were transcribed. Selected key ideas or excerpts from the
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Demographic characteristics of the respondents
As shown in Table 1, more than half the respondents were between the ages of
22–26 (64.4), followed by 18–21 age range (39.9%) and the lowest number was
from the 27–31 age range (1.7%). The number of female students (59.9%) slightly
exceeded male students (40.1%). In terms of year of study, nearly half of the
respondents were in their third year (41.2%) as students had to take the course
to fulfil their study requirements. A total of 33.3% of the respondents were
second-year students, followed by fourth-year students (19.8%), and the lowest
number were first-year students (5.6%), mainly from the Faculty of Languages
and Management where the course is offered in the second semester of the first
year of study. As far as representation of respondents from the faculty is
concerned, the most highly represented field was that of Economics and
Management with 140 respondents (79.1%), followed by Engineering with 16
respondents (9.0%), Human Sciences faculty with 13 respondents (7.3%) and
finally the faculty of Languages and Management with eight respondents
(4.5%).
201
Table 1: Respondents response on demographic characteristics of the respondents

Items Frequency Percentage %
Age 18 - 21 60 33.9
22 - 26 114 64.4
27 - 31 3 1.7
Gender Male 71 40.1
Female 106 59.9
Year of Study 1 10 5.6
2 59 33.3
3 73 41.2
4 35 19.8
Faculty Economics 140 79.1
Engineering 16 9.0
Human Science 13 7.3
Language & Management 8 4.5
3.2 Students’ perceptions of the importance of English oral communication

skills in an Entrepreneurship Education course
On the question of the importance of English Oral communication skills in an
entrepreneurship education course given in the questionnaire, the respondents
were required to rate from a list of 12 items those which they perceived as
important in building their skills and which should be included in the course
content. The results showed that almost all of the respondents perceived English
oral communication skills as important in an entrepreneurship course and
should be included and taught in the course.
3.2.1 Skills in expressing ideas and participating in discussions more effectively

Items 1 and 2 in Table 2 show the results of students’ perceptions of the
importance of including English oral communication skills to express ideas and
participate in discussion more effectively. Almost all of the respondents (98.5%)
expressed strong agreement that these two skills are significant in helping them
use English oral communication more efficiently and successfully in or outside
the classroom. The respondents are aware of the importance of having the
ability to say clearly what is on their minds and participate in business dealings
as English opens wider opportunities for them to become successful
entrepreneurs.
Table 2: Skills in expressing ideas and participating in discussions more effectively

Including English SA A NS D SD
oral
communications
skills in an
Entrepreneurship
course will allow
students to:
202
1. Express ideas in (49.7%) (49.2%) (1.1%) (2.8%)

English more
effectively.
2. Participate (53.7%) (41.8%) (0.6%) (4%)

more effectively in
formal discussions
in English
SA= Strongly Agree, A= Agree, NS= Not Sure, D= Disagree, SD=Strongly Disagree
In response to the interview question on the students’ perceptions of the

necessity for English oral communication skills in an entrepreneurship
education course, Jamal, (a pseudonym is used for each of the six participants)
said;
“Learning the skills in expressing what I want to say to my business
partners or clients in English is essential for me. If we do not know how
to express what we have in our minds, then people may not understand
what we really want to say.”
Another participant, Hisham, supported this by stating:

“Opinions expressed by entrepreneurs can make or break the business
links. That is why I believe having the proper skills in making yourself
clear when speaking is very important and should be taught in the
course.”
Norman expanded the idea that having the proper skills to make others
understand what you really wanted to say can build trust between business
partners and colleagues. He added that:
“When you know how to use the right words at the right time; know how
to express your ideas clearly, people will come to you. That is why
learning the skills and mastering the English oral language is most
important for us.”
In essence, being able to express ideas clearly and precisely can be very
beneficial for the students. Students felt that the lack of skills to express their
business ideas clearly in good English would hinder their success in closing
any business deals. This is in line with what Cardona (2015) mentioned when
he stated that the use of spoken words to convey a message clearly and
concisely spells the success of business transactions. In other words, to get a
message across, the businessman, as the speaker, needs to ensure the receiver
correctly interprets his or her words. If not, confusion and conflict will typically
result.
In response to the importance of including English oral communication skills to

allow students to learn the skills to participate more effectively in formal
discussion, almost all the six participants gave strong justification in their
agreement to this during the interview session. Words like “engaging”,
“motivation” and “connection” were mentioned several times. Interestingly,
203
many of them expressed that this was one of the most important skills which
should be included in the course. Sofea shared her justification:
“As a future business owner, for me this is one of the most important skills
to master. Business is mainly about participating in discussions, about
processing ideas and concepts, about building connections or
networking.”
Johan also agreed and was quick to add that:

“For students, having the skills in engaging in formal discussions in class
is truly essential. It allows students to work harder and build confidence
in our speaking skills. When we participate in a discussion, we are
actually learning by practising the language. This will motivate everyone
to better themselves.”
Muhammad eagerly concurred that when students are given the opportunity
to speak in class, they prefer not to say much. However, in a group setting, they
are more receptive to sharing ideas and thoughts:
“Teaching students the skills in group discussion while using English
will empower them to be great business leaders. It will also improve
their listening, thinking and speaking skills, which are important skills
for an entrepreneur to have.”
These findings are consistent with the previous research carried out by Altan
(2019) and Özdemir (2015) who confirm the importance of teaching English
language skills in business activities and of embedding language skills with
entrepreneurship skills, such as expressing ideas and participating in group
discussions which can be a way to encourage students to venture into becoming
successful entrepreneurs. All these responses show that English skills need to
be embedded in the entrepreneurship courses if students are to build their skills
in using English to communicate with their peers and in business settings. In
brief, all six respondents strongly agreed that English oral communication skills
need to be embedded in the course to achieve business success.
3.2.2 Skills in expressing disagreement and giving feedback.

Items 3 and 4 in Table 3 show the results of students’ perceptions of the
importance of including English oral communication skills to build their
confidence in expressing disagreement and giving feedback. Almost all the
students expressed agreement with Item 3, representing a response rate of
97.8%.
Table 3: Skills in expressing disagreement and giving feedback
Including SA A NS D S
English oral D
communicati
ons skills in
an
Entrepreneur
ship course
will allow
students to:
204
3. Express (48.6%) (49.2%) (1.1%) (1.1%)

disagreement
respectfully
in English
4. Provide (49.7%) (48.6%) (0.6%) (1.1%)

feedback to
comments
competently
in English.
When asked why they thought expressing disagreement respectfully in English

was important in an entrepreneurship course, Ali said:
“I don’t know how to disagree with my lecturer or my group members
because I don’t have the skills. I am afraid they will not like it. So learning
this skill is crucial as it will improve my communication with other
people.”
When asked further why he was afraid, he explained that he might use the
wrong words or a wrong phrase which could offend his lecturer or friends. As
a result, most of the time in class he kept to himself and preferred to let others
ask the questions. Another participant shared the same concern when she wrote:
“Having the skills in disagreeing with someone is very important for me
because sometimes there are things which I think are not right, but I am
not sure how to say my view.”
Similarly, Johan shared his perception of why learning the skills to disagree with
what others are saying is an important element to be taught in an
entrepreneurship course when he said:
“We need some time to think or to automatically prepare for the answer
and how to elaborate the alternative way when there is a debate on that
matter. If we have the skills on how to respond to the debate, it will make
us look very professional.”
These feelings of not being able to deliberate politely in a disagreement could
pose a confusion and misunderstanding among people and especially among
business partners or organisations. However, when one has the confidence and
ability to express disagreements, it is much easier to clarify the matter and solve
the conflict by responding in respectful verbal communication (Cardona, 2015).
On the skills of providing feedback competently in English (Item 4), the results
also show that this is an important skill to include in the course. One of the claims
made by Shidah for Item 4 during the FGD was:
“To have a strong business relationship, we have to establish a strong and
successful communication channel and there will be many things we will
disagree on, and we must know the skills in providing feedback in the
proper way. This will lead to more profit and longer lasting business co-
operation.”
205
The importance of learning how to provide proper feedback in a group discussion

can be regarded as a guide to improving a situation or changing a decision. This
was expressed by both Mohammad and Hisham:
“We don’t know when we make a mistake. So if our group mates or
lecturer give us feedback, it can guide us to make things better. We can
learn not to make that mistake again.”
3.2.3 Skills in asking questions clearly.

Item 5 in Table 4 shows the highest percentage in agreement among the nine
statements presented. Almost all of the respondents were in agreement that
including English oral communication skills in the entrepreneurship course
was important to help students build their skills in asking questions in English
more clearly.
Table 4: Skills in asking questions clearly
Including English oral
communications skills in an
Entrepreneurship course will allow
students to:
5. Ask questions in English more (55.9%) (40.1%) (0.6%) (2.8%)

clearly
This concern was emphasised in the FGD where all the six participants said
they did their best to avoid asking questions in English as they feared
making mistakes and being embarrassed in front of their peers; or they
would use Malay to ask questions in their business group discussions or
during class discussions. One of them said:
“Sometimes we ask questions, but the other person didn’t understand it
and give us another answer. This, I think, is because the question was not
clear or wrong. So yes, we need to learn the skills to ask proper questions.”
When asked how they would overcome this situation, they replied that, with
practice, they might be able to improve the skills which would build their
confidence. They added that in business, asking questions can help to improve
their learning.
“When we ask questions, we get new information. We learn new ideas,
we improve our English which makes us more ready to face the business
world.”
Finally, all agreed that the technique of asking questions clearly in English
should be taught during the course as it is an important skill for all
entrepreneurs to master.
3.2.4 Skills in meditating conflicts effectively

Mediation is a process which assists groups in conflict to reach a mutual
resolution. Undeniably, this is a very common but essential skill for an
entrepreneur to have. Item 6 was constructed to determine students’
perceptions of the importance of having the skills to mediate in English. As
206
shown in Table 5, almost all the respondents agreed that developing confidence
in mediating conflicts effectively in English was very important and should be
included in the entrepreneurship course.
Table 5: Skills in meditating conflicts effectively

Including English oral SA A NS D SA
communications skills in an
Entrepreneurship course
will allow students to:
6. Meditate conflicts (51.4%) (44.1%) (1.7%) (2.8%)

more effectively in
English
Analysis of the FGD of the item revealed that students lack skills in mediating;
they find it difficult to do, and it is not as aspect that is commonly addressed in
their course. In one of the answers, Syarifah said:
“Many conflicts happen, especially between group members when
discussing an idea and we end up not having a proper closure to it. So
yes, the skills in mediating should be included in the course.”
Her concern was echoed by Ali:
“Managing conflicts is one skill we must have as an entrepreneur.
Sometimes to express our feeling and things we want to say to solve it in
English can be a problem. This is because we don’t know how to put the
right words in English and that is very frustrating”.
Another comment which was shared was:
“In business we have to be able to speak our minds and make other people
understand our situation. If we don’t know how to solve an issue or
respond to it in proper English, then we lose the business. This is
important, I think.”
These statements clearly show that students are aware of the importance of
having the skills in mediating conflicts, either in the classroom or in business
dealings. They were apparently frustrated that they were unable to manage
conflict because they lacked the proficiency or the skills to do so.
Mediating is one of the most important skills needed in any business
transactions. As mentioned by cited in llie et al. (2015, pp. 662):
“In the business environment, mediation encourages strengthening of
relationships and even creates new ways of collaboration between
partners. Mediation in [the] business field helps in maintaining
relationships between business partners and paves the way for initiating
new partnerships and business, based on the principle of ‘win-win’.”
Thus, without the opportunity to master the skills in mediating, the students may
lose opportunities in building business connections or handling business conflicts,
prejudices, or intolerance (Ahmad, 2016).
207
3.2.5 Skills in carrying out business communication.

Items 7, 8 and 9 (Table 6) were included to determine the students’ perceptions
of the importance of including English oral communication skills in an
entrepreneurship in terms of enhancing their confidence in carrying out
business communication skills. Presenting a business proposition, or pitching,
is one of the most crucial skills any entrepreneur must master in order to
effectively convince the potential investor or buyer that they are investing in a
profitable venture. The response to this statement is a high 97.8%.
Table 6: Skills in carrying out business communication
Including English oral SA A NS D SD
communications skills in
an Entrepreneurship
course will allow students
to:
7. Present effective (50.3%) (47.5%) (1.7%) (0.6%)

business
propositions in
English
8. Build better (50.3%) (43.5%) (1.7%) (4.5%)
rapport with
business partners
9. Build self-esteem (54.8%) (40.1%) (2.8%) (2.3%)
as a global
entrepreneur
SA= Strongly Agree, A= Agree, NS= Not Sure, D= Disagree, SD=Strongly

Disagree
One participant mentioned:
“The English oral communication skills are important in the course
because it [sic] prepares students for real job situation where most
professional organisations communicate in English; related formal events
are also in English, especially presenting business ideas and concepts.”
Students are aware that they need to be prepared for real job situations because
that will play an important role in establishing a business network. Abdullah
shared his views on improving his skills in presenting effective business models:
“By having the skills in presenting in English, one tends to look more
convincing when discussing ideas and business proposals, and reliable
[sic] in carrying out the task. If we do not know the skills, what we want
to say may not be understood clearly.”
Building better rapport with business partners is also perceived as a significant
skill to be included in the entrepreneurship course. A further review of the FGD
revealed that the participants were in agreement with this statement. One of the
requirements of the course is for the students to go out and interview real
business owners. The objective of this exercise is to expose the students to
contact with people outside the classroom and to gain first-hand information
about building a business. However, students are not taught the skills for
208
establishing an effective conversation outside their course group. Syed shared

his thoughts on this statement:
“It is not easy to have an effective conversation with a person who is
established in his business when our English is not good. It makes us look
unprofessional. That is why the course should give students practice in
building rapport with people outside the class so that we can gain the
confidence.”
Sharifah added:
“The thought of meeting a stranger itself is very daunting, and not having
the proper skills in maintaining a conversation in English can be very
damaging to our self-esteem. I totally agree that this skill should be
included in the course to better prepare us.”
The other four participants agreed with Syed and Sharifah. Phrases that were
captured such as “lack of practice”, “no confidence to face people”, “cannot find the
right words”, “embarrassed to open my mouth”, “I feel nervous to face people outside
the course” and “I normally use Malay to start a business conversation as it is faster
and easier to share my thoughts”, describe how significant it is for this skill to be
embedded in the course.
Item 9 received an overwhelming response of 94.9% in agreement with the
statement that including English oral communication skills in an
entrepreneurship course would allow students to build self-esteem as a global
entrepreneur. During the FGD, most of the respondents reasoned that since
English is the main language of the business world, an entrepreneur must
master English to be able to break into the global market. This was mentioned
by Muhammad when he shared:
“English oral communication skills are important because English is the
world language right now. So, when we use English during our business
dealings, we can go far as we can to make everyone understand us, and
this will build our self-esteem.”
Further analysis of the list of comments showed more respondents agreeing on
how the ability to communicate effectively in English oral skills can help
entrepreneurs:
“For me, English oral communication skills are important in terms of
gaining confidence to talk publicly in front of others, especially regarding
their business ideas. Without having a good communication between both
parties, or lack of confidence, it would be harder for others to invest, or
attract them with our products. Therefore, English oral communication
skills should be done in [the] entrepreneurship education course to help
the students in improving the ways of generating ideas and talk
confidently in front of many people.”
The above results and justifications emphasise the importance of English oral
communication skills and their inclusion as part of the course. The respondents
clearly perceived that skills in expressing ideas, participating in discussions,
expressing disagreement and providing feedback, asking questions, mediating,
mastering the skills in presentation and building rapport with business people
209
are essential skills to be learned and should be embedded in the

Entrepreneurship Education course.
4. Conclusions
The key to successfully becoming a global entrepreneur is the ability to
communicate effectively with people. As the English language is the major link
in connecting businesses across the globe, mastering the skills, especially
English oral communication skills, is seen as crucial for students taking the
Entrepreneurship Education course, as it builds their confidence in expressing
their vision, their ideas, and expressing innovative strategies more vividly.
English language skills would also help to build their self-esteem when asking
questions, discussing discrepancies more efficiently, and improving their lack
of proficiency in language skills. Entrepreneurship is not only about capitalising
on profits and building empires, it strives for sustainability of relationships and
charismatic leadership in which effective business presentations, meetings,
negotiations, mediating conflicts, building rapport with existing or new
business partners play an important role. To produce successful entrepreneurs
of a global standard who would become the saviours of the global economy of
a country, it is vital to expose them to the English language skills along with the
entrepreneurial skills by embedding the language skills in an entrepreneurship
course.
Acknowledgements
Funding: The writers would like to thank the Ministry of Higher Education
Malaysia for the grant, FRGS/1/2018/SSI09/UIAM/01/2, which allowed us to
undertake the study and make possible the publication of this work.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 212-225, June 2023
Motivational Factors that Influence the Course

Completion Rate of Massive Open Online
Courses in South Africa
Liezel Cilliers*
University of Fort Hare, East London, South Africa
Hossana Twinomurinzi
University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa
Obrain Murire
Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa
Abstract. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have increased access to

higher education by allowing South Africans to access free, online-based,
open content created by higher education institutions worldwide.
However, most MOOCs report significant student drop-out rates before
completing a course. Higher education institutions must understand
learner motivation for completing a MOOC. This paper examines the
motivational factors influencing the completion rate of MOOCs in South
Africa. This study employed a quantitative approach to collect data using
an online questionnaire from South African respondents. A total number
of 3147 responses were recorded, and the data were analyzed with SPSS
V28. Correlation statistics tests were used to denote the association
between the four independent variables and the dependent variable. The
study's most important findings are that intrinsic and extrinsic
motivating factors, motivation to continue, and the availability of
resources positively impact a MOOC's completion rate. The study
concludes that these factors will improve the throughput rate of MOOCs.
It is recommended that all higher education institutions that offer
MOOCs create a conducive online learning environment that offers
independence and freedom of learning with plenty of communication
and collaboration between students and facilitators. Creating such an
environment will encourage active participation in the course and
improve throughput rates.
Keywords: intrinsic motivational factors; extrinsic motivational factors’;

massive open online courses; MOOCs; completion rate; South Africa
*
Corresponding author: Liezel Cilliers, lcilliers@ufh.ac.za
©Authors
213
1. Introduction
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are disrupting higher education as these
they provide viable, scalable, and sustainable alternatives to the formal higher
education sector (Selwyn et al., 2015). MOOCs allow learners worldwide to
advance their education for free without prior entry requirements. MOOCs were
first introduced in the United States in 2012, with Europe following in 2013 (Lee
et al., 2021). Since 2015, MOOCs have also been established in Latin America
(Pérez-Sanagustín et al., 2017). In African countries, the need for digital
equipment (for instance, computers and Internet access) and understanding
English as the instructional language are barriers to participation in MOOCs (De
Waard et al., 2014; Liyanagunawardena, 2013). Despite these barriers, higher
education institutions in South Africa are integrating MOOCs into the campus-
based curriculum to offer a blended learning format (Milligan & Littlejohn, 2017).
Numerous studies have reported high drop-out rates in MOOCs (Ejreaw & Drus,
2017; Van de Oudeweetering & Agirdag, 2018; Lee, 2018). Course completion in
MOOCs relates to the completion of course activities and requirements and is
typically classified as either a successful or unsuccessful completion. After
completing the MOOC, students receive a certificate (Kizilcec et al., 2013). While
the number of students enrolled in MOOCs has increased in recent years,
enrolment is no longer used to measure a MOOC's success (Onah, 2014). Since
only 10% of participants finish a MOOC, the course completion rate has instead
come to be used as a yardstick for success (Jordan, 2014; Rai & Chunrao, 2016).
According to Ho et al. (2014), 35% of the students enrolled in their MOOCs did
not participate in course-related activities, 56% of the students participated in
fewer than half of the course activities, and approximately 5% of the students
completed the activities and received a certificate. These factors all contributed to
the low completion rate. Another study found that only 7% of the 55,000 students
enrolled in the software engineering MOOC offered through Coursera by the
University of California Berkeley completed the course (Yuan & Powell, 2013).
These findings indicate that MOOCs’ completion and success rates are very low.
MOOCs are by definition designed to suit the masses, so tailoring courses to
individual learner needs is challenging (Kaur et al., 2019). The lack of motivation,
self-stimulation and effective interaction, the low coverage of evidence of
achievement, and the differences in the knowledge backgrounds and the learning
needs of the learners are also cited as reasons for the high drop-out rate (Li, 2019;
Lee, 2019). Although the reasons for drop-out rates in MOOCs have been
discussed in several studies (Onah et al., 2014; Ejreaw & Drus, 2017; Li, 2019; Lee,
2019), it is also necessary to acknowledge the role of motivation in understanding
the completion of MOOCs by students. This paper examines the motivating
factors that influence the completion rate of MOOCs offered by universities in
South Africa. The study was specifically guided by the following objectives:
1. To determine if there is a relationship between the personal motivation to
continue with a MOOC and the decision to complete such a course.
2. To determine if there is a relationship between intrinsic motivation factors and
the decision to complete a MOOC.
3. To determine if there is a relationship between extrinsic motivation factors and
the decision to complete a MOOC.
214
4. To determine if there is a relationship between the availability of resources

and the decision to complete a MOOC.
Based on the objectives of the study, Figure 1 below shows the proposed
hypotheses model depicting the influence of motivational factors on the
completion rate of MOOCs among learners.
Personal motivation to continue

with MOOC H1
Intrinsic motivation
H2
H3 Complete a MOOC
Extrinsic motivation
Availability of resources H4
Figure 1: Proposed hypotheses model (Cilliers, Twinomurinzi & Murire, 2023)
The following hypotheses were tested at a 0.001 level of significance:

H1. A positive relationship exists between the personal motivation to continue with a
MOOC and the decision to complete such a course.
H2. There is a relationship between intrinsic motivation factors and the decision to
complete a MOOC.
H3. There is a relationship between extrinsic motivation factors and the decision to
complete a MOOC.
H4. There is a relationship between the availability of resources and the decision to
complete a MOOC.
2. Literature review
Numerous reasons for the low completion rate of students in MOOCs have been
examined in the literature (Idrissi Jouicha et al., 2020; Lee, 2019; Van de
Oudeweetering & Agirdag, 2018). Student motivation was found to be one of the
possible reasons for the low graduation rate (Ho et al., 2015; Jordan, 2014; Sinha,
2014; Kizilcec & Schneider, 2015). There is little information on what drives people
to take online courses, although the popularity of MOOCs has grown
exponentially (Onah et al., 2014; Pérez-Sanagustín et al., 2017). The following
section discusses the various reasons that motivate students to complete a MOOC
once they have started.
215
2.1 Personal motivation to continue with a MOOC

Motivation is conceptualized as an internal state that promotes and maintains
behavior that is goal-oriented. It is a purpose or rationale for someone to act in a
particular way in a given circumstance (Barak et al., 2016). Motivation is viewed
as an internal source that supports and fosters cognitive growth when it comes to
learning (Semenova, 2020). According to Idrissi Jouicha et al. (2020), some studies
believe that motivation is a personality feature, however, this belief ignores the
possibility that learners may be driven by time or context. Kizilcec et al. (2013)
stated that learners' motivation to use MOOCs varies due to the open nature of
MOOCs, which allows everyone to participate.
MOOCs are offered in an open environment that provides each person with the
freedom to choose their learning path (Kizilcec et al., 2013). The decision to learn
through MOOCs is explained by learners' academic motivation to continue
studying when appropriate material is presented in a course (Semenova, 2020).
Distance learning through a MOOC allows learners to share knowledge with their
peers. Thus, the environment provides an opportunity for learners to share
knowledge with fellow students which keeps them focused and engaged leading
to graduation. Additionally, students are keen to proceed with a MOOC provided
it resembles an accredited qualification. Examining such motivations to proceed
with a MOOC offers providers solutions to improve their services to increase
learner engagement, satisfaction, and completion rate. Based on this literature, the
first hypothesis of the study is stated as follows:
H1. A positive relationship exists between the personal motivation to continue with a
MOOC and the decision to complete such a course.
2.2 Intrinsic motivation factors
The inherent delight of believing that learning is interesting and enjoyable is one
of the intrinsic motivational aspects of learning (Srikanth, 2022). Prior knowledge,
interest, self-efficacy (getting things done and trusting in one's ability), learning,
rest, and curiosity are all intrinsic elements. Semenova (2020) noted that prior
knowledge affects how well a MOOC is completed. In this approach, prior
knowledge can make course-related tasks easier and help a student complete a
MOOC. To complete a MOOC, one must invest the necessary time and effort.
Successfully completing other MOOCs has a beneficial effect because some people
are encouraged by their earlier successes, which helps them maintain focus and
finish a MOOC. Having enough time to complete the course is also motivating.
Jordan (2014) noted a positive correlation between having sufficient time and
students’ course completion rates. According to a study by Lukes (2012), time
constraints have a significant impact on dropout rates. While time restrictions do
have an impact on course completion, they do not prevent students from passing
the final exams and receiving a certificate of completion.
According to a study by Zhou (2017), students are more likely to finish a course if
they are interested in the subject and ready to enroll. These elements could impact
how motivated one is to learn. Wang and Baker (2015) argue that the likelihood
of completing a course is correlated with its compelling content. Self-efficacy has
also been found to be a contributing factor to course completion. Self-
determination is the sense of control that students feel they have over their
216
learning process, and self-efficacy is the students' belief in their ability to attain
high achievements (Mehta, 2020). Based on this literature, the second hypothesis
of the study is stated as follows:
H2. There is a relationship between intrinsic motivation factors and the decision to
complete a MOOC.
2.3 Extrinsic motivation factors
Extrinsic motivation entails using outside rewards or deterrents as learning
incentives (Milligan & Littlejohn, 2017). Extrinsic factors include time, technique,
utility, certificate, need, and friendship. Students can complete a MOOC with
enough help from their tutors and lecturers, which means that guidance from
MOOC providers is crucial and plays an important role. Support from peers and
friends also has a positive influence. Students are likely to complete a MOOC if
other South African universities recognize it, it is recognized by employers and is
internationally recognized.
A further aspect is the active participation of students to complete the tasks in
order to fulfil the requirements of the MOOC. It is thus important to motivate
students to meet the MOOC requirements as doing so will assist them to finish
the course (Deshpande & Chukhlomin, 2017). Based on this literature, the third
hypothesis for the study is stated as follows:
H3. There is a relationship between extrinsic motivation factors and the decision to
complete a MOOC.
2.4 Availability of resources
One of the critical factors driving learners to complete MOOCs is the availability
of resources. The availability of resources includes free airtime for Internet access
and suitable end devices (e.g., tablets, computers) and an enabling environment
(e.g., a place with all the necessary facilities to study (Lee et al., 2021). In addition,
knowing in advance what the MOOC entails influences completion. Thus, the
information provided should be clear and accurately describe the course content.
A positive online learning experience positively influences the completion of a
MOOC and the course instructor plays a significant role in this regard.
Two further factors influencing MOOC completion are the subject matter
knowledge and the teaching style of instructors. In terms of the latter, the
effectiveness of an instructor's delivery style and attitude is paramount when
delivering a MOOC to students. In terms of the former (subject matter
knowledge), an instructor should be familiar with the MOOC content and be able
to present it clearly and provide timely feedback (Bingol et al., 2020). Thus, a
knowledgeable instructor has a positive effect on the completion of a MOOC and
this can be improved if they have sufficient specialist knowledge and can convey
the knowledge to their students in a transparent way. Based on this literature, the
fourth hypothesis of the study is stated as follows:
H4. There is a relationship between the availability of resources and a decision to complete
a MOOC.
217
3. Method
The study used a quantitative approach with a survey design. The quantitative
approach is deductive because it tests theories and hypotheses, develops models
and hypotheses, and collects empirical data. A survey tool in the form of an online
questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents living in urban and rural
areas across South Africa. The survey method was deemed appropriate as large
amounts of raw data can be collected quickly, facilitating advanced statistical
analyses. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: General information (7 items)
and Motivation to complete a MOOC (28 items). The questionnaire was piloted
with 20 lecturers for suitability, usability, and clarity. Table 1 below shows the
reliability and validity analysis of the research instrument.
Table 1: Reliability analysis of the research instrument (Cilliers, Twinomurinzi &
Murire, 2023)
Variables of the Scales Items Cronbach's Alpha

Personal motivation to 8 0.695
continue with MOOC
Motivation (Intrinsic) 5 0.689
Motivation (Extrinsic) 5 0.754
Availability of resources 6 0.788
The confidence reliability of the four variables utilized in the study ranged from
0.689 to 0.788, as shown in Table 1. The motivation variables all had a Cronbach's
alpha above the threshold of 0.600 meaning the measurements were consistent
and reliable (Babbie, 2015).
Approval to conduct the study was received from the University of South Africa’s
Research Ethics Committee. The data were collected between January and
February 2020. The dataset consists of data points from all the provinces of South
Africa at different levels including urban, township, and rural. A convenience
sampling technique was used to distribute the web-based questionnaire to
respondents via email. A total of 3147 responses were received and cleaned to
ensure data accuracy. The original data were examined using SPSS 28—Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences and both descriptive statistics and correlation
analysis were used to examine the data. The purpose of correlation analysis in
social research is to summarize the data by identifying latent relationships. The
results are discussed in the following section.
4. Results
4.1 Demographics
Table 2 below provides an overview of the respondents' demographics. Of the
3147 respondents who completed the survey, 1531 (48.6%) were male and 1608
(51.1%) female. Thus, slightly more female than male respondents took part in the
study. The majority of respondents (78.5%) were black. The participants in the
study were aged between 18 and 51+ years with the majority (2738 or 87.0%) being
between 18 and 30 years, followed by 319 (10.1%) aged between 31 and 40 years;
57 (1.8%) were between 41 and 50 years, and the remaining respondents (8 or
218
0.3%) were 51 years and over. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed stated that they
were unemployed.
Table 2: Demographic information of participants (Cilliers, Twinomurinzi & Murire,
2023)
Gender Male Female Missing data Total
1531 (48.6%) 1608 8 (0.3%) 3147

(51.1%) (100%)
Racial group Black White Coloured Indian Missing
data
2470 (78.5%) 292 (9.3%) 201 (6.4%) 158 26 (0.8%) 3147
(5.0%) (100%)
Age group 18-30 31-40 41-50 51+ Missing
data
2738 (87.0%) 319 57 (1.8%) 8 (0.3%) 25 (0.8%) 3147
(10.1%) (100%)
Employment Unemployed Part-time Full time Retired Self- Missing
status employed employed employed data
1955 (62.1%) 453 489 (15.5%) 11 (0.3%) 221 (7.0%) 18 (0.6%) 3147
(14.4%) (100%)
All nine provinces of South Africa were represented, with most respondents
(27.4%) living in the Gauteng Province. The province with the smallest
representation was the Northern Cape, with 2% of the respondents. The majority
of the respondents (88.6%) indicated that they would enroll in a MOOC accredited
by a South African authority. Of the respondents, 1000 (31.8%) indicated that they
had previously registered for a MOOC online, while 713 (22.7%) indicated that
they had completed an online course.
4.2 Correlations analysis
The association between the variables under inquiry was established using a
Pearson correlation analysis. Table 3 illustrates the results of the correlations
achieved between the variables. To demonstrate statistical significance, a p-value
of less than 0.001 was chosen. Based on this explanation, all the variables were
statistically significant when tested against the dependent variable (intention to
complete). All the variables, except Availability of resources, had a medium-
strength correlation with the dependent variable. Availability of resources had
the weakest correlation strength when tested against the dependable variable,
while Intrinsic motivation had the strongest correlation.
Since the variables are positively correlated it implies that there is a direct
relationship between them. This means that the higher the personal motivation,
intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and the availability of resources the
greater the chance or degree of MOOC completion among learners.
Table 3: Correlation of variables of scales (Cilliers, Twinomurinzi & Murire, 2023)
Variables of Scales Personal Motivation to Intrinsic Extrinsic Availability
motivation to complete motivation motivation of resources
continue with MOOC
MOOC
Personal 1 .434** .505** .349** .297**
motivation to .000 .000 .000 .000
continue with 3035 3014 3014 3000 2987
MOOC
Correlation
219
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Motivation to .434** 1 .489** .408** .294**

complete MOOC .000 .000 .000 .000
Correlation 3014 3114 3087 3075 3059
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Intrinsic .505** .489** 1 .410** .304**
motivation .000 .000 .000 .000
Correlation 3014 3087 3110 3071 3055
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Extrinsic .349** .408** .410** 1 .520**
motivation .000 .000 .000 .000
Correlation 3000 3075 3071 3101 3060
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Availability of .297** .294** .304** .520** 1
resources .000 .000 .000 .000
Sig. (2-tailed) 2987 3059 3055 3060 3045
N
4.3 Hypotheses testing

Table 4: Summary of accepted and rejected hypotheses (Cilliers, Twinomurinzi &
Murire, 2023)
Hypotheses p Decision
H1. There is a relationship between personal motivation to .000 Accept

continue with MOOC and the decision to complete a MOOC.
H2. There is a relationship between intrinsic motivation factors .000 Accept

H3. There is a relationship between extrinsic motivation factors .000 Accept

H4. There is a relationship between the availability of resources .000 Accept

The P-value for the correlation results of all the variables against the decision to
complete was .000. The P-value scores confirmed that the overall variables
positively influence completing the MOOC. The following section presents a
discussion of the results.
5. Discussion of the results

This paper examines the motivating factors that influence the course completion
rate of a MOOC offered by universities in South Africa. The study found an
association between the motivation to continue studying a MOOC and the
decision to pursue such a course. Students would continue studying to earn a
MOOC Certificate of Completion if the materials used in a MOOC are at the right
level. The reason is that they would feel motivated to continue their studies and
220
expand their knowledge. Additionally, attending a MOOC for job promotional

purposes could count in their favor and improve their job prospects. This makes
it clear that South Africans expect a return on investment, in this case, their time
and study effort, if they complete MOOCs in the future. This finding is consistent
with those from a study by Ossiannilsson et al. (2016) who stated that students
complete MOOCs to enhance their employment prospects or to prepare them for
future studies. Previous studies have shown that students attend MOOCs because
they want to continue their lifelong learning by improving their knowledge in the
subjects of their choice, they can see how a MOOC is structured and if it is suitable
for their needs (Van de Oudeweetering & Agirdag, 2018; Kaur et al., 2019).
MOOCs also provide training for the current job market, as students can
continuously update their skills to keep up with the changing work environment
(Kaur et al., 2019). Additionally, students are keen to proceed with MOOCs if it
resembles an accredited qualification (Kim et al., 2021).
The study found a relationship between intrinsic motivating factors and the
decision to complete a MOOC. The literature suggests that prior knowledge is the
most important intrinsic motivating factor. The study’s results are supported by
Zhou (2017), who found that previous knowledge makes learning easier for the
participants. According to Gagne's teaching methodology, learning is meaningful
when new material builds on previously acquired knowledge (Bayeck, 2016). The
existence of prior knowledge can thus affect the success of the MOOC
participants. In past studies, prior knowledge was one of the MOOC success
determinants (Demirci, 2014). In addition, success in courses already completed
has a positive effect as some individuals are motivated by their past
accomplishments, which helps them stay focused and complete a MOOC
(Douglas et al., 2020).
It was found that willingness is a further intrinsic element impacting course
completion. An individual must commit to completing the course. It has been
found that willingness to enroll in a course and interest in the subject matter
encourages participants to complete it (Wang & Baker, 2015). Willingness may be
connected to the motivation to study. According to Wang and Baker (2015), the
likelihood of finishing a course is correlated with its engaging content. Self-
efficacy has also been mentioned as a factor influencing course completion. Self-
efficacy is defined as one’s belief that one can accomplish a given task and is
associated with learning achievement.
Findings revealed that the participants enrolled in a MOOC to learn something as
part of their internal motivation. In a similar vein, Hew and Cheung (2014)
claimed that taking MOOCs is a good motivation for learning. Similarly, Vazquez
et al. (2018) noted that participants in MOOCs are highly motivated from the
beginning of the course. As a result, knowing participants' initial motivations can
help instructors prepare for taking corrective action.
Time management has been demonstrated in earlier studies to be an important
factor in the completion of a MOOC (Pérez-Sanagustín et al., 2017; Lee, 2018). The
advantage of MOOC courses is that students can complete them in their own time.
However, courses should have a definite time limit whereby the course needs to
be completed to assist students to manage their studies. According to the study’s
221
findings, the decision to finish a MOOC is correlated with extrinsic motivating

factors. The most important external factor determining course completion is
time. The findings indicated that providing MOOC participants with enough time
encouraged them to finish the course. Jordan (2014) had comparable findings,
noting that student course completion rates have a positive relationship with time.
Additionally, a study by Lukes (2012) asserts that a lack of time is a major reason
why many students leave MOOCs before completion.
The results of the study indicate that students would be more likely to complete a
MOOC if employers or other learning institutions recognized the qualification.
Therefore, MOOCs must be accredited (Freitas et al., 2015). A study by Cross and
Whitelock (2017) articulates an ongoing debate about the accreditation of MOOCs
and the integration of these courses into mainstream local curricula.
The results indicate that students complete a MOOC when there is enough help
and support from peers and friends which provides a positive impact. These
results are supported by Deshpande and Chukhlomin (2017) and Lee and Choi
(2011), who in their studies found that students were capable of fulfilling the
course requirements and that helping them along the way could enable them to
finish the course.
The study found a relationship between the availability of resources and the
completion of a MOOC. One of the most needed resources for a student to
complete a MOOC is the teacher or instructor. The results indicate that the
instructor plays an important and demanding role in students completing a
MOOC. The success of the MOOC participants can be influenced by the
instructor's teaching methodology and subject matter expertise. This conclusion
is supported by the findings of the study by Kassabian (2014). Thus, presenting a
MOOC taught by well-known lecturers and subject-matter experts can capture
participants’ attention and ultimately help them succeed in the course. Students
are more likely to complete a MOOC if they have resources such as free airtime
for Internet access, a suitable device such as a computer, and a conducive
environment such as a place of study with all the necessary facilities. Ho et al.
(2014) in their study reported that students must have adequate resources to
complete their MOOCs. Finally, the information provided on a MOOC should be
clear and accurately describe its content as this will positively influence the
completion of the course.
6. Conclusion
This paper examined the motivating factors that influence the course completion
rate of a MOOC offered by universities in South Africa. Results show a positive
relationship between the personal motivation to continue with a MOOC and the
decision to complete such a course. There are also positive relationships between
intrinsic motivation factors, extrinsic motivation factors, and resource availability
on the one hand, and the decision to complete a MOOC on the other. Participants
in the study reported completing MOOCs to improve their knowledge, gain a
chance for promotion, and improve their job prospects. A MOOC would thus be
beneficial mainly for employment or promotional purposes. Respondents
indicated that the MOOCs would enable them to take control of their studies as
they can learn at their own pace, and when and where it suits them. Future
222
research may focus on an in-depth understanding of each of the factors that were
identified in this study to have a positive impact on the completion rate of
MOOCs.
7. Limitations and recommendation of the Study

One of the study's limitations was that it used a survey approach that pre-imposed
categories for participants and did not allow the researcher to examine the reasons
for the answers given. Future studies could use interviews that allow for a more
in-depth understanding of the research topic. The study only focused on why
students completed a MOOC but did not investigate why students failed to
complete the course. This would be an important topic to understand in order to
improve throughput rates. Further studies should also consider samples from
different geographic locations (that is, countries) to determine how the results
disclosed here relate to those in other countries. Therefore, it is recommended that
future research studies not be limited to South Africa but be extended to countries
in the Southern African Development Community.
Furthermore, the study recommends that all higher education institutions that
have adopted MOOCs create a conducive online learning environment that offers
independence and freedom of study. Institutions must include a section in each
MOOC where students are made aware of their internal motivation to complete
the course. This self-awareness will provide students with a mechanism to
motivate themselves to complete the course. External motivation factors and
resource factors can be included in marketing campaigns for MOOCs as these will
attract students to register and complete the courses. In addition, higher education
institutions should ensure more communication and collaboration between
students, and well-planned and organized lessons. Instructors must ensure that
students are actively involved in classroom learning. Different teaching
techniques and natural, concrete, and clear examples can motivate students to
continue and complete a MOOC.
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Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you very much for agreeing to complete this important questionnaire. It will help us provide people
living in South African with further options regarding education and training.
There are TWO sections (A and B) and 4 pages in this questionnaire. You will be told by the person assisting
you to complete the questionnaire whether you must answer all sections or only Section A.
We really appreciate the time you spend completing this questionnaire.
IMPORTANT: MOOCs: Massive Open Online Courses
SECTION A: General information
A.1. What is your gender?
Male Female
1 2
A.2. Which racial group do you belong to? [This is only for statistical purposes]
Black White Colored Indian Others

1 2 3 4
A.3. What is your year of birth?
1
MOOCs Project
A.4. What is your highest education level (Only indicate the highest)?
College (technical,
No formal Primary school Middle School High School FET) or (obtained a
(Completed Grade 5/ (Completed Grade (Passed Matric or post matric
schooling
Standard 3) 10/ Standard 8) equivalent) diploma or
certificate)
1 2 3 4 5
University Post-graduate
Bachelors’ degree diploma or Honours Masters PhD
(graduated) (graduated)
6 7 8 9
A.5. This year, are you studying?
Full time [1] Part time [2] Not studying [3]
A.6. Which one of the following best describes your employment status? (You are employed if you are
receiving payment for the work you are doing) [Select only one]
Employed part time (receive weekly wages or a

Currently unemployed [1]
salary by one or more employer) [2]
Employed full time (receive weekly wages or a
Have never been employed [3]
salary from an employer) [4]
Occasionally employed (not regular
Retired [6]
employment) [5]
Self-employed part time or full time [7]
A.7. Where do you access the Internet most frequently? [Select one]
Do not access it at all

Friend’s/relative’s house [2] School/University or NEMISA coLab [3]
[1]
Home or on my own Free wi-fi zones including a public
Cybercafe/Internet café [5]
mobile device [4] library [6]
Telecentre/ Community
Workplace [8] Other [9]
centre [7]
Neither
To what extent do you agree with the following Strongly agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
statements disagree nor agree
agree
2
MOOCs Project
ACC1 I will take a course if it is accredited by a
recognised and authorised South African 1 2 3 4 5
agency.
Experience with different forms of learning (registration) Yes No

I have at some time registered for a course, part of a course or a module
REG0 1 0
presented entirely online
Experience with different forms of learning (completion) Yes No

CPL1 I have at some time completed a course presented entirely online 1 0
I have at some time received a certificate for a course presented entirely
CPL2 1 0
online
SECTION B: Motivation to complete the course
I will continue studying to get the MOOC completed Neither

Strongly Strongly
Disagree agree nor Agree
certificate disagree agree
agree
If the materials used in a MOOC are at the right
CONT1 1 2 3 4 5
level for me (not too difficult)
CONT2 Even if the course is very easy and a bit boring 1 2 3 4 5
CONT3 Even if the course material seems outdated 1 2 3 4 5
Even if my family have to do things without me
CONT4 1 2 3 4 5
sometimes
Even if I must study late at night or very early in
CONT5 1 2 3 4 5
the morning
Provided that the data costs to access the
CONT6 Internet and download material do not turn out 1 2 3 4 5
to be too high
As sharing of knowledge with my peers is very
CONT7 1 2 3 4 5
important
If it is similar to an accredited qualification, I will
CONT8 1 2 3 4 5
enrol for later
By completing a MOOC, I will Neither

Strongly Strongly
disagree agree
agree
COMP1
Improve my knowledge 1 2 3 4 5
COMP2
Stand a chance for a promotion 1 2 3 4 5
COMP3
Feel motivated to further my studies 1 2 3 4 5
COMP4
Improve my prospects for a job 1 2 3 4 5
3
MOOCs Project
To what extent do you agree with the following statements
I am confident that I can complete the MOOC course I Neither
Strongly Strongly
choose because: disagree agree
agree
I have made a commitment to complete the
SE1 1 2 3 4 5
course
SE2
I am good with time management 1 2 3 4 5
SE3
I do not have to attend classes which might be at
1 2 3 4 5
inconvenient times
SE4
I have done well in other classroom-based
1 2 3 4 5
courses
SE5
I can overcome the disappointment of failing an
assignment

I think I would complete a MOOC if: Strongly Neither agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
disagree nor agree agree
SP1 I get enough help from my tutors and lecturers
SP2
I get support from my peers and friends
SP3
it is recognised by other South African
universities,
SP4
it is recognised by employers
SP5
it is recognised internationally

Strongly Neither agree Strongly
I am more likely to complete a MOOC if: Disagree Agree
disagree nor agree agree
ISP1
I am provided with free air time for Internet access
ISP2
I am provided with a suitable device (for example,
tablet computer)
ISP3
I am provided with a study venue with all the
necessary facilities
ISP4
The information provided initially was clear and
described the course content accurately
ISP5
Know in advance what the course entails
ISP6
Have experience on online learning
Thank you for your participation
4
MOOCs Project
226

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 226-244, June 2023
Received Apr 5, 2023; Revised May 28, 2023; Accepted Jun 14, 2023
The Relationship Between Academic Self-

Efficacy and Undergraduate Students’
Perceptions of Electronic Assessment: A
Mediation Analysis
Ahmed M. Asfahani*
University of Business and Technology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abstract. Recently, in response to unstable global environmental factors,

there has been a widespread shift towards online education. Drawing on
Bandura’s social learning theory, this study examines the mediating role
of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between students’ learning
styles and their perceptions of electronic assessment. The research design
utilized in this study involved a cross-sectional survey conducted via a
web-based questionnaire administered to 342 undergraduate students
enrolled in online courses at a private university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The instruments employed included the student perceptions of electronic
assessment scale, the academic self-efficacy scale and the student learning
style scale, which assessed students’ perceptions of e-assessment, their
confidence in learning and completing e-assessment tasks, and their
preferred learning styles, respectively. The findings revealed that
students held neutral perceptions of electronic assessment and exhibited
a moderate level of academic self-efficacy. The contributory learning style
emerged as the most favored, while the avoidant style was the least
preferred. Importantly, the results demonstrated statistically significant
direct and indirect effects of learning styles on students’ perceptions of
electronic assessment, mediated by academic self-efficacy. This study has
theoretical and practical implications, provides recommendations and
highlights opportunities for future research in the field of online learning
and electronic assessment.
Keywords: distance education; online learning; user interface design;

computer-based assessment; learning styles; academic self-efficacy
*
Corresponding author: Ahmed M. Asfahani, a.asfahani@ubt.edu.sa
©Authors
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1. Introduction
In the face of accelerating changes in the educational landscape, the evolution of
requisite skills and qualifications has become more pronounced than ever before
(Zhao & Watterston, 2021). Accordingly, new trends have emerged to meet the
demands of the evolving educational environment (Vergara et al., 2022). This
scenario has precipitated a comprehensive reevaluation of educational curricula
to ensure their relevance to the contemporary context and their efficient utilization
of available technologies, most notably distance learning (Mthethwa-Kunene et
al., 2022).
Assessment of student performance across a diverse array of educational

environments has always been a pivotal process in education (Irons & Elkington,
2021). A student’s academic self-efficacy has the potential to influence these
assessments in the context of e-learning (Cormier & Langlois, 2022; Kuznetcova et
al., 2023). Academic self-efficacy refers to students’ beliefs regarding their ability
to perform academic tasks related to the curriculum (Schunk & DiBenedetto,
2022). These beliefs influence students’ choices of assessment tasks and the
activities to be completed (Cheng, 2020), the effort they invest in the completion
of those activities (Jiang et al., 2021), and the length of time for which they persist
in the task of completing difficult work (Hsu et al., 2021).
Numerous studies have highlighted the crucial role played by the design and
execution of electronic assessments in distance learning and digital education
(Alotaibi, 2021; McCallum & Milner, 2020; Susantini et al., 2021). However, there
is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the relationship between learning
styles and perceptions of electronic assessment may be mediated by academic
self-efficacy. The current study aims to investigate the mediating role of academic
self-efficacy in the relationship between learning styles and perceptions of
electronic assessment. By exploring this relationship, the study seeks to enhance
our understanding of the factors influencing students’ perceptions of electronic
assessment in the context of distance learning. In addition, the study examines the
preferences of undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia and analyzes the
associations between their learning styles, academic self-efficacy and perceptions
of electronic assessment.
The current research builds upon previous studies that have identified
correlations between learning styles and academic outcomes, as well as the role
of academic self-efficacy as a predictor of performance and its association with
positive perceptions of the learning environment. By investigating the mediating
role of self-efficacy, we aim to provide deeper insights into how learning styles
influence students’ perceptions of electronic assessment. This study has
additional significance as it has been conducted in the aftermath of the COVID-19
pandemic, exploring an issue that has not been previously examined in this
specific context.
The subsequent sections of this study are organized in the following way: the
literature review section explores the pertinent literature and hypotheses
developed in this study. Subsequently, an examination of the research
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methodology, the process of data collection, and the outcomes is conducted,

accompanied by a section of discussion. The study concludes by providing a
summary of significant findings and a perspective on forthcoming developments.
2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

2.1 E-learning in Saudi Arabia
Electronic learning refers to the use of information technology to disseminate
knowledge for the purposes of education and training (Valverde-Berrocoso et al.,
2020). Most educational institutions in Saudi Arabia have sought to introduce
their students to digital technology to increase their interaction with technological
development and to improve their ability to use such technology to meet their
educational needs (Alabdulaziz, 2021; Aladsani et al., 2022; H. P. Singh et al.,
2021). This interest in technology was evident even before the COVID-19
pandemic, as Saudi educational institutions seemed to emphasize the need to
raise future generations that were able to take advantage of and participate in the
development of modern technology in the context of their participation in
national transformation programs associated with the Saudi Vision 2030 program
(Alghamdi & Holland, 2020; Allmnakrah & Evers, 2020). The situation is no
different from that faced by the Saudi Ministry of Education, which is the entity
responsible for school education and which launched an electronic educational
portal to facilitate the acquisition of information and ensure that the relevant
parties were able to stay abreast of the latest achievements in the field of education
(Aladsani et al., 2022; Alghamdi, 2022; AlNajdi, 2022).
2.2 Electronic Academic Assessment

The three basic components of the education system, whether in the context of
traditional or distance education, are curricula, teaching methods, and assessment
(Khasawneh, 2022). Assessment refers to the systematic and ongoing process of
evaluating the degree to which specific educational objectives are being met
within a given learning context (Adom et al., 2020). Simply utilizing assessment
to collect evidence on student learning is insufficient (Maqableh & Alia, 2021).
Educational institutions must also ensure that assessment is fully directed
towards the achievement of teaching objectives (Daumiller et al., 2021), and they
must employ assessment to gain a deeper understanding of their students’
progress (Daniels et al., 2021). In their efforts to establish a nontraditional learning
environment, many educational institutions have developed different electronic
assessment systems that aim to make the learner more inspired, enthusiastic and
engaged in a variety of different learning activities (Naidu, 2021; J. Singh et al.,
2021). The emergence of solutions based on e-learning has revolutionized learning
methods, thus pressuring educational institutions to transfer learning, teaching
and assessment activities either fully or partially to the online context (Ebner et
al., 2020; Hadjeris, 2021).
Because of the development of relevant technology, the demand for innovation

regarding educational assessments has increased dramatically, and in this
context, electronic assessment has become an alternative to traditional assessment
(Maatuk et al., 2022). The application of computer-based assessment techniques
in this context has a long history that can be traced back to 1920, when the first
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testing machine was invented, which marked the beginning of the use of
electronic assessment in education (Ye, 2022). Electronic assessment refers to end-
to-end evaluation processes that use information and communication technology
to administer an evaluation activity and record the corresponding responses (Mo
et al., 2022). E-assessment is a partner to e-learning and works in parallel with
various methods of teaching, learning, and assessment (Prendes-Espinosa et al.,
2021). Well-prepared and effectively implemented e-assessment improves the
effectiveness of learning and increases the motivation of the learner, which has a
positive impact on their academic performance (Iglesias-Pradas et al., 2021).
Electronic academic assessment offers several advantages, including increased

flexibility for both faculty members and students (Alotaibi, 2021), the ability to
provide immediate feedback (Divjak et al., 2022), the capacity to deal with a large
number of students (Howe, 2020), and a faster evaluation process (Kundu & Bej,
2021). However, electronic assessment also has certain disadvantages, including
the requirement that students must have specific technological skills (St-Onge et
al., 2022), the need for device availability (Bashitialshaaer et al., 2021), and issues
related to academic dishonesty (Appiah-Adjei, 2022).
2.3 Learning Styles

Students’ learning styles and their academic self-efficacy play crucial roles in the
educational process (Amirian et al., 2023). Learning styles refer to students’
preferences in how they perceive and process information, while academic self-
efficacy relates to their beliefs in their own abilities to succeed academically
(Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2022). Previous research has established a significant
correlation between learning styles and various academic outcomes, including
academic achievement, academic success and education quality (Aker & Şahin,
2021; Dikmen, 2020; Khan et al., 2022). Similarly, academic self-efficacy has been
found to be a strong predictor of academic performance and has been associated
with positive perceptions of the learning environment (Aldhahi et al., 2022; Tomás
et al., 2020; Zysberg & Schwabsky, 2021).
Considering the growing importance of e-learning and electronic assessment, it is

essential to examine the relationship between students’ perceptions of electronic
assessment and their learning styles and academic self-efficacy. While previous
studies have explored these relationships independently, limited research has
investigated the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the relationship
between learning styles and perceptions of electronic assessment (Khine &
Nielsen, 2022). By examining the mediator role of academic self-efficacy, this
study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the underlying processes that
influence students’ perceptions of electronic assessment. Based on the preceding
discussion, the researcher thus proposes the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: There is a direct correlation between perceptions of electronic

assessment and learning styles among undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia.
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2.4 Academic Self-Efficacy

The academic self-efficacy variable has received a great deal of interest in
academic literature, as it is one of the factors that can explain the academic
performance of students (Alhadabi & Karpinski, 2020). Academic self-efficiency
refers to students’ beliefs regarding their ability to perform academic tasks related
to the curriculum (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2022; Schunk & Pajares, 2002). These
beliefs influence students’ choices of assessment tasks and the activities to be
completed (Cheng, 2020), the effort they invest in the completion of those
activities (Jiang et al., 2021), and the length of time for which they persist in the
task of completing difficult work (Hsu et al., 2021). Schwinger et al. (2022) found
that students tend to avoid assessment tasks that they believe are beyond their
abilities and potential to complete. In addition, academic self-efficacy has been
found to affect the mental perceptions that students form regarding the classroom
assessment environment (AlAli & Al-Barakat, 2022). Existing research has
indicated that students exhibiting high levels of academic self-efficacy have a
tendency to develop advantageous perceptions of the classroom assessment
environment, perceiving it as a conducive setting for learning and achieving
mastery of the relevant subject matter. Conversely, students with lower levels of
academic self-efficacy tend to view the classroom assessment environment as a
competitive venture among peers rather than a platform for mastering the course
content (Aldhahi et al., 2022; Algarni & Lortie-Forgues, 2022; Amri & Alasmari,
2021; Bürgermeister et al., 2021; Cappe et al., 2021; Chung et al., 2021; Elnadi &
Gheith, 2021). All of the studies reviewed in this section thus support the
following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: There is a direct relationship between perceptions of electronic

assessment and academic self-efficacy among undergraduate students in Saudi
Arabia.
According to social learning theory (Bandura, 2023), external stimuli affect

behavior via the mediation of cognitive processes. When students act and engage
in certain behaviors, they consider what they are doing, and their beliefs depend
on the ways in which their behavior is affected by the environment. In other
words, cognitive processes determine the specific stimuli that students perceive,
the value of those stimuli, and the manner in which the students perceive and
respond to the stimuli. Therefore, academic self-efficacy beliefs are also formed
through indirect experiences that involve observing and reflecting on the
experiences of others. Students develop their academic self-efficacy beliefs based
on their social interactions and the verbal expressions of teachers and other
students. Such interactions between students and their colleagues represent part
of their learning styles, as suggested by Gilbertson et al. (2023). Accordingly, the
researcher proposes the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: The relationship between students’ perceptions of electronic

assessment and their learning styles is mediated by their academic self-efficacy.
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Thus, this study presents its theoretical model based on the proposed hypotheses
in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The theoretical model
3. Methods and Materials

The current study aimed to describe students’ perceptions of electronic
assessment and the relationships between those perceptions and their learning
styles and academic self-efficacy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, the researcher used the cross-sectional descriptive approach, a method
that allows for the analysis of data collected from a population, or a representative
subset, at one specific point in time. This method was selected as appropriate
considering the objectives of the study (Grimes & Schulz, 2002).
3.1 Procedure and Participants

The study population consisted of undergraduate students in a single private
university in the city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the 2021-
2022 academic year. To select the study participants, a non-random, convenience
sampling method was applied. The inclusion criteria for this study were:
participants must be undergraduate students enrolled in online courses at the
selected private university during the academic year 2021-2022. The exclusion
criteria were students not enrolled in online courses or students attending other
institutions. This technique was chosen due to its practicality and efficiency in
reaching out to a large number of students across different departments in a short
span of time. The participants were invited to participate in the study, and their
involvement was entirely voluntary. The research ethics board of the University
of Business and Technology (UBT) approved the study. According to their
assessment, the study did not violate any provisions of UBT’s Research Ethics
Code. In addition, informed consent was obtained from each participant in this
study before the study was carried out.
An online survey was created, and an invitation link was sent to the selected
private university in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The researcher asked the
university to share the survey link with undergraduate students who were
enrolled in online courses to ask them to respond to a voluntary and anonymous
questionnaire. The researcher received 342 valid responses (33.9% of these
responses were from males, while 66.1% from females), which represented an
acceptable sample size with a confidence level of 95% and a 5% margin of error
(Verma & Verma, 2020).
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3.2 Measures
To achieve the objectives of the study, three instruments were used: the student
perceptions of electronic assessment scale, the academic self-efficacy scale and the
student learning styles scale.
3.2.1 Student Perceptions of the Electronic Assessment Scale.

The researcher designed a survey containing 14 statements pertaining to the
students’ perspectives on e-assessment. These items were scored on a five-point
Likert scale (5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = neutral, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly
disagree), with a high score indicating that the respondent has a highly positive
perception of e-assessment and a low score indicating the opposite. In order to
ensure the instrument’s relevancy and precision, a meticulous validation process
was undertaken, which included peer review and face validity assessment. This
ensured the quality and relevance of the survey items, thereby enhancing the
reliability of the responses.
3.2.2 Academic Self-Efficacy Scale.

This scale has been well-established in academic research and has demonstrated
consistently robust validity and reliability. It was adopted from the Motivated
Strategies for Learning Questionnaire developed by Pintrich et al. (2016). The
researcher borrowed seven items measuring students’ beliefs regarding their
confidence in their abilities and capabilities to learn and to complete the electronic
assessment tasks successfully in the context of the distance education system;
these items were scored on a five-point Likert scale (5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree,
3 = neutral, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly disagree), with a high score indicating that
the respondent has a high level of students’ academic self-efficacy and a low score
indicating the opposite.
3.2.3 Student Learning Style Scale. This scale, which allows for the differentiation of six
distinct learning styles, is a comprehensive instrument, and its multi-
dimensionality allows for the capture of a nuanced understanding of students’
learning preferences. It was adopted from Riechmann and Grasha (1974).
3.3 Model Fit

Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to assess the discriminant
validity and convergent validity of the study constructs. The CFA results
regarding the research model (χ2/df = 2.12, RMSEA = 0.06, GFI = 0.99, CFI = 0.99)
indicated an acceptable level of model fit (Shi et al., 2020).
3.4 Statistical Analysis of the Data

To answer the study questions, statistical software, specifically SPSS 28.0 and EQS
6.4, was utilized. These tools were used to extract the relevant arithmetical means,
standard deviations and Pearson correlation coefficients to describe the study
variables and to conduct path analysis, a statistical technique that allowed the
examination of the directed dependencies among a set of variables. This method
facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships among the
variables and supported the research objectives.
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4. Results
The study presents statistical analysis and correlations between students’
perceptions of electronic assessment, their self-efficacy and preferred learning
styles. Mean values indicate a neutral perception towards electronic assessment
(M = 2.85) and an average level of academic self-efficacy (M = 2.91). When
examining learning styles, the contributory style was favored most (M = 3.92),
followed by competitive (M = 3.72), independent (M = 3.55), collaborative (M =
3.53), dependent (M = 3.49), with the avoidant style being the least preferred (M
= 3.35).
A correlation analysis provided significant positive relationships between the

perceptions of electronic assessment and both learning styles and self-efficacy.
This supported the initial two hypotheses of the study. Specifically, there was a
strong positive correlation between perceptions of electronic assessment and self-
efficacy (r = 0.79). Correlations between perceptions of electronic assessment and
different learning styles ranged from 0.25 to 0.48. Comparing academic self-
efficacy with various learning styles revealed correlation coefficients between 0.23
and 0.45. Lastly, intercorrelations among the six learning styles fell between 0.57
and 0.85. These correlation statistics are consolidated in Table 1.
Table 1: Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix for the study variables
Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1) E-assessment 2.85 0.87
2) Self-efficacy 2.91 1.09 .79**
3) Competitive 3.72 0.71 .44** .44**
4) Collaborative 3.53 0.67 .48** .45** .82**
5) Avoidant 3.35 0.61 .37** .30** .57** .68**
6) Contributory 3.92 0.70 .25** .23** .72** .71** .64**
7) Dependent 3.49 0.65 .43** .39** .74** .72** .67** .72**
8) Independent 3.55 0.63 .47** .45** .72** .69** .67** .69** .85**
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Additional analysis explored the impact of learning styles on perceptions of

electronic assessment through direct and indirect effects. The competitive
learning style had a significant direct positive effect on electronic assessment
perception. Indirectly, both the competitive and independent styles positively
influenced the perceptions, mediated by academic self-efficacy. In contrast, the
collaborative style negatively influenced perceptions through self-efficacy
mediation. In total, learning styles explained 30.2% of variance in self-efficacy
directly and 64.8% of variance in perceptions of electronic assessment when
considering both direct and indirect effects.
To further explore these relationships, a path analysis using structural equation
modeling (SEM) was executed. This model tested direct relationships between
learning styles and electronic assessment perceptions, electronic assessment
perceptions and self-efficacy, and the mediating effect of self-efficacy between
learning styles and electronic assessment perceptions. The SEM analysis revealed
a significant direct correlation between learning styles and electronic assessment
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perceptions (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), as well as between electronic assessment

perceptions and self-efficacy (β = 0.35, p < 0.001), corroborating the first two
hypotheses. Moreover, self-efficacy was confirmed as a significant mediator in the
relationship between learning styles and electronic assessment perceptions.
Specifically, significant indirect effects were found for competitive (β = 0.12, p <
0.05) and independent learning styles (β = 0.09, p < 0.05). The mediating effect of
self-efficacy was insignificant for collaborative, dependent, contributory and
avoidant learning styles.
5. Discussion
This study aimed to explore the correlations among electronic assessment
perceptions, preferred learning styles and academic self-efficacy among
undergraduate students. The findings of this study provide valuable insights that
can guide the design and execution of electronic assessments in higher education.
In contrast to prior research (Cardino & Ortega-Dela Cruz, 2020; Dash et al., 2020;
Yearwood & Brathwaite, 2021), which commonly identified the collaborative
learning style as the most popular among students, the current study revealed
that the contributory learning style was the most preferred. The observed
inconsistency could be attributed to the distinct attributes of the participants, who
were selected from a Saudi Arabian private academic institution. This emphasizes
the importance of accounting for cultural, social and educational backgrounds
while analyzing the outcomes, as suggested by Zhao et al. (2021). This finding
aligns with the perspective of educational theorists who argue for the importance
of context in shaping learning experiences and preferences (Lehrl et al., 2020;
Osher et al., 2020).
The findings of the study provide evidence for Hypothesis 1, revealing a

significant and positive association between students’ learning styles and their
perceptions of electronic assessment, which is consistent with prior research
(Binnahedh, 2022; Udeozor et al., 2022; van Rooyen, 2020). This finding
underscores the significance of considering learning styles when creating
electronic assessments, in line with the principles of differentiated instruction
(Abdulrahim & Mabrouk, 2020; Marosan et al., 2022; Poirier & Ally, 2020). In
addition, the second hypothesis is confirmed by the results of the study, which
reveal a strong positive association between students’ electronic assessment
perceptions and their academic self-efficacy. This aligns with Bandura (2023) self-
efficacy theory, which posits that an individual’s belief in their capabilities
significantly impacts their perceptions and behaviors. It indicates that increasing
students’ academic self-efficacy might lead to more positive perceptions and
experiences with electronic assessments.
The research confirms the third hypothesis by providing evidence for the
intermediary function of academic self-efficacy in the correlation between
learning styles and attitudes towards electronic assessment. The mediation
observed in this study was found to be significant only for competitive and
independent learning styles. Interestingly, this mediation was only significant for
competitive and independent learning styles, reflecting the findings of prior
studies on the impact of individual learning styles on academic self-efficacy (e.g.,
D′Souza et al., 2023; Leow et al., 2021). However, the non-observed mediation
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effect across all learning styles suggests the complexity of these relationships and
implies the existence of other potential influencing factors, such as past
experiences with electronic assessments. Therefore, a holistic approach should be
taken when designing electronic assessments, considering multiple interacting
factors that might impact students’ perceptions (Hoang et al., 2022; Megahed &
Ghoneim, 2022; Rajabalee & Santally, 2021; W. Zhang et al., 2021). These findings
suggest that integrating a range of learning styles and promoting academic self-
efficacy would be advantageous for the development and execution of electronic
assessments.
5.1 Theoretical Implications
The results obtained from this study carry various significant theoretical
implications. First, the findings indicate that the contributory learning style was
favored by the Saudi Arabian undergraduate students who participated in the
study. This observation contributes to the existing knowledge on the influence of
cultural context on learning styles, as posited by Zhao et al. (2021). The deviation
from the collaborative style points to a nuanced understanding of learning style
preferences in different geographical and cultural contexts. Second, the observed
significant correlations between students’ perceptions of electronic assessment,
their preferred learning styles and their academic self-efficacy offer empirical
evidence to support existing theories. For instance, Bandura’s (2023) self-efficacy
theory emphasizes the role of self-efficacy beliefs in shaping students’ perceptions
of their academic tasks and environments, extending the applicability of
Bandura’s theory into the realm of digital education. Third, the results contribute
to the body of knowledge around the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in
the relationship between learning styles and perceptions of electronic assessment.
However, the lack of a significant mediating effect across all learning styles
suggests that other theoretical factors could be at play. This observation opens
opportunities for further exploration of additional mediators or variables, such as
cognitive, emotional or environmental factors, thereby advancing the theoretical
landscape of learning styles and electronic assessment perceptions.
5.2 Practical Implications

The practical implications derived from this study offer significant insights for
stakeholders in higher education settings, particularly those who are actively
involved in the design and implementation of electronic assessments. A key
finding of the study emphasized the preference for the contributory learning style
among Saudi Arabian undergraduate students. This presents a call to action for
educators and instructional designers, suggesting that they must consider these
styles in their development of online assessments. As K. Zhang et al. (2021) noted,
adaptation to various learning styles can lead to improved student engagement
and academic outcomes. Therefore, tailoring assessments to accommodate the
contributory learning style prevalent in this cultural context could enhance the
receptivity and acceptance of electronic assessments.
The study also underscored the critical role of academic self-efficacy in shaping
students’ perceptions of electronic assessments. Consistent with Bandura’s (2023)
self-efficacy theory, students who believe in their academic abilities are likely to
have more positive perceptions of their academic tasks. Hence, practitioners
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should consider initiatives that reinforce students’ academic self-efficacy, such as

providing positive and constructive feedback (Adams et al., 2020), fostering a
collaborative learning environment (Gan et al., 2022), and setting achievable goals
(Musa, 2020). Implementing these measures could help cultivate more positive
perceptions of electronic assessments.
Interestingly, this study also illuminated the importance of cultural context in
learning styles. Recognizing that the preference for a contributory learning style
among Saudi Arabian students may differ from other cultural groups, it is
essential for multicultural educational settings to consider and cater to these
cultural nuances (Zhao et al., 2021). By doing so, they can foster an inclusive
learning environment that respects and addresses diverse learning preferences.
Furthermore, the study suggested that other influential factors could be mediating
the relationship between learning styles and perceptions of electronic
assessments, given that academic self-efficacy did not have a significant
mediating effect across all learning styles. In line with this, educators should be
mindful of other potential influential factors, such as emotional and cognitive
factors, when interpreting students’ perceptions of electronic assessments.
Finally, the findings of this study should be incorporated into professional
development programs for educators. By understanding the relationship between
learning styles, academic self-efficacy and perceptions of electronic assessments,
educators can adopt strategies that cater to diverse learning styles and promote
academic self-efficacy (Baroudi & Shaya, 2022). Ultimately, this could enhance the
efficacy of electronic assessments, leading to improved learning experiences and
outcomes for students.
5.3 Limitations and Future Studies
This study indeed offers valuable insights into the relationship between learning
styles, academic self-efficacy and perceptions of electronic assessments. However,
there are a few limitations that should be recognized and addressed in future
research. The first limitation applies to the study’s participant demographics.
Aside from gender, this study did not gather any further demographic details
about the participants. This is noteworthy because demographic variables such as
age, cultural background or educational level can significantly influence learning
styles, academic self-efficacy and perceptions of electronic assessments
(Alavudeen et al., 2021). Additionally, the study’s sample demonstrated a gender
imbalance. Future studies should aim to gather a more representative sample,
including an even gender distribution, and explore how various
sociodemographic factors influence the theoretical model.
The second limitation concerns the cross-sectional nature of this study. While
cross-sectional studies can provide a snapshot of a particular point in time, they
are less equipped to infer causality or examine how relationships between
variables change over time (Maier et al., 2023). Thus, future research should
consider employing a longitudinal design, which would enable tracking changes
in perceptions of electronic assessments, academic self-efficacy and learning styles
over a period of time, thereby helping to uncover causal relationships.
Thirdly, this study might have been subject to common method bias, considering
the sole reliance on students’ self-reported assessments (Jordan & Troth, 2020).
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Such bias might potentially inflate the relationships among the variables of
interest. Hence, future research should consider the inclusion of multiple methods
or sources to collect data, such as combining self-assessments with teacher
evaluations, thereby improving the robustness and validity of the findings.
Finally, the study could be expanded to include other potential mediators or
moderators in the relationship between learning styles and perceptions of
electronic assessments. For example, emotional intelligence or cognitive factors
could be influential in this regard. The exploration of these additional factors may
provide a more holistic understanding of the complex dynamics that underlie
students’ perceptions of electronic assessments.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, this study provides noteworthy insights into the complex
relationships among undergraduate students’ perceptions of electronic
assessment, their preferred learning styles and academic self-efficacy. The study’s
findings underscored that academic self-efficacy plays a significant mediating role
in these relationships, with certain learning styles affecting students’ confidence
and beliefs about their capabilities, which in turn influenced their perceptions of
electronic assessment. Significantly, these findings not only supported the initial
study hypotheses but also extended existing knowledge in the field. It highlighted
the direct and indirect effects of learning styles on perceptions of electronic
assessment, with self-efficacy as a critical mediator, illuminating how these factors
work in tandem to shape student experiences.
This research, however, is not without limitations, notably regarding participant
demographics and the study design. Addressing these in future research will add
more validity and robustness to the findings. Furthermore, integrating other
potential mediating or moderating variables into the model could provide an even
more comprehensive picture of the dynamics at play. Nonetheless, the present
study contributes to the growing body of literature on electronic assessment and
offers both theoretical and practical implications. It extends our understanding of
the complex interactions among learning styles, academic self-efficacy and
perceptions of electronic assessment, thereby providing valuable insights for
educators, instructional designers and policymakers. As we navigate an
increasingly digitized educational landscape, studies like these are vital in
ensuring that pedagogical practices evolve to meet the diverse needs and
preferences of learners effectively.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 245-261, June 2023
Problem-based Learning (PBL) with Reading

Questioning and Answering (RQA) of Preservice
Elementary School Teachers
Marleny Leasa*
Elementary School Teacher Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education, Pattimura University, Indonesia
Abednego Abednego
Nonformal Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training
and Education, Pattimura University, Indonesia
John Rafafy Batlolona

Physics Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training
and Education, Pattimura University, Indonesia
Abstract. Preservice elementary school teachers' critical thinking skills

were compared during this quasi-experimental study of PBL (Problem-
based Learning) and RQA (Reading-Questioning and Answering)
science practicum learning. Following the Covid-19 protocol, the science
practicum course was completed online in both the PBL and the PBL
with RQA. Face-to-face interaction was limited. Blended learning is
completed synchronously by Google Meet and asynchronously by
Schoology. The science practicum was conducted offline regarding the
limited face-to-face material discussed at the Laboratory. The
independent variable consists of two learning models, PBL (control
group) and PBL with RQA (treatment group), with critical thinking
skills as the dependent variable. The program, which emphasized
students' critical thinking skills, lasted about eight weeks. The
instrument utilized in this study was a 16-item critical thinking skills
test includes indicators of interpretation, analysis, explanation,
evaluation, and inference. The data were analyzed by one-way
ANCOVA, with critical thinking skills pretest scores as covariates. The
findings show that the PBL with RQA has more significant potential to
increase students' critical thinking skills than the PBL. RQA allows
students to learn independently by reading, summarizing, asking, and
answering questions.
*
Corresponding author: Marleny Leasa, marleny.leasa@yahoo.com
©Authors
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Keywords: problem-based learning; reading-questioning; answering;

elementary school teacher
1. Introduction
Higher education strives to prepare competent graduates to enter the world of
work and the dynamics of a more globalized period and wide-open rivalry
among nations. Higher education is meant to contribute to a country's progress
by generating graduates with skilled specialties, increasing competence in
scientific areas, and expanding knowledge into important and practical goals for
society (Susanti, 2011). Higher education catalyzes teaching high-quality
graduates and responsible citizens to develop excellent learning opportunities
and support lifelong learning. Similarly, higher education is essential for
cultural, social, economic, and political development. It is a pillar of long-term
growth to achieve justice, democracy, and peace (Unesco, 1998). The main aim
and hope that is still aspired to is a generation that is independent, advanced,
qualified, and has superior competence. As a result, higher education learning
must be capable of responding to the challenge in question.
Elementary School Teacher Education (PGSD) is one of the higher education

study programs, particularly in Indonesia. It features a graduation profile that
produces excellent prospects for elementary school teachers. Due to this
curriculum, preservice educators at the basic education level have legal
qualifications and competencies. They are prepared to teach in elementary
schools. As a result, there is a significant demand for graduates who can educate
and instruct professionally while also responding to the issues of the times.
Globalization and information are the two most pressing concerns in preparing
future primary school teachers in the twenty-first century. Through the growth
of technology and globalization processes, industrialized countries' culture has
expanded worldwide through the international circulation of cultural items. It
can impact teachers' mindsets, ethics, and academics. The information element is
strongly tied to information technology, where information technology
characterizes the social context. Virtual space arises as the fourth space after
material, cultural, and spiritual freedom. In terms of nature and image,
everything is visible. It is closely tied to education for both instructors and
students, and it represents a new issue that impacts students' morals, value
systems, cognition, and skills (Lan, 2006).
Compared to students from other faculties or study programs, PGSD students as

preservice elementary school teachers from Pattimura University, Ambon-
Indonesia, have unique characteristics. They generally come from weak
economic backgrounds and have diverse cultural, ethnic, religious, and social
aspects. A more in-depth search found that they came from various regions in
the Regency/City in Maluku, especially from remote areas. A small proportion
(5%) are vocational high school graduates. More than 50-70% tend to choose
social studies at the high school level, and only 30% choose science interests.
This heterogeneity is the main element that educators and students themselves
need to be aware of as capital and strength to create a dynamic and conducive
learning environment. Heterogeneous students have different cognitive abilities
247
or performance levels (Dotzel et al., 2022). Within that framework, teachers need
to build a simple and well-structured learning environment through efficient
classroom management, foster student-centered interactions, provide students
with adequate instruction, and learning support (Cornelius-White, 2007; Hattie,
2009).
Training inside the next generation, of course, has distinctive processes and
dynamics than inside the beyond. Within the 21st century, schooling targets to
prepare students to cope with the complexities of current society. Subsequently,
twenty-first-century life abilities want to be designed in learning. There are three
additives of these capabilities, namely 1) cognitive domain names as capabilities
associated with cognitive procedures and strategies, understanding, and
creativity, along with important questioning capabilities, reasoning, and
argumentation. Moreover, 2) the intrapersonal area issues ideals and
motivations in getting to know, metacognition, and impartial learning. 3) The
interpersonal domain consists of abilities related to collaboration and leadership,
consisting of powerful verbal exchange and responsibility (Haug & Mork, 2021).
Critical thinking skills are one of the essential effects produced by higher
education. This skill is the form of thinking wished in solving problems,
formulating conclusions, making predictions, and making decisions (Hart et al.,
2021).
Maximum learning results can be achieved with good critical thinking skills
(Malahayati, 2011; Setiawati & Corebima, 2017). However, the learning
evaluation findings suggest that the final semester examination of Basic Science
Concepts for the 2019/2020 academic year has 60% of students in the poor
group. The assessments used an essay format to assess students' critical thinking
skills. In May 2020, researchers discovered that the average critical thinking skill
score of PGSD students in the Basic Science Concepts course was 30-40.
According to this study, students' critical thinking skills still need to be
strengthened and have not yet achieved the required level. The students' lack of
critical thinking skills can be apparent in their decisions when completing
activities. Because approximately 20% of students do not develop critical
thinking skills when completing assignments, some plagiarize their classmates'
assignments and still struggle to provide arguments against the cases presented
(Leasa & Lesnussa, 2021). Due to a lack of reading, their argument is brief and
obvious. According to Leasa et al. (2020), primary school students' critical
thinking skills averaged 46.27 or were at a moderate level. It suggests that
elementary school teachers' critical thinking skills still need to be improved.
One way that can be taken to equip students with a few values is to apply a
learning version that could train and broaden critical thinking. The learning
model considered to empower these talents is a model primarily based on a
constructivist model inclusive of problem-based learning (PBL). PBL is based
totally on the reality that getting to know isn't always just a method of
memorizing standards or data but additionally an interplay between individuals
and their environment. Several studies found the capacity of PBL in
empowering critical thinking skills (Sellnow & Ahlfeldt, 2005; Allison & Pan,
2011; Gholami et al., 2016). PBL calls for an awful lot of fabric and makes
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students search for more information (Akinoǧlu & Tandoǧan, 2007). Students
also sometimes have difficulty solving problems due to a lack of prior
knowledge regarding the topics discussed due to a lack of student interest in
reading (Oclarit & Casinillo, 2021).
PBL problems are typically structured and complicated. Issues that are too
simple can dull students and prevent them from learning. The problems,
however, must be related to the student's prior knowledge. Both teachers and
students can voice issues. The challenge must be relevant to the student's basic
understanding, even if the teacher suggests it. One of the cornerstones of PBL
learning is for teachers to grasp what students already know. Problems must
build on students' existing knowledge to be tough enough for students to
experience the learning process (Otting & Zwaal, 2006).
According to Barrett (2013), the fundamental drawback of PBL is that students

do not understand the problem and cannot identify the challenges encountered
with the material being studied. The PBL problems studied are of excellent
grades. It indicates that the challenge is genuine, faced in real-life practice,
engaging, hard, purposefully unstructured, and stimulates students to think for
them to build profound insights and knowledge. Problems in problem-based
learning are authentic and relevant to the actual world (Barrett et al., 2010;
Jonassen & Hung 2008).
We need another learning model expected to overcome the shortcomings of PBL,

such as the reading questioning and answering (RQA) learning model. RQA is
divided into three stages: reading, questioning, and answering. Reading is the
process by which students gather knowledge about the learning material they
are studying. Reading is beneficial for acquiring prior information. Prior
knowledge required to recognize and understand problems can be improved
through reading comprehension. Reading is also helpful in formulating
challenges to address (Taboada & Guthrie, 2006). Reading can thus increase past
comprehension, which affects prior knowledge (Tarchi, 2015). Reading is a
concrete activity that contributes to acquiring sufficient beginning knowledge to
foster students' initial abilities that enable problem-solving. Reading, even at the
point of reading comprehension, is the learning process that grows this
information. To fill in the gaps, we need a learning model whose activities
include reading and asking questions. Another learning paradigm, such as the
reading, questioning, and answering (RQA) learning model, is required to solve
the drawbacks of PBL.
RQA is a learning model developed by Aloysius Duran Corebima, a genetics

lecturer in Indonesia to cultivate the habit of reading as much as possible among
students. In the reading phase, students read various learning materials
according to the topic. Furthermore, students make a summary of the material
read. The next phase is questioning, where students compose questions from the
topics. These questions are an attempt to build curiosity and not to show
ignorance. That question is a trigger for students' critical thinking and
metacognition. The questions that are made are questions that do not have
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answers directly in the book, thus encouraging students to find out, read as
much as possible, or even re-read the lesson material or previous summaries to
carry out an analysis or find answers to these questions. The final stage of RQA
is Answering. In this phase, students try their best to find answers to the various
questions developed (Sumampouw, 2013; Hariyadi et al., 2017).
RQA is a newly developed model because almost all students do not read the
teachers’ material, which causes the designed teacher strategies to be
challenging to implement. In the end, their understanding of the teacher's
material becomes low. The implementation of RQA can force students to read
learning material so that the designed learning process can be implemented and
students' critical thinking skills are trained. In RQA, students are required to
read and understand the reading content, then try to find parts of the reading
content that are substantial or very substantial (Amin & Corebima, 2016; Amin
et al., 2019). RQA can develop cognitive learning outcomes, which are expected
to improve students' critical thinking skills (Bahri et al., 2016).
It is possible since each phase of RQA demonstrates students' efforts to develop

critical thinking. During the asking phase, students consider constructing
queries for unknown answers. Quality inquiries can help in the development of
scientific knowledge and reasoning. Good questioning abilities assist students in
thinking critically and understanding scientific discourse, which might include
theoretical assumptions, evidence, explanations, and even reasoning to clarify
uncertainties or ambiguities about learning materials (Stokhof et al., 2019).
According to Amin et al. (2019), 60.53% of the questions produced by students
were higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) questions.
RQA is expected to be able to compensate for PBL's inadequacies. The lack of

PBL necessitates interdisciplinary science can be remedied by RQA, in which
students collaborate to solve problems. Before sharing information with
classmates during class presentations, RQA can be an excellent technique for
more profound learning. The combination of RQA and PBL encourages students
to read more and seek knowledge, which helps them improve their critical
thinking skills. As a result, this study aims to investigate the impact of the PBL
learning model with RQA on the critical thinking skills of preservice elementary
school teacher students. So, the research hypothesis is there is a substantial
difference in the critical thinking skills of preservice elementary school teacher
students between the PBL and PBL learning models with RQA.
2. Methodology
This study is a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent
control group design. Thus, the findings can be easily applied (Maciejewski,
2020). Table 1 showed the treatment's incorporation into the research design.
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Table 1: The treatment classes based on variables

Pretest Treatment Posttest
O1 S1 O2
O3 S2 O4
Note: O1, O3 = pretest score, O2, O4= posttest score
S1 = PBL learning model group with RQA
S2 = PBL learning model group
2.1 Sampling
The population of this study included all students at PGSD Program, Pattimura
University in Ambon, Indonesia, in the seventh semester, with a total of 95
students divided into three classes, including 13 male and 82 female students.
Participants have the same qualifications because they passed the required
courses in semesters 1, 3, and 5: basic science concepts, science education in
elementary schools, and development of elementary science learning. Random
sampling was used to choose the research sample. One class was a PBL class
with RQA, and another was a PBL class for each learning model. The number of
classes used was two, which were chosen by lottery after the equivalency and
placement test.
2.2 Instrument and Procedures

In this study, the main instrument was a critical thinking skill test question
consisting of 16 items in the form of an essay that included five critical thinking
indicators: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, explanation, and inference
(Facione, 1990). Students are directed to generate questions important to critical
thinking skills when learning PBL with RQA, particularly during the
questioning phase. Then, during the group research stage, students are directed
to answer questions. The practicum report describes all of the student activities
in detail. Table 2 contains examples of questions used to assess students' critical
thinking skills.
Table 2: Critical thinking skills question grid

Critical
Subject Matter Thinking Skills Question Items
Indicator
Structure and Interpretation Sugar palm plants have a stem size that is
function of almost the same from the base to the stem.
plant organs Why is that?
Frog blood Analysis The heart of frogs (Amphibians) consists of one
circulation ventricle and two atria, in contrast to the heart
of Mammalia which is complete with four
chambers. In your opinion, how does the
structure of the frog's heart chamber affect its
blood circulation?
Fish breathing Evaluation Is the average number of movements of the
fish operculum in the treatment with the initial
temperature before being given detergent or
vinegar solution and after being given
detergent or vinegar solution? Give strong
arguments/support your answer.
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Critical
Subject Matter Thinking Skills Question Items
Indicator
Insect breathing Inference The data from the cricket breathing experiment
using a respirometer are as follows.
a. Cricket 1 has a mass of 2.2 grams, the
amount of oxygen needed is 0.083 mL, while
the average oxygen demand is 0.013
mL/minute.
b. Cricket 2 has a mass of 4.7 grams, the
amount of oxygen needed is 0.678 mL, while
the average oxygen demand is 0.013
mL/minute.
Based on this information, what can be
concluded?
The cycle of Explanation How do you do an analysis of the cycle of
living things living things such as butterflies or mosquitoes?
(Also include tools and materials needed).
The validity and reliability of this test instrument were 0.68 and 0.87. A critical
thinking test was conducted 2 times. The first time was carried out before the
treatment was given, and the second was carried out after the treatment ended,
with the period of the pretest and post-test being 8 weeks (2 months).
Critical thinking skills are also assessed when students give presentations on the
questions and answers raised during the RQA process and by reviewing the
practicum report. Teachers attend student presentations and examine practicum
reports every time. Teachers then continue to encourage students to practice
compiling questions demonstrating critical thinking skills, finding answers, and
learning a lot through reading articles connected to the content. As a result, they
have broad perspectives. As a result, it is simple to connect one thought to
another. Teachers discovered that they needed to provide instructions and
learning tools to encourage the development of critical thinking skills. During
the lesson, teachers stated this to students.
This research was carried out by following several procedures. 1) Based on the
letter of the university leadership regarding learning activities during the Covid-
19 pandemic, it was decided that the implementation of learning in the Science
Practicum course in both the PBL group and the PBL group with RQA was
carried out online and limited face-to-face by following the Covid-19 protocol. 2)
Assessing learning patterns relevant to these provisions in applying the PBL and
PBL with RQA. Asynchronous learning was carried out to discuss problems
related to material topics given by teachers through Schoology or known as
asynchronous discussion forums/ADF (Yang et al., 2005). It was followed by
synchronous learning through Google Meet, known as synchronous online
discussion/SOD (Ackerman & Gross, 2021), to present the studies and
discussions discussed previously in groups asynchronously. The science
practicum was conducted offline regarding the material discussed in a limited
face-to-face form at the Zoology Laboratory of the Faculty of Math and Science
(FMIPA) Pattimura University. 3) The next step was to pretest critical thinking
252
skills. 4) Implementing treatment in learning by applying PBL to the control

group and the PBL with RQA in the treatment group every week. Learning time
duration in a meeting was 2 x 50 minutes for 7 times learning meetings through
Google Meet. On the other hand, learning activities were asynchronously done
at any time until the group finished the discussion. The science concepts studied
included: the structure and function of plant organs, animal respiration,
digestion of food in humans and animals, human and animal blood circulation,
animal reproduction, and the cycle of living things.
The learning syntax in the PBL group was adapted from Arends (2015),
including:
a. Phase 1: Student orientation on problems

During this phase, the teacher gave learning direction/orientation and informs
the teacher and practicum mechanisms. Furthermore, students received lecture
materials based on the topic of the studied material by reading or downloading
them from Schoology and studying them.
b. Phase 2: Organizing students to study

To conduct ADF, students were separated into groups using Schoology.
Previously, students may develop multiple puzzles based on the teacher
information. It would be preferable if the issue formulation were geared toward
developing critical thinking skills. Students were also provided with proper
materials to use in the laboratory.
c. Phase 3: Guiding individual/group investigations

In Schoology, groups asynchronously discussed concerns to reach an agreement
by providing remarks on the issues highlighted. Limited face-to-face sessions
aided students in doing laboratory research to address questions about the
material supplied and continuing with presentations (SOD) via Google Meet.
d. Phase 4: Developing and presenting the work

Students produced group presentations about the challenges examined at the
ADF stage and reported on practicum activities in the form of PowerPoint
presentations (SOD) during this phase.
e. Phase 5: Analyzing and evaluating the problem-solving process

Teachers and students carried out evaluations and asynchronous and
synchronous reflections on the learning process. At the PBL stage, the RQA
treatment was the same for the PBL class.
The RQA syntax was only slightly modified. The RQA stage was completed
before the lecture or ADF, SOD, and laboratory practicum stages. The RQA steps
(Hariyadi et al., 2018) were as follows:
a. Reading
Each student was asked to find their own and read carefully and read sources
relevant to the lecture material to be studied. From the reading results, they
write a summary containing important information so that they have an
understanding of the concept.
253
b. Questioning
Students posed a number of questions that were not only informational but led
them to higher-order thinking, including critical thinking. Allowing students
time and space to construct questions regarding the content being studied was
one technique to get them to ask. The teacher proposed and invited students to
create questions that demonstrated their critical thinking skills during SOD
learning via Google Meet. Furthermore, the teacher offered appropriate reading
materials for students to use. The teacher also encouraged and demonstrated
how to construct questions that demonstrate critical thinking skills.
c. Answering
Students prepared responses to pre-written questions. The solution must be
rational and scientific, with accurate library sources. After completing all
learning activities, the final stage was administering a final test/post-test of
critical thinking skills.
2.3 Data Analysis

To test the research hypotheses, the data were quantitatively analyzed using
one-way ANCOVA. It was ensured that the data met the normality and
homogeneity parameters before the one-way ANCOVA test. The SPSS 18.00 for
Windows tool was used to help with data analysis.
3. Results
The unstandardized residual value with linear regression was employed in the
PBL and PBL with RQA groups, followed by the One-Sample Kolmogorov-
Smirnov Test analysis. The study results suggest a significant value of Asymp.
Sig. (2-tailed) of 0.200, which is greater than alpha (0.05). As a result, the critical
thinking skills data were distributed regularly. The data homogeneity test was
performed using Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances statistical test. The
results show that the data homogeneity was 0.827, greater than alpha (0.05), and
thus it was pronounced homogeneous. The data met the hypothesis testing
requirements with parametric analysis and a one-way ANCOVA. The data met
the hypothesis testing requirements with parametric analysis using a one-way
ANCOVA (Table 3).
Table 3: One-way ANCOVA test results on the effect of learning models on

critical thinking skills
Type III Sum Mean Partial Eta
Source df F Sig.
of Squares Square Squared
Corrected Model 2063.616a 2 1031.808 7.614 .001 0.220
Intercept 3738.273 1 3738.273 27.585 .000 0.338
CTS-Pretest 1016.206 1 1016.206 7.499 .008 0.122
Model 1475.095 1 1475.095 10.885 .002 0.168
Error 7318.103 54 135.520
Total 75002.000 57
Corrected Total 9381.719 56
a. R Squared = .220 (Adjusted R Squared = .191)
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Table 3 shows that the learning model's Fcount value is 10.885, with a significance
value of 0.002. The significance value (0.05) is less than the alpha value. Then,
Ha, which demonstrated that the learning model significantly affected critical
thinking skills, is accepted, but H0 is denied. It means that the learning model
considerably impacts preservice elementary school teacher students' critical
thinking skills.
Because there are just two data groups, PBL and PBL with RQA, the least
significant difference (LSD) was not required. However, it is possible to establish
whether there is a substantial difference between the two learning models that
were treated by reviewing the corrected mean data for critical thinking skills in
each learning model. The treatment group with the highest corrected mean is
considerably higher than the other groups. Table 4 displays each learning model
treatment group's adjusted mean critical thinking skills.
Table 4: Corrected mean of critical thinking skills in each learning model

No. Model Pretest Posttest Difference Corrected Mean
1 PBL 25.01 29.08 4.07 28.04
2 PBL-RQA 21.16 37.72 16.56 38.53
According to Table 4, the PBL with RQA has a higher corrected mean than the
PBL learning model. The hypothesis that there is a substantial difference in
critical thinking skills of preservice elementary school teacher students between
PBL and PBL with RQA is accepted. Students who study using the PBL with the
RQA model have higher critical thinking skills than those with the PBL model.
As a result, PBL with RQA has a greater potential to increase critical thinking
skills than PBL. Table 4 further shows that the critical thinking skills score in
PBL with RQA is 37.41% higher than in PBL alone.
4. Discussions
There are various potential benefits for critical thinking skills while learning
with PBL and RQA. These aspects include the existence of questions, the process
of answering questions, and the process of problem-solving. Students' inquiries
are critical in science learning, as are cognitive skills. High-quality cognitive
questions can help scientists build scientific understanding and reasoning.
Questions might motivate students to engage in essential thinking or scientific
discourse. It entails making assumptions, comparing information, developing
explanations and reasoning, and clearing ambiguity. Questioning is a
structurally integrated thinking processing skill used in critical thinking, creative
thinking, and problem-solving (Chin & Osborne, 2008; Hu et al., 2019). The
ability to ask appropriate questions and develop one's thinking skills should be
the primary objective of science education. In the context of this research, a good
question exhibits students' critical thinking skills or a HOTS question based on
research interests, as modeled by Facione (1990). Students can be taught to
accomplish this by providing explanations, demonstrating critical thinking
skills, and encouraging students to cultivate the curiosity required to write good
questions. Students are encouraged to think more critically while formulating
questions rather than just following the formats presented in textbooks (Lustick,
2010).
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Questions play an essential function in developing critical thinking skills with

concerning degrees of education. Questions are one of the fundamental gears for
instructors to attain students and understand pedagogical goals. Questions are
considered in a manner to feed one's skills or one's perspectives and articulate
one's thoughts. In studying contexts that encourage students' critical thinking
skills, teachers must use questions that inspire students to interact in evaluation,
problem-solving, and investigation. Additionally, questions can actuate
metacognitive cycles that outcome in more proficient learning (Seker & Kömür,
2008).
According to Elder & Paul (2003), asking questions drives thinking rather than
providing answers. Students' thinking processes are sparked by questions.
However, not all questions can foster critical thinking development. Only
higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) questions can empower critical thinking
skills (Barnett & Francis, 2012). HOTS questions encourage students to rethink
each answer submitted by including logical and rational arguments. They try to
analyze various possible feedback questions that can be given in response to
these answers, thereby stimulating broader and critical thinking. Questions are
essential for defining assignments and describing problems students need to
solve. At the same time, questions can stimulate initial thinking (surface). They
tend to encourage students to deal with complexity. Questions intention to
direct students to determine and perform responsibilities. On the other hand,
confirmatory questions enable them to examine the facts' sources. Students learn
how to organize or convey information through interpretive questions.
Questions can also encourage students to build a sense of ownership and

responsibility at work. Questions evoke emotions in interacting and
communicating more effectively to study science more deeply. A question is
vital in scientific inquiry activity that fits perfectly with the PBL syntax. From the
questions, students are stimulated to conduct investigations both individually
and in groups, postulate and test hypotheses, analyze and evaluate the evidence
found. Such learning activities can also make students perform other cognitive
processes such as observing and reading more deeply so that critical thinking
develops rapidly. In this way, attitudes, knowledge/literacy, and science process
skills are growing in learning science in elementary school (Singh et al., 2019;
Reinsvold & Cochran, 2012).
Answering questions is another phase that has the potential for critical thinking
skills. Students' inquiries are undoubtedly more focused on higher-order
thinking skills. As a result, the solution is obtained through extensive inquiry
and exploration by students who explore and extract data or information from
many sources or references. These cognitive processes are quite helpful in
improving critical thinking.
Students completed the RQA phase after reading and summarizing the material.
This method necessitates a grasp of the reading material to assist students in
solving problems through answered questions (Rouet et al., 2017). When
students select reading material to use as a reference source, they practice critical
256
thinking. Students must have researched multiple sources and determined

which sources were more relevant and logical to use as a reference in
responding. The decision of when to look for reading sources and how to
analyze and critique the current information becomes critical in this process. In
completing the assignments, students can learn from one another. Students who
are less critical when seeking experience must learn to be more critical when
assembling replies, examining facts, and conducting more research. Meanwhile,
critical students are expected to provide more information and aid to less critical
students (Máñez et al., 2019).
In addition to RQA, the critical thinking process in PBL can be further enhanced
through individual or group investigations to solve challenges. PBL is a modern
learning technique that stimulates students by presenting them with dependant
or real-world challenges to infuse the learning procedure by building new
information about how to address the problem. PBL incorporates constructivist
contextual standards into learning to motivate prior knowledge and
collaborative studying and encourage students to be independent learners
(Zhou, 2018; Dolmans, 2019). There is an investigative technique in PBL, which
includes locating important records, creating current information, and having
fun solving challenges. Academics, as facilitators, aid students in developing
knowledge and connecting concepts with varied records, directing exploration
and expanding understanding.
Similarly, there is a reflection on studying PBL as an essential aspect of

developing metacognitive recognition to increase the quality of problem-solving,
comments, and encouragement. During PBL implementation, the teacher's job
remains to support the development of critical thinking skills through inquiry
activities in the context of problem-solving (Seibert, 2021). Compared to
traditional learning models, studies demonstrate that PBL enhances students'
academic accomplishment, allows them to communicate in group discussions,
builds their knowledge, and improves awareness of learning and critical
thinking skills (Khoiriyah et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2019).
PBL is a learning model based on real-world situations. In other words, each

student's life experience helps in problem-solving. Then, the idea of critical
thinking is not limited to consistent and logical reasoning but also includes
rational or practical behavior. Critical thinking also seems to include a moral
attitude with respect for the opinions of others, taking into account the tendency
to introspection. All things considered, PBL, RQA, as well as critical thinking
skills are not just limited to seeking information or knowledge. They involve a
lot of ethical attitudes and wisdom acting in the problem-solving process (Wang
et al., 2008). PBL provides space for open-mindedness, curiosity, and an
analytical, systematic search for the truth. Open-mindedness is needed to accept
different challenges, thus leading students to think critically, be confident,
develop curiosity, and achieve cognitive maturity (Khoiriyah et al., 2015; Hung
et al., 2019).
257
5. Conclusions
The learning model was found to have a considerable impact on the critical
thinking skills of preservice elementary school teacher students. Furthermore, it
was discovered that, of the two learning models, PBL with RQA had the greater
ability to increase critical thinking skills. The average score of students' critical
thinking skills in PBL with RQA learning was greater than in PBL learning. As a
result, teachers should be able to use a combination of PBL and RQA models in
both online and offline lectures. RQA can be used to prepare students for
learning by reading, summarizing, compiling HOTS-oriented questions, and
attempting to answer them. PBL occurs after RQA during online/offline, face-to-
face learning activities by presenting various challenges relating to learning
materials and instructing students to perform investigations to answer
problems. If carried out continually, this approach is ideal for developing and
empowering students' critical, analytical, and logical thinking.
More study is needed to investigate the impact of the PBL model with RQA on
critical thinking while considering other moderating characteristics such as
preservice primary school teachers' academic ability, specialization (natural
science, social science, or mathematics), and gender. Furthermore, it is vital to
investigate the obstacles students encounter when studying with PBL with RQA
to increase the effectiveness and maximize student learning results.
6. Acknowledgments
Thank you to the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) leaders at
Pattimura University for funding this research through the 2021 FKIP basic
research scheme.
7. References
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 262-281, June 2023
Using the ADDIE Model to Teach Creativity in

the Synthesis of Raw Materials
Hussein Ahmed Shahat

Professor, Faculty of Education, King Faisal University
Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
Sherif Adel Gaber*

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, King Faisal University
Hussam Khalifah Aldawsari

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, King Faisal University
Abstract. The goal of this study was to create a training program based
on the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and
evaluation) model (AM) that would help students develop creative skills
related to the synthesis of raw materials, and to evaluate its effectiveness
compared to a more traditional training program. The sample for the
study was made up of 62 art education graduate students at King Faisal
University, Saudi Arabia. The study used a semi-experimental approach
which was considered suitable. The study tools consisted of a scale of
creativity skills related to the synthesis of raw materials (SCSRSRM)
developed by the researchers. The study found that there is a close
relationship between creativity and training using the AM, which
allowed the trainees to go back to previous steps when they feel that there
is a gap between their mental perceptions and reality while building the
artistic work. The AM program also helped trainees to improve their
educational methods and plan to acquire knowledge and develop their
creative skills in the field of raw materials synthesis.
Keywords: ADDIE model; creativity skills; visual culture; synthesis of

raw materials
* Corresponding author: Hussein Ahmed Shahat; h.ali@kfu.edu.sa
©Authors
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1. Introduction
Creativity is a key indicator of people’s growth and people should learn how to
be creative. According to the main goals of plastic arts, in general, and the field of
handicrafts, in particular, plastic arts play an important role in helping students
develop their creativity by revitalizing visual culture and correcting students’
ideas about how to see the elements of nature, based on visual analysis methods:
how to otherwise sense them, and how to treat them. Educational theories, such
as constructivism and behaviorism and various strategies and models that
researchers use to develop training programs, can play a crucial role in the
development of creative skills. Creativity is one of the most important and
complex skills and must be increasingly developed, especially considering the
conditions of the twenty-first century.
Creativity is also a component of what makes humans human; it emerges from

inside, without a defined goal, as a component of the whole. It is free, natural,
pure, lively, and dynamic (Piirto, 2021). It is also considered a complete mental
process that incorporates interconnected cognitive, emotional, and ethical aspects,
all of which produce a distinct state of mind (Jarwan, 2008).
The authors of this study believe that the process of creative synthesis in the
synthesis of raw materials begins with the contemplation of nature and the
discovery of its systems. Subsequently, trainees develop awareness of these
elements, analyzes them, and draws inspiration from them. They apply and
further refine this inspiration within a tight design structure in order to create a
technical work through the synthesis of raw materials. ADDIE is an acronym
formed from the words analysis, design, development, implementation, and
evaluation. The ADDIE model’s (AM) five phases provide a framework that
echoes this progression. Within the first five stages, trainees are able to follow a
variety of experimental practices, such as deletion, addition, collection,
replacement, reduction and simplification, in order to reach a tight structure for
an artwork. This process is based on creating a dialogue and familiarity with the
materials through which trainees achieve the aesthetic dimensions and plastic
values that reflect the weight of their own experiences.
The AM is an abbreviation for a systematic approach to instructional development

that is almost synonymous with instructional systems development (ISD). There
is no original, fully constructed model; rather, there is an umbrella phrase that
refers to a family of models with a common, underlying structure (Molenda,
2015). Molenda confirmed that the origin of the term is unknown, but the AM
terms, stages, and concepts appear in The American Society, which also referred
to the aforementioned five stages.
Activities connected to the development of new curricula are viewed as the

primary drivers of educational growth, which might increase performance. As a
result, educational specialists and teachers commonly use various research
methods and dimensions to assess innovation indicators in art teaching and
learning (Mousavi et al., 2017). The development of students’ thinking skills, in
particular, is increasingly valuable in the face of accelerating changes in science,
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knowledge, and information flows witnessed in the modern world, making this
an urgent necessity and a priority in the philosophy of education (Alawi et al.,
2018).
Creativity is a compound ability, which facilitates renewal, the discovery of new

relationships between things, flexibility, spontaneity, and freedom of expression
(Abd-ElKafi, 2003; Abdul Hamid, 1987). This can lead to innovation within a field.
Interestingly, we found that an understanding of this innovative power was
lacking among many graduate students, who were enrolled in the course on
sculpture using environmental and consumable materials, in the Department of
Art Education at King Faisal University. The students’ work inspired by the linear
relationships and structural systems of plant roots also revealed a lack of
understanding of analytical systems, extraction of plastic values and their
application within a tight design structure, and the nature and characteristics of
the media and raw materials in use. This suggested that a range of creative
thinking skills needed to be developed.
In the broad field of education, studies have suggested a number of approaches

to the development of creative thinking skills, while further confirming the
importance of these skills. Rábanos (2021) considered the development of creative
thinking skills in different areas of the curriculum as a cross-sectional competency
to be approached in a deliberate and specific manner. Hassan (2018) focused on
the designing of aesthetic education programs, and the relationship of this design
to creative thinking.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jieun and Yongseok (2022) sought to assess the
efficacy of online practical courses (OPC) in physical education using the AM.
Their findings suggest that timely and high-quality feedback is required for
effective OPC adoption, and trainees must be encouraged consistently to decrease
technical faults. Piirto (2021), focusing on organic creativity, concluded that there
are many relevant educational practices and different ways to teach organic
creativity, and proposed eight characteristics and five “core attitudes” that
contribute. Similarly, Gafour and Gafour (2020) offered several general practices
that promote creativity. This confirms that creative skills are among the most
required skills in the twenty-first century as a means to deal innovatively with
analyzing ideas and solving problems, and it highlights the need to use different
techniques and practices to develop these skills.
Mousavi et al. (2017) stressed that it is necessary to review methodological

workshops that are compatible with specific innovation indicators in teaching and
learning activities, and to develop theoretical frameworks for teaching arts by
integrating innovation in all curricula. Al-Ababneh (2020) confirmed that the
process of creativity is linked to personality traits and, therefore, that creativity
can be viewed in various ways as a mental ability, as practicality, and as human
behavior, and that experience in any activity is an essential element for producing
new ideas. According to Clinton and Hokanson (2012), working on educational
design and development projects is a positive factor that may contribute to the
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success of educational goods and applications, which in turn improves the lives
of learners.
For education to be most effective, a training program for developing creative

thinking skills in the field of handicrafts must include a method for planning,
carrying out, and evaluating the training process and its results. The authors chose
the AM, which has been used by many researchers over several decades and has
led to the improvement of training processes, such as in the study conducted by
Zulkifli et al. (2018). In that project, the AM served as the foundation for the
development of learning, and one of its most significant outcomes was the
development of curriculum-integrable, user-friendly programs. In fact, the
authors of that study hoped that this program would eventually help Malaysia
establish a more practical approach to the entire teaching of moral education.
Research by Richardo et al. (2023) revealed that the application of augmented

reality in education technology contributed to the development of creativity
abilities in the field of mathematics among secondary school students in
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. According to the researchers, there is a gap in Arab studies
that deals with the AM for developing creative thinking skills related to raw
material synthesis, which is one of the most important skills in the field of plastic
arts, particularly in the field of raw material synthesis. Disciplines, lateral
thinking, experimentation, and the second portion are all connected to the "Types
of Synthesis," which are thought synthesis, method experimentation, and
technique synthesis.
As a result of the researchers’ exposure to literature and previous studies that

showed positive results using the AM, they expected it to produce positive results
in developing creative thinking skills associated with the synthesis of raw
materials in the study sample. Therefore, the AM was adopted to help students
strengthen their creative thinking skills:
1) The AM program can accommodate many learning concepts and theories
( s tru c tu ra l, co gn it ive , s oci al , a n d o th e r e du ca ti on al th e o r ies ) .
2) Students are given the chance to organize their thoughts and solve challenges.
3) It gives the students flexibility and variety of responses in accordance with the
requirements and variables of the creative situation, according to the
characteristics of the material and the methods and systems of synthesis.
4) Encourages openness to testing procedures in order to discover existing
linkages between pieces.
5) Allows for the systematic development of learning outcomes through
formative assessment at each step and across stages in accordance with the
perceptual features of learners.
6) Allows the students to evaluate and re-design the works of art based on the
synthesis of raw materials through various experimentation processes and the
practice of synthesis of all types.
Therefore, the current study aimed to develop students’ creative thinking skills in
the field of handicrafts, especially in the synthesis of raw materials, using different
experimental approaches based on the AM. This is by the fifth stage, within the
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process of drawing inspiration from the structural and aesthetic systems of plant
roots in a tight design structure based on analysis of linear relationships, and
employing this inspiration in creating innovative plastic compositions to enrich
an artwork. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gradualism in
improving the teaching and learning processes in the field of plastic arts, given
the importance of choosing appropriate training and educational strategies to
successfully achieve set goals. We also aimed to examine the role of visual
perception and imagination in developing creative skills for artistic production.
Therefore, the aim of the study can be framed in terms of the following questions:
1) Is there a difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group
(AM training program applied), in the pre-and post-measurements, on a
scale of creativity skills related to the synthesis of raw materials (SCSRSRM)?
2) Is there a difference between the mean scores of the second experimental
group (traditional training program applied) in the pre- and post-
measurements on the SCSRSRM?
3) Is there a difference between the mean scores of the first and second
experimental groups in the post-measurement on the SCSRSRM?
2.1 The AM and the Development of Creativity in the Field of Raw Materials
Creativity is not limited to the arts but includes all fields. Its application lies in
new and effective ways of achieving a desired result, such as arousing aesthetic
admiration, provoking a new way of looking at something, or developing new
concepts for experience or existence that lead to tangible results, such as the
making of fine arts’ unrestrained creativity (Cropley, 2011). However, the
question is if creativity can be developed and nurtured.
According to Piirto (2021), creativity is associated with five ”core attitudes”—

trust, risk-taking, openness to experience, self-discipline, and tolerance—as well
as the eight traits of intuition, inspiration, insight, improvisation, incubation,
imagery, imagination, and intentionality. We add that having relevant specialized
knowledge, such as the ability to use tools, design, and technical and analytical
skills in the arts, also plays a role in creativity. Here we can reimagine the full AM
instructional design framework in an overlay model that acknowledges the
importance of creativity, as a systems-based representation of the general
processes of instructional design and development, aligned with the five stages of
creativity: preparation, problem identification, incubation, illumination, and
verification (Clinton & Hokanson, 2011).
Researchers have designed different teaching and learning models based on

different teaching and learning theories, such as behavioral, cognitive,
constructivist, social constructivist, social, humanistic, etc. (Sahaat et al., 2019).
These models are designed to meet students’ needs and fit the subjects being
taught. The AM is often used in training programs because it helps provide
teaching and learning materials based on what students need. The model helps
researchers to find suitable theories and methods that can be used to build
educational and training strategies (Jusoh et al., 2021). It consists of five stages,
and for each stage there are intended behavioral outcomes. With feedback, an
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integral part of the model’s design, everything is discussed with a view to

optimize success in achieving the educational objectives, so that use of the model
also provides a formative assessment and overall improvement of the educational
material itself.
The AM provides a structured framework for the five phases of creating an

effective educational product. It enables the identification of educational needs in
an organized manner, and offers an integrated approach to learning. All stages of
the AM are associated with clearly defined knowledge and skills, as demonstrated
in Figure 1, so it helps to define and measure the effectiveness of learning (Vulpen,
2023).
Through what has been narrated, researchers can define AM as a training

educational model capable of providing learners with educational experiences in
all fields through five stages, that allow them to develop and master what has
been done in a dynamic and iterative manner.
Interpretation, analysis thinking Plant roots Analysis
Interdisciplinary thinking Design
Artistic work
Synthesis
Lateral thinking Development
Implementation
Experimentation Materials
Evaluation
Figure 1: Relationship between the application of the AM and the creativity skills
associated with the synthesis of raw materials
Analysis stage: At this stage, the problem and training needs are identified. It is
very important to examine and identify the trainees’ prior knowledge and skills
because it helps in the educational planning of the educator (Sahaat et al., 2019).
Here, the problem lies in how to analyze and extract structural systems and linear
relationships from plant roots, so it is necessary to use meditation, insight, images,
presentations, and video. Through this process, the trainees come to identify the
gap between cognitive concepts and executive skills and arrive at linear systems
and relationships, such as interlacing, intertwining, seaming, the resulting
irregular networks, the diversity of lines, and the perception of aesthetic values in
them. Some potential results are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Examples of linear analyses drawn from plant roots
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Design stage: This is the stage when the trainee applies the rules of constructive
design using what they have learned from linear relationships. This is achieved
through inquiry, analysis, the development of ideas, and finding solutions, as well
as the processes of inspiration, openness to experience, and depth in design. We
can call it a process, and it is one of the stages of creativity, as explained by
Cropley (2011). It can also be recognized as a small act of creativity or expansion
of the known, where a different application of what is known is possible, and it is
possible to apply expressive spontaneity. To produce the largest amount of ideas,
it plays a role in some creative training procedures.
During the design process, the trainee goes through certain intellectual practices
and stages that are in accordance with the stages of the AM, such as defining the
problem, establishing the idea, creative design, reaching a solution, and
development (Durmus, 2015). This process is shown in Figure 3.
Synergy - intersection
Artistic work
Segments of
Aesthetic
plant roots
Entanglement- convergence
values
design
Linear
relationships
Intersection
Perpendicularity
Figure 3: Stages of analysis of linear relationships, structural systems, and aesthetic

values of plant roots designed by the researcher
Development stage: This corresponds most strongly to creativity, which is a

cumulative process for a large number of organizational decision-making
processes, from the idea generation stage to the implementation stage (Kogabayev
& Maziliauskas, 2017). At this point, trainees may have formed an integrated
vision of their design (Figure 4 shows examples), ready for implementation using
raw materials. To do this, trainees must choose the right raw materials and learn
the right ways to use them, transforming designs into art. To do this, they must
know how the raw materials work, their formative capabilities, the methods and
types of synthesis available, and experimental possibilities.
Figure 4: Examples of design models for trainees
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Implementation stage: The researchers believe that the implementation stage is

linked to creativity skills such as experimentation and lateral and
multidisciplinary thinking. Working with raw materials requires taking into
account the characteristics of raw materials (burlap, sisal ropes, ropes, copper
wires, beads, semi-circles, stereoscopic semi-circular wire supports, cork, and
cotton threads) and methods of dealing with plastic potentials. Here, the trainees
must be helped by clarifying the types of synthesis in raw materials and methods
of experimentation so that they can put their ideas into practice. Figure 5 shows
some of the results.
Figure 5: Some of the work produced by trainees taught using the AM
Evaluation stage: Evaluation is an integral part of each step. For example, after the
first training session, there will be some obvious points of improvement and
unanswered questions that were not noticed in earlier planning stages.
Addressing and implementing these quickly will increase the impact of the
training (Vulpen, 2023). The role of a physical product in overall evaluation is,
however, particularly obvious in fine art, where specific works or performances
are judged by specialized critics, as well as interested members of the public
(Cropley, 2011).
Analysis: Meditation, imagination, insight. Evaluation
Design: The application of improvisation, The subject of the application is production of

intent, the practice of convergent and artistic works based on the synthesis of raw
divergent thinking, and lateral thinking. materials.
Implementation: In which the various

Development: Developing what has been experimentation entrances and types are
reached by reconsidering and filling gaps in applied - synthesis in raw materials, using
the analysis and design processes. lateral, interdisciplinary thinking.
Figure 6: Design of a training program based on the five phases of the AM
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2.2 Creative Skills

Creativity, in its simplest form, is the behavior of producing something new,
whether it is an idea or a product (American Psychological Association, 2023).
According to Hossieni and Khalili (2011), “Creativity is every new and valuable
innovation which is discovered,” and creativity “has three dimensions cognitive,
motivated and none cognitive.” There are many creative skills, including
divergent thinking, objectivity, imagination, and problem identification.
According to Guilford’s model of creativity, there are four types of problem-
solving ability: sensitivity to problems, fluency, flexibility (consisting of
spontaneous flexibility and adaptive flexibility (Education Summary, 2023), and
evaluative thinking. Creativity can be defined across four different areas: the
person and his attributes, the process (including the steps, techniques, and tools
used), the product, and the press (the atmosphere in which people are creative);
these form the 4Ps (López-Mesa et al., 2011). Furthermore, creativity is grounded
in everyday abilities, such as thought association, recall, perception, illogical
thinking, structured problem-space searching, and reflective self-criticism
(Clinton & Hokanson, 2012).
Further, we consider in the following section some of the skills that benefit the
development of students’ competence in the field of raw materials synthesis.
2.2.1 Interpretation and Analysis

This is the ability to extract and analyze a group of structural relationships and
systems of the elements of nature, to employ them effectively in the structure of
the artistic work, and to consider possible perspectives.
2.2.2 Interdisciplinary Thinking

Synthesis in raw materials works to fill the gaps between the fields of plastic art.
Based on broad interdisciplinary explorations, the framework extends from the
micro- to the macro-level (Ambrose, 2021). Trainees should be more creative and
generate ideas, so their roles should be expanded. Due to the multiplicity of raw
materials, their morphological capabilities, and their physical properties, trainees
will need a variety of experimental approaches, and this requires
multidisciplinary thinking, starting from the design stage. Design testing involves
imagining future scenarios that depict the idea using divergent and convergent
patterns of thinking and cognitive strategies (thinking patterns), which require
the practice of integration, oscillation, formulation, and rephrasing (Jacobs, 2018).
Divergent thinking, a well-studied aspect of creativity, is defined as the ability to
find multiple alternative solutions to a given situation or problem, some
traditional and some original, and as a means of perception that leads in different
directions (Runco & Pritzker, 2011). Cropley (2015) argued that, in the context of
the design process or creative problem-solving, emphasis should be placed on
divergent synthesis and convergent analysis, because it demonstrates an
important element in the design structure. Cropley further considered divergent
thinking an introduction to convergent thinking. Divergent thinking is invited
when an individual is faced with an open-ended task (Runco, 2014), to the
implementation stage and the application of types of synthesis in raw materials.
Subsequently, the best solutions come from fields and disciplines, according to
Einstein, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when
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we created them”, by thinking of a person doing a combination of skills, ideas,

and techniques that may not have been thought of before (Smart, 2021).
2.2.3 Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking refers to using logic or unconventional reasoning to find an
indirect or out-of-the-box approach to solving a problem (Smart, 2021). As
Edward de Bono explained “Lateral thinking is not concerned with playing with
existing pieces but with seeking to change those very pieces” (Snow, 2014).
Therefore, trainees should strive to provide more modern plastic designs and
solutions.
2.2.4 Experimentation
The etymology of the word “experiment” goes back to the Latin verb experiri, “to
test or try,” and its related noun experimentum, “experience, test, or proof”. As the
earliest recorded uses of the word “experimental” mean “having the experience”
or “based on experience,” the experimental quality of art is likely to be understood
as a matter of degree of innovation (Attridge, 2018). The signs of experimentation
began when Plato launched his materialistic theory within the framework of the
philosophy of truth, goodness, and beauty, which allowed the artist the right to
expression and continuous experimentation in thought and application, in turn
allowing the gaps between the arts to be resolved. In the field of art education,
experimental work occupies a special place because it is linked to the educational
goals and philosophy that seek to develop an awareness of the foundations of
composition and to further the development of creative skills among students.
Creative thinking is divergent and interdisciplinary thinking, characterized by
research and movement in multiple directions, this is consistent with the concept
of experimentation, and is indeed, what art education calls for. Experimentation
has many entrances, such as finding some premises, such as exchange, grouping,
succession, reflex organization, deletion, and addition (Qutb, 1994).
Experimentation has many motives, and we define what the current research
aimed to achieve in developing creativity skills related to the synthesis of raw
materials and finding innovative plastic and design combinations through seeing
and analyzing linear relationships and discovering the structural and aesthetic
systems of plant roots and how to benefit from them in the structure of the artistic
work. Experimentation is the translation of ideas into commodities of value, and
requires sessions of brainstorming. There are thousands of variables that can only
be discovered through experimentation to obtain a new cognitive vision, so
experimentation helps us to make more informed decisions about our ideas
(Saarelainen, 2017).
2.3 Types of Synthesis
The idea of artistic synthesis means making something new that cannot be
reduced to the sum of its parts. It also means combining different art forms into a
single work of art that aesthetically organizes human material imagination, as
well as making sure that all of the parts work together in terms of scale,
proportion, and rhythm (The Free Dictionary, 2023). There are several types of
synthesis in the field of materials synthesis, which we will discuss as follows.
Synthesis in thought: What is meant by this is trying out different styles or ways of
putting together the parts of an artistic work. This means that the work is subject
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to overlapping mental processes, such as removing and adding parts or putting

one on top of another, which gives rise to plastic ideas (Abd-ilah & Hussein, 2019).
Experimentation in method: This is the use of specific plastic methods or the
combination of several methods to achieve compatibility and harmony between
the various materials in the structure of the artistic work.
Synthesis in technique: In the field of experimentation with raw materials, there are
often preferences for the raw materials used. The trainee or practitioner, by
selecting the material, determines the appropriate technique to subject it to
expression. The technical diversity and experimental methods make the work
unique.
Therefore, a person who works in the field of raw materials synthesis must be able
to adapt raw materials and give them many different texture effects, as well as use
their latent expressive and plastic capabilities. This person must also have a vision
and grasp of visual culture that allow them to be inspired and see the areas of
beauty, while also knowing the properties of plastic raw materials and how to use
them. This allows the mixing of many techniques that “enrich” the raw materials.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Approach
The study followed a semi-experimental approach and the design of the two
experimental groups. Using the training model (AM or traditional) as an
independent variable, the experiment sought to record its impact on the
development of creative skills related to the synthesis of raw materials as a
dependent variable. Therefore, the first experimental group was subjected to
training according to the AM, while the second was trained in the traditional way.
The second experimental

The first experimental
The pre-test on the SCSRSRM
Training in the traditional way Training using the AM
The pre- and post-tests on the SCSRSRM
Figure 7: Quasi-experimental research design

3.2 Research Sample
The study population consisted of all graduate students from the Department of
Art Education at King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, between the
years 2019 and 2022; these totaled 203 male and female graduates. The sample of
the main study consisted of 62 male and female graduates (from the bachelor’s
273
level), who were non-randomly chosen. Their ages ranged between 22 and 26
years old, with a mean of 23.63 years and a standard deviation of 1.36±.
This study was conducted in the first semester of the years 2022–2023. The
necessary approvals to implement the program, training from the university and
the approval of scientific research ethics from the Deanship of Scientific Research
at King Faisal University and the participants in the study were obtained.
3.3 Inclusion Criteria
1. The participants were all from the Department of Art Education, College
of Education, King Faisal University.
2. The participants lacked creative thinking skills associated with raw
material synthesis.
3. The participants lacked the skills of synthesizing raw materials and the
entrance to experimentation.
3.4 Exclusion Criterion
1. Participants who did not have teaching experience in the field of shaping
with environmental and consumable materials were excluded.
2. Participants at the postgraduate stage were excluded.
3.5 Research Instruments
3.5.1 Scale of creativity skills related to the synthesis of raw materials (SCSRSRM)
The researchers used a scale to collect data because it fit with the goals of the
study, the way it was conducted, and the people who took part in it, and because
it helped them to answer the questions posed. The final scale was in four parts:
following a review of the literature related to the subject of the study, after
consideration of a number of approvals, followed by the study related to the
subject of the study, as well as the data and questions of the study and its
objectives.
To determine the validity of the scale and ensure that it measures what it was
intended to measure, it was presented in its initial form of 12 items to seven
experts in the field of art education. The majority of these experts agreed on the
adjustments that were required, and three items were added, bringing the total
number to 15.
The reliability coefficient Cronbach-alpha (α) was used to calculate the reliability
of the two factors of the scale and their total score, and the results showed that the
Cronbach-alpha of the two factors were 0.873 and 0.725, respectively. The general
reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.881, and these values confirmed
that the questionnaire had a high degree of reliability.
3.5.1.1 Inclusion Criteria
Participants were graduate students from the Department of Art Education, King
Faisal University.
Participants had a basic understanding of how to be creative when putting
together raw materials.
Participants were knowledgeable of the AM.
3.5.1.2 Exclusion Criteria
Participants did not display any creative skills related to the synthesis of
materials.
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3.5.2 Training Program

A training program was devised, based on the AM, to develop students’ creativity
and materials synthesis skills. It consisted of 12 sessions over a period of 12 weeks,
at a rate of four hours per week. For validation, it was presented to a group of
reviewers specialized in the field of art education, and some modifications were
made due to the reviewers’ opinions.
The use of the AM in the five stages (see Table 1) provided a simplified approach
through iteration and reflection to develop creative skills and synthesize raw
materials. Students were expected to produce works of art based on exploration
and analysis of the structural systems of plant roots, employing the relationships
and linear systems, discovered in an elaborate design structure, through the
application of experimental methods and types of synthesis. As an end result, the
student should be able to demonstrate plastic fluency, modernity, originality, and
imagination skills.
Table 1: Stages of implementing the training program

Program
Program objectives
stages
Understanding the steps of the AM and the importance of applying
them to develop creative skills and methods of exploring linear
systems of selected plant roots. Basic concepts (linear relationships,
Stage 1
systems of linear relationships, semiology of plant roots, aesthetic
(Sessions 1-2)
values, concepts of raw materials synthesis, creative skills
experimentation, interpretation, interdisciplinary learning, lateral
thinking).
Implementation of the AM in the five phases (analysis, design,
development, implementation, and evaluation). Structural
Stage 2
foundations for artistic work design, development of design
(Sessions 3-4)
outputs, and selection of appropriate materials for idea
implementation.
The implementation phase, in which actual practices for the
synthesis of raw materials are carried out using the entrances of
experimentation in terms of thought, technique, and
implementation. Distinguishing the characteristics of the material,
Stage 3
the synthesis systems, and the methods of formation that are
(Sessions 5-10)
commensurate with the structure of the artistic work in order to
achieve originality, flexibility, and imagination, and the
reevaluation of these ideas to provide feedback for continuous
improvement.
Stage 4
(Sessions 11- The finishing stage and an overview of the artistic work.
12)
3.4 Data Analysis

Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 22. An independent samples
t-test was used for equivalence between the two study groups. Mann-Whitney
and Wilcoxon correlation tests were used to analyze the data and answer the
study questions. The study found a statistically significant difference between the
mean scores of the two experimental groups in the post-measurement on the
275
SCSRSRM in favor of the first experimental group, to which the AM training

program was applied. P<0.01 was considered significant.
4. Findings
The data were subjected to the following questions and statistical analysis:
4.1 Is there a difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group
(to which the AM training program was applied) in the pre-and post-
measurements on the SCSRSRM?
Table 2: The value of t for the difference between the mean scores of the first
experimental group in the pre- and post-tests on the SCSRSRM
Scale dimensions Group N M SD df T P d
Interpretation, Pre-test 31 7.55 1.03
30 -35.294 <0.001 6.34
analysis thinking Post-test 31 14.29 0.46
Interdisciplinary Pre-test 31 9.68 0.79
30 -22.441 <0.001 4.03
thinking Post-test 31 13.81 0.83
Pre-test 31 9.35 1.05
Lateral thinking 30 -25.097 <0.001 4.51
Post-test 31 14.42 0.50
Pre-test 31 14.29 2.12
Experimentation 30 -39.045 <0.001 7.01
Post-test 31 29.52 0.57
Pre-test 31 40.87 3.35
Total 30 -46.693 <0.001 8.39
Post-test 31 72.03 1.66
It appears from Table 2 that there is a statistically significant difference between

the mean scores of the first experimental group (to which the AM training
program was applied) in the pre- and post-measurements on the SCSRSRM in
favor of the post-measurement, where the value of t for the total score of the scale
was -46.693 and p<0.001. In order to measure the size of the effect of the AM
training program (an independent variable) on the application of the SCSRSRM
(a dependent variable), using Cohen’s treatment, d = 8.39, which indicates a
significant effect of the AM training program on the development of creativity
skills related to the synthesis of raw materials among graduate students (members
of the first experimental group).
4.2 Is there a difference between the mean scores of the second experimental
group in the pre-and post-measurements on the SCSRSRM?
Table 3: The value of t for the difference between the mean scores of the second
experimental group in the pre- and post-tests on the SCSRSRM
Interpretation, Pre-test 31 7.39 1.23
30 -12.819 <0.001 2.30
analysis thinking Post-test 31 12.68 1.72
Interdisciplinary Pre-test 31 9.29 1.13
30 -10.300 <0.001 1.85
thinking Post-test 31 12.61 1.20
Pre-test 31 9.16 1.27
Lateral thinking 30 -9.184 <0.001 1.65
Post-test 31 11.97 0.98
Experimentation Pre-test 31 14.23 2.20 30 -18.187 <0.001 3.27
276

Post-test 31 24.61 2.64
Pre-test 31 40.06 3.62
Total 30 -27.358 <0.001 4.91
Post-test 31 61.87 1.80

the mean scores of the second experimental group (who were trained according
to a traditional program) in the pre- and post-measurements on the SCSRSRM in
favor of the post-measurement, where the value of t for the total score of the scale
was -27.358 and p<0.001. To measure the size of the effect of the traditional
method on the creativity skills associated with the synthesis of raw materials,
Cohen’s treatment was used, and d = 4.91, which indicates an effect on the
development of creativity skills related to the synthesis of raw materials among
graduate students (members of the second experimental group).
4.3 Is there a difference between the mean scores of the first and second
experimental groups in the post-measurement on the SCSRSRM?
Table 4: The t value of the difference between the mean scores of the first and second
experimental groups in the dimensional measurement on the SCSRSRM
Scale
Group N M SD df T P ɳ2
dimensions
The first exp. group 31 14.29 0.46
Interpretation,
The second exp. 34.295 5.042 <0.001 0.43
analysis thinking 31 12.68 1.72
group
Interdisciplinary
The second exp. 60 4.543 <0.001 0.26
thinking 31 12.61 1.20
group
Lateral thinking The second exp. 60 12.372 <0.001 0.72
31 11.97 0.98
group
Experimentation The second exp. 32.786 10.102 <0.001 0.76
31 24.61 2.64
group
Total The second exp. 60 23.068 <0.001 0.90
31 61.87 1.80
group

the mean scores of the first and second experimental groups in the post-
measurements on the SCSRSRM in favor of the first experimental group, where
the value of t for the total score of the scale was 23.068 and p<0.001. To measure
the size of the effect of the AM training program (independent variable) on the
performance on the creativity skills scale associated with the synthesis of raw
materials (dependent variable), we used the eta squared coefficient and ɳ2 = 0.90,
which indicates a significant impact of the AM training program on the
development of creativity skills associated with the synthesis of raw materials.
277
5. Discussion
The results indicate a significant impact of the AM training program on the
development of creative thinking skills among the trainees, where the AM
approach provided an opportunity to organize problem-solving ideas in the
synthesis of raw materials with the flexibility and versatility of plastic uses. It may
have fostered openness to the processes of experimentation to find relationships
based on aesthetics emerging from the analysis of linear relationships of plant
roots. The AM training also provided the trainees with opportunities to develop
learning outcomes through formative assessment at each stage and between
stages, in a systematic manner consistent with the perceptual characteristics of the
learners.
The study showed that there were differences in the average scores of the second
experimental group, to which the traditional method was applied, in favor of the
dimensional measurement and continuous evaluation, in addition to the use of
specific educational media. The results also showed that there were significant
differences between the mean scores of the first experimental group and those of
the second experimental group, in favor of the first, on the creativity skills scale
related to the composition of raw materials.
The AM is considered one of the entrances to cognitive representation, which may

have helped in organizing the multidisciplinary educational material. In
accordance with the model, many strategies were used that could have
contributed positively to the development of creative thinking skills, such as
brainstorming, active learning, reinforcement, and continuous evaluation, which
allowed the trainees to assimilate. Also contributing were visualizations,
extraction of linear relationships and aesthetic values of plant roots, elaborately
employing them in a tight design structure, in addition to having positive risk-
taking skills in raw material experimentation processes.
The current study findings agreed with some previous studies, such as that of
Piirto (2021), where creativity processes go through many stages, but they are not
required to be arranged, and where various training processes are found to
enhance creativity, such as imagination, improvisation, and insight. In another
study by Gafour and Gafour (2020), the results indicated that employing lateral
thinking helped the trainees create many different perceptions and explorations
in the composition of raw materials, which led to different outputs resulting from
the experimental processes in the proposed plastic hypotheses and solutions.
Our results also support the claim Sahaat et al. (2019), that formative evaluation
provides the trainer with information on the standards and strategies needed for
training and that each stage in the AM provides initial information for moving to
the next stage. In addition, our results support the findings of Hassan (2018), who
found that providing trainees with the opportunity for free expression played an
important role in developing their imagination, mental perceptions, and
intellectual representation. Our research confirms that the AM provides
opportunities for trainees to receive immediate feedback in a timely manner,
whether from peers or the trainer, which increases the effectiveness of the training
278
program and the trainees’ development of creativity skills related to the

composition of the materials.
Considering our results, we agree with Mousavi et al. (2017) that experiential
learning is effective in enhancing the abilities of trainees and that the experimental
practices followed by trainees are the path to innovation, because they include
many practices that work to integrate previous experiences into new educational
and creative situations. In addition, the results of the current study are also in
agreement with those of Richardo et al. (2023), that the use of the AM had a
significant impact on the development of creativity skills among high school
students in the field of mathematics, divergent thinking skills, and idea
generation. This is because the training pattern of the AM is a non-linear pattern,
and it also offers many alternatives and options that help trainees access
appropriate plastic and design solutions, taking into account the foundations of
the structural design of the artistic work in the analysis and design stage. This
allowed them to develop a vision of design and how to transform it into a tangible
work systematically using the entrances of experimentation and various synthesis
methods, during the process of implementation and evaluation.
6. Conclusions and Recommendations

The current study dealt with a training program to develop creativity skills
associated with the synthesis of raw materials using AM in its five stages. This
was to produce artistic handicrafts using environmental materials based on the
synthesis of raw materials in structural systems that achieve formative values
(rhythm, unity, diversity, and balance) and tactile and color values, based on the
analysis of linear relationships resulting from the intersection of plant roots. The
study sought to build the concepts of synthesis and experimentation in raw
materials and the concepts of skills of creative thinking among art education
graduate students at King Faisal University.
The study reached the following conclusions: there is a close relationship between
creativity and training using the AM, which allows the trainees to go back to the
previous steps when they feel that there is a gap between their mental perceptions
and reality while building an artistic work. The AM program also helped trainees
to improve their educational methods and plans to acquire knowledge and
develop their creative skills in the field of raw materials synthesis. Choosing
appropriate training strategies helps trainees with the flow of ideas. Fostering
creativity comes through focusing on a range of processes, such as improvisation,
imagination, insight, and the practice of lateral and divergent thinking. Formative
assessment can provide information on standards and strategies needed for
training. Plant roots possess structural systems that make them a rich source of
inspiration in the field of raw materials synthesis.
During the experiment, the practice of interdisciplinary thinking contributed to

the abolition of the frameworks between the arts disciplines, the creation of
concepts, and the development of the ideas of the trainees to find diverse and new
plastic solutions to synthesize the materials. The study points to the need to use
various strategies during the teaching and training of students or trainees, and to
279
be careful to choose the appropriate strategies for the training objectives, with a
focus on vocational education and social development. It also recommends
conducting interdisciplinary studies in the field of arts.
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at King
Faisal University for providing the research fund and publishing research Grant
No. (3639).
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 282-300, June 2023
Received Feb 12, 2023; Revised Jun 7, 2023; Accepted Jun 16, 2023
A Systematic Review of the Practicum

Experience in Preservice Teacher Education
During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Taghreed Abdulaziz Almuqayteeb
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Dalal Alzahrani
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Abstract. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, preservice teachers in

all education programmes have been affected by the closure of schools.
This has forced a shift from in-school preservice teaching experience to an
online preservice teaching approach. The aim of the present paper is to
provide an overview of research on teaching practicum experience during
the COVID-19 pandemic through a systematic review. Out of 51 initially
identified publications between March 2020 and December 2020, 26
articles were included for the final synthesis in terms of teaching
strategies, methods used for assessing preservice teachers, digital
technology tools and challenges that faculties and preservice teachers
faced. The results indicate that the most commonly used teaching
strategies used in the practicum were demonstration in synchronous
sessions, observation/helping associate teachers, micro-teaching, and e-
coaching/mentoring. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the
main use of digital technology tools was for communication, instruction,
collaboration and e-coaching. Additionally, the results present four
methods of assessment that education programmes followed: (1) grading
preservice teachers’ performance in the first weeks of the spring semester;
(2) evaluating students’ recorded lessons; (3) evaluating prepared virtual
classroom presentation; and (4) grading online portfolios. Moreover, the
results indicate that faculties and preservice teachers have faced
numerous challenges such as a lack of real teaching experience, limited
experience in the use of information and communications technology
(ICT), and a lack of technological infrastructure, access and support. The
conclusions reflect on the importance of including technology integration
and teaching and learning in the online environment in courses offered
by teacher education programmes, equity issues for students, and the
need to strengthen preservice teachers’ beliefs in their capacity to deal
with the transition to distance modes of education in times of crisis.
Keywords: practicum experience; preservice teachers; systematic review;

teacher education; COVID-19 pandemic
©Authors
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1. Introduction
Student teaching is one of the most valuable elements of preservice teacher
preparation programmes (Scott, 2015; Ulla, 2016). Future teachers typically gain
their most intensive exposure to the teaching profession during the practicum in
teacher education programmes. Throughout the practicum, preservice teachers
work under the supervision of a mentor, supervisory teachers, or supervisors
from a university or college of education (Cohen et al., 2013). During the third
week of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic radically transformed student
teaching experiences at most universities across the world (e.g., Flores & Gago,
2020; Kalloo et al., 2020; Vasinda et al., 2020). As a result, the quality of final
teacher preparation experiences was impacted and amended in several ways.
Preservice teachers were not able to fulfil the expected practicum experiences in
schools. Thus, faculty members and administrators had to quickly re-envision and
reimagine usual field experiences in response to the unprecedented situation
(Flores & Gago, 2020). Colleges of education attempted to identify a suitable
replacement for practicum hours, which had usually involved preservice teachers
working side by side with in-service educators in physical classrooms (Ersin et al.,
2020; Nasri et al., 2020). The teaching practicum had to be temporarily moved
from being a regular experience in a physical classroom to an online setting
(remote practicum).
Most colleges of education have mechanisms by which to guide and assess

preservice teachers during their teaching practicum experience in real classrooms;
however, the sudden shift from in-school to online student teaching, due to the
pandemic, may have led to changes in teaching strategies and methods of
assessment. The online mode of delivery required certain innovations and
modifications in instructional materials, teaching methods and assessment
techniques. It is likely that this caused challenges to faculty members and
preservice teachers. Thus, there is a need to carry out this review to understand
the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the teaching and assessment
practicum mechanism. This study systematically examines and discusses how
teacher preparation programmes unexpectedly switched from a student teaching
experience in schools to an online student teaching approach. It also reports on
how these programmes managed to maintain a high standard of instruction for
their student teachers even as schools were closing. The purpose of this systematic
review of the literature is to offer a snapshot of the teaching practicum during the
COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on empirical studies and narrative articles
published during 2020. Accordingly, the current review adds to the developed
knowledge of teaching practicum practices in higher education contexts,
particularly in emergency times. This study reviews the studies on the practicum
of preservice teachers in four areas: 1) teaching strategies; 2) methods used for
assessing preservice teachers in the remote practicum; 3) digital technology tools;
and 4) challenges that faculties and preservice teachers faced. To achieve this, this
review focuses on the following research questions:
1- What are the teaching strategies used in the remote practicum?
2- What are the methods used for assessing preservice teachers in the
remote practicum?
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3- What are the digital technology tools that were used to continue the
remote practicum?
4- What are the challenges faced by faculty members and preservice
teachers in the remote practicum?
Several studies were undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic to report on
lessons learned and how teaching practicum was adapted during this unexpected
time. Teaching practicum is considered to be one of the most significant elements
of teacher education because it enables preservice teachers to have exposure to
real teaching experiences (Trent, 2013). The main goal of conducting the practicum
is to provide hands-on teaching experiences and activities for preservice teachers
(Ersin et al., 2020), and traditionally, for this to be effective, special training has
been conducted in real classrooms. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
preservice teachers were not able to complete the required practicum experiences
in schools. Colleges of education in different universities worked to find
acceptable alternatives for practicum hours via online teaching modes.
2.1 Practicum experiences for preservice teacher education during the

COVID-19 pandemic
The practicum is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a student
teacher’s education (Caires et al., 2012). It provides an opportunity for preservice
teachers to connect theory with practice in real-world settings (Ersin et al., 2020;
Li et al., 2021). It is expected that preservice teachers will be prepared to
understand and deal with the complexity of teaching, so they can contribute in
educational settings in a competent way once they are qualified (Lawson, 2015).
The disruption caused by the pandemic to the professional preparation of
preservice teachers around the world has produced a slew of challenges for
teacher educators as a result of the emergency closure of universities (Mutton,
2020). Most K–12 schools no longer offered face-to-face instruction, and many
teachers were forced to hastily switch to online instruction with no support (Vakil,
2020). Similarly, preservice teachers had to make a sudden shift to online
practicum. Different researchers reported that technology played a critical role in
the response to the pandemic crisis, which affected the whole world, especially in
the education system (Ersin et al., 2020; Flores & Gago, 2020; Kim, 2020). Without
technology, teacher educators and preservice teachers would not have been able
to participate in appropriate online learning and teaching (Nuland et al., 2020).
2.1.1 Teaching strategies used in the remote practicum

The sudden shift to an online practicum made training more challenging for
teacher educators and preservice teachers. The challenge for teacher educators
was to create substitute learning experiences online to substitute the experiences
of an in-person practicum, and to evaluate preservice teachers to make sure that
they were prepared for teaching in real classrooms in the years ahead (Barnes et
al., 2020; Cohen, et al, 2013; Flores & Gago, 2020). Therefore, several changes were
made to instruction and lesson delivery in order to ensure the continuity of
teaching practicum (Ersin et al., 2020; Kim, 2020). Additionally, many educational
programmes proposed several strategies for improving teacher competence
(Poyo, 2020; Velle et al., 2020). These strategies included support for online
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teaching with familiar structures to create a learning community for collective

efficacy (Poyo, 2020; Vasinda, 2020). Another strategy was in the creation of
online-group discussions and actively engaging with students during online
lessons when teaching mathematics (Cirillo et al., 2020). In their study, Cirillo et
al. (2020) tested a virtual simulation in which math preservice teachers acted as
the teacher in facilitating instruction to student-avatars. Preservice teachers were
able to practise lesson planning, discuss the lesson with students, and reflect on
the whole process. The use of simulations helped in the development of different
practices for math preservice teachers in mathematics education (Lee & Freas,
2020).
Further, Ersin et al. (2020) reported on the application of online micro-teaching

sessions and found that e-mentoring was a successful alternative method for
preservice English-language teachers to connect with their colleagues in order to
ask and receive advice, share experiences and exchange ideas, both with their
colleagues and e-mentor, without time and space limitations. Other universities
changed the role of preservice teachers from being responsible for teaching to
observing and helping their associate teachers (Flores & Gago, 2020).
2.1.2 Assessment strategies used in the remote practicum

A key concern for teacher education has been the completion of the practicum
requirements. Some programmes chose to grade preservice teachers based on
their performance in the first weeks of the spring semester (when they were
teaching in person) and continued to provide them with experiences to fulfil the
needs of preservice teachers while maintaining the quality of the practicum (Ersin
et al., 2020). Other education programmes assigned different tasks to evaluate
preservice teachers, such as watching episodes of Mr. Rogers’ Neighbourhood (an
educational children's television series) and writing personal reflections and
critical theoretical analysis of the episodes using Educational Psychology Theory
(Schelling & Rausch, 2020). Another way to assess preservice teachers was
through engaging them in teaching with their mentor teachers and evaluating
them based on their online lesson planning (Barnes et al., 2020).
Further, some programmes assessed preservice teachers by rating their

participation in simulated teaching demonstrations in a virtual classroom with
English-language learners’ avatars. This gave preservice teachers the chance to
observe and question differing levels of English learners’ proficiency as well as
experience in classroom management (Monroe et al., 2020). Other programmes
required preservice teachers to produce an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) as a
replacement for practicum hours. Preservice teachers were evaluated based on
their capability to create lesson plans, interdisciplinary unit plans involving
multiple subjects, and conduct two lessons (Hendrith et al., 2020).
2.1.3 Digital technology tools used in the remote practicum

Several researchers have shown that technology was used by faculties and
preservice teachers to continue delivering the teaching practicum for instruction,
communication, collaboration and mentoring. Faculties and preservice teachers
used different digital tools such as Zoom, YouTube and Nearpod to create lessons
and interactive videos (Esrin et al., 2020; Kim, 2020; Vakil, 2020). Additionally,
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faculties used Google Meet, emails and Zoom chats to communicate and interact
with students. Further, various social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, WhatsApp)
supported preservice teachers’ engagement and helped to build collective
resilience (Pick et al., 2020). Moreover, technology such as Flipgrid, Google Docs
and VoiceThread supported collaboration among preservice teachers in online
teaching instruction and understanding new concepts. The pandemic proved that
faculty members and preservice teachers need to be well trained to properly
match technological tools and pedagogical practices in their teaching (Lisa et al.,
2021).
2.2 Challenges faculty members and preservice teachers faced in remote

practicum experience
Online learning has been shown to be useful during the COVID-19 crisis. The use
of technology and various tools has many benefits, and has helped in developing
the participation of students as well as teachers (Pick et al., 2020). However, online
education has some disadvantages, such as a lack of online teaching abilities
among educators and the time-consuming creation of online lesson plans (Nuland
et al., 2020). Several researchers reported different challenges that university
instructors faced during the pandemic such as a lack of technological training for
online teaching and learning and poor internet connectivity (Badaru et al., 2022)
and a lack of student engagement (Kalloo et al., 2020). Despite the fact that online
teaching skills are very important, especially when preservice instructors find
themselves teaching online (Vakil, 2020), researchers have reported that virtual
practicum experiences and online teaching skills are not covered in many
teachers’ education programmes (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020; Vakil,
2020).
Some of the issues that were most detrimental to full training of preservice
teachers during the practicum were: 1) access to effective online connectivity and
support (Nuland et al., 2020); 2) a lack of preservice teachers’ professional
development for online learning (Nuland et al., 2020; Vakil, 2020); 3) limited social
interaction and engagement (Kalloo et al., 2020); and 4) limited experience or skills
for using ICT (Kalloo et al., 2020, Kim, 2020). Additionally, without high-speed
internet, preservice teachers and instructors were unable to access materials to
support their learning and teaching (Nuland et al., 2020). Similar challenges such
as a lack of electricity and lack of resources and ICT skills were also reported by
students in various faculties (Mudzingiri et al., 2022). However, the challenges
and interruptions occasioned by school and university closures may be regarded
as an opportunity to discover and redesign traditional roles and teaching practices
(Flores & Gago, 2020). Many educators are using synchronous and asynchronous
video capabilities to continue providing high-quality curriculum materials for
preservice teacher educators in this historic era of COVID-19 (Besser, 2020).
3. Methodology
This research employed a systematic review method to analyse the research
studies published on preservice teachers’ practicum experiences during the
pandemic. Systematic reviews can be defined as “a review of existing research
using explicit, accountable rigorous research methods” (Gough et al., 2017:4). The
purpose of a systematic review is to review existing research in order to answer
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specific questions, based on explicit and accountable research methods using

inclusion and exclusion criteria to determine which research papers to include or
exclude (Gough et al., 2017). This systematic review followed the nine step-
process identified by Newman and Gough (2020): (1) developing research
questions; (2) designing a conceptual framework; (3) constructing selection
criteria; (4) developing the search strategy; (5) selecting studies using selection
criteria; (6) coding the studies; (7); evaluating the quality of studies; (8)
synthesising the results of studies to answer the review questions; and (9)
reporting the findings.
3.1 Selection criteria

The review was based on articles providing empirical information on the
practicum during a specific period or descriptions of actions in field experiences.
The two researchers for this review applied the following selection criteria for
articles to be included: published in peer-reviewed articles, based or reported on
an empirical study or narrative articles, reporting on teaching practicum during
the COVID-19 pandemic, and published between March 2020 and December 2020.
3.2 The search strategy

The initial search and criteria for this systematic review included articles in
English, reporting on teaching practicum, and indexed in the following six
electronic databases: EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Research Gate,
Academic Search and Eric. The review focused on the following search terms:
field experience, remote student teaching internship, practicum experience, field
experience, virtual internship, practicum during COVID-19, preservice teacher
education and teacher training. Independent searches were conducted for each of
the keywords using selected search engines. Using these search terms, a total of
51 articles were found as of December 30, 2020. However, 25 articles were
excluded due to replication across databases, some not being in the field of teacher
education, and some being descriptions of other field experience programmes.
Additionally, some publications were found to be irrelevant to the research
questions after reviewing the title and the abstract. The final selection yielded a
total of 26 relevant articles.
3.3 Construction of the database

A total of 26 published studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the
review. The authors then began to extract data using a form in order to extract the
required information from the studies. The form for each article included details
of: (1) location of study; (2) methodology; (3) sources of data; (4) teaching and
assessment strategies; (5) digital tools; (6) challenges faculties faced; and (7)
challenges preservice teachers faced. The information is summarised in Tables 1–
8. The data extracted through the form (1–3) were used as general information
about the articles that were reported. The data extracted through the form (4–7)
were synthesised in order to answer the research questions.
4. Results
In this review, a total of 26 articles were identified addressing teaching practicum
experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in education programmes. Based on
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the information obtained from the reviewed studies, the following results are
presented. In addition, to gain an overview of the nature of the current research
conducted, general characteristics of the reviewed studies were analysed
according to the location of the research, the methodological approach used and
the sources of data.
4.1 Location of studies

Most of the 26 studies that were chosen and published between March and
December 2020 were conducted in the USA, and others in Australia, England,
Portugal, Chile and Canada. However, by far the largest group of studies were
based in the USA (16 – 61.5%) (Table 1).
Table 1: Location of studies

# Country of Research Number of Studies
1 USA 16
2 Chile 1
3 Australia 1
4 Trinidad and Tobago 1
5 Portugal 2
6 England 2
7 Israel 1
8 Canada 1
9 Turkey 1
Total 26
4.2 Research methods

The researchers’ main interest was to report on practicum practices undertaken
during the pandemic which had a clear description of the shift to remote
practicum. The three types of methodological approaches were qualitative,
quantitative and mixed. Most of the studies used quantitative methods (n = 11)
and case study (n = 15) (Table 2).
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Table 2: Methodology approach

Quantitative Case study Total
11 15 26
4.3 Source of data

In line with the aim of understanding preservice teachers’ experiences in the
practicum, interviews (n = 8) and observations (n = 9) were the most frequent type
of data source (Table 3). The second most frequently used tools included
questionaries and surveys (n = 6). The least used data-gathering tools included
focus groups for preservice teachers.
Table 3: Sources of data

Type of Data Source Number of Studies
Questionnaires/ surveys 5
Interviews and survey 1
Interview 7
Observations 9
Focus groups 2
Documents/websites 2
Total 26
4.4 Teaching strategies used in the remote practicum

The data analysis shows that due to the pandemic, preservice teachers’
educational faculties used alternative teaching strategies to ensure the continuity
of the practicum practice. The authors examined the major teaching strategies
embedded in the articles which reported teaching strategies used in the
practicum. Analysis revealed that the various teaching strategies were used in the
practicum, including synchronous and asynchronous modes of teaching: 1)
demonstration in synchronous sessions (e.g., Flores & Gago, 2020; Kalloo et al.,
2020; Vasinda et al., 2020); 2) observation/helping associate teachers (e.g., Cirillo,
2020; Flores & Gago, 2020; Nuland et al., 2020; Poyo & Ash, 2020; Sepulveda-
Escobar & Morrison, 2020); 3) micro-teaching (e.g., Esrin et al., 2020; Kim, 2020;
Vasinda et al., 2020); 4) e-coaching/mentoring (e.g., Ersin et al., 2020; Pike et al.,
2020); 5) recorded lectures (e.g., Besser, 2020; Pike et al., 2020); 6) game-based
learning (e.g., Kalloo et al., 2020); and 7) teaching via simulation programmes (e.g.,
Lee & Freas, 2020).
As can be seen in Table 4 most teacher education programmes included at least

two teaching methods during the practicum, such as demonstration in
synchronous sessions and observation/helping associate teachers (Flores & Gago,
2020); demonstration in synchronous sessions and micro-teaching (Vasinda et al.,
2020); e-coaching/mentoring and recorded lessons (Pike et al., 2020); micro-
teaching and e-coaching/mentoring (Ersin et al., 2020). Other teacher
programmes chose one teaching method such as game-based learning (Kalloo et
al., 2020) and teaching via simulation programmes (Lee & Freas, 2020). It is
290
noticeable that teacher education choice was based on the preservice teachers’
majors.
Table 4: Teaching strategies used in the remote practicum

Teaching Strategies Used in the
Example of Studies
Remote Practicum
Demonstration in synchronous Flores and Gago (2020); Kalloo et al.
1
sessions (2020); Vasinda et al. (2020)
Observation/helping associate Cirillo (2020); Flores and Gago (2020);
2 teachers Nuland et al. (2020); Poyo and Ash (2020);
Sepulveda-Escobar and Morrison (2020)
Micro-teaching Ersin et al. (2020); Kim (2020); Vasinda et
3
al. (2020)
4 E-coaching/mentoring Ersin et al. (2020); Pike et al. (2020)
5 Recorded lectures Besser (2020); Pike et al. (2020)

6 Game-based learning Kalloo et al. (2020)
Teaching via simulation
7 Lee and Freas (2020)
programmes
4.5 The methods used for assessing preservice teachers in the remote practicum
The data analysis illustrates that many countries faced the possibility of school
closures throughout 2020, and so faculties offering educator preparation
programmes needed to find ways for students to apply their knowledge in online
teaching scenarios rather than the traditional classroom. Preservice teachers’
education faculty members used different methods to assess students’
performance in the remote practicum. The authors found that different
programmes dealt with the situation differently as some chose not to evaluate
preservice teachers’ performance and others evaluated based on: 1) their
performance in the first weeks of the spring semester (when they were teaching
in person) (e.g., Ersin et al., 2020); 2) watching of episodes (Mr. Rogers’
Neighbourhood), and writing personal reflections and theoretical analysis of the
episodes (e.g., Schelling & Rausch, 2020); 3) evaluation of recorded lessons (Barnes
et al., 2020); 4) evaluation of prepared virtual classroom presentations in
TeachLivE (Monroe et al., 2020); and 5) online portfolios as a replacement for on-
site field experience (Hendrith et al., 2020). The main goal was to assess whether
preservice teachers were ready to teach in real classrooms after graduation. As
seen in Table 5, different assessment methods were used to assess their
performance and ability to link theory with practice in authentic settings in the
future.
Table 5: Methods used to assess preservice teachers in the remote practicum

Methods Used to Assess Preservice
Example of Studies
Teachers in the Remote Practicum
Grading preservice teachers’ performance in
1 Ersin et al. (2020)
the first weeks of the spring semester
Observation of episodes and writing
2 Schelling & Rausch (2020)
personal reflections and theoretical analysis
3 Evaluation of recorded lessons Barnes et al. (2020)
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Methods Used to Assess Preservice

Example of Studies
Teachers in the Remote Practicum
Evaluation of prepared virtual classroom
4 Monroe et al. (2020)
presentation in TeachLivE
Online portfolio as a substitute for on-site
5 Hendrith et al. (2020)
field experience
4.6 The digital technology tools that were used to continue the remote practicum
The data revealed that many educators had to quickly move to online teaching
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this, educator preparation
programmes needed to offer preservice teachers meaningful online educational
experiences so that they could become better prepared to teach online. Preservice
teachers continued to demonstrate their competencies during practicum as a
result of their use of a variety of digital technology tools during this crisis. The
authors found that digital tools used to support the remote practicum varied.
Based on the literature (Pick et al., 2020; Castro, 2019), different faculties used
different digital tools, for example, for teaching and learning, communication,
collaboration and monitoring progress. The results revealed that the main use was
for communication (tools for communication between faculties and preservice
teachers, or preservice teachers and preservice teachers, or preservice teachers
and associate teachers), instruction (tools used for teaching activities),
collaboration (tools to boost collaboration between preservice teachers themselves
in tasks and activities), and e-coaching (tools for e-mentoring preservice teachers
in online sessions) as shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Digital technology tools that were used to support the remote practicum
Use Digital Tools Example of Studies
Communication Zoom chats, forums, Google Donitsa-Scmidt and Ramot (2020);
Meet, email, WhatsApp, Skype, Ersin et al. (2020); Flores and
1
online office hours, Instagram, Gago (2020); Kim (2020); Pick et
Twitter al. (2020)
Instruction Google Hangouts, Zoom, Ersin et al. (2020); Flores and
Blackboard Collaborate, Gago (2020); Kim (2020); Kidd
2
whiteboard, Skype, YouTube and Murray (2020); Vasinda et al.
channels, videos (2020)
Collaboration Padlet, Flipgrid, Zoom, Google
Kalloo et al. (2020); Kidd and
Docs, Microsoft Teams,
Murray (2020); Pick et al., (2020);
3 gamification, game-based
Riggleman (2020); Vakil (2020)
learning, VoiceThread, Pear
Deck, Nearpod
E-coaching VR simulation, Zoom breakout Cirillo et al. (2020); Sasaki et al.
4
rooms (2020); Lee and Freas (2020)
4.7 The challenges faced by faculty members and preservice teachers in the
remote practicum
The authors examined the major challenges faced by faculty members, embedded
in the current literature on preservice teacher practicum experience during the
COVID-19 pandemic. According to the literature, there are many challenges faced
by faculties when using technology and online instruction (Almuqayteeb, 2009;
292
Sithole, 2019; Zamani, 2016). Six main challenges emerged related to faculties,
technology and students as reflected in Table 7.
Table 7: Challenges faced by faculty members in the remote practicum

Category Challenges Example of Studies
Faculty Using technology requires more
Nasri et al. (2020)
time and effort
Lack of effective training Nuland et al. (2020);
(professional development) Vakil (2020)
Limited experience or skills for Kalloo et al. (2020);
using ICT Kim (2020)
Technology Flores & Gago
Faculty (2020); Nasri et al.
Lack of technological infrastructure,
(2020); Nuland et al.
access and support
(2020); Vasinda et
al. (2020)
Security issues and privacy Ersin et al. (2020)
Students Kalloo et al. (2020);
Lack of student engagement Kidd & Murray
(2020)
As shown in Table 8, the main challenges that preservice teachers faced were
related to the online practicum teaching environment (lack of real teaching
experience and thus missing out on collaborative learning with their peers) and
technology (access, technical problems and lack of training) challenges.
Table 8: Challenges faced by preservice teachers in the remote practicum

Category Challenges Example of Studies
Cirillo (2020); Nasri et al.
Missing collaborative learning
(2020)
Engagement frustration Vasinda et al. (2020)
Donitsa-Scmidt and
Missing the experience of learning from
Ramot (2020); Ersin et al.
associate teachers (lack of practical
Preservice (2020); Nasri et al. (2020);
experience/real teaching experience)
teachers Nuland et.al (2020)
Flores and Gago (2020);
Lack of equipment, access and infrastructure
Nasri et al. (2020)
Unexpected technical problems Ersin et al. (2020)
Kim (2020); Nasri et al.
Limited experience or skills for using ICT
(2020)
5. Discussion
Based on the findings, it appears that several education programmes responded
by facilitating a collaborative approach between preservice teachers and their
mentor teacher so that the student teacher could practise teaching in the same way
as their mentor teachers (Barnes et al., 2020; Cohen et al., 2013; Nuland et al., 2020).
An alternative mode of teaching and practicum assessment, which evaluated
teacher competencies, had to be implemented for students to complete their
practicum experience (Moyo, 2020). In many instances, the role of preservice
teachers shifted from being responsible for teaching to being the primary support
293
for their mentor teachers who were devastated by the ambiguity and vagueness
of having to switch to online teaching immediately (Flores & Gago, 2020; Nuland
et al., 2020; Poyo & Ash, 2020; Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020).
This systematic review has identified how, due to the new situation, different
teaching strategies were used to guarantee the continuity of the practicum. It was
noticeable that the teaching strategies used were appropriate for teacher
education majors. For example, virtual simulation was used in which math
preservice teachers acted as the teacher in facilitating instruction to student-
avatars. Preservice teachers were able to practise lesson planning, discuss the
lesson with students, and reflect on the whole process (Lee & Freas, 2020).
Moreover, preservice math teachers worked in online-group discussions and
actively engaged with students during online lessons (Cirillo et al., 2020). Further,
e-mentoring was employed as a successful substitute approach for preservice
English-language teachers to connect with their fellow students in order to ask
and receive guidance, share experiences and exchange ideas with both their
colleagues and e-mentors without time and space limitations. Ersin et al. (2020)
asserted that e-mentoring created a community of practice for preservice English
teachers to establish strong bonds and a shared meaning, and to improve their
professional skills. Further, creating a learning community contributed to
collective efficacy for preservice teachers.
Similarly, Vasinda et al. (2020) reported that learning communities encouraged

students to continue to teach online and share their learning experiences with
their peers via Flipgrid video reflections, resources and strategies for designing
online lesson plans. Additionally, the sudden transition to remote online teaching
and practicum proved that using the TPACK model and its elements in response
to an immediate need for emergency remote teaching provided support to
preservice teachers in the teaching and learning process (Nasri et al., 2020; Vakil,
2020; Vasinda et al., 2020). In order to effectively integrate technology tools and
pedagogical approaches, preservice teachers must advance their skills in this area.
During the pandemic, the completion of the practicum requirements, especially
for those who were close to concluding their programmes, was crucial for teacher
education. The researchers examined assessment strategies that were used in the
remote practicum to evaluate preservice teachers. Diligent efforts were made to
make sure that preservice teachers were able to complete their student teaching
and their graduation requirements. Teacher preparation programmes focused on
how to provide preservice teachers with the necessary practicum experiences and
not to delay their practicum due to the emergency closure of schools. Some
programmes chose to grade preservice teachers based on their performance in the
first weeks of the spring semester (Ersin et al., 2020). Other education programmes
assigned different tasks to evaluate preservice teachers, such as watching
episodes of Mr. Rogers’ Neighbourhood and writing personal reflections and critical
theoretical analysis of the episodes, using Educational Psychology Theory
(Schelling & Rausch, 2020). Those assessment methods offered a solution to the
problem of the continuity of teaching practicum; however, the methods did not
address the most important skill set developed through classroom management
skills and real interaction and contact with students in real classrooms and that
294
cannot be practised online. This lack of real experiences and interactions may
cause problems in future classrooms.
Another assessment strategy involved evaluating preservice teachers based on

their online lesson planning through engaging them in teaching with their mentor
teachers (Barnes et al., 2020). This raises concerns regarding the effectiveness of
the assessment methods used because each programme includes certain
competencies that are aligned with teaching activities and objectives. Faculty
members need to carefully examine students’ performance to identify the skills
which have been impacted and provide support to develop the weak ones.
Further, some programmes allowed preservice teachers to fulfil their graduation
requirements via participation in simulated instructional presentations in a
virtual classroom with English-language learners’ avatars (Monroe et al., 2020).
This method proved to be effective for giving preservice teachers the opportunity
to practise new skills; however, preservice teachers who have no prior virtual
classroom experience might be nervous when working with the platform. In
addition, using a simulation platform might be too costly for some education
programmes. As a substitute for practicum hours, some educational institutions
adopted electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). The evaluation criteria for preservice
teachers included their capability to design lesson plans, interdisciplinary unit
plans involving multiple subjects, and teaching two lessons (Hendrith et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, to validate the use of e-portfolios, teacher education preparation
programmes should consider the importance of collaboration in learning
environments, namely working in teams, to avoid over-burdening professors or
supervisors in dealing with change (Hendrith et al., 2020). Furthermore,
preservice teachers who only had to provide an e-portfolio missed out on
classroom management skills and real interaction and contact with students in
real face-to-face classrooms.
In response to the COVID-19 shift solely to distance and online learning,

preservice teachers were exposed to different technology, integrating
opportunities that were used for instruction. It was found that there is an urgent
need for teacher preparation programmes to rapidly develop curricula and
courses relevant to teaching and learning in the online environment to better
prepare preservice teachers. Future teachers’ roles entail not only teaching but
also becoming course facilitators, instructional designers and technology
coordinators (Vakil, 2020). Preservice teachers could face more barriers when
trying to use technology in the classrooms if they are not trained on how to use it
effectively (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020). This review reported that the
use of technology encouraged engagement, provided feedback, and developed
collective flexibility among preservice teachers (Kalloo et al., 2020; Pick et al.,
2020).
Regarding technology tools, the researchers for this review identified five
categories of technologies. Technology was used mainly by faculty members and
preservice teachers for instruction, communication, collaboration, e-coaching and
mentoring. It was clear that the quick and innovative use of low-tech and high-
tech tools overcame difficulties in maintaining preservice teachers' internship
295
experiences through remote learning, equitable access and engagement. Faculty

members in teacher education programmes used different technology tools such
as email, WhatsApp, or Zoom chats to improve communication between faculties
and preservice teachers, or preservice teachers and preservice teachers, or
preservice teachers and associate teachers (Donitsa-Scmidt & Ramot, 2020; Ersin
et al., 2020). Additionally, faculty members and preservice teachers practised
using technology tools such as Blackboard Collaborate, whiteboard, Skype, and
videos to create lessons (Esrin et al., 2020; Kim, 2020; Vakil, 2020). These
technology tools provided instructors with opportunities to integrate
instructional technology into pedagogy in meaningful ways instead of giving
instruction for a specific tool.
Another finding, technology tools easiness the collaboration in the teaching

practicum during the pandemic. For example, preservice teachers used Padlet,
Flipgrid, Google Docs and Nearpod to collaborate with their peers in activities
and for lesson planning. Preservice teachers need to recognise that integrating
technology tools for classroom practices should be relevant and meaningful to
students (Lisa et al., 2021; Riggleman, 2020). It is also apparent that using social
media platforms supported preservice teachers’ engagement and helped to build
collective resilience (Pick et al., 2020). Further, the faculties’ use of multiple digital
tools during the pandemic resulted in preservice teachers gaining continued
mastery to ensure that they are technologically literate educators (Pick et al., 2020).
Additionally, preservice teachers’ pedagogical practices were promoted as well
as their ability to reflect, evaluate and develop their technical knowledge and
skills more vigorously (Besser, 2020).
The results of this systematic review have demonstrated that university

instructors’ role was crucial in helping preservice instructors in this uncertain time
by building good relationships and empowering teaching and learning practices
(Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020; Vakil, 2020; Vasinda et al., 2020). Despite
the use of different strategies to effectively support preservice teachers’ practicum
continuity, concerns were raised regarding the missing skills in, for example,
classroom management and resulting from a lack of real interaction and contact
with learners as a result of differences with face-to-face teaching (Donitsa-Scmidt
& Ramot, 2020; Ersin et al., 2020; Nasri et al., 2020; Nuland et al., 2020). Students’
engagement is vital to improving their understanding of learning (Romli et al.,
2023). Preservice teachers who have less experience in practicing teaching
strategies and managing real disciplinary matters in real classrooms might face
difficulties later in their future teaching practices. Moreover, in some cases,
preservice teachers did not own the equipment they needed, such as laptops or
tablets. In addition, there was lack of internet access or there were technical issues.
Preservice teachers had to deal with these personal challenges along with those of
students who had the same challenges. The new setting of remote instruction and
supervision has shown a continuing process of adaptation by all stakeholders
including preservice teachers, supervisors, assistant teachers, students and
parents (Flores & Gago, 2020). The findings indicate that there is an urgent need
to prepare preservice teachers by imparting online teaching skills (Vakil, 2020).
296
Despite these challenges impacting the preservice final teaching practicum

because of the pandemic, teachers believed that the experience had positively
improved their teaching preparation to some extent. According to preservice
teachers, they had to learn how to handle and cope with extraordinary situations,
how to work with various technological platforms that they might need to use in
the future, and how to design teaching strategies to reach their future students
without meeting them (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020; Monroe et al., 2020;
Vasinda et al., 2020).
6. Limitations
Although the current systematic review provided an essential review of the
teaching practicum as evidenced by COVID-19 pandemic studies, there were
certain limitations that need to be discussed. First, this study concentrated on a
specific number of databases to source data, and, as a consequence, the 26 studies
identified for analysis represented a very limited sample. Future research could
consider a wider range of sources, and both publication types, and articles written
in languages other than English to reach new conclusions. Second, the researchers
focused only on studies that were published between March 2020 and December
2020 in order to analyse the first available studies regarding teaching practicum
during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, this decision may have resulted in
certain relevant articles that were published after that date being excluded. Thus,
further research could involve later studies that were conducted to further
enhance the existing results.
7. Conclusion
This systematic review has highlighted some vital and critical points regarding
the teaching practicum during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic resulted
in great efforts being made by instructors and teachers in colleges and schools to
continue the delivery of instruction in the emergency context. Yet, important
issues should be the focus in the future. First, technology integration and teaching
and learning in the online environment should be part of all courses. Second,
equity issues for students, in terms of access to technology devices, is important
and should be considered. Third, technology preparedness, content, pedagogical
support and assessment components are needed for a successful transition to
distance learning modes. Fourth, preservice teachers should go beyond simply
learning the technical abilities needed to be a good teacher in a normal classroom.
Teacher education programmes need to strengthen preservice teachers’ beliefs in
their teaching abilities to deal with times of crisis. Finally, this review found that
the COVID-19 pandemic created many opportunities for educators to examine,
critique and question the status quo in education and teacher preparation.
Education programmes need to be rethought in innovative ways to deliver an
education that is more focused on the purpose and meaning of students’ learning.
In addition, higher education should consider issues related to international
students and disabled students who found themselves in difficult situations
isolated at home without adequate resources. There is a need to find ways to meet
their needs and humanise education.
Further research will need to be conducted on different topics such as technology

and related skills that teacher educators and their students will need in the future.
297
In addition, teacher education programmes need to research how to better

support preservice teachers in alternative teaching modes (face-to-face vs online)
while still retaining high standards and good practices. Further, the assessment
strategies used helped preservice teachers to complete their teaching practicum
requirements, yet faculty members should be aware of the changes resulting from
online assessment. Therefore, it is vital for training facilities to address the use and
impact of different online assessment strategies. There are more issues yet to be
investigated with regard to teaching practicum during the pandemic. More in-
depth exploration of the teaching practicum might establish new insights into
preservice teachers’ experiences of the practicum, namely in terms of social
collaboration and class management in real face-to-face classrooms.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 301-327, June 2023
Gamification in Engineering Education during

COVID-19: A Systematic Review on Design
Considerations and Success Factors in its
Implementation
Omar Chamorro-Atalaya*
Facultad de Ingeniería y Gestión,
Universidad Nacional Tecnológica de Lima Sur, Perú
Guillermo Morales-Romero , Nicéforo Trinidad-Loli

Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle, Perú
Beatriz Caycho-Salas
Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales,
Teresa Guía-Altamirano
Departamento Académico de Educación Física y el Deporte,
Elizabeth Auqui-Ramos
Departamento Académico de Cursos Básicos,
Universidad Científica del Sur, Perú
Yadit Rocca-Carvajal
Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales,
Universidad César Vallejo, Perú
Maritza Arones
Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación y Humanidades,
Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga, Ica, Perú
José Antonio Arévalo-Tuesta

Facultad de Ciencias Económicas,
Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Perú
*
Corresponding author: Omar Chamorro-Atalaya, ochamorro@untels.edu.pe
©Authors
302
Roxana Gonzales-Huaytahuilca
Escuela de Posgrado,
Universidad César Vallejo, Perú
Abstract. In pre-pandemic scenarios, various studies have indicated that

gamification has turned out to contribute to improving student learning;
however, in the context of the pandemic and in the face of the abrupt
change to a virtual teaching modality, the need for learning innovations
to overcome the limitations of social distancing was much more critical.
Thus, this article aims to explore and describe the design considerations
of gamification and the factors that evidenced its success in engineering
education. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was
developed under a mixed approach and with an exploratory-descriptive
scope. The results showed that gamification was applied to a greater
extent in computer engineering and software engineering. In addition,
the design considerations that prevailed in the development of
gamification applications were, to a greater extent. focused on the
pedagogical objective and the interaction of the simulation. It was found
that the application of gamification effectively generates motivation,
commitment, and permanent participation of the student. As such, it is
concluded that aspects such as the area of knowledge of the student in
engineering are relevant for the implementation of gamification. In
addition, the design considerations that contribute to the success of the
construction of student learning do not depend on the virtual, face-to-
face or hybrid teaching model; however, it is necessary to build
regulations that regulate and promote the continuity and sustainability
of the use of gamification throughout the engineering career and not in
isolation.
Keywords: gamification; engineering education; design; success factors;

motivation
1. Introduction
In the context generated by COVID-19, teachers had to change their usual
teaching methodologies (Salvador-García, 2021; Ng & Lo, 2022); that is, going
from a traditional teaching model to virtual teaching where their adaptation to
change unlocked their insecurities and inexperience to use digital tools
(Villarroel et al., 2021). The use of these tools during the pandemic required
teachers to change their educational practices and teaching models (Marisa et al.,
2020; Rincon-Flores & Santos-Guevara, 2021; Nair, 2022), forsaking their role as
an information provider, to become a counselor or guide, since the knowledge is
online and no longer needs someone to provide it (Páez-Quinde et al., 2022).
Thus, by abruptly moving to a non-face-to-face education model due to the
pandemic, it brought with it opportunities linked to innovation in the teaching
process, which allowed the diversification of forms of learning (Rincon-Flores et
al., 2022; Vázquez et al., 2019), seeking effectiveness and support in the
development of the educational process (Alhalafawy & Zaki, 2022). Technology-
focused learning through the Internet has a broader scope than traditional
learning (Cabrera & Pech, 2020), enabling to develop shared communities and
with the acquisition of knowledge based on student interaction ( Azar & Tan,
303
2020; Wardoyo et al., 2021). Therefore, the use of technology brings about
reinforcing the teaching-learning process with the use of audio, video and image
media, which, in many cases, are well-mastered by students (Gualda et al., 2019;
Heredia-Sánchez et al., 2020).
Today's university students are digital natives, since they develop a set of habits
and practices through the daily use of technologies, which are considered to be
in the gamer stage (Alarcón-Diaz et al., 2020). Therefore, the application of
gamification in the context of university education is propitious since it
stimulates the autonomy and participation of students (Castillo et al., 2018;
Manzano et al., 2022). The rise of technologies, especially in the field of
videogames, has contributed to the use of components or elements of these
environments in other fields, such as education (Daza & Fernández-Sánchez,
2019). The new educational demands bring with them new teaching strategies to
boost the learning process, one of them being gamification (Duque et al., 2018;
Fuentes, 2020; Lirola, 2022). Gamification enhances healthy competitiveness
among students, which, properly managed, leads to greater interest in learning
(Flores-Bueno et al., 2021; Mite & Albán, 2022). The evolution of video games
and digital devices has great relevance at the didactic level, since teachers can
gamble on this playful treatment as another methodology and which is
implemented within educational institutions (Rodríguez et al., 2018). Likewise,
the game environment favors the motivation of students to learn (Antonopoulou
et al., 2022; Nivela-Cornejo et al. 2021) and helps to improve the understanding
of complex concepts that require thought, space and time (Escobar et al., 2019;
García-Miranda & Heras, 2019;Rodríguez-Oroz et al., 2022).
The term gamification refers to the use of game mechanisms in non-game

environments (Bencsik et al., 2021; Lobo-Rueda et al., 2020; White et al., 2022)
with the purpose of driving the behavior of users through participation,
interaction and cooperation toward the achievement of a certain purpose
(Lazarte & Gómez, 2021). In addition, gamification has the purpose of
transforming activities, services and structures of different organizations to
generate experiences that are gratifying, similar to what a game generates, in
which there are challenges and rewards (Abreu, 2021). Oriented to the
educational field, it can be defined as the process of transformation of academic
elements or components of a subject into game themes (Idris et al., 2020). So, the
games bring with them guidelines, with which students must comply in order to
achieve the objective and win the game or move to another higher level; it is
there where education takes advantage of this playful activity to turn it into a
methodological alternative (Solís-Castillo & Marquina-Lujan, 2022). In the game,
points are obtained by completing missions, which can be individual, as a
couple, in a team, carried out in each class session or even at home (Mallén,
2019).
Some critical variables in the design of gamification tools are the game setting or
decoration and the didactic technique or simulation interaction and game
progression (Antonopoulou et al., 2022). It is also viable to consider as design
criteria the efficient management of time for both students and the teacher and
304
the adaptation of the video game to the curriculum, with work thought out and
designed for meaningful learning (Villalobos & Ríos Herrera, 2019). In relation
to the factors that demonstrate its success, the fun and perceived utility
generated in the player must be taken into account, since it will be relevant to
achieve motivation and commitment to develop the ludic activity (Manzano-
León et al., 2022). Likewise, when applying gamification, the impact on the
motivation and degree of student satisfaction must be analyzed, which will be
reflected in the degree of learning that is finally achieved (Castedo et al., 2019;
Fuster-Guilló et al., 2019). There are several free tools to promote interactive
learning and gamification inside and outside the classroom, such as Kahoot,
Socrative or Quizizz (Muñiz-Calvente et al., 2018).
Regarding its application in engineering education, gamification aims to develop

understanding and integration, as well as improve practical and critical thinking
in problem solving (Hidalgo, 2021; Valencia-Rodríguez et al., 2022), in addition
to developing effective communication skills in a playful context that favors the
active participation of the student (Fernández et al., 2021; Ramirez-Prada et al.,
2019). Taking into account that many companies make use of gamification, it is
relevant for engineering students to know these methodologies, since they will
also be present during their future work activities (Carnero, 2020). Gamification
makes it possible to achieve pedagogical objectives in the field of engineering, by
making use of strategies and dynamics typical of games, but applied to real
contexts (Castán et al., 2019; Vera et al., 2020). Also, through gamification it is
possible to design a motivational didactic tool that impacts engineering students
by integrating transversal skills (Magino, 2019; Pulido et al., 2018;Torres-Barreto,
2018) within a positive emotional climate (Zamora-Polo et al., 2019).
In relation to what has been indicated, this research has an exploratory-

descriptive scope and a mixed approach, intended to review design aspects and
success factors applied in the implementation of gamification in engineering
education. Although, before the pandemic, there was already an acceptance in
the university academic field, during the context of the pandemic many
university educational institutions had to abruptly migrate to a totally virtual
teaching-learning modality, and, given the difficulties of technological
infrastructure, it showed that the universities were not completely prepared for
a change under these conditions. For this reason, it is relevant to develop a
systematic review of the literature on closing gaps that have been generated in
questions of design and contribution achieved in learning through gamification,
during the pandemic and post-pandemic context. In this sense, through the
systematic review of the literature, this paper aims to explore the design
considerations in gamification in engineering education during the context of
COVID-19 and determine factors reflecting the success in its implementation.
Specifically, it seeks an answer to the following research questions:
• RQ1: In what specialties of engineering education and under what
methodological approach has gamification been applied in the pandemic
scenario?
305
• RQ2: What were the design considerations that have been used in
gamification for its application in engineering education in the pandemic
scenario?
• RQ3: What were the factors that showed that the application of gamification
in engineering education was successful in the pandemic scenario?
The research questions are part of the initial systematic review of the literature
(Valdés-González & Martín-Antón, 2023). They also represent the starting point
on which the investigation will be conducted and oriented (Shen & Slater, 2021).
2. Methodology
2.1 Research design and scope
The mixed approach was used in this study to collect in-depth information on
the uses of gamification in engineering education,and analyze them qualitatively
and quantitatively. Mixed approach allows the researchers to integrate and
synthesize relevant aspects associated with the design criteria and success
factors in its implementation under the pandemic scenario. The mixed approach
represents the integration between the qualitative and quantitative analysis of
the study variables (Flores, 2019). On the other hand, the quantitative approach
allows assigning numerical values to analyze data through statistics, and to even
generalize results; however, in many cases it is necessary to go deeper and
interpret the phenomenon, and that is when it is complemented with the
qualitative route (Guerrero-Castañeda et al., 2016; Padilla-Avalos & Marroquín-
Soto, 2021).
Likewise, the scope of the research is exploratory-descriptive because, through

the systematic review of literature, it is intended to examine the results achieved
by using gamification in engineering education during the pandemic scenario. It
also seeks to extract similar characteristics from the studies in order to categorize
them based on design criteria or considerations and success factors in their
implementation. Studies with an exploratory-descriptive scope allow
establishing the characteristics or general components associated with the
research variables (Ramos-Galarza, 2020; Flores & Flores, 2021).
2.2 Search strategy and data extraction

In order to extract the data or scientific articles in a rigorous manner, which
formed part of the systematic review, the PRISMA declaration (Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) was used. The
PRISMA statement is made up of a set of procedures that guarantees the
selection of bibliographic references to be included in the systematic review,
minimizing the risk of bias (Chamorro-Atalaya et al., 2023). Likewise, the
PRISMA declaration allows a search for scientific articles to be carried out as
adequately and ethically as possible, guaranteeing the validity and traceability
of the selection process (Sánchez-Caballé & Esteve-Mon, 2022).
Table 1 shows the search equations made up of the integration of the keywords
in both English and Spanish, these being: “gamification,” “gamificación,”
“students,” “estudiantes.” “engineering” and “ingeniería." This integration was
306
carried out through the use of Boolean operators in order to achieve a high
degree of specificity in the identification of scientific articles. Boolean operators
allow the construction of more specific search equations that will lead to a closer
identification of scientific articles in their first selection phase (Bustamante, 2021;
Chamorro-Atalaya et al., 2023). The databases used for data extraction were
Taylor & Francis, IEEE and Scopus. It is important to highlight that the use of
too many keywords or descriptors often manages to delimit the search too
much, even leading to a scenario in which the result is zero. Based on what has
been indicated, the search equations were expressed as shown next.
Table 1: Search Equation

Database Search equation
Taylor & [[All: "Gamificación"] OR [All: "Gamification"]] AND [[All: "estudiantes"]
Francis OR [All: "students"]] AND [[All: "ingenieria"] OR [All: "engineering"]]
("Gamificación" OR "Gamification") AND ("Estudiantes" OR "students")
IEEE
AND ("Ingenieria" OR "engineering")
(TITLE-ABS-KEY (("Ingenieria" OR "engineering"))) AND (TITLE-ABS-
SCOPUS KEY (("Estudiantes" OR "students"))) AND (TITLE-ABS-KEY
(("Gamificación” OR "Gamification")))
Likewise, in order to further increase the precision with respect to the scientific
articles to be chosen and that were part of the analysis for the systematic review
of the literature, the inclusion and inclusion criteria were defined as aligned to
the research questions and the purpose of the study. The inclusion and exclusion
criteria allow the extracted data or selected bibliographic references to align with
the study framework of the systematic review (Santhanasamy & Yunus, 2022);
thus, these must also be linked to the research questions, delimiting the context
and scope of the study (Kehing & Yunus, 2021; Muharikah et al., 2021). Table 2
shows the inclusion and exclusion criteria defined for the systematic review to
be developed.
Table 2: Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Criterion type Criteria
• Publications related to engineering education
• Publications whose evaluation process includes peer review.
Inclusion • Open access publications.
• Scientific articles whose publications were made during the years
2020 to 2022.
• Scientific articles related to education at the initial, primary,
secondary or university level that are not linked to the engineering
area.
• Publications related to theses or conference articles.
Exclusion
• Publications that only show summaries and do not allow access
to their full content.
• Scientific articles whose publications were made before the year
2020.
Regarding the extraction of data established in the PRISMA declaration, Figure 1

shows the flow of phases that was followed to determine the final inclusion of
307
scientific publications from the aforementioned databases. In the first phase and
through the search equation, it was possible to identify a total of 1652
publications from the three databases. Then, we proceeded to discard the
repeated or duplicate publications found among the databases used, managing
to reduce to 1350 publications. As a second phase, we proceeded to determine
the articles in projection, for which a review of the titles and abstracts of all the
articles identified in the previous phase was carried out, thus achieving a total of
1000 publications. In the third phase, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were
applied, by which 28 scientific articles were chosen. Finally, an exhaustive
review of the complete content of each article was carried out, based on the
research questions, with which it was included for the phase of analysis and
synthesis of the findings regarding gamification in engineering education.
Figure 1. Data extraction through the PRISMA declaration flow
2.3 Quality analysis of the articles to be included in the systematic review

Once the data extraction process was carried out, identifying that 20 articles met
the inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as the criterion that their content is
focused on the research questions, an analysis of the results was carried out.
Quality was based on the adaptation of the instrument used in Ávila and Gómez
(2017) in which the criteria to be considered are: application of gamification to
engineering education (C1); methodological coherence (C2); clarity of the
arguments (C3); and contribution to the area of knowledge (C4), the evaluation
of which was carried out based on the assignment of a score of 5 when the
criterion to be evaluated had a high value, 3 for a medium value and 1 for a low
value. To consider an article as having quality, it must achieve at least three
points in all the criteria; in the event of any having a value of 1, the publication
was excluded from the systematic review. Table 3 specifies the percentages
achieved for each publication, based on a maximum total of 20 points, which
represents 100%.
308
Table 3: Quality assessment of the articles included in the systematic review

Reference C1 C2 C3 C4 Total
(Lluch-Molins et al., 2022) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Taguas et al., 2022) 3 5 5 5 90%
(Díaz-Ramírez, 2020) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Sánchez-Martín et al., 2020) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Raju et al., 2021) 5 5 5 5 100%
(Sobrino-Duque et al., 2022) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Gasca-Hurtado et al., 2021) 5 5 5 5 100%
(Çulha, 2022) 5 5 5 5 100%
(Kho et al., 2022) 5 5 5 5 100%
(Morales et al., 2021) 3 5 5 5 90%
(Leon & Peña, 2022) 3 5 5 5 90%
(Asiksoy & Canbolat, 2021) 5 5 5 3 90%
(Alcántara et al., 2022) 5 3 5 5 90%
(Aranguren et al., 2020) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Pertegal-Felices et al., 2020) 5 5 5 5 100%
(Sarasa-Cabezuelo & Rodrigo, 2021) 3 3 5 5 80%
(Delgado-Gómez et al., 2020) 5 3 5 5 90%
(Chans & Portuguez-Castro, 2021) 3 3 5 5 90%
(Khaleel et al., 2020) 5 3 5 5 90%
(Zabala-Vargas et al., 2021) 5 5 5 5 100%
3. Results and discussion

From the evaluation of the quality of the scientific articles included for the
systematic review, it was identified that all the publications reached the required
quality to be analyzed and considered in the content processing stage. Likewise,
when exploring the number of articles included in the systematic review by year
of publication, it was possible to determine that, of the total of 20 articles, six
were published in 2020, seven in 2021 and seven in 2022. Figure 2 shows the
percentage distribution by year of publication, which shows that studies on the
application of gamification in engineering education have followed a tendency
to increase during this pandemic period.
309
Figure 2. Percentage distribution of scientific articles by year of publication
3.1 Specialties of engineering education in which gamification was applied

From the content analysis carried out on the 20 publications, it was identified
that the specialties of engineering education in which gamification was applied
to a greater extent in the context of the pandemic were industrial engineering,
computer engineering, mechanical engineering and engineering software. In
addition, it was possible to identify that the study objectives (SO) of these
investigations can be categorized into: "Analyze the efficiency in the teaching
and learning process when using gamification" (SO1); "Assess student
satisfaction when using gamification" (SO2); "Analyze the impact of gamification
on student desertion" (SO3); and "Develop soft skills in students when using
gamification" (SO4). Thus, it was also identified that publications on
gamification in engineering education make use of the level and methodological
design: Exploratory-Experimental or Exploratory-Descriptive. Table 4 shows the
scientific articles categorized by specialty, study objective and research
methodology used.
Table 4: Specialties of engineering education and methodology used

Research methodology
Categorization of
Specialty Level and Sample Reference
study objectives
design (students)
Analyze the efficiency
Exploratory/ (Raju et al.,
in the gamification 56
Experimental 2021)
teaching process
(Sobrino-
Informatics Descriptive/
55 Duque et al.,
Engineering Experimental
Evaluate student 2022)
satisfaction (Pertegal-
Exploratory/
54 Felices et al.,
Experimental
2020)
Analyze the efficiency
11 (Çulha, 2022)
in the teaching process
Software Exploratory/
(Sarasa-
Engineering Evaluate student Experimental
17 Cabezuelo &
satisfaction
Rodrigo, 2021)
310
Analyze the impact of

Descriptive/ (Khaleel et al.,
gamification on 60
Experimental 2020)
student dropout
Evaluate student (Lluch-Molins
10
satisfaction et al., 2022)
Civil Exploratory/
(Gasca-
Engineering Analyze the efficiency Experimental
18 Hurtado et al.,
in the teaching process
2021)
(Alcántara et
180
Mechanical Analyze the efficiency Exploratory/ al., 2022)
Engineering in the teaching process Experimental (Aranguren et
153
al., 2020)
(Sánchez-
Exploratory/
55 Martín et al.,
Experimental
Industrial Analyze the efficiency 2020)
Engineering in the teaching process (Delgado-
Descriptive/
22 Gómez et al.,
Experimental
2020)
Electric Analyze the efficiency Exploratory/ (Kho et al.,
116
Engineering in the teaching process Experimental 2022)
Marine Analyze the efficiency Exploratory/ (Leon & Peña,
70
Engineering in the teaching process Experimental 2022)
Petroleum and (Asiksoy &
Analyze the efficiency Descriptive/
Natural Gas 67 Canbolat,
in the teaching process Experimental
Engineering 2021)
Analyze the impact of (Zabala-
Mathematical Exploratory/
gamification on 106 Vargas et al.,
Engineering Experimental
student dropout 2021)
Forest
Engineering
Develop soft skills in Exploratory/ (Taguas et al.,
and 36
students Experimental 2022)
Agricultural
Engineering
(Díaz-Ramírez,
56
Studies that 2020)
apply to three
or more Analyze the efficiency Descriptive/ (Morales et al.,
295
specialties of in the teaching process Experimental 2021)
engineering
education (Chans &
48 by
Portuguez
specialty
Castro, 2021)
Thus, the cross-tabulation analysis of the scientific articles was also carried out
with respect to the "specialty in which gamification was applied" and the
"category of the study objective," identifying that, of the 60.0% of articles
reviewed that have as categorization of the objective SO1, the specialties that
developed it to a greater extent were industrial engineering and mechanical
engineering, both reaching 10.0% of the total. While of the 20.0% of articles
reviewed that have the SO2 objective as categorization, the specialty that
developed it to a greater extent was computer engineering, reaching 10.0% of the
total. In addition, it was identified that, in a lower percentage, the reviewed
311
articles had SO3 and SO4 as objective categorization with percentages of 15.0%
and 5.0%, respectively. Table 5 shows the results of the cross-tabulation analysis.
Table 5: Result of the cross-tabulation analysis
Research objective category

Total
SO1 SO2 SO3 SO4
Civil engineering 5.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0%
Electric engineering 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0%

Forest engineering and
5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0%
Agricultural engineering
Industrial engineering 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0%
Informatics engineering 5.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 15.0%
Engineering Marine engineering 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0%
Education
Specialties Mathematical engineering 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% 5.0%
Mechanical engineering 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0%

Petroleum and natural gas
5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.0%
engineering
Software engineering 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 0.0% 15.0%
Studies that apply to three
or more specialties of 5.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 15.0%
engineering education
Total 60.0% 20.0% 15.0% 5.0% 100.0%
These results, although they are limited to the study of the application of
gamification in education in engineering specialties in the context of COVID-19,
studies prior to the timeframe established for this research, such as that of Ávila
and Gómez (2015), point out that the area of knowledge in engineering registers
the highest levels of application of gamification in student learning. Likewise,
Arceo et al. (2019) conclude that the area of Software Engineering is where
gamification strategies were implemented the most. In relation to the last
mentioned, it supports what was identified in this systematic review, since one
of the specialties that presents the highest frequency of gamification application
is Software Engineering. One aspect that could be linked to this result is the
skills and abilities that students and teachers present in this specialty, since it is
relevant not only to develop the application, but also how they are adapted to
the use of this type of tool. In studies carried out in the pandemic phase, such as
that of Nieto-Escamez et al. (2021), conclude that most of the gamification
experiences have been applied in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) disciplines. While Palomino (2021) points out that, in terms
of the relationship between the concept of gamification and the engineering area,
it is worth noting the proliferation of different gamification tools mediated by
the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), which justifies
the high involvement of teachers assigned to this area of knowledge toward the
312
use of this type of teaching resources to improve learning. There is, therefore,
agreement with what was identified, since, in this systematic review, it was
identified that 60% of gamification applications are focused on "improving
learning" compared to other purposes such as: evaluating student satisfaction
when using gamification; analyzing the impact of gamification on student
dropout and "Develop soft skills in students when using gamification."
3.2 Design considerations that have been used in gamification for its
application in engineering education
Regarding the design considerations (DC) that have been used in gamification
for its application in engineering education, from the systematic review it was
possible to identify that not all articles contain the same criteria, as if it were a
pattern or rule to follow. However, reference is taken from that indicated by
Ávila and Gómez (2017), who established that, in order for gamification to meet
the learning goals and purposes, it must be designed taking into account six
considerations: "Pedagogical objective" (DC1): representing the scope of the
knowledge domain to be reached; “Simulation” (DC2): representing the rules
and game parameters that guarantee that the game does not present any
scenario that requires interpretation that is not contemplated in the game;
"Interaction with the simulation" (DC3): representing the aspects of how the
student interacts with the game, in such a way that they can achieve the
development of their learning; "Problems and progression" (DC4): representing
the path that the student will follow in a progressive way to achieve the learning
objectives; "Decoration" (DC5): representing the way in which the attention of
the student will be achieved; and "Conditions of use" (DC6): representing where,
when and who or who may develop the game. As such, it will be possible to
categorize the considerations used in each article reviewed. Table 6 shows the
design considerations for each bibliographic reference analyzed and their
respective coding based on the six mentioned criteria.
Table 6: Categorization of design considerations
Reference Design Considerations
• The game must be shown as an attractive and motivating tool.

(DC1)
• Access to the game must be done through a QR code. (DC2)
(Lluch-
• The game must welcome and specify the instructions. (DC3)
Molins et
• For the start of the game, students must go through a diagnostic
al., 2022)
evaluation. (DC4)
• The game must offer challenges to a student or groups of students.
(DC6)
• The game should focus on skill development. (DC1)
• The game makes use of questions, written evaluations and musical
(Taguas et dynamics from a movie. (DC2)
al., 2022) • The game must allow you to choose a particular context. (DC3)
• The game must present various conflict scenarios linked to
leadership and teamwork. (DC4)
313
• The game must include activities that involve mastery of the topics
to be developed in class, as well as activities related to institutional
aspects. (DC1)
(Díaz- • In the game the participants carry out activities classified by
Ramírez, categories. In addition, different types of badges can be obtained,
2020) depending on the activities carried out. (DC3)
• The game provides rewards based on the degree of difficulty.
Likewise, the game allows you to reach levels according to the
frequency of participation. (DC4)
• The game must contain scientific problems and riddles related to
the study topics. (DC1)
(Sánchez-
• At the end of the last problem, the game will provide a key to exit
Martín et
the laboratory. (DC3)
al., 2020)
• The game must provide clues to start the next problem. (DC4)
• In the game, time is relevant to the final classification. (DC6)
• The game should increase the confidence level of the participants
(Raju et al., and contribute to their motivation. (DC1)
2021) • The game offers “experience points” and students earn these points
for participating in each activity. (DC2)
• The game should focus on the evaluation of usability and
improvement of learning. (DC1)
(Sobrino-
• The game must take into account the participant's characterizations
Duque et
obtained through consideration cards. Likewise, the game must
al., 2022)
take into account the characterizations of the environment through
context cards. (DC2)
(Gasca- • The game must guarantee the dynamization of the class
Hurtado et environment. (DC1)
al., 2021) • The game must offer the teacher the ability to recurse. (DC2)
• The game should contribute to inquiry-based learning for use in the
Software Engineering course (DC1).
(Çulha, • The game must present qualification rules, the same ones that must
2022) motivate the participants to select the best pairs of questions and
answers. In addition, the scoring rules are arranged with the
purpose of maximizing the quality of the questions. (DC2)
• The game should increase student engagement during online class
sessions. (DC1)
• The game must provide an interactive map, without which students
will not be able to advance to the next stage before completing the
(Kho et al.,
initial stage. (DC4)
2022)
• The game must provide target score at the entry stage and before
advancing to the initial stage. (DC2)
• The game must be divided into stages and each stage must provide
an informative video, which can be updated. (DC3)
• The game must represent a virtual support platform for students to
improve their performance (DC1).
• The game should offer scores, badges, and rewards to students who
demonstrate their progress. (DC2)
(Morales et
• The game must increase the difficulty or complexity with respect to
al., 2021)
its previous stage, as well as the game must provide a time limit for
the development of the activity (DC6)
• The game must allow you to pass to the next level as long as a
number of tasks are completed, in addition the game will motivate
314
the competition by showing a board in which the scores obtained

will be specified. The game will offer a graph on the progress of
what has been developed and what is pending to develop. (DC3)
• The game must generate a positive impact on learning, motivating
attendance, participation and collaboration of students in class.
(DC1)
• The game must be developed using different gamification tools.
(Leon &
(DC2)
Peña, 2022)
• The game bases your answers on multiple choice mode, so the game
must also provide three possible outcomes: positive, negative or no
score. (DC3)
• The game shows different stages with different complexities. (DC6)
• The game should engage students continuously in online activities
linked to class sessions. (DC1)
• The game should offer two types of badges, based on which student
watched the most videos of the course and completed the questions
(Asiksoy &
correctly, and which student contributed the most to forum
Canbolat,
discussions. (DC2)
2021)
• The game must offer a leaderboard that shows student
achievement. (DC3)
• The game offers points for posts in the forum before the start of
class. (DC4)
• The game must present an easy-to-implement design that
contributes to the learning of engineering subjects throughout three
academic years. (DC1)
• The game must present results that help the teacher's task,
(Alcántara facilitating the reading of grades and adapting to the teaching
et al., 2022) methodology. (DC2)
• The game must provide the player with the measurement of the
results of its implementation. (DC3)
• The game must show a simple interface that does not require too
much expertise in technical aspects. (DC5)
• The game must contribute to link the theoretical and practical
aspects of the subject. (DC1)
• The game must offer the possibility of making comments between
the members of each team. (DC3)
(Aranguren • The game has two parts; in the first part the students develop an
et al., 2020) open question, and in the second part the students identify the parts
of an image related to the topic under study. (DC4)
• The game can be played from a cell phone, allowing you to join
teams or groups, and the game provides a limited time for the
development of the stages. (DC6)
• The game offers a crossword puzzle designed for reviewing
thematic content. (DC1)
• The game must allow peer evaluation. (DC2)
(Pertegal- • The game must show the progress of each student. (DC4)
Felices et • The game must allow the evaluation through a synchronous test for
al., 2020) the preparation of the final evaluation. (DC3)
• The game must present questions with different degrees of
difficulty; in addition, the game must allow the questions to be
answered individually and also in a group. (DC6)
315
• The game should contribute to improve the learning of the subject

(Sarasa- of software engineering. (DC1)
Cabezuelo • The game offers a score for achievement level reached. (DC3)
& Rodrigo, • The game must be structured in phases with different levels of
2021) difficulty. In addition, the game must offer limited time for the
development of each question. (DC6)
• The game focuses on learning the hypothesis test. (DC1)
• The main screen of the game must present circular buttons that lead
to a video and a square button that shows a set of questions linked
(Delgado- to the explained concept. (DC5)
Gómez et • The game must provide stars that indicate the mastery acquired by
al., 2020) the student. (DC2)
• The game must provide signaling about the progress in the subject.
(DC3)
• The game must provide a scoring and standings table. (DC4)
• The game must be designed seeking to provide an entertaining
(Chans &
experience to the student, under three principles: relationship,
Portuguez-
competition and autonomy. (DC1)
Castro,
• The game must provide interaction for students individually and in
2021)
groups. (DC3)
• The game should contribute to the improvement of learning in
programming language subjects. (DC1)
• The game must provide a profile section of the participant, in which
(Khaleel et the score and level reached can be displayed. (DC2)
al., 2020) • In this way, it should also allow visualizing the general map of the
game, specifying the concept levels. (DC5)
• The game must display a leaderboard, specifying scores per level,
stars, badges, and evaluation time. (DC3)
• The game should contribute to the learning of mathematics in
students of the first cycles of engineering. (DC1)
• The game allows you to configure behaviors to encourage and
punish attitudes that go against the rules of the game. (DC2)
(Zabala- • The game allows you to parameterize an avatar with different
Vargas et attributes and characteristics. (DC5)
al., 2021) • The game allows the formation of work teams. (DC6)
• The game allows the organization of scenarios called maps, in
which the first map will be composed of game introduction stages,
knowledge validation stage, debate stage, collaborative workshop
stage and mastery evaluation stage. (DC3)
In order to determine which design considerations have a greater predominance

in gamification applications in the field of engineering education, Figure 3
shows the percentage distribution of design considerations used in the 20
reviewed scientific articles. It was possible to identify that the most used
considerations were DC1, DC3 and DC2, respectively representing 100%, 80%
and 75% of the total articles analyzed in this systematic review.
316
Figure 3. Percentage distribution of design considerations used
The results obtained show that a strictly necessary consideration for the design
of gamification in engineering education is the "pedagogical objective,"
representing the support and fundamental basis for the development of the
game. This point of view is also supported by Andreu (2020) who points out that
one must know perfectly well what one wants to achieve, that is, the
pedagogical objective, since this is relevant to the design of the game, thus
achieving that gamification responds to the stated needs. In this regard,
Palomino (2021) concludes that the gamification experiences proposed to the
student must be previously planned and linked to specific pedagogical
objectives, and must be considered for a certain content and according to the
characteristics of the group of students to which it is addressed. This idea is
reinforced by Rivera et al. (2020) who point out that there are several minimum
methodological elements to develop an instrumental strategy based on
gamification, regardless of the means used to implement it; these elements must
be focused on the design process, which is structured based on the pedagogical
objective. Likewise, Machuca-Villegas et al. (2019) conclude that, although
elements such as points, badges, challenges, rewards, levels, leaderboards, and
feedback are very prominent design considerations, it is necessary to define the
pedagogical objective, since it contributes to the design of gamification strategies
that allow to a greater extent to obtain results.
3.3 Factors that evidenced the success of the application of gamification in

engineering education
From the analysis of the results of the articles included in the systematic review,
in terms of the success factors (SF) of the application of gamification in
engineering education, it was possible to identify that the positive impact fell on
motivation (SF1), student commitment (SF2), participation (SF3), communication
(SF4) and competitiveness (SF5). Table 7 details the success factor of each article
reviewed, as well as the evidence of success. In addition, it was possible to
determine that the contribution of gamification in the "Motivation" of the
students represents the success factor in 80% of the reviewed articles,
"Commitment" represents 50%, "Participation" 55%, "Communication" 20% and
"Competitiveness" 10%.
317
Table 7: Success factors as a result of the application of gamification

Success factors (SF)
Reference Evidence of success
SF1 SF2 SF3 SF4 SF5
The students were motivated in their
(Lluch- learning, which led to obtaining very
Molins et ✓ good grades, with an average grade of
al., 2022) 6.6 on a scale where the maximum grade
is 7.
The students showed improvements in
their soft skills from the use of
(Taguas et
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ gamification in their learning. Since it
al., 2022)
fostered motivation, commitment,
participation and communication.
As many as 83% of the students in the
experimental group consider that
(Díaz-
gamification enriches and helps to
Ramírez, ✓ ✓
improve learning in university
2020)
education, based on the improvement of
commitment and motivation in learning.
More than 88% of the students indicated
(Sánchez- "Yes", that gamification in education is
Martín et ✓ ✓ important and that they considered it
al., 2020) efficient in the teaching-learning process
in science and technology issues.
All students surveyed leaned toward
(Raju et al.,
✓ gamification; this is because it highlights
2021)
the competitive spirit among students.
With a confidence interval of 95%, this
(Sobrino-
research indicates that the students
Duque et ✓ ✓
(experimental group) have a better
al., 2022)
perception regarding their learning.
The interviewed students felt motivated
(Gasca-
and engaged during the entire class
Hurtado et ✓ ✓
section, since previously more than half
al., 2021)
of the students were distracted.
(Çulha, Gamification improves student
✓ ✓
2022) performance by 23% more.
As many as 88% of the participants
commented that they liked the
implementation of gamification in
(Kho et al.,
✓ ✓ engineering courses and indicated that it
2022)
can potentially improve the engagement
and enjoyment of students toward the
learning process.
A total 90.2% of the students affirmed
that the application of gamification as a
new learning methodology is much
(Morales et better than the traditional one. Also,
✓ ✓ ✓
al., 2021) 87.7% of the students commented that
learning programming with the new
methodology was fun, while 81% of
students thought that gamification
318
increased their motivation.

By applying gamification, a positive
(Leon & impact was generated on the motivation
✓ ✓
Peña, 2022) of the students, which was reflected in
their academic performance.
Gamification in the pre-class stage has a
(Asiksoy &
positive effect on student performance,
Canbolat, ✓ ✓
since it increases student engagement
2021)
and participation.
The number of passes increased by 39%
(Alcántara by applying gamification, which led to
✓ ✓
et al., 2022) also increasing student participation by
26.7%.
A positive impact was generated on
(Arangure
student performance, increasing by 2.7
n et al., ✓ ✓
points, with respect to the average score
2020)
before applying gamification.
Gamification contributed to the
(Pertegal- improvement of the participation,
Felices et ✓ ✓ ✓ communication and motivation of the
al., 2020) students, who were satisfied with their
learning.
Of the students evaluated, 66%
(Sarasa- indicated that the gamification
Cabezuelo application was easy to use, so students
✓ ✓
& Rodrigo, were satisfied with the new
2021) methodology as opposed to the
traditional one.
A total 92.8% of the students responded
(Delgado- that the application of gamification
Gómez et ✓ ✓ develops greater motivation, and 81.2%
al., 2020) mentioned that it develops
competitiveness.
Of the students who received
(Chans &
gamification, 96% responded positively,
Portuguez-
✓ ✓ in addition, a greater commitment and
Castro,
motivation was perceived during the
2021)
class section.
Most of the students agree with the
application of gamification (the
(Khaleel et experimental group is higher than the
✓ ✓
al., 2020) control group). In addition, it has a
positive effect and a high acceptance in
learning.
It was identified that 38.5% of students
were satisfied in completing the
(Zabala-
exercises; this reflects that students are
Vargas et ✓ ✓ ✓
more committed to the class. In
al., 2021)
addition, 46.1% mentioned that they
enjoyed the applied games.
Of the articles included in the systematic review, it is determined that the

improvement in student motivation represents the success of the application of
319
gamification in engineering education to a greater extent. Although the final

purpose of gamification in education is to improve the student's academic
performance, aspects such as motivation, commitment, participation,
communication and competitiveness have a direct and significant influence on
the construction of the student's own knowledge. In this regard, Andreu (2020)
concludes that motivation is one of the factors that occur in students when
applying gamification, since games generate significant experiences in them.
Reaffirming what was identified in this systematic review regarding the success
factors achieved when applying gamification, Zhan et al. (2022) point out that
gamification in education generates a positive effect to a greater extent on
motivation which, as a consequence, contributes to improving the student's
academic performance. Likewise, Arceo et al. (2019) determined on the
application of gamification that the majority of students reported through a
survey feeling motivated by this type of initiative in the teaching-learning
process.
However, other studies do not strictly focus on motivation as the only success
factor that contributes to improving learning, such as Alzahrani and Alhalafawy
(2022) who affirm that the success of the application of gamification is evidenced
by the improvement in academic performance of the student; this is because the
game is oriented to specific learning purposes, managed to "motivate" them and
generated "participation" in the construction of their own knowledge. This
position is supported by Nieto-Escamez et al. (2021) who affirm that the purpose
for the implementation of gamification mostly responds to the need to improve
student learning and that they are associated with increased motivation,
commitment and competitiveness. Machuca-Villegas et al. (2019), with respect to
the success factors of the application of gamification, conclude that these are
related to social and human factors, among which motivation, collaboration,
participation and commitment stand out. Another position is that established by
Ávila and Gómez (2015) who establish that gamification can have positive and
negative impacts on the motivation and interest of students, as well as on their
academic performance, for which they consider that a framework of guidelines
is clearly necessary for its application in the university educational environment.
4. Conclusion
Based on the research questions established in this systematic review, it is
concluded that the specialties that applied gamification to a greater extent are
computer engineering and software engineering, which shows that the aspect
that could be linked to this result is skills. and skills that students and teachers
present in that specialty, since it is relevant not only to develop the application
but also how they are adapted to the management of gamification. Thus, it is
also concluded that the design considerations that predominate in the
development of gamification applications are to a greater extent the
"pedagogical objective." This is because the basis that supports the use of
gamification is the domain of knowledge that is intended to be achieved, and the
"interaction with the simulation," because it represents the aspects of how the
student interacts with the game, in such a way that he or she manages to achieve
the development of their learning. Finally, it is concluded that the success factors
320
that were evidenced as the application of gamification are to a greater extent

motivation, commitment, and participation; this is because all of them represent
influential factors in a direct and significant way on the construction of
knowledge that students own.
This systematic review of the literature limited its analysis to studies on the
applications of gamification in engineering education in a timeframe in which
the pandemic appeared, so factors such as the abrupt implementation of
technological tools for the continuity of the process of teaching-learning, as well
as teaching in completely virtual scenarios represent a limitation in the results
obtained. This leads to future studies focusing on post-pandemic contexts, under
face-to-face or hybrid learning models, highlighting that regulatory bases should
promote and support the use of gamification in engineering education.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 328-344, June 2023
The Role of Metacognitive Strategies in

Academic Writing Skills in Higher Education
Lilis Amaliah Rosdiana* , Vismaia S. Damaianti ,

Yeti Mulyati and Andoyo Sastromiharjo
Department of Indonesian Language Education, Universitas Pendidikan
Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract. Many students still experience difficulty with academic writing

as part of meeting their academic demands. The purpose of this study was
to test the validity of the metacognitive writing strategy instrument and to
test the effectiveness of metacognitive writing strategies in improving
academic writing skills in tertiary institutions. In total, 500 students from
three universities in West Java, Indonesia participated in this study. The
method used in this research was factorial design analysis. Confirmatory
factor analysis was used to answer the problem formulation. The data
collection instruments used were the metacognitive academic writing
strategy questionnaire and academic writing tests on several topics. The
research findings show that, first, the questionnaire instrument using
metacognitive strategies in the writing process was proven to be valid
because it was able to assess the students’ metacognitive awareness.
Second, metacognitive strategies make a significant contribution to the
students’ academic writing abilities. Metacognitive strategies act as
high-level constructs and positive correlations were found between the
dimensions of the strategies. The dimensions of metacognition found to
correlate with and contribute to one another were the declarative,
procedural, conditional, planning, monitoring, evaluation, information
management, and debugging strategies. From the comparison of the
proposed models, the second model (the eight-component correlation
model) was determined to be better at improving academic writing ability
than the first model. The second model described all components as
significantly contributing more comprehensively than the first model. This
research concludes with the implication that academic writing ability can
be improved by increasing students’ metacognitive awareness and
reflective abilities in relation to their own writing process.
Keywords: academic writing skills; higher education; language learning;

metacognitive strategies
*
Corresponding author: Lilis Amaliah Rosdiana; lilisamaliahrosdiana@upi.edu
©Authors
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1. Introduction
Students are not only required to study; they are also required to produce
academic writing. Academic writing skills demand multidimensional abilities.
Not only are language skills needed in such a form of writing, but the students
are also required to be able to develop and organize their ideas into their writing
(Guo, 2022; Hancock & Karakok, 2021). However, this demand is not often
accompanied by a strategy that can improve their academic writing skills when
in the tertiary environment. Academic writing skills are of concern to educational
practitioners, especially students, lecturers, and researchers, due to the
importance of communicating their ideas through writing. Each writer engages in
a different strategy when writing, as each individual’s writing style is different.
However, academic writing is not the same as literary writing, because there are
academic requirements that must be met (Dirrigl & Noe, 2019; Keith et al., 2020).
Thus, academic writing skills need to be taught correctly using the right strategies
in universities. The teaching of writing skills receives attention only in language
study programs in tertiary institutions, yet there are not many of these programs.
It is therefore not surprising that there are still many students who attend training
outside the classroom in order to meet the demands of academic writing.
In language teaching, teachers or lecturers pay too much attention to grammar

material and often forget to pay attention to aspects of language skills, such as
writing, speaking, reading, and listening (Henry & Austin, 2021; Kim & LaBianca,
2018). Self-regulation in writing skills is a very important aspect that is a part of
predicting a student’s academic writing ability. Based on self-regulation among
students who are still lacking metacognitive abilities, self-regulation and writing
skills require metacognitive strategies to help students attain good writing skills.
One alternative when teaching academic writing is to provide writing instructions
oriented towards the processes and trends of academic writing in tertiary
institutions (Cutri et al., 2021; Wale & Bogale, 2021). These instructions can be
used as a modification of the standard academic writing teaching instructions.
Writing academically is a skill that requires complex cognition and stages such as
planning, transcription, and revision (Khojasteh et al., 2021; Saqr et al., 2021).
Academic writing skills are taught by inviting the students to engage in the
writing process using metacognitive strategies. However, students may face
obstacles when trying to achieve these goals. The development of the student’s
academic writing skills depends on their ability to understand, plan, and
determine the writing goals and to reflect on the results of their writing to improve
the quality of their writing overall (Farahian & Avarzamani, 2018; Teng, 2022).
This research differs from previous research in that previous research has not
explored metacognitive strategies in the context of academic writing, especially at
the tertiary level. In addition, previous research has not yet explored its
relationship with the other dimensions in metacognition that also contribute to
writing ability. The findings of this study can facilitate the understanding of
students in the metacognitive strategies of academic writing. Teachers can obtain
an overview of alternative academic writing strategy instructions. In addition, this
research can enable the determination of the potential transfer of educational
psychology theory such as self-regulation from the aspect of metacognition to the
330
pedagogy of academic writing skills. Accordingly, this metacognition functions

as a determining aspect in improving the quality of writing skills. The objectives
of this study were to:
1. empirically validate the questionnaire instrument on metacognitive
strategies for academic writing and
2. investigate the effect of metacognitive strategies on students’ academic
writing abilities in tertiary institutions.
This research focused on exploring the relationship between the dimensions in

metacognitive strategies and academic writing. In this research, we propose two
structural models for use when analyzing the relationship between the
dimensions in metacognitive strategies and academic writing skills. The first
model is a model that describes the cognitive strategies that are correlated with
the eight aspects of academic writing. The second model is a second-order
one-factor model that investigates the role of metacognitive strategies in academic
writing. The second model is a type of competitive hierarchical model. Based on
the second model, metacognition is defined as a general factor that explains the
relationship of the eight components in the metacognitive strategy.
2.1 Metacognition
Metacognition is a multidimensional and general domain ability. Metacognitive
ability was originally developed from the theory of thought approach (Cutri et al.,
2021; Khojasteh et al., 2021). Theory of mind is the basis for developing
metacognitive abilities. Metacognitive abilities can compensate for lacking
abilities using the domain of knowledge and self-regulation, enabling individuals
to improve their cognitive abilities (Gioia et al., 2023; Phillips Galloway et al.,
2020). Metacognition can be defined as the ability to think as well as the executive
processes that are used to optimize cognitive abilities as learners. Metacognition
has two functions, namely the evaluation function and the control function.
Through the metacognitive ability, the supervisory function and the control
function are carried out. This metacognitive knowledge and experience can be
used as a form of cognitive control. The individual’s level of knowledge depends
on their cognitive processes and other factors, including age, talent, language
skills, and motivation, which greatly influence academic ability (Khojasteh et al.,
2021; Saqr et al., 2021). The level of knowledge possessed by individuals includes
task knowledge and strategy knowledge. Task knowledge is an individual’s
understanding of the nature and objectives of the task, while strategic knowledge
includes the knowledge of how to complete the task effectively. Metacognitive
knowledge consists of several types of knowledge, including declarative
knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conditional knowledge.
Factors that refer to declarative knowledge are individual, intellectual, and

information-processing abilities. Procedural knowledge is the ability of
individuals to apply their knowledge when using the right strategy. This
knowledge helps the individual in using the strategy at the appropriate time and
in relation to the right task (Lamb et al., 2019; Roald et al., 2021). Metacognitive
experience is the ability to use previously acquired knowledge to process newly
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received tasks or information. Metacognitive experiences involve several aspects,

including evaluation, effort, solutions, difficult tasks, familiar tasks, and self-
confidence (Hadianto et al., 2022; Yung & Cai, 2020). This metacognitive
experience forms a tool that individuals can use to increase their awareness when
completing tasks properly. Furthermore, metacognitive feelings can be used as an
aspect of self-regulation (Sarid et al., 2021; Teng, 2020). Metacognitive abilities are
defined as metacognitive strategies or metacognitive regulations, which include
planning, problem-solving, error-checking, and controlling for obstacles
(Hadianto et al., 2021a; Teng, 2022).
In light of the above, metacognition consists of two important factors. First,

metacognition consists of monitoring and controlling cognitive functions. Second,
the systems contained in metacognition include dominance relations. The
metacognitive system facilitates the absorption of information, and the absorption
of this information is what causes the difference between individual control and
monitoring abilities. The stages that are involved in the ability to control and
monitor are acquisition, retention, and retrieval (Gioia et al., 2023; Wale & Bogale,
2021). Therefore, metacognition is the individual awareness when managing the
process of monitoring and controlling when doing tasks. The ability to reflect is
the ability to combine planning and monitoring as well as assessing whether there
are parts that are less than optimal or that have met the criteria. Thus,
metacognitive ability is a person’s ability as seen from various aspects, namely
knowledge, experience, and skills. The three components of knowledge,
experience, and metacognitive skills are always related to and influence each
other when students are engaged in tasks. For example, the student’s knowledge
contributes to their metacognitive experiences, feelings, and ability to evaluate
their writing skills; in the end, then, the results of the assessment influence the use
of metacognitive strategies to support their writing skills for the better (Navarro
et al., 2022; Perry et al., 2019).
2.2 Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Writing Skills

Metacognition is the same as the individual’s ability of self-regulation in learning
or also called self-regulated learning (SRL). In its application, SRL uses three
aspects of regulation simultaneously, specifically personal, behavioral, and
environmental. Self-regulation is an individual’s ability to use cognitive and
affective strategies to anticipate anxiety in the learning process (Henry & Austin,
2021; Kim & LaBianca, 2018). In addition, self-regulation includes an individual’s
adaptive abilities when using individual motor skills strategies. Self-regulation
requires the adaptive ability to use strategies that are appropriate to the context
of the task. If the individual is able to maintain strategic control over these three
aspects of regulation, they already have good metacognitive abilities. The
components of SRL, namely personal processes, environment, and behavior, all
help with understanding information, setting goals, using strategies, and
evaluating and modifying appropriate strategies so that students can optimally
understand the learning material (Alfaifi, 2022; Davies & Greenwood, 2020).
Individuals who have good self-regulation abilities can use different
metacognitive strategies to control and optimize their potential and environment
in order to support their learning process. Such individuals are able to optimize
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their internal abilities and external environment as resources to support their

learning. This self-regulation of students’ learning can be explained as their ability
to plan, monitor, and control their abilities during learning by optimizing their
thoughts, feelings, and actions. The SRL strategy is also believed to be able to
improve individual cognitive, metacognitive, behavioral, and motivational
regulation (Hall et al., 2018; Keith et al., 2020).
This metacognitive strategy can help students in conveying ideas in their writing.
Several previous studies have confirmed that metacognition and self-regulation
contribute to the quality of student writing. The instructions contained in
metacognition have an influence on the student’s academic writing skills while
also contributing to the writing quality. Other findings in the context of second
language learning show that this metacognitive strategy can improve and change
the student’s beliefs and perceptions of writing activities and optimize their
participation in the writing process, both individually and collaboratively (Cutri
et al., 2021; Wale & Bogale, 2021). These findings are in accordance with the theory
that metacognitive strategies in the writing process are related to the student’s
self-efficacy beliefs. Students who have superior language skills will make a
positive contribution to their metacognitive knowledge and writing abilities.
From the previous findings, it was found that this metacognitive strategy consists
of a feedback guide and a guide to understanding one’s own abilities. Research
was conducted on 200 students in Korea to investigate the effect of metacognition
on writing quality (Farahian & Avarzamani, 2018; Teng, 2022). It was found that
metacognitive awareness helped students in controlling their abilities and
maintaining them at a high level throughout their writing process. With
metacognitive awareness, students can thus maintain the quality of their writing
process so that it remains at the highest level from the planning stage to the final
revision stage.
2.3 Language Learning Strategies, Self-Regulated Learning, and Metacognition

Learning strategies are defined as methods used to improve cognitive abilities to
achieve the established learning goals. Learning strategy is also referred to as a
tool that assists students to develop their academic abilities. Learning strategies
cover several aspects, ranging from determining the right technique, selecting the
materials, allocating time, and creating an atmosphere and clear learning climate,
all of which are intended to help students achieve their learning goals. The
learning strategy cannot be separated from SRL, because by using learning
strategies, teachers and students can control the processing of knowledge material
and information so that student understanding is optimal (Festas et al., 2022;
Santelmann et al., 2018). The learning strategy in the context of language learning
is initially to analyze the character and behavior of the learner in order to
determine the most effective strategy. Through the right strategy, language
learners will be able to confirm new information using their existing schemata to
build more complex structures. The learning strategy used by these students is
one of the characteristics of beginner and expert learners. This is explained in
metacognitive theory, stating that the majority of effective learners will use
metacognitive strategies by planning, organizing, and assessing, which will assist
the learners in controlling the executive functions in their learning. Language
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learners who are already reliable also use cognitive strategies to carry out analysis,
reason, and transfer and infer information in order to effectively achieve their
learning goals (Saqr et al., 2021; Wale & Bogale, 2021). Learning strategies
contribute to the process and interaction of the social and psychological aspects of
language learning.
Recently, researchers have paid attention to individual writing strategies and their
potential in relation to students’ writing skills. In agreement with findings of
previous research, developing an assessment of writing strategies enables one to
determine more about the strengths and weaknesses of said writing strategies
(Gioia et al., 2023; Wang & Xie, 2022). The assessment included several aspects,
namely cognition, metacognition, behavior, and the regulation of motivation.
These dimensions include seven interconnected strategies: understanding text,
planning, monitoring, assessing, providing feedback, controlling effective
writing, and motivation. These are all factors that significantly contribute to
writing skills. In addition to the metacognitive strategies involved in the writing
process, there are other aspects that contribute to writing skills, namely
metacognitive knowledge and experience. Knowledge and regulations also
contribute up to 65% of students’ writing abilities (Perry et al., 2019; Wale &
Bogale, 2021). The current study investigated the relationship between
metacognition and writing ability. These aspects were explored, as they have not
been studied previously. Due to the limited research exploring academic writing,
this study explored the dimensions involved in the metacognitive strategies of
academic writing and investigated their role in improving academic writing skills.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
This study used factorial design analysis to examine the correlation between
various dimensions of metacognitive strategies and their role in academic writing
ability. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to address the research problem.
The research findings show that the questionnaire instrument using
metacognitive strategies in the writing process was proven to be valid, because it
was able to assess the students’ metacognitive awareness.
3.2 Participants
This research involved 500 university students from West Java, Indonesia.
Concerning gender, 60% of the participants were female and 40% male. The
average age of the study participants was 22. The participants were in the third to
seventh semester range. To test the validity of the writing strategy questionnaire
with metacognition, the participants completed the questionnaire to meet the
needs of the missing value analysis, homogeneity test, and normality test. This
research was conducted on students who had received training in writing using
metacognitive strategies that we developed. Furthermore, a survey on the use of
metacognitive strategies in academic writing was conducted to determine the
validity of the questionnaire developed and to elucidate the role of metacognitive
strategies in the students’ academic writing abilities. To maintain adherence to
research ethics, the participants completed a form on their willingness to
participate in the study voluntarily.
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3.3 Research Instrument

3.3.1 Questionnaire development
The development of the metacognitive strategy questionnaire was carried out
through five stages, including the creation of the questionnaire items, consultation
references, trials, a psychometric assessment, and exploratory factor analysis. The
questionnaire development was carried out by adapting the metacognitive
strategy model (Henry & Austin, 2021; Kim & LaBianca, 2018). The development
of the questionnaire was carried out to facilitate the students’ reflection on the
writing strategy training activities that they received. The questionnaire contained
questions related to the role of metacognition in academic writing practice.
Questionnaire items which involved the students in the process were developed
to improve the quality of the assessment of the questionnaire. For the elaboration
of the participant identities and training descriptions as well as the strategies used
by the students, 25 questionnaire items were formulated to reveal these aspects.
Next, the student responses were analyzed and transcribed to produce 65 items
that revealed the metacognitive strategies used in academic writing. The next
stage was to confirm the items with the relevant literature. The literature used
focused on SRL and metacognitive learning strategies in language learning. We
confirmed that all items were created with metacognition and self-regulation
theory in mind. The second stage was the validation of the questionnaire item
constructs using an appropriate theory. The third stage was the trials. We
provided opportunities for the students to check the items that had been
produced, specifically whether there were items that were ambiguous. Next, the
evaluation stage comprised using a psychometric assessment. In this stage, we
involved two experts in the field of language learning strategies to verify the
questionnaire items. The experts assessed the questionnaire in terms of the
suitability of the items with the construction. Based on the results of the expert
analysis, we eliminated three items that did not meet the assessment criteria.
The final stage was exploratory factor analysis. This analysis was carried out on a
sample of the participants who responded to the questionnaire. Based on the
results of the factor analysis, we eliminated five items whose factor loading value
was less than 0.35. From all stages, 57 items (65 - 8) met the minimum case ratio
criteria (5:1). In addition, the participants involved in this study met the criteria of
linearity, singularity, and homogeneity. A Likert scale was used with a seven-
point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. This scale helped the
students to understand the features demonstrating the nature of writing-training
strategies. The metacognitive academic writing strategy questionnaire instrument
is a tool used to make it easier for students to convey metacognitive experiences.
The questionnaire covers two aspects in general, namely metacognitive
knowledge and metacognitive regulation. Metacognitive knowledge consists of
several types of knowledge, namely declarative, procedural, and conditional
knowledge, while metacognitive regulation consists of five aspects, namely
planning, monitoring, information management, debugging, and evaluation.
Cronbach alpha analysis was used to verify the internal consistency of the
responses to the questionnaire items. The Cronbach alpha values for declarative,
procedural, and conditional knowledge were 0.788, 0.795, and 0.740, respectively,
while the Cronbach alpha values for the aspects of planning, monitoring,
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assessment, debugging, and information management were 0.810, 0.830, 0.882,

0.820, and 0.812, respectively.
3.3.2 Academic writing ability test

The students’ academic writing ability was carried out in relation to several
aspects, such as topic understanding, attention to detail, providing an overview
of the problems, and arguing to strengthen their ideas based on knowledge. The
academic writing ability test focused on assessing academic writing skills in terms
of linguistics, critical thinking skills, and expressing ideas. Through this test, the
students were asked to write conceptual articles according to their area of
expertise. This was facilitated using pictures to make it easier for students to
choose a topic and develop their ideas. Several topics were provided that
represented each field of the student study program. Topics given included
health, contemporary buildings, slang phenomena, social welfare, culinary arts,
and politics. The assessment of the students’ academic writing involved
assessment aspects adopted from writing assessments in tertiary institutions, such
as suitability according to the theme, coherence, cohesion, use of meaning, and
grammar. The Cronbach alpha test on the four aspects of the assessment yielded
values in the range of 0.820–0.880, indicating that the assessment aspects met the
reliability criteria. To maintain the validity of the assessment, we involved experts
in the field of writing skills so that the assessment could be accurate. The
maximum score for assessing academic writing skills was 20 points, with 5 points
for each aspect. Differences in judgment that arose from the experts were
discussed and decisions were made based on the majority. Interrater reliability
was in the range of 0.75–0.80.
3.4 Procedure
The metacognitive academic writing strategies questionnaire was administered to
the students online after they had participated in academic writing training
activities using metacognitive strategies. The survey was conducted to reflect on
the use of the academic writing strategies that had been followed. Completion of
the questionnaire was not limited by time, so the students could take care in
completing it. On average, the students took 20 minutes to complete the
questionnaire. An academic writing test was carried out after the students had
received writing training on the use of metacognitive strategies. The academic
writing test was done manually and was handwritten.
3.5 Data Analysis

Data analysis was performed using confirmatory factor analysis. AMOS SPSS
software was used to test the theoretical model, inclusive of confirmation factor
tests, correlation tests, covariance tests, and residual values or errors. The model
used involved a hypothesis using the maximum estimate. The model was also
assessed using goodness-of-fit (GFI) statistics and the study sample. This study
was based on confirmatory analysis and omnibus fit, which included other
statistical analyses, such as chi-square, p-value, chi-square ratio χ2, degrees of
freedom (df), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit
index (CFI), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), and the
Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI). The fit model used in this study had to meet several
criteria, namely a GFI value of more than 0.91, an RMSEA value of less than 0.1,
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an SRMR value of less than 0.08, and CFI and TLI values equal to or greater than
0.90. The chi-square statistic was used to determine the relevant structural model.
Chi-square difference was used to determine the ratio of the difference df.
Furthermore, the significance of the p-value was determined to be a more
appropriate reference model criterion. The final step was to evaluate the effect of
the various dimensions of metacognitive academic writing strategies on the
students’ academic writing abilities. Linear regression analysis was also used to
determine the extent to which the different strategies contributed to the students’
academic writing abilities.
4. Results
4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Normality Test
From the results of the descriptive analysis, the average score of the metacognitive
strategy dimensions was in the range of 4.24–4.90, with standard deviation in the
range of 0.97–1.10. Furthermore, skewness values were obtained in the range
of -0.015–0.180 and the kurtosis values were in the range of 0.167–0.630. From the
results of the statistical analysis, the data met the normality test criteria. The
results of the descriptive statistical analysis described are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Results of the descriptive statistics and normality test of dimension

Metacognitive
Dimension writing M SD Skewness Kurtosis
dimension
DK (6 items) 4.90 1.04 -.015 .530
Metacognitive
PK (5 items) 4.70 1.06 .015 .593
knowledge
CK (5 items) 4.52 0.99 .180 .635
P (9 items) 4.50 1.12 .065 .520
M (7 items) 4.55 0.98 -.015 .489
Metacognitive
E (8 items) 4.71 1.03 .040 .491
regulation
IMS (7 items) 4.30 1.08 .151 .172
DS (10 items) 4.32 1.10 .093 .258
Note: declarative knowledge (DK), procedural knowledge (PK), conditional
knowledge (CK), planning (P), monitoring (M), evaluation (E), information management
strategy (IMS), debugging strategy (DS)
4.2 Exploratory Confirmatory Analysis Results

Exploratory confirmatory analysis uses a benchmark value that must be higher
than 0.50 as a condition that the influence between the variables meets the criteria
or is acceptable. From the results of the exploratory confirmatory analysis, it was
found that the relationship between the variables in the metacognitive strategy
was still related. Model fit analysis with the data was performed to check for
acceptable model fit.
The results of the model fit analysis are presented in Table 2. The results show
that the model fit meets the criteria (χ2 664 = 2489.142; df = 840; p < .001; χ2/df =
2.961; GFI = 0.923; RMSEA = 0.060; SRMR = 0.061; CFI = 0.920; TLI = 0.921). The
results of this analysis prove that the internal structure of the construct meets the
validity criteria.
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Table 2: Results of the analysis of the fit index of the two models
Model fit RMS SRM
χ2 df p χ2/df GFI CFI TLI NFI
index EA R
Criterion - - < .05 <3 > 0.9 < 0.10 < 0.08 ≥ 0.9 ≥ 0.9 > 0.9
Model 1 2489
840 .000 2.961 0.923 0.060 0.061 0.920 0.921 0.880
value .142
Criterion - - < .05 <3 > 0.9 < 0.10 < 0.08 ≥ 0.9 ≥ 0.9 > 0.9
Model 2 2610
860 .000 2.955 0.920 0.058 0.060 0.912 0.910 0.814
value .475
Next, an analysis was carried out focusing on the second-order model with one
factor. The correlation coefficient of the eight strategies was in the range of
0.72−0.80. This value indicates that the internal structure contained in the
questionnaire meets the criteria. From the results of the analysis, it was found that
the standard estimated weight of more than 0.50 confirmed that the given effect
met the criteria. In addition, the results of the analysis confirmed that
metacognition is a general factor and includes eight different aspects, in addition
to there being a positive correlation between the variables. Fit analysis was then
performed on the second model, as presented in Table 2. From the results of the
model fit analysis, the following results were obtained: χ2 664 = 2610.475; df = 860;
p < 0.001; χ2/df = 2.955; GFI = 0.920; RMSEA = 0.058; SRMR = 0.060; CFI = 0.912;
TFI = 0.910). Based on the results of the analysis of the second model, the model
meets the criteria of conformity with the data. A comparison of the two models
was carried out to determine which model was the most significant. A significant
increase was shown from model 1 to model 2. The two models also had chi-square
values that differed significantly (χ2[M2] − χ2[M1] = 135.42; df[M2] – df[M1] = 25;
p < 0.001). It can be concluded that the second model increases academic writing
skills more significantly than the first model. The second model confirms that
metacognition is a hierarchical construction that includes eight metacognitive
strategies.
4.3 The Effect of Metacognitive Strategies on Academic Writing Skills

Correlation analysis between the metacognitive components was carried out to
determine the role of the eight metacognitive strategy components in academic
writing ability. The results of the correlation analysis are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Correlation analysis results of the eight strategy components

DK PK CK P M E IMS DS
DK 1
PK 0.670 1
CK 0.589 0.675 1
P 0.610 0.702 0.710 1
M 0.620 0.699 0.730 0.750 1
E 0.681 0.730 0.750 0.710 0.780 1
IMS 0.515 0.580 0.670 0.690 0.75 0.641 1
DS 0.532 0.600 0.690 0.640 0.670 0.630 0.700 1
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It was found that the declarative knowledge component has a strong correlation
with the procedural knowledge component (r = 0.670), and with conditional
knowledge (r = 0.589), planning (r = 0.610), monitoring (r = 0.620), evaluation
(r = 0.681), information management strategy (r = 0.515), and debugging strategy
(r = 0.532). All the correlation values are more than 0.50, which indicates that at
least 25% of the variance of one component is contained in the other components.
To strengthen the correlation analysis, the data from the results of the regression
analysis are presented which contain the correlation between each strategy and
academic writing ability, as presented in Table 5 below. Furthermore, the
correlation coefficient results presented in Table 4 show that each strategy has a
significant correlation with academic writing ability, with the p-values all being
above 0.001.
Table 4: Correlation analysis of strategies and academic writing skills

Strategy component Academic writing ability
DK 0.731**
PK 0.780**
CK 0.812**
P 0.801**
M 0.830**
E 0.830**
IMS 0.762**
DS 0.755**
knowledge (CK), planning (P), monitoring (M), evaluation (E), information
management strategy (IMS), debugging strategy (DS)
*p < .05, **p < .01
The results in Table 4 describe in detail the correlation between the eight strategies
and academic writing skills. From the results of the analysis, it was found that
academic writing ability has a strong correlation with the components of
declarative knowledge (r = 0.731), procedural knowledge (r = 0.780), conditional
knowledge (r = 0.812), planning (r = 0.801), monitoring (r = 0.830), evaluation
(r = 0.830), information management strategy (r = 0.762), and debugging strategy
(r = 0.755).
The last analysis conducted was regression analysis, which is presented in Table
5. From the regression analysis, it was found that the eight components in the
metacognitive strategy explained 88% of the variance of the students’ academic
writing ability scores. This confirms that the eight components of metacognitive
strategies are a significant predictor of academic writing ability (p < 0.001).
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Table 5. Results of linear regression (N = 500)
Unstandardized
inflation factor
Standardized
Adjusted R2
coefficient
coefficient
Variance
R2
p
F
t
B Std. E Beta
529.666
Constant 1.520 0.282 - 5.488 .000** - 0.87 0.868
***
DK 0.098 0.016 0.135 7.310 .000** 3.267
PK 0.113 0.020 0.140 6.576 .000** 3.846
CK 0.120 0.025 0.135 6.256 .000** 4.254
P 0.073 0.015 0.130 5.945 .000** 4.100
M 0.097 0.018 0.161 6.625 .000** 4.783
E 0.090 0.015 0.180 7.584 .000** 4.756
IMS 0.090 0.016 0.140 6.70 .000** 2.658
DS 0.092 0.015 0.140 7.254 .000** 2.500
5. Discussion
The purpose of the current research was, first, to validate the questionnaire
instrument reporting on academic writing strategies and to then investigate the
role of metacognitive strategies in relation to academic writing skills. The
development of the questionnaire instrument was carried out based on the
features of metacognition. The results of this study show that the utility of the
questionnaire instrument is satisfactory and that it meets the criteria for use when
reflecting on the use of metacognitive strategies in academic writing in tertiary
institutions. The eight components of metacognitive strategies are different but
correlated. The eight components can also be used on a theoretical and empirical
basis. Furthermore, upon examining the results of the proposed model
comparison analysis between the first model (second-order one-factor model) and
the second model (eight-component correlation model), it was found that the fit
index of the second model was better than that of the first model. The findings of
this study reinforce that metacognition can be used as a theoretical basis, thus
explaining how the eight components of metacognitive strategies are significantly
correlated with academic writing competence (Festas et al., 2022; Miller et al.,
2018). This is also consistent with previous studies which confirm that
metacognition consists of an ordered structure and can be used to predict learning
strategies (Levrai & Bolster, 2019; Lonka et al., 2019). This study also confirms that
metacognition theory is always related to the eight components of metacognitive
strategies. These eight components are interconnected during the metacognitive
process. The findings of this study are also consistent with the theory that
metacognition is a cyclical process that includes self-assessment and the
management of cognition (McNamara et al., 2018; Miller et al., 2018).
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The eight components in metacognition refer to two factors from metacognitive

strategies, namely knowledge and regulation. The components of the
metacognitive knowledge dimension include declarative, procedural,
conditional, and task knowledge, strategies, and the students’ own efforts. The
metacognitive regulatory component includes planning, monitoring, and
assessing, which define the role of regulation in SRL (Henry & Austin, 2021; Kim
& LaBianca, 2018). This study confirms that there is a significant and positive
correlation between metacognitive strategies and metacognitive regulation. The
strong correlation between the two variables reinforces that students need to
implement a report that is qualified in terms of knowledge, metacognitive
strategies, skills, and regulations when participating in learning. This is consistent
with the theory which states that knowledge and regulatory strategies are able to
optimize cognitive use, increase student effort, and help students in completing
their academic assignments (Dirrigl & Noe, 2019; Phillips Galloway et al., 2020).
Knowledge and regulations, which have a positive relationship, strengthen the
theory that this metacognition can be used as a tool to understand one’s own
cognition and that of other individuals. This metacognition can be used as a guide
when looking to understand data and conditions, enabling the right decisions to
be made (Wale & Bogale, 2021; Wang & Xie, 2022). A conclusion from this research
is that this metacognitive strategy develops the ability of students to become
independent learners by developing their academic writing skills as well as
increasing their social competence and motivation, and controlling student
behavior during the writing process.
To answer the second research objective of determining the role of metacognitive

strategies in academic writing skills, results show that each of the eight
components of metacognitive strategies correlated significantly with the students’
academic writing abilities. It was found that 88% of the variance could be
explained by metacognitive strategies in connection to academic writing ability.
In addition, the findings also validate that the second-order one-factor model can
be used to construct academic writing skills. The research results also support the
cognition model of Flower and Hayes (1980), which integrates the planning,
monitoring, and evaluation components of the writing process. In addition, the
findings of this study are also consistent with the triadic components of personal,
behavioral, and environmental effects on self-regulation (Farahian & Avarzamani,
2018; Festas et al., 2022). Writing academically requires the ability to adjust
cognitive and other strategies that are relevant to the task so that the results are
optimal. This is consistent with the theory that in addition to strong field
knowledge in academic writing, metacognitive knowledge is also needed to
control the writing process and use strategies appropriately (Yoo, 2019).
In more detail, this study found that there are several dimensions that are most
significant and thus contribute the most to improving academic writing ability.
These dimensions are metacognitive, procedural, declarative, and conditional
knowledge. This is in accordance with the theory which states that students can
become strategic learners if they have a good third dimension of knowledge
(declarative, procedural, and conditional) (Hadianto et al., 2021b; Sanchez et al.,
2019). In addition, the findings of this study also reinforce the finding that if a
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learner wants to have good academic writing skills, they must have sufficient
knowledge about the strategies used, the use of strategies, and the ability to
elaborate on good material. Metacognitive knowledge can encourage students’
active participation in terms of using their knowledge to support their writing
process, enabling them to determine the most appropriate strategies and
improving the quality of their writing. Furthermore, the dimensions of
metacognitive regulation can predict academic writing ability and have a
significant influence on academic writing ability. Metacognitive regulation helps
students to become independent and more skilled at academic writing (French,
2020; Hancock & Karakok, 2021). The planning dimension in the metacognitive
strategy includes goal setting, timing, and resource planning in academic writing.
This study proves that metacognitive strategies enable students to become more
capable of planning and organizing their thoughts to produce quality conceptual
writing (Alfaifi, 2022; Keith et al., 2020). Students who plan to write well will have
good metacognitive awareness and be oriented towards the quality of their
written work.
6. Conclusion and Implications

The metacognitive strategy dimension has a positive relationship with multiple
dimensions and has a significant effect on students’ academic writing abilities.
The development of a self-reporting questionnaire instrument regarding the use
of metacognition proved to be valid and met the criteria for assessing students’
metacognitive awareness. Furthermore, the metacognitive strategy of academic
writing makes a significant contribution to the students’ academic writing
abilities. From the comparison of the proposed first model (second-order
one-factor model) and second model (eight-component correlation model), it was
found that the fit index of the second model was better than that of the first model.
This research includes the implications that academic writing ability can be
improved through increased metacognitive awareness through metacognitive
strategies and the students’ reflective abilities towards their own writing process.
The contribution of this research includes enabling the production of instruments
to examine students’ metacognitive abilities in the process of academic writing,
helping the students so that they have the ability to reflect when correcting
deficiencies and choosing the right strategy. This study also provides knowledge
of the components of metacognitive strategies that can support academic writing
skills.
7. Limitations and Recommendations

This study had several limitations, including the components in the metacognitive
strategy that were not fully analyzed, the dimensions of metacognitive experience
from the interviews that were not involved, and self-reporting strategies that may
not accurately assess metacognitive awareness. Other limitations were that the
research involved a genre of writing that focuses only on one type of writing,
namely conceptual articles, and the writing test not being accompanied by other
ability measurements that might affect it, such as language proficiency tests.
Based on the limitations of this study, we recommend a number of aspects for
future research, including expanding on the dimensions of metacognitive
strategies so that there are no obstacles to optimizing academic writing skills.
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Additionally, qualitative data other than self-reported data are needed to

strengthen the assessment of metacognitive awareness and more genres of writing
need to be included so that the role of metacognitive strategies can be observed
for other types of writing. Furthermore, initial writing ability tests should be
carried out along with other ability tests that support academic writing skills so
that the assessment of the students’ initial abilities is accurate. Despite these
limitations, this study is one of the most innovative studies investigating the
correlation of metacognition with academic writing skills.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 345-369, June 2023
Received Mar 18, 2023; Revised Jun 9, 2023; Accepted Jun 11, 2023
Parental Occupation, Social Class, and School

Choice in Southern Philippines: Their
Implications to Educational Public-Private
Partnership vis-à-vis the K-12 SHS Voucher
Program
Fernigil L. Colicol*
College of Education, Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi, Philippines
College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines
Fauzia K. Sali-Latif
College of Education, Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi, Philippines
Abstract. This study explores the education inequality brought about by

senior high school (SHS) choice of families in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi,
Philippines, considering a nonmonetary approach to social class based
on parental occupation. Furthermore, it underscores implications for
educational public-private partnership (EPPP) regarding the K-12 SHS
Voucher Program in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (BARMM). We used the explanatory sequential mixed
methods research design, wherein quantitative research is
complemented by qualitative research. A survey of family education,
parental (breadwinner) occupation, and SHS school choice was
conducted among Grade 12 public, private, and charter schools
students. Data analysis considered social status, power of school choice,
and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
government. Results showed more SHS participation from the middle
class. Although the charter SHS entails social cohesion, overall findings
suggest student segregation in the municipality, considering the public
and private SHSs student compositions. As such, there is education
inefficiency and inequity, revealing EPPP inefficiency. Based on
document analysis, a complementary method, these education
inequality issues are attributed to the partial implementation of ARMM
regional autonomy posing constraints to government service delivery
and compounding poverty. Therefore, government support and
regional mechanisms to strengthen capability and accountability are
recommended to enhance the state capacity and service delivery in
BARMM, Philippines.
*
Corresponding author: Fernigil L. Colicol, fernigilcolicol@msutawi-tawi.edu.ph
©Authors
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Keywords: Bangsamoro; school choice; public-private partnership;

capital; occupation
1. Introduction
Beginning in the 1970s, education sociologists worldwide have been thoroughly
investigating and addressing the deepening social inequalities in society
(Hoadley & Muller, 2010; Tsiplakides, 2018). Social class, a division in society
regarding social and economic status, is central to social inequality discourse
(Vilardo & Wepprecht, 2016). It is affected by factors such as education,
occupation, income, wealth, and family background. This study uses a
nonmonetary approach based on parental occupation to study social class and
social inequality in Philippine society (Albert et al., 2018; Chen, 2022).
Sociologists generally use three social categories, lower/working class, middle

class, and upper class, in studying social class; however, there has yet to be an
internationally accepted agreement regarding their definitions and boundaries
(Albert et al., 2018; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). Henceforth, using our study
framework, we propose definitions of the three social class classifications
(Philippine Statistics Authority, 2022; Termes et al., 2020). Firstly, the working
class includes families with unstable and low-income employment. Secondly,
the middle class comprises families with more formal and stable employment.
Thirdly, the upper class comprises affluent and prominent families occupying
top positions (e.g., managers, executives) in government or the private sector,
including small business owners. However, debates surrounding education
inequality usually point to the stark difference between (at least) the middle
class and the lower/working class (Costa et al., 2020; Goudeau et al., 2021;
Lareau, 2003; Reay, 2018); this study, therefore, takes these two as the main
subjects of interest. As such, the middle and upper classes are often lumped
together in this paper.
Philippine society is comprised of 74.3% or 14 million lower-class families, 25.2%

or 4.7 million middle-class families, and 0.1% or 21.7 thousand upper-class
families (Baldwin, 2015; Termes et al., 2020). Most upper and middle classes live
in major cities, while the lower class tends to dwell in rural areas (Philippine
Statistics Authority, 2020). This setup offers the upper and middle classes an
advantage regarding access to quality education, career development, and
opportunities over their lower/working class counterparts.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (2022) classifies the occupational groups of

the Philippine working population based on two essential criteria, skill level and
skill specialization, wherein formal education and field of knowledge are part:
(a) managers, (b) professionals, (c) armed forces occupations, (d) skilled
agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, (e) technicians, (f) clerical support
workers, (g) service and sales workers, (h) craft and related trades workers, (i)
plant and machine operators and assemblers, and (j) elementary occupations.
Therefore, considering these classifications, one’s occupation is constituted by a
certain level of education.
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The occupations mentioned above represent social positions whereby highly

educated professionals with technical knowledge and expertise occupy top
positions in government or the private sector, otherwise called white-collar jobs.
Those with lesser education or training occupy lower-level positions, called
blue-collar jobs or manual labor. Following Bourdieu’s (1977, 1984) notion of
capital, the different occupational positions manifest a form of inequality
brought about by unequal access or participation in the field of education. In his
social and cultural reproduction theory, Bourdieu posited those upper/middle-
class families have the advantage in society since they have the capabilities to
accumulate more economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital than their
lower/working class counterparts (Azubuike et al., 2021; Bourdieu, 1977;
Lareau, 2003). Economic capital refers to material resources or wealth, cultural
capital as to valued knowledge such as education, social capital to social
networks or connections, and symbolic capital as to prestige or social position.
To a certain extent, one’s occupational status is constituted by these forms of
capital.
Bourdieu (1977, 1984) further pointed out that social actors strategize to seize
opportunities on a playing field. In her study, Lareau (2003) showed that
families employ strategies to preserve capital and maintain social status.
Unfortunately, due to capital differentiation, various strategies were observed
across social classes, specifically between the middle and lower/working classes.
Given their adequate material resource and knowledge of the school system, the
middle class could apply effective strategies like concerted cultivation of the
children’s potential. In comparison, the lower/working class could not apply
similar strategies due to capital limitations or inadequate resources and
knowledge of the school system.
In the Philippines, Termes et al. (2020) found that families of different class
backgrounds apply strategies regarding school choice amid differing views
about the different types of schools. For instance, many say private school
education is often perceived as better than public school education and
contributes to better academic outcomes (Pedró et al., 2015). On the other hand,
others argue in favor of the opposite and even criticize private schools for
contributing to greater segregation and education inequality. Primarily, school
choice is brought about by the educational public-private partnership (EPPP).
With EPPP, the state contracts the private sector to involve them in the
education service delivery, thereby increasing parents’ power of school choice
(Termes et al., 2020). In the case of the Philippines, EPPP primarily operates
through the Education Service Contracting (ESC) program wherein private
schools receive vouchers for the ESC grantees they enroll, supposedly taken in
by government public schools (Department of Education, 2021; Termes et al.,
2020). The ESC “began [in the 1980s] as a targeted voucher scheme ... intended
for students in overcrowded public schools whose families are under the
national poverty line, exhibiting a clear focus for equity” (Termes et al., 2020, p.
93).
348
The present Philippine K-12 education system operates on the principle of

public-private partnership (PPP) based on the provisions of the 1987
Constitution (Department of Education, 2021). “Article XIV, Section 1, of the
constitution guarantees the right of every Filipino to accessible and quality basic
education, and Article XIV, Section 2.3 mandates the State to establish a system
of, among others, subsidies, and incentives to deserving individuals in both
public and private schools” (Department of Education, 2021). In upholding these
provisions, the Philippine Republic Act No. 10533 or the K-12 Law expands the
programs of assistance under Government Assistance to Students and Teachers
in Private Education (GASTPE). Thereby, E-GASTPE Law (RA No. 8545) extends
E-GASTPE benefits to qualified senior high school (SHS) students.
Extensive studies have been conducted on EPPP or PPP in education as this has
been proposed for K-12 education systems adopted by countries worldwide
(Ladd, 2002; Ross & Yan, 2015). However, as Humble and Dixon (2017) pointed
out, there are scant studies on EPPP in conflict zones; thus, little is known about
the consequences of EPPP in conflict-affected areas. Hence, this study aims to fill
this research gap by situating it in a conflict-affected context in the southern
Philippines, where poverty is also very high (World Bank, 2011).
We present our research setting and guide questions in the succeeding sections.
Then, we discuss our related literature on the interlinks of parental occupation,
social class, and school choice; the EPPP; and the K-12 Senior High School
Voucher Program (SHS VP). Our research methodology, results, discussion with
implications, conclusions, recommendations, and limitations follow.
1.1. The Research Setting

This study was conducted in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, a Muslim-dominated
community in the southern Philippines. Our survey of our research respondents
from this municipality revealed that their families’ levels of highest educational
attainment over a three-generation period (grandparents, parents, children) are
increasing. For example, Figure 1 shows that the highest educational attainment
of the majority in the grandparents' generation is less than high school and
bachelor's degree in the parents and their children’s generations, with the
children’s educational attainment is considered as rising. This trend suggests an
improved Philippine education provision in this locality and families taking
advantage of the benefits of education for social mobility. Nonetheless, social
inequality is rampant in this southernmost island province of the country due to
low quality and widespread inequality in the educational provision,
consequential effects of conflicts, and high poverty incidence (DFAT Australia &
World Bank, 2014; Hailaya, 2014; Malapit et al., 2003; Zamora & Dorado, 2015).
349
Highest Levels of Educational Attainment

40
30
Percent
Grandparents
20
Parents
10
Children
0
Less than high High school College level Bachelor's Graduate school
school graduate degree level
Figure 1: Highest levels of educational attainment in the families of Grade 12 students

in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi
Public and private schools and state universities and colleges (SUCs) deliver
basic education in Tawi-Tawi. Since the enactment of the Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013 or the K-12 education system, these school institutions
have been offering SHSs effective School Year 2016–2017, accommodating Junior
High School (JHS) completers. Under this new education reform, families can
choose any SHS to enroll their children by the time they complete JHS,
depending on the track (e.g., academic, sports, technical-vocational, arts and
design) chosen and the kind of support available in the SHS. Accordingly,
students intending to pursue Grades 11 and 12 can choose to enroll in a public,
private, or charter school as the Philippine government offers vouchers through
the K-12 SHS VP to support eligible SHS students (Department of Education,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
Taking the case of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region

in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Philippines, this study examines the social
composition of the different types of schools present in this municipality,
focusing on parental occupations, social class backgrounds, and family-school
choice strategies and what these reveal about the EPPP implementation of the
Philippines recently undergoing K-12 education reform. The following are the
research questions for this study.
1. What are the occupations of the breadwinner (main provider) in the Grade
12 students’ families and their corresponding social class classifications?
2. What are the school choices of lower/working class, middle class, and
upper-class families for their children, and their corresponding implications
to EPPP in K-12 implementation?
2. Interlinks of Parental Occupation, Social Class, and School Choice

Jimenez et al. (1991) compared public and private secondary education
performance on standardized math and language tests in the Dominican
Republic, Colombia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Tanzania. They found that
the performance of the private sector was far better than the public sector. This
finding reflects Coulson’s (2009) study on school choice in the U.S., which found
350
“the private sector outperformed the public sector in an overwhelming majority

of cases” (p. 32).
More recently, in the Philippines, Termes et al. (2020), in their study, pointed out
the advantages of private schools vis-à-vis school choice, such that the
competition for high-performing students in the country is more evident among
private schools than among public and private schools, quite the contrary of the
U.S. experience wherein “public schools do respond constructively to
competition, by raising their achievement and productivity” (Hoxby, 2003).
Termes et al.’s (2020) finding applies in Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province
of the Philippines. In her study, Ayangco-Derramas (2022) underscored that
kindergarten learners’ performance in private schools in Tawi-Tawi reached the
"proficient" level. In contrast, public school performance only reached the
"approaching proficiency" level, suggesting that the private sector is better than
the public sector in education service delivery in the province.
Advocates suggest charter schools, free, publicly-funded, independently-

operated schools of choice operating with more autonomy than traditional
public schools, deliver higher learning performance at a lower cost (Hoxby,
2003; Klapper, 2023; Reed & Rose, 2015), thus attracting many low-performing
students from public schools (Hoxby, 2003). Aside from private schools, charter
schools also attract middle-class parents as they are believed to help children
develop more of their creative, academic, and athletic talents (Bosetti & Pyryt,
2007). In the southern Philippines, the Mindanao State University, with one of its
campuses in Tawi-Tawi, is a chartered university by virtue of Republic Act No.
1387, As Amended by Republic Act No. 1893, Republic Act No. 3791 and
Republic Act No. 3868 (Mindanao State University System, 2013), delivering
basic and higher education alongside sectarian and non-sectarian private
educational institutions, and the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical
Education (MBHTE) that caters to the basic education and with the broadest
coverage among the three major types of educational institutions in the province
(Iqbal, 2023).
Taking the choice of different types of schools into account, Ball and Gewirtz
(1997), citing at least 13 studies carried out in national and local contexts,
established “that there is a strong association between social class and school
choice" (p. 575), which echoes Gabay-Egozi’s (2016) position concerning social
class and education:
Within governmental and academic discourses parental school choice is
usually construed in terms of privileged middle-class values and norms.
Middle class parents are mostly identified as rational careful choice-
makers, whereas less-privileged families are thought to be less equipped
to undertake the work of choice ... as they lack the resources to ‘devise
and execute the complex strategies’ it entails. (p. 3)
Bosetti and Pyryt (2007) corroborated the preceding point in their investigation
on social class differentiation and school choice by stating that, for middle-class
parents, choosing a good school for their children is a moral imperative, and not
doing so is viewed as their failure as parents. Their study shows that high-
351
income parents with higher-level of education choose a private school over a

public school.
On the other hand, Termes et al.’s (2020) study on Filipino family school choice
strategies and the schools’ logics of action to attract students in the National
Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines reveals that the most frequent elements
of Filipino family school choice are distance, cost, proximity, and social
composition. Furthermore, although Bosetti and Pyryt’s (2007) results concur
that distance or proximity to home is one of the parents’ main reasons for school
choice, their findings vary according to school type: School distance is the top
reason for public school parents, academic reputation for alternative school
parents, and shared values and beliefs for religious private school parents.
The link between school distance and school choice also figures in the study of
Goldring and Philips (2008) in the United States of America and Burgess et al.
(2011) in England. Burgess et al.’s (2011) findings, however, disclose there is
inequality in access to (nearer) more advantaged schools between children from
high and low socioeconomic status (SES), with the high SES having a greater
probability of getting slots than their low SES counterparts. Concerning SES and
school choice, Opdenakker and Van Damme (2006) pointed out that “research
has established that school choice is rarely exercised independently of
socioeconomic background and that minorities more often attend public sector
schools and schools in the immediate neighborhood” (p. 111). They further
noted that school type (e.g., private school, charter school, public school) seem to
impact school effect due to differences in, for example, “group composition,”
“the social and learning climate,” and “the opportunity to learn” (p. 87).
Several authors of various studies tackle parental occupation and its wide-range
of implications for human development. According to these authors, parental
occupation produces a significant impact on individuals’ socioeconomic
development (Xing et al., 2021), is associated with education (Friberg et al.,
2015), influences offspring’s lifestyle behaviors (Vereecken et al., 2004) such as
smoking or tobacco use (Fagan et al., 2005) and professional choices and values
(Pablo-Lerchundi et al., 2015), matters to children’s school outcomes in math
(Giannelli & Rapallini, 2019), and predicts parental involvement in education
(Nguon, 2012). Furthermore, parents’ status and authority play a vital role in
children's study field choice (Tao & Cheng, 2022), career choice (Alboliteeh et al.,
2022), leadership emergence and transformational behaviors (Duan et al., 2022),
and formation of class identity (Macfarlane, 2022). In summary, these studies
reveal that high-level occupations with higher education and income effectively
produce a stronger impact and influence on children’s behavior than low-level
occupations, reflecting views about social class, whereby the middle-class
parents with greater capital (e.g., high-level occupation, high-level education,
high income) better influence and shape children’s behavior as compared with
their working-class counterparts (Lareau, 2003; Sullivan, 2002).
Therefore, based on the preceding findings, (parental) occupation, as symbolic of

Bourdieu’s capital, can also illuminate social class. In a sense, by naming one’s
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occupation, we can distinguish who among individuals or social groups wield a

higher or lower (symbolic) capital, thereby enabling us to identify and classify
who belongs to the working class, the middle class, or the upper class. The use of
the occupation of a household head in research is figured in the study by
Vereecken (2004). The present study also uses occupation to investigate social
class, but its scope and policy implications will make it distinct and novel.
The educational implications of the convergence of and interlinks among

parental occupation, social class, and school choice in the Philippines conflict-
affected province are exciting findings based on the preceding premise.
3. Educational Public-Private Partnership

The Educational Public-Private Partnership (EPPP) is a global trend to address
education access and equity through increasing school choices among parents
and competition among school systems to improve education provision (Termes
et al., 2020). Public-Private Partnership (PPP), where the EPPP falls, "refers to an
agreement between the public and the private sectors, in which some of the
services or tasks that are the responsibility of the public sector are provided by
the private sector" (Fleta-Asin et al., 2020, p. 1489).
In many developing countries where the state provision of education is poor,

non-state provision is prevalent, ranging from “non-government and other civil
society organizations ... private providers with profitmaking motives ... and
religious providers” (Rose, 2010, p. 475). Notably, the prominence of the for-
profit private sector since the 1990s was mainly brought about by an
international neoliberal agenda that advocates for a reduced role of the state
through the participation of the private sector in public service delivery (Blasco
& Vargas, 2011). Despite recognizing the efficiency of service delivery through
PPP (Pedró et al., 2015), Rose (2010) warned about the unregulated proliferation
of for-profit and not-for-profit provisions that might result in the fragmentation
of service delivery, prompting inequity.
Unlike other sectors, partnerships within an education sector are crucial for the
state for several reasons: (a) education plays a significant role in the identity
formation of the state and its members (political); (b) education is a lifelong
activity involving short-term and long-term planning and execution of
educational programs and projects; and (c) education has a potential role in
social mobility and instrumental in promoting greater equity (Rose, 2010). To
this end, one option for the government to safeguard its interest in its
partnerships with the private sector is “to play a role in regulating and
monitoring non-state provision to ensure that choice and competition do not
undermine equity objectives” (Rose, 2010, p. 475).
School choice as a product of EPPP is sometimes referred to as "school voucher,"

a mechanism whereby private schools obtain state funding to enroll qualified
students from public schools provided they meet set standards and
requirements of the state’s public school system (Hanushek et al., 2006). Aside
from public and private schools, charter schools also benefit from public funding
353
but exercise a certain level of autonomy in their educational function. Thus, a

charter school may be in a continuum between public and private schools.
Most K-12 education systems operate through PPP/EPPP (Ladd, 2002).

However, accordingly, this mode of governing public education does not
convincingly demonstrate desirable results in improving education quality
(Burgess et al., 2011), especially in developing countries (Diaz-Rios et al., 2021).
For this reason, its effectiveness is held in question, especially on the aspect of
balancing efficiency and equity, which is to be seen as a continuum (Pedró et al.,
2015; see also Ball, 1993; Burgess et al., 2011; Diaz-Rios et al., 2021; Ladd, 2002;
Rose, 2010; Termes et al., 2020). Supposedly, the education system is efficient
when parents are granted more power to choose schools for their children and
for schools to compete for the best educational services they can offer to the
clientele in the education market. However, on the other hand, inequity is a
tendency due to the possible social and cultural segregation of students of
different backgrounds in schools. For example, more and more advantaged
students flock to private schools while the less-advantaged ones are segregated
in public schools, possibly compromising social cohesion (Bosetti & Pyryt, 2007;
Calero & Cabrera, 2023; Humble & Dixon, 2017; Termes et al., 2020; World Bank,
2011). This study will, therefore, further investigate education efficiency and
equity in an understudied conflict-affected province in the southern Philippines.
4. The Philippine K-12 Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP)
Under Philippine Republic Act No. 10533 (Enhanced Basic Education Act of
2013), beginning in June 2016, the Department of Education (2015)
mainstreamed the SHS in the Philippines. Said law also expands the coverage of
the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education
(GASTPE) by providing funding assistance to Grades 11 and 12 students
through the SHS VP. DepEd Order No. 11, s. 2015 explicitly states
The DepEd would like to use this mechanism to enable 30-40% of its
students to enroll in non-DepEd schools which will offer SHS, including
private JHSs (junior high schools), private HEIs (higher education
institutions), state and local colleges and universities, and technical-
vocational institutions (TVIs). This public-private partnership (PPP)
would serve to decongest public schools, reduce or delay the need to
construct DepEd SHS facilities and hire government teachers, and
provide less affluent students more options for SHS education. (DepEd,
2015, p. 1)
The DepEd grants permit to non-DepEd schools that meet its requirements for
participation in the SHS VP. DepEd engaged the Private Education Assistance
Committee (2020) to co-implement the GASTPE Program, including the ESC
program and the SHS VP. The DepEd eligibility guide applied when this study
was conducted in School Year 2019–2020 is shown in Table 1:
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Table 1: DepEd eligibility guide for School Year 2019–2020

Not eligible QVRs [Qualified Voucher VAs [Voucher Applicants]
Recipients] (No need to (Need to apply)
apply)
Grade10 completers before Category A: Grade 10 Category D: Grade 10
SY 2018-2019 completers in DepEd public completers in private
schools schools who are not ESC
To clarify: ALS & A&E Test grantees
and PEPT passers prior to
SY 2018-2019 are also not
eligible
High School Graduates of Category B: Grade 10 Category E: Learners who
March 2015 or earlier completers in SUCs and took/will take the ALS
LUCs A&E Test in the current
school year
Incoming Grade 12 learners Category C: Grade 10 Category F: Learners who
who were not part of SHS completers who are ESC took/will take the PEPT* in
VP in Grade 11 grantees the current school year
Non-Filipino learners
*For VAs who fall under Categories E and F, they may apply for the voucher while
waiting for results of the ALS A&E Test and PEPT, respectively.
Note. Adapted from DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2019
On the other hand, Table 2 illustrates the maximum applicable voucher amount
(in Philippine peso per student per school year):
Table 2. The maximum applicable voucher amount

Location of Non- QVR/QVA Voucher Amount Voucher Amount
DepEd SHS Category for SUC/LUC
National Capital Categories A, B, E, F 22,500 11,250
Region (NCR) Categories C, D 18,000
Highly urbanized Categories A, B, E, F 20,000
cities (HUCs) Categories C, D 16,000 10,000
outside of NCR
All other locations Categories A, B, E, F 17,500 8,750
Categories C, D 14,000
Note. Adapted from DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2019
5. Methodology
5.1. The Research Design
This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design,
complementing quantitative research with qualitative research (Creswell, 2014).
Document analysis is used to make sense of the survey findings (Bowen, 2009;
Fetterman, 2010).
5.2. The Research Locale

This study was conducted in the three types and biggest public, private, and
charter (state university) SHSs in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, BARMM, Philippines.
These schools are not explicitly named for anonymity purposes. The public and
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private SHSs are SHS VP participating schools. Although the charter SHS is not
included in the list of the SHS VP participating schools, it is included in this
study since it received public funding, making its tuition fees far cheaper than
those of the private SHS.
5.3. The Research Respondents

The research respondents are 245 Grade 12 SHS students enrolled during School
Year 2019–2020. Of the 245 student respondents, 66 enrolled in the public SHS,
77 in the state university SHS, and 102 in the private SHS.
5.4. The Survey Procedure

Survey data were gathered from public, private, and charter SHSs from October
28–31, 2019, after seeking permission and approval from their respective school
administrators. For representation purposes, target student populations from
one central SHS (urban) and one community SHS (rural) for the public school
were combined to reflect the nature of the public schools in the municipality.
Thereby, considering that the target population is composed of three different
strata or subgroups, stratified random sampling was used, applying the Cochran
sampling formula (Nguon, 2012). The total samples generated from the
sampling frame was 248, with the following distribution of the research
respondents by type of school: public school (69), state university (77), and
private school (102). However, out of the 248 respondents surveyed, the valid
response rate was only 245. The incomplete information provided by three
respondents from the public secondary school disqualified them from inclusion
in this study.
5.5. The Survey Questionnaire

We employed a theoretically derived foundational model or top-down approach
in developing our survey questionnaire (Cobern & Adams, 2020). Hence, survey
validity is established by drawing on our research literature. For an external
review of the questionnaire to establish further item effectiveness and validity,
pretesting was conducted on three different SHS students. It consists of three
parts: Part 1 asks Grade 12 students to supply the school they currently enroll in,
Part 2 asks them to supply their breadwinner occupation, and Part 3 asks their
families’ highest educational attainment across three generations.
5.6. Data Analysis and Presentation

The categorization of social classes into lower/working class, middle class, and
upper class in this study is based on Bourdieu's notion of capital, wherein one's
social status in society is constituted by economic, cultural, social, and symbolic
capital. Under such an assumption, a family may be positioned in the upper or
middle class provided it is rated highly in any or a combination of the capitals.
Conversely, the lack of such is tantamount to a family being classified as
lower/working class.
The family breadwinner occupation was a proxy of Bourdieu’s capital, relying

mainly on the occupational name. As a side note, we deem it sufficient to
consider the main family provider to study social class while acknowledging
that some families may have employed husband and wife. Our further
356
justification for using a nonmonetary approach based on occupation in studying

social class (i.e., excluding education and income in the equation) is that
developing countries like the Philippines, unlike the U.S. and most Western
nations, generally do have low educational achievement and the economic
capital in these settings does not automatically translate into the ways parents
intervene in their children’s schooling (Nguon, 2012). Accordingly, interventions
of other variables, such as the extended family's collective efforts, come into play
in children's education. Hence, in this respect, the likelihood that parental
occupation (including status and authority) mediates the whole sphere of family
relationships and influences children's education is thus greater than other
variables, making it a reliable construct that can also explain the social dynamics
in Philippine education and society.
Additionally, according to the Philippine Integrative Development Studies

(PIDS), there is no fixed measure in classifying the middle class in the
Philippines, which explains the dynamic nature of the social class (Albert et al.,
2018). For instance, individuals in the upper bound of the lower class and those
in the lower bound of the middle class may cross class boundaries owing to
social mobility dynamics whereby families change occupational status and
income levels from time to time (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019).
Using our social class definitions based on Bourdieu’s capital and considering
the 1998 Office for National Statistics Classification of Occupations (Hill, 1999)
and the Philippine Statistics Authority (2022) classification of occupation as a
guide, we categorized the Grade 12 family breadwinner occupations including
their frequency count to classify the SHS families into three social class
classifications—lower/working class, middle class, and upper class.
Meanwhile, the analysis of the family school choices and implications to EPPP
considers the family social class standing (e.g., upper class, middle class,
lower/working class) and the type of school (e.g., private, public, charter school)
attended by the research respondents, hence generating the distribution of social
class by type of school through Microsoft Excel. Finally, the results are presented
in percentages using multiple bar graphs for comparison.
5.7. Document Analysis as a Complementary Method

According to Bowen (2009), “documents provide background and context ... and
verification of findings from other data sources” (pp. 30–31). Hence, we used
document analysis, “a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating
documents,” as a complementary method of our survey data (Bowen, 2009, p.
27) to provide a background of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) governance that may have affected the EPPP, the SHS VP in particular.
We followed Altheide’s process of document analysis: (1) setting inclusion

criteria for documents, (2) collecting documents, (3) articulating key areas of
analysis, (4) document coding, (5) verification, and (6) analysis (Wach et al.,
2013). First, we set a guideline to choose only documents tackling Philippine
EPPP and ARMM education governance. Second, we searched through Google
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and the Scopus database entering the keywords Philippine EPPP and ARMM
education governance. This process paved the way for selecting two international
organization reports and one research article. Third, we read the chosen
documents and identified details related to our study. Fourth, we coded the
relevant document passages linked to our survey findings. Fifth, we reviewed
our codes, ensuring their accuracy and reliability. Sixth and last, we analyzed
the codes iteratively, taking into account our survey results to underscore EPPP
implications in BARMM.
6. Results
The 245 research participants are categorized according to three types of social
class (see Table 3): lower/working class, middle class, and upper class. The
following is their distribution: lower/working class, 95 or 38.8%; middle class,
127 or 51.8%; and upper class, 23 or 9.4%. Therefore, most Grade 12 senior high
students come from middle-class families. Self-employed non-professionals,
teachers, government employees, and police personnel constitute the bulk of this
class. On the other hand, the majority in the lower/working class group are
farmers and fishermen. Moreover, the upper class, dominated mainly by
business proprietors and highly educated individuals with managerial positions
in government and private institutions, is the least. Refer to Table 3 for the
complete distribution of occupations of parents of the Grade 12 SHS students.
Table 3: Distribution of occupations of parents (breadwinners) of the Grade 12 SHS

students
Social Class Occupational Classification Number
Lower/Working class farmer 44
fisherman 20
vendor 10
construction worker 2
carpenter 4
welder 1
contractual worker 2
company driver 8
household helper 1
tricycle driver 2
utility 1
Subtotal 95
Middle class self-employed non-professional 43
teacher 26
government employee 25
police 13
nurse 2
local government official 3
pharmacist 1
pastor 1
security guard 5
foreman 3
cashier 2
guidance councilor 1
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bookkeeper 1
office secretary 1
Subtotal 127
Upper class
supervisor 5
barangay chairman 2
business proprietor 4
school principal 3
principal engineer 1
company manager 1
municipal accountant 1
professor 2
dean 1
university director 1
mayor 1
dentist 1
Subtotal 23
Total 245
Around 4.35% of upper-class students enrolled in the public SHS, 34.78% in the
state university SHS (charter school), and 60.87% in the private SHS (see Figure
2). The proportion of middle-class students attending public SHS, state
university SHS, and private SHS were 9.45%, 34.65%, and 55.90%, respectively.
Finally, 55.79% of the working class students are in the public SHS, 27.37% are in
the state university SHS, and 16.84% are in the private SHS.
Distribution of Grade 12 Students for School Year 2019-2020

70.00%
60.87%
60.00% 55.79% 55.90%
50.00%
40.00% 34.65% 34.78%
30.00% 27.37%
20.00% 16.84%
9.45%
10.00% 4.35%
0.00%
Public SHS State University SHS Private SHS
WorkingClass Middle Class Upper Class
Figure 2: Social class distribution in the Senior High Schools (SHSs) of Bongao, Tawi-
Tawi, Philippines
These results reveal that the public SHS gets the biggest attendance from the
lower/working class, with only a few attendances from the middle and upper
classes among the three different types of schools: public SHS, state university
359
SHS, and private SHS. On the contrary, the private SHS houses the most
upper/middle-class SHS students among the three schools. On the other hand,
among the three SHSs accounted for, the state university SHS obtains an almost
equal share of Grade 12 students from the three social classes. However, the
lower/working class is relatively lower.
7. Discussions and Implications to Educational Public-Private

Partnership (EPPP)
The greater percentage of the middle class compared to the lower/working class
attending Grade 12 SHS entails disproportionate access and participation at this
level of schooling, considering that the majority of the Philippine population
comes from the lower class category (Baldwin, 2015; Termes et al., 2020).
Notably, there is an apparent educational disadvantage among students whose
parents are farmers and fishermen—among the poorest sectors in 2018, along
with rural individuals, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2020).
The advantage of the middle class and the disadvantage of the lower/working
class in education in this study echo and support the findings of Ball and
Gewirtz (1997), Lareau (2003), Sullivan (2002), and Reay (2018) on social class
and education.
Based on the results, there is a class segregation in the Grade 12 SHSs in Bongao,
Tawi-Tawi, in the BARMM, Philippines. Most upper/middle class students are
concentrated in the private and charter (state university) SHSs, whereas most
lower/working class students are in the public SHS. Even when considering
only one school type, for example, the public school, we can infer there is an
occurrence of segregation among Grade 12 SHS students in the municipality.
Along this vein, as Ayangco-Derramas (2022) pointed out, private schools in
Tawi-Tawi performed better than public schools; the middle-class students are
thus in an advantageous position compared to their lower/working-class
counterparts in regard to accessing quality education. It goes without saying that
there is a high-level education and social inequality in the municipality,
reflective of Zamora and Dorado’s (2015) finding about education inequality in
the province of Tawi-Tawi. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (2005) further pointed out the relationship between education
inequality and education quality, such that the areas with high-level education
inequality also have low-level education quality (Zamora & Dorado, 2015). This
position may apply in this study as Hailaya (2014) showed regarding the case of
Tawi-Tawi where it was found a low-level education quality in the province as
indicated by students’ low performance in national achievement tests and
teachers' low-level assessment literacy.
The findings of this study have significant implications for EPPP (see Table 4)
that paves the way for the K-12 SHS VP of the DepEd aimed at decongesting
public schools through the participation of the private sector in the public
education provision to improve education quality by increased family school
choice on the part of the clientele as consumers and competition on the part of
schools as education providers. Nonetheless, as evident in the results, the
government voucher program does not forge diversity through increased
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enrollment from the lower/working class in the participating private SHS in

Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, and address high education inequality (Zamora & Dorado,
2015) after four years of SHS implementation beginning School Year 2016-2017,
which is consistent with Termes et al.’s (2020) findings regarding the ESC
program (forerunner of the K-12 SHS VP): “ESC expansion [from 545, 027 grants
in 1997 to 855, 372 in 2015] has not translated into an increase of enrollment in
private education, in percentage terms” (p. 94). Accordingly, there is a high level
of inequity in this municipality in BARMM regarding access to education quality
offered by different types of SHSs. In its report, the World Bank (2011) states that
ESC grantees distribution by region in the Philippines is not proportional, with
the ARMM (now BARMM), where Tawi-Tawi is, having the lowest number of
grantees. This matter can be attributed to either the private schools in the region
having limited capacity to accommodate ESC grantees or, more probably,
because many households could not afford to pay the “top up” or the difference
between the government subsidy amount and the school tuition fees.
Considering the inequality gap, the high poverty incidence in Tawi-Tawi,
BARMM (DFAT Australia & World Bank, 2014; World Bank, 2011; Zamora &
Dorado, 2015), and the high tuition fees collected by the private SHS considered
in this study; therefore, most low-income families more preferred the public
school or the charter school that offers good education with low tuition fees but
with the stringent admission process. However, notably, based on the Grade 12
distribution by type of school, the charter school is closer to the ideal in terms of
education access and student population diversity (i.e., almost equal in terms of
the percentage of lower/working class, middle class, and upper class attending
the charter school).
Table 4: Document analysis results

Source Page Code and Relevant Passage
1. The World Bank (2011). 23 Lowest growth rates in ESC slots in ARMM:
Philippines Private Regions with the highest growth rates
Provision, Public Purpose: include the NCR ... CALABARZON, and
A Review of the Western Visayas, while regions with the
Government’s Education lowest growth rates are ARMM, Zamboanga
Service Contracting Peninsula, and MIMAROPA. Again the
Program poorest regions also have the lowest growth
rates in ESC slots, probably because few
households can take up the slots due to their
inability to pay for the difference between the
subsidy amount and the tuition fees.
2. DFAT Australia and 16 ARMM governance issues due to partial
World Bank (2014). implementation of ARMM regional autonomy:
Philippines: Making Delays and partial implementation of the
Education Spending regional autonomy granted first by the 1989
Count for the Children of creation of the ARMM, and revised via the
the Autonomous Region in “Final Peace Accord” and resulting
Muslim Mindanao—A “Expanded Organic Act” of 2001, have
Public Expenditure & undermined the coherence of public
Institutional Review for expenditure management institutions. This
ARMM Basic Education incomplete devolution stems from both a
failure to establish necessary legal codes and
361
functional institutions to support the

provisions of the Organic Act and a lack of
capacity and compliance by the region with
the fiduciary requirements of national
government and principles of sound budget
accountability.
At the same time, there has been a tension

between the nationwide decentralization
process under the Local Government Code
(RA 7160 of 1991) and regional devolution
under RA 9054. These two frameworks have
not been resolved coherently, resulting in
ambiguity over the relationships and
responsibilities of the ARMM regional
government and other Local Government
Units.
3. Termes et al. (2020). The 94 Stagnation in private education enrollment amid
development and the government’s voucher program: Over time,
dynamics of public-private the voucher program has grown
partnerships in the exponentially from only 545,027 grants in
Philippines’ education: A 1997 to 855,372 in 2015 (FAPE [Fund for
counterintuitive case of Assistance to Private Education] database).
school choice, competition, However, this ESC expansion has not
and privatization. translated into an increase of enrollment in
Educational Policy, 34(1), private education, in percentage terms. In
91–117. recent years, private sector enrollment has
stagnated, contrasting with the rapid growth
of public sector enrollment, particularly in
the pre-primary and secondary levels.
Being situated in the BARMM, the SHSs in this study are a particular case.
However, it must be acknowledged that the education sector in BARMM has
relative autonomy, just as the BARMM has political autonomy as a region within
the Philippine state. As the EPPP emanated from the Philippine central
government and was implemented down the line in the country's various
regions, the setup of the BARMM, including its educational challenges, has to be
scrutinized to offer an in-depth analysis of the education inequality affecting this
part of the country.
The BARMM was only fully established in 2019, which means that, during this
study period, the structure and governance of the ARMM (forerunner of the
BARMM) were in operation; thereby, challenges in the region might have been
in play in the SHS VP implementation. Accordingly, the nature of the ARMM as
a layer of government mediating the Philippine central government and the
local governments in the region became a challenge to education within the
region (DFAT Australia & World Bank, 2014). In fact, there remained an
unresolved tension between the “nationwide decentralization process under the
Local Government Code (RA 7160 of 1991) and regional devolution under RA
9054” (DFAT Australia & World Bank, 2014, p. 16).
362
Although there was an established system to operationalize governance in

ARMM, there were implementation issues in the autonomous government due
to incoherence in the public expenditure management resulting from the “delays
and partial implementation of the regional autonomy” (DFAT Australia &
World Bank, 2014, p. 16). Hence, the disconnect in policy, plan, and budget:
Budgeting, for instance, is fragmented with the budget originating from
different sources (e.g., Department of Budget and Management [DBM], DepEd
National, internal revenue allotment). This scenario makes educational planning
in the region problematic. Furthermore, the ARMM had inadequate
documentation of all its educational programs (e.g., personnel record system,
enrollment rate including tracking of dropouts and out-of-school youth, families
needing educational support) reported to the national offices, making the region
difficult to deal with, especially on the part of the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) and the DepEd National that require sufficient data and
credible reports before releasing government funds for educational programs.
Such inadequacies in the region paved the way for irregularities and misguided
planning, resulting in the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of education services.
Hence, the autonomy of the ARMM is only theory and failing in practice.
The weak governance in ARMM has serious implications characterized by

longstanding political and socioeconomic issues. The DFAT Australia and World
Bank (2014) have shown that “Children in the ARMM have long suffered from
the effects of underdevelopment, neglect, poor governance, and conflict. The
proportion of impoverished families in the ARMM is the highest in the country,
amounting to over twice the Philippines average” (“Executive Summary”
section). Taking the case of Tawi-Tawi, where there is high inequality (Zamora &
Dorado, 2015), it is likely that low socioeconomic status is the top reason for
most lower/working-class families’ public SHS school choice for their children
despite the promise of the SHS VP to allow them to enroll in private SHSs and
decongest public SHSs. Our supposition is based on the World Bank’s (2011)
report on the ESC program, the forerunner of the SHS VP, that noted: “The
unaffordability of tuition fees of private schools could be the main reason why
there are least ESC grantees in BARMM among all regions of the Philippines.”
Superseding the ARMM government is the new BARMM government in

Bangsamoro created by virtue of Republic Act No. 11054. The BARMM hopes to
address the governance issues of ARMM, including in education. Under
BARMM, a new education system has been established—the MBHTE embodied
in the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 18, also known as the Bangsamoro
Education Code of 2021 (Bangsamoro Parliament, 2021). Its education system
has a parallel form of basic education, the public school system and the public
madrasah system. Furthermore, it has specific provisions on alternative learning
system, higher education, technical education and skills development,
indigenous peoples’ education, and peace education. Finally, given the
provisions of the 1987 Philippine constitution, the BARMM education system
shall adhere to the principles of EPPP or PPP in education.
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8. Conclusions
This study shows inequality in education access between at least the
lower/working class and the middle class: Most of the Grade 12 SHS students in
Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, come from affluent families. Furthermore, the
middle and upper classes have a greater advantage in education as they have
greater power of school choice compared with their lower/working-class
counterparts. Furthermore, education inequality in the municipality is further
compounded by inequality in access to the quality education offered by different
types of schools: public SHS, state university SHS, and private SHS.
Therefore, the Philippine EPPP operating through the K-12 SHS VP, which was
supposed to decongest public schools and foster school diversity, did not
adequately achieve its primary intention: This study shows class segregation in
basic education, wherein most low-income families choose a public school, and
high-income families choose a private school; although, interestingly, charter
schools almost reached an equilibrium in balancing the school participation of
students from different social class backgrounds. Simply put, the EPPP failed to
balance efficiency and equity in the schooling system as parents did not have
adequate power of school choice, and schools—particularly the public and the
private SHSs in this study—were not encouraged to compete to attract students
in the education market. Hence, there is an inequity in which the trend is toward
segregation rather than cohesion.
The ARMM EPPP gaps are attributed to ARMM’s weak governance system and
inefficient service delivery that drive high poverty incidence and hinder low-
income families from enjoying private education provision through the K-12
SHS VP. On the other hand, the limited capacity of private schools to
accommodate public school students is similarly situated. The inadequate
regional regulation of the private education provisions results in the families’
decreased power of school choice, defeating the SHS VP’s main purpose.
9. Recommendations
For the new BARMM government to succeed, it is recommended to address the
local divisions over the Bangsamoro Organic Law, improve the state capacity in
BARMM, and ensure national government support to the new regional
government (Cook, 2018) to address the systemic problems (e.g., poverty,
socioeconomic disparity) in the region hindering equitable access and
participation in education through EPPP. When the autonomous regional system
is improved, and the poverty rate is reduced accordingly, parents will have
greater power of school choice (e.g., afford private school education), which will
lead to the achievement of the SHS VP’s intention to decongest public schools.
Education authorities in BARMM should closely regulate and supervise the

private schools in the region to ensure the affordability of their education
provision, especially for students who receive government funding intending to
obtain private education. Public schools must improve their education services
to attract more students from different social class backgrounds. Charter schools
(e.g., the state university in this study) should strive to balance their student
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population with equal participation of students from different social and

cultural backgrounds. Additionally, these school institutions may adopt a
mechanism or policy to promote diversity along social class, ethnic, and
religious lines among administrators, faculty, staff, and students.
Finally, government and education authorities should consider increasing the

voucher program amount to support low-income students and raise their power
of school choice, enhancing program monitoring and strengthening
accountability among education stakeholders. Besides, creating more jobs and
livelihood programs for low-income families is imperative for government
institutions.
10. Limitations
Given this study’s parameters with samples taken from three different types of
schools in a specified school year in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, the results may apply
only to these schools and not to others. Therefore, caution should be practiced in
making generalizations based on the results of this study.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 370-394, June 2023
Learning Moral Values Through Cartoons for

Malaysian Preschool-aged Children
Muhammad Alif Redzuan Abdullah*
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract. While the younger generation’s access to YouTube and time

spent in front of the TV have increased, research on the ability of young
children to learn moral values remains lacking. Furthermore, the
preconceived notion that cartoons are detrimental to moral development
is inconclusive, which requires further research to be confirmed or
debunked. This study, which is mixed method research, aims to identify
and analyse how moral values are taught in cartoons. A total of 20
preschool children (aged five to six years old) from an elementary school
in Kuala Lumpur were selected. Doraemon animated series or movies
were used as the study data. Notably, Doraemon animations and
movies are popular among children as they are humorous and condemn
bullying. This was followed by the process of data collection that
comprised three phases. Specifically, the first phase was participant
observation, the second phase was questionnaires, and the third phase
was the unstructured interview. A statistical programme was conducted
to analyse all the quantitative data collected from the surveys.
Qualitative analysis software was used to analyse and code the
qualitative data collected from observations and unstructured
interviews. As a result, the majority of preschool children were in the
imitation phase. Therefore, they imitated the good moral values
portrayed in the cartoons they watched. This study also highlighted that
preschool children's viewing of cartoons is not only entertaining but also
educational and teaches important key moral values. Apart from that,
the children preferred to watch cartoons rather than playing outside
during their free time. The families' explanations helped the
preschoolers distinguish between good and bad moral values in line
with Malay culture and Islamic teachings. The analysis was limited by
the small sample size and geographical location of this study. Thus, it
was suggested that further studies are conducted to expand the
economic strata and age groups.
Keywords: Moral Values; Cartoons; Preschool; Children; Television;

YouTube
*
Corresponding author: muhammadalif@upm.edu.my
©Author
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1. Introduction
In today's world, where technology has become more accessible to younger
generations, children have shorter attention spans. Therefore, they are reluctant
to listen to bedtime stories and prefer to watch TV or videos on YouTube. Based
on the statistics on smartphone usage released by the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission in 2021, 94.8% of Malaysians
used smartphones in their daily lives as smartphones are affordable to all
individuals regardless of income. Furthermore, young children often watch
cartoons on their smartphones due to their affordability for families and
compact size, which is convenient to carry at any place. The touchscreen
function of smartphones encourages young children to actively interact by
swiping, touching, and pressing gestures. With the new generation of computer-
animated cartoons such as Toy Story, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and Frozen, the
production of animated films has changed dramatically over the century - from
traditional techniques to computer-animated techniques with computer-
generated imagery (CGI). Although cartoons are produced for entertainment
purposes and, to some extent, portray magical and fictional creatures and places,
children enjoy watching cartoons due to the vivid and unique visuals besides the
compelling stories.
Based on a previous study by Joginder Singh et al. (2021), children between the
ages of three and five watch an average of 2.64 hours of television per day,
which is above the amount recommended by the American Academy of
Paediatrics. Essentially, children are highly sensitive to media exposure due to
their lack of resilience, judgment, and other cognitive and emotional skills
(Weaver et al., 2011). Therefore, it is crucial to mitigate the negative effects of
media while enhancing their positive effects. Cartoons do not only serve as
entertainment in young children's lives, but they also play an important role in
the development of the children’s aesthetic and artistic values and acquisition of
the values (Acheampong, 2017). Therefore, it is important to provide children
with opportunities to watch cartoons that reflect society’s aesthetic and artistic
values where they grow up (Balaji & Lakshmikantha, 2022). Based on Habib and
Soliman’s (2015) study, cartoons were found to be an important visual resource
to guide children in acquiring moral values such as tolerance, respect for
differences, cooperation, kindness, and honesty. In addition, teachers are able to
enhance the children’s teaching and learning process by explaining to them
about the story plot and characters to motivate them and promote their
interactions in the classroom (Kabooha, 2016). Therefore, cartoons can develop
young children's cognitive skills by analyzing and evaluating cartoon characters
in a democratic environment by presenting different opinions and respecting
others' views.
Young children’s selection of the genre of the cartoon is attributed to their age
and the cartoon’s special features such as attractive visual effects, a good voice,
facial expressions, and the characters’ feelings that pique their interest. A notable
difference was present between the male and female young children in their
choices of favourite characters. To illustrate, boys prefer supernatural abilities
and physical appearances, such as flying skills, supernatural powers, and
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magical abilities, with some of the characters bearing terrifying appearances.

Meanwhile, girls idolise the characters for their beauty and fashionable
behaviour. Furthermore, the status of female characters has evolved from the era
of Disney cartoons such as Snow White and Cinderella to today’s cartoons
where the female characters are portrayed with strong abilities, skilled tasks,
and idealistic love. An example is Elsa of Frozen, an explorer who strives for
adventure and fights for justice. An animated hero can also be a role model for
children in the long term. At the same time, an animated film may bring more
harm through a character with a negative attitude, which could convey to the
child a distorted image of the character’s life and surroundings.
According to Sultana (2014), cartoons influence young children into watching

TV more often compared to carrying out productive tasks. To obtain data,
surveys, and interviews were conducted with various Bangladeshi communities.
A child's ability to learn and take care of his or her mental health can be affected
by excessive watching of cartoons. According to the child, the majority of
parents use the television for leisure and to assist children with their homework;
however, most of them are not aware of the harmful repercussions of continuous
TV use. Furthermore, young children are more likely to watch TV while dining
or finishing their homework, which subsequently becomes their main leisure
activity. As a consequence, parents and children struggle to face future obstacles
in their lives. It was also observed that although cartoons are delightful and
engaging, they also have drawbacks as they cause addiction in children, which
negatively impacts their social development and mental health. For this reason,
all individuals, especially parents, should be notified of the critical repercussions
of cartoons.
This study aims to identify and analyse the moral values that should be taught
in cartoons to the audience that comprises preschool children. Accordingly, the
following research questions were explored to achieve the study goal:
1. How do cartoons influence the promotion of moral values among preschool
children?
2. What factors influence preschool children's attitudes toward watching
Doraemon?
3. What is the perception of preschool children toward watching
Doraemon?
2.1 The Preschool-aged Children in Malaysia
According to a survey conducted in 2003, a total of 490,700 children in Malaysia
under the age of five were required to attend preschool. Approximately 47% of
these children had access to preschool education, while the remaining 53% were
unable to enroll in preschool programmes. As a result, preschool instruction
became a part of the national education system as a foundation for primary
education in 1996. In 2003, the preschool initiative of the Ministry of Education
(MOE) was implemented in the entire nation. These preschools were built by
MOE to provide access to preschool education for low-income families from
suburban, rural, and remote locations. In the Malaysian context, teachers who
373
have received training and certification in preschool education take on the task
of educating and mentoring preschool children (Mustafa & Azman, 2013).
According to Malaysia's Education Plan 2013–2035, approximately 77% of
students are enrolled in preschool programmes, which could be public or
private.
The National Preschool Standard Curriculum (NPSC) was built on six pillars:
communication, science and technology, intellectual development, attitudes and
values, humanity and self-expression, and physical and aesthetic development.
The NPSC was introduced as a part of the Malaysian Education Plan 2013–2025
(Ahmad et al., 2022). These six pillars are also areas that complement one
another and are connected to critical, creative, and inventive thinking. The
objective is to create a human capital that upholds high moral standards, is
knowledgeable, engages in critical thought, and generates original and creative
ideas (Rahman & Noor, 2018).
Access to free preschool education for low-income or poor families in urban

areas including Kuala Lumpur has led to a preference for early childhood
education, particularly the education that embraces diversity, as a bridge to the
transition to elementary school. Among the various preschools, the classes under
MOE do not charge for tuition; free school lunches are also offered. While many
parents aim for their children to enrol on schools, their admission depends on
the parents' income, which should be a maximum of RM1,000 per month
(Rahmatullah et al., 2021). In most cases, parents from this income group have
several jobs, leading to insufficient time to take care of their children's needs at
home. As a result, their children spend more time watching television
programmes, especially cartoons, compared to other leisure activities (Raj et al.,
2022). Accordingly, this study was conducted on cartoons, which play an
important role among preschool children, including the values and behaviours
portrayed through them. Notably, identifying these values is important to create
value for children's education. Thus, this study aims to contribute to the
development of moral values through cartoons for preschool-aged children in
Malaysia.
2.2 Preschool-aged Children and Character Development

Children between the ages of four and six who attend preschool are known as
preschoolers. Preschool education is a crucial stage where these children
develop cognitive, psychomotor, and emotional skills, moral values, and
character. They begin to acquire knowledge, skills, and values by imitating the
behaviours they observe (Haryono, 2020). Furthermore, character education is a
process of character formation within children, which is influenced by genetic
factors and the environment surrounding them. The goal of character education
is to assist in the development of children’s personality, allowing them to
become a complete person. In children’s cognitive development, which begins
between the ages of 1 and 5, a process known as imitation takes place (Hasanah
& Much, 2018). At these ages, children find it easy to imitate what they see and
hear. Therefore, the parents’ wisdom in selecting the programmes that educate
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their children is important; what they see could have a positive impact on the
children.
Children who are exposed to moral values from an early age are able to easily
control their behaviour when they reach adulthood due to the values they have
pursued. At this point, television, smartphones, tablets, and mass media
introduce children to the world of cartoons. Provided that children are highly
influenced by their environment and the media they are exposed to, cartoons
often shape their understanding of core moral values (Trota et al., 2022).
Additionally, their imitation of their character and identification of the cartoon
hero as a role model could either have positive or negative effects on them
(Ivrendi & Ozdemir, 2010).
Several previous studies employed different methods and dimensions to

investigate the benefits of incorporating the components of noble values in
cartoons (Jaafar & Sahil, 2018; Rahim et al., 2018; Bakla, 2019). Most of the
studies concluded that cartoons can be a useful medium to teach adolescents
social and cultural values and promote positive learning outcomes. For example,
Rahim et al. (2018) examined the incorporation of values and culture into Malay
folklore cartoons, focusing on the values in the Malaysian National Philosophy
of Education (1996). As a result, it was found that values and culture were
significant in cartoons in the Malaysian context.
2.3 The Role of Cartoons in Young Children

For a long time, cartoons have been a popular form of entertainment for young
children, stimulating their imaginations with colourful characters and engaging
stories. In recent years, researchers and educators have recognised the potential
of cartoons to contribute to the development of moral values in children's daily
lives. Accordingly, this literature review aims to examine the ability of cartoon
viewing to shape young children's moral values by examining the effects of
watching cartoons on empathy, moral reasoning, prosocial behaviour, and
character development. Through the analysis of recent studies, this review aims
to provide an up-to-date understanding of the role of cartoons in promoting
young children's moral development.
Cartoons create a unique platform for young children to develop empathy and
perspective-taking. Research has demonstrated that exposure to cartoon
characters with diverse backgrounds and experiences can promote children's
understanding and appreciation of different perspectives (İlhan & Sacide, 2017).
In addition, emotionally compelling stories and believable characters in cartoons
are able to elicit empathetic responses and help children recognise and
understand other individuals’ feelings and experiences (de Leeuw & van der
Laan, 2018). Overall, this strengthened empathy can contribute to the
development of moral values, such as kindness, compassion, and tolerance in
daily life.
Cartoons have the potential to shape young children's prosocial behaviour by

presenting positive role models and promoting prosocial values. Studies have
375
shown that exposure to cartoon characters who exhibit helpful, kind, and
cooperative behaviours can also influence children's attitudes and actions. The
positive portrayals of prosocial behaviour in cartoons can serve as role models
for young viewers, encouraging them to imitate and engage in similar helpful
behaviours in their everyday lives. In addition, cartoons can reinforce moral
values by teaching positive moral lessons and depicting the consequences of
negative actions (Zhang et al, 2021).
Cartoons contribute to character development by teaching young children moral

values and virtues. Through storytelling and character arcs, positive traits can be
emphasised, such as honesty, courage, responsibility, and perseverance. Based
on research, exposure to morally rich narratives in cartoons can shape children's
understanding of character strengths and virtues, providing them with a
framework for ethical behaviour and moral choices in their daily lives (Astuti et
al., 2019)
The role of parental mediation is critical in maximising the positive effects of

cartoons on young children's moral development. To illustrate, parents who
explain to their children the moral aspects of cartoons would communicate
positive values and build the children's understanding of ethical dilemmas.
Subsequently, the moral lessons they learn from these shows can be reinforced.
Active shared viewing and dialogue between parents and children offer
opportunities for children to reflect on the moral messages conveyed in cartoons
and apply them to real-life situations (Meng et al, 2020).
Overall, it is suggested from the literature that watching cartoons can play an
important role in the development of young children's moral values. Cartoons
have the potential to promote empathy, moral reasoning, prosocial behaviour,
and character development. Children will also be able to learn different
perspectives, perceive moral dilemmas, gain positive role models, and learn
ethical lessons (Attard & Cremona, 2022).
2.4 The Disadvantages of Cartoons for Young Children

Despite the many benefits seen in cartoons, recent research also highlighted the
potential drawbacks of excessive and inappropriate cartoon consumption. Thus,
this literature review aims to examine the negative aspects of cartoon
consumption in young children, focusing on its effects on children’s cognitive,
social, emotional, and behavioural development. Taking recent studies into
account, this review aims to provide an up-to-date understanding of the
disadvantages of excessive cartoon consumption.
Excessive and uncontrolled consumption of cartoons can impair the cognitive

development of young children. Research has shown that prolonged exposure to
fast-paced cartoons with rapid scene changes and dialogues can impair their
attention span and concentration (Praveen & Srinivasan, 2022). Furthermore,
excessive screen time limits children’s opportunities for real-world exploration,
imaginative play, and problem-solving activities that are crucial for the
development of critical thinking and creativity. Furthermore, while cartoons
often depict social interactions, they can also have negative effects on young
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children's social and emotional development. To elaborate, studies have

highlighted that children who spend excessive time watching cartoons have
issues with their social skills and difficulties in forming real-life relationships.
In addition, exposure to unrealistic and exaggerated portrayals of emotion in
cartoons can distort children's understanding of appropriate emotional
responses in real-life situations, leading to difficulties in emotion regulation and
the development of empathy (Kirsh, 2011).
Excessive consumption of certain types of cartoons has been linked to negative

behavioural outcomes in young children. To illustrate, a study illustrated an
association of aggressive behaviour, increased impulsivity, and reduced
prosocial behaviour with viewing violence or aggressiveness in cartoons
(Dimitri et al., 2007). In addition, cartoons that promote materialism, gender
stereotypes, or unhealthy eating habits can negatively influence children's
behaviour and attitudes. This condition can result in consumerism and poor
lifestyle choices Aside from excessive cartoon consumption, extended sedentary
activities lead to physical health problems in young children. Studies
demonstrated the relationship between increased screen time and a higher risk
of childhood obesity, inadequate physical activity, and disrupted sleep patterns
Besides, prolonged exposure to screens, which is also attributed to viewing
cartoons, can strain children's eyes and cause vision problems (Jones et al, 2010)
Notably, the negative effects of cartoon viewing could be mitigated through

parental engagement and appropriate content selection. Parental guidance,
media literacy, and active co-viewing can reduce the potential drawbacks of
cartoon viewing and promote critical thinking skills among children. In
addition, the context in which children view cartoons, such as the presence of
conversations and interactions with caregivers, could bring significant effects on
children’s developmental outcomes (Shanthipriya & Prabha, 2017).
While cartoons may bring entertainment and educational value to young

children, it is important to recognise the potential harms of excessive and
inappropriate cartoon consumption. These harms include adverse effects on
children’s cognitive development, social and emotional skills, behaviour, and
physical health. Nonetheless, these risks could be mitigated through the
attention paid by caregivers to screen time and content selection, parental
involvement, and advocacy of a balanced media environment that supports
children's overall development. In this case, further research is required to
examine the specific factors that influence the negative effects of cartoons and
provide evidence-based guidelines for responsible media consumption among
young children.
2.5 The Influence of Japanese Cartoons on Young Children

Japanese animated cartoons, commonly referred to as anime, have gained
immense popularity worldwide, captivating the hearts and minds of young
children. With its unique storytelling style, engaging characters, and rich stories,
anime has become an important part of children's media consumption.
Therefore, the literature review discusses the influence of Japanese animated
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cartoons on the development of moral values among young children. By

analysing the recent studies on this matter, this study aims to provide an up-to-
date understanding of the effects of Japanese animated cartoons on children's
moral and character development, empathy, cultural values, and moral
dilemmas.
Japanese animated cartoons offer young viewers the opportunity to experience a

different cultural context, which promotes the development of cultural values
and awareness. In most cases, anime reflects Japanese cultural norms, traditions,
and values, such as respect for elders, perseverance, and honour. Research
suggests that exposure to Japanese cartoons can broaden children's
understanding of other cultural perspectives and promote tolerance, respect,
and curiosity about other cultures (Yamamura,2014). Ultimately, this cultural
awareness can instil the moral values related to inclusion and appreciation of
diversity. Furthermore, anime is known for its emotional stories that can build
empathy in young viewers. It also mostly explores complex emotions, moral
dilemmas, and character development, allowing children to connect with the
characters on an emotional level (Matsumoto et al., 2002). In relation to this,
research highlights that emotional attachment to anime characters can foster
empathy, compassion, and understanding of other children's experiences
(Hu, 2010). The sympathetic and multidimensional characters in Japanese
cartoons could be the role models that inspire children to demonstrate kindness,
empathy, and moral behaviour in their own lives.
Japanese animated cartoons often depict moral dilemmas and ethical

complexities, which challenge young viewers to think about the right and wrong
in different situations. Anime narratives frequently explore the themes of
friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, and justice, encouraging children to reflect on their
own moral values and decision-making processes (Abdul Razak & Ibnu, 2022).
In this case, research suggests that exposure to morally challenging scenarios in
Japanese cartoons can stimulate children's moral reasoning skills and promote
critical thinking in ethical decision-making (Lu, 2008). It is indicated from these
statements that children can develop a deeper understanding of moral concepts
and engage in thoughtful moral reasoning through anime. Apart from that,
Japanese animated cartoons emphasise character development and growth,
demonstrating the personal changes faced by the protagonists and exhibiting
moral virtues. Anime narratives mostly feature the characters overcoming
challenges, facing their weaknesses, and striving for personal improvement
(Mahaseth, 2018). Addressing this aspect, studies have highlighted that
engagement with these character arcs in anime can encourage young viewers to
reflect on their own character strengths and virtues. This action promotes their
personal growth and the development of positive moral values (Condry, 2013).
Overall, these narratives become exemplary for children, encouraging them to
adopt positive traits such as resilience, determination, and integrity in their daily
lives.
Notably, Japanese cartoons play an important role in the moral development of

young children. Anime teaches various cultural values, promotes empathy and
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emotional bonding, presents moral dilemmas that require ethical consideration,

and emphasises character development and growth. Through these mechanisms,
Japanese animated cartoons are able to influence the development of moral
values in young viewers. However, the role of parental involvement and
mediation is critical to children's understanding, contextualisation of content,
and promotion of meaningful discussions. In this case, further research is
suggested to examine specific aspects of Japanese animated cartoons and their
influence on children's moral values to provide valuable insights into parents,
educators, and media professionals.
3. Methodology
Data collection was conducted in this study to identify and analyse the effects of
watching cartoons on the construction of moral values among preschool
children. The main steps of this research process are illustrated in Figure 1
below.
Figure 1: Flow Chart of Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design

The mixed methods approach was applied in this study to identify and analyse
the moral values influencing young children, which presents several reasons and
advantages. By combining qualitative and quantitative research methods,
researchers can gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic and capture
the breadth and depth of the phenomenon being investigated (Creswell & Clark,
2018). Specifically, several reasons for using the mixed methods approach in this
study are as follows:
i) Enhanced Understanding: Moral values are complex and multi-layered

constructs that require a holistic understanding. Qualitative methods, such as
interviews or focus groups, allow researchers to explore the nuanced
perspectives, experiences, and attitudes of young children in the researcher’s
own words. These qualitative data provide thorough descriptions and insights
into the subjective meaning and importance of moral values for children.
ii) Generalizability: Quantitative methods such as surveys or questionnaires

provide researchers with the opportunity to collect data from a sample of
participants. Through statistical analysis, researchers are able to examine
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patterns, trends, and relationships among variables, which allows the

generalization of the research findings to a broader population of young
children. Ultimately, the validity and reliability of the results would be
strengthened.
iii) Triangulation: Mixed methods allow for triangulation, which denotes the
comparison between the results from different data sources and methods.
Triangulation increases the robustness and credibility of research by confirming
or validating the results from multiple perspectives. It helps ensure that the
conclusions drawn from the study are comprehensive and well-supported.
iv) Complementary strengths: Qualitative and quantitative methods contain

complementary strengths. Specifically, qualitative methods are specialised in
capturing the depth, richness, and context of children's attitudes and perceptions
about moral values. On the other hand, quantitative methods offer the ability to
quantify and measure the prevalence and importance of moral values in the
sample. Combining these two methods allows researchers to capitalise on these
strengths and gain a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the
phenomenon.
v) Overcoming limitations: The use of the mixed methods approach helps

overcome the limitations associated with the use of a single method. For
example, the exclusive use of qualitative methods could lead to biased
interpretations due to the subjective nature of data collection and analysis. On
the other hand, the exclusive use of quantitative methods may cause important
nuances and contextual information to be overlooked. Nonetheless, these
limitations can be mitigated with the combination of both methods, allowing for
a more balanced and comprehensive analysis.
Overall, the use of the mixed methods approach to identify and analyse the
moral values influencing young children offers a more comprehensive and
nuanced understanding of the topic. It also allows researchers to capture
subjective experiences and broader patterns, which contributes to the validity,
reliability, and generalisability of the findings.
3.2 Sample
A total of 20 preschool children (aged five to six years old) from an elementary
school in Kuala Lumpur were randomly selected for this study. An online
application was submitted to the Ministry of Education to request permission for
studying preschoolers. Subsequently, permission was gained according to the
Ministry of Education's norms and regulations. This was followed by an
application to the State Board of Education for authorisation to conduct the
study in the school under their supervision. Subsequently, all approval letters
from the Ministry of Education and the State Board of Education were sent to
the principal of the selected school for further processing. The process of
requesting and approving the study took almost a month. Then, an enumerator
was appointed to conduct the study. The enumerator is a preschool teacher who
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has obtained a Bachelor's degree in preschool education and is highly

experienced in her profession.
3.2.1 Samples Demographic
Figure 2: Gender
As seen in Figure 2, 50% of the samples were male and 50% of the samples were
female. Therefore, the percentages of male and female students were the same.
Figure 3: Age
As seen in Figure 3, 86% of the samples were six years old, while 14% of the
samples were five years old. Therefore, the six-year-old children were the
majority of the samples. They were also in their transition years before entering
the first grade of elementary school at the age of seven.
3.3 Data
The Doraemon animated series or movies was the cartoon selected as the
research data. It is one of the most popular Japanese cartoons among Malaysian
children. The Malay dubbed version of the anime was aired on RTM1 from 1992
to 2002, followed by NTV7 in Malaysia from 2003 to mid/late 2019. This anime
tells about Doraemon, a fictional robot cat from the future who helps a young
schoolboy named Nobita in his daily struggles and conflicts. Doraemon is an
anthropomorphic robotic cat from the 22nd century that is sent back to the
present (before the emergence of technological gadgets). Each situation
commonly leads to Doraemon having to retrieve a futuristic device from his
stomach. The device is eventually misused by Nobita or other people, creating
moral lessons at the end of the story.
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3.4 Data Collection

The data collection process took almost a month. In this process, an enumerator
was employed to conduct the study. The enumerator is a preschool teacher who
has obtained a Bachelor's degree in preschool education and is highly
experienced in her profession as a preschool teacher. A day or two was spent
breaking the ice with the preschoolers, building their familiarity with the
enumerator. Provided that the survey officer was aware of the difficulties to
obtain data from preschoolers, she was patient and used a variety of techniques
during the process. Although it was a simple task, the survey officer applied her
experience to convince the preschoolers to cooperate in the activities aimed at
having the preschoolers express themselves during the observation, answering
the questionnaires, and the unstructured interview.
Three steps are present for data collection. Specifically, the first step is
participant observation, the second step is questionnaires, and the last step is an
unstructured interview. In the first step, preschool children were asked to recall
a Doraemon animated series or movie they had seen in the previous one to two
years. They were allowed to select any episodes or movies they had previously
watched. Subsequently, the enumerator sat down with each of the preschool
children, having them write down the names of the characters who they had
seen in the Doraemon animated series or movies. The children were also asked
to write down the moral values of each character they had named. After the
moral values were listed, they were asked on how did they recognise the moral
values in each episode of the animated series.
In the second step, preschool children were asked questions by the enumerator
based on the questionnaires designed by the researcher on Google Forms. After
an extensive literature review, the survey instrument (questionnaire) was
designed. Three main types of response formats were used in the questionnaire:
1) Closed-ended questions - Dichotomous questions (with two answer choices,
e.g., 'yes' and 'no,' and multiple-choice or multichotomous questions to ensure
that all possible answers were offered to the samples);
2) Open-ended questions
3) Sum Rating Scale - A four-point Likert scale (from 1 = Strongly Agree to 4 =
Strongly Disagree ) to indicate the respondent's level of agreement with each
statement. The higher the score, the more important the variables or constructs
are as the evaluation criteria.
The questions were designed in a format that expanded response options,

allowing for accurate responses and efficient completion by samples. In
addition, checkboxes were used throughout the questionnaire to facilitate the
completion and increase response rates (Johnson & Christensen 2017). The
questionnaire was divided into four sections, which were presented in the
following order:
1) Section A: Demographic information.
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2) Section B: Attitudes towards watching cartoons. Samples were asked to

indicate the time they spend watching television, YouTube, and the Doraemon
animated series or movies. Then, they were asked on which characters they liked
to watch the most.
3) Section C: Samples were asked to rate their level of agreement with each
statement about the various factors that influenced their attitude towards
watching the Doraemon animated series or movies. The ratings were made on a
five-point Likert scale ranging from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'.
4) Section D: Samples were asked to rate their level of agreement with each
statement about the various factors influencing their preference for the
characters and plot when watching the Doraemon animated series or movies.
The statements were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 'strongly
agree' to 'strongly disagree’.
In the third step of the unstructured interview, samples were asked about their
perceptions and feelings after watching the Doraemon animated series or
movies. A total of 20 open-ended questions were presented on their perceptions
and feelings about the moral values portrayed by the characters in the series or
movies. Samples’ answers were subsequently recorded and written down after
the survey completion.
3.5 Data Analysis

The data collected from participants’ observations were coded, sorted, and
organised for analysis. Observational data were coded and sorted by the names
of the characters seen by the students in the Doraemon animated series or
movies in the previous one or two years. Following that, the enumerator listed
the moral values of each character and compared them to the moral values
during each episode of Doraemon. A comprehensive coding system was
developed to identify the instances where the characters exhibited moral values.
This was followed by sorting and organisation of data based on the characters'
actions, dialogues, and behaviours that conveyed specific moral values. The
moral values were subsequently divided into two categories: good and bad
moral values. The list of good moral values was organised based on the
characters in the Doraemon series or movies. Meanwhile, another table listed the
reasons why the sample rejected the bad moral values of the characters in the
animated series.
Statistical analysis of the questionnaire data offered insights into the children’s
viewing habits, various factors that influenced their attitudes towards watching
Doraemon, and the factors influencing their preference for the characters and
plot. Through the use of statistical software, the patterns, trends, and
relationships among variables were identified, which could present insights into
the influence of cartoons on young children. By examining the viewing habits
and perceived attitudes, this analysis would facilitate the understanding of the
role of cartoons in the lives of young children and their potential impact.
Descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages, were calculated to
provide an overview of the participants' viewing habits, various factors
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influencing their attitudes toward watching Doraemon, and the factors

influencing their preference for the characters and plot.
Finally, data from the unstructured interviews were recorded using an

IC recorder and a video recorder. The recorded interviews were transcribed to
extract additional information that otherwise could not be obtained from the
questionnaires. The interview data, which included the sample responses, were
analysed using qualitative analysis software to record the themes for content
analysis. Content analysis was applied to determine the subjects' perceptions
and feelings after watching Doraemon. This analysis was also conducted to gain
insight into the subjects' attitudes towards good and bad moral values.
4. Research Findings
4.1 How do cartoons influence the promotion of moral values among
preschool children?
In this study, the characters in Doraemon were analysed to determine the moral
values taught to preschool children. In today's technologically advanced age, an
external medium plays a major role in character formation, which is the
television. Considering that this study primarily focused on the constructive and
destructive psychological parameters that are formed in childhood when the
substance of character is highly malleable, one remarkable medium that
immediately gains attention as the stimulant of the utmost importance is
animated television series. It is important to understand how children acquire
the skills that build their understanding of television, given the high percentage
of children who watch cartoons. In this case, the children’s reason for watching a
particular programme and overlooking others is the primary concern. In this
research, it was found that children watched Doraemon with enthusiasm, which
was attributed to several reasons. The reasons were determined after the
analysis of the observation where children opened their hearts to tell the
enumerator about the moral values portrayed by their favourite animated series.
Accordingly, the information in the following table presents information about
the impressions that the various characters in Doraemon left in the minds of the
children.
Table 1: Characters and their Moral Values
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It could be indicated from the information that children enjoy good moral
values, such as helping, good character, honesty, persistence, good personality,
and hardworking, as shown by their favourite cartoon characters. Prosocial
behaviour was one of the most important traits admired by the children and
acquired by them based on their maturity level. Furthermore, prosocial
behaviour can be broadly defined as any voluntary behaviour that benefits
another person. The relationship between cartoon series and its viewers is
content; children are able to achieve maximum positivism through television
only when they watch shows with positive content. They also have the ability to
identify the best gadgets. Additionally, the ability to remember the functions of
these gadgets is an acquired learning process, which is slightly more
pronounced among boys. In relation to this, the magical gadgets brought by
Doraemon to solve any problems incite their fascination.
The enumerator asked the children to identify the bad moral values in each
episode of the animated series Doraemon. The majority of the children did not
value bad moral values, such as stupidity, laziness, aggression, bullying, hot-
tempered, dominance, boasting, lying, and pride. This was followed by them
writing down the reasons why they did not appreciate the bad moral values
portrayed by the characters. Accordingly, the following information presents the
details written by the students.
Table 2: The Reasons Why Children Reject Bad Moral Values

The reasons written by the samples
1. My mother always tells me while watching Doraemon.
2. My mother usually explains them to me.
3. It looks very bad like Gian bullying Nobita.
4. Allah does not like bullying people.
5. I learn from my mother about them.
6. My grandmother and mother advise me to avoid bad moral values.
7. I do not want lazy like Nobita.
8. I do not be proud of my friends.
9. I do not like to show off my things.
10. Be humble and good to your friends.
Based on the above results, the data analysis indicated that compared to the
fathers, mothers reacted more actively to children when they were watching
cartoons. Therefore, fathers should not be excessively occupied with work to the
point of neglecting communication with their children or pushing the task of
educating their children to the mothers. Moreover, when children watched
cartoons together with their mothers, they would show different reactions; this
experience was cited as evidence. Parents can learn better ways of organising the
cartoons that are appropriate for children and ways of watching the movies with
them. It is also recommended that they accompany children when they watch
cartoons at home.
In a family, parents not only teach children good morals, but they also set an
example or become role models for them. Teaching moral development is
important in families to ensure that children practise good ethics, manners, and
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the moral principles taught by their parents. Moral development should begin
from childhood to be firmly instilled within the children.
4.2 What factors influence preschool children's attitudes towards watching

Doraemon?
Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were calculated to
provide an overview of the participants' viewing habits, various factors
influencing their attitudes towards watching Doraemon, and the factors
influencing their preference for the characters and plot when watching the
series.
4.2.1 Data Analysis of Samples’ Viewing Habits
Figure 4: How much time do you spend watching television?
As seen in Figure 4, 28% of children watched television for one hour, 34% of
children watched television for approximately two hours, and 13% of children
watched television for three hours. This was followed by 21% of children who
watched television for four hours and 4% of children who watched television for
five hours. Overall, these children were moderate television watchers. Data
analysis demonstrated that a quarter of the sample spent long hours watching
television in total. This condition was attributed to the children originating from
low-income families in Kuala Lumpur. Parents of this income group often have
multiple jobs and insufficient time to attend to their children's needs. As a result,
their children spend more time watching television programmes, especially
cartoons, compared to participating in other recreational activities.
Figure 5: How much time do you spend watching YouTube?
Figure 5 shows that 28% of children watched YouTube videos for one hour, 34%
of children watched YouTube videos for approximately two hours, and 13% of
children watched YouTube videos for three hours. Overall, they were moderate
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YouTube video watchers. On the other hand, 21% of them watched YouTube
videos for four hours, while the other 4% watched YouTube for five hours,
making them heavy video watchers overall. Children spend time watching
YouTube videos as YouTube allows users to watch any contents they like.
Despite the various choices of channels on TV, the content of these channels is
curated and more limited compared to the billions of videos available on
YouTube. Besides, YouTube users are able to watch videos at any place and time
as long as they have an Internet connection.
Figure 6: How much time do you spend watching Doraemon?
As seen in Figure 6, 17% of children watched Doraemon for one hour, 41% of
children watched Doraemon for approximately two hours, and 12% of them
watched it for three hours. Overall, they were moderate television viewers. As
for 21% of children who watched Doraemon for four hours and 9% of children
who watched it for five hours, they were classified as hardcore fans of
Doraemon.
It was found that a quarter of the sample liked to watch Doraemon due to the
helpful personality of the character Nobita. Nobita is a boy who faces various
problems at school; he is lazy at home and always bullied by Gian. Doraemon
has gadgets that Nobita can use to help him at any place and time. The situations
Nobita finds himself in are similar to the experiences of the samples at school
and home. Therefore, they were inspired and fascinated by the intelligent and
emotional personality of Doraemon who offers solutions and ways to help
Nobita who constantly faces troubles. Since children find Doraemon entertaining
and amusing, they can hardly stop laughing when they watch the Doraemon
series. The series also becomes their escape into the fantasy world away from the
daily stress and problems that they face in the real world.
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Figure 7: Who is accompanying you in watching Doraemon?
As seen in Figure 7, more than three-quarters of the sample watched Doraemon

while having their siblings’ company. To illustrate, the sample used the same
television or device to watch Doraemon at home or outside the home. The
decision to watch a particular episode of Doraemon was also attributed to
siblings as they also have access to the television and the device. It could be seen
that less than two-fifths of the sample watched Doraemon with their family,
especially their parents. Overall, the sample originated from low-income or poor
families in urban areas, with their parents having to work long hours to support
their families.
4.2.2 Data Analysis of Various Factors that Influence Their Attitudes towards Watching
Doraemon
The purpose of the second part of the analysis of the questionnaire is to obtain
more factual information and insights to assess the sample’s level of agreement
on various factors influencing their attitudes towards watching the Doraemon
animated series or movies in Part C. The results are illustrated in the table 3
below to demonstrate the level of agreement on various factors influencing their
attitude towards watching Doraemon and their preference for the series
characters and plot.
Descriptive analysis was conducted on the samples' agreement on the different

factors influencing their attitude towards watching the Doraemon animated
series or movies. As a result, it was found that the good moral values portrayed
by Doraemon and other characters strongly influenced their choice of responses.
In fact, Doraemon was loved by the samples due to the helpful personality of
Nobita. Nobita is a boy who faces various problems at school; he is lazy at home
and always bullied by Gian. Doraemon has gadgets that Nobita can use to help
him at any place and time. The situations Nobita finds himself in are similar to
the experiences of the samples at school and home. Therefore, they were
inspired and fascinated by the intelligent and emotional personality of
Doraemon who offers solutions and ways to help Nobita who constantly faces
troubles.
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Table 3: Positive attitudes toward watching Doraemon

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree (%) (%) (%) Disagree(%)
Questions
Good characters are my idol. 67.7 32.3 0 0
Good character is an idol of my
personality. 70.6 29.4 0 0
Good character should be lived

in my daily life. 82.4 17.7 0 0
Good character should be lived

among friends at school. 73.5 26.5 0 0
Good character makes me a role

model at school. 76.5 23.5 0 0
Good character shapes my

personality. 87.3 12.7 0 0
I love it when good characters

win against bad characters. 90.8 9.2 0 0
Bullying is not a good character. 100 0 0 0

Helping friends and valuing
93.4 6.6 0 0
them is a good character.
Table 3 illustrates the children’s positive attitudes toward Doraemon's

reputation. Overall, most samples agreed that good character traits should be
revered by young children as they set a good example for others at school. Good
traits such as honesty, perseverance, a good personality, and diligence should be
cultivated in these children throughout their preschool years. This condition is
attributed to the fact that oral values can be absorbed into these children more
easily when they are young compared to their teenage years. They also agreed
that good character traits should be practised among friends, such as helping
and appreciating others at school. All samples were of the opinion that bullying
is not a good example to be set at schools. It was also added that having a
positive attitude towards watching Doraemon can develop good moral values
within themselves as Doraemon represents a good character who helps others
who are in trouble and advises Nobita to be diligent to achieve good results in
school. Apart from that, they celebrated when good wins against evil; therefore,
they disliked Gian who likes to bully Nobita.
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4.2.3 Data Analysis of Factors that Influence Their Preference for the
Characters and Plot when Watching Doraemon
Table 4: Factors that influence the liking of the character and plot of Doraemon
Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree (%) (%) (%) Disagree(%)
Questions
The storyline and plot are amusing
76.5 23.5 0 0
and funny.
Portrayed moral values. 92.3 7.7 0 0
The story is about children’s life. 100 0 0 0
The story teaches us to be good and
84.3 15.7 0 0
helpful to others.
The story shows us how to solve a lot
79.2 20.8 0 0
of problems.
Doraemon is fun and funny. 100 0 0 0
The Doraemon story is futuristic. 90 10 0 0
Doraemon is clever and has many
100 0 0 0
gadgets.
The Doraemon story teaches us not
100 0 0 0
to bully and be bad to others.
Table 4 illustrates the factors influencing the children’s preference for the
characters and plot of Doraemon. As a result, most participants agreed that the
plot of the Doraemon series and movies is amusing and funny. It also teaches
moral values, which is a good method of developing good character in students.
Essentially, the main message in Doraemon is that one should not bully others
and instead help those who are being bullied. Interestingly, it was found from
the data analysis that Doraemon is based on real-life children's daily lives, which
builds a sense of closeness between the samples and the story and plot of
Doraemon. Through the series, they were able to know the methods of solving
problems they commonly face at home and school. Moreover, the character
Doraemon is smart, funny, and possesses many gadgets that he can use to solve
others’ problems. As a story, Doraemon is futuristic and allows the samples to
travel and think beyond their imagination.
The samples regarded the factors influencing the character and plot of
Doraemon as important in their decision to watch this series. This result is
attributed to the fact that young children prefer watching interesting cartoons
that make them laugh. Besides, the futuristic plot of Doraemon becomes an
incentive for young children to watch the Doraemon series and movies. This is
followed by the gadgets and brilliant ideas used by Doraemon, which attract
young children to watch Doraemon. While bullying is a significant issue among
children, the Doraemon series has helped educate young children to avoid this
behaviour.
4.3 What is the Perception of Preschool Children towards Watching

Doraemon?
Content analysis was employed to determine the samples' perceptions and
feelings after watching Doraemon animated series or movies. Interview data
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were analysed using qualitative analysis software, followed by the classification

of the samples' answers into two main categories:
(i) Perceptions after watching the Doraemon series
(ii) Feelings after watching the Doraemon series
Table 2: Perceptions and feelings after watching the Doraemon animated series or
movies
Participants Perceptions and feelings after watching Doraemon
Perception Feeling
S2 The good values shown in I feel bad being rude to my friends.
the Doraemon are good
examples to follow.
S7 Bullying other people is not I don’t like to watch violent cartoons.
good.
S 12 Being lazy in school is not a I feel sad watching children being
good example. bullied.
S 17 Helping others is a good I don’t like the bad values practised
moral value. in school.
S20 Be good to your friends. I don’t like children being beaten by
others.
Most of the responses presented by the samples in the unstructured interviews

indicated the samples’ perceptions and feelings after watching the Doraemon
cartoon series and movies. According to the samples, the good values portrayed
in the cartoons are good examples to follow as the plot is based on children's
daily lives. It was also highlighted by the samples that bullying and laziness are
not good practices or examples at schools. Moreover, they wished to help others
in school and show good behaviour to them. It could be seen from the results
that the samples were positive about the good moral values shown in Doraemon
and believed that bullying and laziness are not one of those moral values.
The samples' feelings after watching Doraemon were considerably remarkable

considering their young age. To illustrate, they felt bad about being rude to their
friends due to their belief that this behaviour is not a good moral value
portrayed in the Doraemon cartoon series. They also did not prefer watching
violent cartoons due to the depiction of aggressive behaviour in them.
According to the samples, watching children being bullied and beaten whether
in cartoons or real life made them feel bad. They added that bad values should
not be taught in school. Overall, the results demonstrated that good moral
values portrayed in cartoons could influence the samples’ feelings when being
frequently and repeatedly witnessed.
5. Discussion and Conclusion

The results of the first research questions indicated that the samples promoted
good moral values, such as helping, good character, honesty, perseverance, good
personality, and diligence portrayed by their favourite cartoon character in the
Doraemon series. However, they rejected bad moral values portrayed by the
antagonists, such as stupidity, laziness, aggression, bullying, irascibility,
dominance, boasting, lying, and pride. These findings are in line with studies by
391
Astuti et al. (2019) and Zhang et al. (2021), who argued that narratives and
character arcs in cartoons with positive moral values can influence children's
ethical and moral choices in their daily lives. Moreover, preschool children go
through an imitation process in their cognitive development, causing them to
easily imitate what they see and hear (Hasanah & Much, 2018). Therefore,
wisdom among parents is crucial in selecting the programmes educating the
children to ensure that what they see can bring a positive impact on them. Apart
from that, the samples rejected bad values as they had discussed the content of
the cartoon with their mothers or grandmothers at home. In this case, the
parents' guidance and discussion on the moral content of the cartoon and the
moral values shown by their children had a significant impact on character
development (Meng et al., 2022; Shantapriya & Prabha, 2017).
Based on the results of the samples' viewing habits, most of the samples watched
an average of one to three hours of television or used YouTube channels daily.
These results were in line with Rideout's (2016) study, which highlighted that
children spend an average of two hours and 26 minutes per day watching TV,
DVDs, and videos from other sources (e.g., YouTube). They enjoy watching
Doraemon animated series or movies as the series is entertaining and amusing.
For this reason, children can hardly stop laughing when they watch the
Doraemon series. (Marshall, 2019). This series acts as their escape into the
fantasy world away from daily stress and problems that they face in the real
world.
The results on the factors influencing the attitudes of the samples who watch
cartoons were mainly related to the good moral values portrayed by Doraemon.
Nonetheless, other characters also had a strong influence on their choice of
responses. Essentially, Japanese animated films commonly depict moral
dilemmas and ethical complexities, which require young viewers to think about
the right and wrong in various situations. Furthermore, anime narratives often
explore the themes of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, and justice, encouraging
children to reflect on their own moral values and decision-making processes
(Abdul Razak & Ibnu, 2022). Based on the results on the influence of liking the
character and plot of Doraemon, most participants agreed that the plot of this
series is amusing and funny. This result was in line with previous studies, which
demonstrated that exposure to these character arcs in Japanese animated films
could encourage young viewers to reflect on their own character strengths and
virtues. Subsequently, this aspect promotes personal growth and the
development of positive moral values (Condry, 2013). In addition, exposure to
moral decision-making scenarios in cartoons can stimulate children's thinking
about the right and wrong, fairness, and ethical considerations (Attard &
Cremona, 2022). Thus, it is suggested that children’s exposure to morally
challenging situations in cartoons can promote moral reasoning and their ability
to make principled decisions in real-world contexts (de Leeuw & van der Laan,
2018).
It was indicated from the samples’ perceptions and feelings after watching
Doraemon that the good values portrayed in the cartoons are good examples to
392
follow as the series plot is based on children's daily lives. They also emphasised
that bullying and laziness are not good practices or examples at schools.
However, these findings were not in line with the research findings on
aggressive behaviour, increased impulsivity, and decreased prosocial behaviour
upon watching violent or aggressive cartoons (Dimitri et al., 2007).
Overall, it could be concluded that the cartoons viewed by preschool children

can be entertaining and educational at the same time. These cartoons can
subsequently open up new worlds for youngsters and instil an abundance of
values and lessons within them regarding the heritage and culture of the
country. In relation to this, there is a stronger need to support the holistic
development of children as good citizens.
6. Limitations and Further Study

Based on the analysis, limitations were present in the sample size and location of
the current study. Therefore, it is suggested that this study is further
strengthened and extended based on various economic strata, which include
different ages ranging from pre-adolescents and teenagers. A detailed study
may be conducted through a compare and contrast between several preschool
children under various age groups using the in-depth, triangulation method.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 395-414, June 2023
An Investigation into Communication between

Teachers and Parents of Students with Autism
Spectrum Disorder
Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Hamad
Faculty of Education, King Faisal University
Sherif Adel Gaber*

Faculty of Education, King Faisal University
Sayed Ibrahim Ali

Faculty of Medicine, King Faisal University
Faculty of Education, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract. Many schools emphasize the family partnership and its

educational function. Cooperation between the school and the home is an
essential building block of educational success. Since the family is the
basis of the social system, this partnership is rooted in values and
traditions. It also meets parents’ need for a sense of respect. The main
objective of the study is to determine the nature of communication
between teachers and parents of students with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) and its relationship to the students’ performance level, as
described in their individualized educational program (IEP). A
descriptive correlational approach was used. The sample consisted of 50
male and 14 female teachers; data were collected using a validated
questionnaire prepared by researchers. The main research findings show
that the level of communication between teachers and parents of students
with ASD was low (from the teachers' perspectives) while the students'
performance levels were average. There was a positive correlation
between parent–teacher communication and student performance. In
addition, there were statistically significant differences in communication
based on the teachers’ gender (in favor of female teachers) and
educational levels (in favor of those with a post-graduate degree). Based
on these results, it can be concluded that communication between
teachers and the parents of children with ASD is important and can
improve their academic performance.
*
Corresponding author: Sherif Adel Gaber; Email: sagahmed@kfu.edu.sa
©Authors
396
Keywords: communication; teachers; parents; autism spectrum disorder;

individualized educational program
1. Introduction
The educational process, in all its dimensions, is a system that comprises various
integrated parties, the most important of which are the family, school, and
community. All of these parties must cooperate to reach the desired results. These
results can only be achieved through communication and establishing positive
relationships between the family and the school. These are basic building blocks
of educational success.
Effective educational programs for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
provide curricula that are planned and individualized according to the needs of
each student and with emphasis on the student’s strengths and familial
involvement at every step so that the student has a better chance of success
(Azeem et al., 2016). When students with ASD start school, the relationships
between their teachers and parents have a significant influence on their academic
outcomes and performance levels (Garbacz et al., 2016). A good school is one that
seeks to establish a participatory relationship with the family, while a school that
operates in isolation from the family is a weak school (Al-Khatib & Al-Hadidi,
2009). Moreover, families play an important role in facilitating students’ success
by providing support and cooperating with teachers (Croft, 2020).
Family partnerships are crucial because the family is the first incubator for
children, responsible for instilling values, establishing trends, and teaching them
sound behaviors during the first years of their lives. When families understand
their role in the educational process and communicate with the school continually
to learn about their children's academic achievement, this contributes significantly
to improving the educational and institutional performance of the school (Saudi
Ministry of Education, 2017). Muhidat (2016) indicates that most countries have
enacted legislation obligating educational institutions to involve the family in the
educational process, given the positive results of such participation on students’
final outcomes. Moreover, communication between teachers and parents is one of
the primary components that determine student success.
As it is critical to help students achieve their educational aspirations, research

suggests that teamwork and communication between the school and family
significantly improve students' chances of success (Means, 2021). Successful
partnerships generally provide opportunities for teachers and parents to work
together to address obstacles and improve students' overall achievement both at
school and at home. As a result, ongoing communication between teachers and
parents is essential for a fruitful collaboration, particularly for students with ASD
who may need specific care (Aljafari, 2019). Family engagement leads to strategies
that are more attentive to the needs of children with ASD and support improved
social, emotional, and academic outcomes. Furthermore, others say that parents
have a right to participate in how the classroom is run—another important aspect
of special education legislation (Jivanjee et al., 2007).
397
Because efficient communication is critical for a child's intellectual, social, and

emotional development, the relationships among teachers, students, parents, and
other members of the school staff should be evaluated and reviewed often to
determine how well they work (Natale & Lubniewski, 2018). Those who work at
school must communicate effectively, show interest in the student, and address
their development and learning—rather than focusing exclusively on the
difficulties the student faces (Berg, 2021). It is especially crucial for instructors and
parents to discuss children’s classroom performance. This can help both parties
understand the student’s challenges, offer each other advice and direction, boost
parental support, and enhance students’ motivation and achievement (LaBarbera,
2017).
Educators and parents of children with ASD converge on some educational issues;
however, gaps in their communication remain. Both teachers and parents
understand the importance of cooperation and communication, which they
regard as contributing positively to improving students’ skills. Most teachers also
believe that parents need support and advice regarding how to deal with the
difficulties their children face (Syrioboulou-Delli et al., 2016). Effective
communication helps parents and instructors agree on their expectations and the
students’ needs so they can assist them cooperatively (Azad et al., 2021).
Several studies, including one by Tucker and Schwartz (2013), have identified the
need for research to develop effective interventions to improve outcomes for
students with ASD and address parental concerns regarding home-school
communication. The researchers in the present study found that communication
between teachers and the families of students with ASD is limited to parent-
teacher conferences and calling when a problem or emergency occurs.
Therefore, the study aims to identify the reality of communication between

teachers and families of students with ASD and its relationship to improving their
level in the individualized educational program (IEP). It may contribute to raising
awareness among teachers of students with ASD of the importance of
communicating with their families, enhancing the importance of communication
between them, and highlighting the most effective methods of communication. It
also provides objective quantitative data about the relationship between
communication with the family and the student's level of progress in the IEP.
It focused on the following research questions:

Q1. How do teachers perceive their communication with parents of students with
ASD?
Q2. What are the performance levels of students with ASD?
Q3. Is there a correlation between teachers' communication with parents of
students with ASD and their performance levels?
Q4. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers’ communication with
parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s gender?
Q5. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers’ communication with
parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s academic qualifications?
398
Q.6. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers' communication with

parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s experience?
ASD is described as a pervasive deficiency in social communication and
interaction skills across a variety of circumstances. Its characteristics include
deficiencies in social and emotional interaction, challenges with nonverbal
communication, and difficulties creating, maintaining, and comprehending
relationships (Saudi Ministry of Education, 2015). Communication is an effective
way to exchange information about school programs and children's progress
(Goldman & Mello, 2020); it also allows parents to consult with professionals and
specialists. It can take place in one-on-one meetings, group settings, or workshops
(Muhidat, 2016).
IEPs help students with ASD who have better adult lives and educate those
around them about the condition (Mohammed & Ahmed, 2019). They also help
children develop skills, gain experience and information, and make up for their
deficits. Parents must be patient and persevere until positive results are achieved
and the child's development can be observed (Ismail, 2019). IEPs for students with
ASD should be based on the comprehensive design of an educational
environment with features that help them develop their abilities. This includes the
content of the curriculum and the choice of teaching strategies, teaching methods,
assessment methods, and systems for monitoring data related to student progress.
Moreover, comprehensive educational programs do not only focus on the child’s
disability aspect but address the child as a whole: physically, mentally, socially,
emotionally, and behaviorally. Individual intervention is necessary because each
child has unique characteristics, needs, and abilities (Al-Ghunaimi, 2017).
An IEP is a written document that describes the special education and other
services regarding children with a disability to meet their special needs. It contains
six basic components: (a) description of the child's current academic and
functional performance; (b) annual educational goals; (c) related services; (d)
educational alternatives; (e) time and duration of service provision; and (f)
assessment of the student’s progress (Boutot, 2017). It seeks to achieve the
following objectives: (a) ensure that the child receives educational and support
services; (b) guarantee that the family receives appropriate care for their child; (c)
facilitate communication between the concerned authorities to serve the student
and family; (d) determine the procedures necessary to provide educational and
support services; and (e) measure the child’s progress (Al-Jalamdah, 2015).
IEPs are important because they do the following: (a) provide all of the
measurements of a child’s abilities; (b) consider the child’s needs; (c) ensure the
continuous evaluation of the child and the choice of appropriate services; (d)
define the responsibilities of each specialist in the implementation of special
educational services; (e) test the effectiveness of the services provided; and (f)
involve the child's parents in the educational process (Hussein, 2013). However,
there are also some difficulties related to IEPs that can occur, including the
following: (a) the absence of a multidisciplinary team; (b) the failure to involve the
399
family; (c) a lack of commitment to implementing the program correctly; (d) a lack
of experience with IEPs among some teachers; (e) a lack of support services
needed by the child; and (f) inappropriate goals (Obeid, 2010).
When developing an IEP, a multidisciplinary team is convened to address the

children’s medical, psychological, educational, speech and language, and audio-
visual needs, as well as determining their strengths and weaknesses. The
multidisciplinary team can include the following professionals: (a) special
education teacher; (b) psychologist; (c) doctors or specialists; (d) speech and
language therapist; (e) psychomotor therapist; (f) school nurse; (g) student
advisor; (h) family; (i) psychological and educational assessment specialist; (j)
general education teacher(s) if the children are enrolled in mainstream classes;
and (k) anyone else who may be a useful source of information (Bltaji, 2016).
Families of students with ASD have an important role in supporting their

educational success by enhancing acquired skills, identifying strengths and
weaknesses, and working with teachers to meet their needs (Al-Zaraa et al., 2022).
To improve the child's education, this team of experts from different fields must
think about the family’s desires and the child’s strengths. Specialists help families
obtain the information they need. However, to get parents involved in the
program, they must communicate in a way that the family can understand. When
a child with ASD joins a mainstream class, even when this is only part-time, the
classroom teacher must be provided with a copy of the IEP. The special education
teacher should explain the content of the IEP and offer counseling and
information. The IEP must also include services that help the child succeed in the
mainstream class (Cook et al., 2019). Finally, there is a need for continuous
evaluation to determine the child’s performance and progress towards the goals
outlined in the IEP. The information obtained through such evaluations can later
be used to revise and improve the IEP (Al-Rashidi, 2017).
An IEP, which acts as a "blueprint" for a child's particular learning requirements,

is intended to improve communication between parents and school officials about
the resources and support children with ASD should receive (Slade et al., 2018). It
is common for teachers to talk to their students’ parents about events that take
place in class, the children’s performance, homework, and behavior problems.
Common methods of communication include notes, home visits, phone calls, and
even text messages, according to the preferences of the instructor or family. As
technology improves, however, the preferred methods are changing. In an ideal
world, the communication process between teachers and parents would be two-
way, not one-way (Kosaretskii & Chernyshova, 2013).
The benefits of parent-teacher communication include the following: (a) the child
performs well in school; (b) teachers encounter fewer problems and report higher
job satisfaction; and (c) parents have positive feelings toward the school (Lemmer,
2004). The goal of communication between teachers and the families of children
with ASD is to find common ground and points of agreement that make it easier
to care for the children inside and outside of school, meet their needs, and improve
400
their lives (Al-Qahtani, 2016). Communication between parents and teachers

positively contributes to student success. Students perform better in school if their
parents talk to their teachers, regardless of the method of communication used:
parent-teacher conferences, emails, or phone calls (Dunham, 2016).
A partnership between a teacher and a guardian has three stages. The first is called
the beginning stage, in which the parties determine the method of continuous
cooperation and define the specific goals, roles, and responsibilities of each
member. The second stage is the evaluation stage, which comprises following up
on the children's condition and progress, as well as participating in conferences to
strengthen the partnership continually. The final stage of the partnership involves
helping the student transition effectively to the next step of their academic
journey. Both parties in such partnerships have information about the children's
unique knowledge and skills. Parents are well aware of their children's history,
life, and interests, while teachers have knowledge of pedagogy, assessment,
school procedures, and student performance. Accordingly, parents and educators
should share their knowledge and collaborate (Gooch, 2018).
Caregivers are an important part of the education of children with ASD.

Therefore, school systems should encourage caregiver involvement and build
meaningful home–school connections to help children (LaBarbera, 2017).
According to Azad et al. (2016), the effectiveness of the school-family relationship,
particularly for children with ASD, is strongly dependent on the quality of
communication between teachers and parents. This has a significant influence on
pupils' overall achievement, both in and out of school. Parental involvement leads
to a strong, collaborative relationship and promotes academic success. In this
process, defining roles is one important way to communicate values related to
learning and achievement, as well as establishing a good relationship (LaRocque
et al., 2011).
Parents of children with disabilities suggest that many factors impact their
children's success in school; communication between parents and teachers is one
of the most important (Smith et al., 2016). A study by Azad and Mandell (2018)
suggests that collaborative communication is important for ensuring that the
same practices are followed at school and home, which ultimately benefits
children with ASD. The researchers believe that the family should be involved in
the preparation of the IEP and can serve as an important partner for the teacher.
However, the methods teachers use to communicate with their students’ families
may limit the effectiveness of the process. Moreover, a lack of communication can
lead to serious problems in the educational system, including misunderstandings.
Research has shown that students do better when their parents and teachers
collaborate to help them (Patton, 2019). Parents and teachers must talk to each
other to help students move in the right direction and improve the quality of
education (LaRocque et al., 2011). Therefore, schools should be encouraged to
work with parents and develop inclusive, two-way forms of communication.
401
Although the importance of communication between schools and parents of

students with ASD is acknowledged, there is a paucity of qualitative and
quantitative research on this topic (Goldman et al., 2019). Parents and teachers of
students with ASD need to take on additional responsibilities to facilitate
communication. Furthermore, this process allows students to share their
experiences and helps parents and instructors coordinate educational material.
This suggests the need for knowledge about the nature of home-school
communication—particularly, in relation to students with ASD (Stanley et al.,
2005). Despite the importance of two-way communication, parents of students
with ASD report being less satisfied with their communication with their
children’s schools than parents of students with other disabilities and parents of
students without disabilities (Zablotsky et al., 2012).
Al-Shammari and Yawkey (2008) indicated that parents of children with special
needs can participate in classroom activities and school functions in many
different ways. The results of their study showed that more than 70% of the
parents participated in their children’s classrooms, while 81% believed that their
children’s academic performance improved when they did so. Azad and Mandell
(2018) determined instructors' and parents' ideal relationships with one another.
In the study's findings, four major issues were identified: (a) parents and teachers
are interested in different elements of intergenerational communication; (b)
instructors and parents are apprehensive about the other's desire for more
engagement; (c) parents and educators are irritated because the other party does
not implement their recommendations, which they ascribe to a lack of faith in their
abilities; and (d) teachers value the presence of parents in the classroom and want
them to take on a more active role. According to the findings, both parents and
instructors are disappointed with their interactions.
Spencer’s (2020) study aimed to determine how parents understood IEP meetings.
The results revealed that most parents were satisfied with the IEP meetings,
although more than 43% reported that they were not familiar with their child’s
IEP and expressed the need for more communication and information during the
meeting and throughout the school year. Parents cited an understanding of the
plan and process as key factors of participating in IEP meetings. Means (2021)
aimed to determine how parents and teachers perceived their experiences with
cooperating to develop the student’s IEP. The results showed that teachers were
more likely to perceive that the collaboration was successful and had a greater
desire to work as a collaborative team. Both teachers and parents reported that
they needed additional information or training to achieve this reality. Teachers
also expressed a desire for more training on how to collaborate effectively.
Nickels (2010) emphasized the need for ongoing communication between parents
and teachers as a crucial component of good educational programs for students
with ASD, placing a higher value on this factor than IEP team sessions. Al-Qahtani
(2016) sought to identify the obstacles that teachers in the Sports City in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia perceive as affecting their communication with the
families of children with ASD. The results showed a discrepancy in the barriers to
successful communication between parents of children with ASD and their
402
teachers: obstacles related to parents and the school were more significant than
those related to teachers. The results showed no statistically significant differences
between the mean scores of the sample on the three domains of the questionnaire;
however, there were statistically significant differences in terms of the number of
obstacles due to the variable of academic qualification.
Syriopoulou-Delli et al. (2016) sought to identify the views of teachers and parents
on issues related to the cooperative education of children with ASD. Primary
schools in Greece were randomly assigned to respond to the questionnaire. The
results of the study indicated that the majority of teachers and parents regarded
communication and cooperation as very important. Moreover, cooperation
contributed to improving children’s skills. Similarly, Azad et al. (2021) aimed to
improve communication between parents and teachers of children with ASD.
After engaging in Partners in School, parents and teachers saw improvements in
their children's outcomes. Changes in parent–teacher contact were connected with
changes in the outcomes of certain children. This underscores the significance of
communication in family–school collaboration therapy.
Al-Khairallah (2015) dealt with measuring the effectiveness of communication

methods (i.e., meetings, short messages, e-mails) between teachers and parents of
students with intellectual disabilities. The study found that many communication
methods were effective and enabled teachers to discuss various aspects of the
child's progress. Al-Dossary (2018) showed that teachers and parents believe it is
highly important for the parents of students with intellectual disabilities to
participate in the IEP process. However, the study also revealed that the most
important obstacle to parents' participation was a lack of confidence that their
participation would have positive results. This was attributed to teachers'
assertion that parents’ participation is meaningless.
Based on a review of the literature related to the subject of the current study, there
are no studies in the Arab world that deal with communication between teachers
and the parents of students with ASD and its relationship to the child’s
performance level. There are also very few international studies dealing with this
subject. This makes the current study important. Given this lack of directly
relevant research, the researchers considered some studies that are indirectly
related to the subject of the study. They generally concerned communication
between teachers and the parents of children with disabilities. Most of the
previous studies agreed on the importance of communication between teachers
and parents, its impact on the educational process, and parents’ participation in
the IEP process. Other studies mentioned the importance of parents’ participation
but noted that current participation levels were low.
3. Materials and Methods

This section presents the materials and methods employed in the study to achieve
the study objective and answer the research questions. The sub-sections that
follow provide a detailed overview of the study design, participant selection
criteria, the study tool utilized, and the data analysis techniques employed.
403
3.1 Study design and participants

The study employed a descriptive-correlational approach to investigate the
research objectives and answer the research questions. This approach falls within
the realm of quantitative research and follows a correlational paradigm. The
chosen methodology was deemed appropriate for the study owing to its focus on
determining intermittent relationships among study variables.
The study population consisted of all teachers who worked with ASD students in
Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. The population was estimated to include 87 teachers: 65
males and 22 females. A sample of 64 teachers was selected to participate in the
study. The sample selection technique utilized was random sampling.
3.2 Inclusion criteria

1. Participants who were certified teachers working with students diagnosed
with ASD in an educational setting;
2. Participants who had experience communicating with parents of students with
ASD; and
3. Participants who had knowledge of students’ IEPs and performance levels.
3.3 Exclusion criterion

Participants who had less than one year of experience teaching students with
ASD.
3.4 Study tool

A questionnaire was used to collect data and answer the research questions owing
to its suitability to the objectives, methodology, and population of the study. After
reviewing the previous studies related to the topic and receiving approval for the
subject, data, questions, and objectives, a questionnaire was designed in two
parts. To determine the validity of the questionnaire and ensure that it measured
the intended constructs, it was presented in its initial form (comprising 19 items)
to five experts in the field of special education. The experts made comments and
agreed on the required adjustments. Eight items were added, bringing the total
number of objects to 28.
The reliability coefficient Cronbach’s alpha (α) was used to calculate the reliability
of the two factors of the questionnaire and its total score. The Cronbach’s alpha
values of the two factors were 0.947 and 0.862, respectively. The general reliability
coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.938. These values confirm that the
questionnaire had a high degree of reliability.
3.5 Data analysis

The data were coded and analyzed using SPSS-26. Means, frequencies, and
percentages were used as the descriptive data. In addition, the Mann-Whitney,
Kruskal-Wallis, and Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the data. The
study found a significant positive correlation between teachers' communication
with the parents of students with ASD and their performance levels (p < 0.05 was
considered significant).
404
4. Results
In the following sub-sections, the results of the current study are presented,
providing a concise analysis of the collected data. It commences with descriptive
statistics, followed by the outcomes of the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis
tests to explore potential differences in teachers' communication and performance
levels based on demographic variables. Lastly, the findings of the Pearson
correlation test are discussed, examining the relationship between teachers'
communication and student performance. These results offer valuable insights
into the research objectives and contribute to the field of ASD education.
By collecting the responses of teachers of students with ASD through the study
tool and conducting appropriate statistical operations to answer the study
questions, the following results were reached:
4.1 Q1. How do teachers perceive their communication with parents of students
with ASD?
A three-point Likert scale was used to determine the degree of responses to the
first factor. Accordingly, the following criterion was used to judge the values of
the means of the factor: if the mean is from (1) to (1.67), then the reality is of a
weak degree; if the mean is from (1.67) to (2.34), then the reality is of an average
degree; if the mean is from (2.34) to (3.00), then the reality is of a high degree, as
shown in Table 1.
Table 1: The reality of teachers’ communication with parents of students with ASD
in the IEP from the teachers’ point of view
Always
Items Often n(%) Never n(%) Mean Degree Rank
n(%)
I hold periodic interviews and

1 8(12.5) 47(73.44) 9(14.06) 1.98 Medium 7
meetings with parents
I answer parents’ inquiries and

2 1(1.56) 11(17.19) 52(81.25) 1.20 Low 20
questions
I urge parents to participate in

3 2(3.12) 21(32.81) 41(64.06) 1.39 Low 16
the educational process
I invite parents to visit the class

43(67.19) 14(21.88)
4 to learn about the education 2(3.12) 1.89 Medium 8
provided to their children
I give instructions to parents to
5 help their children perform 0(0) 20(31.25) 44(68.75) 1.31 Low 18
their assigned household duties
I hold periodic meetings with
parents to ensure that they
6 understand the psychological, 12(18.75) 40(62.5) 12(18.75) 2 Medium 6
social, and educational needs of
their children
405
I communicate with parents

7 about their participation in 29(45.31) 24(37.5) 11(17.19) 2.28 Medium 3
various activities
I provide educational methods
for parents to help them
8 3(4.69) 29(45.31) 32(50) 1.55 Low 13
communicate with their
children
I offer different suggestions for
methods by which parents can
9 1(1.56) 26(40.63) 37(57.81) 1.44 Low 14
support their children‘s
performance
I prepare questionnaires for the
10 parents to solicit their opinions 6(9.38) 29(45.31) 29(45.31) 1.64 Low 10
about their children’s condition
I use various means of
communication (e.g., phone, e-
11 mail, WhatsApp) to follow up 3(4.69) 20(31.25) 41(64.06) 1.41 Low 15
with parents on their children’s
performance
I send out informational
12 18(28.13) 37(57.81) 9(14.063) 2.14 Medium 5
brochures to parents
I communicate with parents by
13 meeting them at parents' 3(4.69) 34(53.13) 27(42.19) 1.66 Low 9
councils
I use the homework book to
14 1(1.56) 10(15.62) 53(82.81) 1.19 Low 21
communicate with parents
I communicate with parents
15 when I have issues with their 1(1.56) 13(20.31) 50(78.13) 1.23 Low 19
children
I ask the parents to participate
16 in monitoring and observing 4(6.25) 28(43.75) 32(50) 1.56 Low 12
their children
I involve parents in preparing
17 26(40.63) 26(40.63) 12(18.75) 2.22 Medium 4
their children‘s IEPs
I involve parents in
18 implementing their children‘s 27(42.19) 30(46.88) 7(10.94) 2.31 Medium 2
IEPs
I involve parents in developing
19 32(50) 21(32.81) 11(17.19) 2.33 Medium 1
their children’s IEPs
A student's performance
20 improves when teachers 2(3.13) 19(29.69) 43(67.19) 1.63 Low 11
communicate with the parents
A student's performance
improves when their parents
21 2(3.13) 18(28.13) 44(68.75) 1.34 Low 17
participate in the preparation
and implementation of the IEP
The general mean 1.69 Low
It is clear from Table 1 that the general mean for the first factor was 1.69. The mean
responses of the study sample about determining the reality of teachers'
communication with parents of students with ASD from the teachers' point of
406
view ranged between 1.19 and 2.33. Item No. 19 (I involve parents in developing
their children’s IEPs) ranked first with a mean of 2.33, followed by item No. 18 (I
involve parents in implementing their children‘s IEPs) which ranked second with
a mean of 2.31. Item No. 7 (I communicate with parents about their participation
in various activities) was ranked in third place with a mean of 2.28.
Item No. 15: (I communicate with parents when I have issues with their children)
ranked nineteenth with a mean of 1.23, Item No. 2: (I answer parents’ inquiries
and questions) ranked twentieth with a mean of 1.20, while Item No. 14: (I use the
homework book to communicate with parents) ranked twenty-first with a mean
of 1.19, from the points of view of the study sample of teachers.
4.2 Q2. What are the performance levels of students with ASD?
A five-point Likert scale was used to determine the degree of response to the
second factor. The following criterion was relied upon when judging the values
of the means of the second factor: If the mean is from (1) to (1.80), then the level is
weak, and if the mean is from (1.80) to (2.60), then the level is average. If the mean
is greater than (2.60) to (3.40), the level is good, and if the mean is from (3.40) to
(4.20), the level is very good. If the mean is from (4.20) to (5.00), the level is high,
as shown in Table 2:
Table 2: The frequencies and percentages related to determining the level of students
with ASD in the IEP from the point of view of teachers (n = 64)
Very
High Medium Low Very low
Items high Mean Degree Rank
n(%) n(%) n(%) n(%)
n(%)
What is a student's
academic level
22 2(3.13) 20(31.25) 29(45.31) 11(17.19) 2(3.13) 3.14 Medium 5
when their parents
participate?
What is a student's
cognitive level
23 10(15.63) 23(35.94) 28(43.75) 2(3.13) 1(1.56) 3.61 Medium 2
when their parents
participate?
What is a student's
language level (i.e.,
receptive,
24 7(10.94) 20(31.25) 32(50) 5(7.81) 0(0) 3.45 Medium 3
expressive) when
their parents
participate?
What is a student's
level of social skills
25 2(3.13) 11(17.19) 41(64.06) 10(15.63) 0(0) 3.08 Medium 6
when their parents
participate?
What is a student's
level of motor skills
26 (i.e., gross, fine) 2(3.13) 10(15.62) 27(42.19) 25(39.06) 0(0) 2.83 Medium 7
when their parents
participate?
407
What is a student’s
level in the field of
self-care (i.e.,
making food,
getting dressed,
27 5(7.81) 20(31.25) 35(54.69) 4(6.25) 0(0) 3.41 Medium 4
personal hygiene,
going to the
bathroom) when
their parents
participate?
What is a student's
level of self-
protection (i.e.,
28 perceiving risks 24(37.5) 4(6.25) 30(46.88) 5(7.81) 1(1.56) 3.70 High 1
inside/outside the
home) when their
parents participate?
The general mean 3.32 Medium
Table 2 shows that the general mean for the second factor was 3.32, which
confirms that students with ASD have a high level in their IEPs from the point of
view of teachers.
The average responses of the study sample of teachers about determining the level
of students with ASD in the IEP ranged between 2.83 and 3.70. Item No. 28: (What
is a student's level of self-protection [i.e., perceiving risks inside/outside the
home] when his parents participate?) came first with a mean of 3.70, followed by
item No. 23: (What is a student's cognitive level when his or her parents
participate?) in second place with a mean of 3.61, and item No. 24: (What is a
student's language level [i.e., receptive, expressive] when his or her parents
participate?) ranked third with a mean of 3.45.
Item No. 22: (What is a student's academic level when his or her parents
participate?) ranked fifth with a mean of 3.14, followed by Item No. 25: (What is a
student's level of social skills when his or her parents participate?) which ranked
sixth and penultimately with a mean of 3.08, while item No. 26: (What is a
student's level of motor skills [i.e., gross, fine] when his or her parents
participate?) ranked seventh with a mean of 2.83, from the points of view of
teachers.
4.3 Q3. Is there a correlation between teachers' communication with parents of

students with ASD and their performance levels?
Pearson's coefficient was used to verify the statistical significance of the
correlation, and the results are shown in Table 3:
408
Table 3: The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient for the correlation
between the reality of teachers' communication with parents of students with ASD
and the level of the student in the IEP
Variables n Correlation coefficient p-value
The reality of teachers'
64
communication with parents 0.375 0.002
The level of the student in the IEP 64
Table 3 shows that the correlation coefficient between the two variables is
0.375, which indicates an average positive correlation between them. The p-value
of 0.002 indicates that this correlation is statistically significant at 0.05.
4.4 Q4. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers’ communication

with parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s gender?
The results are shown in Table 4:
Table 4: The results of the Mann-Whitney test to indicate the differences between the
points of view of the respondents depending on the type variable (n = 64)
Questionnaire Sum of Mean

Gender n U Test p-value
factors ranks ranks
The first factor: the

reality of teachers’ Male 50 1601.50 32.03
communication
326.50 0.001
with parents of
students with Female 14 478.50 34.18
special needs ASD
The second factor: Male 50 1499 29.98
the level of students 224 0.039
Female 14 581 41.50
with ASD in the IEP
Table 4 shows the following results:

For the first factor, the results show a significant difference in the points of view
of male and female respondents regarding the reality of teachers' communication
with parents of students with special needs (ASD), as indicated by the very low
p-value of 0.001. The mean ranks of male and female respondents were 32.03 and
34.18, respectively, suggesting that female respondents had a slightly more
positive view of teachers' communication with parents.
The p-value of 0.039 for the second factor indicates a significant difference in the
opinions of male and female respondents regarding the proportion of students
with ASD in the IEP. The mean ranks of male and female respondents were 29.98
and 41.50, respectively, indicating that female respondents had a significantly
more positive view of the level of students with ASD in the IEP than male
respondents had.
4.5 Q5. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers’ communication

with parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s academic
qualifications?
409
Table 5: The results of the Mann-Whitney test to indicate the differences between
the points of view of the respondents according to the educational qualification
variable (n =64)
Questionnaire Educational Sum of Mean

n U Test p-value
factors level ranks ranks
The first factor is

the reality of Bachelor 55 1712 31.13
teachers’
communication 172 0.029
with parents of Post-
9 368 49.67
students with graduate
special needs ASD
The second factor Bachelor 55 17.08 31.05

is the level of
Post- 188 0.013
students with ASD 9 372 50.96
in the IEP graduate
Based on the results, there is a significant difference in the respondents' point of

view regarding the reality of teachers' communication with parents of students
with special needs (ASD) between those with a bachelor's degree and those with
a postgraduate degree (p = 0.029). Similarly, there is a significant difference in the
respondents' point of view regarding the level of students with ASD in the IEP
between those with a bachelor's degree and those with a postgraduate degree (p
= 0.013).
4.6 Q.6. Are there statistically significant differences in teachers'

communication with parents of students with ASD based on the teacher’s
experience?
Table 6: The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test to indicate the differences between the
sample's points of view on the study tool according to the years of experience variable
Questionnaire Experience Mean
n df X2 p-value
factors years ranks
Less than 5
The first factor is 8 38.81
years
the reality of
From 5-10
teachers’ 31 29.55
years
communication 3 3.491 0.322
From 11-15
with parents of 17 37.35
years
students with
16 years and
special needs ASD 8 27.31
over
The second factor is Less than 5
8 30.88 3 0.189 0.979
the level of years
410
students with ASD From 5-10

31 32.44
in the IEP years
From 11-15
17 32.29
years
16 years and
8 34.81
over
There are no statistically significant differences between the respondents' points

of view about determining the reality of teachers' communication with parents of
students with ASD in the IEP due to the number of years of experience variable
(p=0.322).
There are no statistically significant differences between the attitudes of the

sample members regarding determining the level of students with ASD in the IEP
due to the number of years of experience variable (p=0.979).
5. Discussion
The results of the teachers’ responses to the questionnaire statements confirm that
teachers often communicate with the parents of students with ASD. The most
frequent method identified was using the homework book to communicate with
parents. The teachers’ responses mentioned that parents’ participation in the
preparation, implementation, and development of IEPs was average. According
to a study by Tucker and Schwartz (2013), many parents of children with ASD
suffer from difficulties or are not included in the cooperative process. Similarly, a
study by Al-Osaimi (2019) stated that family participation in the IEP process is
hindered by the absence of a system that obliges the family to participate.
However, the teachers in this study believed that family participation in the IEP
process allows the child’s performance to develop and improve. As stated in the
results of Al-Dossari’s (2018) study, parents’ participation in preparing IEPs for
their children makes it more likely that they will achieve the desired goals. In a
study by Al-Shammari and Yawkey (2008), parents saw improvements in their
children’s academic achievements when participating in their programs.
There was a statistically significant positive correlation (at the significance level
of 0.05) between teachers' communication with parents of students with ASD and
their performance levels. It turned out that communication between teachers and
parents of students with ASD greatly affects these students’ progress. The same
results were mentioned in a study by Azad et al. (2021), which indicated that
parents and teachers noticed an improvement in children’s results after
participating in the Partners in School program. Changes in parent-teacher contact
were related to variations in the outcomes of children. This emphasizes the
significance of communication in family-school collaboration discussions.
The results of Syriopoulou-Delli et al.’s (2016) study showed that most teachers
and parents consider communication and collaboration between teachers and
parents to be critical. Cooperation contributes positively to improving children's
skills. Al-Sayari’s study (2020) mentioned a correlation between parents’
411
communication methods, teachers' learning difficulties, and the child’s

performance level. Khairallah's (2015) study contended that effective
communication between teachers and parents of students with disabilities helps
facilitate the child's progress and follow-up conversations.
There were no statistically significant differences among the respondents

regarding communication with parents with ASD. The study results agreed with
those of Al-Qahtani’s (2016) study that the teacher’s gender does not play an
important role in their relationship with the family. In addition, the study
confirmed that there were no differences based on years of experience or
workplace (e.g., integration institutes or programs).
6. Conclusions
This study investigated the communication between teachers and parents of
students with ASD and its relationship with the level of the IEP. The results
indicate that the teachers in the study sample communicated with parents of
students with ASD to a large extent. The use of the homework book was found to
be the most common method of communication. However, the teachers rated the
parents' involvement in the creation, implementation, and development of the IEP
as average. The study found a positive correlation between the reality of teachers'
communication with parents of students with ASD and the level of the student in
the IEP, indicating that communication significantly affects student progress. The
study also found gender differences in attitudes towards the level of the student
in the IEP, with female teachers having more positive attitudes. It is recommended
that schools provide training and support for teachers to enhance their
communication skills and involve parents more actively in the development and
implementation of the IEP.
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to thank King Faisal University's Deanship of
Scientific Research for providing the research fund and for publishing their
research (Grant No. 3664).
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 415-434, June 2023
The Effects of an MMORPG on Thai EFL

University Students’ Reading for Main Ideas
Wanwisa Changkwian
Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Suksan Suppasetseree
Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Abstract. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of using a

massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) as a tool for
improving students’ English reading skills, specifically in identifying
main ideas. The study employed a quasi-experimental method to gather
comprehensive data, including pre-tests and post-tests consisting of 25
items each, to measure students’ performance before and after utilizing
the MMORPG. Additionally, a 15-question questionnaire was used to
assess students’ perceptions of using an MMORPG for reading
instruction, and semi-structured interviews comprised of five questions
were conducted to delve deeper into students’ experiences and opinions.
A purposive sample of 35 students enrolled in an English reading course
at a university in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand was selected for
participation. The findings reveal a significant improvement in
participants’ post-test scores compared to their pre-test scores (the results
of participants’ post-test scores increased from the pre-test scores at 6.657,
p = .000), indicating enhanced understanding of main ideas through
MMORPG-based instruction. Moreover, the majority of participants
expressed enjoyment and enhanced learning experiences using the
MMORPG approach. This research study has implications for course
developers, emphasizing the importance of a systematic process in
MMORPG design and exploring the pedagogical benefits of
incorporating an MMORPG as an alternative teaching method for similar
subjects.
Keywords: online games; online learning; reading; role-playing game;

teaching reading
___________________________
*
Corresponding author: Wanwisa Changkwian, w.changkwian@gmail.com
©Authors
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1. Introduction
Among the four language skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking—this
study places particular emphasis on reading, with the aim to investigate the way
in which a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) affects
the comprehension of main ideas. Reading is widely recognized as the most
crucial skill among these language skills, as it plays a vital role in improving
overall language proficiency (Krashen & Brown, 2007). By examining the impact
of an MMORPG on reading, this study sought to shed light on the broader
implications for language learners and their ability to understand key concepts.
Despite the importance of English as a global language, the English proficiency of
Thai students has been found to be very low, with the country ranking 89th out
of 100 non-native English-speaking countries in 2021 and 100th out of 112
countries in 2021, with a score of 419 out of 800, which is considered significantly
low (Bangkok Post, 2020). Consequently, numerous research studies have been
conducted to investigate potential methods to improve the English proficiency of
Thai students, with one of the recommendations being the explicit teaching of
English skills.
Moreover, most research studies focus on the teaching of reading skills because
reading is considered the foundational skill that students should acquire before
learning other language skills. In Thailand, despite their English proficiency
remaining significantly low, Thai students are taught English from Grade One or
even at the kindergarten level. Challenges for Thai students arise from various
factors, and extensive research studies have examined the reasons behind their
low level of English proficiency (Kaur et al., 2016; Noom-ura, 2013; Panichakul,
2015; Sreena & Ilankumaran, 2018; Walakanon, 2014). These studies have
identified several primary factors influencing students’ English proficiency,
including a lack of motivation to learn English, students’ attitude towards English
usage, and the use of inappropriate teaching methods or techniques. To enhance
students’ English language skills, various teaching techniques have been
implemented, of which one is the use of online games for teaching.
This study used the MMORPG for various reasons. First, the computer-based
MMORPG used in this study offered clearer texts and a more expansive view for
reading, making it more suitable for learning compared to mobile phone apps.
Second, integrating educational content into online games requires complex
techniques, as most games are primarily intended for entertainment. The game
designer met the challenge of carefully harmonizing the educational elements of
the game with the text-based reading passages. Lastly, while many research
studies have employed online games primarily designed for entertainment
purposes, this study addressed the concern by customizing an online game into
an educational tool by specifically targeting reading difficulties among students,
ensuring the game’s suitability for language learning (Hapsari et al., 2019; Zhang
et al., 2017).
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2. Research Questions
Two research questions are addressed in this study:
1. What are the effects of an MMORPG on Thai undergraduate students’
reading for main ideas?
2. What are Thai undergraduate students’ perceptions of learning reading
for main ideas via an MMORPG?
2.1 The Importance of Reading
Reading is explicitly taught in most schools because it is considered one of the
most important skills that students must learn, as it is the foundation for learning
and essential for acquiring knowledge from textbooks, articles, digital resources,
and other written materials. Reading comprehension is also taught to higher level
Thai students, rather than spelling and reading aloud. Comprehension is related
to the reader’s ability to process the text, make sense of the meaning, and integrate
it with the reader’s own background. Reading instruction in schools encompasses
various models, namely the bottom-up or top-down approaches and interactive
model, each rooted in different language theories and perspectives. The
bottom-up approach emphasizes decoding and analyzing individual elements of
written language, while the top-down approach focuses on readers’ background
knowledge and experiences. The interactive model integrates both linguistic and
background knowledge to facilitate comprehension (Aebersold & Field, 1997;
Nuttall, 1982). These models are informed by behaviorism, constructivism, and
interactionism, offering valuable insights into effective reading instruction.
However, it is essential to adopt a flexible approach that meets the diverse needs
of learners, employing a balanced mix of models and strategies to develop reading
skills, comprehension, and critical thinking abilities. It is common for readers to
encounter difficulties while reading, such as losing their place and focus, not
grasping the main point, or forgetting what they have read (Osborne, 2010).
Therefore, reading strategies play a crucial role in helping students overcome
these challenges. Specifically, the main-idea strategy has the potential to enhance
the reading comprehension performance of students who struggle with
understanding inferential main ideas. Through the implementation of this
strategy, both explicitly and implicitly, students can experience significant
improvements in their reading skills and achieve greater success as readers
(Boudah, 2013).
2.2 Reading for Main Ideas

Reading comprehension necessitates readers gaining an understanding of the
main ideas in a text, but many people lack effective strategies. To improve
comprehension, it is important to use techniques such as reading the introduction
and conclusion, focusing on topic sentences, and organizing ideas for better
understanding (Mannes & Kintsch, 1987). Therefore, specific methods have been
introduced to help students read for an understanding of main ideas.
To enhance comprehension of main ideas, teachers can employ various teaching

methods, such as anchor charts, visuals, and emphasizing titles. Furthermore, the
utilization of games and online games in English language learning, including
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reading, has gained popularity. Researchers such as Ariani (2010), Gozcu and
Caganaga (2016), and Ronimus et al. (2019) have investigated the effectiveness of
integrating games and online games in developing students’ reading skills,
particularly their ability to comprehend main ideas. These interactive and
engaging approaches have demonstrated potential in improving students’ grasp
of main ideas within the context of English language learning. One example is a
research study conducted by Jitendra et al. (2000) to investigate the effectiveness
of main-idea strategies and self-monitoring instruction on students’ reading
comprehension. Participants were 33 middle school students in the north-eastern
United States, who were divided into two groups. One was the control group and
the other was the experimental group, where students were taught how to
identify and generate main-idea statements using reading for main-idea
instruction and a self-monitoring process. Students in the experimental group
outperformed students in the control group. The conclusion from the research
study is that the explicit teaching of reading for main ideas can help students learn
more effectively.
2.3 Online Games in English Language Learning

There are ten categories of instructional techniques that assist learners in
achieving learning objectives or internalizing content: presentation,
demonstration, discussion, drill and practice, tutorial, project-based learning,
gamification, simulation, discovery, and problem-solving (Heinich et al., 2002).
When designing an English course, teachers can utilize technology when teaching
these methods to create an engaging learning environment that fosters student
involvement and facilitates learning. One of the most relevant aspects of using
technology to aid language teaching is to integrate learning with using online
games. Technology is now vital both inside and outside the classroom. It offers
interactive learning, access to educational resources, collaboration among
students, as well as personalized learning, and prepares students for the digital
world. Educators can also use technology to tailor instruction, track student
progress, and provide feedback, creating a more effective learning environment.
Employing online educational games is one of the most popular ways of
embedding technology in teaching.
In some countries, the use of online games is a cause for concern because it is
thought that they can be harmful and addictive for young children; however,
online games are also beneficial for language teaching in various fields. In a study
conducted by Alyaz and Genc (2016), the educational role-playing game (RPG)
Adventure German – A Mysterious Mission was employed. The findings indicate
that utilizing this game resulted in enhanced professional language skills among
pre-service teachers. Furthermore, the teachers exhibited a positive attitude
towards incorporating the game into their teaching practices. Due to advancing
technology, numerous online games are now available for language teaching and
learning.
Several research studies have explored the integration of online games into
language teaching and learning. In their study, Ng et al. (2022) examined online
game-related tasks and their impact on the language performance of language
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learners. Through a comprehensive review of literature from various databases,

they identified several factors within online games that contribute to language
acquisition, including competition among peers, collaborative discussions,
versatile game elements, and learner empowerment. The study highlighted the
importance of implementing game-related tasks in online games as effective
linguistic tools for enhancing language learning. Another study of the use of
online games in language teaching was undertaken by Kazu and Kuvvetli (2023),
who explored the perspectives of 69 8th Grade students by using digital games as
a method for learning English as a foreign language. Their findings show that the
students viewed game-based language learning positively and considered it
highly successful due to the in-game power-ups, competitive elements, and rapid
feedback.
Computer games can be classified into eight different genres: action games,
adventure games, fighting games, puzzle games, RPGs, simulations, sports
games, and strategy games. Teachers should therefore select the appropriate game
that best aligns with the lesson objectives in language lessons. In this study, an
RPG was chosen because it was considered a highly complex game (O’Brien, 2010)
that engages players through features such as unique characters, settings, items,
and inventory. Additionally, there are several types of RPGs, including action
RPGs, tactical RPGs, and MMORPGs, which are among the most popular games
(Yee, 2016) being played by millions of people worldwide.
2.4 Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

As one of the most popular online game types, MMORPGs are a combination of
role-playing video games (RPG) and massively multiplayer online games (MMO),
in which a large number of players interact with one another within a virtual
world. Examples of MMORPGs include World of Warcraft (WOW) and
EverQuest, both of which contain simulation and interaction among game
players.
Bryant (2006) conducted a research study to investigate the social aspect of

language acquisition in students who played the MMORPG WOW at home. The
study focused on student interactions with the researcher concerning the use of
modal verbs in German. The results show that each student was provided with
opportunities to use collaborative skills (such as communication, active listening,
problem-solving, etc.) while playing the game, and the game also increased the
students’ intrinsic motivation for looking up unfamiliar words in a dictionary
after playing the game. Hapsari et al. (2019) examined the impact of the MMORPG
Dota 2 on English language learning. The study explored gamers’ perspectives
and found that Dota 2 facilitated incidental learning of English. The game’s user-
friendly platform and comprehensible language contributed to this effect.
Additionally, gamers were able to improve their reading skills and expand their
English vocabulary through gameplay.
2.5 Theoretical Framework

In this research study, an MMORPG was customized to help improve Thai
students’ English reading for main ideas. Gaming provides a playful environment
in which learners follow the rules while striving to achieve challenging goals. This
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technique is highly motivating and can be implemented individually or in groups.

The most effective way to encourage specific behavior in gaming is by rewarding
it. Figure 1 illustrates the theoretical framework of this study.
Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement

• Positive behavior followed by • Positive behavior followed Reward systems (e.g.,
positive consequences by removal of negative
consequences gold coins) make the
Punishment Extinction game more pleasurable
• Negative behavior followed • Negative behavior followed and fun
by negative consequences by removal of positive
consequences
Figure 1: Theoretical framework of reward systems
2.5.1 Rewarding and operant conditioning

Online games primarily utilize the inherent nature of progression to promote
behavioral adjustments in players, particularly to enhance efficiency in players’
everyday actions by rewarding them for achieving desired behavioral outcomes.
This advantage allows games to serve as a beneficial tool with the potential to
empower individuals or groups in terms of control and development.
According to Garaialde et al. (2021), gamification employs game-like rewards and

feedback to motivate behaviors. This approach incorporates rewards such as
points, levels, badges, and leaderboards, accompanied by visual feedback.
Furthermore, the use of these techniques has been proven effective in boosting
app usage and increasing participation. Gamification is commonly employed in
education and exercise contexts, offering short-term rewards for sustained user
engagement (Garaialde et al., 2021). Therefore, game designers should include the
feature of a reward system when designing a game in order to make it both fun
and challenging.
2.5.2 Memory
The integration of online games in language learning has a positive impact on
students’ cognitive development, as it enhances various cognitive abilities, such
as sustained attention, logic and reasoning, and long-term memory. For instance,
children who engage in online games exhibit improved memory, problem-solving
skills, hand-eye coordination, and comprehension abilities. Blacker and Curby
(2013) found that playing action games positively affects visual short-term
memory. In their study of 121 undergraduate students, participants engaged in a
task in which they needed to determine color matches between memory arrays
and test arrays. The results show that playing video games in immersive visual
environments improved visual memory accuracy. This suggests that video games
can be beneficial for enhancing student memory, as their engagement and interest
in gaming contribute to better retention of game content. Additionally, online
games are specifically designed to captivate and immerse users in dynamic
characters and thrilling adventures.
2.5.3 Motivation
Learners acquire more knowledge outside of the classroom in the subjects they
choose themselves, regardless of their sociocultural background. They are more
421
motivated to learn through their own experiences in an informal context (Chen,

2015). In learning via online games, the learners are intrinsically motivated and
able to control their own learning of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Online game-
based learning empowers learners with intrinsic motivation, allowing them to
independently acquire knowledge, skills, and abilities, while the availability of
external learning materials beyond the classroom enhances student interest and
motivation. Access to learning materials outside the classroom and the use of
formative assessment methods such as observation, discussion, and small quizzes
are important factors in increasing students’ interest and motivation to learn,
especially when considering the difference in assessing informal learning
outcomes compared to formal classroom learning (Meyers et al., 2013).
3. Methodology
3.1 Participants
The participants in this study were 35 students who were studying the English for
Academic Purposes course at a university in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand in the
academic year 2021. The participants were purposively selected to participate in
this study based on their availability, because the study was conducted during the
beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. They were non-English-major students
studying in the field of science and technology, with an average of 15 years of
English language learning.
3.2 Research Design

The research utilized a time-series quasi-experimental design to assess the effects
of an MMORPG on students’ reading for main ideas. Tests were conducted before
and after the experiment at different times, with data being collected at multiple
time points. The design included a pre-test, the experiment, and post-test for a
single group, as illustrated in Figure 2.
O1 X O2
Figure 2: Time-series quasi-experimental design
O1 represents the measurement of participants’ English reading for main-idea

knowledge before engaging in reading for main ideas via the MMORPG; X
represents the experiment of teaching English reading for main ideas via the
MMORPG; and O2 represents the measurement of participants’ English reading
for main-idea knowledge and satisfaction after participating in reading for main
ideas via the MMORPG.
3.3 Research Instruments

Five research instruments were used in this research study to identify the effects
of the MMORPG and determine whether it can help students to improve their
English reading for main ideas. Furthermore, they were used to explore
participants’ perceptions when using the MMORPG in learning English reading
for main ideas. The research instruments were lesson plans, the MMORPG,
reading tests (pre-test and post-test), questionnaire, and semi-structured
interview.
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3.3.1 Lesson plans

We developed lesson plans for this study based on reading for the main-idea
contents for university courses. The lesson plans were adapted for online
teaching, and online learning activities were supplemented by the use of the
MMORPG. To ensure the validity of the lesson plans, they were reviewed by three
experts who assessed them for item objective congruence (IOC) values. The lesson
plans were adjusted based on the advice provided by the experts.
3.3.2 MMORPG
An MMORPG called Defense of the Ancient 2 (Dota 2) was chosen in this study.
Dota 2 is a highly complex game known for its engaging elements, such as unique
characters, setting, and inventory. In fact, Dota 2 is classified as a multiplayer
online battle arena (MOBA) game, where two teams compete in a single map.
Additionally, the game offers a custom mode that allows communities to create
their own maps. In this study, we created a customized map within the Dota 2
platform to match with their particular requirements. Therefore, it was developed
for university students to facilitate their learning of reading for main ideas. Dota 2
is a game in which two teams compete in the same battlefield; it also provides a
platform for players and game developers to create their own games by
decorating the map and coding additional functions.
The construction of the MMORPG involved several steps. First, we examined the
difficulties that students faced in learning the English language. Based on this
understanding, the contents and lessons of the MMORPG were crafted by
integrating reading texts and vocabulary into the game’s features through coding.
The development of the MMORPG included receiving evaluations and feedback
from three experts. Following this, a pilot study was conducted to test the
MMORPG, and any necessary adjustments were made to finalize the game.
Figures 3 and 4 provide examples of the ways in which reading texts and
vocabulary were integrated into the MMORPG.
Figure 3: Collecting items and receiving a corresponding hint sentence on the

MMORPG
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Figure 4: Essential vocabulary needed for reading throughout the MMORPG game
map
3.3.3 Reading tests

Reading tests of 70 items were also sent to experts in English teaching fields to
determine the IOC value before being administered to the students in the pilot
study. Next, an item analysis of the tests was performed using Microsoft Excel to
determine the difficulty and discrimination levels. Items with the appropriate
difficulty and discrimination levels were divided into two tests: the pre-test and
the post-test. After that, the tests were administered to students in the pilot study
and adjusted according to the experts’ recommendations. Pre- and post-tests in a
research study allow researchers to compare measurements taken before and after
an experiment or intervention. This comparison helps researchers to determine
whether the experiment has a significant effect on the dependent variable, and
statistical analysis is employed to measure the significance of these changes.
3.3.4 Questionnaire
The questionnaire served as a tool for collecting quantitative and qualitative data
on participants’ perceptions of using an MMORPG for reading for main ideas. The
questionnaire included two sections. The first section consisted of four questions
and was intended to collect general information about the participants. The
second section, containing 15 questions, explored the participants’ perceptions of
learning English reading for main ideas through the MMORPG. To measure the
participants’ perception levels, a five-point Likert scale was employed. This scale
presents a declarative statement followed by response options ranging from
strongly agree to strongly disagree. To ensure a deeper understanding, the
questionnaire was delivered in the native Thai language to prevent language
barriers.
3.3.5 Semi-structured interview

In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted online in the
participants’ native language (Thai) to gather in-depth data on their perceptions
424
of using an MMORPG for learning reading for main ideas. These interviews
provided insights into participants’ evaluations of the MMORPG and their
learning experiences. The interviews were conducted individually, allowing for
focused and direct communication between the interviewer and each interviewee.
The goal was to understand the participants’ perceptions and feelings about
learning through an MMORPG in relation to their overall learning success.
The research instruments and research procedures are described in Figure 5.
Research instrument design
- Lesson plans Item objective

- MMORPG congruence (IOC)
- Pre-test and post-test
- Questionnaire
- Semi-structured interview
Pilot study
Pre-test
Experiment (MMORPG) Pre-reading activity
While -reading activity
Training Unit 1 Post-reading activity

(MMORPG) individual
) 2
Unit
) 3
Unit
in pairs
) 4
Unit
Post-test )
Likert scale and

Questionnaire
open-ended questions
Semi-structured interview Data analysis
Figure 5. Research instruments and research procedures
425
3.4 Data Collection Procedure

The data collection procedure for this study were conducted in several steps. First,
the participants in the experimental group underwent a pre-test consisting of 25
items to assess their knowledge of reading for main ideas. Following that, the
participants engaged in online learning by studying reading for main ideas
through videos on Google Drive. They also practiced reading for main ideas using
the MMORPG and completed quizzes after each practice unit.
After the practice sessions, the participants took a post-test comprising 25 items
to evaluate their progress in reading for main ideas through MMORPG practice.
The scores of the pre-test and post-test, which both consisted of 25 items, were
analyzed using SPSS software, specifically the paired sample t-test mode. This
analysis aimed to determine whether there were any significant differences
between the pre-test and post-test scores by examining the mean scores and
standard deviation.
Furthermore, after completion of the experiment, the participants were

administered a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions on a 5-point Likert scale
to assess their perceptions of reading for main ideas through an MMORPG. The
responses to these questions were analyzed to calculate the mean score and
standard deviation, providing insights into the participants’ perceptions of
learning reading for main ideas. Lastly, semi-structured interviews were
conducted with the participants to gain a deeper understanding of their
perceptions of using an MMORPG to help with reading for main ideas. The
transcripts of these interviews were analyzed to extract in-depth information
about the participants’ perspectives. The data collection procedure is
demonstrated in Figure 6.
Research Question 1: Lesson plan

Effects of MMORPG on
reading for main ideas
Pre-test of reading
Quantitative
for main ideas
Research Question 2:
Opinions about learning
reading for main ideas via Learning platform & MMORPG
MMORPG
Learning reading for Post-test of reading

-
Quantitative
main ideas via for main ideas
MMORPG
- Learning platform
(MMORPG: Dota 2) Questionnaire Quantitative & qualitative
- Suggestions on
platform design
Semi-structured interviews Qualitative
Issues to be explored Instruments to be used
Figure 6: Research instruments and research procedures
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3.5 Data Analysis

The collected data were analyzed and interpreted using different methods.
Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS software, specifically employing the
paired sample t-test to assess the differences between pre-test and post-test scores.
The questionnaire data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, calculating the mean
score (X̄) and standard deviation (SD). Qualitative data, obtained through semi-
structured interviews, conducted in the participants’ native language (Thai), were
recorded and transcribed. The analysis of qualitative data involved identifying
themes and developing categories.
4. Results
4.1 Results from Pre-Test and Post-Test Scores
This section presents the results derived from the comparison of mean scores from
the pre-test and post-test on English reading for main-idea knowledge, according
to the first objective of this study. The mean scores, standard deviations, and
t-values are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1: Paired sample statistics of participants’ pre-test and post-test results

Mean N Std. deviation Std. error mean
Post-test 14.26 35 3.600 0.609
Pair 1
Pre-test 7.60 35 2.626 0.444
A paired sample t-test was used to compare the average scores of the participants
on the pre-test and post-test. As shown in Table 1, the results reveal that the post-
test scores (M = 14.26) were significantly higher than the pre-test scores (M = 7.60),
indicating a statistically significant difference between the two sets.
Table 2: Comparison of participants’ reading for main-idea knowledge before and

after the MMORPG experiment
95% confidence
Std. interval of the
Std. Sig.
Variables Mean error difference t df
deviation (2-tailed)
mean
Lower Upper
Post-test– 6.657 3.253 0.55 5.54 7.775 12.105 34 0
Pre-test
*p < 0.05 (2-tailed)
The results from the pre-test (M = 7.60, SD = 2.626) and post-test (M = 14.26,
SD = 3.600) indicate that the use of the MMORPG resulted in an improvement in
reading for main ideas (t [35] = 12.105, p [0.000] < 0.05). Therefore, there is a
statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores.
Our findings thus show that there was a positive effect on participants’ learning
after using the MMORPG, demonstrating that it can help students improve their
skills in reading for main ideas.
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427
4.2 Results from the Questionnaire

The questionnaire was administered to the participants to explore their
perceptions of using an MMORPG to assist with learning reading for main ideas.
The statements of the questionnaire are based on a survey of students who played
MMORPGs in a pilot study. Participants in the pilot study were asked to rate
items on a scale, which allowed for standardized analysis of their responses. The
survey results from the pilot study were developed into a 5-point Likert scale,
which was employed in this research study for the participants to rate each item.
The Likert scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 represents strong disagreement and
5 represents strong agreement. The average scores of participants’ perceptions
about learning reading for the main ideas via the MMORPG are presented in
Table 3.
Table 3: Participants’ perceptions about learning reading for main ideas using the
MMORPG
Item X̄ SD Interpretation
1. I like learning to read for main ideas through
a Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing 4.43 0.608 Satisfied
Game because it is fun.
2. I like the various points of the map in the
game very much because they make me feel
excited when learning English reading for main 4.34 0.725 Satisfied
ideas through a Massively Multiplayer Online
Role-Playing Game.
3. Learning English reading for main ideas
through a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-
4.26 0.561 Satisfied
Playing Game encourages me to participate
more in class.
4. I enjoy learning English reading for main
ideas through a Massively Multiplayer Online 4.43 0.655 Satisfied
Role-Playing Game very much.
5. I like learning English reading for main ideas
Playing Game because I can play it with my
friend.
6. I like learning English reading for main ideas
Playing Game with my friends because I can
discuss the reading content with them.
7. I believe that learning English reading for
main ideas through a Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Game together with my
friends helps me read English passages better.
8. I like the chat function of the Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game because 4.31 0.631 Satisfied
I can contact my friends in real time.
9. While learning English reading for main ideas
Playing Game, I always discuss it with my
friends via the chat function.
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10. I also share my reading sentences or

vocabulary meaning via the chat function of the
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing
Game when learning to read for main ideas.
11. I like gold coins in the Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Game because I can use
them to buy items that make my hero get
stronger.
12. I feel excited when I level up and finally win
the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing 4.49 0.612 Satisfied
Game.
13. I want to play the Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Game again to practice my 4.63 0.490 Satisfied
reading more.
14. I become an active learner when learning to
read for main ideas through the Massively 4.40 0.553 Satisfied
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
15. I am interested in learning English reading
for main ideas through the Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game because 4.34 0.539 Satisfied
I want to understand the ways in which games
can enhance and facilitate my learning process.
Total 4.40 0.57 Satisfied
To assess participants’ perceptions of learning reading for main ideas via an

MMORPG, a survey consisting of 15 items was utilized. Participants provided
self-ratings using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree). The specific definitions for each point on the Likert scale are
presented in Table 4.
Table 4: The 5-point Likert scale conversion to level

Numerical scale Weighted mean interval scale Mean descriptive equivalent
5 4.21–5.00 Very high
4 3.41–4.20 High
3 2.61–3.40 Moderate
2 1.81–2.60 Low
1 1.00–1.80 Very low
According to the participants’ responses, the questionnaire results were

categorized into three themes. First, with regard to reading improvement, item 13
received the highest score (X̄ = 4.63, SD = 0.490), with 92.6% of the participants
strongly agreeing that they would like to play an MMORPG again to practice their
reading skills further.
Second, the reward system in the game was highly regarded, with 92% of the
participants strongly agreeing with item 11, making it the item with the second
highest score (X̄ = 4.60, SD = 0.553). This indicates that the participants
appreciated the reward system as it allowed them to strengthen their heroes and
enhance their understanding of main ideas through the MMORPG.
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Lastly, in terms of the fun and excitement provided by the MMORPG, 89.8% of
the participants strongly agreed with item 12 (X̄ = 4.49, SD = 0.612), signifying
their excitement, particularly when they leveled up and achieved victory in the
game.
4.3 Results from the Semi-Structured Interviews

The results from the semi-structured interviews were grouped into themes
according to the participants’ responses.
4.3.1 Fun and motivation

Participants expressed that learning English reading for main ideas using the
MMORPG was enjoyable and fun. Furthermore, the game format made learning
feel engaging and not like traditional classroom learning. Playing the game and
learning English simultaneously was also seen as a motivating factor.
4.3.2 Understanding texts and meaning

Some participants highlighted that the game characters or content helped them to
better understand the reading material. Moreover, the game facilitated
comprehension by providing context and aiding in the recall of content.
4.3.3 Memory
Several participants mentioned that the game helped them to remember
vocabulary and reading content more easily, and the inclusion of vocabulary in
the game enhanced their ability to read and comprehend texts.
These results show that the participants liked the MMORPG. They believed that
it allowed them to learn in a more pleasurable and playful environment while also
helping them to improve their reading ability. The semi-structured interview
results match with those from the questionnaire in items 1 and 4 (1. I like learning
to read for main ideas through a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing
Game because it is fun; 4. I enjoy learning English reading for main ideas through
a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game very much). One of the
participants mentioned in the interview that they liked learning reading for main
ideas via the MMORPG because it is similar to the game that they were playing,
which was really fun, and they liked the way they could play a game and learn
English at the same time. They did not feel like they were learning in the
classroom at all.
5. Discussion
The results of the research study reveal that MMORPGs can help students to
improve their English reading for main ideas. The discussion section is divided
into two main points: advantages of the MMORPG and difficulties that
participants faced while learning.
5.1 Advantages of the MMORPG

Below, the advantages of the MMORPG are presented in greater detail.
430
5.1.1 Fun and motivation

As an example of an MMORPG, Dota 2 has proven to be a fun and motivating tool
that can improve students’ reading skills and develop their vocabulary
knowledge. Additionally, Moreira’s (2013) research showed that students who
engaged with Dota 2 experienced improvements in English reading and writing
skills due to the game’s incorporation of heroes’ skills and item definitions. This
indicates that MMORPGs can positively impact learning, particularly in reading,
by providing an enjoyable form of encouragement and motivation.
5.1.2 Memory enhancing

Furthermore, MMORPGs play a significant role in enhancing students’ memory
and cognitive skills. According to Cowan (2014), MMORPGs develop students’
working memory for cognitive tasks, while the visual memory aspect of these
games helps students to connect reading texts with the graphics they encounter
during gameplay. This finding is reinforced by Clemenson and Stark (2015)’s
study, which suggests that active engagement with game elements in online
games enhances students’ memory abilities.
5.1.3 Reward system and motivation

The reward system within MMORPGs also plays a significant role in improving
students’ reading skills and vocabulary knowledge. By having positive
consequences, the game motivates students to practice reading repeatedly,
leading to the development of literacy skills. Furthermore, students can enhance
their vocabulary knowledge by remembering the words that they have
encountered in the game and associating them with the objects and meanings
provided in the MMORPG environment.
Overall, MMORPGs provide a distinctive and captivating platform that
has a positive influence on students’ learning, motivation, reading skills, and
vocabulary knowledge. By integrating enjoyable gameplay elements and
promoting active engagement, these games establish an effective learning
environment that fosters student progress and enjoyment throughout their
educational journey.
5.2 Difficulties Faced by Participants During Learning

Some participants faced difficulties with learning equipment, while others found
that poor internet connection interrupted their learning. Moreover, some
participants could not afford to pay for internet. This represents a key concern of
teachers, not only for students studying English reading for main ideas via an
MMORPG but also for students studying other subjects. Adris and Yamat (2015)
highlighted that online learning equipment and internet connections should be
available for students to enable learning via technology.
6. Conclusion
This research study aimed to investigate the effects of the MMORPG on students’
comprehension of main ideas and to examine their perceptions of reading for
main ideas using an MMORPG. To address these research objectives, a mixed-
method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was
employed. The study utilized multiple research instruments, including an
MMORPG, lesson plans, pre-test and post-test assessments, a questionnaire, and
431
semi-structured interviews. In summary, the results of the study can be outlined

as follows: 1) the pre-test and post-test scores were significantly different,
indicating a significant improvement in participants’ knowledge of reading for
main ideas; 2) the questionnaire and semi-structured interview results indicate
that participants had positive perceptions of using an MMORPG for learning
reading for main ideas. It can be concluded that participants enjoyed using an
MMORPG because it was suitable to facilitate their knowledge of reading for main
ideas.
The findings of the present study align with previous research that incorporated
online games in language classrooms, suggesting that MMORPGs can serve as
effective teaching and learning tools to enhance students’ reading comprehension
skills. Several factors support this claim. First, previous studies (Alyaz & Genc,
2016; Hapsari et al., 2019) have shown that online games can improve language
students’ reading and vocabulary abilities. Second, online games have been found
to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation (Bryant, 2006).
7. Pedagogical Implications
The results of the current study demonstrate that the utilization of an MMORPG
has led to improvements in students’ reading comprehension of main ideas as
well as their motivation levels. Most importantly, the results of the present study
have raised many interesting questions and implications for pedagogy and
further study.
7.1 Language Skills to be Applied with MMORPGs

MMORPGs can also be applied to teaching other language skills, for example
listening, speaking, and vocabulary, because MMORPG game features also
support these functions.
7.2 Game Design and Function

Using MMORPGs as an educational tool necessitates that educators possess a
deep understanding of their functioning and features as well as expertise in game
coding. This knowledge is crucial for successfully integrating MMORPGs into
educational settings and creating engaging and educational games. Educators can
be empowered by acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage the
full potential of MMORPGs as effective teaching tools.
7.3 Utilizing Game Features to Draw Attention

It would be interesting for teachers and game developers to transform the
MMORPG into a quest by creating storytelling games or stages that utilize the
game’s features and graphics to capture students’ attention. The visually
appealing game maps and features have the potential to attract and engage
players.
8. Limitations
One limitation of the study is that it did not include live online teaching, which
limited participants’ ability to ask immediate questions and receive real-time
clarification on the learning content. Participants expressed a preference for live
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video sessions as they found them more engaging and interesting. Additionally,
the study did not provide an adequate number of examples and exercises related
to finding main ideas in the lesson. Participants suggested that increasing the
number of these resources would allow for more practice and improve learning
efficiency. Therefore, incorporating live teaching and increasing the availability of
practice materials could enhance the overall effectiveness of the study.
Another limitation of the present study is that it focused solely on the effects of
MMORPGs on students’ reading skills for main-idea learning. To gain a more
comprehensive understanding, future research could explore the impact of
MMORPGs on other specific learning objectives and in different contexts. For
instance, investigating the potential of MMORPGs for teaching vocabulary,
speaking, and writing skills would provide valuable insights into their broader
educational benefits and limitations in language learning.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 435-458, June 2023
Developing Elementary School Teacher’s

Professional Competence in Composing Traditional
Songs: An Action Research in Indonesia
J. Julia , Tedi Supriyadi , Enjang Yusup Ali ,
Egi Agustian , Afi Fadlilah
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract. The prevalence of international music engineering is

undermining the significance of traditional songs in character building
for elementary school students in Indonesia. Consequently, it is
necessary to restore the role and function of traditional songs in
elementary school learning. One approach to achieving this is by
creating new songs that resonate with today's context. However, not all
elementary school teachers have the competence to compose songs,
hence the need for training in this aspect of teacher professional
competence so that they can develop and use music learning materials.
The objective of this study is to enhance the creativity and innovation of
elementary school teachers in composing traditional songs. Action
research as the research design involved quantitative and qualitative
approaches. The participants consisted of 15 elementary school teachers
who were honorary teachers and civil servants. Quantitative data were
collected through surveys, and qualitative data were collected through
interviews and observations. The findings indicate that teachers can
develop their ability to compose traditional songs and can use
technology in the process. Therefore, it can be concluded that
elementary school teachers can develop and innovate themselves in
creating traditional songs and teaching materials that are tailored to
their needs with structured and controlled training. This research needs
to be followed up by evaluating teachers in conveying their songs to
students and suggesting that teachers be given regular training by the
government to increase competence in the field of music, because only
a small number participated.
Keywords: composing songs; teacher’s creativity; traditional song; action

research; elementary school teacher
1. Introduction
Traditional songs play an important role in elementary school education in
Indonesia as they help in the development of children. These songs tend to have
©Authors
436
a cheerful nuance that is interspersed with certain intentions, making them the
right means to aid children’s learning process (Herdiati & Saputra, 2022;
Kristanto, 2020). Furthermore, traditional songs can also shape the character of
children by cultivating an attitude of affection and care between them (Sinaga,
2022; Susilowati et al., 2021). However, the majority of elementary school teachers
as the foundational pillars of basic education, as observed, lack training in
teaching traditional songs, including how to make simple traditional songs. In
fact, making traditional songs and teaching them to students are more appropriate
than taking non-traditional songs which values do not necessarily fulfill students’
needs in their environments and cultures. In other words, creating new songs that
are more in line with today’s context is one way to address this issue. However,
not all elementary school teachers have the competence to compose songs as
evidenced by the difficulty in finding new songs created by elementary school
teachers that can be used widely. The majority of elementary school teachers do
not compose new songs but prefer to use old songs and change the lyrics to suit
their needs. Elementary school teachers usually teach all subjects, including
music, with a specialty in a particular subject (Julia, Supriyadi, et al., 2020).
Therefore, there is a need for training programs that can enhance the ability of
elementary school teachers to create traditional songs.
Previous research has proved the influence of music training on the ability of
elementary school teachers to compose thematic songs. For instance, Julia et al.
(2022) conducted research that aimed to improve teachers’ ability to compose
thematic songs. The results showed that with structured and controlled training,
elementary school teachers can develop themselves and innovate well. Another
study conducted by Parmini (2020) analyzed the effect of integrating traditional
Balinese children’s song lyrics in learning Indonesian for the inculcation of moral
education in elementary school students in Ubud. The results revealed that
traditional Balinese songs can be integrated into learning Indonesian, significantly
affecting the moral attitudes of elementary school students in Ubud. A related
study was also conducted by Karsono (2016), which examined the creative process
of a songwriter, A.T. Mahmud, in composing children’s songs. The results
showed that A.T. Mahmud’s creative process in composing children’s songs is a
research-based process that goes through several stages, such as the preparation
stage for creating, the stage for depositing ideas, the stage for compiling material
for song works, and the stage for evaluating song works.
Apart from the large amount of literature that discusses teacher competence and
songs, works that specifically solve the problem of learning Sundanese traditional
songs involving the creativity of elementary school teachers have not been found.
In other words, no research has yet explored the competency of elementary school
teachers in creating Sundanese traditional songs. Hence, the need for competency
development studies in composing Sundanese songs has been identified, as this
field has not received much attention from other researchers. The main objective
of this study is to help elementary school teachers become more competent in
composing Sundanese songs. The following research questions were used in this
study to explore the problem:
1. Can elementary school teachers improve their ability to understand
Sundanese karawitan notation?
437
2. Can elementary school teachers improve their ability to compose Sundanese

songs?
3. Can the six-steps action change the paradigm of elementary school teachers to
be more active in composing Sundanese songs?
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1. Teacher competence
Until now, the term “competence” is still subject to debate. Chouhan and
Srivastava (2014) believe that competence is an important representation of how
someone performs or reasons in different conditions and acclimatizes to changes
over time. According to Murphy et al. (1993), competence is something that one
does, and its outcomes are visible. On the other hand, Spencer and Spencer (2008)
argue that competence is not directly noticeable but is instead established in a
presentation in specific circumstances. The competencies of individuals comprise
a combination of action abilities that are made up of groups of knowledge
structures, mental, communicative, expressive, and, where necessary,
psychomotor abilities, attitudes and values that are required for performing tasks,
solving problems, and, more generally, the ability to function in a specific
profession, organization, location and role (Biemans et al., 2004).
In early 1986, teacher competence is categorized into three parts: content

awareness, educational awareness, and educational content awareness (Çetin &
Doğan, 2018). In line with this, the Dutch Foundation for Professional Teaching
Competence established a set of first-ability requirements for educators in
primary and secondary teaching based on seven comprehensive areas of
competence, including relational competence, educational competence, subject
matter and moralistic competence, organizational competence, competence in
collaborating with associates, competence in collaborating with the school
environment, and competence in consideration and improvement (Roelofs &
Sanders, 2007). Capable teachers are those who help their pupils, and they are not
only present in the classroom but also involved in the application of co-curricular
events (Sulaiman & Ismail, 2020). Thus, in this context, teacher competence can be
concluded as the teachers’ ability to behave, act and solve problems according to
their profession in educational institutions.
2.2 Teacher professional competence

In the context of teaching, professionalism refers to upholding particular
educational standards connected to skill (Alhazmi et al., 2022; Goodwin, 2021). It
displays a collection of jobs, responsibilities and obligations in the education
sector based on knowledge gained from specialized education and training
offered in the workplace (Saguni et al., 2021; Widodo et al., 2022). Professionals
generally strive to significantly expand their professional capacity and actively
develop their understanding to make significant decisions pertaining to their field
of expertise (Grady et al., 2008; Widodo, 2021). To put it another way,
professionals need to be competent (Mulder, 2014; Van der Spoel et al., 2020).
Hence, to set themselves apart from other employees, individuals and
occupational groups should aspire to professionalism, which can be characterized
as an ideal (Kelchtermans, 1993, 2009; Pratte & Rury, 1991).
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For organizations, especially instructors in the framework of a school

organization, professional competence is crucial. It has been demonstrated that
professionalism improves teaching performance (Jie et al., 2020; Nurhadi & Lyau,
2017), work productivity (Asmarani et al., 2021; Nisa & Saleh, 2020), work
effectiveness (Liakopoulou, 2011; Yusrina, 2022), and student achievement (de
Vries et al., 2022; Liepertz & Borowski, 2019). This suggests that a school
organization places a high value on professional competence, with repercussions
for the abilities of recent graduates and those who pursue higher education.
Professional competence in the educational context, particularly in teaching, is the
mastery of a wide variety of instructional resources (Epstein & Hundert, 2002;
Kunter et al., 2013). In order to consistently carry out professional activities and
facilitate needs-based self-development, teachers must have a range of general
characteristics that enable them to effectively navigate the social contexts of
pedagogical activities. These characteristics are essential for teachers to be
prepared, capable and responsible in carrying out their professional duties with
independence and proficiency (Julia, Subarjah, et al., 2020; Orazbayeva, 2016).
Teachers’ professional competency is referred to by educational researchers as
teacher characteristics (Joo, 2020; Webb et al., 2004). Thus, the components of
teachers that play a crucial role in students’ learning, successful teaching
techniques, as well as the strategies and activities used by teachers in classrooms,
can all be used to define teachers' professional competence (Muijs et al., 2014;
Muijs & Reynolds, 2017).
2.3. Creative process of song creation

There are several reasons why a person creates a work, such as responding to
environmental situations, displaying new work, educating the next generation, or
expressing pure aesthetic feelings (Ruswandi, 2016). In creating songs, creativity
is the most important element. A person’s motivation to create a work is strongly
influenced by their creativity. Therefore, when creating songs, creativity is a
fundamental requirement for teachers (Cheng, 2022; Nainggolan et al., 2021). A
person’s creativity can be observed based on four aspects: personal, motivation,
process and product (Delta et al., 1961; Said-Metwaly et al., 2017; Starko, 2017;
Wechsler et al., 2018). The personal aspect of creativity shows one's knowledge,
intelligence and thinking style (Gruszka & Tang, 2017). The motivational aspect
shows that highly creative people are intrinsically motivated and can even
achieve high feelings of enjoyment by being creative (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013).
The process aspect shows that creativity can be seen as a series of phases that a
person goes through, for example, the generative and exploratory phases (Finke
et al., 1996). In the generative phase, an individual constructs various types of
mental representations related to the problem. Meanwhile, in the exploratory
phase, an individual uses cognitive and meta-cognitive processes such as
evaluation to find solutions and make practical decisions (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013;
Finke et al., 1996). The product aspect shows the extent to which the results of
one's creativity have novelty and are useful for society (Sternberg & Lubart, 2014).
Through creativity, new works can be produced that are different from previous
ones (Nasution, 2018; Ruswandi, 2016).
When creating a work of art, several dimensions must be considered, including

the idea, the source and the form of creation (Hadi et al., 2022; Wiradiredja, 2015).
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Meanwhile, the process of creating a song typically involves writing, performing

or producing (Zhao & Zeng, 2021). According to Karsono (2016), the creative
process of creating songs can be divided into several stages: preparing for song
creation, generating ideas, compiling materials for the song, and evaluating the
song. In the process of creating songs, one can choose between two methods,
namely the do-it-yourself approach or using software assistance. Nowadays,
there are diverse software options available online and offline that can aid in song
creation. The use of such software can enhance the creativity involved in
producing high-quality songs (Julia et al., 2018).
In the creative process throughout their training, elementary school teachers are
expected to increase their creativity and ability to create traditional songs. This
process can be demonstrated by teachers through four aspects of creativity,
namely, personal ability, motivation, process, and product. Thus, teachers who
were motivated to voluntarily take part in the training activities in this research,
were expected to be able to produce works that are relatively new and can be of
use for teaching materials in their respective schools, or for other schools.
3. Methods
The research design employed in this study was action research. This approach
involves gathering information and increasing the capacity of research subjects
(Creswell & Guetterman, 2019). Action research was chosen for this study because
the data were collected through self-reflection questions, which help to increase
understanding of practice (McTaggart, 1994). The objective of this research was to
determine important steps that can be taken to enhance teachers’ understanding
of the creative process. This is consistent with Creswell and Guetterman’s (2019)
view that action research is aimed at addressing practical problems and providing
solutions to them. Additionally, through action research, teachers can improve
their morale and self-confidence (Crawford & Jenkins, 2018; Pelton, 2011).
3.2. Collaboration aspect

In the context of action research, collaboration is an essential component (Creswell
& Guetterman, 2019; Heil, 2005; McTaggart, 1994). Collaboration in this research
is the involvement of colleagues to help analyze the findings and determine the
actions needed during the activity. Therefore, in this study, colleagues were
involved to assist with the coordination of training participants, conducting tests
and assessments, and providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure.
Through the collaboration process, useful feedback for action improvements were
obtained.
3.3. Participants
This study was conducted in Sumedang Regency, West Java Province, and
involved participants from various schools within the region. Sumedang Regency
is categorized into three regions based on their level of development, namely
urban, transitional, and rural areas. To facilitate coordination, the research was
centralized in the central city of Sumedang, as shown in Figure 1. The study was
carried out on location.
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Figure 1. Research site

The participants involved in this research were 15 elementary school teachers. We
sent out invitations to 50 elementary school teachers from various regions to take
part in this training activity free of charge. However, only 15 teachers confirmed
and were willing to take part in the entire series of activities. The data for the 15
teachers is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Participant
Participant Demoghrapics Frequency Percent
Gender
Male 7 47
Female 8 53
Age (Year)
21-30 8 53
31-40 4 27
41-50 0 0
51-60 3 20
Job Status
Civil Servant 14 93
Contract Teacher 1 7
Teaching Experience (Year)
01-10 9 60
11-20 5 33
21-30 0 0
31-40 1 7
Based on Table 1, it can be seen that this study involved 15 teachers, comprising
seven (46.7%) male and eight (53.3%) female participants. Of the total, 14 (93.3%)
were civil servant teachers, while one person (6.7%) was an honorary teacher. In
terms of teaching experience, four (26.7%) had 1-5 years, five (33.3%) had 6-7
years, three (20%) had 11-15 years, two (13.3%) had 16-20 years, and one (6.7%)
had 36-40 years of experience. Based on age, the participants included two (13.3%)
individuals aged between 21-25 years, six (40%) individuals aged between 26-30
years, one (6.7%) individual aged between 31-35 years, three (20%) individuals
aged between 36-40 years, one (6.7%) individual aged between 51-55 years, and
two (13.3%) individuals aged between 56-60 years.
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3.4. Instruments
This research used quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative data
were collected using a survey instrument with two types of scales, namely the
Guttman scale with Yes and No choices, and the Likert scale with five choices,
namely Strongly Disagree – Disagree – Somewhat Disagree – Agree – Strongly
Agree. Meanwhile, for collecting qualitative data, open interview and observation
instruments were used during the training activities. The survey instrument was
tested for validity and reliability beforehand. The Guttman scale instrument was
stated to be valid and reliable with the results of the Cronbach's alpha reliability
test of 0.717. Meanwhile, the Likert scale instrument was stated to be valid and
reliable with the results of the Cronbach's alpha reliability test of 0.727.
3.5. Research procedure

This research comprised three main stages: the pre-action stage, the action stage,
and the post-action stage. Table 2 illustrates the activities involved in each stage.
Table 2. Activity Stages
Stage Activities
Pre-Action - Preliminary survey
- Preliminary data analysis
Action - Action
- Observation
- Reflection
Post-Action - Evaluation
- Final survey
In the first stage (pre-action), survey activities and initial data analysis were
conducted. The survey was distributed to the participants before the intervention
was implemented to obtain the participants’ initial data. The second stage (action
stage) involved providing training on Sundanese musical notation and song
composition. This stage consisted of six critical-reflective steps designed to
enhance the teachers’ competency in composing Sundanese songs. These steps
were exploration and motivation, introduction to Sundanese musical notation,
techniques for composing Sundanese songs, exploration of creativity in
composing Sundanese songs, revision, and evaluation. The last stage (post-action
stage) involved assessment and a post-action survey. After the completion of the
training series, the participants were given a post-action survey to determine the
extent of their understanding of musical notation and Sundanese song
composition. The survey comprised open-ended questions, a Likert scale, and a
Gutman scale.
Moreover, to support the training implementation, a WhatsApp group was used

as a means of communicating information related to the training. This platform
was chosen as all participants were already using it for daily communication,
making it a more familiar and user-friendly option. In addition, to facilitate the
research survey, Google Forms were used. This medium was selected for several
reasons, including its usefulness, familiarity among educators, and
comprehensive survey capabilities (Laskowski, 2016).
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3.6. Data Analysis

The quantitative data collected by survey were processed using SPSS 26 software.
The analysis used was descriptive analysis. Meanwhile, qualitative data collected
through interview and observation were processed by means of content analysis
at each stage of the activity. Song products created by the participants were
assessed and processed using a song product assessment instrument which
consisted of five assessment aspects (see Table 3) and five value categories,
namely Very Poor – Poor – Rather Poor– Good – Very Good. Table 3 shows the
indicators for each assessment.
Table 3. Indicators and Categories of Song Product Value

Assessment Category
aspects Very Poor Poor Rather Poor Good Very Good
The If the If the If the If the If the total
number of number of number of number of number of number of
notes in notes in all notes in notes in a notes in notes in all
each bar bars is less most bars is few bars is most bars is bars is not
or more less or more not less or not less or less or more
than the than the more than more than than the
allotted allotted the allotted the allotted allotted
beats beats beats beats beats
The final If all final If most final If a few If most final If all the
match of notes do not notes do not final notes notes match final notes
the notes to match the match the match the the final match the
the position final notes final notes final notes notes of the final notes
of the song of the catrik of the catrik of the catrik catrik (2-5) of the catrik
(2-5) or (2-5) or (2-5) or or sinyur (2-5) or
sinyur song sinyur song sinyur song song sinyur song
positions (1- positions (1- positions (1- positions (1- positions (1-
3-1-4) 3-1-4) 3-1-4) 3-1-4) 3-1-4)
The logic of If the If the If the If the If the
the song melody in melody in melody in a melody in a melody in
melody all bars is most bars is few bars is most bars is all bars is
difficult to difficult to easy to sing easy to sing easy to sing
sing in sing in in terms in terms in terms
terms pitch terms pitch pitch and pitch and pitch and
and the and the the melodic the melodic the melodic
melodic melodic pattern pattern pattern
pattern pattern
The If all If most If a few If most If all
accuracy of syllables of syllables of syllables of syllables of syllables of
the number the song the song the song the song the song
of syllables lyrics do lyrics do lyrics match lyrics match lyrics match
in the lyrics not match not match the number the number the number
of the song the number the number of notes of notes of notes
of notes of notes
The If all parts If most If a few If most If all parts
meaning of of the song parts of the parts of the parts of the of the song
song lyrics lyrics do song lyrics song lyrics song lyrics lyrics
not contain do not contain contain contain
meanings contain meanings meanings meanings
that are meanings that are that are that are
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Assessment Category
aspects Very Poor Poor Rather Poor Good Very Good
easy to that are easy to easy to easy to
understand easy to understand understand understand
and that are understand and that are and that are and that are
suitable and that are suitable suitable suitable
with the suitable with the with the with the
character of with the character of character of character of
elementary character of elementary elementary elementary
school elementary school school school
students school students students students
students
3.7. Data validity

For the quantitative data, validity was maintained through instruments that had
been tested beforehand with valid and reliable results. Meanwhile, for qualitative
data, validity was maintained through methodological triangulation involving
data from interviews, observations, and product performance tests to draw
interim conclusions and final conclusions.
4. Results
The primary principles of this study were critical and evaluative thinking, which
were developed through a structured and planned process to enhance teacher
competence in understanding musical notation and composing Sundanese songs.
This process comprises four main components, namely data collection, pre-action
analysis, six-step action, and post-action analysis. The following sections provide
a detailed description of each of these components.
4.1. Pre-action analysis

Prior to the implementation of any action, a survey was conducted to assess the
participants’ initial knowledge and skills in understanding notation and
composing Sundanese songs. The survey was divided into two sections. The first
section aimed to examine the participants’ prior knowledge, as presented in Table
4, and the second section aimed to assess their perspectives on karawitan and
Sundanese songs, which can be found in Table 5.
Table 4. Participants’ knowledge of karawitan notation and composing Sundanese

songs
Questions Frequency Percent
Have you ever taught karawitan? 9 60
I can read Sundanese karawitan notation 12 80
I can write Sundanese karawitan notation 11 73
I have been trained in writing Sundanese musical notation 1 7
I have the experience of composing Sundanese song(s) 1 7
I have been trained in composing Sundanese song(s) 0 0
According to Table 4, out of the 15 participants, nine (60%) had previous

experience teaching karawitan, while the remaining six (40%) had not. Among the
participants, 12 (80%) were able to read Sundanese karawitan notation, whereas
three (20%) could not. Additionally, 11 (73%) participants were capable of writing
Sundanese karawitan notation, while four (27%) were not. Only one (7%)
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participant had been trained in writing Sundanese musical notation, while 14

(93%) had not. When asked about their experience in making Sundanese songs,
only one (7%) participant claimed to have done so. Upon further investigation, it
was found that none of the participants had ever received any training in
composing Sundanese songs. These findings demonstrate the participants’
current knowledge and highlight the need for further training in this area.
Table 5. Participants’ views on Sundanese karawitan notation
Questions Strongly Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree
Karawitan lessons need to

0 1 1 5 8
be given to students
The ability to read and write
Sundanese musical notation
0 0 0 6 9
needs to be mastered by the
teacher
The ability to compose
Sundanese songs needs to 0 0 1 8 6
be mastered by the teacher
There are many training
programs on Sundanese 6 5 4 0 0
musical notation
The results in Table 5 indicate that the majority of participants agreed (33%) or
strongly agreed (53%) that teaching karawitan is necessary for students, while one
person disagreed (7%) and another somewhat disagreed (7%). The majority of the
participants believed that offering music lessons is essential in preserving
traditional culture and developing students' musical abilities. These findings
suggest that karawitan education holds a significant role in Indonesian culture,
and teachers must possess a proficient understanding of reading and writing
Sundanese musical notation to teach it effectively. Participants emphasized that
teachers’ competencies play a crucial role in students' learning outcomes. Thus,
based on the findings in Table 5, it was concluded that the teachers needed to
increase their competence in Sundanese karawitan practice, especially the practice
of making songs, because there were not many training programs in this field.
In addition to having the ability to read and write musical notation, it is crucial
for teachers to be competent in composing Sundanese songs. This statement was
endorsed by all the participants. According to one participant, aside from being a
means of cultural preservation, this skill also allows teachers to be more
innovative in their teaching approach. Another participant added that if teachers
were able to compose Sundanese songs, they could use this ability as an
educational tool for their students. For instance, lyrics that convey virtuous
messages could be incorporated into the songs. Therefore, one effective way to
instill positive values in children is by introducing them to songs with moral
themes.
Despite the importance of the teacher’s ability to master musical notation and
compose Sundanese songs, the availability of learning resources does not seem to
be in line with this need. According to the survey, the majority of participants
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strongly disagreed (40%) and disagreed (35%) that there were many training
opportunities available to improve these skills.
4.2. Action: Sundanese song-making training

Referring to the fundamental aspects that elementary school teachers must know
and understand, this study implemented a structured process consisting of six
main steps to address their needs. Throughout the action process, structured
activities were carried out to meet the needs of the participants who mostly started
the training at the basic level, including making observations and reflections at
every stage. The following six steps were taken to enhance teacher competence in
understanding Sundanese musical notation and composing Sundanese songs. The
six stages of action were taken based on action planning as a prerequisite for
action research, which were refined or changed based on the results of reflection
in each stage. Figure 2 shows the sequence of actions.
Figure 2. The six stages of action

Step 1: Exploration and Motivation
The pre-action survey findings revealed the significance of Sundanese songs in
learning, as they help students to enhance their vocabulary and improve
emotional intelligence, memory, and concentration. Research has shown that
children who are exposed to music from an early age tend to have more developed
emotional intelligence (Campayo-Muñoz & Cabedo-Mas, 2017). However, the
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teacher's ability to understand musical notation and compose Sundanese songs

was inadequate, as indicated by the results of the pre-survey indicating that they
did not have sufficient experience and knowledge in composing traditional songs.
Moreover, no serious efforts had been made to address this issue. Therefore, in
this stage, the instructor assessed the participants’ knowledge and provided
motivation for the importance of teachers’ abilities in understanding musical
notation and composing Sundanese songs.
Step 2: Introduction to Sundanese Musical Notation

In this stage, the instructor explained Sundanese musical notation, beginning with
an introduction to rhythm, musical notes and Sundanese musical scales. This
stage serves as a foundation for participants to be able to compose songs. Almost
all participants acknowledged that learning Sundanese musical notation was not
significantly different from modern song notation, and they were thus able to
comprehend it effectively. This was evidenced when they were able to create a
series of notes and rhythms during the training process.
Step 3: Techniques for Composing Sundanese Songs

In the third stage, the participants were instructed on how to compose Sundanese
songs, including rhythms, melodies and lyrics. First, the participants were
provided with materials on how to create rhythmic patterns, followed by a
melodic framework provided by the instructor. The framework consists of a static
tone that is characteristic of Sundanese songs and is in a specific bar. After the
instructor explained the theory, the participants attempted to compose their own
melodies by filling in the rhythmic patterns, ending with the static tone provided.
Each participant tried to create different rhythmic and melodic patterns. The
instructor gave each participant an opportunity to sing the song they had
composed, with assistance provided by the instructor. Some of the songs
composed had good melodies, while others had a range that was too broad or had
the wrong rhythm. Overall, this was a valuable experience for each participant,
with one participant remarking, “I am delighted to have participated in this
training. This is my first experience in composing Sundanese songs, and it turns
out that composing Sundanese songs is not as difficult as I had imagined before.”
Another participant said, “Initially, I thought that to compose songs, we had to be
good singers, but that’s not the case. We can still compose songs even if we are
not good at singing.”
Step 4: Exploration of Creativity in Composing Sundanese Songs

After the technique of composing songs was explained by the instructor, all
participants were directed to compose their own complete songs, from rhythm to
melody and lyrics. Participants were encouraged to use their creativity to make
their songs. The instructor provided guidance by defining the static tone
benchmark at the end of each 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th bar so that the participants’ songs
became more focused. During the process, some participants used Android
applications, some used laptop applications, and some used Sundanese flutes to
determine the tone. The use of technology in making songs helped to overcome
obstacles encountered during the song creation process (Ertmer, 1999; Julia,
Iswara, et al., 2020). Examples of applications used by participants can be seen in
Figure 3.
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Figure 3. Example of a gamelan degung application used by the participants

At this stage, all participants were able to compose their own songs, with some
trying to create the lyrics first and then the notes, while others did the opposite.
Step 5: Revision
After composing their songs, each participant presented their work in front of the
class. While all participants were able to successfully compose their own songs,
some needed revisions due to issues with dense rhythms, excessively long tone
ranges, or syllables that did not match the rhythm. However, overall, the
participants were able to successfully compose their own songs.
Step 6: Evaluation of Thematic Song-Making Results

This stage constituted the final activity of the training. Several participants were
selected to present their work as representatives. An example of the Sundanese
songs is presented in Figure 4. The works of the participants were evaluated, sung
and reviewed. The songs that were considered to have reached their maximum
potential were collected, while the ones that were still lacking were revised before
being submitted.
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Figure 4. Examples of Sundanese songs created by the participants

4.3. Post-action
The final stage of this research series involved conducting a reflection using
surveys to gather participants’ feedback and evaluate the songs produced. One
participant stated that, “This training was enjoyable, with easy-to-understand
materials starting from the basics and moving on to more complex topics.” Several
participants expressed their interest in participating in similar training in the
future, stating, “This training was impressive, and I would like to participate in
similar activities again.” These testimonies suggest that participants enjoyed the
training activities and gained new knowledge about Sundanese karawitan, which
enabled them to compose their own songs.
In addition to completing the post-action survey, participants were instructed to

submit their song assignments by uploading them to Google Drive for final
assessment. Once all assignments were collected, an evaluation of the work was
conducted using an assessment instrument containing several aspects of
assessment, including the number of notes in each bar, the appropriateness of the
final note with the song's position, the logic of the melody, the accuracy of the
number of syllables in the song's lyrics, and the meaning of the lyrics. The average
scores for each aspect of the song evaluation are presented in Table 6.
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Table 6. Recapitulation of the assessment results of Sundanese traditional songs

Assessment aspects Average score Category
The number of notes in each bar 4.7 Very good
The final match of the notes to the position of the
4 Good
song
The logic of the song melody 4.2 Good
The accuracy of the number of syllables in the lyrics
4.4 Good
of the song
The meaning of song lyrics 4.5 Good
Total = 15 teachers
Based on the evaluation results (see Table 6), it is apparent that the average score
for all aspects of assessment, rated on a scale of 1 to 5, is 4.4 (good). The highest
score was achieved in the category of the number of notes in each line, with a score
of 4.7 (very good), whereas the lowest score was awarded for the suitability of the
final note with the position of the song, with a score of 4 (good). These findings
suggest that the teachers have a solid understanding of how to notate songs, while
also exhibiting a tendency not to be restricted by patterns and specific rules.
Nonetheless, it is evident that the teachers are proficient in composing traditional
Sundanese songs. Furthermore, the results of the post-action survey indicate that
the majority of participants believed they had acquired good skills in composing
traditional Sundanese songs, and all participants (100%) felt motivated to
compose their own traditional Sundanese songs after completing the training.
The survey results revealed that one participant somewhat disagreed, 10

participants agreed, and four participants strongly agreed that they were able to
read Sundanese karawitan notation well after attending the training. One
participant expressed enthusiasm for the learning process, stating, “I am very
enthusiastic about the learning process because I can practice reading notes and
making songs directly.” Another participant stated, “After participating in this
activity, I feel enlightened and have gained new knowledge about Sundanese
musical notation.” A third participant said, “Before, I thought that understanding
and creating musical notation was very difficult. However, after attending this
training, I now know the knowledge and theory, and I can understand that
creating karawitan notation is not difficult. I can understand it very well.” This
statement was supported by the survey results, with two participants disagreed,
one person somewhat disagreed, three people agreed, and nine people strongly
agreed with the statement, “before participating in this training I did not have any
knowledge about the process of making Sundanese songs.”
All participants also concurred that teachers must possess competence in

composing Sundanese songs. Hence, training activities like this should be
provided to teachers, particularly those in elementary schools. One of the
participants stated:
“Song compositions were not taught in college, and many teachers
lack the competence to do so. This is reinforced by the belief among
teachers that composing songs is difficult. Training programs like
this can provide a good solution. In my experience, before this
training, I had no knowledge of how to make Sundanese songs.
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Through this training, I learned how to compose songs and was

even inspired to make Sundanese songs for educational purposes.”
One participant mentioned that "songs can serve as a means for teachers to impart
moral and character education through positive lyrics.” Furthermore, all
participants (100%) agreed that aside from enhancing their skills as educators,
training activities provided an opportunity for teachers to explore and cultivate
their interests and talents, particularly in composing songs.
The above statements indicate a shift in the teacher’s thinking regarding their
ability to compose songs after attending the training. This is further supported by
survey results revealing that 14 out of 15 participants were motivated and
intended to create Sundanese songs for instructional purposes. Upon further
investigation, one participant shared that they were inspired to compose their
own Sundanese songs and created a songbook. Another participant stated, “We
usually only modified Indonesian and children’s songs by changing the lyrics.
Now, we can create our own songs along with the notation.” Furthermore,
another participant mentioned, “I am motivated because composing Sundanese
songs is easy. I believe songs can be used as a teaching tool in classrooms.”
5. Discussion
The first question of this research was, “can elementary school teachers improve
their ability to understand Sundanese karawitan notation?” Through the
assessment and survey results, it is evident that the participants’ knowledge and
abilities in musical notation and Sundanese song-making had developed after
receiving training. Music training programs are known to have a significant
impact on language skills, cognition, musical sensitivity, and instrument playing
(Barbaroux et al., 2019; Dastgheib et al., 2013; Looi & She, 2010; Patscheke et al.,
2016; Tseng, 2016). According to the survey results, all participants strongly
agreed that Sundanese songs play a crucial role in learning. One participant
expressed that through Sundanese songs, students were required to sing happy
tunes, and with song lyrics that educated, this could contribute to character
building. Other participants mentioned that Sundanese songs, in addition to
preserving Sundanese culture, could also enhance students’ sensitivity in learning
music. Furthermore, all participants agreed that Sundanese songs play a vital role
in building students' character, which aligns with the view of Roffiq et al. (2017)
that music can make learning enjoyable, leading to increased student enthusiasm
for learning. Music has the potential to establish a connection between emotion
and memory, and researchers also believe that music can affect character
development (Critchfield, 2021; Julia, Supriatna, et al., 2020; Lee, 2016).
The second question of this research was, “can elementary school teachers
improve their ability to compose Sundanese songs?” Regarding the process of
composing Sundanese songs, the survey results revealed that all participants
(100%) claimed that they were able to compose Sundanese songs in terms of
rhythm, melody, and lyrics after attending the training. Further investigation
showed that one participant did not have any prior knowledge about the process
of making Sundanese songs, but after attending the training, they were able to
compose their own Sundanese songs. This condition indicates that music training
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programs can effectively enhance the skills of participants (Cohrdes et al., 2019;
Incognito et al., 2022; Lantigua, 2020). High motivation, good technological
literacy, and enjoyment in the whole series of training, enabled the participants to
show their creativity and productivity in composing traditional songs. This
indicates that teachers’ creativity and productivity are significantly affected by
their happiness and motivation (Chen et al., 2022; Gyeltshen & Beri, 2019;
Moskowitz & Dewaele, 2021).
Another notable finding is that, during the songwriting process, some

participants did not possess strong vocal skills. According to the survey results,
seven participants reported that they were unable to sing Sundanese songs
proficiently. Nevertheless, this did not impede their ability to compose Sundanese
songs. Fourteen of the 15 participants agreed that one could create Sundanese
songs without having excellent singing skills. Upon further exploration, one
participant expressed that singing is not necessary to create a song and that a
melodic instrument could be used to establish the tune. Another participant stated
that, fundamentally, anyone could compose a song as long as they knew the
techniques. Furthermore, some participants suggested that, even without strong
vocal skills, one could still create songs as long as they had an understanding of
rhythm and song notation. Results of other results also showed that composing
songs and composing melodies could be done automatically through the use of
machines or AI (Hong et al., 2022).
In addition to enhancing competence, an important aspect of training is a change

in mindset and paradigm related to the context of the material being taught (Julia
et al., 2019). Based on the survey results, it is evident that all participants (100%)
agreed that Sundanese songs play a crucial role in developing student character.
Music has the potential to transform the learning environment into an enjoyable
experience, thereby fostering students' enthusiasm for learning. Furthermore,
music has been shown to establish significant connections between the brain areas
responsible for memory and emotion. Using music as a tool to maximize human
potential is a valuable undertaking, as it can motivate and encourage participation
in activities that facilitate the attainment of social, language and motor function
goals (Maury et al., 2022; Zadnik & Smrekar, 2020).
The third question of this research was, “can the six-steps action change the
paradigm of elementary school teachers to be more active in composing
Sundanese songs?” Based on the six stages of action given to the participants, it
was shown that in the first stage, the teachers had high motivation to improve
their professional competence in the field of music. This showed that the teachers
basically had a desire to develop their professionalism through a continuous
development program (Zhang et al., 2021). In the second and third stages, the
teachers showed that they were able to understand basic knowledge about the
notation system of Sundanese karawitan music, and they were also able to
understand the techniques for composing traditional songs. This proved that the
teachers could increase their knowledge of the particular material they wanted to
study through teacher development programs (Lara-Alecio et al., 2021). In the
fourth stage, the teachers were able to develop their creativity to compose
traditional songs and broaden their thinking by using technology. This indicated
452
that through various development programs, the teachers could be encouraged to

develop their creativity (Rais et al., 2022), and they could also be directed to get
closer and be familiar with the use of technology to help improve their self-
sufficiency (Ergün et al., 2019). In the fifth and sixth stages, the teachers were able
to improve their traditional songs, and were able to complete their songs. This
showed that the teachers had multitasking abilities to complete tasks given during
the development program in addition to working as teachers in their daily lives.
(Eisenwine & Hadley, 2011). The traditional songs they created were also quite
good as assessed from various aspects.
6. Conclusion
The findings of this study, which aimed to answer the research questions
presented at the beginning, indicate that (1) the ability of elementary school
teachers to comprehend Sundanese musical notation can be improved; (2)
elementary school teachers are capable of composing Sundanese songs; and (3) a
series of critical-reflective steps can alter the paradigm of elementary school
teachers, making them more proactive in composing Sundanese songs. Thus, it
can be concluded that elementary school teachers have good potential to improve
their professional competence in the field of music. Through well-designed
training programs, they are able to increase motivation, explore skills, and create
simple traditional songs according to the needs of their respective school
environments.
This research had limitations as it only focuses on one district in the West Java
province. Hence, it is highly probable that there may be variations in character
and values that are implemented in other communities, which could impact the
types of songs that are produced. The study's findings highlight the need for
continuous skills improvement training for teachers to create music works.
Teachers have the potential to become creators of new songs that are suitable as
teaching materials in their respective school environments, based on each school’s
specific needs. It is recommended that regular training programs be held by the
relevant government authorities to improve the skills of elementary school
teachers, especially in the field of music. If it is organized by the government,
more teachers would probably join the program.
Acknowledgment
The researchers would like to express their sincere gratitude to LPPM Universitas
Pendidikan Indonesia and DRTPM for providing funding for this research
project.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 459-474, June 2023
Emotional Competency in Teaching: A

Qualitative Study of Practices among Preschool
and Elementary School Teachers
Laila Ouchen*
Cadi Ayyad University
Laboratory of Didactics and University Pedagogy, Morroco
Lahcen Tifroute
Khadija El Hariri
Abstract. This qualitative phenomenological research aims to analyze

how teachers incorporate the emotional component, as a soft skill into
their teaching practices. The paper presents findings from 40 interviews
conducted with preschool and elementary school teachers in Marrakesh.
The results reveal that while teachers recognize the importance of
emotional competency, few have integrated activities to strengthen its
acquisition. The study highlights the need for teacher training programs
that focus on promoting emotional competence through activities
centered around emotional regulation and communication. The paper
concludes by initiating a reflection process to establish the fundamentals
of a pedagogical design based on emotions, which can contribute to more
positive and nurturing learning environments and positively impact
students' academic and social outcomes.
Keywords: emotional competence; teacher practices; children; learning
1. Introduction
The scientific literature emphasizes the significance of emotion regulation in
creating favorable conditions for the teaching and learning process, for both the
teacher and the learners(Artino & Jones, 2012; Ford & Gross, 2019; Ji et al., 2022).
Indeed, any learning activity is an emotionally charged experience (Graesser &
* Corresponding author: Laila Ouchen; laila.ouchen@ced.uca.ma
©Authors
460
D’Mello, 2012). Therefore, in the context of the classroom emotion, cognition, and
action are integrally connected.
This suggests that to successfully promote learning situations and content, they
must be encoded cognitively and effectively (Cuisinier, 2016). However,
incorporating the factual dimension of emotions into the educational process may
lead to misunderstandings regarding the value of teaching and the purpose of
didactic methods. From the teacher's perspective, giving learners free rein over
their emotions may seem non-constructive because it deviates from traditional
didactic practices.
Indeed, teachers often adopt generic conceptions of their role as facilitators of soft
skills (Ouchen et al., 2022), whose job is to ensure the overall harmony of the class
group. They may view this as synonymous with channeling the regulation of
energies. In other words, leading a class often entails structuring interactions in a
manner that is organized and controlled by the teacher. Therefore, students'
emotions can trigger interactional dynamics that can be challenging to
comprehend and manage, particularly in preschool and primary classrooms.
In such cases, it is natural to question teachers' ability to effectively respond to the
intensity of emotions spontaneously expressed by children during difficult times.
As well as their predisposition to leave their comfort zone and to deliberately
adopt new humanizing conceptions of animation and class management, where
compliance with instructions is not the ultimate goal of the didactic action but
rather the recognition of des emotional feelings and needs of the child.
This can be achieved through more open and dynamic didactic actions, which aim
to enhance the intellectual and human development of learners (Celume et al.,
2022). However, the outward expression of emotions in the classroom can be
misunderstood by teachers, as it may require them to intervene didactically in two
distinct relational spheres: private and public. That can be confusing for teachers
quit are generally used to à internalizing their own emotions to focus solely on
the transmission of knowledge.
From the child's perspective, expressing emotions related to difficult experiences
or delicate family situations can be challenging. The child may be concerned about
the looks and judgments of their peers, which can be subjective at this age. This
concern may be even more pronounced in the digital age, where children's
emotions can be subject to online scrutiny and cyberbullying (Kircaburun et al.,
2020).
Some researchers suggest that it is crucial to protect the child's nascent sensitivity
in such situations (Aldao et al., 2010), while others argue that allowing the child
to express repressed emotions freely, without constraints, can lead to greater
emotional well-being and personal growth. Finding a balance between protecting
the child's emotional well-being and fostering emotional expression and growth
is essential for effective emotional development.
These dilemmas explain why, as a learning object, emotions are often confronted
with ethical and social issues. As a result, they are neglected, sidelined, and often
not accepted in the classroom context. This stems from a lack of thorough and
contextualized understanding Positive effects of their use.
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These findings highlight the apprehensions related to the consideration of

emotions in the classroom. This theme constitutes the backdrop of the present
study on the teaching practice of emotion management in the Moroccan context.
The objective is to find out how teachers' and learners' emotions are taken into
account in the classroom and according to what modalities. This study stands out
in its novelty and significance by exploring the concrete practices of emotional
management among teachers, filling an important void in the existing literature.
By providing valuable insights into how to address emotions in education in
Morocco, this research offers practical implications for educators and contributes
to the advancement of the field.
By employing a phenomenological approach, we seek to capture the subjective
experiences and perspectives of teachers and learners regarding emotions.
Additionally, through exploratory research methods, we aim to uncover new
insights and develop a comprehensive understanding of emotions in this specific
educational context.
This study holds significant importance as it addresses a relatively understudied
subject—the management of emotions in Moroccan classrooms. By delving into
this topic, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the reality and practices of
teachers in managing learners' emotions. Moreover, our research opens the door
for critical reflections on emotional education and the necessary conditions for its
effective implementation within the Moroccan school system.
The present research is therefore an attempt to understand teachers' perceptions
of emotions in the city of Marrakech. Its objective is to draw up an inventory of
the integration of this component in the didactic practices of primary and
preschool teachers in the prefecture of Marrakech. It is a question of seeing how
emotional competence is taught to the children and which are didactic resources
mobilized for this purpose. The objective of this study is to respond to the
following questions:
Question 1: What are teachers' perceptions of the emotions experienced by
children in the classroom?
Question 2: How do teachers perceive and understand their own emotions in the
context of their teaching profession?
Question 3: What pedagogical practices do teachers use in their classrooms to
strengthen emotion management?
the particular context of the Post COVID-19 and recent global crises have
undeniably influenced priorities at school (Delacourt et al., 2020). Indeed, the
health crisis has raised awareness of the importance of managing the emotions
that overwhelm individuals during difficult times. Especially for children who
represent a population at risk due to their fragility (Chanchlani et al., 2021).
Recalling that (UNICEF, 2022) stresses following the Covid pandemic, many
children feel neglected, scared, anxious, and even worried about their future. In
Morocco, data from the latest surveys of the High Commission for Planning in
2020 revealed that children have been heavily affected by this unprecedented
crisis. They were subject to negative feelings such as hypersensitivity or
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nervousness (7.1%), general fatigue (5.3%), depression (5.0%), and lack of interest
or pleasure in usual activities (8%). Children's emotions may be impaired in this
case (Williams & Riskind, 2004), which may result in a lack of skill or behavioral
flexibility to respond intelligently to emotions during learning.
Indeed, emotion is considered an "adaptive multicomponent phenomenon with
important social functions that are acquired throughout life" Christophe, 2019b).
Studies explain that in children, emotion constitutes "a brief and intense
behavioral and physiological response reflecting the subjective experience
affected by an internal or external event"(Christophe, 2019a).
It is therefore a sensation and an internal mental construction and corresponds to
a personal and personalized processing of information from an external
situational element. This processing can be done consciously or unconsciously
and can subsequently produce negative or positive emotional results (Goleman ,
2005).
In other words, negative emotion can lead the child to react instantaneously either
by fleeing, defensive attack, or inert immobilization. Knowing full well that a child
is not yet capable of understanding and interpreting the situational and pragmatic
elements of his social context. These elements explain why the emotion
experienced by the child is quickly interpreted by an observable emotional
movement. Indeed, the externalization of emotion in the child is brief and lasts
only a few seconds.
Emotions are translated by impulsive or compulsive actions that are imposed on
him instantly without him being able to control them. Children experience a range
of emotions while adapting to the social environment of the school, including
anger, pride, and envy, which can be intensified by educational materials
(Denham et al., 2022).
Studies show that expressing emotions in a way that is socially accepted is linked
to the child's ability to effectively manage emotions. This management takes the
form of a process that intensifies, mitigates, or maintains the effects of the
emotions experienced (Gross & Thompson, 2007).
Cuisinier (2016) specify that the process helps the child to decrease negative
emotions and to intensify, maintain or contain positive emotions. In other words,
to be more successful, one should learn how to maintain, monitor, control, and
evaluate their emotions to better act in complex situations. To do this, they should
learn to develop emotion management skills, namely understanding their own
emotions, understanding the emotions of others, and expressing efficiently their
emotions (Gross & Thompson, 2007; Koole, 2009).
It should be noted, however, that the management of emotions is external learning
(by adults) before being gradually internalized by the child. It is therefore a
gradual development that is possible not only thanks to lived experiences but also
thanks to the intervention of the child's close environment.
In line with previous research findings, (OECD, 2018) emphasizes the crucial role
of pedagogical actors in fostering specific skills related to emotion management.
These skills include but are not limited to emotional regulation, empathy, and
effective communication. The OECD report highlights the importance of teachers
463
utilizing diverse interpersonal approaches and responses to nurture these skills in

children.
Teacher practice significantly influences learners' acquisition of emotional
management skills (Baudoin & Galand, 2021). Durlak et al., (2011) explain that it
is nevertheless essential to include the development of emotional competencies in
curricula to guarantee the well-being of learners and their personal development.
At stake is the consideration of emotions in the didactic process.
Celume et al., (2022) nevertheless state that to teach and introduce emotions into
school activities, teachers must have previously developed them. Indeed, the
perception of one's emotions as a teacher has a significant influence on the overall
classroom climate. Studies on teachers' emotions show that teachers who have this
skill are more focused on the learner and their learning needs. Chen et al. (2021)
bring up that due to the teacher's positive emotions, she is better able to create
close relationships with the learners. On the contrary Audrin, (2020) explains that
negative emotions can affect learners' academic success.
It is important to highlight that negative emotional reactions among teachers can
be attributed to the inherent pressures of the profession. Stephanou & Oikonomou
(2018) further emphasize that the teaching profession often entails strong and
potentially negative emotions due to the requirement of aligning emotional
reactions with professional expectations.
Moreover, Genoud et al. (2009) researched the challenges faced by teachers,
highlighting how these difficulties can give rise to psychological distress, acute
stress, and professional burnout, particularly in the primary education sector.
Additionally, Hascoët & Audrin (2021) have observed a general sense of malaise
among teachers.
The design of this study is presented below :
Research Sampling Instrument collection Ethical

approach technique for data and data procedure
and design and research analysis
site procedure
Figure 1: Research design
3.1. Research approach and design

Exploratory research is used to develop this study, this methodical choice is
motivated by the lack of data regarding. In this perspective, a qualitative approach
of a phenomenological type was used to examine the practices of the participating
teachers and to analyze their discourses to note their perceptions of emotions
(Fortin & Gagnon, 2016).
This phenomenological approach, provides significant information about the

participant's experience, without being a simple linear, and purely explanatory
reading of the collected remarks.
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3.2. Research site

The region of Marrakech-Safi holds the second-highest population among the
seventy-five Moroccan provinces and prefectures. It also has a significant share in
the field of education, with 14.5% and 13.9% of national preschool and school
education respectively. In our study, we define preschool as educational
institutions that provide early childhood education to children typically between
the ages of 3 and 5, before their enrollment in formal schooling.
Elementary school, on the other hand, encompasses the foundational years of

formal education, catering to children aged 6 to 12. Within the context of our
research, preschool, and elementary school teachers refer to educators working
within these specific educational settings.
3.3. Instrument for data
Semi-structured interviews were conducted. a grid composed of six guiding
questions serving as a theme was developed for this study. It allows for the
collection of information and its order in a methodical manner. The questions also
help to guide the interview so that the exchanges do not stray from the research
objectives. Table 1 summarizes the different themes discussed.
Table 1: Grid of interview themes

Objective1 Teachers' perception of (a) The different forms of emotional
learners' emotions expression in children (b) The source of
emotion in the children.
Objective2 Teachers' self-perception (a) The sources of emotions for teachers. (b)
of their own emotions teachers managing emotions
Objective3 Pedagogical practice of The impact of emotions on children's learning
teachers around emotions (b) Teachers' feedback on learners' emotional
expression (c) Pedagogical activities used in
the classroom
3.4. Study population

Our research includes a sample of 40 volunteer teachers selected according to a
reasoned choice respecting internal diversification (Kalerante et al., 2020). It
should be noted that in the collection and presentation of data, the term teacher
refers to both teachers and educators. The study's participants are teachers
working in public and private preschools and primary schools affiliated with the
Ministry of Education in the urban and rural communes of the city of Marrakech
during the 2021-2022 school year.
We purposefully chose these teachers after taking into account a variety of

variables (Creswell & Miller, 2000). This sampling makes it possible to obtain a
maximum of profiles that vary according to the following elements: the nature of
the initial training received, the number of years of seniority, the classes taught,
and the teaching zone. Table 2 shows the selected sample of participants in the
study.
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Table 2: Matrix of characteristics of the study population

Variable Preschool Primary
Urban Private 5 5
Public 5 5
Rural Private 5 5
Public 5 5
Gender Feminine 16 9
Masculin 4 11
Academic Licence 19 15
background Master 1 5
Experiment 1 – 5 years 12 4
6- 15 years 7 10
More than 15 1 6
3.5. Collection Data

The data for this study was gathered through semi-structured interviews with
preschool and elementary school teachers. These interviews were conducted
either in person face-to-face, based on the preferences of each participant
allowing, for direct interaction and in-depth exploration of the research topic. To
ensure data validity, the authors took several actions. They scheduled
appointments in advance, considering the availability of each participant, and
conducted the interviews in a comfortable and confidential setting. The
interviewees also actively participated in the validation process by reviewing and
verifying the accuracy of the interview transcriptions.
3.6. Data analysis procedure
The qualitative data analysis was conducted thematically, following the method
presented by Van der Maren, (2014). The analyst utilized a combination of paper-
based notes and non-specialized software (Word) to identify, record, and analyze
the emerging themes.
Simultaneously, a coding grid was developed for each theme. The interviews
were transcribed manually, ensuring that the participants' words were faithfully
recorded and translated without using any abbreviation system. The
interviewees' statements were not modified, interpreted, or altered in any way.
This preservation of participants' original words and expressions ensures the
utmost rigor and veracity of the collected comments.
The transcribed data from the interviews underwent a thorough reading to cross-
reference and organize the information collected. Repetitive data and redundant
comments were eliminated to identify only the most relevant information. To
accomplish this, the verbatim transcripts were broken down into units of
meaning, representing distinct actions related to each dimension of the interview
grid. Each interview was transcribed and analyzed before proceeding to the next
one. This iterative process allowed for the identification of data saturation.
At the end of this study, the encoded excerpts were subjected to a discursive
review, which consists of themes that fit with the scientific literature (Fortin &
466
Gagnon, 2016). The classification was also validated by expert individuals to

promote the greatest objectivity and credibility during this step. The type of
coding used was mixed, meaning that some themes were predefined by the
conceptual framework, nevertheless, the themes analyzed were also open to
modifications and additions (Van der Maren, 2014). The coding key was
calculated according to the reliability formula of Miles and Huberman (2015) and
the reliability coefficient was 92%.
3.7. Ethical procedure
Informed consent was provided before the interviews commenced and research
participants were informed that they may withdraw at any stage of the study.
Confidentiality and anonymity are ensured by removing all identifying
information from the interviews and replacing it with distinctive codes.
4. Results and discussion
The results of the interview are presented according to the axes transcribed on the
interview grid.
4.1. Teachers' perception of learners' emotions
The data presented in Table 3 reveal that the majority of the interviewed teachers
affirmed that children's emotions are a tangible reality that punctuates learning
sequences. The teachers are therefore adept at recognizing these observable
manifestations. The analysis of the content of the interviews shows that these
observations concern both the verbal and non-verbal expression of emotions.
Verbal expressions are more often cited by primary school teachers, while
preschool teachers report that young children verbalize their internal emotions
less.
Only one teacher among those interviewed mentioned this modality of expression
at the preschool level. In general, the teachers emphasized the expressive diversity
of emotion as well as its momentary nature.
Table 3: Matrix of items for the different forms of emotional expression in children
Verbal – “Often students tell me: "I don't feel well teacher”(E10).
communication - "I have a close relationship with my students and they often confide
in me about how they feel. » (E15).
- “If they are tired, they tell me: I want to sleep”(E24).
Non-verbal - "I have a deep understanding of my students and can quickly discern
communication their emotional states through simple observation." (E37)
- "It's so obvious that we don't even question it anymore"(E19)
- “Sometimes when students become very tired and can no longer attend
class, they jump for joy when I tell them it's time for recess.” (E4).
- "Even if they feel very sad, students often hide their emotions once they
enter the classroom. ”(E9).
On the other hand, the responses show that the teachers commonly observe or
perceive negative emotions in the classroom.
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Table 4: Matrix of emotion-related behavior items

"Impulsive"(E25) "They argue"(E35) "They're noisy. " (E12)
”Too agitated” (E9) "crying"(E11) "Jump for joy" (E17)
"They don't stand in "They refuse to listen to "Talk a lot to each

place"(E14) instructions. "(E8) other"(E2)
"They're distracted"(E1) "They are silent "(E14) " Run in all

directions"(E19)
"They are joyful "(E10) "Very sensitive"(E30) " They argue among
themselves." (E5)
All of these emotions listed in Table 4 are described by the teachers as belonging
to the child's private sphere. According to them, these emotions are often
associated with family problems "Some children don't feel good at home" (E35). "
Generally they are in a happy mood, but sometimes when they are not, I realize very
quickly that it is because of their family problems” (E28).
On the other hand, in primary school, in addition to emotions related to family
problems, children are also subject to emotions related to learning in class and
those related to evaluation "They are upset when they don't understand" (E16) and
"yes, especially on exam day"(E9). Other teachers also talk about conflicts between
students: "Sometimes just a little word wrong can cause huge anger"(E36) and "they
often argue"(E18).
4.2. Teachers' self-perception of their own emotions
In the interviews, the teachers interviewed mentioned their private lives as the
main source of emotions, although the majority said they drew boundaries
between their professional and private lives. Participants also cited the school
context as a source of additional anxiety and apprehension, as it can be "restrictive"
according to what they say.
This feeling is reinforced by the difficulties of practicing related to the public, such
as the problem of large groups, which requires more effort on the part of the
teachers to carry out their mission, although they are aware that the accumulation
of these negative feelings could be triggered at times of peak stress or
fatigue.Preschool teachers, especially the new recruits, mainly mentioned a
feeling of "fatigue" caused by the agitated and uncontrollable behavior of some
children.
However, as shown in Table 5, in addition to the negative emotions, teachers also
mentioned positive emotions that marked their daily professional life. Several
participants said they were "proud" (E23) and even "honored"(E30) to be teachers.
One participant even stated that "it's the passion for teaching"(E22) that allows him
to overcome the day-to-day challenges of his job.
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Table 5: Matrix of items related to the teaching profession

Primary Preschool
Rural “No matter what mood I'm in today, I try “I'm at a loss on what to do" (E23)
to do my job properly..." (E27) "I feel good in the company of children"
"Because of how much I work, I never (E35)
have time to worry" (E38)
Urban “When I have problems, the students E"I do my best." (E5)
don't see it" (E8) E "It depends on the students...they can
E "I see my students as my children and I be difficult to manage at times"(E14)
am happy to work with them"(E20)
The information presented in Table 6 sheds light on the fact that most of the
teachers we met described 'pressures' that can lead to “stress”, “fatigue”, and even
“exhaustion”. However, it should be noted that the teachers did not mention any
techniques for managing their own emotions.
Table 6: Matrix of items from teachers' comments

Rural Urban
Private Public Private Public
Primary "The "We're on our "I always try "This generation of
administration own."(E38) not to get too kids is
stresses us out"’ excited"(E6) tough."(E18)
(E27)
Preschool "I can't stand the “I feel completely “Children are " I don't think I'll
pressure from the drained at the end little kings and stay in my current
parents” (E23) of my working we have no job for very long...I
day"(E32) strength left” need to change
(E1) jobs."(E12)
In the Post-Covid period, these pressures have worsened. Some teachers show
signs of Burnout by stating that they no longer have "the strength to continue
teaching" (E15), which illustrates a sign of de-motivation, "I have zero morale every
time I go to work" (E20). Other participants mentioned difficulties related to
distance learning and working independently: "I didn't know how to work in these
conditions" (E12), or "My colleagues also had the impression of being abandoned, we felt
a bit lost, we had no one to ask for advice" (E39).
In this sense, to meet the demands of the job, teachers use personal resources such
as relaxing and resting, as indicated by one teacher: "Once I'm home I turn off all
the lights to rest" (E132), "I go for a walk"(E36). Regarding the resources that the
school provides to teachers, the majority mention "lack of training" and some talk
about "lack of communication" "lack of resources" and "lack of consideration of their
emotions"
Nevertheless, faced with the frequency of emotional crises, teachers often find
themselves unable to manage all the crises simultaneously. In addition, they have
to deal with their own emotions as well; one teacher reports that his personal
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emotions have an impact on his teaching: "If a student gets on my nerves, I can't
finish my lesson”(E15)
In general, however, teachers can manage their emotions in the classroom and
"put up" with the children's emotions in their own words, although they find it
very difficult to deal with the constant demands of parents. Some teachers
interviewed spoke of parents' feelings of anger and frustration towards them.
They report that parents are very impatient about their children's learning
progress, demanding rigorous traditional school activities and criticizing teachers
for using playful games or songs at the preschool level. Teachers even recall
conflictual situations in this regard
4.3. Pedagogical practice of teachers around emotions
The purpose of this section is to understand the concrete practices that teachers
put in place. The teachers' responses show that they are not indifferent to
children's emotional expressions. The majority of teachers try to respond either
indirectly by talking to the child in private or directly by stopping the lesson for a
few minutes and discussing it in plenary, especially when there is generalized
emotion in the class.
Table 7 underscores the fact that most teachers acknowledge the direct impact of
emotional competence on learning. They all agree that the quality of learning is
imperatively linked to the regulation of emotion in the classroom. Some said that
these emotions are "contagious" and influence the general climate of the classroom.
One teacher considers that "50% of children's learning is linked to the emotions they
feel" (E20). According to the teachers, these emotions materialize into behaviors
that illustrate the degree of willingness to learn. This remark emphasizes the
cognitive dimension of emotions, as they are influenced by students' success
decisions and thus condition their classroom behaviors.
Table 7: Matrix of items on the impact of emotions on learning

Emotions positives Emotions negatives
Primary "They learn faster “(E6) "They are isolated"(E10)
"They are more attentive”(E16) "They are impulsive”(E20)
"They work easily in small " They can't concentrate "(E39)
groups”(E30)
" They are motivated "(E37)
Preschool "Yes, they are reactive (E4) " Cry easily "(E27)
" They sing, dance "(E23) "Stay in their corners” (E36)
" Smiling and pleasant "(E33) " Impossible to get them to express
themselves "(E40)
In light of these remarks, the teachers interviewed are aware of the importance of
being empathetic and listening to the children's emotions, and at this point, they
specify that reassuring communication is necessary.
Based on the feedback provided on learners' emotional expression, teachers do
not report engaging in specific pedagogical activities. As one teacher stated, "I
have no particular activities." Instead, their approach is to allow children the
necessary time to regain their composure. As another teacher mentioned, "I don't
rush them when they're upset. I give them time to calm down."
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Teachers often feel that they cannot effectively discuss emotions with a large
number of children, causing them to suppress emotional expression to stay
focused on the lesson. Many of the teachers interviewed, on the other hand, try to
find the best way to accompany the children and guide them by offering advice
and recommendations.
In preschool, teachers use more distraction techniques such as handing out candy
or presenting toys, but only when the behavior is disruptive to the flow of the
lesson. They justify their action by the frequency of the children's emotional signs
and the impossibility of managing them all. All the teachers said that they do not
use activities that focus on emotional learning and that they do not have specific
resources for it.
Others are surprised that such a pedagogical approach even exists. However, the
teachers interviewed were unanimous about the importance of ongoing training
to better equip them to manage their own emotions and those of the children in
the classroom .
Table 8: Matrix of teaching practice items for emotional competence

Teachers' Feedback “Sometimes I communicate with them”(E7)
instructional "I know, but I have to continue with the class. (E19)
practices for "I try to be a good listener, but I can't do it with 35
developing students in the class. (E20)
emotional Activities "I don't use any tools, I just talk to my students(E8).
competence in the "I usually discuss with the students about their
Classroom problems"(E12)
5. Discussion
This research focused on exploring teacher practices to develop the emotional
management of learners in a school setting. This discussion is structured in three
parts: Teachers' perception of learners' emotions, Teachers' self-perception of
their own emotions, and teachers' pedagogical practices around emotions.
The results show that the participants interviewed are aware of the issues related
to the teaching of this skill. According to them, these issues are related to the
quality of acquisition, the regularity of learning, and the improvement of the
general conditions of cognitive and effective assimilation of their learner. This is
a positive point because the management of children's emotions is first done with
the help of an adult (Cuisinier, 2016). Nonetheless, teachers display some
confusion in their comments between the concept of emotion and common-sense
meanings such as affect or mood. expression of emotions For participants,
welcoming emotions is seen as a functional asset to minimize challenging
behavior. The majority of teachers interviewed report personal efforts to collect
and respond to their learners' emotions.
Authors point out in this regard that facial expression represents a universal
indicator of the momentary manifestation of emotion. Studies show the need to
adopt a common frame of reference and a transversal approach in teaching
emotions to children (Curby et al., 2021).
Furthermore, teachers' comments demonstrate a facility for recognizing children's
emotions. Participants promote discussion of children's experiences and
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knowledge by placing a premium on children's personal experiences. Yet, the

majority of teachers testify to their difficulty in dealing with the consequential
negative emotions for some learners. They claim that these emotions affect their
learning. These statements echo those of others who say that in the absence of
psychological help or support, the emotionally vulnerable child produces extreme
behaviors to externalize his needs and feelings. Nevertheless, emotions are
predominant. Furthermore, this research also revealed the lack of information
regarding the functioning of emotional management as a condition of individual
and group well-being. Many teachers lament that they are not adequately trained
to address the emotional and behavioral needs of their students.
In this regard, (Audrin, 2020) notes that teachers are called upon to mobilize their
expertise and develop their knowledge and know-how for the well-being of their
learners. Some teachers resort to positive reinforcement nevertheless they explain
that environmental conditions can affect the quality of their responses. The
teachers' comments also point out that the school context presents obstacles to this
change in practice, such as lack of time, lack of collaboration, and the
entrenchment of a culture focused on academic performance at the expense of
holistic development. According to many researchers the difficulties of
integrating emotions in a school context are multifactorial (Ferreira et al., 2021;
Morcom, 2014; Poirel et al., 2019).
In this regard, we found that the participants were not informed about practices
and/or teaching methods that promote learning to manage emotions. What seems
to be generalized to all teachers, however, is the absence of courses specifically to
empower future school personnel to teach emotions to learners or even to develop
them for themselves (Orlova et al., 2015). Therefore, emotions in the classroom
remain an entity on the fringe of teachers' concerns and educational programs.
This aligns with the findings of previous research, which indicate that teachers
who received training and support in addressing emotions in the classroom
demonstrated a greater awareness and integration of emotions in their teaching
practices compared to those without such training (Cuisinier,2016 ; Curby et al.,
2021). Providing teachers with the necessary tools and training to effectively
manage and support students' emotions is crucial for enhancing the overall
classroom experience and promoting positive learning outcomes
This study makes an original contribution by shedding light on teachers'
perceptions, pedagogical practices, and their own perception of emotions,
providing a comprehensive insight into emotional management in the field of
education. The findings underscore the need to further research to deepen our
understanding and enhance emotional management practices in the school
environment.
Future studies could focus on examining the effectiveness of different pedagogical
approaches, investigating the long-term impact of emotional management on
learners' well-being, and developing specific training programs to strengthen
teachers' emotional competencies. These future endeavors would enrich the field
of emotional management in education and provide further support to teachers
in their crucial role in fostering learner development.
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6. Conclusion
This study provided an opportunity to reflect on an approach to teaching
emotional competence at the preschool and primary school levels. The interest is
to address teachers' concerns about children's well-being during difficult learning
times. The data collected revealed that the concept of emotional intelligence is a
vague and poorly understood concept by teachers. Indeed, the analysis of the
interviews shows a real need for a referenced appropriation of the practice of
teaching/learning emotional intelligence, while ensuring that its application is
easy and applicable for all pedagogical actors. Given the results we have arrived
at, it would be interesting to recommend that teachers be made aware of the
positive impacts of emotional intelligence and that they be given the training to
reinforce the teaching of emotional competence in its behavioral and procedural
aspects. Certainly, the passion for the teaching profession is palpable through the
words of the participants, their sense of duty is also very present, and it is
manifested by their desire to provide children with a quality education. However,
the results underline that teachers also need more recognition and motivation. It
is therefore essential to rethink support strategies for teachers to help them
develop skills to reinforce emotional learning. The teacher must not only master
the knowledge of emotional competencies but also know how to transmit them
judiciously and pragmatically in the school context. This study highlights how far
we still have to go to implement changes that promote the integration and
development of emotional intelligence in the learning process.
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475

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 475-493, June 2023
Piloting Supplementary Materials Aimed at

Developing Students’ Problem-Solving and Self-
Regulated Learning Skills
Liena Hačatrjana* and Inga Linde
University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
Abstract. Developing students' transversal skills is an important

education goal, and its implementation requires equipping teachers with
appropriate supplementary materials and methodological support. The
aim of the research was to develop supplementary materials aimed at
enhancing students’ problem-solving and self-regulated learning skills,
and to pilot the materials in secondary school lessons. Problem-solving
and self-regulated learning skills are transversal skills, so the
supplementary materials were not subject-specific and were designed to
help teachers promote these students' skills in the lessons of any school
subjects. The set of materials comprised 10 worksheets with both
questions and prompts that could promote the development of students’
problem-solving and self-regulated learning skills. In total 139 teachers
applied to pilot materials for a month, and 36 of them provided feedback
by completing a questionnaire. Participants represented different schools
and school subjects and were teachers of Grades 5–12; the majority of
them (80,6%) had more than 21 years of work experience. Overall,
participants evaluated the materials as very helpful for developing
students' problem-solving and self-regulated learning skills, as the
materials paid particular attention to planning, self-monitoring and self-
reflection through a detailed focus on each of these processes, stimulated
by questions in the materials. However, the teachers also concluded that
the students lacked the in-depth metacognitive skills to self-analyze and
self-regulate their performance, and teachers provided feedback and
valuable suggestions for improving the supplementary materials. The
study contributes to the research area and work of practitioners by
demonstrating that appropriately designed supplementary materials are
a valuable and useful tool to help teachers develop students' problem-
solving and self-regulated learning skills.
Keywords: supplementary materials; piloting; problem-solving skills;

self-regulated learning skills; teacher feedback
*
Corresponding author: Liena Hačatrjana, liena.hacatrjana@lu.lv
©Authors
476
1. Introduction
In a rapidly developing environment, learners' skills for solving challenging tasks
and using effective strategies are of great importance. The ability to use a vast
array of internal cognitive processes and to self-regulate one's actions, behavior
and motivation are crucial for learning and can be achieved by developing
students' problem-solving (PS) and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. PS and
SRL are among the most important transversal skills, and the development of
different transversal skills has received much attention in education in recent
decades, because they are acknowledged as among the most important skills for
the future (Suto & Eccles, 2014; Vincent-Lancrin et al., 2019). Integrating these
skills into the curriculum and teaching and reinforcing them effectively in
everyday lessons are essential for their successful acquisition.
Although a number of researchers have studied PS from different perspectives

(e.g. OECD, 2013; Sukontawaree et al., 2022; Wu & Molnár, 2022), and the different
aspects of SRL (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2021; Zimmerman, 2015) for several
decades, scientists still highlight the necessity of improving teachers' PS skills
(Liljedahl & Cai, 2021), and their knowledge and skills for developing students'
SRL skills (Lawson et al., 2019; Linde et al., 2022).
To advance SRL skills in the PS process, Ifenthaler (2012) elaborates on direct

external support supplemented by direct instructions, indirect external support
and prompts that facilitate comprehension and the use of PS strategies; these
findings are confirmed by other researchers (Breitwieser et al., 2022). It is claimed
that metacognition and the promotion of specific strategies are crucial for both PS
and SRL (Schuster et al., 2023; Zepeda & Nokes-Malach, 2023), and asking
reflective and thought-provoking questions can serve as useful prompts in the PS
process. To help teachers develop students' PS and SRL skills, teachers could be
supported with ready-to-use lesson plans or methodologically well developed
supplementary materials, for example, worksheets, that could be applied in the
learning process.
Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop a set of supplementary

materials that could be used to enhance students’ PS and SRL skills. The research
questions were as follows: What are teachers' perceptions and experience with the
materials? Can the use of such additional worksheets help to develop students' PS
and SRL skills? To answer these questions, the literature on PS and SRL was
reviewed, and the supplementary materials were developed and piloted. Then
teachers' views and experiences of using the materials were analyzed, and the
suggestions made for improving them were summarized.
The main concepts of this study are PS skills and SRL skills, as two very important
transversal skills that are included in curricula in numerous countries, including
Latvia (Cabinet of Ministers, 2018). Both concepts are central elements of the
supplementary materials developed for teachers, and will be explained further. In
addition, enhancing transversal skills for students via various methods, the
477
rationale for developing the supplementary materials, and the process of piloting
them in the framework of the current research will be discussed.
2.1. Problem-Solving Skills

The concept of PS skills has been studied widely by the fields of psychology and
education and there are various and rather different approaches to defining and
researching PS skills (see Contente & Galvão, 2022; Maries & Singh, 2023; Wu &
Molnár, 2022). A thorough understanding of PS skills is crucial, as they are listed
among the crucial life skills (or transversal skills) that students have to acquire.
One of the seminal authors in this field, Polya (1957), stated that there are several
processes or steps involved in PS: 1) understanding the problem, 2) devising a
plan, 3) carrying out the plan, and 4) looking back. Similar ideas are included in
modern frameworks for student PS (Dostál, 2015), for example, in the
international PISA assessment, that several important processes underlie PS: 1)
exploring and understanding; 2) representing and formulating; 3) planning and
executing; and 4) monitoring and reflecting (OECD, 2013). In psychology, PS has
been studied in various ways. For example, in the approach to studying complex
problems, computerized tests are typically used to assess two key aspects of PS:
a) knowledge acquisition (exploring the rules of the problem); and b) knowledge
application (using the acquired knowledge to solve the problem effectively)
(Fischer et al., 2012). Mandal (2019), on the other hand, lists very detailed
theoretical steps of PS in education settings: 1) defining the problem; 2) identifying
the solution options; 3) identifying the best solution; 4) planning; and 5)
evaluating the result.
Theoretically, the number of processes or steps of PS vary, though the content of

these steps is similar. It is also important to acknowledge that PS processes are not
linear, which means that not all processes have to follow a “theoretical sequence”
and not all steps need to be followed in all cases, and some steps may be omitted
(OECD, 2013). This justifies an approach that focuses on specific parts of PS
separately within the learning process.
For example, a teacher could focus on planning skills in one lesson and then on
the skill of evaluating the work in the next lesson. This is the approach that was
used by the authors of the current study. In the field of education, there are
contextual approaches to the study and development of PS, such as PS in
mathematics or chemistry (Sidenvall et al., 2022; Tóthová & Rusek, 2021), and
transversal skills-based approaches that aim to describe PS skills more generally,
so that they can be implemented as transversal skills in different subject areas.
This is in the case in Latvia, where PS and SRL skills are among the core
competences that students are expected to develop in all school subjects (Cabinet
of Ministers, 2018; Skola2030, 2019a). The current research is based on this
approach, that of providing general materials and enabling the integration of the
elements of PS and SRL in various school subjects.
478
2.2. Self-Regulated Learning

The term SRL is a broad “umbrella term” that includes numerous variables that
significantly affect the process of learning (Cleary, 2018; Panadero, 2017). SRL is
the self-initiated engagement in metacognitive, motivational and behavioral
processes with the intention of attaining knowledge and skills. (Zimmerman,
2015). SRL has been widely studied and most researchers describe it as a three-
phase cycle, consisting of 1) a forethought phase, 2) performance or volitional
phase, and 3) self-reflection phase (Zimmerman & Moylan, 2009). Each of these
phases consists of a set of processes that include the use of particular strategies
such as goal setting, strategic planning, time management, help-seeking and self-
evaluation (Zimmerman et al., 2017), which are also important components of PS.
To cope with PS tasks, students need the skills to apply these strategies and the
ability to self-regulate accordingly (Van Gog et al., 2020).
The Competence Approach to Curriculum project that was introduced in Latvia

in 2016 (Skola2030, 2019b) considers SLR and PS as the two of the six transversal
skills. The unexpected occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic during the
introduction phase of this new competence-based curriculum project highlighted
the vital importance of developing students’ PS and SRL skills, as a way to help
students deal with new, unprecedented experiences (Hačatrjana, 2022; Sarva et
al., 2021).
Despite the optimistic goals of education policy, teachers lack appropriate skills
and knowledge of SRL to develop students’ SRL skills (Linde et al., 2022).
Therefore, additional supplementary materials that provide methodological
suggestions for using the materials are considered of great importance, as they
not only set out the PS strategies, but also pay attention to self-regulation
processes, such as task analysis, goal setting, strategic planning, outcome
expectation, choosing appropriate strategies, time management, environmental
structuring, seeking help, self-observation, metacognitive monitoring, self-
judgment and self-reflection, which are outlined in the SRL model of Zimmerman
and Moylan (2009).
2.3. Rationale for the Supplementary Materials Piloted in the Current Research
The set of materials we designed comprised 10 worksheets with detailed, step-by-
step tasks for students to follow, questions that must be answered, and a brochure
for teachers with a short introduction outlining the necessity of developing
students' PS and SRL skills, and supplementary information and suggestions for
using the worksheets. Two of the worksheets (WS) are reminder sheets (RS) that
can help students’ attend to their learning by following definite steps.
Each worksheet focuses on either the three-phase SRL and PS processes as a

whole, including goal setting and planning, self-observation and self-reflection,
or only on a specific part of SRL or PS. For example, WS1 focuses on the ability to
understand and comprehend the given task or problem (e.g., one of the
instructions is, “Write down all the relevant terms or keywords related to the
task!”), whereas RS7 provides a reminder about the important steps of solving the
task (providing several prompts, e.g., “Have I ever encountered a similar task
479
before?”, “Make notes or a drawing to understand the task/problem better!”).

WS3 is focused on self-evaluating and monitoring progress (e.g., “Do I have a
clear plan: what needs to be done and in what order?”, “What else needs to be
done to complete the task?”), while WS10 is focused on SRL more generally (e.g.,
“Which of your skills would you like to improve the most? In what ways could
you do it?”). The questions included in the supplementary materials work as
prompts to foster students’ learning skills (Ifenthaler, 2012).
During skills development, students need to experience that they are able to solve
different types of problems independently, thus, increase their confidence to
handle difficulties in general, as self-efficacy goes hand in hand with
metacognition and learning (Lehmann et al., 2014; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci & Capa-
Aydin, 2013). Therefore, teaching certain aspects of PS step by step can be
beneficial, as students may experience that they are good at some parts of PS, such
as understanding a task effectively, or knowing exactly what they were good at
and what caused difficulties. For this reason, small steps can be effective and
easier to implement, especially for teachers who may feel unsure about the most
appropriate ways to integrate transversal skills into their lessons.
Sometimes it can be difficult to clearly distinguish between specific phases or

aspects of PS (e.g., defining the problem, planning and implementing the solution,
and evaluating it), as studies using factor analysis found that empirical evidence
shows that the planning process goes hand in hand with the task implementation
process (Hačatrjana, 2022). These processes may be clear and distinct theoretically,
but may overlap in practice. It can be assumed that this overlap of PS stages
reflects the trial-and-error approach typically practiced by students, which
distinguishes students from 'experts' in the use of PS processes (Maries & Singh,
2023). The materials used in this study were designed to encourage students to
follow a clear, step-by-step approach when solving problems.
Various authors have proposed similar approaches to enhancing PS through a

step-by-step, detailed process (e.g., Dostál, 2015; Maries & Singh, 2023). It is
important to use external representations, such as taking notes or drawing
models, to solve problems and tasks more effectively, as it reduces the cognitive
load on a person's working memory (Gupta & Zheng, 2020). If younger students
do not have the habit of notetaking, highlighting important terms or drawing
schemes or visuals to help them understand the problem, it is important to
encourage this habit by explicitly asking them to take notes, or to highlight or to
list the important terms written in the task description. This approach was
incorporated in the creation of the supplementary materials, especially in
worksheets focusing on PS.
The importance of teachers’ role in developing PS skills is discussed in the

literature (e.g., Mandal, 2019), by an emphasis on pedagogical, methodological
and student-centered strategies to enhance PS skills that can also be transferred to
other, general skills. In the empirical study described in the current paper, these
strategies were used in a mixed manner. Although teachers were provided with
ready-to-use supplementary materials to develop students' PS and SRL skills,
480
they were encouraged to actively adapt the materials to the needs of the target
audience and to achieve the objectives of the lesson. Asking questions that
encourage students to think is considered an important approach (Mandal, 2019)
and is recommended by the supplementary materials for this study, as most of
the worksheets contain very detailed questions to enhance students'
metacognition during the learning process.
Transversal skills, including PS and SRL skills, are defined rather broadly and
generally in policy documents, however, the necessity to teach them is embedded
in subject-specific curricula, so teachers need a clear methodology for
implementing these skills in the classroom (Vincent-Lancrin et al., 2019). The
research carried out in the OECD project on developing creativity and critical
thinking skills revealed that around half of teachers claimed that their high
workload did not leave time for elaborating on pedagogical approaches to
developing these transversal skills, and 20% of teachers reported that their subject
content did not leave space for fostering critical thinking (Vincent-Lancrin et al.,
2019).
Therefore, it can be concluded that teachers are primarily focused on content, also
in the case of Latvia, where the introduction of transversal skills is expected to be
implemented alongside the new competence-based content (Skola2030, 2019b).
Due to teachers' heavy workloads, teachers will only try a new approach if it does
not interfere with their main tasks of delivering the content, and if they do not
have to spend extra time developing new materials to develop transversal skills.
This indicates that teachers need ready-made materials (e.g., worksheets), such as
the ones used in this study, but with the possibility of adapting them during the
implementation phase, according to the teachers' professional competence and
the needs of the particular class (Bouckaert, 2019; González et al., 2017).
There are similarities in SRL and PS processes. SRL is a cyclical process that starts
with planning and setting goals in a forethought phase, followed by self-
monitored and self-guided activities in the performance phase, and self-reflection
and adapting further activities that will be applied in the further learning process
(Cleary et al., 2012), which suggests continuity of activities in order to improve
the learning process. Similarly, it is important for PS, because, for complex tasks,
it is crucial to follow a full cycle of PS and to understand the problem, know the
best strategies to generate solutions, and to plan and execute them; however, one
can use only some PS processes for very brief, specific tasks. This justifies an
approach that develops students’ skills gradually by training small elements of PS
and SRL, like it was done the current research, and that uses feedback to advance
the teacher’s and student’s activities in the learning process, It was important to
pilot the new materials and to obtain teacher feedback on the materials that had
been developed, and on teacher observations of their students’ performance and
attitudes.
481
3. Methodology
3.1. Sample
A total of 139 teachers signed up to receive new supplementary materials to use
in their daily work, though only 36 participants (1 man and 35 women) provided
feedback on the piloted materials by completing the assessment questionnaire.
Most of the teachers who provided feedback (n = 16; 44%) were 55–64 years old,
11 (30,5%) were 45–54 years old, 1 was 65 or older. Of the younger teachers, 3 were
aged 25–34 and 5 were aged 35–44 years. Most of the teachers had a great deal of
experience in the field: 16 teachers (44%) had been working in schools for 31–40
years, 11 teachers for 21–30 years; only 9 teachers had less than 20 years’
experience. The teachers represented all the regions of Latvia and different types
of general education and vocational education institutions: 21 participants taught
at secondary schools, 6 at gymnasiums, 5 at state gymnasiums, 2 at primary
schools, 1 at a vocational education institution, and 1 teacher taught at a school
for students with functional disabilities.
3.2. Instruments
Teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire after they had tried out the
supplementary materials with their students (see Appendix 1). In the
questionnaire, teachers were required to give their detailed opinions about three
of the worksheets they had used, by evaluating nine statements about each
worksheet, such as, “This worksheet helped students acknowledge their strengths
and weaknesses”, or “This worksheet helped students’ develop the ability to
analyze their work and draw conclusions”, on a 6-point Likert scale. The last
question was open ended, and asked teachers to elaborate on their practice in
using the worksheet. They could indicate whether and what kind of adjustments
they had made, what they had observed while using the worksheets, and make
suggestions for improvement. The questionnaire this study used was created for
the purpose of the current study and is not a standardized instrument.
3.3. Procedure
Researchers followed an action research methodology (Johnson, 2012) with the
following steps. First, teachers were requested to pilot a set of materials on
developing students’ PS and SRL skills and the teachers who expressed interest
in trying out new materials in their lessons received a set of supplementary
materials comprising 10 editable worksheets (two of them were reminder sheets)
and a brochure with suggestions for using it. The participants were asked to try
out at least six worksheets over a one-month period. After the pilot period,
teachers received a Google Forms questionnaire to evaluate at least three
worksheets, rating different aspects of the worksheets on a 6-point Likert scale
and answering open-ended questions on (a) the usefulness of the worksheets, (b)
teachers' experiences of using the worksheets and observations of students' skills
when using them, (c) whether they had adapted the worksheets, and (d) whether
they had suggestions for improving them. Ethical considerations were applied
and the research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Social
Sciences and Humanities of the University of Latvia (November 21, 2022; No. 71-
46/70).
482
4. Results
4.1. Descriptive Statistics
To achieve the aims of the research, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis
was done. The descriptive data and quantitative analysis will be presented first,
followed by the qualitative analysis. Altogether, the worksheets and reminder
sheets were used 120 times. The pilot was mostly aimed at teachers of Grades 7–
12, and the materials were mostly used by Grade 9 teachers (24 teachers), while
teachers of Grade 7 (n = 20), 11 (n = 19), 10 (n = 18) and 8 (n = 18) also used it; few
teachers of Grades 5 and 6 used it (n = 3 and n = 7 respectively). In the last grade
of secondary school, Grade 12, the materials were used only 11 times. This could
be because some of the worksheets could have been too simple, and not suitable
for the oldest student age group. A Grade 10 teacher reported that students had
suggested having the worksheets in an electronic format (which is generally well
accepted by students), to make it easier for students to type in their answers and
make amendments.
The worksheets were mostly used in class lessons (n = 36; 30%), which took place
once a week at all the schools, which provided the class teacher with an
opportunity to meet the whole class and discuss any cultural, educational,
organizational, individual, class and school-related issues. One of the reasons for
using the materials in the class lessons could be the absence of a strict syllabus
that allowed teachers to be flexible and adjust the planned activities, which was
not the case for subject lessons, particularly those subject lessons that take place
once or twice a week. Worksheets were also often used in subjects such as a
foreign language (n = 26; 21,7%), a native language (n = 19; 15,8%), natural
sciences (n = 14; 11,7%), history and social science (n = 13; 10,8%) and mathematics
(n = 8; 6,7%), thus, showing that transversal skills can be developed in various
fields.
Figure 1. Frequency of using each worksheet (WS) or reminder sheet (RS)
Figure 1 shows that most of the teachers used worksheets WS10, WS9, WS8 and
WS4. Reminder sheets RS6 (n = 1) and RS7 (n = 5) were used much less often. One
of the reasons could be that an RS would work better as a poster in the classroom,
483
which students could be reminded to refer to while completing tasks. A teacher

of Grade 5 acknowledged that RS7 was useful as a reminder during tests, when
students needed to remember PS steps; it helped students with discipline
problems, and to cope with anxiety during the test.
4.2. Teacher Ratings of the Worksheets

First, teachers had to rate the general usefulness of each WS or RS, based on
whether they believed the particular material helped them in their work (see
Figure 2). It is clear that materials received generally high approval ratings from
the teachers.
Figure 2. Average evaluations by teachers of the general usefulness of each worksheet
In the results section, only a selection of teachers’ evaluations is presented. We

show important findings, for example, whether the teachers’ ratings correspond
with or deviate from the initial aims set for a WS by the researchers.
Although the set of supplementary materials as a whole was intended to develop

PS and SRL, each worksheet had a specific and more narrow purpose and content.
WS1 was aimed at training the skill of understanding the task or the problem.
Answers teachers gave in relation to these aspects are presented in Figure 3. It can
be seen that teachers acknowledged the focus of this WS in their evaluations, and
they rated the PS aspect higher, by acknowledging that a thorough understanding
of the task is an important part of PS.
Figure 3. Selection of teachers’ average evaluations of the WS1
484
Figure 4 shows that, according to the teachers, WS2, which initially focused on
training students' skills to plan and think about solutions to a problem, was
considered to be more useful for developing SRL than PS. This indicates that
planning is something that teachers associate more with SRL and is applicable not
only to PS, but to a variety of tasks.
Figure 4. Selection of teachers’ average evaluations of WS2
WS3 was aimed at developing students’ skills of monitoring their work in

progress and making changes to their initial plans to successfully continue a task.
Teachers’ ratings show that they found the worksheet more helpful for
developing students’ skills for analyzing their work, than for monitoring the work
in progress (see Figure 5).
In some instances, teachers’ ratings coincided precisely with the initial aim of the
materials. For example, WS8 was intended to foster students’ SRL, in particular,
the skill to precisely analyze the extent to which they had acquired knowledge of
a particular study topic. It can be seen in Figure 6 that teachers gave these aspects
high ratings.
485
Similarly, WS9 was aimed at developing students’ skills to plan their time and
duties, and it is clear from Figure 7 that WS9 was highly rated by teachers as
helpful for developing these particular skills, and SRL in general.
4.3. Teacher Feedback and Suggestions for Improving WS 1-10

Respondents were asked to provide a detailed reflection on the piloted set of
materials by analyzing the usefulness of the worksheets and their observations
while using them and, finally, to provide suggestions for their improvement. A
summary of teachers’ reflections about each of the worksheets is presented.
Teachers acknowledged that WS1 was useful for developing thinking and
encouraging students to go deeper into understanding the task, although it was
time-consuming at first. Some teachers applied the worksheet for group work,
and a teacher of Grade 7 reported that it was useful for developing in-depth
understanding of any task and its implementation and, particularly, explaining
the task to peers. Teachers suggested removing the second question, as it was
similar to another one.
WS2 – Plan how to do the task better – was considered to be useful during the
completion of the task, as it encouraged students to think about step-by-step
solution processes. However, a teacher observed low involvement by some
students, as they were reluctant to use their metacognitive skills, and to self-
monitor and analyze their learning process. One reason for this finding could be
that students lack self-regulated learning skills (Panadero, 2017). Furthermore,
according to teachers' observations, students had not had enough practice in
developing these skills, because they had not been exposed to similar tasks before.
Some students were hesitant to complete the worksheets, because they considered
the tasks to be redundant, and that the tasks would not have a direct impact on
their performance in the subject. Overall, teachers acknowledged that it was a
useful WS, as it helped students analyze their mistakes, reconsider work strategies
and develop SRL skills, though it also required a lot of additional time during the
lesson. There were no suggestions for its improvement.
Teachers stated that WS3 – Reconsider your work during the task completion –
was time consuming, though the skills gained paid off in the long term. The WS
was considered to be useful for developing SRL skills, and it gave students the
chance to cooperate with classmates and seek help from a person or a
consultation. Teachers pointed out that it would be more useful in the preparation
486
process of the PS task, as not all students can divide their attention between
completing the task and answering the WS questions simultaneously. There were
controversial conclusions on the last item: "Imagine how a person you consider
very smart and knowledgeable would do this task!", as students of Grades 10–12
found it as “not a serious" or even "humiliating task", while the Grade 9 teacher
found it a highly valuable item, concluding, however, that it would be more
appropriate for primary school students. It was suggested that one of two similar
questions be removed.
Respondents admitted that WS4 helped students evaluate their work and develop
SRL skills, as students had to analyze their work by comparing their expectations
with their actual performance, and look for multiple ways of solving the same
problem. Teachers concluded that the WS reduced teachers’ work, as students
need to learn to analyze their progress every day, and that students are usually
aware of their strengths. Although the teachers observed that some students
perceived the work with the WS as an unnecessary burden that consumed their
time, teachers believed that the repeated use of this worksheet after each major
task would build a habit of reflection and evaluation.
WS5 was useful for developing PS skills, and the schematic depiction of the
solution steps while doing the task promoted a systematic approach to task
solution and encouraged students to take responsibility during the process. This
WS was mostly suitable for use in parallel with doing comprehensive tasks (and
not for simple and easy-to-do tasks). A teacher reported that students in Grade 10
suggested that it would be better to have the worksheet in an electronic format,
which would make it easier to do corrections and adjust the process.
The set of materials also contained two reminder sheets. Only one teacher used
RS6, only once, but they reported it could be very useful if used systematically
and regularly as a reminder. RS7 was used 5 times and was reported to be very
useful, as it gave students the opportunity to look up and recall the PS steps,
particularly during independent work (to check, “Have I done everything that
was necessary?”), and it helped students who lacked self-discipline and have
anxiety during tests.
While working with WS8 – What is my knowledge and skills on the topic? –
teachers observed that it was easy for students to work with the first part of the
WS (evaluation of their skills in relation to the topic), though students struggled
to analyze their work in depth and develop further action steps. Teachers
concluded that the worksheet was useful for developing SRL skills, as students
learned to self-evaluate their work; the worksheet was used to provide self-
reflection at the end of the theme. Teachers agreed that students should be taught
to analyze and self-reflect on their work regularly. There was a suggestion to add
follow-up activities that required students to put forward further steps for their
development, and to self-assess their implementation.
WS9 aimed to develop students' time-management skills, and was indicated as

immensely important, especially for junior students, as there are no paper-based
487
report books to plan their week and write down their home tasks anymore (note:
in Latvia, an electronic system is used for reporting grades, lesson schedule etc.).
Upper-secondary class students claimed that they used electronic devices to plan
their week, and that this method was more convenient. Teachers indicated that
the completed worksheet provided immensely useful information for class
teachers, as they could see the students’ weekly workload. It was suggested that
the worksheet could be improved by adding the times and a space to reflect on
time spent doing homework and planning consultation times at school.
While working with WS10, teachers observed that students did not find it difficult
to answer yes/no questions, but it was more difficult when there were open
questions that “encourage students to be responsible, to evaluate and analyze
their learning and actions”; the worksheet was considered as “a good basis for a
further extended conversation with each individual”. The worksheet provides a
significant foundation for student interaction and teaches them to adjust their
activities and choose the most appropriate strategies to achieve better results and
to learn from their peers.
On the whole, the WS and RS were considered to be useful resources for

developing students' PS and SRL skills; some worksheets served as great starting
points for further discussions. Some worksheets were considered to be more
appropriate for younger students than older ones. Teachers reported using the
worksheets both for individual work and work in pairs, and combined these two
approaches for more effective work. For some students, it was their first
experience analyzing themselves in such a detailed manner, and it required a
great deal of time and effort to think and reflect. The questions in the worksheets
stimulated a detailed step-by-step approach to exploring and understanding
tasks, as opposed to straightforward task solving without properly understanding
what to do. Teachers concluded that students lacked in-depth thinking skills, and
there should be further work involved in enhancing students’ PS and SRL skills
through developing metacognitive skills.
5. Discussion
The results of the current study raise a number of questions for discussion, both
about teachers' experiences with the piloted supplementary materials, and about
students' SRL and PS skills. These questions will be explored further by
highlighting the most important points. Although the worksheets were available
in an easily editable format and teachers could adjust them to the students’ age
group or needs, the majority of teachers admitted that they used the materials
without making any major changes, thus, engaging mostly in the “application of
materials phase” (Bouckaert, 2019). One of the reasons for this approach could be
teachers' heavy workload, which is why they highly appreciated the possibility to
use ready-made materials that could be easily integrated in their lessons. Large-
scale projects on transversal skills have demonstrated that teachers are willing to
try new approaches if they feel that the approaches do not interfere with their
plans (e.g., Vincent-Lancrin et al., 2019). Another reason why teachers used the
worksheets without customizing them could be the short time available for
piloting - just one month. This could mean that, if teachers find the worksheets
488
suitable for their class and learning objectives, they first use the materials in their
original format and only after piloting can they see what adjustments or changes
are necessary. The process of using existing materials can serve as an example and
inspiration for teachers to create their own materials, and could be an important
aspect of teachers’ professional growth (Baştürkmen & Bocanegra-Valle, 2018;
Bouckaert, 2019; González et al., 2017; Sidenvall et al., 2022).
However, some teachers reported making slight adjustments that were not related
to the content, but to the process of using the materials. For example, if teachers
realized that they would not have enough time to work with the worksheet in a
written form individually, or that the oral form or pair/group work would be
more appropriate for the aims and possibilities of the specific lesson, they adjusted
the instructions and process of using the materials in pairs or groups, which
shows that they made professional decisions while they were implementing the
materials (Bouckaert, 2019; González et al., 2017).
Teachers also observed that students faced difficulties with “thinking and
reflecting” on the questions asked in the worksheets, and concluded that students
had to be provided with more regular exposure to such tasks, so that they became
accustomed to them and developed a habit of self-regulating and monitoring their
learning process. Other researchers also discuss the challenges related to, in
particular, developing students’ monitoring skills (Engelmann & Bannert, 2021).
Teachers also mentioned that some of the materials might not be suitable for
senior students. Overall, this indicates that the implementation and development
of students’ transversal skills as defined in the curriculum in Latvia (Cabinet of
Ministers, 2018) is still developing and that suitable materials have to be
developed for each age group.
It was also mentioned that using the worksheets was rather time consuming,
therefore, it was suggested that some of them should be divided into two sheets,
for example, WS2, on planning how to solve a task, could be divided into parts A
and B, or shortened. Similar comments were received for a few other worksheets,
such as WS3, on monitoring students’ progress. It can be concluded that, if
students were used to self-regulating their learning in the process of PS and used
metacognition, self-monitoring and self-reflection regularly, less time would be
devoted to thinking, as the metacognitive processes would develop and gradually
become an automatic part of PS (Contente & Galvão, 2022; Gupta & Zheng, 2020).
However, at the initial stage of developing these skills, materials must not be too
comprehensive. Results show that teachers mostly applied the supplementary
materials in the class lessons, followed by foreign language classes and native
language classes. Some of the worksheets were indeed more appropriate for class
lessons, for example WS9, Planning your tasks for the week, which was used 13
times in class lessons and 3 times in subject lessons, and WS10, which was used 8
times in class lessons, as it does not require specific subject skills to be involved,
and 6 times in subject lessons. Some teachers also reported that there was too little
time to use additional materials in subject lessons fully, due to time constraints
and the volume of the course syllabus, which is the main focus during the lesson.
It is known that subject content knowledge is, indeed, particularly important for
489
delivering effective PS activities in class (Maries & Singh, 2023). It can be

concluded that teachers should be provided with very targeted methodological
help and training about how to explicitly apply PS and SRL skills in various school
subjects. This conclusion is supported by research that found such interventions
to be effective (Benick et al., 2021; Linde et al., 2023).
In-depth comprehension of PS and SRL concepts is crucial for successfully

implementing the development of these skills in the everyday learning activities
of students (Sidenvall et al., 2022). Several processes involved in PS and SRL (for
example, planning, monitoring and evaluating processes) are alike. Teachers’
ratings of WS in the current study confirm that, in some cases, the materials
helped foster both PS and SRL skills, as it might be hard to distinguish them from
a practical perspective. These blurred boundaries of very similar processes during
PS and SRL from the viewpoint of teachers can be explained by the overlap of the
two concepts, and by the crucial role of metacognition in both of them (Zepeda &
Nokes-Malach, 2023).
6. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

This study faced a few limitations, and the first one was related to the small
number of participants: 139 teachers were willing to pilot the materials in their
classes, but only 36 provided feedback afterwards. Although it is not a
representative example of teachers in the country, the participants who provided
feedback were from all the regions of Latvia and represented all types of
education institutions, therefore, the survey provides significant data, though it
would be necessary to increase the number of participants if the piloting is
repeated, by targeting a greater number of schools and teachers teaching students’
of different age groups. Another limitation was linked to the time available for the
pilot – only a month. This time should be extended, to enable teachers to use the
materials for a longer time and to provide feedback at different points in time
longitudinally.
7. Conclusions
The results of the current research indicate that supplementary materials
(worksheets and reminder sheets) were highly valued by teachers, who
considered it to be an important support for developing students’ PS and SRL
skills. The materials that were provided were found to contribute to students'
thinking skills, as they had to pay close attention to the step-by-step, guided PS
processes, while self-regulating their performance using metacognitive skills,
while analyzing and self-reflecting on their performance during the tasks. At the
same time, it is concluded that it was not easy for students to “reflect and think
deeply”. Students having insufficient PS and SRL skills imply that teachers lack
adequate methodological support and materials to provide students with
sufficient practice to develop these transversal skills in their everyday practice.
The current study shows that teachers’ professionalism and willingness to

improve their work by including new practices in their everyday work is not
dependent on their ages. Despite participants’ long professional work experience
(the majority of the participants were teachers with 21–40 years of work
490
experience), they were willing to try out and pilot new materials to help students
advance their PS and SRL skills.
Although the necessity to develop PS and SRL skills has been proven in the
scientific literature worldwide, research shows that the development of these
skills in practice should be improved. Therefore, future research should
investigate how to support teachers in developing students’ PS and SRL skills.
Funding
The research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund under
the activity “Post-doctoral Research Aid” project No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/697.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any
commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts
of interest.
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Appendix 1
Questionnaire for teachers’ assessment of the piloted supplementary materials
used in the current study
Please rate each of the following statements with 1-6 points (1-“Completely
disagree”; 6-“Completely agree”), based on you evaluation of the particular
worksheet.
1. This worksheet was useful for developing students' problem-solving skills
2. This worksheet was useful for developing students' self regulated learning
skills
3. This worksheet helped students’ develop the skills to organise their work
4. This worksheet helped students to realise their strengths and weaknesses
5. This worksheet helped students plan their work
6. This worksheet helped students monitor their work and make adjustments
to it
7. This worksheet helped students’ develop the skills to analyse their work and
make conclusions about it
8. This worksheet encouraged students to think about various strategies for
solving the task or a problem
9. In general this worksheet was useful in the work with students
Please write your observations regarding this worksheet:
(a) In your opinion, what was more useful or less useful and while working with
this worksheet and why?
b) Your experience and observation of students' skills while working with this
worksheet.
(c) Did you adapt this worksheet and how?
(d) Please provide any suggestions for improving the worksheet.
494

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 494-514, June 2023
Axiological Study of Educational Projects in

Schools
Rodrigo Arellano Saavedra
Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
Andrew Philominraj*
Ranjeeva Ranjan
Claudio Andrés Cerón Urzua

Abstract. Institutional educational projects are based on principles and

values that schools adopt and which are reflected in the various aspects
of their planning and pedagogical performance. The main objective of this
study was to discover the values in the texts of the educational projects of
schools in the Maule region, Chile, and to classify these into categories,
according to a proposed axiological model of integral education.
Axiology is the philosophical study of values. It includes questions about
the nature and classification of values. The methodological research
approach for our study is documentary, based on content analysis. In this
research, an axiological study was carried out in six institutional
educational projects through content analysis that contains the following
sections: introduction and/or presentation of each educational project
and the philosophical-curricular framework: vision, identity-mission,
and objectives; and the students’ profile. The results indicate a dominance
of social values, followed by intellectual, dynamic, and religious values
and, finally, moral, individual, and instrumental values. The scarce
presence of bodily and ecological values and the almost null appearance
of aesthetic values is highly significant. The formation of values is an
intentional and necessary educational activity for the training of the
students of 21st century society.
Keywords: content analysis; educational axiology; educational projects;

values; values education
*
Corresponding author: Andrew Philominraj; andrew@ucm.cl
©Authors
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1. Introduction
The literature presents various definitions of value. Values are "guiding principles
in life" (Schwartz, 2012, p. 17). They are conceived as models that guide human
thought and action (Cívico-Ariza et al., 2021), and are usually defined as
"objectives that we aim to achieve, in different situations, as individuals and/or
society" (Gervilla, 1997, p. 72). They are preferences that we choose, or principles
that govern our decision-making (Colomo & Gabarda, 2021; Arthur et al., 2017;
Schwartz & Bardi, 2001).
The main theoretical perspectives on values allow us to collect the different value
options of individuals within their culture (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992;
Inglehart, 1989; Gouveia, 1998; Gervilla, 2010; Expósito & Marsollier, 2021).
Values education is an inalienable imperative (Lovat, 2021; García-Vidal et al.,
2018) and it can refer to different ways and approaches, moral teaching, and
character development socialization processes, among others. In understanding
education as a process of integral development of the human being, school
teaching has the challenge of preparing students to face the complexities of future
life (Bilsky et al., 2020; Lovat et al., 2011). In this sense, the school curriculum is
the most influential sphere in the transmission of values. In the implementation
of school planning processes, it is necessary to keep in mind a series of questions
about , such as: What? What for? and How? of value education (Cívico-Ariza, et
al., 2021; Gervilla 1997).
The values that are communicated in the educational processes are directly
related to the activities in the classroom and this is essentially different in each
establishment, according to its educational project and particularly, according to
the profile of the teacher who is entrusted with a group of students and subject
matter. Given this multiplicity, and in the interest of finding the common values
that are expected to permeate the educational practices of the establishments in
the Maule region, we have decided to carry out an axiological study of the
institutional educational projects, which is the legal text that guides the curricular
developments of each centre and teaching team. Undoubtedly, each educational
practice communicates the values it deems appropriate, but nevertheless what
happens in the classroom must be connected to the official educational project.
Values occupy a prominent place in the itinerary of education researchers and so

many other spheres since they impact behaviour, attitudes, personal structures,
the configuration of human relationships, and the relationship with the
environment (Lovat, 2021; González-Gijón et al., 2021; Sagiv et al., 2017; Tran &
Marginson, 2018; Díez-Gutiérrez, 2020; Nava-Preciado & Ureña-Pajarito, 2017).
This study seeks to contribute to the value of the educational proposal by
identifying the values in the texts of the institutional educational projects of
schools in the region of Maule, Chile, where the students of the XXI century are
trained. Therefore, the following objectives were formulated:
1) To analyse the values present in the texts of the educational projects’ of the
schools in the Maule region, Chile, according to an axiological model of integral
education;
2) to determine the hierarchy of values in each institutional educational project;
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3) to identify the axiological hierarchy established in the educational projects of

all the educational centres involved in this study.
In connection with the above-mentioned objectives, the research questions of this

study were: 1) What types of values are intended to be taught by the educational
centres of the Maule region through their institutional educational projects? and
2) What axiological hierarchy emerges from the analysis of the educational
projects of these educational centres?
Educational changes, which are necessary to adapt educational processes to the

new scenarios of society, must be started with the expert analysis of official
institutional documents that should be permeated by values. Thus, this study on
the strengths and weaknesses of institutional educational documents, conducted
through an in-depth analysis of these documents, is intended as a starting point.
2.1 Values
Values are general principles for which people strive in life (Schwartz, 1992). In
this sense, Schwartz and Bilsky (1987) define them as "beliefs about states, or
desirable final behaviours that transcend specific situations that guide the
selection or evaluation of behaviour and events and are ordered according to their
relative importance" (p. 551). As cognitive schemas, they constitute criteria that
guide people as if they were guidelines for valuing themselves, others, and nature
(Schwartz, 2012; Rokeach, 1973; Van Krieken, 2019). While all individuals may
appreciate the same values in some way, individuals differ in the way they
hierarchize some values over others (Rokeach, 1973). These differences in value
priorities establish the choices people make. The more people support a certain
value, the more likely they are to think and act according to that value (Schwartz
& Bilsky, 1987; Rodríguez et al., 2017; Marušić-Jablanović, 2018).
2.2. Classification of values

Rokeach (1973) specifies the term value as those guiding principles that people
have about fundamental states and behaviours that go beyond concrete situations
by way of criteria that order people's selection, evaluation, and action. It is a model
of instrumental and terminal values that are classified hierarchically as per the
axiological dimensions: moral, personal, social, and competence.
Schwartz et al. (2001) indicate that values are ends that attract, channel, and lead
people's existence. Values account for the essential issues that societies must face
to render adequate human performance, and the basic problems are ordered in
the following manner: nature of human relations in individual-group situations,
responsible behaviour-preservation of society, and caring for the relationship
between human kind-nature-social spheres.
Inglehart's (1989) theory of values points out that culture is an organized network
of attitudes, values, and behaviours dialogued and agreed upon by society, and
transmitted from one generation to another. Inglehart identified the order of value
priorities of different societies through the World Values Survey, which has
twelve goals, organized into three groups of four items each. They are designed
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to determine the materialistic and post-materialistic priorities of the respondents,

in areas such as family, work, health, and subjective well-being. Gamage et al.
(2021, p. 1) indicate, “values are the fundamental beliefs, behaviours, and
attitudes that have been approved and accepted as what is good by society for a
long time” (p. 1). Finally, the axiological model of integral education of Gervilla
(2008) conceives the person from the following dimensions: a) emotional
intelligence animal; b) being singular and free in their decisions; c) openness or
relational nature of humans; and d) the dimension in time and space. These
dimensions generate fifteen categories of values that were used as a system of
categories in the empirical work of the study:
1. Body values: These are the set of desired and/or desirable qualities related to
the body or living matter of the person. In a general sense, they refer to physical,
health, food, rest, sport, healthy life, and physical development. In the educational
field, body values are considered to be those referring to content, process, or
result.
2. Intellectual values: They refer to the rational nature of men such as knowing
how to read, reflect, and criticize along with the optimization and development
of qualities, aptitudes, and intellectual capacities.
3. Affective values are content that affects our psychic reactions of pleasure, that
is to say, the states of emotion, feeling, or passion. They point out the affections
and emotions of the person: love, affection, sensitivity, joy, simplicity, friendship,
naturalness, trust, and feeling welcome. In the educational field, in general, they
are affective values: a welcoming climate in the classroom, a friendly atmosphere,
closeness, a simple atmosphere conducive to learning.
4. Individual values: They are the set of values that mainly refer to the singular,
intimate, and unique aspects of the person, in terms of content and procedure.
Individual values are conscience, intimacy, individuality, freedom, identity, and
experience. In education, this translates to personalized teaching, individualized
education, development of the originality of each student, welcoming diversity,
and personal style.
5. Liberating values: They refer to the set of values related to the possibility of
choice in the face of diversity without any external or internal subjection. In this
category, we include autonomy, self-esteem, self-determination, self-regulation,
freedom, and free choice.
6. Aesthetic values: A distinction is made between those that are desired or
desirable because of their beauty in any of their manifestations in nature, people,
or art: literature, music, painting, sculpture, and more. In this category, we include
beauty, art, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.
7. Moral values: Moral values are considered to articulate the ethical estimation of
the goodness or malice of human actions. In their educational facet, they are
developed through moral education, ethics, and morality. In this category, we
include justice, respect, responsibility, dignity, truth, tolerance, and honesty.
8. Social values. They are those that affect the interactions that the individual has
with society, and in personal and institutional relationships, both in their content,
procedure, or purpose. In this category, we include family, laws, society, party,
human relations, politics, and friendship.
9. Ecological values. They are those that relate the human being with the
knowledge, care, or enjoyment of the environment. In its educational facet, it
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refers to order and cleanliness in the classroom, to activities in nature. In this

category, we include mountains, beaches, rivers, nature, and gardens.
10. Instrumental values. Instrumental values are those that bring benefits such as
medicines, cars, housing, clothing, computers, etc. In education, it refers to
coexistence regulations, evaluation regulations, teaching evaluation guidelines,
curricular projects, etc. In this category, we include housing, work, evaluation,
and technology.
11. Dynamic values: These values refer to movement, action, exercise, directing,
managing, functioning, influencing, improving, and organizing.
12. Religious values. They are those that allude directly to the ultimate meaning
of life, beyond the immanent existential dimension itself, or to the institutions,
actions, or persons related to the religious: God, faith, prayer, the church, pastoral
activity, devotion, spirituality, the parish, the saints.
13. Spatial values are those that refer to the place as something positive and
desirable for the better development of human life, such as physical space,
environment, and classroom, and in this study, it refers to the seventh region, the
province of Talca, and Chile.
14. Temporal values point to time as a value, that is, to duration (before, now,
after) related to some good that pleases us: days, years, the now, the moment, the
continuous, punctuality, age, time of dialogue between lovers, time to sleep, time
to listen to a musical performance.
15. Globalizing values. Globalizing values are those concepts that are so broad
that it is not possible to include them in a single category because they include
attributes of more than one category.
2.3. Education in values

Education is always associated with values as they are inseparable from any
educational endeavour. Education is inescapably value-based (Lovat, 2021), since
it is a good to the extent that it facilitates the development of the person. Educating
is not something neutral, since it teaches how to live. In this process, knowledge,
experiences, beliefs, and convictions are delivered. Education is that task that
refers to the cultivation of the potentialities of human beings to achieve their
integral development and driving values and guide the actions of people in this
inexhaustible striving for excellence.
Educational institutions must manage their resources to favour the learning of

certain values (Jiménez & Sanz, 2015) through methods, strategies, and techniques
to create meaningful experiences for students in areas such as moral development,
character formation, relationships with peers, and dimensions related to the
environment (Lovat, 2017).
Values education is the need to include personal and social values in the school
environment (Lovat, 2017). Arthur et al. (2017) point out that values education can
be recognised in the modalities of values education, moral education, and
character education. Peiró (2015) emphasizes that education in values implies
fostering a critical spirit in students so that they develop actions according to solid
criteria.
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According to Páez (2016), axiological pedagogy needs a methodology to be carried

out. In this sense, the literature exposes a traditional model in which the values
recognized and communicated by the sociocultural environment are presented to
students through specific content.
Values education promotes a pedagogy of good practices, which requires the

creation of a positive environment by the members of the educational community
for the achievement of academic, socio-emotional, and moral goals (Lovat, 2017)
to positively impact the formative process.
2.4. Educational project

For a school to be effective in its educational purposes, it needs teachers trained
for excellence in disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge (Reis Monteiro, 2015;
Anijovich et al., 2021), together with an educational leadership that promotes
dialogue, participation, and commitment to working collaboratively. In this sense,
the Institutional Educational Project provides a corporate framework for the
innovation of educational work, the implementation of quality learning, and the
association of drives around shared purposes.
The Institutional Educational Project is defined as a plan for the administrative

organization of the educational process, the management of teaching, and the
achievement of the purposes proposed by the institution in relation to what is
entrusted by the sociocultural context in which it is inserted. Villegas et al. (2017)
describe it as a management tool for theoretical foundations and educational
practice, and the relationship of the school with the community.
Thus, the institutional educational project is the document that declares the
identity, purpose, principles, and values that the educational community of each
school considers fundamental for the education of students (Flessa et al., 2018).
The values that appear in the educational project underpin the formative task of
the school (UNESCO, 2016), and their hierarchy gives us a glimpse of the
axiological horizon in which it is intended to achieve a way of educating and a
model of the human being. In this way, the educational community selects and
implements a set of values to promote the integral formation of students in the
personal and social sphere.
3. Methodology
3.1. Methodological approach and research design
The methodological research approach for our study is documentary, based on
content analysis (Bardin, 2002). This method has been used in different fields of
knowledge providing information on varied aspects and phenomena of the social
reality of educational research. Specifically, this study was developed using
Gervilla's axiological content analysis (2008). The research procedure consisted of:
Selection of schools, Reading the educational projects of these schools, Selection
of the corpus including classification, and production of the final document in the
sequence of Unit of analysis or meaning, Categorization, and codification, and
Validation through expert judgment.
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3.2. Sample: Description of the schools and contextualization

Six schools with their respective educational projects were selected. The selection
was made intentionally to guarantee the conditions of the study (Creswell & Poth,
2016). In our case, the sample was heterogeneous, contemplating different
educational levels, and training modalities located in various sociocultural
contexts. The establishments are geographically located in the following urban
sectors.
Table 1: Composition of participating schools
Location-neighbourhood Educational Centre

Northcentral sector Public primary education centre
Northcentral sector Public secondary school
East sector –downtown Subsidized technical-professional education centre
Southeast sector Subsidized Christian religious education centre
Downtown Subsidized centre of Catholic religious education
Southwest sector Private, paid secular education centre
3.3. Data collection instrument

To determine the manifest values in the institutional educational projects, we used
Gervilla's axiological content analysis (2008). This method is described as "a set of
analysis techniques that systematically and objectively allows us to know in depth
the values present in any universe, as well as their mode of presence" (Gervilla
2008, p. 59). The global conception of the human being, according to this model,
revolves around four dimensions, which gave rise to fifteen categories. These are
corporal, intellectual, affective, individual, liberating, moral, aesthetic, social,
ecological, instrumental, dynamic, religious, spatial and temporal. In order to
ensure that no significant value was left unclassified, a category was considered
for the recording units with great semantic breadth, namely generalizing values.
3.4. Categorization y codification

This category system is a tool for quantifying and statistically analysing the values
declared in the selected educational projects. The values had been recorded in
each category using their appearance and repetition, thus making it possible to
establish the axiological hierarchy of the documents. This process was carried out
through the procedures of identification, coding, and classification of values. The
instrument has been used in different studies related to values (Bedmar &
Montero, 2012; Cívico-Ariza et al., 2021). In Table 2 we present the categories, as
well as their respective codes.
Table 2: Axiological model of integral education (Gervilla 2008)

DIMENSIONS PERSON CATEGORY VALUES
1. Emotional Intelligence Animal
BODY Corporal (C)
REASON Intellectual (I)
AFFECTION Affective (A)
2. Singular & free in their decisions
SINGULARITY Individuals (IND)
Liberating (L)
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Aesthetic (A)
Moral (M)
3. Open or relational in nature
OPEN Social (S)
Ecological (E)
Instrumental (INS)
Dynamic(D)
Religious (R)
4. In time and space
Spatial (S)
Temporal (T)
Generalizers (G)
3.5. Delimitation of the corpus

In choosing the educational projects, delimitation of the corpus was carried out.
The introduction and/or presentation of each educational project and the
philosophical-curricular framework were selected. Educational projects that
contained principles and values such as vision, identity mission, and objectives
were considered. Other models included are distinguished by their principles,
values, and beliefs. In addition, a description of the students’ profiles was
incorporated.
3.6. Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis or meaning to be coded in the different categories comprised
the phrases or words that alluded to or were related to a value, which according
to Gervilla (2008), "is the search for nuclei or units of meaning, whose presence or
absence indicates a value" (p. 61).
3.7. Validation of the category system.

The selected category system was validated through expert judgment to establish
the adaptations required for our research. Five expert judges participated. The
experts believed that the categories were applicable and satisfactory for
measuring what they were intended to measure.
4. Results
Based on the information obtained, the data were analysed and presented through
a descriptive analysis using statistical tools such as frequencies, percentages, and
rankings. The classification and hierarchy of the different categories of values that
appear in each educational project are presented.
4.1. Axiological analysis of each school's educational project

Table 3 shows the structure of the axiological foundations of the institutional
educational projects, as well as the importance given to values.
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Table 3: Axiological load of the educational centres

Values Public Public Subsidized Subsidized Subsidized Private,
primary secondary technical- Christian centre of paid
education education professional religious Catholic secular
centre Education Education religious education
centre centre education centre
F % F % F % F % F % F %
Body 2 0.8% 5 1.2% 0 0.0% 26 4.1% 9 1.8% 2 0.7%
Intellectual 38 16.0% 53 12.7% 19 7.3% 100 15.8% 49 9.6% 38 13.9%
Affective 6 2.5% 23 5.5% 6 2.3% 13 2.1% 14 2.8% 20 7.3%
Individuals 18 7.6% 35 8.4% 31 11.9% 53 8.4% 46 9.1% 37 13.6%
Liberating 8 3.4% 10 2.4% 4 1.5% 19 3.0% 18 3.5% 7 2.6%
Aesthetic 0 0.0% 1 0.2% 0 0.0% 9 1.4% 1 0.2% 9 3.3%
Moral 18 7.6% 53 12.7% 27 10.4% 61 9.7% 36 7.1% 27 9.9%
Social 53 22.3% 72 17.2% 60 23.1% 59 9.3% 77 15.2% 32 11.7%
Ecological 2 0.8% 1 0.2% 2 0.8% 14 2.2% 3 0.6% 4 1.5%
Instrumental 15 6.3% 44 10.5% 41 15.8% 25 4.0% 46 9.1% 22 8.1%
Dynamic 45 18.9% 63 15.1% 30 11.5% 32 5.1% 61 12.0% 36 13.2%
Religious 1 0.4% 8 1.9% 1 0.4% 168 26.6% 99 19.5% 1 0.4%
Spatial 4 1.7% 13 3.1% 12 4.6% 9 1.4% 22 4.3% 6 2.2%
Temporary 10 4.2% 15 3.6% 6 2.3% 11 1.7% 1 0.2% 8 2.9%
Generalizing 18 7.6% 22 5.3% 21 8.1% 33 5.2% 26 5.1% 24 8.8%
TOTAL 238 100% 418 100% 260 100% 632 100% 508 100% 273 100%
Below, we present the axiological load of each educational centre.

1. Public primary education centre. According to the classification of values used,
in the public primary education centre, in order of importance, social values stand
out favourably (22.3%), followed by dynamic (18.9%) and intellectual (16.0%). At
a lower level are individual, moral, and generalizing values (7.6%) respectively.
These are followed by instrumental (6.3%), temporal (4.2%), liberating (3.4%),
affective (2.5%), and spatial (1.7%) values. Below 1.0% are bodily, ecological, and
religious values. Only aesthetic values are absent.
2. Public secondary school. The highest frequency in this ideology corresponds to
social values (17%), followed by dynamic (15.1%), intellectual and moral values
(12.7%), and instrumental values (10.5%). Individual (8.4%), affective (5.5%), and
generalizing (5.3%) values were at an intermediate level. Temporal, spatial,
religious, liberating and bodily values moved between 3.6% and 1.2%. Only
aesthetic and ecological values were below 1%.
3. Subsidized technical-professional education centre. In this educational project,
social values stood out as the most important (23.1%), followed by instrumental
values (15.8%). At a second level were individual (11.9%), dynamic (11.5%), and
moral (10.4%) values. At a lower level generalizers (8.1%) and intellectual (7.3%)
values were found. The rest of the categories ranged from 4.6% to 0.4%, except for
bodily and aesthetic, which were absent.
4. Subsidized Christian religious education centre. Religious (26.6%) and
intellectual (15.8%) values were the most important in this educational project,
followed by moral (9.7%), social (9.3%), and individual (8.4%) values. In the
second group, generalizing (5.2%), dynamic (5.1%), corporal (4.1%), and
instrumental (4.0%) values stood out. The rest of the categories ranged between
3.0% and 1.4%. Aesthetic and spatial values had the lowest frequencies
respectively (1.4%).
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5. Subsidized centre of Catholic religious education. Religious (19.5%), social

(15.2%), and dynamic (12.0%) values were the most important for the educational
project of this centre. These are followed by intellectual (9.6%), individual (9.1%),
instrumental (9.1%), and moral (7.1%) values. At a lower level were generalizing
(5.1%), spatial (4.3%), liberating (3.5%), affective (2.8%), and corporal (1.8%)
values. Ecological, aesthetic, and temporal values were ranked below 1.0%.
6. Private, paid humanistic education centre. The most frequent values in this
project were intellectual (13.9%), individual (13.6%), dynamic (12.3%), and social
(11.7%) values. They were followed by moral (9.9%), generalizing (8.8%),
instrumental (8.1%), and affective (7.3%) values. At another level the following
ratings applied: aesthetic (3.3%), temporal (2.9%), liberating (2.6%), spatial (2.2%),
and ecological (1.5%) values. The appearance of liberating (2.4%), spatial (2.1%),
and ecological (1.2%) values is not significant. Bodily (0.7%) and religious (0.4%)
values were ranked below 1.0%.
The hierarchy of values found in educational projects as a whole is presented
below.
4.2. Analysis of the axiological structure inserted in the educational projects as

a whole
We know that values have value, but they are not all worth the same. There cannot
be a universe of values that does not imply an axiological scale (Altarejos and
Naval, 2011). The resulting axiological structure is as follows:
Hierarchy of values
16.00% 15.15%
14.00% 12.75%
11.93%11.46%
12.00%
9.53% 9.44%
10.00% 8.28%
8.00% 6.18%
6.00%
3.52%
4.00% 2.83% 2.83%
2.18% 1.88%
2.00% 1.11% 0.85%
0.00%
Figure 1. Hierarchy of values in the Educational Projects as a whole
The most important values are social values (15.15%), and their presence is
significant. Intellectual values are less important (12.75%), followed by religious
values (11.93%) and dynamic values (11.46%).
A second group for institutional educational projects is moral values (9.53%),

individual (9.44%), instrumental (8.28%), and globalizing (6.18%), located in the
central part of the graph.
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As for the last group, our study shows that the most prominent are affective
values (3.52%), followed by spatial and liberating values, respectively, with a
lower presence (2.83%), followed by temporal values (2.18%). Finally, among the
least considered are body values (1.88%) and ecological values (1.11%). Finally,
aesthetic values represent the category with the lowest frequency (0.85%).
5. Discussion
In accordance with the results of our study, we have found that the approach of
the institutional educational projects is embedded in the educational offer by one
or the other values. Regarding public primary school, it has an axiological
structure where the categories of social, dynamic, and intellectual values stand
out. The preponderance of social values over the other categories concurred with
the research conducted by Marušić-Jablanović (2018) and Ortega and Blanco
(2017), constituting these values a fundamental component for citizen
participation and the development of the common good (Schwartz, 2012). The
absence of aesthetic values is in line with the study of Colomo and Garbada (2021),
which draws attention to comprehensive education not being carried out in the
student body, as mentioned by Lovat (2021). Education in aesthetic values is
linked with the construction of a world centred on well-being. The category of
bodily values contradicts the findings of Nava-Preciado and Ureña-Pajarito
(2017), which point out the importance of physical and mental well-being. If we
pay attention to the category of ecological values, it corresponds with the results
of the study of Marušiÿ-Jablanoviÿ (2018) where the preservation of the natural
environment is not valued. Religious values are not part of the discourse of the
educational community. In this sense, it is in line with the studies of Benedicto
(2017) and López-Ruiz (2017), where religion is regarded as only a cultural
category.
As for the public secondary school, the most prominent are social, dynamic,
intellectual, and moral values. The importance of social values corresponds with
the findings of Osler (2015), as they are central to developing an understanding of
citizenship. The findings regarding dynamic values concur with the findings of
Gervilla (1997), emphasizing the importance conferred on action and activity in
the integral formation of the student body. The preference for intellectual values
contrasts with the findings in the studies of González-Gijón et al. (2019) and Cívico
et al. (2019). The importance of moral values coincides with findings of the studies
of González-Gijón et al. (2019), Maaranen et al. (2019), and González-Anleo (2017).
These values constitute essential elements for moral formation, social skills, and
the care of human emotions - key aspects that schools must address at present.
The scarce presence of bodily values in the educational ideology is worrying, since
it is essential to educate the student body in the management of emotions and the
search for psychological well-being. The reduced number of religious values
declared in the educational project reflects the relative insignificance this centre
attached to the formation of the religious as a human expression, an irreducible
and original category in itself (Otto, 1936). This does not agree with the results of
other research (Cívico-Ariza et al., 2020) in which religious values are deeply
valued, constituting a fundamental for human development. In this regard values
are representations of the culture in which they are expressed (García et al., 2018).
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Focusing on the results obtained in the subsidized centre for professional technical
education, we observed a clear preference for the category of social values. Here
the focus was on the interactions that the individual has with society and personal
and institutional relationships. The relevance of social values corresponds with
the findings of Ortega and Blanco (2017), and Carrillo and Jurado (2017). For its
part, the high occurrence of instrumental values stated in the institutional
document highlights the interest in the benefits of economic goods. Drawing
attention to the categories of values that are absent in the axiological hierarchy,
we find the corporeal and the aesthetic. In relation to the category of aesthetic
values, it is contradictory to the findings of the study by Allport et al. (1960), in
which it is scored highest in the axiological hierarchy.
Due to the institutional characteristics of the subsidized centre of Christian

religious education, it is necessary to highlight that the category of religious
values is in the first position, with the highest frequency of appearance. This
finding contradicts the finding of the study of Cívico-Ariza et al. (2020), in which
religious values occupied the last position. For its part, the relevance of intellectual
values expresses the importance attributed to the intellectual formation of
students, which is congruent with the study of Krumrei-Mancuso (2017). Moral
and affective values in this educational centre appeared somewhat underrated,
which contradicts the findings of Alvarez and Rodriguez (2008). Likewise, the
influence of the Christian educational model is embodied in the educational
ideology to mould believers in the school environment - a fact that is in agreement
with what was stated by Bowie and Revell (2018) who point out that what is
experienced in the religious sphere radiates positively in the preference of values
of the student body. Focusing on the value categories that have occupied the last
positions in the axiological hierarchy, we find the aesthetic and the spatial.
Regarding the category of aesthetic values, it is in contrast with the research of
Gonzalez-Gijón et al. (2020) that maintains that in the aesthetic, development of
activities linked to personal care, music, and films are fundamental for the integral
development of the student body. Spatial values place us here, conferring the
dimension of finitude to human existence.
As far as the subsidized Catholic religious education centre is concerned, it should

be noted that religious values are in the first place in the axiological structure,
identified in the institutional educational project. This finding does not agree with
the results of other studies (Cívico-Ariza et al., 2020), in which religious values
were not considered important. The approach to the religious sphere needs initial
hopeful experiences. It is a process of personal and community reflection that
allows each human being to choose from the realm of religious phenomena which
is most meaningful to him or her (Otto, 1936; Benedicto, 2017; López-Ruiz, 2017).
For their part, social values correspond with the findings of the study of Véliz et
al. (2017), in terms of principles that illuminate the understanding and action of
social reality. In terms of dynamic values, these coincide with the study of
Marušiÿ-Jablanoviÿ (2018) underlining the importance of autonomy to engage
with people in their environment.
506
The importance assigned to intellectual, individual, instrumental, and moral

values concurs with the research conducted by Gamage et al. (2021) and Lucena
et al. (2011), after which it was concluded that educational policies on values,
characterized by their moral, intellectual, social, emotional, individual and
volitional dimensions, should be encouraged in schools to form reflective and
critical citizens. In relation to globalizing, ecological, and aesthetic values in the
ideology of this centre are scarce, contrasting with the findings of research by
Marušić-Jablanović (2018), Beltrán et al. (2005) and Allport et al. (1960), which
point out the need to train students in ecological awareness and in the sense of
beauty.
Intellectual values occupy the first place of appearance in the educational project
of the private educational centre. This is contradictory to the studies of Tran et al.
(2018), González-Gijón et al. (2020), and Cívico-Ariza et al. (2019), in which
intellectual values appeared to be indicated to a lesser degree and placed in the
last positions of the hierarchy, even when knowledge is very important for life.
Regarding the importance of individual values, the finding coincides with what
was exposed in the study of Elexpuru et al. (2013), pointing out the option of
fostering the process of building individual and personal identity. On the other
hand, the scarce appearance of bodily values presents significant differences with
the study of Nava-Preciado and Ureña-Pajarito (2017), since happiness and mental
health are fundamental for the well-being of the person. The low importance
assigned to bodily values reveals the neglect of the bodily dimension, even though
one cannot exist without a body (López García-Torres, 2011).
The structure of the axiological hierarchy in the educational projects as a whole is

presented as follows:
As we have seen in the presentation of the results, the analysed field gives a
preferential place to social values in institutional educational projects. School
education has the challenge of preparing students to face the profound and
accelerated changes in everyday life; in socioeconomic structures and labour
structures, family life, and the generality of social relations (Bandura, 1977; Véliz
et al., 2017; Lovat et al., 2011). The enhancement of social values is in line with the
findings in the study of Marušić-Jablanović (2018) which points out that schools
are privileged settings for ethical practices that focus on the development of social
values.
As for intellectual values, they are the second most frequently mentioned in the
documents analysed. We note the priority declared by the centres given to the
intellectual formation of the student body. This is similar to the result of the
studies of González-Anleo (2017), Marušić-Jablanović (2018), and Rodríguez et al.
(2019) that highlight the importance of knowledge in life - to cultivate one's ideas
and creativity.
As the sample is composed of two centres with religious ideology, it should be

noted that the category of religious values is placed third in the frequency. This
contradicts the results of other research (López-Ruiz, 2017) in which religious
values are not estimated. On the other hand, the other public and private
507
educational centres do not give importance to religious values, which is in line

with the study of Álvarez (2007).
The dynamic values manifest a significant presence, similar to what was

discovered in the study of Marušić-Jablanović (2018), which points out the
relevance of autonomy in deciding on one's own actions (Schwartz & Bardi, 2001).
The fundamental purpose of this type of value is independent action, choice,
creation, and exploration (Bandura, 1977). Thus, the goal of quality education is
to explore a wide range of training and school management strategies to address
the multiple interests and capabilities of students and the different needs of
society (Lovat et al., 2009; Véliz et al., 2017).
As for moral values, their appearance in all the texts analysed is significant. These
values point to the desirability of forming good people and moral persons. The
importance of leading a morally worthy existence makes sense (Miles & Vaisey,
2015). This is in agreement with the studies of González-Gijón et al. (2019), and
Bilsky et al. (2020), signifying them with concepts such as duty, respect,
responsibility, and attitude to follow rules.
Regarding the importance of individual values, we are facing a category related

to identity and personality formation, a situation also analysed and coinciding
with the study of Sagiv et al. (2017). Individual values are the values which an
individual chooses and to which he/she commits him-/herself so that they
influence his/her behaviour (Rokeach, 1973).
The category of instrumental values appears with a much lower rank of presence
than the main categories (González-Gijón, 2020; Expósito & Marsollier 2021). This
result does not correspond with the findings of the study by Álvarez and
Rodríguez (2008) who place them in the first place since they are a group of values
considered significantly by young people in their lives, as they harbour an interest
in the practical and the economic spheres. It is worth mentioning instrumental
values (Gervilla, 2000), which are related to resources, tools, or means that allow
us to achieve other values. In the educational field, they are presented as resources
for the development of teaching and learning processes, which is congruent with
the findings of Carrillo and Jurado, (2017) and Cívico-Ariza et al. (2019).
The educational system should not neglect the fundamental role played by
feelings and emotions in the development of individuals. However, the
educational centres under study give little importance to affective values, a result
that is similar to what the study found (López-García-Torres, 2011). Moreover,
this value category in our study is contradictory to the findings found in the
studies of Alvarez and Rodriguez (2008), who point out that affectivity is a
uniquely human condition that brings happiness. This finding is significant since
in the study of De Groot et al. (2023), it is noted that school environments that
develop affective bonds achieve better learning. In the centres under study, it is a
task to be achieved.
508
Liberating values show a low presence in educational ideologies, a situation

similar to the findings of the study by Colomo and Gabarda (2021). Educating for
autonomy means exercising the possibility of choice in the face of diversity
without subjugation. These values are related to the possibility of choice in the
face of diversity without subjugation (Gervilla, 2008). Educating for autonomy is
to promote the edification of free human beings to decide for themselves and
assume responsibility for the consequences of these choices (Núñez et al., 2015).
In the establishments under study, this action is peripheral, which impoverishes
the students' education.
About the corporal, the body is always linked to personal development. The body
cannot be overlooked, since without it the existence of the human being is not
possible (López-García-Torres, 2011).
The appearance of ecological values in the texts analysed is not significant. In the
studies of Lacasse, (2016) and Uhl et al., (2016), people with caring attitudes
toward the environment are noted prominently. The educational centres in our
study do not train in ecological values. Nowadays educating about the care of
nature and the environment is an ethical imperative.
The least indicated values were found concerning aesthetic values. This indicates
a discrepancy with the study by Beltrán et al. (2005), which indicates that aesthetic
values have the highest score, both in public and private centres. Since aesthetic
values are not incorporated into educational projects, they limit the integral
development of students (Gervilla 2010).
On the other hand, we found that spatial and temporal values appear in a lower
proportion in all the centres participating in the research. The construction of the
person takes place in time and space (Gervilla, 2008).
As for the globalizing values, they are also considered and are located in an
intermediate section. In the texts, they are expressed through the use of terms such
as quality of learning, quality training, and focused on values.
6. Conclusion
The results show educational centres with an axiological structure that seek to
educate in values linked to social relations, development of knowledge,
humanization, religion, the transformation of reality, and, to a lesser extent,
affective values, care for the environment and the human body in its physical and
mental state, and are conditions favouring meaning of life and happiness. In
addition, educational centres are characterized by promoting social coexistence
concerning moral norms that promote the development of identity and the
acquisition of knowledge. However, to a lesser extent, there is evidence of a lack
of concern for bodily values, in the understanding that people depend on the body
to carry out their daily activities, and be responsible for personal and affective
well-being. On the other hand, the lack of concern for the development of the
appreciation of beauty that gives meaning and joy to human life, that is to say,
transcendence, indicates a mistake in the development of the integral education
509
of students. We cannot overlook the importance of religion in denominational

educational centres and its null presence and lack of concern in public and private
centres. The value structures of a group always determine the social activity of its
members, as well as the educational systems adopted and implemented. The
development of values has become the greatest challenge facing us in the field of
education. Values education is now the subject of greater attention, as it ensures
the preservation and continuity of societies.
6.1. Recommendations
In terms of recommendations based on this research, studies on values in
institutional educational projects can be carried out using axiological content
analysis to determine the educational centre’s formative intentionality. Given the
socio-economic and cultural diversity of the educational centres, added to the
differences in their educational documents, an in-depth study on other relevant
areas is recommended. This recommendation is based on the delivery of the value
education leading not only to quality teaching but also allowing the integral
development of the student body that will help strengthen the construction of a
new society of the XXI century. To complement the study of the values, mixed-
method research, which could provide the opinion of the participants of each
educational community, is also recommended.
6.2. Limitations
One of the limitations of the study is that the sample consisted of a few
educational centres, limiting the findings to a relative view of the values that are
being delivered in the education of children. On the other hand, when selecting
the research corpus, other areas of interest like Evaluation Regulations,
Regulations for Order, Hygiene, and Safety, Coexistence at the School of the
educational document have not been considered.
Acknowledgments
The research was funded by the internal project N° UCM-IN-22209 of the
Universidad Católica del Maule.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 515-532, June 2023
Impact of the Combination of Natural Sciences

and the Humanities on the Quality of Modern
Education
Kateryna Kyrylenko*
Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine
Mykhailo Martyniuk
Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Uman, Ukraine
Tetiana Makhometa
Volodymyr Mykolaiko
Iryna Tiahai
Olesia Beniuk
Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine
Abstract. The paper relates to the relevance of the implementation of the

integrated approach to building the higher education system. The
research aimed to investigate the features of the combination of natural
sciences and the humanities and consequences on the quality of higher
education. One-hundred and twenty-four (124) students in their first and
second years of study (bachelor’s degree) from a Faculty of Natural
Sciences and Geography, 29 teachers, and 15 independent experts took
part in the experiment. The study was designed as a semi-experimental
study that included both quantitative and qualitative methods. This
included the method of self-reflective notes and expert evaluations,
online questionnaires (Google Forms, Likert scale), and statistical data
processing. Descriptive, content, and qualitative analysis was used for
data interpretation. In general, the parties involved evaluated the
concept, course, and results of the experiment positively. According to
the evaluation results, the students (the focus group) evaluated the
*
Corresponding author: Kateryna Kyrylenko, national.uni2021@gmail.com
©Authors
516
prospects of the integrated model positively. The teachers were the most
optimistic in their predictions about the potential of integrated teaching
to influence the quality of education, and the experts gave a medium
score. The main difficulties were related to the establishment of
appropriate conditions for cooperation in the context of distance learning
and the need to work more intensively than under the traditional
autonomous teaching of disciplines. Therefore, the combination of
natural sciences and the humanities positively affects the quality of
modern higher education during high-quality implementation of the
innovative educational model. The study contributes to the present
discussions about approaches of reforming and developing the HEI
educational paradigm.
Keywords: humanitarianization of higher education; innovative teaching

methods; natural sciences; quality of education; sustainable development
1. Introduction
Quality is one of the central concepts in modern discourses on the problems of
higher education in Ukraine and the world in general (Jamoliddinovich, 2022;
Seyfried & Pohlenz, 2018). The Law of Ukraine on Higher Education (Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine, 2021) defined quality in higher education as:
“compliance of the conditions of educational activities and learning
outcomes with the legislation and standards of higher education,
professional and/or international standards (if available), as well as the
needs of interested parties and society, which is ensured by implementing
internal and external quality assurance procedures.” (Chapter I, Article
1, Paragraph 23)
In the current law, the concept of quality is comprehensive and occurs more than
100 times in different word-formation variations. This indicates the importance of
higher education in producing a high-quality educational product according to
numerous parameters ensured by a whole mechanism for quality control of
higher education (Vovk & Hryshchenko, 2018). For example, the section on the
rights of academic, research, and teaching staff explains their right “to choose
methods and means of education that ensure high quality of the educational process”
(Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2021: Chapter X, Article 57, Paragraph 5). In view
of the topic of this research, the decision to intentionally combine natural sciences
and the humanities to improve the quality of higher education is reasonable
provided it is guided by the imperative of quality (Stukalo & Simakhova, 2020).
As for the activities of the central body on education quality issues − the National
Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance − its tasks include the
development of regulations on accreditation of educational programs, as well as
the analysis of the quality of educational activities of higher education
institutions (HEIs). It is worth noting that the combination of natural sciences and
the humanities as investigated in this paper does not occur within the scope of the
presented research at the level of changing educational programs. Instead, it
focuses on the level of the experimental pedagogical trend, which may result in a
more comprehensive strategy for the organization of higher education in general,
517
or at least in the teaching of several subjects where the integration of natural

sciences and the humanities is most appropriate.
According to current law, the National Agency for Higher Education Quality
Assurance involves international experts, representatives of leading foreign HEIs,
and/or experts from institutions that ensure the quality of higher education in
other countries (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2021). This implies the openness of
the quality assurance system and its synchronization with global trends in the
interpretation and implementation of approaches to ensuring quality higher
education.
With the global-scale transition from elite to mass higher education, the emphasis
in evaluating the quality of higher education shifts towards meeting the students’
needs (Alzafari & Ursin, 2019; Ruben, 2018). However, it is also important to
consider the needs of the state and the labor market because of the socially
determined nature of the education. This is a question of how accurately (that is,
“qualitatively”) a graduate of an HEI will be able to fulfil social requirements for
the professional qualities of a specialist in a specific field. The standards
established by the state for evaluating the professional competence of graduates
must be accompanied by the state’s obligation to employ graduates in accordance
with the professional competence that they obtained in compliance with these
standards. In this case, employers, professional public institutions, etc. should be
involved in determining the indicators of the quality of education. For this
purpose, university departments usually conduct questionnaire surveys among
employers during the accreditation process regarding the suitability of graduates
of their HEI for the position they hold and their qualifications in terms of
professional duties. This is one of the most important focal points of the
implementation of the integrated model of higher education, but it is quite
difficult to fully investigate it within the scope of a time-limited experiment. The
thesis that the modern employer prefers a versatile and harmoniously developed
employee with balanced soft and hard skills and broadened competence is taken
as an axiom (de Vos et al., 2021; Jelonek & Urbaniec, 2019).
The available studies deal with the direct impact of the integrated approach on
the quality of the offered higher education (Leal Filho et al., 2016). HEIs around
the world are increasingly paying attention to building a wider range of student
competencies provided by the curriculum, which should increase students’
chances of academic success and competitiveness in the labor market. In addition,
an integrated approach to teaching is linked to ideas of sustainable development;
integrative approaches have the potential to help embrace sustainability in a
transformative way. However, existing works indicate a lack of applying the
favorable potential of the integrated approach to building the higher education
system. It is therefore necessary to develop new approaches and methods that can
eliminate this gap, as well as to investigate how the integration of subjects of
different scientific cycles affects not only students’ performance but also the
broader concept of the quality of education.
518
The aim of this research was to study the impact of the combination of natural
sciences and the humanities on the quality of modern higher education. The aim
involved a number of research objectives, in particular to:
1. Monitor the connection between the integrative approach and issues of the
quality of higher education in current literature.
2. Determine the main indicators of the quality of higher education.
3. Organize an empirical study to determine the influence of the combination
of natural sciences and the humanities on individual indicators of the
quality of modern higher education.
4. Identify the features of the integration of the subjects that belong to the
natural sciences and the humanities based on the criteria of contiguity,
compatibility, and further research potential.
Natural sciences are those scientific fields that study the phenomena of the
surrounding world in living and non-living nature. Therefore, natural sciences
traditionally do not include research into the way of life of human society,
languages, and culture, which are part of the humanities. Exact sciences such as
mathematics and informatics are also a branch of knowledge separate from
natural sciences or the humanities, but natural and exact sciences are closely
related, while the methods and results of mathematical research are widely used
in the natural science niche. This is because the natural sciences seek to explain
the rules that govern the natural world through scientific methods, the
cornerstone of which is quantitative data (Guo, 2018). Astronomy, biology,
chemistry, earth sciences (geology, geosciences), and physics are the most
important of the natural sciences. Researchers have agreed that over the past five
centuries, the natural sciences have changed the way we live and think much
faster than in any previous period of human civilization. The outlined paradigm
of scientific directions enables discussion around the potential matrix of
integration of natural and humanitarian components.
The principle of integration is one of the end-to-end notions (Dollinger et al., 2018;
Kwon & Ahn, 2012). It assumes that the content of educational material and the
form in which it is offered to students should be such as to form a holistic vision
of the world. It understands that everything is interconnected, all distinctions are
conditional and dynamic (Budwig & Alexander, 2021; Gal & Gan, 2020). That is,
the principle of integration in education is based on a deep philosophical vision
of world dialectics (Terepyshchyi & Khomenko, 2019).
There are various reasons for the growing interest in the integration of disciplines
in higher education (Mahmud et al., 2021; van den Berg et al., 2020). First, the
process of integration of the economy and labor markets stimulates the demand
for competent workers with knowledge of foreign languages and social and
intercultural skills. As world economies, in particular the labor and business
markets, are becoming increasingly interconnected, multilingualism and
intercultural skills (the component of the humanities in specialist training) are
becoming increasingly important on a global scale. Furthermore, the role of the
export of educational services is growing. It has become one of the sources of
519
income for HEIs in the 21st century and is an indicator of the success of higher
education in the country in many respects. This stimulates the demand for
compliance of national education systems with a single global standard. One of
the trends of such a theoretically existing standard of higher education in the
world is the integration of training, breadth of outlook, complex analytical
thinking, and expanded competence (Prokopenko et al., 2020). These factors
ensure the plasticity of professional training, that is the ability to quickly acquire
new knowledge and skills necessary for the performance of specific duties. It is
possible to realize this trend directly in the form of the results of the provision of
an educational service through the search for ways of combining subjects of
different cycles, forming and applying a model of their interpenetration. Each
educational subject within the integrative approach during professional training
is considered as a model of a “window” to the real world. This appeals to the
reality that surrounds each individual and includes the student themself. The
principle of integration is not a set of formal schemes with functionality according
to certain rigid rules. Instead, the combination of various components in the
teaching process is an organic, well-thought-out combination of many
dialectically interconnected processes that develop and fade according to
probabilistic laws and serve as mutual stimuli for each other.
Higher education administration and, directly, HEIs are interested in integration

activities, but it demands clear understanding of the rationale and motivation for
the effort (Kwon, 2012). An integrative approach to curriculum development is
proposed as a source of appropriate, timely, and comprehensive knowledge
management in HEIs (Khan & Law, 2015).
UNICEF (2016) defined the quality of education as outcomes that encompass

knowledge, skills, and attitudes and are linked to national goals for education and
positive participation in society. The quality of higher education is characterized
by indicators of educational contribution, the process of providing education,
educational results, and context. Education indicators provide information about
the state of the education system. There are a number of indicators of the quality
of higher education (Florida & Quinto, 2015; Loukkola et al., 2020; Times Higher
Education, 2022), although not all of them can be considered within the scope of
this paper. The teaching methodology and environment indicator was chosen to
establish a connection between the changes of the integrative nature between the
subjects belonging to the natural sciences and the humanities and the quality of
higher education. In their compilation of the annual world rankings of HEIs,
Times Higher Education (2022) interpreted this indicator as one of the indicators
that has the greatest weight of the coefficient. UNICEF (2016) defined the process
as “measuring learning, teaching and education”.
Analysis of several of the above-mentioned works and official documents from

international educational organizations has clearly shown that the education
quality assessment system lacks a single algorithm that would determine the
quality of learning and the quality of teaching within the scope of activities of
HEIs. This statement was made by the European University Association
(Loukkola et al., 2020). However, based on the generalization of the analyzed
520
works, we have determined the basic algorithms that are relevant for the current
study:
• Independent assessment of educational programs and the scheme of
integration of the components of natural sciences and the humanities,
observation of open classes by a committee of experts from other HEIs.
• The level of students’ satisfaction with the quality of teaching material,
evaluation of their own development trajectory within the framework of the
integration paradigm of education, and impact on employment opportunities.
• The level of teachers’ satisfaction with the students’ work in classes, their
individual academic growth, the development of hard and soft skills, and the
quality of the integrative presentation of the material.
3. Methods
3.1 Research Design and Procedures
The study adopted characteristics of both explanatory design and exploratory
design. First, quantitative data were collected and analyzed, followed by
qualitative data collection and analysis. The qualitative data helped explain the
quantitative results. In addition, characteristics of exploratory design study were
employed. That is, qualitative data and analysis regarding multiple sides of the
integrated approach of education and quality of education were conducted before
exploring the research questions using quantitative methods.
The first stage of the research involved the development of a paradigm of

projected integrative connections (between the subjects belonging to natural
sciences and the humanities) (Figure 1). Even for the purpose of the experiment,
it was not possible to change the set of studied subjects because of the fixed
educational and professional programs for specialists in a certain field. Therefore,
the model was designed to integrate the humanities component as much as
possible into the subjects available in the schedule of classes and to study the
impact of this integration on the indicators of the quality of education determined
in the literature review.
Rhetoric Culturology
Ukrainian language for Local history

professional purposes
Natural
sciences Philosophy
Foreign language component
Figure 1: Integrative model of education within the scope of the experiment
Teaching and learning methods optimal for the implementation of integrative

connections were also determined. In particular, these were: project learning,
business game method, essay method, research proposal, jigsaw methods, etc. The
521
teachers of the natural sciences and the humanities jointly developed a

combination algorithm, namely the teaching of the natural sciences component
with a broad integration of humanitarian knowledge, skills, and abilities in order
to shape students’ holistic, dialectical vision of the world and themselves in it. A
broad integration of the humanitarian component was ensured for the teaching of
subjects belonging to the natural sciences, such as Physics, Biophysics,
Introduction to the Profession, Anatomy and Morphology of Plants, Invertebrate
Zoology, Meteorology and Climatology (1st year); and Soil Science, Basics of
Herbarium Work, Histology with the Basics of Cytology and Embryology, and
Methodology of Cytological Research (2nd year).
Integration took place at all levels of teaching. For example:

1) A number of classes were conducted in a foreign language (lecture,
practical, laboratory).
2) Specialists from abroad were involved, with whom scientific conferences,
symposia, and meetings were held (for this purpose, partnership
cooperation with teachers from Poland, Romania, and Austria was
established).
3) During classes held in Ukraine, experts in the humanities taught students
to express their opinions in compliance with current language norms, as
well as in accordance with the tools of practical rhetoric.
4) Humanitarians actively worked with students when they learned the
scientific style required for preparing project and scientific works,
specifically in essay-writing (scientific journalistic style).
5) The connection with philosophy was implemented in the direction of
developing issues of the material or ideal as the primary basis of all
existence, issues of the cognoscibility of the world, ontology, metaphysical
or dialectical order of the world, and the birth of natural sciences from
philosophy as the cradle of all sciences.
6) Furthermore, local history expeditions were held within the scope of
studying the specified subjects.
7) Lastly, the connection between the achievements of humanity in the
natural sciences and in cultural studies was established. Attention was
paid to how the world of living and non-living nature was reflected in the
cultural situation in the region, in particular how this was reflected in the
folklore heritage of the region.
The first stage of integration lasted from January 2019 to March 2020. The
preparation for the integration of the experiment required a lot of organizational
planning and conceptualization of the research idea, as well as the possibilities of
its implementation in view of the need to fulfil the traditional scope of the
program load.
The second stage (March 2020 − September 2022) involved the implementation of
the idea of integrated teaching of subjects belonging to natural sciences and the
humanities. The course of experimental training was recorded by all teachers
involved in the experiment in the form of reflective notes. At the same time, the
planned learning algorithm was adapted to the distance and mixed learning,
522
which was connected first with quarantine measures and then with the
introduction of martial law in the country.
In the third stage (September 2020 − October 2022), a survey was conducted
among a group of independent experts, students, and teachers. The survey
regarded the consequences of the integration of the components of natural
sciences and the humanities. Special electronic questionnaires were previously
developed for this purpose.
3.2 Data Analysis

The results of the experiment were summarized in November 2022 after all three
stages had been completed. In the final stage, the notes in the diaries from the
experiment were analyzed (diaries were kept by both students and teachers). A
joint summarizing conference-meeting of teachers and independent experts was
held.
3.3 Sampling
The empirical study was conducted at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and
Geography of Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University. The
experiment involved 124 students in their first and second years of study
(bachelor’s degree), 29 teachers, and 15 independent experts. The group of
independent experts consisted of representatives of four other HEIs in Ukraine
and one HEI in Poland (three representatives from each HEI). All participants
provided their voluntary written consent to participate in the experiment.
3.4 Methods
In addition to traditional research methods (general scientific methods), the
methods of self-reflective notes and independent expert evaluations were
employed. Furthermore, the author questionnaires were developed (data
collection was organized through Google Forms). A five-point Likert scale was
used in the questionnaires (1 – strongly disagree, 2 – disagree/do not support,
3 – neither agree nor disagree, 4 – agree/support, 5 – strongly agree). Statistical data
processing was carried out using Microsoft Excel.
Regarding the validation of the data collection tools (questionnaires), they were
tested for validity and reliability before the study commenced. This included an
analysis of their construct validity and internal consistency. During data
collection, the trustworthiness of the questionnaires was verified (the correctness
of completing the questionnaires was checked, the absence of random or
systematic errors was checked). In addition, peer-reviewing was also employed
by involving experts, who helped to verify the logic, discuss the conclusions, and
ensure an independent evaluation of the results. Descriptive, content, and
qualitative analysis was used for data analysis.
4. Results
4.1 Independent Assessment by the Expert Committee
The group of independent experts worked with students and teachers within the
scope of the experiment and had access to all research program materials, teaching
523
materials, and classes. Even before the experiment, the research project was
approved by the expert group. According to the results of the final questionnaire
survey, evaluations were received from the experts on several questions posed to
them (Table 1).
Table 1: Indicators of expert questionnaire survey regarding research results

Statistical
No. Questionnaire item
average answer
1. The combination of the components of natural sciences and
the humanities has a positive effect on the quality of higher 4.1
education
2. The integration of the components of natural sciences and
4.3
the humanities corresponds to world trends in education
3. The combination of the components of natural sciences and
4.0
the humanities increases students’ motivation to study
4. Evaluate the developed integration algorithm 4.2
5. Evaluate methods of working with students within the
4.3
scope of the experiment
6. Evaluate the completeness of the implementation of the
3.6
experimental design
7. Evaluate the impact of the integration of the components of
natural sciences and the humanities on the development of 3.6
students’ hard skills
8. Evaluate the impact of the integration of the components of
natural sciences and the humanities on the development of 3.8
students’ soft skills
9. Evaluate the completeness of the integration of the
components of natural sciences and the humanities within 3.7
the scope of the experiment
10. The integration model of higher education increases
3.8
students’ chances of employment after obtaining a diploma
Average score = total coefficient of positive evaluation 4.1
The standard deviation scores concerning responses to each of the listed questions
(Table 1) ranged from 0.276 – 0.713. In this case, a small value of the standard
deviation indicates that the values hardly deviate from the mean value. This can
be the case when the data in a study or data set have low variation or when it is
very close to the mean. This validates the obtained results. Table 1 shows how the
experts rated the questions that related to the design of the experiment and the
conceptual model of the integrated study of the components of natural sciences
and the humanities. As for the consequences of its implementation, the lowest
scores were obtained for the evaluation of the real results of the experiment.
Medium scores were obtained for the development of students’ hard and soft
skills within the framework of the implementation of the experimental model of
education. At the final conference, the representatives of the expert group
discussed the inconsistency of the originally designed model of the experiment in
the limited learning tools that could be used during distance learning, especially
after the introduction of martial law, when distance education was mostly
asynchronous. According to the experts, the potential of the combination of the
components of natural sciences and the humanities to increase the chances of
524
employment has been poorly studied. Therefore, this aspect requires an

additional mechanism for establishing an objective connection between the two
mentioned factors. Moreover, it requires an expansion of the temporal coverage
of the experiment (at least 10 years).
4.2 Level of Students’ Satisfaction

The opinion of students as the main participants of the experiment is paramount,
as related to them being its target audience in particular and to the goal of all
pedagogical intentions in general. According to modern concepts of education,
the student is an active subject of education and can therefore influence the
educational process directly or through influencing the transformation of
pedagogical approaches in a way that corresponds to the modern generation of
learners. The student evaluations of the experiment on the combination of
components of natural sciences and the humanities are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Indicators of student questionnaire survey regarding research results

Statistical
average answer
The combination of the components of natural sciences
1. and the humanities has a positive effect on the quality of 3.7
higher education
I consider the humanitarian component important in
2. 4.1
training me as a natural science specialist
The subjects belonging to the humanities contributed to
3. 3.9
the development of soft skills
The integration model of learning stimulated my
4. 3.9
motivation to acquire new knowledge
The integration model of education did not stand in the
5. way of fully mastering hard skills on the subjects 4.0
belonging to the natural sciences
It was not difficult for me to learn within the scope of the
6. 3.4
experiment
I received enough support from the teachers of the
7. subjects belonging to the natural sciences and the 3.3
humanities who worked with us
The integration model of higher education increases my
8. 3.7
chances of employment after graduation
I would like to adhere to the integration model of
education in the future, upon completion of the official 3.9
part of the experiment:
9.
9.1. Under any further learning format. 3.5
9.2. I consider integration expedient only under the
4.6
context of full-time education.
I think that the study of the subjects belonging to the
10. natural sciences independently from others does not meet 4.5
the current requirements
(Table 2) ranged from 0.477 – 0.857. The data values in the set are moderately
scattered around the mean. This may indicate that the data or data set have
525
moderate variation. The results of evaluation by the students testify, first, to the
factor of remote educational interaction as the most negative in influencing the
potential of achieving good results with the experiment. Question 9 (9.1 and 9.2)
is significant in this regard, where students considered it appropriate to conduct
such an experiment during offline learning. Question 7 is also related: As a result
of remote, and even more, forced asynchronous interaction, students experienced
a lack of support from the teachers of the subjects belonging to natural sciences
and the humanities who worked with them (3.3 out of 5). The result for Question 6
also indicates that students faced difficulties with the work. However,
Question 10 is ideologically significant and decisive in this case. The majority of
students involved in the experiment admitted that the study of the subjects
belonging to natural sciences independently from others does not meet the
current requirements (4.5 out of 5).
4.3 Level of Teachers’ Satisfaction

The teachers were specially selected for the integration of the experiment to
produce a team of like-minded professionals. Therefore, all the teachers expressed
a positive attitude towards the idea of the experiment and its potential to influence
the quality of education in the conditions of the modern social space. Table 3
presents the results of the teacher survey.
Table 3: Indicators of teacher questionnaire survey regarding research results

Statistical
average answer
The combination of the components of natural sciences and
1. the humanities has a positive effect on the quality of higher 4.8
education
It was not difficult for me to teach according to the
2. 3.3
integrated model of education
3. the humanities did not negatively affect the results of 4.3
teaching my subject
The integration model of higher education creates a
4. springboard for the widespread use of innovative teaching 4.8
methods
5. I was sufficiently prepared to implement the experiment 3.8
I did not experience insurmountable difficulties during the
6. 3.7
implementation of the integration model of education
7. I positively evaluate my work as a teacher 4.0
I positively evaluate the dynamics of building professional
competences by students majoring in natural sciences in the
8. 3.9
context of a combination of the components of natural
sciences and the humanities
The integration model of higher education increases
9. 3.9
students’ chances of employment after obtaining a diploma
10. the humanities has the potential to positively affect the 4.5
popularity of natural sciences
526
(Table 3) ranged from 0.316 – 0.584. Questions 5, 6, 7, and 10 obtained the most
significant results. The results show that the teachers were not adequately ready
for the experiment. The final conference clarified the unwillingness to implement
the experimental model in the context of distance learning, as well as a number of
other difficulties that traditionally arise at the stage of implementing a
pedagogical plan. The difficulties were easier to deal with. This meant the need
for additional consultations with students, the development of a larger number of
methodological materials, close interaction with teachers of the subjects belonging
to the humanities, and the need for spontaneous correction of the initial
pedagogical ideas regarding the experiment. A quarter (26%) of the teachers
reported that they experienced insurmountable difficulties during the
implementation of the integration model of education. This may indicate, first,
lack of experience in pedagogical experiments of this type. Second, it may indicate
the complexity of the experiment itself, which requires extremely careful
preparation and is at risk in case of significant changes in the circumstances of its
implementation. However, in the end, the majority of the teachers indicated that
they were mostly satisfied with the results of their teaching. The plans to improve
the experimental model of education were drawn up at the final conference. A
positive assessment of the impact of the integration model of higher education on
increasing the popularity of natural sciences (4.5 out of 5) is important.
It is important to compare the indicators of the assessment of this impact by

different parties of the experiment (independent experts, teachers, students), as
the topic of the study relates to the impact of the combination of the components
of natural sciences and the humanities on the quality of higher education. Figure
2 shows the comparative chart in this regard.
4.15
4.1 4.1
4.1
4.05
4
3.95
3.9
3.9
3.85
3.8
Group of experts Group of students Group of teachers
Figure 2: Comparative chart on the combination of the components of natural sciences

and the humanities, indicating a positive effect on the quality of higher education
The overall coefficients of the positive evaluation obtained from the different
parties of the experiment (experts – 4.1, students – 3.9, teachers – 4.1) must also be
compared. Figure 3 illustrates the results as a percentage.
527
83%
82% 82%
82%
81%
80%
79%
78%
78%
77%
76%
Group of experts Group of students Group of teachers
Figure 3: Comparative coefficients of the positive evaluation of the concept and

consequences of the experiment
5. Discussion
In many developed countries, particularly the United States, a broad study across
a range of subjects, as well as in-depth study within a specific area of interest, has
long been a defining feature of higher education (Skorton & Bear, 2018).
Researchers have criticized the existing opposite trend, which is defined as an
approach heavily rooted in disciplinary silos – artificial separation of academic
disciplines (Skorton & Bear, 2018). An example of the integration of different fields
of knowledge in the pedagogical systems of developed countries can be a
guarantee of successful transformation of the sphere of higher education for
developing countries as well (Lim, 2017). The conducted theoretical and empirical
research enabled the singling out of the main tasks of the integration process in
higher education for the near future. The research concerned the theoretical study
of the concepts of integrated teaching of subjects in high school, quality of higher
education, and experimental verification of the influence of the combination of the
components of natural sciences and the humanities on the quality of education.
This was done at the level of immediate reflection of the consequences on such
indicators of the quality of education as meeting the students’ needs and requests,
creating employment opportunities, and ensuring sustainable development in
education.
The main tasks of the integration process in higher education in the near future
are explained next. First, the scientific and practical orientation of the educational
process must be enhanced based on the integration of subjects of various fields (in
accordance with the principles of dialectics, based on the understanding of the
world and reality as a constantly changing, interconnected, and mutually
determined entity). Second, education must be adapted to the modern labor
market, which requires a person with a higher education qualification to have an
integrated outlook and comprehensive universal competences. Employment
opportunities retain one of the important places in both the educational and
general political agenda. Universities must demonstrate that their educational
services produce more attractive employment opportunities for students;
governments must ensure the development of sufficient human capital to
compete in the global market (Gal & Gan, 2020). This is a condition necessitating
528
the development of education for sustainable development, which is based on an

integrative approach where sustainability is considered as a context for achieving
the goals of education. Third, the spiritual and humanitarian component in
education must be strengthened – supporting the trend towards
humanitarianization of education (Yevsovych, 2021).
The data of the conducted research confirm the opinion that an integrated
approach to teaching contributes to the improvement of students’ oral and written
communication, teamwork skills, decision-making, critical thinking, and ability
to apply the acquired knowledge in real life (Gidley et al., 2010; Skorton & Bear,
2018). An important finding of this study is the participating students’ support of
the thesis that the study of subjects belonging to the natural sciences
independently from others, as revealed as a result of the experiment, does not
meet the requirements of modernity. Instead, the humanitarian context of
education enriches the natural sciences background and creates a favorable basis
for the development of soft skills, the role of which is growing rapidly in the
European and global context and is sometimes even a prerequisite for hiring an
employee (Kwan et al., 2018). A positive point is that the integrated teaching of
subjects from various fields of science and practice creates a favorable paradigm
for the introduction of the latest methods and technologies of education.
Therefore, integration qualitatively renews the entire system of higher education
(Seyfried & Pohlenz, 2018; Zidny & Eilks, 2020) and leads to positive
transformations, the full scope of which remains to be clarified in further research
on the topic.
The results of the conducted experiment revealed difficulties in the

implementation of the initial idea regarding the combination of the components
of natural sciences and the humanities. The difficulties that arose had an impact
on the results of the experiment both on the part of the teachers and that of the
students. However, the experiment conducted in crisis conditions enabled
confirmation of an important thesis about the prospects of integrated teaching of
subjects in universities: the correspondence of this trend to the modern
educational context.
The experiment also revealed that integrated teaching, although being the best
option for acquiring professional competencies (combined with soft and hard
skills), requires additional efforts from both students and teachers. That is, it
challenges the comfort zone of all parties in the pedagogical process as well as
their readiness for intensified work. In addition, the combination of the
components of natural sciences and the humanities requires close cooperation
between all subjects of education, an appropriate level of communication, and
readiness to provide additional help and consulting support on the part of
teachers. Furthermore, teachers of the natural sciences and the humanities must
also be ready to create optimal conditions for cooperation among themselves at
the level of co-organization and a mutually beneficial combination of educational
material.
529
Integrated teaching of subjects that combine the components of the natural

sciences and the humanities requires close interaction and constant coordination
of actions by the participants of the process. Therefore, offline education is the
best method for implementing the ideas of interdisciplinary integration. The need
for distance and blended learning had an impact on the course of the experiment,
in particular on the opportunities to fully implement all ideas and on the
psychological background of the participants. We assume that the results for the
selected criteria could be higher in case of implementation of an already improved
version of the organized experiment (considering the primary experience) under
normal rather than crisis conditions.
The current work partially fills the gap on the lack of empirical and theoretical
research on the practical application of the favorable potential of the integrated
approach to improve the existing system of higher education. Research has been
conducted on how the integration of disciplines of different scientific cycles (using
the example of humanities and natural sciences components) has a positive effect
not only on the success of students but also on the broader concept of the quality
of education. The algorithm provided by us was tested only once and in the
circumstances specifically described in this work. Consequently, more algorithms
for the integration of disciplines of different cycles should be developed and
implemented as well as empirically tested in the future at different levels and
specialties of higher education.
6. Conclusion
An integrated view of the phenomenon of human knowledge is reflected in the
history of higher education – from the traditions of Socrates and Aristotle to
current days. Einstein’s opinion about science as a tree with different branches is
well known. Therefore, the components of natural sciences and the humanities
are not polar paradigms with limited points of contact that cannot be integrated.
First, this applies to the method of identification of sciences of various fields and
the method of pedagogical interpretation of knowledge. Multi-vector and
interconnected higher education is important for preparing citizens for life, work,
and participation in the social life of the community. The leading world educators
are deliberating over overcoming the artificial technocratic tendency of the study
of subjects independently and separated from others which are not the field of
professional interests of students.
The participating students and teachers, as well as group of independent experts,

generally positively evaluated the experimental primary implementation of
integrated teaching of natural sciences and the humanities. The progressiveness
of such an approach and its compliance with modern ontological models of the
world, with students being active participants in the future and during their
studies at HEIs, have been confirmed.
The results of the experiment can be used to conduct similar studies or to develop
other integrative models of education for students of HEIs (for example,
combining technical sciences and the humanities). The limitations that were
discovered in the process of the experiment can serve as guidelines for
530
maximizing the positive effects of further experimental studies of integrated

science teaching in HEIs.
7. Recommendations
In Ukraine, the issue of the unpopularity of natural sciences is acute. We consider
it appropriate that a special career guidance survey be conducted among
university entrants to determine the reasons. The options include offering a model
of the integration of the components of natural sciences and the humanities in the
form of presentations with a photo and video report prepared during the research.
The explanatory work with potential university entrants will be followed by a
survey on whether the integration of the components of natural sciences and the
humanities in the educational process of students majoring in natural sciences will
contribute to its popularization among young people. This will compensate for
the lack of personnel, thereby fulfilling the social order for competent and
comprehensively developed specialists in natural sciences.
8. Limitations
During the development of the research paradigm regarding the influence of
integration relations in teaching subjects of various fields on the quality of
education, we faced the issue that a very limited range of indicators can be taken
into account in a time-limited empirical study. For example, the employability
rate is one of the key indicators of the quality of education today. It was virtually
impossible to determine the impact on this indicator in the context of this study.
Potentially, the combination of the components of natural sciences and the
humanities can affect other indicators of the quality of education. This is true
especially if we take into account that this concept has not been standardized on
a global scale, it is not unified, hence there being a terminological looseness.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 533-551, June 2023
The Relationship between Malaysian Students’

Socio-Economic Status and their Academic
Achievement in STEM education
Saras Krishnan*
INTI International University, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Enriqueta Reston
University of San Carlos, Cebu City, The Philippines
Sheila Devi Sukumaran

SEGI University, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract. Although there is proliferating literature on STEM (science,

technology, engineering and mathematics) education, studies on the
impact of socio-economic status (SES) on STEM education are limited in
developing countries. Studies on STEM education in Malaysia has largely
involved the teaching and learning aspect while there are limited studies
in other areas. This study investigates the possible relationships between
socio-economic factors and Malaysian students’ academic achievement in
STEM subjects. Data was collected from students in the higher learning
institutions located in five different regions in Malaysia using a survey
questionnaire. Cross-tabulations were made between the construct of SES
and students’ academic achievement, and analyses for Chi-Square tests
for associations were carried out using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). Results of this study show that there are statistically
significant positive associations between students’ grades in engineering
and their fathers’ education, between students’ grades in science and their
mothers’ education, and between students’ grades in science and their
parents’ combined income. Moreover, there are statistically significant
and positive associations between students’ grades in mathematics and
parents’ education, occupation and combined income. Future studies can
identify the reasons for these associations and how Malaysian students’
declining academic performance in international assessments can be
improved by improving STEM education.
Keywords: higher learning; parents’ education; parents’ income; parents’

occupation; sustainable development
*
Corresponding author: Saras Krishnan, saras.krishnan@newinti.edu.my
©Authors
534
1. Introduction
The idea of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) was
conceived by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States back in
the late 1990s to meet the country’s challenge in becoming a leader in the field of
science and technology. Initially identified with the acronym SMET (science,
mathematics, engineering and technology) in the 1990s, it was later changed to
METS (mathematics, engineering, technology and science) and eventually to
STEM in 2001 (Blackley & Howell, 2015). Although over time STEM has become
increasingly important across nations, the differences in policies and practices are
broadly influenced by the economic regions (Freeman et al., 2019). The different
approaches to STEM are distinctly characterized by the four main geo-social
separations: (1) English speaking countries, (2) Western European countries, (3)
Asian countries, and (4) developing countries (Blackley & Howell, 2015) and thus
variations in STEM policies reflect the different economic, cultural and social
settings.
The focus of STEM especially in the developing countries has been on improving
STEM education (Blackley & Howell, 2015). STEM education merges the four
disciplines science, technology, engineering and mathematics into a cohesive
system with the objective to prepare students for the 21st-century job market.
STEM education provides skills that govern the way students think and behave
including critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to adapt and work
collaboratively. The advancement of STEM education in developing countries is
in alignment with the goal for quality education as indicated by the Sustainable
Development Goals of the United Nations (Vuong et al., 2020). Vuong et al. (2020)
further contends that it is crucial to have more studies on STEM education in
developing countries as current scientific literature is mostly concerned with
developed countries.
STEM education consists of meta-disciplines that combine the skills and

knowledge from the ﬁelds of mathematics, engineering, science, and technology
(Ali et al., 2021). In Malaysia, the acronym STEM is used in three different contexts
that are STEM field, STEM education and STEM stream related to science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (Chong, 2019). Realizing the
importance of STEM education, the Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia, under
the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025, transformed the existing curriculum
to the Standard Secondary School Curriculum by strengthening and introducing
STEM in the education system of Malaysia as one of the pillars in the new
curriculum (Razali et al., 2020). This is to prepare the country to meet the
challenges and demands of a STEM-driven economy.
STEM education offers a well-rounded education encompassing a range of soft
skills that renders the graduates more employable and prepared to meet the
demands of the current employment. According to (Freeman et al., 2019),
emerging research priorities have focused on STEM education compared to other
priorities of STEM. A systematic review of research and trends in STEM education
between year 2000 and year 2018 by Li et al. (2020a) revealed the categories of
535
journal publications with the highest number of papers published in the category
“goals and policy, curriculum, evaluation, and assessment” (375 publications)
while the least popular category is “post-secondary teacher and teaching” (18
publications). The other categories include: (1) K-12 education, (2) culture, social
and gender issues, (3) post-secondary STEM education, and (4) history,
philosophy, epistemology, and nature of STEM education (see Table 1).
Table 1. Categories of journal publications in STEM education
Category Ranking Number of publications

Goals and policy, curriculum, evaluation,
and assessment (including literature 1 375
review)
K-12 teaching, teacher and teacher
2 103
education
K-12 STEM learner, learning, and learning
3 97
environment
Culture, social, and gender issues 4 78
Post-secondary STEM learner, learning,
5 76
and learning environments
History, philosophy, epistemology, and

6 51
nature of STEM and STEM education
Post-secondary teacher and teaching 7 18
Further, a review of the number of publicly funded projects in STEM education

for different groups of participants from year 2003 to year 2019 by Li et al. (2020b)
revealed that most projects involved grade five to grade eight learners. On the
other hand, (Chomphuphra et al., 2019) found that the three popular topics among
STEM papers were: (1) innovation for STEM learning, (2) professional
development, and (3) gender gap and career in STEM. In addition, researchers
found that the top three countries in terms of publication of STEM papers were
the United States, Australia and Canada (Chomphuphra et al., 2019; Li et al.,
2020a) suggesting the need for more publications from the developing countries
as pointed out by Vuong et al. (2020).
In the Malaysian context in particular, the review of STEM education research

conducted by Jayarajah et al. (2014) showed that the two highest research areas
are: (1) teaching tool, and (2) teaching and learning. The third place is shared by
two categories that are ‘learning strategies’ and ‘gender’. The review which
included articles from year 1999 to year 2013 intended to summarize the trend of
literature across the STEM disciplines. In addition to the research areas, Jayarajah
et al. (2014) also revealed that most studies involved university graduates whereas
studies at the school level were scarce. Taking a cue from these findings, the trend
in STEM research shifted to more studies involving school children as opposed to
studies involving post-secondary students, from year 2010 to year 2020 (Saat &
Fadzil, 2021). According to Freeman et al. (2019), past studies have generally
found considerable variability within countries and territories in terms of
536
demographics specifically gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status (SES), religion

and distribution. However, certain areas have been given less importance and
thus the need for future studies to consider these aspects of research in STEM
education. For instance, Vuong et al. (2020) urged for an examination of the
impact of demographic factors on students’ performance in STEM domains
because they believe this will shed light on the intertwining relationship between
SES and academic achievement.
SES is one of the most studied and consistent predictors of students’ academic
achievement (Dixson et al., 2018) because SES explained most of the differences in
students’ academic achievement (Liu et al., 2020). Numerous studies showed
significant relationships and positive correlations between SES and students’
academic performance (Broer et al., 2019). However, there are lesser studies on
the relationship between SES and STEM education. Although, initial studies
focused on Western countries and only after the late 1970s, studies included
developing countries (Kim et al., 2019). These studies showed that SES had a
greater impact on the academic achievement of students from developing
countries than that of those in the developed countries (Kim et al., 2019).
Moreover, SES and its’ relationship with students’ academic achievement is one
of the prevalent issues in educational research (Thomson, 2018). However, there
is lack of documented studies relating SES and STEM (Li et al., 2020a; Li et al.,
2020b), particularly in Malaysia (Jayarajah et al., 2014; Saat & Fadzil, 2021).
3. Study Design
3.1. Study objective
This study used the quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional explanatory
design to investigate the association between SES and academic achievement in
STEM subjects among the Malaysian undergraduate students from both the
public and private education sectors. Kim et al. (2019) argued that the construct
of SES is multidimensional because it reflects the social system and so it is a
challenge to accurately measure SES. The commonly used definition of SES
includes characteristics of family background while other definitions include
assets and home resources. In this study, the definition of SES includes family
income (Xie et al., 2015), education level (Kendler et al., 2015; Noble et al., 2015)
and employment of the adults in the families (Hotz & Pantano, 2015).
3.2. Study questions

This study focused on investigating the relationship between students’ academic
achievement and the SES constructs related to their parents. As such the three
research questions are:
(1) Are there associations between parents’ education level and students’
academic achievement in STEM subjects?
(2) Are there associations between parents’ occupations and students’
academic achievement in STEM subjects?
(3) Are there associations between parents’ income and students’ academic
achievement in STEM subjects?
537
3.3. Study variables

As shown in Figure 1, the independent variables for this study are parents’
education, parents’ occupations and parents’ income, and the dependent variable
is students’ academic achievement in the STEM subjects.
Figure 1: Study variables
3.4. Sample of study

This study has gathered 300 responses from undergraduate students in different
higher learning education institutions, in all the different regions in Malaysia
namely: (1) Central region (Selangor, Putrajaya and the federal territories of Kuala
Lumpur), (2) Southern region (Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor), (3) Northern
region (Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak), (4) East Coast region (Kelantan, Pahang
and Terengganu), and (5) West Coast region (Sabah and Sarawak).
3.5. Instrument and data collection

The instrument used for this study is a survey questionnaire of ten items (see
Appendix 1). The reliability of the instrument was analyzed using Cronbach’s
alpha as a measure of the internal consistency of the items. The results show a
Cronbach alpha value for the ten items is 0.78 which is greater than the reliability
standard threshold of 0.70. Thus, the questionnaire is reliable. Data was collected
physically and virtually. In physical data collection, students provided responses
on hardcopy of the questionnaire while virtual data collection used google forms.
In both formats of data collection, students were first required to give their
consent for their responses to be used by the researchers (see Appendix 1).

Table 2 shows the distribution of the students in the major school examinations
that they sat for prior to their university entries. Most students sat for the
Malaysian Certificate of Education examination (65.3%), followed by Malaysian
Higher School Certificate examination (15.0%) and the Unified Examination
Certificate examination (1.0%). The Malaysian Certificate of Education is a
national examination taken by form five (equivalent to year eleven in K-12
American education system) secondary school students in Malaysia. The
538
Malaysian Higher School Certificate is the last secondary school level public
examination and is one of the options after completing year eleven and before
pursuing a university degree. Meanwhile, the Unified Examination Certificate is
a standardized examination under the Malaysian Independent Chinese
Secondary Schools system taken by students who have completed six years of
primary education at a Chinese primary school prior to their secondary level
education.
Table 2. Students’ highest school qualification

Highest school qualification Number of students (%)
Malaysian Certificate of Education 196 (65.3%)
United Examination Certificate 3 (1.0%)
Malaysian Higher School Certificate 45 (15.0%)
Others/missing data 56 (18.7%)
4.1. Parents’ education and students’ academic achievement

Table 3 displays the distribution of parents’ highest academic qualification
whereby most of the parents’ highest academic qualification is only at the school
level that is 46.3% for the fathers and 47.7% for the mothers. A smaller percentage
has attained postgraduate education, that is 10.0% for the fathers and 7.7% for the
mothers. The school level category comprises primary and secondary schooling,
the tertiary education category comprises the diploma and degree levels, and the
postgraduate education category comprises master’s degree and doctorate
degree.
Table 3. Parents’ highest academic qualification

Academic qualification Father Mother
Not educated 4 (1.3%) 4 (1.3%)
School level 139 (46.3%) 143 (47.7%)
Tertiary education 120 (40.0%) 121 (40.3%)
Postgraduate education 30 (10.0%) 23 (7.7%)
Others/missing data 7 (2.3%) 9 (3.0%)
Table 4 shows that there is no statistically significant association between

students’ achievement in science and their fathers’ education level
(𝜒 2 (28, 300) = 32.82, 𝑝 = 0.243). There is also no statistically significant
association between students’ achievement in technology-based subjects and their
fathers’ education level (𝜒 2 (35, 300) = 34.06, 𝑝 = 0.513). However, there is a
statistically significant association between students’ achievement in engineering
and their fathers’ education level (𝜒 2 (35, 300) = 55.64, 𝑝 = 0.015). There is also a
statistically significant association between students’ achievement in mathematics
and their fathers’ education level (𝜒 2 (42, 300) = 79.74, 𝑝 = 0.000).
Table 4. Association between fathers’ education and academic achievement

Pearson Chi-Square df p-value
Science 32.817 28 0.243
Technology 34.063 35 0.513
539
Engineering 55.642 35 0.015

Mathematics 79.744 42 0.000
Table 5 shows the cross-tabulation analysis between fathers’ highest academic

qualification and students’ achievement in engineering for grades A, B, C and D.
Meanwhile, Table 6 shows the cross-tabulation analysis between fathers’ highest
academic qualification and students’ achievement in mathematics for grades A to
D. Table 5 shows that the highest percentage of students who got grade A (10.1%)
have fathers whose highest academic qualification is school level. Similarly, the
students with grade A in engineering mostly have fathers whose highest academic
qualifications is school level (73.7%). Those students whose fathers are not
educated were not able to get grade A or grade B. Likewise, of the students who
got grade A and grade B in engineering, no one has fathers who are not educated.
This shows that students whose fathers have higher academic qualifications have
higher grades in engineering.
Table 5. Cross-tabulation between fathers’ education and students’ grades in

engineering
Father’s
Percent A B C D
education
% within fathers 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0%
Not educated
% within engineering 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0%
% within fathers 10.1% 8.6% 5.0% 2.2%
School
% within fathers 2.5% 5.0% 3.3% 0.0%
Tertiary
% within fathers 3.3% 13.3% 3.3% 0.0%
Postgraduate
Table 6 shows that 25.0% of the students whose fathers are not and 63.3% of the
students whose fathers are school leavers have grade A in mathematics.
Meanwhile, 82.5% of the students whose fathers have tertiary qualifications and
90.0% of the students whose fathers have postgraduate qualifications have grade
A. In addition, 12.4% of the students who got grade A in mathematics have fathers
who are postgraduates compared to 4.5% of the students who got grade C.
Conversely, 0.5% of the students who got grade A have fathers who are not
educated but 4.5% of the students who got grade C have fathers who are not
educated. This shows that students whose fathers have higher academic
qualifications have higher grades in mathematics.
Table 6. Cross-tabulation between fathers’ education and students’ grades in
mathematics
Father’s
Percent A B C D
education
% within fathers 25.0% 0.0% 25.0% 0.0%
Not educated
% within mathematics 0.5% 0.0% 4.5% 0.0%
% within fathers 63.3% 15.8% 9.4% 2.9%
School
540
% within fathers 82.5% 10.8% 5.8% 0.8%

Tertiary
% within fathers 90.0% 3.3% 3.3% 0.0%
Postgraduate
Table 7 shows that there is no statistically significant association between

students’ achievement in technology and their mothers’ education level
(𝜒 2 (35, 300) = 38.82, 𝑝 = 0.302). There is also no statistically significant
association between students’ achievement in engineering and their mothers’
education (𝜒 2 (35, 300) = 39.34, 𝑝 = 0.282). However, there are statistically
significant associations between students’ achievement in science and their
mothers’ education (𝜒 2 (28, 300) = 48.99, 𝑝 = 0.008), and between students’
achievement in mathematics and their mothers’ education
2
(𝜒 (42, 300) = 59.89, 𝑝 = 0.036).
Table 7. Association between mothers’ education and academic achievement

Science 48.985 28 0.008
Technology 38.816 35 0.302
Table 8 shows the cross-tabulation analysis between mothers’ academic

qualification and students’ achievement in science for grades A, B and C (no
responses for grade D in Science). Table 9 shows the cross-tabulation analysis
between mothers’ academic qualification and students’ achievement in
mathematics for grades A, B, C and D. Table 8 shows that the percentages of
students who obtained grade A in science increased when the academic
qualification of their mothers increases. For instance, 25.0% of the students whose
mothers are not educated obtained grade A while 60.9% of the students whose
mothers have postgraduate qualifications obtained grade A. In addition, 0.8% of
the students who got grade A have mothers who are not educated while 10.0% of
the students who got grade C have mothers who are not educated. Further, 11.4%
of the students who got grade A have mothers who are postgraduates while 3.3%
of the students who got grade C have mothers who are postgraduates. This shows
that students whose mothers have higher academic qualifications obtained better
grades in science.
Table 8. Cross-tabulation between mothers’ education and students’ grades in science

Mother’s
Percent A B C
education
% within mothers 25.0% 0.0% 75.0%
Not educated
% within science 0.8% 0.0% 10.0%
% within mothers 34.3% 37.8% 14.0%
School
% within science 39.8% 50.5% 66.7%
% within mothers 46.3% 35.5% 5.0%
Tertiary
% within science 45.5% 40.2% 20.0%
541
% within mothers 60.9% 26.1% 4.3%

Postgraduate
% within science 11.4% 5.6% 3.3%
Table 9 shows that the percentages of students who obtained grade A in

mathematics increased when the academic qualification of the mothers increases.
For instance, 25.0% of the students whose mothers are not educated and 65.7% of
the students whose mothers’ highest qualification is school level have grade A in
mathematics. Meanwhile, 80.2% of the students whose mothers have tertiary
education and 82.6% of the students whose mothers are postgraduates obtained
grade A. In addition, 0.5% of the students who got grade A in mathematics have
mothers who are not educated while 8.7% of the students who got grade A have
mothers who are postgraduates. This shows that students whose mothers have
higher academic qualifications obtained higher grades in mathematics.
Table 9. Cross-tabulation between mothers’ education and students’ grades in

mathematics
Mother’s
Percent A B C D
education
% within mothers 25.0% 50.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Not educated
% within mothers 65.7% 13.3% 10.5% 2.1%
School
% within mothers 80.2% 12.4% 5.0% 1.7%
Tertiary
% within mothers 82.6% 8.7% 4.3% 0.0%
Postgraduate
4.2. Parents’ occupations and students’ academic achievement

Table 10 displays the distribution of parents’ occupations which has been
classified according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations
(ISCO) of the United Nations. Most parents of the students in this study are
professionals, that is 22.0% of the fathers and 28.3% of the mothers. However,
many of the students were unsure in which category their parents’ occupations
are. These students either chose the wrong category or chose the option ‘others’.
Hence, the incorrect job categorization could have possibly affected the results of
the analysis.
Table 10. Distribution of parents’ occupations

Occupations Father Mother
Managers 44 (14.7%) 22 (7.3%)
Professionals 66 (22.0%) 85 (28.3%)
Technicians and associate professionals 31 (10.3%) 5 (1.7%)
Clerical support workers 10 (3.3%) 20 (6.7%)
Service and sales workers 21 (7.0%) 18 (6.0%)
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery
13 (4.3%) 2 (0.7%)
workers
542
Craft related trades workers 22 (7.3%) 7 (2.3%)

Plant and machine operators, and
11 (3.7%) 6 (2.0%)
assemblers
Elementary occupations 15 (5.0%) 7 (2.3%)
Armed forces occupations 14 (4.7%) 3 (1.0%)
Others/missing data/never worked 53 (17.7%) 125 (41.7%)
Table 11 shows that there is a statistically significant association between students’

achievement in mathematics and their fathers’ occupations
(𝜒 2 (66, 300) = 100.69, 𝑝 = 0.004). However, there are no statistically significant
associations between students’ achievement in science and their fathers’
occupations (𝜒 2 (44, 300) = 57.39, 𝑝 = 0.085), between students’ achievement in
technology-based subjects and their fathers’ occupations
2
(𝜒 (55, 300) = 57.71, 𝑝 = 0.375), and between students’ achievement in
engineering and their fathers’ occupations (𝜒 2 (55, 300) = 48.97, 𝑝 = 0.703).
Table 11. Association between fathers’ occupations and academic achievement

Science 57.394 44 0.085
Technology 57.711 55 0.375
Mathematics 100.685 66 0.004
Table 12 shows the cross-tabulation analysis between fathers’ occupations and

students’ achievement in mathematics for grades A, B, C and D. The table shows
that within a job category, the percentages of students generally decreased from
grade A to grade D. For instance, 77.3% of students whose fathers are managers
got grade A, 13.6% got grade B and 9.1% got grade C. Further, 54.5% of students
whose fathers are in the category ‘plant and machine operators, and assemblers’
have grade A while 18.2% of students whose fathers are in the same category have
grades B and C.
For the ‘service and sales workers’ group, the percentages of students who got
grade C is higher than percentages of students who got grade B but it is not
substantially higher. Likewise, with the ‘elementary occupations’ and ‘armed
forces occupations’ categories. For the three top job categories, the percentages of
students with grade A whose fathers are in these categories are higher than 10%
while for the other categories, the percentages of students with grade A whose
fathers are in these categories are lower than 10%. This shows that students whose
fathers hold better jobs have higher grades in mathematics.
Table 12. Cross-tabulation between fathers’ occupations and students’ grades in

mathematics
Father’s occupation Percent A B C D
% within fathers 77.3% 13.6% 9.1% 0.0%
Managers
Professionals % within fathers 92.4% 4.5% 1.5% 1.5%
543

Technicians and associate % within fathers 77.4% 12.9% 9.7% 0.0%
professionals % within mathematics 11.0% 10.3% 13.6% 0.0%
% within fathers 50.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0%
Clerical support workers
% within fathers 61.9% 14.3% 19.0% 0.0%
Service and sales workers
Skilled agricultural, % within fathers 53.8% 15.4% 7.7% 7.7%
forestry and fishery
workers
Craft related trades % within fathers 63.6% 27.3% 4.5% 4.5%
workers % within mathematics 6.4% 15.4% 4.5% 20.0%
Plant and machine % within fathers 54.5% 18.2% 18.2% 0.0%
operators, and assemblers % within mathematics 2.8% 5.1% 9.1% 0.0%
% within fathers 66.7% 13.3% 13.3% 0.0%
Elementary occupations
% within fathers 71.4% 7.1% 14.3% 7.1%
Armed forces occupations

achievement in mathematics and their mothers’ occupations
(𝜒 2 (66, 300) = 133.46, 𝑝 = 0.000). There are no statistically significant association
between students’ achievement in science and their mothers’ occupations
(𝜒 2 (44, 300) = 50.44, 𝑝 = 0.234), between students’ achievement in technology-
based subjects and their mothers’ occupations (𝜒 2 (55, 300) = 45.99, 𝑝 = 0.801),
and between students’ achievement in engineering subjects and their mothers’
occupations (𝜒 2 (55, 300) = 45.35, 𝑝 = 0.820).
Table 13. Association between mothers’ occupations and academic achievement

Science 50.442 44 0.234
Technology 45.986 55 0.801
Mathematics 133.461 66 0.000
Table 14 shows the cross-tabulation analysis between mothers’ occupations and

students’ achievement in mathematics for grades A, B, C and D. Within a job
category of the mothers, the percentages of students generally decreased from
grade A to grade D. For instance, of the students whose mothers are professionals,
84.7% got grade A, 11.8% got grade B, 2.4% got grade C and 1.2% got grade D.
However, unlike the fathers’ occupations, the percentages of students with grade
A are lower than 10% except for the second category. Still, this shows that students
whose mothers have better jobs have higher grades in mathematics.
544
Table 14. Cross-tabulation between mothers’ occupations and students’ grades in

mathematics
Mother’s occupation Percent A B C D
% within mothers 77.3% 13.6% 9.1% 0.0%
Managers
% within mothers 84.7% 11.8% 2.4% 1.2%
Professionals
Technicians and associate % within mothers 40.0% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0%
professionals % within mathematics 0.9% 5.1% 4.5% 0.0%
% within mothers 65.0% 15.0% 10.0% 0.0%
Clerical support workers
% within mothers 61.1% 11.1% 16.7% 5.6%
Service and sales workers
Skilled agricultural, % within mothers 50.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0%
forestry and fishery
workers
Craft related trades % within mothers 28.6% 28.6% 28.6% 0.0%
workers % within mathematics 0.9% 5.1% 9.1% 0.0%
Plant and machine % within mothers 66.7% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0%
operators, and assemblers % within mathematics 1.8% 5.1% 0.0% 0.0%
% within mothers 42.9% 0.0% 0.0% 14.3%
Elementary occupations
% within mothers 33.3% 0.0% 33.3% 33.3%
Armed forces occupations
4.3. Parents’ income and students’ academic achievement

Table 15 displays the distribution of parents’ income while Table 16 shows the chi-
square analysis between parents’ income and students’ academic achievement in
the STEM subjects. The salary range shown in Table 15 follows the household
income classification in Malaysia defined as the B40 group (≤ RM 4,850), the M40
group (RM 4,851 to RM 10,970) and the T20 group (≥ RM 10,971) whereby B40
represents the bottom 40%, M40 represents the middle 40% and T20 represents
the top 20% of the Malaysian household income. As seen in the table, most of the
parents of the students in this study have a combined salary in the lowest salary
range, that is most of them are in the B40 group (46.3%).
Table 15. Distribution of parents’ income

Income Number of parents (%)
≤ RM 4,850 139 (46.3%)
RM 4,851 to RM 10,970 107 (35.7%)
≥ RM 10,971 54 (18.0%)

achievement in science and their parents’ income (𝜒 2 (8, 300) = 23.44, 𝑝 = 0.003).
There is also statistically significant association between students’ achievement in
mathematics and their parents’ income (𝜒 2 (12, 300) = 27.09, 𝑝 = 0.008).
However, there are no statistically significant associations between students’
545
achievement in technology and their parents’ income

(𝜒 2 (10, 300) = 10.74, 𝑝 = 0.378), and between students’ achievement in
engineering and their parents’ income (𝜒 2 (10, 300) = 8.95, 𝑝 = 0.536).
Table 16. Association between parents’ income and academic achievement

Science 23.439 8 0.003
Technology 10.736 10 0.378
Table 17 shows the cross-tabulation between parents’ income and students’

grades in science. Meanwhile, Table 18 shows the cross-tabulation analyses
between parents’ income and students’ grades in mathematics. Table 17 shows
that 29.5% of students whose parents earn less than RM 4,850 (B40 group)
obtained grade A in science, 47.7% of students whose parents earn between RM
4,851 and RM 10,970 (M40 group) obtained grade B and 57.4% of students whose
parents earn and more than RM 10,971 (T20 group) obtained grade C. In addition,
of the students who got grade C, 63.3% have parents in the lowest B40 group while
3.3% have parents in the highest T20 group. This indicates that students obtained
better grades in science when their parents’ income is higher.
Table 17. Cross-tabulation between parents’ income and students’ grades in science
Parents’ income Percent A B C
% within parents 29.5% 42.4% 13.7%
≤ RM 4,850
% within science 33.3% 55.1% 63.3%
% within parents 47.7% 28.0% 9.3%
RM 4,851 to RM 10,970
% within science 41.5% 28.0% 33.3%
% within parents 57.4% 33.3% 1.9%
≥ RM 10,971
% within science 25.2% 16.8% 3.3%
Similar with the science grades, the cross-tabulation analysis in Table 18 reveals
that the more the students’ parents earn, the better their achievement in
mathematics is, that is from 66.2% when parents’ income is less than RM 4,850
(B40 group) to 90.7% when parents’ income is more than RM 10,971 (T20 group)
for grade A in mathematics. Also, of the students who got grade C in mathematics,
54.5% have parents in the B40 group while 4.5% have parents in the T20 group.
Again, this indicates that students who obtained higher grades in mathematics
have parents whose income is higher.
Table 18. Cross-tabulation between parents’ income and students’ grades in

mathematics
Parents’ income Percent A B C D
% within parents 66.2% 14.4% 8.6% 1.4%
≤ RM 4,850
% within parents 72.0% 16.8% 8.4% 0.9%
RM 4,851 to RM 10,970
546
% within parents 90.7% 1.9% 1.9% 3.7%

≥ RM 10,971
5. Conclusion
This study focused on the relationships between parents’ SES status in terms of
their education, occupations and combined income, and the students’ academic
achievement in STEM as measured by their grades in the STEM subjects. These
relationships are in the form of associations since parents’ SES status were
categorical variables and students’ grades were categorical ordinal data (A, B, C,
D). Results of the Chi-Square tests for association show that some of these socio-
economic variables related to parents’ SES were significantly associated with
students’ academic achievement in STEM subjects. The study shows that there is
a significant association between fathers’ education level and students’ grades in
engineering and mathematics whereby students whose fathers have higher
academic qualifications have higher grades in these subjects.
As to mothers’ education, this study found significant associations between

students’ grades in science and in mathematics whereby students whose mothers
have higher academic qualifications have higher grades in these subjects. Also,
there is a significant association between parents’ occupations and students’
grades in mathematics whereby students whose parents hold better jobs
(managers and professionals) have higher grades in mathematics. As to parents’
income, this study found significant associations with students’ grades in science
and in mathematics whereby students whose parents earn more have higher
grades in these subjects.
The results of this study are in conformity with previous studies that established
a positive association between SES and academic achievement (e.g., Kim et al.,
2019; Jeffries et al., 2020). Literature also reveals that SES is likely to play a more
important role in students’ educational attainment in the developing countries
(Kim et al., 2019). More importantly, research found that the strength of the
association between SES and students’ academic achievement increases from low-
income countries to higher income countries with a widening achievement gap
worldwide. In addition, the positive association between SES and students’
mathematics achievement found in this study agrees with previous studies (e.g.,
Ersan & Rodriguez, 2020; Xuan et al., 2019).
While there may be many factors that relate to students’ academic achievement in
STEM subjects, such as students’ intellectual ability and affective variables such
as students’ dispositions and motivations in STEM fields, this study has focused
on socio-economic factors pertaining to parents’ education, occupation and
income. One limitation on the data is that they are based on students’ self-reports,
and no triangulation was done with other sources or related variables. Also,
another limitation of the study is its generalizability since it is limited to the
population of Malaysian students.
547
6. Implications of Study
Although there are studies on students’ SES and their academic achievement in
general (e.g., Eren & Mahmut, 2022; Lenkeit et al. 2022; Vadivel et al., 2023), there
are limited studies on the relationships between students’ SES and STEM
education. As such, this study is important because it shows the associations
between students’ academic achievement in STEM subjects and their parents’
socio-economic backgrounds. Although this study is limited to the scenario in
Malaysia, it fulfils the need for more studies on STEM education in the developing
countries. Moreover, instead of investigating students’ academic achievement in
general STEM education, this study has investigated the relationships of parents’
SES status and the four STEM subjects individually.
STEM graduates have the capability to transform society with innovative ideas
and creation especially since present day vocations require some amount of
knowledge in these subjects. SES has been recognized as an important variable in
students’ academic achievement. Within the country’s context, future studies can
investigate the reasons certain variables of SES influence some STEM subjects but
not the others. Studies can also identify other mediating variables that influence
the relationship between SES and students’ academic achievement in Malaysia.
On a broader context, this study can be replicated in other developing countries
to improve their STEM education. It is imperative to advance the quality of STEM
education to achieve the objective of quality education which is one of UNESCO’s
sustainable development goals.
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Appendix 1
Dear Student,
We are engaged in a research project to study the relationship between SES (Socio Economic
Status) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education in Malaysia.
Please fill-out this questionnaire with the needed information. Be assured that your information
will be treated confidentially and data will be presented only in summary forms.
Thank you very much for your time.
Name (optional) : ___________________________________
Contact number/e-mail (optional) : ___________________________________
I give permission to the researchers to use the information provided in this questionnaire.
___________________
Please sign here
Please tick ✓ on (only) one of the options.
1. Gender [ ] Male [ ] Female
2. Ethnic group [ ] Malay [ ] Chinese [ ] Indian [ ] other ethnic groups
3. State your highest school qualification and year of exam.

Before 2020 After 2020
[ ] Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) [ ] [ ]
[ ] Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) [ ] [ ]
[ ] Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) [ ] [ ]
[ ] Others (Please state _______________________ ) [ ] [ ]
4. With reference to item 4 above, what are the grades obtained for these subjects (where
applicable)?
Science Technology (or Engineering Mathematics

Computer related)
[ ]A [ ]A [ ]A [ ]A
[ ]B [ ]B [ ]B [ ]B
[ ]C [ ]C [ ]C [ ]C
[ ]D [ ]D [ ]D [ ]D
[ ]E [ ]E [ ]E [ ]E
[ ]F [ ]F [ ]F [ ]F
[ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable
5. What are your parents’ highest academic qualification?

Father Mother
Not educated [ ] [ ]
Primary school [ ] [ ]
Secondary school [ ] [ ]
Diploma [ ] [ ]
Degree [ ] [ ]
Masters [ ] [ ]
Doctorate [ ] [ ]
Others (Please state _______________________ ) [ ] [ ]
551
INTI-FEQS-10-02-2022
6. What is your current field of study related to?

[ ] Science
[ ] Technology
[ ] Engineering
[ ] Mathematics
[ ] Others
7. With reference to item 7 above, what are the grades obtained for these subjects for the most
recent examination (where applicable)?
Science Technology (or Engineering Mathematics

Computer related)
[ ]A [ ]A [ ]A [ ]A
[ ]B [ ]B [ ]B [ ]B
[ ]C [ ]C [ ]C [ ]C
[ ]D [ ]D [ ]D [ ]D
[ ]E [ ]E [ ]E [ ]E
[ ]F [ ]F [ ]F [ ]F
[ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable [ ] not applicable
8. What are your parents’ occupations?

Father Mother
Managers [ ] [ ]
Professional [ ] [ ]
Technicians and associate professionals [ ] [ ]
Clerical support workers [ ] [ ]
Service and sales workers [ ] [ ]
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers [ ] [ ]
Craft related trades workers [ ] [ ]
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers [ ] [ ]
Elementary occupations [ ] [ ]
Armed forces occupations [ ] [ ]
Others/not sure which category [ ] [ ]
9. What is your family size (including parents and siblings)? [ ] 1 – 3 people

[ ] 1 – 5 people
[ ] > 5 people
10. What is your parents’ estimated combined monthly income?

[ ] At most RM 4,850 (≤ RM 4,850)
[ ] Between RM 4,851 and RM 10,970 (RM 4,851 to RM 10,970)
[ ] At least RM 10,971 (≥ RM 10,971)
552

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 552-567, June 2023
Values of Clinical Observational Learning in

Work-Integrated Learning in Health Sciences
Education: Students' Views and Experiences
Darren Carpenter*
Zijing Hu
Abstract. Students' competency is a critical concern in health sciences

education. Therefore, work-integrated learning has become an integral
part of health sciences programmes at higher education institutions.
This study explored students' views and experiences of clinical
observational learning to promote work-integrated learning in the
acupuncture programme at a South African university. The authors
used the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK)
model as a theoretical lens to guide this study, involving five
participants who were purposively selected. A qualitative descriptive
single case study design was employed within an interpretivist
paradigm. Five participants were recruited for this study. The authors
employed semi-structured interviews as the data collection instrument.
The data were analysed using the six-step thematic analysis. The
findings revealed that students agreed that clinical observational
learning significantly improved clinical competency. They reported that
clinical observational learning assisted them in memorising content
knowledge and obtaining practical experience. Furthermore,
participants highlighted that a lack of space, insufficient time, and
incompetency of observed student practitioners negatively affected their
learning experience. This study concluded that higher education
institutions should employ clinical observational learning in the
curriculum to assist in transitioning students from theoretical
knowledge to clinical practice. It is recommended that further research
must be conducted at national and international higher education
institutions.
Keywords: clinical observational learning; work-integrated

learning; TPACK; student competence; higher education
*
Corresponding author: Darren Carpenter; dcarpenter@uj.ac.za
©Authors
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1. Introduction
There is much concern about the competency and quality of students produced
at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in South Africa. Billett et al. (2018) argue
that students lack the ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practice. For
this reason, there is an urgent need to improve students' competencies in the
workplace; this is particularly critical in health sciences education. Atherley et al.
(2019) state that there is much criticism of health sciences education. One of the
most common challenges cited is that students do not obtain adequate skills that
are essential in the working world, which will negatively affect public health. To
promote students' competencies, Hu and Venketsamy (2022) reveal that health
sciences education should adopt practical pedagogical approaches to ensure
students' competencies, especially in clinical training. The authors identified
Clinical Observational Learning (COL) as a practical approach to clinical
training. This view concurs with Kay and Kibble (2016), Mazerolle et al. (2015)
and Powell et al. (2019), who emphasise the importance of COL in promoting
students' competencies in clinical practice. This study aimed to explore students'
views and experiences of COL in Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) within the
South African context.
Observational learning is an integral part of health sciences education. Students

are continually observed in a clinical setting by other students, clinicians, and
healthcare team members. Clinical observational learning refers to the process of
learning through observation but in a clinical setting (Mazerolle et al., 2015).
Observational learning allows students to learn necessary and essential
behaviours by observing others (Kay & Kibble, 2016). Researchers such as Kay
and Kibble (2016) and Zentall et al. (2002) agree that observational learning is
vital when learning goals require instructional modelling, demonstration, or
imitation. Despite evidence illustrating the value of observational learning,
direct observation is rarely used in health sciences education. Powell et al. (2019)
concur and point out that there is limited research on the benefits of COL in
health sciences education.
Work-integrated learning is a pedagogical approach that promotes integrating

theoretical knowledge in the workplace (Billett & Choy, 2014; Billett et al., 2018).
Govender and Wait (2018) indicate that WIL enhances students' competency in
the workplace since it promotes learning for performance. However, Beigzadeh
et al. (2021) argue that students struggle to transition from theoretical studies to
clinical practice. To bridge the gap, Powell et al. (2019) believe that COL can
assist in this transition by allowing students to learn in a safe environment
through WIL and reducing the stress and anxiety associated with clinical
training. Literature reveals that there are challenges in WIL in the field of health
sciences education. For instance, Gandomkar et al. (2011) state that insufficient
time, financial constraints, and multiple responsibilities of clinicians negatively
influence students' training. The authors believe that HEIs should employ
appropriate technologies to facilitate students' learning in the 21st century. This
view is strengthened by McCutcheon et al. (2014) and Noorani (2022), who
highlighted the significance of using technologies in HEIs. This study aimed to
explore students' views and experiences of COL in the acupuncture programme
554
at a South African university. Specifically, it sought answers to the following

research questions:
1) How do students experience clinical observational learning in work-
integrated learning?
2) What are acupuncture students' views of clinical observational learning
in work-integrated learning?
3) What are the challenges of clinical observational learning in work-
integrated learning?
2 Literature Review
2.1 Concept of Clinical Observational Learning
According to the seminal work by Bandura and the National Institute of Mental
Health (1986), observational learning is defined as a process by which a student
gains knowledge of necessary and critical responses by watching the behaviours
and reactions of others. In their work, Bandura and the National Institute of
Mental Health (1986) propose that there are four processes involved in
observational learning: attention, retention, production, and motivation.
Mukhalalati et al. (2022) indicate that attention refers to observing and extracting
from the observed events, and retention is retaining the information from this
event. Bandura and the National Institute of Mental Health (1986) explain that
production is the process of converting memories into actions. They further
propose that motivation is the desire of the student to demonstrate the learnt
behaviours. Kay and Kibble (2016) agree with Zentall et al. (2002) that
observational learning is essential when the learning goals require instructional
modelling, demonstration, or imitation. Observational learning is critical in WIL
in health sciences as visual learning allows students to observe clinical and social
skills relevant to their profession and then emulate them (Noorani, 2022; Yavich
& Rotnitsky, 2020). In this study, COL referred to a process of observational
learning in a clinical setting.
Challa et al. (2021) state that observational learning is crucial in health sciences
education, as it assists students in learning complex medical procedures. It
further ensures patient safety and optimal care while providing learning
opportunities (Cordovani & Cordovani, 2016). Irvine et al. (2019) found that
observational learning improves self-efficacy by motivating students to increase
self-mediated learning. According to Challa et al. (2021), motor skill
development is critical to health sciences education and needs to be taught and
practised competently. These motor skills are required as health sciences
students need to perform numerous procedures in unpredictable and changing
environments (Challa et al., 2021). Despite all these benefits, there is limited
research into observational learning (Powell et al., 2019). The authors are of the
view that COL will assist in ensuring students' competency in health sciences
education.
2.2 Importance of work-integrated learning

Berndtsson et al. (2020) articulate that WIL is also known as clinical learning or
clinical training. WIL is learning any action a healthcare professional performs
that impacts the clinical outcome of patient care (Beigzadeh et al., 2021). In their
555
work, Atherley et al. (2019) report that students feel stressed and anxious when
starting clinical work. Work-integrated learning is of the utmost importance in
health sciences education as it provides students with clinical knowledge,
clinical skills, clinical reasoning, and communication skills (Beigzadeh et al.,
2021). As noted by Ryan and McAllister (2019), qualified clinicians in the
respective field usually supervise WIL, and these clinicians perform various
roles, including orientating, rostering, assessing, and supervising multiple
students. In WIL, students perform or observe duties related to their profession
in a real-world setting (see Figure 3). The focus is on preparing students for
clinical work by reducing the knowledge gap between pre-clinical and clinical
students (Atherley et al., 2019).
Liljedahl et al. (2015) assert that WIL is vital to health sciences students'
competency. WIL allows students to gain experiences and prepare them for real-
world practice (McKenna et al., 2019). Work-integrated learning helps students
to manage their learning, making them aware of the gaps in their knowledge
and the areas they need to focus on in their studies (Dornan et al., 2014).
Students also gain practical knowledge, which includes clinical skills in patient
care, communication, and leadership (Noorani, 2022). Furthermore, Collett et al.
(2022) believe that clinical learning allows students access to otherwise
inaccessible healthcare knowledge, which can only be taught in a clinical
context.
Similarly, Liljedahl et al. (2015) propose that this knowledge is referred to as the
hidden curriculum and can include knowledge and skills that can only be learnt
in a clinical setting. Salminen et al. (2016) state that clinical learning allows
students to build a frame of reference for their studies, helping to make their
learning coherent. This view is supported by Dornan et al. (2014), who further
postulate that a frame of reference allows students to understand the relevance
of knowledge and skills, further assisting their studies.
Work-integrated learning in health sciences education requires a focus on

teaching students practical skills, empathetic, patient-centred communication
skills, and delivering quality patient care efficiently and cost-effectively in the
complex environment of medical facilities (Roy et al., 2012). Dornan et al. (2005)
identify the need to promote self-directed and lifelong learning in students. This
study is complemented by Gandomkar et al. (2011), who found that health
sciences education has many challenges, such as a lack of time for teaching,
financial constraints, and multiple responsibilities of clinicians. These views are
supported by Seabrook (2003), who proposes additional challenges, such as a
lack of adequate facilities, insufficient supervision, and a lack of a definite
structure for clinical teaching. Beigzadeh et al. (2021) further propose that
students preferred to pass their medical examinations instead of receiving their
qualifications by learning the necessary clinical experience and skill
competencies. Conversely, Hu et al. (2022b) argue that there is a shortage of
effective methods to encourage students' critical thinking in WIL.
556
2.3 Values of technologies in clinical observational learning

The advances in technology have changed the landscape of student learning,
affording the possibility of online learning, known as e-learning (Noorani, 2022).
Higher education institutions have started adopting e-learning, with many
institutions establishing e-learning platforms like Moodle or Blackboard
(McCutcheon et al., 2014). In health sciences education, there are numerous
possibilities for e-learning to improve the learning process, such as online
simulations, digital teaching aids, online teaching, and virtual learning
environments (Moule et al., 2010; Dearnley et al., 2013).
Much literature on e-learning postulates that it provides flexibility to students

and teachers, allowing the choice of a suitable time and place for learning
(Smedley, 2010). Holmes and Gardner (2006) propose that e-learning allows
students access to vast amounts of information. Furthermore, e-learning can
compensate for limitations in teaching staff or facilities (Arkorful & Abaidoo,
2015). In health sciences education, e-learning can be used to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of the learning process to aid in overcoming the
social, scientific, and pedagogic challenges of the teaching process (Feriandi et
al., 2020). McCutcheon et al. (2014) reviewed 13 studies regarding the use of e-
learning for health sciences education and found in 10 studies that the students
had the same or better knowledge. E-learning resources can assist in overcoming
the challenges of limited teaching time and resources identified in many clinical
learning environments (McCutcheon et al., 2014).
However, there are challenges in e-learning, with some students reporting the
inability to gain sufficient direct contact with educators to ask questions or to
learn interpersonal skills (Challa et al., 2021). From their studies, Johnson et al.
(2013) and Wong et al. (2014) found that students are less satisfied with e-
learning than with face-to-face learning. 'Digital inequality' is also a concern
where many students do not have the means to access e-learning (Hu &
Venketsamy, 2022). Similarly, Hedding et al. (2020) note that a lack of laptops
and internet access has negatively influenced e-learning.
2. Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework anchored in this study was the Technological,
Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model proposed by Mishra and
Koehler (2006). The TPACK model has been used to promote effective teaching
in education by allowing researchers to understand teaching from various
perspectives (Koehler & Mishra, 2009; Hu & Venketsamy, 2022).
The TPACK model was expanded upon Shulman's (1986) work, which proposed
the study of pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge as a necessary
relationship, not two separate domains. The TPACK model elaborates on this by
proposing a third domain known as technological knowledge. This model
emphasises the associations and limitations among the three core domains.
These domains are content (C), pedagogy (P), and technology (T). However, the
primary focus of the model is the interplay between these three domains, which
creates another four types of knowledge: Technological Content Knowledge
557
(TCK); Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK); Technological Pedagogical

Knowledge (TPK) and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK)
(Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Koehler & Mishra, 2009).
HSE: Health Sciences Education TPK: Technological Pedagogical Knowledge PCK:

Pedagogical Content Knowledge TCK: Technological Content Knowledge TPACK:
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Figure 1: Adapted TPACK Model for Health Sciences Education (as adapted from Hu
and Venketsamy, 2022)
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The authors adopted a qualitative single case study design within an
interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative research designs enable researchers to
understand an identified phenomenon in its natural setting (Hu et al., 2022b;
Teherani et al., 2015). In this study, the authors employed a single case study
design as this approach allows investigators to describe complex phenomena in
detail, such as recent events, essential issues, or programmes (Cronin, 2014;
Venketsamy et al., 2021). The authors concur with Alharahsheh and Pius (2020)
that the interpretivist paradigm allows researchers to gain detailed insights into
a phenomenon (selected case).
3.2 Research setting

The study was conducted at a public university in Gauteng province.
3.3 Participants
The participants of this study were selected through a purposive sampling
technique. Campbell et al. (2020) and Venketsamy et al. (2021) postulate that
purposive sampling is used to select participants who will provide beneficial
558
and detailed contributions to the research. Purposive sampling was well suited
to this study as it allowed the authors to access participants from a limited
population. The population of this study consisted of students who were
registered for the Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHsCM) programme. They were
invited to participate in this study by exhibiting a research invitation notice on
the campus notice board. The inclusion criteria were: a) participants had to be
registered for either the third or fourth year of the BHsCM; b) they had to have
taken part in clinical observational learning; c) they must be above the age of 18;
and d) they had to be willing and consent to participate in the study. Five
students agreed to participate in the study by signing the research consent
forms. Pseudonyms were utilised in this research to protect the participants'
privacy. P1-Y3, for example, referred to Participant 1, who was in her 3rd year.
The table below represents the pseudonyms used for each participant.
Table 1: Relevance of objectives of teaching subjects at the university

Participant Gender Age
P1-Y3 Female 24
P2-Y3 Female 22
P3-Y4 Male 22
P4-Y4 Female 22
P5-Y4 Male 28
3.4 Data Collection Instrument

The data in this study were collected by employing semi-structured interviews.
The interviews took place from January to February 2023. The interview
schedule (Appendix 1) was developed using open-ended questions, allowing
participants to respond without being led in a predefined direction (Venketsamy
et al., 2022; Züll, 2016). All interviews were transcribed, and the data was then
analysed.
3.5 Data Analysis

The six-step thematic analysis was followed to analyse the data collected for the
study. The authors concur with Hu et al. (2022a) and Venketsamy et al. (2021)
that similar opinions about qualitative data can be effectively identified through
thematic analysis. The data were analysed inductively. According to Creswell
(2014), the six steps included reviewing the data, coding the data, recognising
the initial themes, reviewing the initial themes, refining the themes, and
answering the research questions (See Figure 2). To ensure the qualitative
trustworthiness criteria of credibility, confirmability, dependability, and
transferability, the authors utilised appropriate research design, well-established
research methods, detailed study descriptions, audit trail, member checking,
debriefing between authors and auditing by a second coder.
559
Step 1: Reviewing raw data
Step 2: Coding
Step 3: Recognising initial themes
Step 4: Reviewing themes
Step 5: Refinement of themes
Step 6: Answering research questions
Figure 2: An overview of the six-step thematic analysis (As adapted from Creswell,
2014)
3.6 Ethical Committee Permission

Ethical clearance was approved by a Research Ethics Committee at a public
university (Reference: REC-1443-2022).
4. Results
This study explored students' views and experiences of COL in work-integrated
learning at a South African university. All participants in this study recognised
the importance of COL in WIL. Participants reported multiple benefits of COL in
their clinical training. However, some participants revealed that they
experienced challenges in WIL. During the data analysis, two major themes
emerged, namely, 1) Students' views and experiences toward COL; and 2)
Challenges of COL in WIL. Verbatim quotes were included in this section.
Theme 1: Students' views and experiences toward clinical observational

learning
The findings of this study revealed that all participants shared positive views
and experiences toward COL. They agreed that COL was a practical pedagogical
approach for improving clinical competence in work-integrated learning.
Furthermore, they believed observation enhanced their learning. They
contended that there should be more COL opportunities in the first and second
years of study. To this, P1-Y3 stated: "I love observing other students seeing patients
in the clinic." P2-Y3 added: "It is exciting to attend clinics. Because you can see how
the knowledge you learn from classrooms can be applied in practice." P1-Y3, P3-Y4 and
P4-Y4 all concurred that observing in the clinic helped them remember content
knowledge. P3-Y4 indicated: "I remember points [acupoints] better after seeing them
in the clinic." P4-Y4 stated, "It [clinical observational learning] helps me identify
shortages in my knowledge and weaknesses in my skills".
560
P5-Y4 said:
Observing in the clinic [COL] helped me identify my shortages. For
example, when patients ask the student clinician, I realise I do not know
some answers. This is of particular significance because it is difficult to
find my own weaknesses in my studies. It showed me the importance of
revising content I do not remember well.
Furthermore, this study's findings highlighted that COL promoted students'

learning and improved their communication skills. Evidence can be found in P1-
Y3's response, who said: "It [COL] taught me how to communicate with patients." P2-
Y3, P3-Y4, P4-Y4, and P5-Y4 all agreed that COL assisted them in obtaining an
in-depth understanding of the importance of the content knowledge in previous
years. P5-Y4 added: "Clinical observations are beneficial for my knowledge as I feel less
pressure in learning when observing student clinicians."
Figure 3: Clinical observational learning at the identified HEI
Theme 2: Challenges of clinical observational learning in work-integrated

learning
Although participants concurred with the important benefits of COL, they
acknowledged some challenges in WIL. These challenges were related to limited
space, insufficient time, and the incompetency of student clinicians. P1-Y3 and
P2-Y3 reported that the limited space in the observation room negatively
affected their learning experience. P1-Y3 indicated: "Although I like attending
clinics, I do not feel comfortable standing in the observation room. Because we have too
many students observing simultaneously, and there is no space for us to sit." When
responding to the question, "Please describe your challenges in observation in the
clinic.", P2-Y3 said:
Too many students were in the observation room. Sometimes we could
not enter the observation room, and we had to stand outside the room
and observe through the window. I could not hear one word when I
stood outside the observation room. I felt that we would gain more
experience if sufficient space accommodated all students. Maybe we can
561
record the consultation or live-stream the consultation, which we can

observe in a bigger venue.
Both P2-Y3 and P3-Y4 reported that sufficient time should be allocated to clinical
practice. They articulated that more opportunities should be provided to
students for COL. Furthermore, some participants believed some student
clinicians were incompetent. Therefore, they reported that observing
incompetent student clinicians negatively influenced their learning. This is
evident in P4-Y4's answer. She said: "I learnt bad habits from some fourth-year
students [student clinicians]. I have to learn and unlearn." P5-Y4 added:
The only additional thing [challenges] I can think about is because we
are observing students who also do not know everything. It would be
beneficial for us to observe a qualified practitioner conducting a
consultation and treatments.
The findings of this study also revealed that language barriers were one of the
challenges of COL in WIL. P2-Y3 and P5-Y4 stated that sometimes they could
not understand patients if the patients did not speak English.
5. Discussion
5.1 Importance of COL in WIL
This study explored students' views and experiences of COL in the South
African context. The literature reveals the significant role of COL in WIL in
strengthening students' competence in the working world (Noorani, 2022). The
findings of this study revealed that COL is essential for competency in clinical
practice. This view concurs with Irvine et al. (2019), Noorani (2022) and Yavich
and Rotnitsky (2020), who articulate that COL assists in preparing students for
real-world practice. The authors believe HEIs should include COL in WIL in
their programmes. The reason is that COL allows students to gain authentic
clinical experiences in a safe environment (Cordovani & Cordovani, 2016).
Furthermore, this study highlighted the significance of COL in strengthening

students' content knowledge, which is profoundly important for their clinical
competence. Evidence can be found in P5-Y4's answer: "It [COL] reminds me to
revise content knowledge from previous years of my study." Noorani (2022) agrees
with Dornan et al. (2014), who affirm that COL is vital in promoting students'
learning. At the identified HEI, the acupuncture programme was designed to be
completed within four years. Clinical observational learning is only
implemented in the third and fourth years of the acupuncture programme. The
authors believe it is significant to employ COL in the first and second years of
the programme. This will enable students to better understand the applications
of content knowledge through COL (Challa et al., 2021; Powell et al., 2019).
Dornan et al. (2014) and Salminen et al. (2016) reveal that COL is an effective
pedagogical approach for enhancing students' practical and communication
skills. The findings of this study affirmed that students benefited from COL in
terms of practical and communication skills. According to the TPACK model,
lecturers need to identify and employ appropriate pedagogical approaches in
teaching and learning (Koehler & Mishra, 2009; Hu & Venketsamy, 2022).
562
5.2 Challenges of COL

Despite the crucial role of COL in promoting students' competence in the world
of work, researchers such as Beigzadeh et al. (2021), Gandomkar et al. (2011) and
Seabrook (2003) highlight that there are challenges in implementing COL. These
challenges include a lack of facilities, a shortage of time, and the incompetency
of clinicians. The findings of this study found that the limited space, insufficient
time, and incompetent student clinicians negatively affected students' learning
experiences. The authors contend that limited resources (space and clinicians)
are critical barriers to effectively implementing COL in South Africa. This view
is supported by Hu et al. (2022a) and Hu and Venketsamy (2022), who report
that African HEIs are disadvantaged by poverty. For this reason, the authors
agree with Dearnley et al. (2013) and Moule et al. (2010), who indicate that
adopting appropriate education technologies will relieve the resource shortage.
The findings of this study revealed that language barriers were also a challenge
in clinical observation in WIL. There are eleven official languages in South
Africa. The literature indicates that only 9,6% of South Africans speak English
(Statistics South Africa, 2012). Therefore, there is a need to provide interpreting
services in COL at the identified HEI. In the authors' view, these interpreters can
be bilingual students who speak both English and the same language as
particular patients. This will enhance students' learning experiences at the HEI.
5.3 Significance of employing technologies in WIL

Technological advances have significantly influenced higher education
institutions in the 21st century (Aristovnik et al., 2020). Hedding et al. (2020)
report that many students express negative experiences with online teaching
and learning due to poor infrastructure or unavailability of devices. On the
contrary, the study's authors concur with Koehler and Mishra (2009), Mishra and
Koehler (2006) and Hu and Venketsamy (2022), who indicate that employing
technologies in teaching and learning is essential in 21st-century education. They
believe adopting appropriate technologies for specific purposes is important
while considering specific content knowledge (Hu & Venketsamy, 2022).
6. Conclusion
Higher education institutions are responsible for ensuring that their students are
competent in the world of work. In the authors' opinion, students' competency is
of the utmost importance in health sciences education, as qualified practitioners
are responsible for their patients. This study explored students' views and
experiences of COL in WIL within the South African context. The findings of this
study showed that COL is essential to promote students' competencies in clinical
practice. It also aids in the transition from theoretical studies to clinical training
while maintaining the quality of care for patients. This study further revealed
that a lack of resources, insufficient time, and incompetence of student clinicians
in the WIL environment negatively influence students' learning. The findings of
this study suggested that HEIs should adopt appropriate technologies in
teaching and learning, which would assist in relieving the burden of lack of
resources.
563
7. Recommendations
Based on the findings and discussion, the authors propose the following
recommendations.
1. It is recommended that COL should be implemented in the curriculum of
health sciences education to improve students' competency. This is
particularly essential to assist students in transitioning to WIL while
maintaining patient safety.
2. Due to the crucial role of COL in WIL, it is further suggested that COL
should be adopted in the early years of health sciences programmes.
Students should be encouraged to observe in clinics from their first year of
study.
3. It is advised that training should be provided for clinicians to ensure they are
competent in supervising clinical practice.
4. It is further recommended that HEIs should ensure sufficient resources are
allocated to COL in WIL. These resources include sufficient time and space
and competent clinicians. It is recommended that HEIs should utilise
appropriate technologies in teaching and learning, particularly in COL,
where there are limited resources.
5. To bridge language barriers, it is proposed to provide interpreters to clinics.
These interpreters can be students who speak different languages.
6. It is advised that further research be conducted at international universities
using diverse research approaches. Since this study was limited to exploring
clinical observational learning from students' perspectives, further studies
are also recommended to explore clinicians' views and experiences on
clinical observational learning.
8. Limitations of the study

In this study, the authors employed a qualitative approach to explore students'
views and experiences of COL. The reason is that a qualitative approach allows
an in-depth understanding of participants' views and experiences. However, the
authors believe that this study had limitations as it was only explored through a
qualitative approach. Therefore, they suggest that further studies be conducted
by using other research approaches, such as quantitative or mixed-method
approaches. This study was also limited to exploring COL from students'
perspectives. Further studies should be conducted to investigate clinicians'
views and experiences on COL in WIL. To strengthen the trustworthiness of this
study, the authors followed a rigorous research design. However, the authors
believed that the subjective analysis brought by the interpretivist paradigm was
another limitation of this study.
Furthermore, this study was limited to being conducted at one HEI; therefore,
the findings lacked comparison. English was the only language that both
authors spoke. Consequently, the authors only consulted English literature,
which seems to be another limitation of this study.
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9. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to sincerely thank the Department of Complementary
Medicine at the University of Johannesburg for the permission to conduct this
study.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 568-612, June 2023
Representation of National Identity and Culture

in the Saudi EFL Textbook Series Mega Goal: A
Critical Discourse Analysis
Ali Abbas Falah Alzubi
English Department, College of Languages and Translation, Najran University,
Najran, Saudi Arabia
Khaled Nasser Ali Al-Mwzaiji*

English Department, PY, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
Mohd Nazim
English Department, College of Languages and Translation, Najran University,
Najran, Saudi Arabia
Abstract. National identity and culture are crucial concerns in the

context of second language acquisition. This is because language plays a
vital role in the formation of the same. Previous studies have shown that
studying English encourages learners to adopt Anglo-American culture,
as textbooks have prioritized the target culture at the expense of the
local/source culture in language learning in which a balanced approach
could have been instrumental in the context of international and
multicultural interaction. In the Saudi English as a foreign language
(EFL) context, the cultural investigation of textbooks is a necessity as
they are designed by educators from the target culture. Hence, the
present study investigates the nature and extent of national identity and
cultural representation in the Mega Goal textbook series. The
investigation follows Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis
(CDA). Data are analyzed using Byram’s model of the textual evaluation
of cultural contents and further categorized using Chao’s model of
analysing cultural identity. The results and discussion are divided into
three segments: description, interpretation, and explication. The study
finds that the Mega Goal series underrepresents the local/source culture
by excluding the cultural components necessary for the awareness and
representation of national identity in the context of international and
multicultural interaction.
Keywords: Mega Goal; EFL textbooks; Critical Discourse Analysis; National

Identity
*
Corresponding author: Khaled Nasser Ali Al-Mwzaiji, khaledknm@yahoo.com
©Authors
569
1. Introduction
Language is an essential formative component of a nation in which nation-states
attain legitimacy (Lee & Wang, 2023) and are conceived as “imagined
communities” (Anderson, 2006). A citizen’s relationship with the nation is
reflected in the identity (Barrett & Davis, 2007) that he or she, as an individual,
shares with particular social groups based on common historical and cultural
values, norms, and beliefs (Hodgins et al., 2016). According to Edensor (2020),
national identity is the production of an enormous cultural set which provides
innumerable elements of connection such as language, culture, history, and
economy. Because it forms national identity, culture is the principal constituent
of the modern nation-state (Zubrzycki, 2018). The nation, national identity, and
national culture are represented through symbols and objects (Elgenius, 2005).
For the integrity of a country, these symbols and objects should be expressed
through its language. This is because the language–culture interface fosters a
sense of solidarity and feeling of belonging to the social group of the nation
(Ennaji, 2021).
Learning a foreign language should be treated with caution because it exposes

learners to foreign culture (Abid, 2021). This is inevitable because language and
culture are inseparable (Fairclough, 2014). At the semiotic level, language is
profoundly social and cultural (van Lier, 2004) because the usage of words is
specific to the cultural context (Otto, 2008). To master a language, students need
to learn both linguistic and cultural norms and develop culturally-appropriate
behavior (Peterson & Coltrane, 2003). However, foreign language textbooks
have an ideological background that upholds certain aspects of the interest,
understanding, and reality of some social groups (Curdt-Christiansen &
Weninger, 2015). The curriculum incorporates cultural issues pertinent to a
specific foreign language to render language learning more effective (Peterson &
Coltrane, 2003).
English as a foreign language (EFL) textbooks are designed to teach the English
language to non-native language users. At present, English has established its
dominance as a global language (Crystal, 2003), indicating linguistic imperialism
(Phillipson, 2013). EFL textbooks often promote the target culture to non-native
speakers as knowledge of the target culture plays a strategic role in boosting
their learning of the target language. The target cultures are British and
American (Arslan, 2016) and this Anglo-American culture is idealized in
English-language programs (Alghamdi, 2018). The promotion of Western
cultures as an effect of globalization and the popularity of the English language
in the media and education systems has also affected the local culture in Turkey
(Acar, 2004). In Oman, EFL learning has been driven by a national policy of
“Omanization” but has also motivated the youth to listen to English pop songs
and follow British and American pop stars (Al-Issa, 2005). In Indonesia,
enthusiasm to learn English has drawn learners to Western culture because the
cultural contents of EFL textbooks are dominated by the target culture (Amalia,
2014).
570
Hence, there is a need to evaluate the representation of national identity and

culture in Saudi EFL textbooks. It must be ascertained whether the selected
textbook series, Mega Goal, adequately represents the national source culture.
The source culture refers to the culture of the learners while the target culture
stands for the culture embodied in the target language (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999).
The textbooks must not idealize and emphasize the target culture (Agustina &
Kencana 2023). While cultural awareness is required to learn the usage of a
particular word, there should be a moderation of the enthusiasm for and
emphasis on the cultural contents that do not belong to the source culture.
According to Byram (2006), language use constitutes national identity by
developing a sense of belonging in the social group made up of the users of a
particular language. Hence, the present study seeks to investigate which culture
(target or source) is emphasized in learning a foreign language. Many studies
suggest that EFL learning can be conducted in the source culture by reducing the
content from the target culture and presenting it in the national and local context
(Hall, 2019). Another way is to emphasize the cultural components of other
nations in addition to Britain and the United States (Lopriore, 2020).
Numerous studies on national identity and culture have been conducted in
Indonesian (Kultsum, 2022; Yonata, 2021), Chinese (Aoumeur & Ziani, 2022; Hua
et al., 2021), Vietnamese (Phuong, 2022), Iranian (Gheitasi et al., 2022; Taki,
2008), and Malaysian (Hua et al., 2021; James & Aziz, 2020) contexts. However,
in the Saudi context, only Karimah (2022) has analyzed national identity and
culture.
Most studies in a Saudi context have focused on analyzing the cultural contents
of textbooks (Alrashidi, 2021; Al-khresheh, 2020). National identity is discussed
as a cultural resource of the source language (Alrashidi, 2021).
In a survey conducted at the College of Languages and Translation at King

Khalid University, Mekheimer and Aldosari (2011) considered nationality as an
independent variable to analyze how EFL programs teach the target culture. The
researchers recommended teaching the target culture to enhance EFL learning.
Alfahadi (2012) considered nationality as a form of cultural variety among native
English speakers around the world. El-Beheri (2013) argued that Saudi EFL
learning may not affect national identity if it is framed in terms of Islamic and
Arabic social traditions. Mahboob and Elyas (2014) discovered a Saudi version of
English, with many grammatical innovations, forming a cultural variety of EFL
speakers.
EFL texts serve the purpose of inculcating certain neoconservative ideologies to

preserve Islamic national identity and the homogenous cultural values of Saudi
society (Al Jumiah, 2016). In representing the target culture, the Saudi EFL texts
refer to the British nationality to construct the archetype of native English
speakers (Alshammri, 2017). EFL texts should focus on the local source culture
(Almujaiwel, 2018). However, the representation of the target Anglo-American
culture is idealized in preparatory-year (PY) English-language programs
571
(Alghamdi, 2018). Source culture content makes up a small percentage of the

Flying High series of EFL textbooks (Hawiti et al., 2019). Likewise, in the
secondary-level EFL Traveller series of textbooks, the target culture is dominant
(Alrashidi, 2021).
In the aforementioned studies, the Saudi textbook series Mega Goal has not been
analyzed. Only four studies have either partially or fully focused on the series.
Alsowat (2022) compared the models of hybrid and virtual learning among
Saudi secondary school students but did not investigate the cultural contents of
the textbooks. Al-Alyani (2017) mentioned the series only twice in reference to
the Language Development Project of the Saudi Ministry of Education (MOE).
Al-Shihri's (2019) investigation of learning strategies dealt with Mega Goal 2 to
concentrate on secondary learners. Similarly, Alwehebi and Ghareeb's (2021)
content analysis explored the reading and writing strategies implied in the
language activities and instructions in the textbooks. None of the studies
evaluated the national identity and culture represented in the text material of the
series. Hence, the present study is not only unique but also unprecedented in the
scope and context of existing research on Saudi EFL textbooks.
3. Methodology
The study conducts critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the textbook series
entitled Mega Goal, which is intended for 10th- to 12th-grade students in Saudi
Arabia. The Mega Goal series has been prepared under the English Language
Development Project (ELDP) facilitated by the Saudi Ministry of Education
(MOE) in collaboration with McGraw-Hill (Al-Alyani, 2017). Since the books are
designed specifically for the Saudi students, each page of the books contains the
following logo indicating the tutelage of the Saudi Arabian Government.
There are two books for each grade, one theoretical and the other practical. All
six books in the series are prepared by McGraw-Hill Education (UK). The editors
of the books are Ana Laura Martínez Vázquez and Janet Battiste. The photo
coordinator is Kevin Sharp. In addition, the publisher is Jorge Rodríguez
Hernández and the editorial director of the series is Anita Raducanu. Notably,
the series is approved by the Saudi Arabia MOE. Since the series introduces EFL
to Arab students and is prepared by non-Arab educators, there is a need to
evaluate the cultural contents of the textbooks to ascertain whether national
identity is represented well. Hence, the present study measures the Mega Goal
series books against the purposes of English education in Saudi Arabia as
identified by the Saudi MOE which, according to Al-Hajailan (2003), include the
acquisition of necessary language proficiencies, realization of English language
as global lingua franca, development of the linguistic eligibility, promotion of
572
the Islamic concepts and matters, and importing the scientific and technological
improvements.
CDA is a commonly-used framework for analyzing English language learning

and teaching. There are 131,000 studies that have used CDA to investigate
various aspects of EFL including reading, learning, classroom interaction,
intercultural competence, lecture, and learners’ identities (Derin et al., 2020). In
research on the cultural contents and intercultural elements of a text, CDA
serves as a useful methodology because it allows one to study the linguistic
forms of social interactions and reveals the relationship between language and
society (Wodak, 1997). As a critical theory of language, CDA looks into the social
practices of language use in a given historical context and reveals the interests of
language users (Blommaert & Bulcaen, 2000). In the epistemology of CDA,
linguistic discourse is socially constructed. Therefore, CDA aims to disclose the
social, economic, and cultural processes embedded in linguistic discourse
(Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999).
In the present study, CDA provides the analytical tool of investigation. The
study follows Fairclough's (1995) model, comprising three interconnected
processes of analysis. These three processes address the three dimensions:
description, interpretation, and explanation. In the description process, the
analysis is concerned with the representation of objects in various media,
including textual and visual media. Human subjects make sense of objects when
reading, writing, speaking, and viewing; the process of interpretation reveals the
manner in which they produce and receive them. In the production and
reception of objects, social and historical conditions play deterministic roles; the
process of explanation conducts social analysis and reveals the role of socio-
historic conditions in forming discourse and language use.
3.1 Procedure
The study uses Byram’s (1993) model to evaluate the cultural contents of a text.
The model comprises eight points that should be analyzed. They include “social
identity and social groups [social class, regional identity, ethnic minorities],
social interaction [differing levels of formality: as outsider and insider], belief
and behavior [moral and religious beliefs; daily routines], social and political
institutions [state institutions, health care, law and order, social security, local
government], socialization and the life cycle [families, schools, employment,
rites of passage], national history [historical and contemporary events seen as
markers of national identity], national geography [geographic factors seen as
being significant by members], stereotype and national identity [symbols of
national stereotypes]" (as cited in Cortazzi & Jin, 1999, p. 203). In addition, the
study further categorizes the cultural identity of the contents using Chao's (2011)
model of five cultural categories: Source/Local Culture (SC), Target Culture
(TC), International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI), and Universality
Across Culture (UC). The representation of these cultural categories is then
turned into percentages by considering the frequency with which each occurs.
573
The research follows a step-by-step procedure of identifying, analyzing, and

then categorizing the cultural contents. First, the research analyzes the contents
by category of media, which are textual and visual; second, it uses Byram’s
model to categorize the cultural contents in the abovementioned eight points;
and finally, it further categories the cultural contents by Chao's (2011) model of
five cultural categories. For each category, one frequency rate has been assigned.
In the following picture, the first page of Mega Goal 1 (Student’s book) has been
analyzed.
On this page, there are five textual and five visual representations. So, one
frequency rate is assigned for each representation.
574
Frequency of textual and visual media
Media Frequency
Textual 5
Visual 5
Total 10
The total number of frequency rates is 10. Among the frequency rates, the textual
and the visual representations of the cultural contents are categorized further on
the basis of Byram’s eight check points.
The five textual representations are categorized according to the following check
points.
Check Points Frequency

Social Identity and Social Groups 0
Social Interaction 0
Belief and Behavior 2*
Social and Political Institutions 0
Socialization and Life Cycle 3**
National History 0
National Geography 0
Stereotype and National Identity 0
* The following textual representations belong to the check point of Belief and
Behavior.
** The following textual representations belong to the check point of

Socialization and Life Cycle
575
The five visual representations are categorized according to the following check
points:
Belief and Behavior 0
Socialization and Life Cycle 5
National History 0
Notably, the frequency rates of the visual and the textual representations in the
check points are not the same. Among the five, two textual representations
belong to the ‘Belief and Behavior’ category because they mention beliefs such as
“learning is the...pursuit of knowledge”, and “exercise and... healthy eating... [let
one] stay fit throughout...lives”. The rest of the textual representations belong to
the check point of Socialization and Life Cycle because they refer to the events
associated with lifestyle. But all of the visual representations refer to the events
of lifestyle that include scientific experiments and inventions aiming to enrich
the human life, work, activity at home, and sports. The textual representations of
the two visual representations* don’t belong to the identical check point of Belief
and Behavior because the connotations of the beliefs are added to the visuals of
the lifestyle activities such as working online and playing football.
Furthermore, these visual and textual representations are evaluated with Chao's
(2011) model of five cultural categories to understand the nature of cultural
contents.
Textual Visual
Source/Local Culture (SC) 0 1
Target Culture (TC) 0 0
International Culture (IC) 0 0
Intercultural Interaction (ICI) 0 0
Universality across Culture (UC) 5 4
The frequency of representations is also analyzed in the similar fashion in each

check point and the media of representation to find out which media is used to
impart what category of cultural content at which check point. Since the research
aims to discover the frequency of representation of national culture, it compares
such data with those of other cultural categories.

4.1 Description
In the description phase, the analysis is concerned with the representation of
objects in various media. The Mega Goal series utilizes both textual and visual
media. Visual representations are more frequent than textual ones (see Table 1).
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Table 1: Frequency of textual and visual media

Media Frequency
Textual 540
Visual 578
Total 1118
The workbooks use visual representations more often than textual ones (see Fig.
1). In a few cases, there are multiple illustrations for one textual representation.
Workbook
240
230
220
210
200 Workbook
190
180
170
Textual Visual
Figure 1: Textual and visual representation
The frequency of textual representation is 196 and that of visual one is 234.
In the following picture of page no. 37 from Workbook of Mega Goal 2, there are
five visual representations for the four textual representations.
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In the student books, the frequency rates of visual and textual representations
are identical (see Fig. 2).
578
Student's Book
400
350
300
250
200
Student's Book
150
100
50
0
Textual Visual
Figure 2: Frequency rates of visual and textual representations
In the Student’s Book, the frequency of textual and visual representation is the
same, that is, 344. However, the frequency rate is not the same in all of the books
(see Fig. 3.).
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10 Textual
0
Visual
Figure 3
In Mega Goal 1 (Student’s book), the frequency of textual representation is 40 and

visual one is 48; In Mega Goal 1 (Workbook), the frequency of textual
representation is 26 and visual one is 42; In Mega Goal 2 (Student’s book), the
frequency of textual representation is 64 and visual one is 48; In Mega Goal 2
(Workbook), the frequency of textual representation is 39 and visual one is 40; In
Mega Goal 3 (Student’s book), the frequency of textual representation is 59 and
579
(Workbook), the frequency of textual representation is 47 and visual one is 54; In

Mega Goal 5 (Student’s book), the frequency of textual representation is 34 and
(Workbook), the frequency of textual representation is 25 and visual one is 45.
Among the eight points on the checklist, the frequency of representation

(including textual and visual) is higher for Socialization and Life Cycle than any
other points (see Table 2 and Fig. 4 below).
Table 2: Frequency of Representation


Belief and Behavior 12
Socialization and Life Cycle 1019
National History 38
Frequency Rate Percentage

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 Frequency Rate
10
0 Percentage
Figure 4
The percentage of frequency rate of Social Identity and Social Groups, Social
Interaction, Belief and Behaviour, Social and Political Institutions, Socialization
and the Life Cycle, National History, National Geography, and Stereotype and
National Identity are as follows: 0.6%, 0.2%, 1.07%, 91.14%, 3.39%, 2.68%, and
0.80%.
For Socialization and Life Cycle, the frequency rate of source/local culture is less
than 30% (see Fig. 5).
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For example, the following ten pictures, which are of the first ten pages of the
Student’s books from Mega Goal 2, illustrate how the frequency of representation
(including textual and visual) is higher in the check point of Socialization and
Life Cycle.
All of these textual and the visual representations in the ten pictures refer to the
check point of the socialization and lifecycle. It is because they relate to the
common place events and habits.
In Picture 1 below, there are four textual and four visual representations. The
four visuals represent a self-driving car, a marine animal, a flight simulator, and
a yogurt store. These things talk about lifestyle as indicated by the companion
texts. The first text invites the students to imagine travelling in a driverless car
and anticipate the benefits of predetermined determination without human
intervention by focusing exclusively on enjoyment and relaxation. The second
text encourages the students to experience a sleepless night in the desert away
from the concerns and noise of the city with complete sensory awareness of the
natural surrounding spread across an infinite territory where events are
unpredictable and incomprehensible. The accompanying visual of a marine
animal with semi-open eyes suggests the necessity of caution and awareness of
the surrounding in the natural world. The third text deals with the educational
and entertaining values of flight simulators. It asks the students to guess the
object with a visual of a pilot flying an aircraft at a high altitude. The text
indicates the benefits of flight simulators in training before the actual missions.
The flight simulators are helpful to the employees and executives of aviation
industries, research and military programs. Both the visual and the text refer to
the specific lifestyle of the people associated with aviation technology. The
fourth text discusses the use of biodegradable wrappers as an edible
complement with yogurt. The visual of a bright blue colored spelling of frozen
yogurt is printed on the cover of the yogurt packet. Eating both the content and
the package refers to an advanced way of consumption which doesn’t produce
wastage. The text urges the students to look for environment friendly lifestyle
where plastic as an environmental hazard can be avoided in packaging the food
items.
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In Picture 2 below, there are two textual representations and one visual
representation. The visual represents a 3D-printed image of a motorbike. The
accompanying text describes the 3D printing technology, not the motorbike.
However, both of the representations infer the things that improve the lifestyle
of people associated with designing and creating prototypes and models. The
3D-printed model of the motorbike helps in manufacturing flawless motorbikes
for sale. The text about the 3D technology informs the students how the
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technology has increased the extent of convenience in producing successful

business models. The second text is a collection of inquiries of the students’
opinions about the impact on their life of the technological and cultural things
described in Pictures 1 and 2.
In Picture 3 below, there is one visual and one textual representation. Beside the
text, there are two sub-texts which are not a textual content but instructions on
how to utilize the main text subsequently. The visual is of a credit card which
583
the text mentions. The text is a transcript of conversation between the shoppers
Yasmin and Amal, and the shop assistant. The conversation, later, shifts from
choosing a gown to using the mode of payment for it. Both of the concerns,
deciding an item to buy and the mode of payment, are related to the lifestyle.
In Picture 4 below, there are two visual and one textual representation. Besides,
the three sub-texts are instructions to the students on the subsequent use of the
text. The visuals refer to the counting and exchange of the cash, a mode of
584
payment, which the shop assistant would accept for the purchase of a gown by
Yasmin and Amal mentioned in Picture 3. The text is the transcript of the
conversation of Yasmin and Amal with the Bank Clerk regarding the
withdrawal of cash, an event proceeding from the occasion of shopping for a
gown for Yasmin described in Picture 3. Again, using credits card and opening
accounts to withdraw cash from the bank are related to the lifestyle.
585
In Picture 5 below, there are two visual and one textual representation. The
visuals are about graduation cards: one is an advertisement for an online site
that sells graduation cards; and another is a sample graduation card. The text
has no relation with the visual representations because the text presents an email
conversation between a Saudi businessman with an American manufacturer of
shoes. The text presents how the businessman deals with the American
manufacturer and lays down the plan for finalizing the deal with a face-to-face
meeting. The email is part of the plan that begins with expressing a possibility of
a deal and continues with an invitation to the American supplier of shoes. Both
the visuals and the text relate to the lifestyle.
586
In Picture 6 below, there are two textual and one visual representation. The
visual refers to an image of the Eiffel Tower. The tower is situated in France and,
hence, doesn’t belong to the check point of national geography. However, the
visual is an accompanying cultural content with the text mentioning Melanie’s
emailed request to stay with her friend Olivia during her visit to Paris. The
second text is an advanced intimation by David to his colleague of his leave
from 19 to 22 October and an email contact in emergency. Both of the texts deal
with the concerns of commonplace affairs and including the image, all of the
three representations belong to the check point of Socialization and Life Cycle. In
addition, there are two sub-texts which are not additional cultural contents
being instructions on the usage of the contents of both Pictures 5 & 6.
587
In Picture 7 below, there is no cultural content as the texts are lessons on

grammar.
In Picture 8 below, there are three visual and one textual representation. The
three visuals refer to the inventor, device, and process of transmission of the
telegraph system. The text presents a brief history of the development of the
telegraph system. The issue of these contents is related to the improvement of
lifestyle. The additional two sub-texts are exercises, not cultural contents.
588
In Picture 9 below, there are two visual representations. The first one depicts a
trainer/instructor/leader interacting with students/trainees in a
class/boardroom. Since such interaction is the part of job/task of a
trainer/instructor/leader, it refers to lifestyle. The second visual shows an
individual sitting on his bed confused about waking up early. It refers to the
activity of waking up which is a part of daily routine. So, it belongs to the check
589
point of belief and behavior. Besides, there are three sub-texts which are
exercises, not cultural contents.
In Picture 10 below, there are three visual and one textual representation. The
first visual is of a graduation certificate. The second visual is a collection of two
photographs of Saudi nationals. The third visual is of a meal. The text is a
conversation between two friends/acquaintances about attending a graduation
event. Ahmad tries to validate the reason for not coming to the event, but
Abdullah disagrees. Ahmad cannot come to the event owing to a family get-
590
together while Ahmad is demure at accepting the reason for the importance of
the graduation event in his life. The conversation deals with the conventions of
respecting family reunion and of celebrating the graduation day which requires
the participation of friends/acquaintances. Since the cultural contents of the text
deal with social customs including the cancellation of RSVP, the context of the
conversation belongs to the checklist of lifestyle. There are also four short textual
notes. But these are exercises for the students.
591
Socialization and the Life Cycle:

40
35
30
25
20
15
10 Socialization and the Life
5 Cycle: Frequency Rate
0
Percentage
Figure 5: Frequency rate of source/local culture
Among the total representations of this category, Universality Across Culture

occurs with the highest frequency. Among the textual representations, Target
Culture has a higher frequency rate than Source/Local Culture and appears
almost as frequently as Universality Across Culture.
For example, there is a total of 31 representations in Pictures 1-10. Among them,

4 representations are visual and belong to the source culture.
Picture 4 Picture 4 Picture 9
Picture 10
592
There is one visual representation that belongs to the cultural identity of

International culture. The visual is a graphic illustration of the Eiffel Tower
which represents the geographical identity of Paris, France.
There are two representations that belong to the target culture. The visual is of
Joseph Henry, an American scientist. The text presents the early operation and
development of the Telegraph system in America.
Picture 8
593
Picture 8
The rest of the representations belongs in cultural identity to the category of

Universality across Culture because none of these visuals and texts is culturally
specific. For instance, the following texts talk about cultural practices, such as
spending time alone and staying at a friend’s place away from home, which are
found universal across cultures.
Picture 1 Picture 6
The following visuals present the events which are culturally non-specific.
Giving the graduation card and feeling confused after getting up early are
common experiences in life.
Picture 5 Picture 9
Among the total representations of this category, Universality across Culture

occurs with the highest frequency. For example, the frequency count of the
594
representations of the Universality across Culture in the sample is 78%, that is,
24 out of 31 representations belong to this category.
Among the textual representations, Target Culture has a higher frequency rate
than Source/Local Culture and appears almost as frequently as Universality
Across Culture. In the sample too, there is no representation of the Source/Local
Culture in comparison to the one textual representation of the target culture.
Among the other categories, International Culture has the third-highest number
of contributions (see Fig. 6.).
400
350
300
250
200
150
50 Cycle Visual
Cycle Textual
Figure 6: International culture
In the Socialization and the Life Cycle category, the textual representation of
Source/Local Culture (SC), Target Culture (TC), International Culture (IC),
Intercultural Interaction (ICI), Universality across Culture (UC) are as follows:
99, 124, 93, 26, and 149; the visual representation of Source/Local Culture (SC),
Target Culture (TC), International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI),
and Universality across Culture (UC) are: 173, 39, 97, 5, and 213.
In the category of Cultural Identity, Universality Across Culture appears with

the highest frequency (see Fig. 7.)
595
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50 Visual
0 Textual
Figure 7: Cultural Identity and Universality Across Culture
The frequency rate of the textual representation of Source/Local Culture (SC),

Target Culture (TC), International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI),
Universality across Culture (UC) are 129, 130, 103, 28, and 150; the frequency
rate of the visual representation of Source/Local Culture (SC), Target Culture
(TC), International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI), Universality
across Culture (UC) are 204, 45, 105, 6, and 218.
Intercultural Interaction is the least frequent, with only 2.95%. Of the 33 total
representations, 31 are in the category of Socialization and Life Cycle. There is
one representation each in the categories of Social Interaction and Belief and
Behavior. Intercultural Interaction is not represented in five of the categories on
the checklist. The sample analysis also shows no representation of the
intercultural interaction. However, it is represented in the Socialization and the
Life Cycle category because this category has a high frequency overall (see Figs.
8, 9 & 10).
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Intercultural Interaction:
Frequency Rate in Numbers
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50 Frequency Rate
0
Figure 8
The frequency rate of Source/Local Culture (SC), Target Culture (TC),

International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI), and Universality across
Culture (UC) in the category of Intercultural Interaction are 333, 177, 208, 33, and
367.
Intercultural Interaction:
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Frequency Rate
0
Figure 9
The Percentages of the Frequency Rates of Source/Local Culture (SC), Target

Culture (TC), International Culture (IC), Intercultural Interaction (ICI), and
Universality across Culture (UC) in the category of Intercultural Interaction are
29.78%, 15.83%, 18.60%, 2.95%, and 32.82%.
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35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Figure 10
The frequency rates of Social Identity and Social Groups, Social Interaction,
Belief and Behaviour, Social and political institutions, Socialization and the life
cycle, National History, National geography, and Stereotype and National
Identity in the Intercultural Interaction category are 0, 1, 1, 0, 31, 0, 0, and 0.
The frequency rate of the source culture is close to that of the target culture in
textual representations (see Fig. 11).
Textual
130.2
130
129.8
129.6
129.4
129.2 Textual
129
128.8
128.6
128.4
Source/Local Culture (SC) Target Culture (TC)
Figure 11: Textual representations of source culture and target culture
The frequency rate of the source culture in textual representations is 129 and that
of the target culture is 130.
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In the visual representations, the frequency rate of the source culture is higher
than that of the target culture. (see Fig. 12). In the sample analysis, all of the four
representations under the category of source/local culture are visuals.
Visual
250
200
150
Visual
100
50
0
Source/Local Culture (SC) Target Culture (TC)
Figure 12: Frequency rate of the source culture
In the visual representations, the frequency rate of the source culture is 204 and
that of the target culture is 45.
The frequency rate of the source/local culture in both visual and textual
representations is less than that of non-source/local culture (see Fig. 13). The
sample analysis clearly indicates a 99% count of non-source/local culture
representations.
Frequency Rate
900
800
700
600
500
400 Frequency Rate
300
200
100
0
Source/Local Culture Non-Source/Local Culture
Figure 13: Frequency rate of the source and non-source cultures
599
The frequency rate of the source/local culture in both visual and textual
representations is 333 and that of non-source/local culture is 785.
Among the representations of the source/local culture, the frequency rate of

visual representation is higher than that of textual ones (see Fig. 14).
Source/Local Culture (SC)

250
200
150
Source/Local Culture (SC)

100
50
0
Textual Visual
Figure 14: Visual representation of source culture
The frequency rate of textual representation is 129 and that of visual

representation is 204. Of the eight categories on the checklist, the frequency rate
of source/local culture is equal to or greater than 50% in National History, Belief
and Behavior, and Stereotype and National Identity (see Fig. 15).
Source/Local Culture
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10 Source/local culture
0
Figure 15: Frequency rate of source culture, national history, belief and behavior, and
stereotype and national identity
600
The frequency rate of source/local culture in Social Identity and Social Groups,
Social Interaction, Belief and Behaviour, Social and Political Institutions,
Socialization and the Life Cycle, National History, National Geography, and
Stereotype and National Identity are as follows: 42.85%, 33.33%, 50%, 0.00%,
26.69%, 60.52%, 70%, and 77.77%.
The frequency rate of the source/local culture is the highest in the category of
Socialization and the Life Cycle (see Fig. 16). However, this is less than 30% of
the overall frequency rate (see Fig. 17).
Fig. 16.
300
250
200
150
100
50
Source/local culture
0 Frequency
Figure 16: Frequency rate of the source culture in the category of Socialization and the
Life Cycle
The frequency rates of the source/local culture in Social Identity and Social
Groups, Social Interaction, Belief and Behaviour, Social and Political Institutions,
Socialization and the Life Cycle, National History, National Geography, and
Stereotype and National Identity are 3, 1, 6, 0, 272, 23, 21, and 7.
80
70
60
50

Cycle
30
20
10
0
Source/local culture Non Source/local
Figure 17: Frequency rates of the source/local culture
601
In the Socialization and the Life Cycle, the percentage of Source/local culture is
29.78% and that of Non Source/local culture is 70.21%.
The series includes no textual or visual representations of Social and Political

Institutions. Similarly, the category Social Identity and Social Groups has no
textual representation. Of its seven visual representations, three belong to the
source/local culture. The Social Interaction category has three textual
representations, of which only one refers to the source/local culture. It has no
visual representations.
Among the books, Mega Goal 1 (student book and workbook) contains
representations of all seven categories (excluding Social and Political
Institutions). The books for the other grades do not include Social Interaction,
Belief and Behavior, and Stereotype and National Identity. Mega Goal 3, 4, and 5
have very few representations of National History or National Geography (see
Fig. 18).
160
140
120 Stereotype and National
Identity
100
80 National geography
60
40 National History
20
0 Socialization and the life
cycle
Belief and Behaviour
Social Interaction
Figure 18: Representations of all seven categories
In Mega Goal 1 (Student’s book), the frequency rates of Social Identity and Social
Groups, Social Interaction, Belief and Behaviour, Socialization and the life cycle,
National History, National geography, and Stereotype and National Identity are
0, 3, 11, 62, 4, 2, 1, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 1 (Workbook), the frequency rates of
Social Identity and Social Groups, Social Interaction, Belief and Behaviour,
Socialization and the life cycle, National History, National geography, and
Stereotype and National Identity are 7, 0, 1, 63, 0, 0, 2, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 2
(Student’s book), the frequency rates of Social Identity and Social Groups, Social
Interaction, Belief and Behaviour, Socialization and the life cycle, National
History, National geography, and Stereotype and National Identity are 0, 0, 0,
96, 1, 5, 1, 0, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 2 (Workbook), the frequency rates of Social
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Identity and Social Groups, Social Interaction, Belief and Behaviour,

Stereotype and National Identity are 0, 0, 0, 77, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 3
101, 2, 4, 5, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 3 (Workbook), the frequency rates of Social
Stereotype and National Identity are 0, 0, 0, 44, 0, 9, 0, 0, and 0; ; In Mega Goal 4
144, 5, 1, 0, 0, and 0; In Mega Goal 4 (Workbook), the frequency rates of Social
59, 2, 11, 0, 0, and 0; ; In Mega Goal 5 (Workbook), the frequency rates of Social
147, 4, 0, 0, 0, and 0; and In Mega Goal 6 (Workbook), the frequency rates of Social
Stereotype and National Identity are 0, 0, 0, 70, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0.
4.2 Interpretation
The Mega Goal series focuses on the Socialization and Life Cycle aspect of
cultural content as this category represents more than 90% of the total
representations. It deals with everyday events in families, schools, employment,
and rites of passage. The concern with social and life events indicates the series’
tendency to address the cultural affairs of daily life.
In the total representations, the elements of local culture make up less than 30%.
The representation of non-local/source culture is two times higher than that of
the source/local culture. Hence, the local lifestyle is underrepresented.
Moreover, in the total textual representations, the frequency rate of the local
culture is similar to that of the target culture. In the portrayal of facts related to
EFL learning, the local culture is forced to compete with the target culture.
In the Socialization and Life Cycle category, the textual representation of the
local culture is lower than that of the target culture and the Universality Across
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Culture category. On the other hand, the visual representation of local culture is
4.4 times higher than that of the target culture. This denotes that facts from the
target culture are used to define visual depictions of the local lifestyle and
culture. By emphasizing that the factual base of EFL learning is the target
culture, the series prioritizes its knowledge.
The target cultures of America and Britain represent Western culture, which, in
turn, has developed the categories of International Culture and the Universality
of Culture (Mutua, 2002). Hence, the target culture plays a predominant role in
defining objects from the source/local culture. The match in the number of
textual representations may seem to suggest that the source/local culture and
target culture are equally represented. However, the poor representation of
Intercultural Interaction refutes this possibility. It forecloses the EFL learners’
equal ability to understand the source/local culture and the target culture. The
greater factual/textual representation of the target culture encourages the
knowledge and pursuit of the target culture instead of the target language. Since
EFL learners can recognize the source/local culture easily, it could be utilized to
learn the target culture. However, the knowledge of the target culture is put to
no use, as the scope of Intercultural Interaction is very limited owing to its poor
representation.
The categories of National History, National Geography, and Stereotype and

National Identity are generally ignored. This can be attributed to the poor
representation of the source/local culture, which is closely associated with these
cultural aspects. However, the series’ overall concern with the cultural aspect of
lifestyle also contributes to the low representation of these aspects. Hence, the
series has ignored the national and local cultural identities of Saudi EFL learners.
The variety of cultural content is not maintained in all of the books. Except Mega
Goal 1, the other books of the subsequent series contain either very few or no
representations of Social Identity and Social Groups, Social Interaction, Belief
and Behavior, Social and Political Institutions, National History, National
Geography, or Stereotype and National Identity. The absence or poor
representation of these categories shows the overall disregard for Saudi EFL
learners’ need for diverse forms of cultural understanding.
4.3 Explanation
4.3.1 De-valuing the Source/Local Culture
The Mega Goal series underrepresents the source/local culture. This is evident in
the fact that it makes up 29% of the total representations. Consequently, the
series misses out on the benefits of including the source culture in EFL learning.
The learners cannot adapt to a foreign culture without a commitment to the local
culture (Byram, 1994). Moreover, including content from the source/local
culture provides comprehensible input, which is crucial in second language
acquisition as it allows learners to understand the EFL text material through the
knowledge they have acquired in the source/local language (Krashen, 1985). In
addition, cultural material from the target language increases stress and burden
among EFL learners (Richards, 2001). The students find the culturally different
604
materials unusual and irrelevant (Shahed, 2013), rendering the learning

experience inconvenient and uninteresting (Thinley & Maxwell, 2013).
In fact, Thinley and Maxwell (2013) demonstrated that translated works from the
source culture (Bhutanese folk literature) provide a better and more enjoyable
learning environment and a greater scope of preservation and integration of the
Bhutanese culture. Source culture material stimulates reading comprehension by
incorporating personal and relevant information and experience (McKay, 2003).
EFL students can recognize the cultural contents because they are similar to their
personal experiences. Their familiarity with the cultural contents encourages
easier reading and comprehension of the texts (Gürkan, 2012). Similarly, in the
context of Iranian EFL learning, Mahabadi (2013) showed the importance of
localized materials in providing the benefits of easy recognition and learning
through fun.
Hence, the poor representation of local culture impoverishes the language

learning strategies (LLS) of the Mega Goal series. The finding accords with those
of Ghareeb, who pointed out the absence of thirteen vital strategies for
vocabulary learning in the Mega Goal series that uses:
“pictures or visuals to guess the meanings of words and remembering
them; making one’s own mental images to represent the meanings of
words; connecting words to personal experience; connecting words to
physical actions; using media; repeating words orally; and analyzing
words by breaking them into roots and affixes” (2021, p. 1574).
Evidently, the vocabulary of the series excludes the strategies of using pictures,
mental images, and media because such a cognitive exercise requires familiarity
with the personal experience of Saudi EFL learners. Since the source/local
culture is ignored, the series cannot incorporate these vital language-learning
strategies.
4.3.2 Poor Representation of National Identity and Culture

The insufficient use of the source/local culture affects the representation of
national identity and culture. National identity is represented by history (Hilton,
2005), geography (Kaplan & Herb, 2011), social and political institutions (Berg &
Hjerm, 2010), in-group identification (Meeus et al., 2010), and symbols of
national stereotypes (Rezende, 2008). Since the cultural aspects of Social and
Political Institutions, National History, National Geography, and Stereotype and
National Identity have very few representations, the Mega Goal series does not
adequately represent national identity and culture. There is only one reference to
national history, a mention of Saudi Vision 2030. There are no other historical
references.
There are also no references to the diverse social groups in Saudi Arabia. The
fact that they are absent from the text means that it does not contribute to
students’ intra-group cultural awareness and cohesion. There are also no
representations of Social Interaction outside of Mega Goal 1 student book. Social
interaction induces meaningful learning (Wenger, 1998) by engaging students in
the tedious tasks of learning and practicing collocations, idioms, and phrasal
605
verbs by communicating with each other (Bedel, 2016). In Saudi EFL classrooms,
its use has been found to be effective in advancing the progress of second
language acquisition (Alsharidi, 2018). This finding is in line with the content
analysis by Alwehebi and Ghareeb (2021, p. 1575), who argued that “no use is
found in regard to the ‘effective strategy’… although it is really important in
reducing students’ anxiety, especially in oral activities where students always
feel the stress of making mistakes before peers, in developing learners’ inner
motivation to learn the foreign language”. The “effective strategy” is an aspect of
the social strategy of language use in the classroom, which is achieved through
social interaction. Students interact well with local or familiar cultural material
(Shin et al., 2011).
Since the series underrepresents the local culture, the scope of social interaction
and its representation are drastically decreased. Social interaction results from
communication in different cultural clusters facilitated by various social and
political institutions (Zarlenga et al., 2016). The absence of social interaction
content leads to the lower representation of Social and Political Institutions,
Belief and Behavior, and Social Identity and Social Groups. This is because these
cultural aspects provide the material that constitutes social interaction.
4.3.3 Imposition of Target Culture

In the Mega Goal series, disregard for the source/local culture coincides with the
imposition of the target culture. This can happen when EFL textbooks are
designed by educators from the target culture (Aldera, 2017). In a study on the
Saudi EFL textbook series Traveller, Al-Alyani (2017, p. 132) observed that “the
subject and content of the textbook is not pertinent to the student’s interests and
needs”. This is because the text material is incomprehensible owing to the
inclusion of “few topics related to Saudi Arabia” (Al-Alyani, 2017, p. 130). Here,
Al-Alyani’s (2017) observations match the findings of the present study that the
local culture is insufficiently represented. Like the Traveller series, the Mega Goal
books are prepared by the UK-based publisher McGraw-Hill Education and
contain more than 70% non-local cultural material. Apparently, the textual
representation of the target culture is matched with that of the local culture.
However, this is technically achieved by including international and universal
cultural material. This strategy was also identified in Aliakbari's (2004) study of
Iranian ELT textbooks:
53 percent of the books dealt with general, culture-free passages . . .
English-speaking countries, Islamic tradition and cross-cultural
comparison formed only 3 percent of the content of each. No reference to
eastern countries was found, nor was a text exclusively dealing with
Iran or the national culture (Aliakbari, 2004, p. 11).
In the Saudi EFL context, the CDA of other textbook series may identify the
aforementioned strategy: the imposition of the target culture. The deficiency of
representation of the local culture is also present in another Saudi EFL textbook
series, Flying High. In a descriptive-evaluative study on Flying High, Alharbi
(2015) attributed the issue of cultural deficiency to the educators’ background in
the target culture. Therefore, the present study reiterates Faruk's (2015)
606
suggestion for competent educators with Saudi, Islamic, and Arabic cultural
backgrounds to [re]-design Saudi EFL textbooks.
4.3.4 Ignorance of Intercultural Competence

The lack of local/source culture also decreases the potential of the series to
promote intercultural competence among Saudi EFL learners. The series’
emphasis on Socialization and Life Cycle, with the least frequent representations
of Intercultural Interaction, undermines the primary goal of EFL learning in the
present century: preparing “intercultural speakers who can deal with linguistic
and cultural complexity and take part in multicultural situations” (Tran &
Duong, 2018). Students cannot develop intercultural competence without a
scope of intercultural interaction. The imposition of the target culture in EFL
texts does not represent their local and national beliefs and stereotypes or allow
them to play the role of “social actor,” which would promote nationality in a
bicultural or multicultural setting (Abdullah & Lulita, 2018).
Smith (2023) demonstrates that inner-circle dominant perspective and othering

prevail over six units of lessons in a well-known, widely used EFL textbook.
Zhang and Su (2021) compared and analyzed the cultural representation in
English textbooks and discovered differences in the cultural integration of the L1
and L2 in EFL texts in inner, outer and expanding circle countries. The inner-
circle countries have the majority of native English speakers in contrast to the
outer circle countries where English has spread under imperialism and become
an “indispensable communication tool” (Zhang et al, 2022) across various
language users. But in the countries of the expanding circle, English serves as a
lingua franca for international communication only. The curricula of outer and
expanding circle countries (Kachru, 1985, as cited in Zhang & Su 2021) rely on
international culture and tend to exclude local cultures in order to teach the L2
and its culture. Since Saudi Arabia belongs to the countries in the expanding
circle, the designers of the Mega Goal series have ignored the local and national
culture. Hence, the findings are in agreement with those of Hamiloğlu and
Mendi (2010) and Taki (2008).
5. Conclusion
National identity and culture are important constituents of EFL text materials.
The evaluation of these components reveals the extent to which the source
culture and language are represented. Source culture plays a vital role in second
language acquisition by facilitating and motivating intercultural interaction. The
existing studies on Saudi EFL textbooks such as Flying High, Traveller, and Mega
Goal have shown that the source culture is underrepresented. The present study
reveals how the target culture has been given an upper hand in its ideological
representation.
The CDA of the various cultural aspects and categories addressed in the visual
and textual materials presents the minute and exact number and manner of
imposition of the target culture. The designers of the Mega Goal series follow two
methods. First, the series ignores cultural aspects that use more components
from the source culture, such as Social Identity, Belief and Behavior, and
607
Cultural Stereotypes. Second, there is a greater emphasis on the knowledge of

the target culture. This is achieved by including a greater number of textual
representations for the visual identification of the source culture. The focus on
daily lifestyle to teach the target language for daily use undermines the necessity
in Saudi EFL learning of creating cultural ambassadors with intercultural
competence. Since EFL learners do not encounter the source culture when
reading and understanding the text materials, the series pays less regard to the
category of Intercultural Interaction, which requires a more balanced approach
to presenting the source and target culture in the text. The categories of
International Culture and Universality of Culture are extensions of the target
culture because these categories possess no determinate cultural value and
understanding. Moreover, the factual base of the target culture dominates the
understanding of these categories in the absence of material from the source
culture. Like other Saudi EFL series, the Mega Goal textbooks underestimate
Saudi students’ need for the awareness of national identity and culture in the
context of bicultural and multicultural interaction. Hence, the educators who use
the series should maintain balance toward a better intercultural and
multicultural communication. To compensate for the low Saudi national culture
effect in the Mega Goal textbooks, teachers should re-create vocabulary learning
and post-reading strategies in the classroom with a special focus on and
reference to contemporary Saudi historical, social, cultural and national
stereotypes, behaviors, and events.
Funding
The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Najran
University for funding this work, under the Research Groups Funding program
grant code (NU/RG/SEHRC/12/3).
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 613-637, June 2023
Assessing the Effectiveness of Computer-Aided

Instructional Techniques in Enhancing Students’
3D Geometry Spatial Visualization Skills Among
Secondary School Students in Tanzania
Marcellina Mjenda
University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE), African Centre of
Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science
(ACEITLMS), Rwanda
Védaste Mutarutinya
University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE), African Centre of
Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science
(ACEITLMS), Rwanda
Dickson Owiti
Department of Science and Mathematics Education, School of Education
Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology, Kenya
Abstract. Proficiency in spatial visualization plays a significant role in

learning 3D geometry. Spatial visualization ability can be enhanced
through the use of relevant teaching and learning techniques. The study
aimed to investigate the impact of computer-aided instructional
techniques on improving students' spatial visualization skills in learning
3D geometry, addressing the issue of low spatial visualization ability
among students. The study followed a mixed research approach with a
quasi-experimental design. Twenty mathematics teachers were
purposively selected, and 267 Level-4 students from six ordinary-level
secondary schools were purposively chosen for the study. Data were
gathered using interviews, and pre- and post-tests of control and
treatment groups through the use of computer simulation and animation
of 3D figures in the treatment group, while the control group was taught
using traditional methods. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) was used to compute descriptive and inferential statistics from
quantitative data, while thematic analysis was applied to analyze
qualitative data. The results from mathematics teachers’ interviews
indicate that teachers put less emphasis on enhancing students’ spatial
visualization abilities. Students from the treatment group outperformed
the control groups on spatial visualization ability in terms of test scores.
Additionally, an independent sample t-test revealed a statistically
©Authors
614
significant difference between the control and treatment groups in terms

of spatial visualization ability. The computer-aided instructional
approach is relevant in enhancing students’ spatial visualization abilities.
To improve students' spatial visualization skills, the researchers propose
in-service training for teachers to incorporate computer simulations and
animations into the teaching and learning of 3D geometry.
Keywords: 3D figures; instructional techniques; mathematics teachers;

simulation and animation; spatial-visualization
1. Introduction
The field of mathematics education has witnessed substantial advances in
teaching and learning processes on a global scale. Efforts are being made to
enhance the capacity of mathematics teachers by improving their content
knowledge and pedagogical skills, as underlined by Pepin et al. (2017) and
Ferrini-Mundy (2000). The learning outcomes achieved by students often reflect
the quality of teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge. However, several
studies (Mamolo, 2019; Valstar et al., 2019) have pointed out that mathematics
teachers often lack sufficient knowledge and skills in selecting and applying
effective instructional techniques for teaching and learning mathematics. In
teaching, learning, and assessment processes it is essential to consider the specific
competencies that students need to develop (Bellara & Lototski, 2022).
Unfortunately, many teachers tend to employ common methods, regardless of the
targeted competencies. In this view, assessing students' prerequisite knowledge
for acquiring new competencies, and selection of relevant instructional technique
become vital for helping them grasp essential concepts.
Spatial visualization ability is a fundamental aspect of students' development in

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields (Liu et al.,
2023; Newcombe, 2010; Stieff & Uttal, 2015; Sorby & Veurink, 2019). Proficiency
in spatial visualization is important for effectively teaching and learning 3D
geometry. While it is possible to enhance spatial visualization ability through
appropriate teaching techniques, many students struggle with low spatial
visualization skills (Lin et al., 2015; Miller & Halpern, 2013; Newcombe, 2010;
Sorby, 1999). Despite opportunities available for both teachers and students to
learn spatial visualization skills, many teachers still lack the necessary experience
in effectively teaching them (Miller & Halpern, 2012; Trimurtini et al., 2021).
The application of spatial abilities, specifically spatial visualization enhances

students' learning of geometrical and numerical skills (Hawes et al., 2017).
Recognizing the importance of spatial visualization as an essential skill in various
scientific and mathematical disciplines, including geometry, educational
stakeholders such as curriculum developers, teachers, and students must devise
effective teaching and learning approaches to improve students' spatial
visualization abilities. One strategy for enhancing learners' ability to solve and
apply geometrical problems involves utilizing geometrical thinking techniques,
such as mentally constructing and manipulating figures in two or three
dimensions through rotations, twists, or folds to observe different geometrical
615
structures (Hardianti et al., 2017). Computer-aided instructional techniques, such

as computer simulations and animations, offer valuable tools for developing
geometrical thinking skills (Echeverría et al., 2019; Lin & Chen, 2016; Lin et al.,
2014; Park et al., 2011; Sedivy & Hubalovsky, 2012). These technologies provide
interactive and visual representations that aid students in visualizing geometric
concepts and relationships. Integrating computer-aided instructional techniques
into the teaching process can support learners in developing a deeper
understanding of geometry and its applications.
The study of geometry not only fosters students' logical thinking skills but also
enhances their spatial reasoning abilities, enabling them to perceive and
comprehend spatial relationships in the world (Davis et al., 2015; Whiteley et al.,
2015). Proficiency in geometry, particularly 3D geometry, holds significant
importance for students as its principles are applied in various scientific
disciplines like chemistry, physics, and engineering (Saxena, 2015; Whiteley et al.,
2015). Despite the practical relevance of geometry in our daily lives, it is often
inadequately taught and learned, resulting in unsatisfactory learning outcomes
(Risma et al., 2013; Susilawati et al., 2017).
In Tanzania's secondary schools, mathematics performance is generally low

(Kyaruzi, 2023; Mazana et al., 2020). Furthermore, data from the National
Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) reveal that 3D geometry is among
the topics that students display less interest in when it comes to ordinary-level
secondary school examinations. Figure 1 provides a summary of the percentage
of students' performance in selected topics in basic mathematics national
examinations, averaged across the years 2017 to 2021 (NECTA, 2017; 2018; 2019;
2020; 2021).
Figure 1. Percentage of students on selection of topics to attempt in basic mathematics’

national examinations in Tanzania
616
Figure 1 indicates that of the total students who took the examination, only 12.1%
attempted the questions related to 3D geometry, while 48.1% showed interest in
the field of statistics. Several factors contribute to this lack of interest in 3D
geometry, including insufficient background knowledge in geometry, limited
availability of teaching materials (Cesaria & Herman, 2019; Mazana et al., 2020),
weak spatial visualization skills, difficulties in understanding geometric language
(Cesaria & Herman, 2019; Jelatu & Ardana, 2018) and teachers' limited knowledge
of effective teaching and assessment methods (Cesaria & Herman, 2019; Kitta &
Likinjie, 2020).
The studies conducted in Tanzania have revealed that students face challenges
when learning 3D geometry due to its abstract nature compared to concrete
concepts (Kitta & Likinjiye, 2020; William & Kitta, 2021). Many students struggle
with identifying dimensions on 3D figures and measuring angles, area, and
volumes (Gilligan et al., 2020; Revina & Leung, 2018). Spatial visualization skills
are necessary for students to manipulate and understand 3D figures effectively.
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the level of spatial visualization
ability among secondary school students in learning 3D geometry. Additionally,
the study aimed to assess the effectiveness of traditional and computer-aided
teaching and learning methods in enhancing students' spatial visualization skills.
Specifically, the study sought to address the following research questions:
Research questions:
1. What teaching techniques do mathematics teachers employ to improve
students' spatial visualization ability?
2. What is the initial level of students' spatial visualization ability for learning
3D geometry before the teaching and learning of 3D geometry?
Research hypothesis:
Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in students' spatial
visualization ability for learning 3D geometry between the control group taught
using traditional methods and the treatment group taught using computer-
integrated methods.
Alternative hypothesis: There is a significant difference in students' spatial

visualization ability for learning 3D geometry between the control group taught
using traditional methods and the treatment group taught using computer-
integrated methods.
2.1. The concept of 3D geometry
Geometry is a branch of mathematics that explores measurement, relationships,
and properties of points, angles, surfaces, lines, and solids (Abdul et al., 2022;
Saxena, 2015). Within the realm of geometry, 3D geometry stands as one of basic
sub-topics. A three-dimensional figure can be defined as an object or shape with
three dimensions: length, height, and width (Hartshorne, 2013). In contrast to two-
dimensional figures that possess only length and width, three-dimensional shapes
introduce an additional dimension commonly referred to as height, thickness, or
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depth. Examples of 3D figures encompass cubes, prisms, cones, and cylinders.

Figure 2 provides visual representations of various examples of three-
dimensional figures.
Figure 2. Examples of three-dimensional figures
When distinguishing between a 2D and 3D figure, one must consider the concept
of space occupation. A 3D figure occupies physical space and can be measured in
terms of both its area and volume, whereas a 2D figure exists exclusively on a
plane and can only be measured in terms of its area (Sarkar et al., 2020).
2.2. The concept of spatial visualization

Spatial visualization is one of the subcomponents of spatial intelligence (LeBow
et al., 2018; Ramful et al., 2017). Scholars such as Patkin and Dayan (2013) and
Mitolo et al. (2015) have categorized spatial intelligence into three fundamental
classes: spatial orientation, spatial perception, and spatial visualization. Spatial
orientation refers to the ability to accurately and rapidly rotate a two-dimensional
or three-dimensional figure while maintaining a fixed spatial reference. It
involves mentally manipulating a figure without being distracted by changes in
its appearance from different viewpoints. Spatial perception involves
determining spatial relationships based on the orientation of objects, without
being influenced by irrelevant information.
Spatial visualization, as described by LeBow et al. (2018), encompasses the ability

to mentally manipulate, rotate, and transform visual objects. This includes actions
such as folding, unfolding, twisting, and shaping objects based on their physical
properties. Spatial visualization focuses on understanding relative changes in
object positions in space, or the movement of mechanical systems. Unlike spatial
orientation and spatial perception, spatial visualization involves complex, multi-
step manipulations of information (Geer et al., 2019; Jones et al., 2018; Linn &
Petersen, 1985; Sorby, 1999) and relies on non-verbal internal representations of
perceived objects.
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2.3. Spatial visualization of 3D geometry

Spatial visualization of 3D geometry involves the capacity to manipulate and
interact with various 3D shapes using different techniques and materials (LeBow
et al., 2018; Lowrie et al., 2019; Nathan et al., 2022; Schmidt, 2015; Xie et al., 2020).
Researchers such as Battista (1990) and Idris (2005) have highlighted the
significant influence of spatial visualization on success in learning 3D geometry,
as it facilitates the logical-intuitive understanding of geometric patterns. Spatial
visualization allows for mental manipulation and manipulation of 3D figures in
space (İbili et al., 2020). Figure 3 provides an illustration of the spatial
visualization of 3D geometric figures.
Figure 3. Illustration of spatial visualization of 3D-geometric figures
Figure 3 provides examples of manipulations of 3D figures. Figure C is rotated to

create Figures D, E, and F, displaying different views of the same figure. Figure P
is folded in various ways, resulting in Figures Q, R, S, T, and U, which exhibit
distinctive structures. According to the research conducted by Linn and Peterson
(1985), tasks that involve spatial visualization can be approached using different
mental processes, and the effectiveness of task performance depends on the meta-
techniques employed in accomplishing a particular task. Spatial visualization
directly influences students' performance in subjects related to Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) (Lowrie et al., 2019). For
instance, in the field of chemistry, visualizing the spinning of an electron and
understanding the arrangement of electrons in an atom requires strong spatial
visualization abilities. Similarly, in physics, comprehending the motion of objects
in space necessitates the application of spatial visualization skills.
2.4. Studies in spatial visualization of 3D geometry

Numerous studies have demonstrated the significance of spatial visualization
ability in solving geometric problems. Pittalis and Christou (2010) found that
students' performance in various types of 3D geometry reasoning, including
spatial structuring, representation of 3D objects, and conceptualization of
mathematical measurements and properties, is influenced by their spatial
abilities. Hawes et al. (2017) also emphasized the importance of spatial ability,
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including spatial visualization, in students' learning and problem-solving in

geometry. Idris (2005) conducted a quasi-treatment study that investigated how
the application of spatial visualization techniques can enhance geometry learning.
The study involved tasks such as building solids from cubes, copying drawings,
counting cubes, and checking the count against the solids. The post-test results
indicated a significant difference in geometry test performance between the
intervention group and the control group. Similarly, Unal et al. (2009) conducted
a study to examine the acquisition of Van Hiele levels of geometric thought in
students with high spatial visualization ability compared to those with low spatial
ability. The findings of the intervention revealed a significant difference in the
geometric level of acquisition between students with high and low spatial
visualization skills. These results signify the role of spatial visualization ability in
facilitating effective learning of three-dimensional geometry.
Some studies examined effective techniques to improve students’ level of spatial

visualization. A cross-case comparison conducted by Liao and Wu (2015)
concluded that assisting students in creating mental associations between images
and real-world objects can improve their spatial visualization ability. This finding
was supported by evidence from case study participants with varying spatial
visualization abilities who engaged in different spatial visualization tasks.
Additionally, it has been observed that strengthening students' ability to perceive
whole images rather than fragmented pieces can enhance their spatial
visualization skills (Cheng & Mix, 2014). Lowrie et al. (2017) implemented a 10-
week intervention program focused on enhancing students' spatial reasoning,
which included spatial visualization of geometry. The intervention group showed
significant improvement in manipulating 3D geometric figures compared to the
control group. In a similar vein, Boakes (2009) conducted a quasi-treatment study
to investigate the impact of hands-on activities utilizing spatial visualization
techniques in teaching and learning 3D geometry. The treatment group, which
learned the material through activities such as paper-folding and card rotation,
demonstrated a higher level of spatial visualization ability than the control group,
which did not utilize these techniques. These studies confirm that students’ level
of spatial visualization can be improved through interactive teaching and learning
methods.
2.5. The use of computer simulation and animation to enhance spatial

visualization
The use of computer simulations and animations to enhance students' spatial
visualization has been studied in various countries. For example, Park et al. (2011)
conducted a study to investigate the effects of 3D simulation tools on spatial
visualization abilities through lectures and paper-pattern-making activities. The
findings indicated that 3D simulation software holds promise as an effective
instructional tool for improving students' visualization skills. In other studies,
games have been employed to enhance students' spatial abilities. Lin et al. (2014)
developed a treasure-hunting game based on theoretical concepts of spatial
orientation and spatial memory. The game utilized goggles from mobile devices
and computers, accommodating a wide range of models, operating systems, and
browsers. These technological tools proved to be efficient and effective in
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improving students' spatial abilities (Chivai & Mutuque, 2021). In addition,

Martín‐Gutiérrez et al. (2013) developed a three-dimensional viewer (Diedro-3D)
in supporting the teaching of 3D geometry process. The study indicated students’
autonomous engagement in learning compared to those who were learning
through conventional methods.
Considering the successful interventions conducted in other countries using

computer systems to enhance students' spatial visualization skills, it was thought
worth to employ similar methods in Tanzania, particularly at the secondary
school level, to determine if comparable outcomes can be achieved in the context.
The current study intended to use computer simulation and animation in the
treatment group and conventional methods in control group to see if computer-
aided method of teaching and learning can improve the learning of geometry.
2.6. Theoretical framework

The study is grounded in Van Hiele's theory of geometric thinking (Mason, 2009),
which proposes five levels of understanding or reasoning in geometry:
visualization, analysis, abstraction, deduction, and rigor. According to the theory,
spatial visualization plays a fundamental role in accelerating student's
development of geometric reasoning. The levels have fixed order and adjacency
properties, meaning that a student must complete the previous level before
advancing to the next one. Therefore, visualization skills serve as a foundation for
acquiring other geometric competencies, making it a basic aspect of learning
geometry.
In line with this theory, the study aims to assess students' spatial visualization
ability, which corresponds to the visualization level (level 0) in Van Hiele's theory
(Vojkuvkova, 2012). To measure this ability, the study utilizes a standardized
spatial visualization test called Spatial Ability Test (SAT) which allows for the
evaluation of students' achievement in levels 0 to 2, focusing specifically on their
spatial visualization skills.
Additionally, the study incorporates the Theory of Cognitive in Multimodal

Learning (CTML) developed by Richard Mayer (Mayer, 2005). According to
CTML, students should initially select relevant visual and verbal information to
construct coherent mental representations. These mental representations are then
integrated with prior knowledge. For example, learners can mentally manipulate
3D figures, change viewing angles, and explore dimensions of objects. The use of
computer simulation and animation in manipulating 3D objects can guide
learners in improving their spatial visualization ability. By providing instructions
on twisting, rotating, folding, or unfolding objects, students can develop a better
understanding of object orientations in space.
Overall, the study draws upon Van Hiele's theory of geometric thinking to assess
students' spatial visualization ability and incorporates the CTML to investigate
the impact of computer simulations and animations on enhancing this ability.
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3. Methodology
3.1. Study approach and design
The research approach employed in this study was a mixed research approach,
combining both quantitative and qualitative methods (Creswell et al., 2006). This
approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the research topic
by integrating numerical data with qualitative insights.
The study utilized a quasi-experimental design, comparing a treatment group that

received computer-aided instruction with a control group that used conventional
methods. The quantitative aspect of the study involved the collection and analysis
of numerical data. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to measure the spatial
visualization ability of students in both groups. The collected data were then
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to compute
descriptive and inferential statistics. An independent sample t-test was performed
to determine the statistical significance of the differences in spatial visualization
abilities between the control and treatment groups.
In addition to the quantitative data, the study also incorporated qualitative

aspects. Data from interviews with mathematics teachers were collected to gain
insights into their perspectives and practices regarding the enhancement of
students' spatial visualization abilities. A qualitative analytical technique was
applied to identify and analyze emerging themes and patterns in the interview
data.
By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, the study aimed to

provide in-depth understanding of the impact of computer-aided instructional
techniques on students' spatial visualization skills in the context of learning 3D
geometry. The quantitative data offered numerical evidence of the effectiveness
of the instructional approach, while the qualitative data provided valuable
insights into teachers' perspectives and practices, enriching the overall findings of
the study.
3.2. Study location and sampling

The study was conducted in Dodoma region which consists of seven districts and
which was randomly selected out of the 31 regions of Tanzania. This selection was
made based on the fact that the performance of mathematics in secondary schools
across the country is relatively consistent (NECTA, 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020; 2021).
Specifically, the research was conducted in two districts: Dodoma city and
Chamwino. These districts were also randomly selected on account of the low
performance of students in mathematics in the region. According to the Tanzanian
secondary education curriculum, the topic of 3D geometry is taught and learned
in the fourth year of secondary education (Ministry of Education and Vocation
Training, 2005). Therefore, students at the Level-4 secondary school were
purposively selected to participate in the study, as they have been exposed to the
relevant content. The target population for the study was 800 students from six
schools. In order to obtain a representative sample of students for the intervention,
a random selection process was employed in the six selected schools. The sample
size was determined using the Yamane formula:
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𝑁
That is, 𝑛= (1+𝑁𝑒 2 )
where N represent the population size, e
represents marginal error (0.05) and 𝑛
represents sample size
800
𝑛= = 267
(1+800(0.052 ))
A total of 267 Level-4 students were included in the study, a sample size which
was deemed appropriate for conducting the study and drawing meaningful
conclusions. The students were selected from six schools, with each school
contributing 40 to 50 students to form a single class. As a result, there were three
classes in the control group and three classes in the treatment group, distributed
across the six schools. The random sampling procedure was used to ensure
inclusiveness in terms of gender, academic ability, and physical disabilities,
following the recommendations of the education policy.
Additionally, 20 mathematics teachers who were responsible for teaching

mathematics in Level-4 classes were purposively selected to participate in the
study. These teachers were chosen based on their involvement in the teaching and
learning of mathematics, specifically at the Level-4 classes. They participated in
interviews to provide insights into their views regarding the enhancement of
students' spatial visualization abilities.
Table 1 provides information on the demographic characteristics of the
participating students and shows that the majority of the students (149 out of 267)
are male. Furthermore, the schools located in urban areas, specifically in Dodoma
city, have a larger number of students than the schools located in rural areas,
specifically in the Chamwino district.
Table 1: Demographic information of participating students
Characteristic Category Frequency Percentage
Gender Female 118 44.2

Male 149 55.8
District Dodoma city 152 56.9
Chamwino 115 43.1
Table 2 presents the demographic characteristics of the mathematics teachers

involved in the study. The majority of the teachers (95%) hold bachelor's degrees
and have more than five years of teaching experience. Among the teachers, there
are 12 males and eight females. These tables highlight important details about the
gender distribution and qualifications of both the students and the teachers,
providing a basis for analyzing the data and understanding the context of the
study.
Table 2: Demographic information of participating teachers

Characteristic Category Frequency Percentage
Gender Female 8 40
Male 12 60
Academic qualification Bachelor degree 19 95
Diploma 1 5
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Working experience Less than 5 1 5

5 - 10 13 65
More than 10 6 30
3.3. Data collection instruments

The study utilized the Spatial Ability Test (SAT) developed by Newton and Bristol
(2009) to assess students' spatial visualization ability. The SAT was adapted into
a multiple-choice format and comprised five categories of 3D manipulation:
rotation, folding, unfolding, assembling, and orthogonal projection. During the
adaptation process, the SAT was evaluated to ensure its alignment with the
Tanzania ordinary-level Education curriculum for teaching and learning 3D
geometry. It was confirmed that the test adequately covered the required topics
outlined in the curriculum. However, there was a modification in the test's time
duration. Originally designed as an aptitude test with a time limit of 20 minutes,
the test was adjusted to serve as an achievement test for this study. The purpose
of the test was to assess the number of correct answers obtained by each student
out of a total of 45 items. Table 3 presents an overview of the different categories
of questions included in the SAT, providing a description of the specific types of
3D manipulation assessed in each category.
Table 3: Category of questions from SAT

Item Type of manipulation
1-30 Rotation
31-35 Assembling
36-39 Folding
40-42 Unfolding
43-45 Orthographic projection
The second instrument used in the study was a semi-structured interview guide.
The guide was developed to provide a framework for conducting interviews with
mathematics teachers and gathering their perspectives and insights on the
enhancement of students' spatial visualization abilities. Prior to its
implementation, the interview guide underwent a rigorous review process by
peers and experts in the field. Their feedback and suggestions were incorporated
into the instrument to ensure its clarity and effectiveness. Some questions were
modified and adjusted to make them more easily understandable for the
interview participants. The semi-structured nature of the interview guide allowed
for flexibility during the interviews, enabling the interviewer to probe deeper into
specific areas of interest while maintaining a general structure. This approach
facilitated rich and meaningful discussions with the mathematics teachers,
enabling the collection of valuable qualitative data for analysis.
3.4. Data collection procedures

The data collection process for this study involved several stages: the pilot study,
pre-test, intervention, post-test, and interviews.
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Pilot Study:
To ensure the validity of the Spatial Ability Test (SAT) and determine an
appropriate time duration for the test, a pilot study was conducted. The test was
administered to two different groups of students who had characteristics similar
to the target group. The maximum time duration for the test was set at 60 minutes
based on the completion times of the students in the pilot study. The test-retest
method was used to assess the consistency of test scores, and the reliability
coefficient was calculated to determine the reliability of the test. The coefficient,
which was found to be 89.5, indicated that the test was reliable.
Pre-test:
The SAT was administered to both the control and treatment groups of students
before the teaching and learning process. The aim of the pre-test was to measure
the students' spatial visualization ability prior to any instruction. The test was
conducted under the supervision of teachers and a researcher, and the time
duration for the test was set at 60 minutes. After completion, the test papers were
collected, marked by the teachers using a standardized marking guide, and the
results were saved in an SPSS template.
Intervention stage:
The intervention stage involved the preparation of lessons on the topic of
"Construction and Sketching 3D Figures" in 3D geometry. The treatment group
received instruction using computer-aided instructional techniques, specifically
computer simulations and animations for 3D manipulations. The control group
was taught using traditional instructional methods, such as lectures and hands-
on activities. The teaching and learning processes in both groups were conducted
for 80 minutes per session, with a total of six sessions per group. The intervention
lasted for three months, from April to July 2022.
Post-test:
After the teaching and learning of 3D geometry, the same test (SAT) was
administered as a post-test to assess the enhancement of students' spatial
visualization skills. The aim was to compare the effectiveness of the traditional
instructional methods used in the control group with the computer-aided
instructional methods used in the treatment group. The test results were marked
and recorded in the SPSS template for analysis.
Interview process:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mathematics teachers to gather
their perspectives and insights on the enhancement of students' spatial
visualization abilities. Each interview lasted for approximately 40 minutes, and
the interviewer used probing questions to elicit detailed responses. The interviews
were recorded with the participants' consent, and the recordings were transcribed
to obtain textual data for analysis.
3.5. Validity and reliability

To ensure the content validity of the test, the alignment of the test items with the
intended competencies in teaching and learning 3D geometry was checked. The
items were found to be aligned with the required competencies, indicating content
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validity. To assess the reliability of the test, a pilot study was conducted using a
representative sample from the target population. The purpose of the pilot study
was to determine if any adjustments were needed in terms of content and the time
required to conduct the test. The average time needed to complete the test was
estimated based on the pilot study.
The reliability of the test was evaluated using the test-retest method. This
involved administering the test to the same group of students on two separate
occasions and calculating the correlation coefficient between the two sets of
scores. The reliability coefficient was found to be 89.5, indicating a high level of
consistency in the test scores. This suggests that the test results reflect students'
spatial visualization abilities rather than random guessing.
By ensuring content validity and establishing reliability through the pilot study
and reliability coefficient calculation, the study yielded confidence in the validity
and consistency of the test used to assess students' spatial visualization ability.
3.6. Data analysis

Quantitative data from the pre- and post-tests of both the control and treatment
groups were analyzed using SPSS version 28. Descriptive statistics were
computed to analyze the data, including calculating the mean and standard
deviation of the test results. The total number of test items in the test was 45, and
each correctly answered item was awarded one mark. The total score for each
student was calculated based on the number of items they answered correctly out
of the 45 items.
To determine if there was a significant difference in students' spatial visualization

ability before and after the teaching and learning of 3D geometry in both the
control and treatment groups, inferential statistics were applied. Paired sample t-
tests were conducted to compare the means of the pre- and post-test scores within
each group, while independent sample t-tests were used to compare the means
between the control and treatment groups.
Data from classroom observations and interviews were analyzed thematically

using Braun and Clarke model (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The process involved
transcribing the recorded interviews with mathematics teachers, identifying
patterns, themes, and categories within the data, and assigning labels (coding) to
meaningful units of information. The transcripts were reviewed multiple times,
and related codes were grouped into broader themes and sub-themes that
emerged from the data. The analysis and interpretation of the data within each
theme were then conducted, allowing for the identification of key findings and
the drawing of connections between different elements of the data.
4. Findings
4.1. Techniques used by mathematics teachers to enhance students’
visualization ability
Mathematics teachers' responses from the interviews revealed diverse techniques
employed to enhance students' spatial visualization ability. The analysis of the
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interview transcripts led to the identification of two main themes related to these
techniques: interactive teaching and learning techniques, and teacher-directed
teaching and learning techniques.
4.1.1 Interactive Teaching and learning techniques

Under the theme of interactive teaching and learning techniques, teachers
mentioned various approaches they used to engage students and foster their
spatial visualization skills. These techniques involved interactive activities such
as group work, problem-solving tasks, hands-on manipulation of objects, and the
use of visual aids, including diagrams, models, and educational technology. The
teachers emphasized the importance of providing students with opportunities for
active participation, exploration, and discussion, which they believed supported
the development of spatial visualization abilities. This is evidenced by the
following quotes drawn from participants:
From mathematics syllabus on the topic of 3D figures, there is a subtopic
of constructing 3D figures through the use of patterns of figures that we
call nets. So I use those patterns to instruct students to formulate a figure.
In doing so, their spatial visualization can be raised. (School C, Teacher
2)
As for me, I sometimes instruct students to go on the board to draw and

name the figure. Some of them get confused with some kind of 3D figures
such as pyramids. If one student fails to draw, I call others to help. (School
A, Teacher 1)
Most of the time I use the techniques such as facilitating students to draw
3D figures such as a cuboid, pyramids, and cylinders. Sometimes I tell
them to think about various materials available at school or in their home
that are in 3D and then I tell them to draw. (School F, Teacher 1)
The quotations above indicate that mathematics teachers use some interactive
techniques to engage their students in manipulating 3D figures. However, none
of them mentioned the integration of technology to enhance students’ spatial
visualization ability.
4.1.2 Teacher-directed teaching and learning techniques

The theme of teacher-directed teaching and learning techniques encompassed
approaches where the teacher played a more central role in delivering instruction.
This included methods like lectures, demonstrations, guided practice, and explicit
instruction. Teachers expressed the view that providing clear explanations, step-
by-step guidance, and structured exercises helped students understand spatial
concepts and develop their visualization skills. On this, two teachers were quoted
as saying:
The techniques I use to enhance students’ spatial visualization ability is
using a blackboard to draw some figures and then I instruct students to
copy the drawings and identify a name of a particular 3D-figure they see
from the board. By using this strategy, students can be able to think
critically and identify the figures by their names if it is a pyramid, sphere,
cube or a cone. (School E, Teacher 3)
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On my side, I used to create some figures during my leisure time through

the use of locally available materials such as boxes, or wood. After creating
some figures such as cube or a pyramid, I go to the class to show my
students so that they can know if I teach them about a 3D figure, they can
know how it appears. (School D, Teacher 2)
Some of the teachers interviewed mentioned teaching and learning techniques

that were less interactive and did not provide sufficient opportunities for students
to engage in various learning activities. These techniques were perceived as not
effective in promoting students' spatial visualization abilities, as they focused
more on traditional instruction methods such as lectures and demonstrations.
Some participants expressed the belief that spatial visualization is an innate ability
and cannot be significantly developed through teaching. According to their
perspective, students either possess natural spatial abilities or do not, regardless
of instructional strategies employed. They suggested that only those students
with a natural inclination towards spatial visualization would be able to
understand and improve their abilities, while others may struggle to do so even
with instruction.
These differing views among the teachers reflect a range of perspectives on the
nature and teachability of spatial visualization skills. While some emphasize the
importance of interactive and engaging teaching methods to enhance spatial
visualization, others hold the belief that it is a fixed trait that cannot be
significantly influenced by instruction. This is echoed in the following quotes:
I don’t think it is easy to raise students’ spatial visualization ability; I
think this is an inborn ability. For example, when I instruct students to
make various three-dimensional figures, some of the students are not able
to create even a single figure, they just ask their colleagues to make it for
them. In this sense, only those with inborn ability will raise their spatial
visualization. (School C, Teacher 1)
Another teacher claimed that:

From my understanding, I do not think there is a strategy for enhancing
students’ spatial visualization ability because it needs only students’
thinking. Changing students’ thinking is not easy. This is different from
changing a student’s perception or teaching a student about a certain
topic. For me, I do not concentrate on finding techniques to enhance
students’ visualization abilities. This is raised naturally when they learn
other aspects of the topic. (School A, Teacher 3)
The quotes from these teachers indicate a negative perception: that it is impossible
to raise students’ spatial visualization ability. They perceive that it is an ability
that every person is born with, so it is not possible to raise it through instruction.
4.2. Students’ level of spatial visualization before teaching and learning 3D

geometry
The collected data from the pre-test revealed that both the control group and
treatment group had low levels of spatial visualization ability. The mean score for
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the control group was 19.45, which accounts for approximately 42.2% of the total
marks, while the mean score for the treatment group was 20.16, equivalent to
44.8% of the total marks. These results indicate that students in both groups had
below-average performance in spatial visualization ability, as their mean scores
were below 50% of the total marks. To determine if there were any significant
differences in spatial visualization ability between the control and treatment
groups, an inferential analysis was conducted. The results of the analysis revealed
a t-value of 0.596 and a p-value of 0.000, indicating that the mean performances of
the two groups were not statistically significant. This suggests that the control and
treatment groups had comparable levels of spatial visualization ability before the
intervention. These findings provide baseline information about the initial spatial
visualization abilities of the students in the study and establish the equivalence of
the control and treatment groups in terms of their spatial visualization skills.
4.3. Students’ level of spatial visualization after teaching and learning 3D

geometry
(i) For the control group
The results of the post-test indicated that there was an improvement in students'
performance on the spatial visualization tests in both the control and treatment
groups. In the control group, the mean score increased to 24.11, with a standard
deviation of 7.5, which corresponds to 53.58% of the total marks. This indicates an
increase of 11.38% from the pre-test performance. However, when a paired
sample t-test was conducted, the results (t = 0.396, p = 0.615) showed that the
increase in mean performance was not statistically significant.
These findings suggest that the traditional methods of teaching and learning 3D
geometry, which were employed in the control group, did not have a significant
effect on enhancing students' spatial visualization ability. Despite the observed
improvement in scores, the lack of statistical significance implies that the increase
could be attributed to factors other than the instructional methods used. The
summary of the results from the descriptive and inferential statistics are given in
Table 4 below:
Table 4: Comparison of pre- and post-test results from control group

Test Means Std Deviation t P-value
Pre-test 19.45 3.2 0.396 0.615
Post test 24.11 7.5
Test performance trend based on test categories from the control group
The analysis of test items based on categories revealed variations in students'
performance. Among the categories, students demonstrated better performance
in folding figures than in the other categories. The worst performance was
observed in the category of orthogonal projection. When comparing the pre-test
and post-test results, a significant change in performance was observed in the
category of unfolding 3D figures. However, there were no notable changes in
performance in the categories of orthogonal projection and isometric mapping
between the pre-test and the post-test. These findings suggest that the teaching
and learning of 3D geometry using traditional methods had no significant impact
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on improving students' spatial visualization ability in the areas of isometric

mapping and orthogonal projections. Table 5 provides a visual representation of
the performance trend of the control group across the different categories.
Table 5: Trend of test performance based on categories from the control group
Category Total number Average score Percentage of
of items in a out of total items performance
category in a category in a category
Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test
scores scores scores scores
Rotation 30 13 16 28.9 35.6
Folding 4 2 3 50 75
Unfolding 3 1 2 33.3 66.7
Isometric 5 2 2 40 40
mapping
Orthogonal 3 1 1 33.3 33.3
projection
(i) For the treatment group

The use of computer simulation and animation in teaching and learning 3D
geometry produced a substantial increase in the average performance of students
in spatial visualization tests. The mean score of the test results was (mean = 37.15,
SD = 4.36), which corresponds to 82.56% of the total marks. This indicates a
significant improvement in test performance, with an increase of 37.76% from the
pre-test.
Moreover, the results of the paired sample t-test [t (45) = -56.18, p = 0.000]
demonstrated that the increase in mean performance was statistically significant.
This supports the alternative hypothesis, suggesting that the use of computer
simulation and animation in teaching and learning 3D geometry has a positive
impact on enhancing students' spatial visualization ability. The null hypothesis,
which stated that there was no positive impact, is rejected, based on the statistical
analysis. Table 6 provides a summary of the results obtained from the descriptive
and inferential statistical analysis.
Table 6: Comparison of pre and post-test results from treatment group

Test Means Std Deviation t P-value
Pre-test 20.16 2.93 -56.18 0.000
Post-test 37.15 4.36
The post-test results from the treatment group imply that the use of computer
simulation and animation had a positive impact in enhancing students’ spatial
Test performance trend based on test categories from treatment group

From the same categories of test items, the post-test results for the treatment group
showed a greater improvement than those of the control group. Table 7 shows the
performance trend based on categories in the treatment group.
630
Table 7: Trend of test performance based on categories from the control group
Category Total Average score Percentage of
number of out of the total items performance in a
items in a in a category category
category
Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test
scores scores scores scores
Rotation 30 13 24 43.33 80
Folding 4 2 4 50 100
Unfolding 3 1 3 33.3 100
Isometric 5 2 4 40 80
mapping
Orthogonal 3 2 2 66.7 66.7
projection
Total 45 20 37 44.4 82.2
Based on categories, the analysis shows that the treatment group improved in all
categories of test items. This indicates that the use of computer simulation and
animation had a positive effect in enhancing students’ spatial visualization ability.
4.4. Comparison of test performance between control and treatment groups

A noticeable difference (p = 000, α = 0.05) in post-test performance was evident,
following the teaching and learning process, which employed different
instructional techniques in two groups. The summary of their performance is
presented in Tables 8 and 9 below:
Table 8: Independent sample t-test of control and treatment groups

Test Group Mean Std. t p-value
Deviation
Pre-test Control 19.45 3.2 0.596 0.000
Treatment 20.16 2.93
Post-test Control 24.11 7.5 9.348 0.000
Treatment 37.15 7.51
Table 9: Paired sample t-test between control and treatment groups

Groups Test Mean Std. t p-value
Deviation
Control Pre-test 19.45 3.2 0.396 0.426
Post-test 24.11 7.5
Treatment Pre-test 20.16 2.93 -56.18 0.000
Post-test 37.15 7.51
5. Discussion
5.1. Techniques used by mathematics teachers to enhance students’ spatial
visualization ability
The findings from the participants suggest that mathematics teachers employ
various techniques to enhance students' spatial visualization ability, including
both interactive and non-interactive approaches. These findings are consistent
with the research conducted by Susilawati et al. (2017), who proposed that the
effective use of relevant teaching and learning techniques in 3D geometry can
631
improve students' spatial visualization ability. Several studies, such as those by

Lowrie et al. (2017), Park et al. (2011), and Quintero et al. (2015), have highlighted
the use of technology, particularly simulations and animations, as effective
strategies for enhancing students' spatial visualization ability.
However, the findings also indicate that many mathematics teachers have not
fully integrated technology, specifically simulations and animations, into their
instruction on 3D figure manipulation. This lack of attention to technology
integration may contribute to students' widespread struggles in mathematics,
particularly in the area of 3D geometry. These results align with the findings of
Hawes et al. (2017) and Lowrie et al. (2017), who concluded that students' spatial
visualization ability is closely related to their performance in 3D geometry.
5.2. Level of students’ spatial visualization ability for learning 3D geometry

before the teaching and learning of 3D geometry
The results of pre-tests conducted on control and treatment groups have revealed
that students possess a low level of spatial visualization ability. This inadequacy
in prerequisite knowledge can significantly impact their performance in
comprehending and applying 3D geometry concepts. These findings align with
the conclusions drawn by Battista (1990), Hawes et al. (2017), Lowrie et al. (2017),
and Pittalis and Christou (2010), who emphasized the influential role of spatial
visualization ability in learning 3D geometry. Furthermore, Cesaria and Herman
(2019) conducted research demonstrating that students who lack sufficient
geometry knowledge also exhibit decreased interest in problem-solving within
the subject. Consequently, these findings emphasize the necessity of employing
effective teaching and learning techniques to enhance students' spatial
5.3. Comparison of students’ spatial visualization ability in learning 3D

geometry between control and treatment groups taught using traditional and
computer-integrated methods, respectively
The test performance results obtained from the control group suggest that the
teaching and learning techniques employed by teachers had a limited impact on
improving students' spatial visualization ability. The lack of significant difference
in spatial visualization test performance between the pre- and post-teaching
assessments (t = 0.396, p = 0.615) showed that the increase in mean performance
was not statistically significant. The results contradict the findings of Idris (2005)
and Hawes et al. (2017), who established a positive relationship between the
teaching and learning of 3D geometry and students' spatial visualization ability.
However, these results align with the conclusions drawn by Lowrie et al. (2017),
emphasized that the teaching and learning of 3D geometry can enhance spatial
visualization ability when accompanied by supportive teaching and learning
conditions. Factors highlighted by Idris (2005), such as teachers' competence in
pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), students' interest in the topic, and
effective teaching and learning materials contribute to the improvement of spatial
visualization ability in the context of 3D geometry.
632
On the other hand, the results obtained from the treatment group, where
simulation and animation were integrated into the teaching and learning of 3D
geometry, demonstrate an improvement in students' test performance in spatial
visualization between pre-and post-test [t (45) = -56.18, p = 0.000]. This significant
difference indicates that the teaching and learning of 3D geometry indeed
enhanced students' spatial visualization ability. This finding supports the
conclusion reached by Boakes (2009), Hawes et al. (2017), Lin et al. (2014), and
Park et al. (2011) regarding the influence of learning 3D geometry on spatial
6. Conclusion and recommendations

The current study aimed at assessing the visualization ability of students from
selected secondary schools located in Dodoma, Tanzania. The study assessed
students’ visualization ability before learning the topic of 3D geometry and after
learning the topic to see if there was a significant change in test performance
before and after the learning topic. The study methodology was guided by the
literature that students possess inborn spatial visualization ability, and this ability
can be enhanced through the teaching and learning process. The use of a multiple-
choice questionnaire helped to make the assessment. The results showed no
significant difference in students’ test performance conducted before and after
teaching and learning 3D geometry when students were taught using traditional
methods of teaching and learning. Positive changes in spatial visualization test
performance were observed when students were taught through the use of
computer-aided techniques, that is, computer simulation and animations on
manipulating 3D figures. The adoption of computer simulations and animations
for manipulating 3D figures, therefore, has potential impacts on students'
understanding and the application of mathematics and STEM subjects in general.
This integration of technology fosters students’ engagement, interest, and overall
performance of the topic.
The study suggests that, by integrating computer-aided techniques, specifically

computer simulations and animations, Tanzanian schools can enhance students'
spatial visualization ability, ultimately benefiting their learning experiences in
mathematics and other related subjects.
7. Study limitations
This study is limited in the generalization of study findings as it involved a sample
of 267 Level-4 students from six ordinary-level secondary schools. The findings
may not be representative of all students or educational settings, limiting the
generalizability of the results. The study is also limited in the control of
confounding variables; the change in students' ability in spatial visualization may
be contributed by other external factors such as prior exposure to computer-aided
instructional techniques. To enhance the generalizability of the results, it is
recommended that future studies expand the sample size and include a more
diverse range of students and educational settings. Additionally, efforts should
be made to control confounding variables to isolate the impact of computer-aided
techniques on students' spatial visualization ability.
633
8. Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank all the respondents for their valuable time and commitment.
Furthermore, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for the generous financial
support provided by the African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and
Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS). Their support has significantly
contributed to the advancement of our research.
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Appendix 1:
SPATIAL ABILITY TEST (SAT)
Time is 60 minutes Student ID………….
The shapes in Group one and Group two are identical, although some of them may
be rotated. Which shape in Group 2 correspond to the shapes (1 to 25) in Group 1?
Group 1
Group 2
Fill the answers in the table below
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
638

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 638-658, June 2023
Demo Lessons and Peer Observation to Enhance

Student Teachers’ Competencies and Exit
Profiles
Agnes Orosz , Uvaldo Recino , Maria Caridad Ochoa
National University of Education
Chuquipata, Ecuador
Abstract. The research study was carried out at an Ecuadorian teacher

training university and aimed at bridging the gap between the exit
profile requirements of student teacher graduates and the syllabus of the
subject called Teaching language skills. The objective was to establish how
far demo lessons (such as microteaching sessions) can facilitate the
training of student teachers, and prepare them for authentic teaching-
learning situations at the beginning of their careers. A qualitative
paradigm based on Action Research (AR) methodology was used in two
consecutive cycles employing class observation, reflection and survey
questions for feedback. In the first cycle, student teachers, who gave
demo lessons on how to improve listening skills, were given feedback
by the class teacher and their peers. In the second cycle, which aimed at
mitigating the weaknesses identified by the observers and the class
teacher in the first cycle, student teachers gave demo lessons on
improving speaking skills. After the two cycles were completed, the 26
participants of the module were asked to provide responses to a survey
questionnaire which specifically explored their perceptions on how far
the demo lessons had helped them develop their professional
competencies. The researchers conclude that observations of and
reflections on the demo lessons benefited not only the class teacher, who
was able to improve her methodology, but it also helped the student
teachers since they could improve their teaching strategies and
techniques to teach English. The student teachers’ answers to the survey
questions proved that the activities associated with the demo lessons
were considered effective for the development of their professional
competencies as future teachers of English.
Keywords: demo lesson; peer observation; teaching language

skills; language teacher competencies; student teacher reflection
1. Introduction
1.1 Context and Background
The student teachers of the ELT training program at the National University of
Education of Ecuador (UNAE) need to develop linguistic and methodological
©Authors
639
competencies for teaching English to achieve the requirements contained in their

exit profile (see Appendix A).1 As part of their professional development, they
need to take the module called Teaching language skills in the sixth semester of
their 9-semester studies. According to the syllabus, the student teachers are
expected to learn how to apply ELT methods and employ various techniques
and strategies to be able to teach the four language skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. While the minimum content in the syllabus design of the
subject is clear, the methodology, namely, the techniques, strategies and
procedures for the class teachers to use so that the student teachers reach the
objectives or the expected learning outcomes is not specific enough.
Therefore, our article is linked to a specific strand of an overarching research

project at UNAE: Management of innovative and creative didactic techniques that
facilitate the teaching-learning processes of English in the students of basic education
and high school (PINE Major Project, 2018)
In order to investigate the research problem described above, namely the gap
(discrepancy) between the exit profile requirements and the lack of detail in the
syllabus for the subject Teaching language skills, the authors decided that observing
microteaching2 or demo lessons may be an appropriate strategy because it could
throw light on the student teachers’ learning and the class teacher’s way of
facilitating that learning in an area that combines language learning and
pedagogical knowledge.
Consequently, the following overall aim has been set for the AR project:
To illustrate how demo lessons can contribute to the development of

professional competence in the exit profile of student teachers accomplishing
their ELT training program at UNAE, the authors started their investigation by
consulting the relevant literature.
2.1 Teacher Education and Professional Competence
Teacher education institutions worldwide aim at training highly qualified
teachers whose pre-service learning experience supports the development of
their professional competencies (Cochran-Smith & Villegas, 2016; European
Commission, 2013). The matrix compiled by Cambridge Assessment English
(2018) contains what is called “full level descriptors” of ELT teachers’
competency (p. 2), and these include the teaching of the four language skills at
“foundation, developing, proficient and expert” levels (p. 7). The document
describes further elements of teacher competence that are of interest to us, such
as carrying out classroom observation, the ability of reflecting on teaching, and
learning from observation feedback (pp. 9-10). Below we use
“competence/competency” as the overarching term, while we reserve the notion
of “competencies” as a complex set of skills required of language teachers.
While teacher knowledge domains can be broken down to content knowledge,

pedagogical content knowledge and general pedagogical knowledge (Shulman,
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1987), König et al. (2020) emphasized that there is also a need to examine
“teachers’ situational cognition” (p. 800), namely, the contextual and procedural
knowledge that they could gain by the end of their training as future language
teachers. In the context of pre-service teacher education, this implies that teacher
trainees need to develop situation-specific, adaptive skills so that they are able to
plan and deliver lessons that take into account the learning disposition of
students and their heterogeneity.
2.2 Beyond Teaching Basic Language Skills

In their seminal book on the teaching of listening and speaking (the skills that
our student teachers were required to teach in their microteaching sessions),
Nation and Newton (2009) used a framework that is rooted in the principles of
teaching and learning. The authors organized the teaching/learning process
around four strands: meaning-focused input, meaning focused output,
language-focused learning and fluency development. Whilst their research-
based (but, at the same time, highly practical) approach has stood the test of
time, in the third decade of the 21st century, educators such as Pardede (2020)
underline that “besides knowledge and the basic skills, today’s students should
also be equipped with what is called the 4Cs (communication, collaboration,
critical thinking, and creativity)” (p. 71). This element is duly emphasized in the
exit profile of graduates at the university where the research project was
conducted.
2.3 Reflection in Teachers and Student Teachers

Since reflection is a key element in teacher education, the employment of
reflective thought is encouraged both in the case of practicing teachers and in the
training of student teachers. Dewey (1933) emphasized that teachers needed to
give “active, persistent and careful consideration” (p. 17) to their knowledge and
beliefs. In Schön’s (1987) understanding, teachers are eminently capable of
drawing on their experiential knowledge and the latter serves as the primary
source of their learning. In the past decades, the term ‘reflective practice’ has
been increasingly understood as “a relatively systematic use of reflection for
professional development” (Anderson, 2020, p. 481). Farrell (2016) conducted a
review on the role of reflection in ELT and found that it can positively impact
language teachers’ cognition and practice.
Hayden et al. (2013) examined how teacher trainees can improve their reflective
skills regarding their own teaching practice. According to their SOAR acronym,
reflection starts with the subjective retelling of the events of a lesson, followed by
an evaluation of how it progressed in achieving its objectives, after which teacher
trainees can analyze the lesson and reflect more deeply on their learning.
Amobi (2005) focused on how a group of 31 student teachers developed their

reflectivity skills after receiving feedback on their two microteaching sessions.
Following the second round of microteaching, the participants were asked to
write a short self-reflective essay that was arranged around three self-analysis
questions:
• What did the student teacher intend to do?
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• What did actually take place during the session?

• What would the student teacher do differently if they were to teach the
lesson again?
The results showed that “microteaching is an activity that is considered

favorably as a meaningful learning experience” (Amobi, 2005, p. 129).
Nevertheless, even though the ‘on-campus experience’ would allow pre-service
teachers to critique their performance in a pressure-free environment, many of
the student teachers involved were reluctant to admit their vulnerability and
“hold up their teaching actions to scrutiny” (p. 129). Ultimately, however, those
who were prepared to reflect on their microteaching sessions in a meaningful
and honest manner, were able to “self-correct specific elements in their emerging
teaching skills” (p. 129).
2.4 Action Research and Microteaching

Action Research (AR) has often been used to explore pre-service EFL teachers’
microteaching practices. A recent example is Odo’s (2022) study on pre-service
teachers giving video-recorded microteaching lessons followed by video-
recorded feedback from their course tutor. The qualitative data gathered from
the student teachers show that they felt that “the feedback was extensive and
detailed and offered an objective perspective on their teaching that they could
review many times” (p. 327). Since the lessons and the teacher’s video feedback
were shared with the student teacher’s peers (classmates), one of the drawbacks
mentioned was that the student teachers felt nervous about allowing others to
watch their microteaching and access the tutor’s feedback on it.
Önal (2019) carried out an exploratory study on how pre-service teachers

reflected on their video-recorded microteaching. He emphasized the utility of
integrating video-recordings into the feedback (and evaluation) phase of the
microteaching process arguing that this technological tool “enables self-report,
self-assessment and self-reflection, because learners can analyze, reflect on,
evaluate and improve their didactic skills” (p. 811). In line with Odo’s reasoning,
Önal stressed the importance of the fact that the participants of his study were
able to watch their performance several times and were able to write more
detailed and thoughtful reflective reports on several aspects of their
performance, including the challenges they faced in classroom management and
the anxiety they experienced during microteaching.
2.5 Peer Observation by Teachers

Since our research study investigates two forms of peer observation (a teacher
colleague and a senior student observing a class teacher, and student teachers
observing each other), the review of relevant literature referring to these two
practices need to be treated separately. First, let us look at the literature related
to teachers (or senior colleagues) observing each other.
For many in the educational field, classroom observation has a negative

connotation since it often involves an evaluative element and, as such, serves as
the basis for the performance appraisal of the teacher being observed (Richards
642
& Farrell, 2005). The main factors why teachers feel threatened by such
observations were highlighted by Williams (1989), who said that observations
tend to be prescriptive and trainer-centered with the class teacher not having
much of a say in the assessment process.
However, Richards and Farrell (2005) explained that “observation can be a part
of the process of teacher development rather than […] a component of
appraisal” (p. 85). Elsewhere, Richards (1998) stated that non-evaluative
observation may help to gather information on specific aspects of a lesson and
provide information on ‘blind spots’ that the teacher who is being observed may
not have reflected on before.
2.6 Peer Observation and Feedback by Student Teachers

Kamimura and Takiwaza (2012), who use the term ‘teaching demonstration’ (to
peers) and ‘microteaching’ interchangeably, investigated the effects of peer
feedback on student teachers’ teaching demonstrations. They concluded that: a)
student teachers found feedback provided by their peers helpful; b) student
teachers were also able to incorporate the comments made by their peers in the
second round of their teaching demonstrations leading to “marked
improvements in their performance” (p. 18).
Since in our context the demo classes were mostly given by pairs of student
teachers, Yan and He’s (2017) research on pair microteaching at a teacher
education university in central China is especially pertinent. Pair microteaching
was employed owing to a necessity, namely, time constraints and the large
number of student teachers attending the English teaching methodology course.
However, the university’s course tutors also intended to develop collaboration
by creating “a platform for student teachers to experiment collaboratively with
the educational philosophies and pedagogies promoted in the methodology
course” (p. 209). Ultimately, even though the majority of the 30 student teachers
provided positive feedback on microteaching in general, two-thirds of the
participants were of the opinion that pair microteaching is ‘idealistic’, because
co-teaching does not exist in China. The authors stressed that “the scepticism
about the feasibility of pair microteaching […] seems to reflect the students’
pragmatic aspirations to acquire teaching skills which could be directly applied
in the real teaching context” (p. 215).
2.7. The Role of Microteaching (Demo Lessons)

The terminology applied to a classroom event when a student teacher gives a
lesson (or part of a lesson) to their own peers is inconsistent. It is often referred
to as microteaching, but in the context of the present study it is more aptly called
a demo (demonstration) lesson. Microteaching is usually perceived as a ‘scaled-
down’ teaching situation in terms of class size, teaching time and teaching task.
Bell (2007) defined microteaching as “the common practice of having students in
educational methods courses “teach” a lesson to their peers in order to gain
experience with lesson planning and delivery” (p. 24). In our context, the ‘demo
classes’ at the university in question are longer than the standard microteaching
sessions, and are delivered by pairs of student teachers, who teach their peers
for the duration of an average school class (40 minutes). These extended
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microteaching sessions, or demo lessons, appear to have the same advantages

and disadvantages as those that are usually mentioned about microteaching.
The usefulness of microteaching as a widespread training exercise for the

purposes of learning effective teaching practices has been proven by several
studies (see, for example, Amobi, 2005; Bağatur, 2015). Takkaç Tulgar (2019)
stressed that one of the advantages of microteaching arises from the fact that “it
offers a controlled setting in which pre-service teachers can have practical
experience” (p. 17). She underlined that “in the simulated environments […] pre-
service teachers can sense the identity of being teachers and understand the
responsibilities and requirements of the profession” (p. 17).
2.8 Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes to Microteaching and Teaching

Performance
In a recent study, Sagban et al. (2021) examined the possible effects of
microteaching on Iraqi EFL students’ teaching performance and their attitudes to
the technique itself. Altogether 30 student teachers participated in the research
study, divided equally into two groups to serve as the experimental and the
control group. The experimental group was given a microteaching course
(combining theory and practice), while the control group was exposed to “[the]
traditional method of teaching” (p. 1988). A checklist was used to measure the
student teachers’ subsequent teaching performance. The findings revealed that
the experimental group’s performance was significantly higher than that of the
control group. Furthermore, the majority of the members of the experimental
group claimed that “their microteaching experiences affected their education
through strengthening their speaking skills, motivation, and questioning
proficiency, self-reliance, preparation, and reinforcement ability” (p. 1991).
Sagban et al.’s findings (2021) confirm the results of earlier studies, for example,
those presented in Ögeyik’s (2009) article on student teachers’ attitudes to
microteaching. The author provides details of many of the arguments that the 57
Turkish student teachers provided in favor of microteaching. For example, the
fact that it is “efficient in [the] material production process for introducing
various materials, forces the students to prepare lesson plans and is beneficial
for evaluating teaching performance and getting feedback” (p. 209). Ögeyik also
discussed the aspects that student teachers mentioned among the less favorable
characteristics of microteaching, such as its inauthentic nature, and the amount
of time needed to design teaching materials.
Sa’ad et al. (2015) looked at the impact of microteaching on student teachers’

performance during their teaching practice (practicum). They concluded that
microteaching is useful for improving teaching skills and classroom
management but it also enhances the confidence of teacher trainees. Further to
this point, Solanki and Patel (2017) described studies that had found that there
was no direct correlation between successful microteaching performance and
how teacher trainees later performed in their teaching practice. The authors
stated that these findings may be explained by the fact that microteaching could
have an authenticity deficit and, as a result, may not fully prepare teacher
trainees for real-life classroom situations.
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2.9 Authenticity in Microteaching

Bell (2007) drew attention to the fact that the task of microteaching can be a
considerable challenge for student teachers, because they have to
“simultaneously negotiate the roles of teacher, student, classmate, and
peer/friend” (p. 24). Analyzing 22 videotapes of microteaching and interviews
conducted with 13 teacher trainees, the author concluded that the participants of
her study perceived microteaching as ‘performance’ and ‘classroom task’ rather
than ‘real teaching’.
The issue of authenticity in pre-service teacher education programs is a

recurring theme in the literature (see He and Yan, 2011; Rismiyanto & Suryani,
2020). He and Yan (2011), for example, listed down the drawbacks of
microteaching as perceived by student teachers themselves, and ‘artificiality’ is
one of the main issues raised. The authors point out that student peers tend to
have more advanced proficiency than the learners whom teacher trainees are
likely to encounter. He and Yan referred to the participants’ reflective writing
assignment and concluded that the “well-intentioned excessive support and
cooperation [of the student peers] were felt to have significantly reduced the
opportunity to practice real-life teaching skills” (p. 296).
Rismiyanto and Suryani (2020) looked at how EFL student teachers perceived
the issue of peer or ‘real’ students. By ‘real’ students the authors meant high
school students who, in the context of the research study, volunteered to
participate in the microteaching classes. It probably comes as no surprise that the
25 student teacher participants of the study believed that microteaching real
students prepared them better for their future classroom practice than teaching
their peers. The authors added that student teachers tended to prepare more
meticulously for their real students, the reason for which may be that “they feel
more challenged and enthusiastic with real students” (p. 436). That said, real
students were reluctant to ask questions and provide feedback, and time
management was also more challenging in classes with them. Student teachers
felt more anxious when teaching real students rather than their peers, but they
also appeared to benefit more from observing their peers teaching real students
than working in their comfort zone with their peers.
Based on the literature review related to the research question and in order to
accomplish the overall aim of this piece of research the following methodology
was followed.
3. Methodology
3.1 Timeline and Participants
The Action Research project took place in the second semester of the academic
year 2021/2022. It was carried out with the participation of the 26 student
teachers of the Teaching language skills module, the class teacher and two
observers, one of whom was the ELT program teacher of General Didactics while
the other was a senior student of the ELT major.
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The authors employed a qualitative paradigm based on Action Research (AR)

methodology using class observations, reflection and a survey questionnaire.
Action Research (AR), which is also an integral part of the research activities and
educational practices at the university where the research study was carried out
(Modelo Pedagógico, n.d., p. 90), “is a research approach whereby the
practitioner in the field, with ‘insider’ knowledge, closely investigates and
reflects on his or her practice in order to bring about improvement and
transformative change” (Burns et al., 2022, p. 4).
The usual stages of AR involve identifying a problem, planning and carrying out
an action or intervention, observing the results and reflecting on the process
(Smith & Rebolledo, 2018). AR is localized practice that can bridge the gap
between theory and practice (Ulvik et al., 2018) with reflection considered to be
one of its crucial elements.
The AR process developed for the purposes of the present study was organized
in two cycles following the six cyclical steps in Action Research as described by
Efron and Ravid (2013).
Step 1:
Identify the
problem
Step 6: Step 2:
Implement Gather
and share background
the findings information
Steps in
Action
Research
Step 5:
Step 3:
Analyze and Design the
interpret study
the data
Step 4:
Collect data
Figure 1: The six cyclical steps in Action Research

Adapted from Efron & Ravid (2013, p. 8)
In Step 1, the problem was identified, namely, the fact that the curriculum
design of the subject Teaching language skills did not specify in sufficient detail
what methodology is to be used in order to develop the students’ competencies
when teaching the four language skills in English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
This gap led the authors to devise the following research question:
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How can the improved practice of microteaching (demo lessons) contribute to

the development of student teachers’ desired professional competencies and exit
profiles?
Then, moving on to Step 2 of the AR process, the authors gathered the

background information as presented above in the Literature Review section. In
Step 3, the authors designed the study involving two cycles of AR and using
class observation, reflection and feedback. As part of the data gathering process,
they administered a survey questionnaire to the students to gauge their
perceptions on the AR process carried out.
In Step 4, the data were collected using the research techniques and tools
mentioned above (observation, reflection and feedback via a survey
questionnaire). The qualitative data gathered via the questionnaire were
analyzed using the MAXQDA software (2022). Going on to Step 5, the full set of
data was interpreted by comparing and contrasting them with the background
information gathered in Step 2. The AR plan itself was implemented in two
cycles. In the first cycle, the student teachers gave demo lessons to teach
listening. In the second cycle, during which actions were taken to alleviate the
weaknesses identified in the first cycle by making the required adjustments, the
student teachers gave demo lessons on speaking.
In both cycles, most of the student teachers taught the demo lesson in pairs. The
class teacher and the rest of the students gave feedback to the presenters during
class while the two external observers gave feedback to the class teacher after the
lessons finished. The class teacher also carried out self-reflection on how she
had taught the classes.
4. Data Analysis
4.1. Results of the First-Cycle Observation and Reflection Process
In the first cycle of the Action Research process, observation, feedback and
reflection were carried out when teams of two (or three) student teachers taught
a demo lesson to develop listening skills. The student teachers first submitted a
lesson plan outlining the rationale of the activities that they were intending to
run, and then taught the demo lesson using co-teaching, that is, team members
took turns applying the different teaching strategies and techniques to teach
listening following the ideas of Yan and He (2017).
The class teacher provided the student teachers with feedback by writing her
suggestions, comments and observations on the whiteboard while eliciting ideas
from the students about the different elements and stages of the lesson. She also
wrote key ideas on the whiteboard, and asked students to copy them in their
notebooks for future reference in order to avoid making similar mistakes in
future demo presentations.
The teacher of General Didactics (Observer 1) and a senior eighth semester

student (Observer 2) observed each group presentation and how the teacher of
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the subject Teaching language skills managed the class and how she gave feedback
to the student teacher presenters after they taught the demo lesson.
The first round of observation yielded some insightful comments and

recommendations (see Discussion) because even though the lesson was
evaluated positively by the two observers, there were some weaknesses that
could be remedied.
The observers pointed out to the observed class teacher that the presenting
students did not give clear instructions about the activities or ask Instruction
Checking Questions (ICQs) to verify that the other students knew what they had
to do and for this reason, some of the activities failed. The instructions were
given only orally while the students teaching the demo lesson should have
shown the instructions on a slide for the students to understand clearly what
they had to do. The observers and the class teacher agreed that the presenters
did not manage their time well and, consequently, they did not have time to
finish what they had planned. The observers also pointed out that the quality of
the presenters’ Power Point slides was not satisfactory. They also noticed that
some students spoke in Spanish while working in the small groups and the
student teachers giving the demo class did not deal with this issue on the spot.
The teacher of General Didactics (Observer 1) recommended the following:

• To include in the rubric for evaluation some general tips on how to prepare
PowerPoint presentations (font size, use of colors, etc.);
• To request the student teachers teaching the demo class not to simply ask if
the other students understood the task, but rather, ask Concept Checking
Questions (CCQs) and/or Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs);
• To give students written feedback so that it is easier for them to store the
recommendations arising from the comments in their long-term memory.
The senior 8th semester student (Observer 2) made the following

recommendations:
• The teacher should make sure that the students do not speak Spanish while
working on the activities in small groups.
• Grammar correction should be made on the spot to add to accuracy.
Even though some of the reflections and recommendations made by the teacher
of didactics (Observer 1) and the ones made by the senior student (Observer 2)
did not fully overlap, each of the issues raised were discussed and analyzed with
the observed teacher. The three participants of the Action Research process,
namely, the observed class teacher and the two observers then agreed on the
modifications to be included in the next Action Research cycle.
4.2. Results of the Second-Cycle of Observation and Reflection Process

In order to enhance the teaching and learning process, the second cycle
contained the improvements that the class teacher and the two observers had
agreed on. There was more emphasis on using Concept Checking Questions and
Instruction Checking Questions. The student teachers teaching the demo lesson
648
were asked to move around the classroom making sure that the students spoke
English all the time. The class teacher was ready to provide more detailed and
specific written feedback.
The observation process was similar to the one developed in the first cycle,
however, on this occasion student teachers taught a demo lesson to develop
speaking skills. They incorporated the suggestions that had been made in the
previous cycle and the results were better in terms of learning outcomes and the
development of professional competencies. The class teacher explained and
illustrated the use of CCQs and ICQs before the student teachers began the
demo lesson and asked them to pay special attention to these when teaching.
She also highlighted to the students the importance of keeping time for each
activity so that they could teach everything they had planned for the 40-minute
session. The teacher emphasized the importance of speaking English all the time,
explaining that the students had to reach a C1 level of English proficiency in
order to graduate, and practicing English whenever they worked in groups was
a very effective way of reaching this goal.
In the second observation session, the class teacher’s feedback to the presenters
was not only given orally, but also in writing. The teacher changed the way she
presented the feedback; during the demo class she took notes not by hand but on
her laptop into a Word document, which she then gradually projected to the
students during the feedback phase. After the class, the whole document of
suggestions and recommendations was made available to all the students in the
class through the virtual classroom, so that the students could go back to those
written notes when planning and teaching subsequent demo lessons and avoid
making similar mistakes.
After the demo lesson itself, the class teacher gave oral feedback to the
presenters. She did not give it directly but elicited answers from the students by
means of questions. She first invited feedback from other students as a starting
point, and then asked those who taught the demo what they would do
differently in order to improve the lesson. She pointed out that even though the
topic chosen for improving speaking skills was excellent the students did not
exactly do what the presenters wanted them to do in either of the two activities.
She said that the ICQ was good but, apparently, one single question was not
sufficient for the students to comprehend what they had do, so she
recommended asking more ICQs. These results coincide with Odo’s (2022) study
on pre-service teachers and with Önal’s findings (2019) as well.
Irrespective of the improvements identified in the observation and reflection

process, the researchers decided to administer a survey questionnaire to the
student teachers in order to explore their perceptions on the use of planning and
teaching demo lessons for the development of their future professional
competencies as teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Altogether, 26
students were given the survey questionnaire, all of which were returned.
The results are summarized in Point 4.3.
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4.3 The Results of the Survey Questionnaire

The data were processed using the MAXQDA qualitative analysis software
(2022) and this resulted in retrieving the following codes (themes): active
learning strategies, meaningful learning, fun and interesting activities, CLT
strategies, didactic resources, presentations, warm-up activities, didactics, group
work, gamification strategies, projects and technological resources.
Out of these themes, the following categories were given special attention: active
learning strategies, fun and interesting activities, and CLT strategies. Active
learning strategies were understood as those strategies in which learners were
actively engaged, either physically or mentally. Fun and interesting activities
were those in which the students were engaged and had fun while learning. CLT
strategies were the ones that intended to have real, authentic and meaningful
communication as their main goal.
These categories are presented in the following diagram and tables, which
include all the responses supplied by the participating students.
To improve my To learn how to plan

teaching skills and and teach fun and
competencies in interesting activities
CLT 5 answers
To develop
17 answers planning and
teaching skills
Question 1. Why is
planning and teaching 2 answers
demo lessons important for
you as a future teacher of
English?
To be able to use
active learning
To gain motivation
techniques in class
to teach
1 answer
1 answer
Figure 2: Students’ answers to Question 1
As can be seen from the responses, most of the students (65%) consider that the
planning and teaching of demo lessons contribute to the improvement of their
communicative language teaching skills and competencies.
Some students provided the following explanations:

“It helps me to realize when I make mistakes.”
“It helps me to teach in a more communicative way.”
“It provides me with knowledge and skills on how to plan my lessons
more communicatively.”
“It helps me to improve my accuracy and fluency in English”. “It helps
me to plan how to avoid making mistakes when I teach my class.”
650
“It helps me to improve my communicative competence to interact with

the students.”
“The feedback the teacher gives me helps me to improve both my
language and my teaching skills.”
The second most frequent response (19%) revolved around the idea that the
planning and teaching of demo lessons encouraged them to look for techniques
and tools that would help them design their future lessons in a fun and engaging
manner. Furthermore, student teachers could see other benefits as well: they
found the act of teaching itself enjoyable, stating that the process allowed them
to become more confident and, as a result, their anxiety and ‘stage fright’ were
reduced.
Table 1: Students’ answers to Question 2 and 3
Question 2. What challenges Question 3. How were you able to

Nº of
did you face when you had overcome the challenges you mentioned
answers
to plan and teach the demo as a response to Question 2?
lessons?
Handling the lesson plan Research on how to create lesson plans

template Feedback (from the teacher and classmates)
(Establishing a relationship Finding out for whom the lesson is
13
between the topic, the intended
objectives and the activities)
Still feel nervous (4 students)

Teaching my classmates (best friends) before
the demo (2 student)
Feeling nervous when Getting positive feedback from my
11
teaching the demo lessons classmates (2 students)
Not looking directly at my classmates when
I teach the demo (1 student)
Being more active in class (2 students)
With my classmates’ help and cooperation
2 Time management Doing research on how to do it
Teacher’s feedback
Thirteen students (50%) reported that the most frequent challenge they faced
was understanding the lesson plan template. Overcoming it involved doing
their own research, relying on the feedback they received, and taking into
account the proficiency levels and the characteristics of the learners the lesson
plan was intended for. Eleven students (42%) reported feeling nervous when
teaching the demo lesson. It is particularly interesting that four (15%) of them
reported this was a challenge that they still had to overcome.
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Table 2: Students’ answers to Question 4

Question 4: During the
planning and teaching
of the demo lessons,
what moments and Examples of moments and specific activities
Nº of answers specific activities do
mentioned by the respondents
you think helped you
learn the most?
Researching the issue

Grasping the structure of the lesson plan template
Teaching the lesson using fun and interesting
activities
Observing other classmates’ presentations
Avoiding making similar mistakes
Gaining experience in the use of CLT strategies
Keeping in mind the students’ needs when
12 Planning the lesson planning
Choosing appropriate objectives and techniques
Creating specific, measurable, achievable, relevant
and time-bound objectives
Planning a warm-up activity to feel more confident
and relaxed in front of the students
Understanding the problems students face in
evaluations
Seeing the difference between aims and objectives
9 Teacher’s feedback By correcting my mistakes
Sharing ideas and learning vocabulary due to
communicating as part of a team
5 Working in groups
Developing active learning strategies
The experience of helping one another
Table 2 shows students’ responses about what they consider were the moments
or activities during the planning and teaching of the demo lessons that
contributed the most to their learning. Twelve students (46%) reported the
process of planning the lesson was the activity that helped them the most to
learn. The reason given for why this activity was the most relevant for their
learning was that it allowed them to ‘learn by doing’.
Specifically, students reported that planning the demo lesson helped them to
understand the structure of the lesson plan, to learn by observing their
classmates' teaching, to gain more experience in the use of CLT strategies, to
choose appropriate objectives and techniques, as well as to teach the lessons
using fun and interesting activities. Nine (35%) students mentioned that the most
valuable moment for them was receiving feedback because it helped them to
correct their mistakes. Five students (19%) considered it important to have had
the opportunity to work in groups because it allowed them to share ideas and
help each other and develop active learning strategies while carrying out group
work.
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5. Findings and Discussion

In this section we bring together different strands of our investigation, highlight
the importance of our findings and answer the research question.
5.1 The importance of student teachers’ professional development

The student teachers acknowledged the importance of needing to develop their
language and pedagogical skills. They understood the need for communicating
and becoming more fluent and more accurate as prospective language teachers.
Teaching skills and language skills go together and, in this regard, the necessity
for an advancement of all-round competencies, as described by Cochran and
Villegas (2016) has been confirmed.
5.2 The Importance of Demo Lessons for Professional Development

The participants in the study emphasized some elements that they found
important from the point of view of improved pedagogical skills. By focussing
on active learning strategies, meaningful learning and communicative language
teaching approaches, they were able to create activities that were both engaging
and appropriate in the peer-teaching context. The feedback at three different
levels (student teachers’ providing peer feedback, classroom teacher giving
feedback to student teachers and the senior colleague and senior student
supplying feedback to the class teacher) served both the student teachers and the
class teacher but it also improved the observation skills of the external observers.
It led to dialogic communication with tangible improvements in the student
teachers’ motivation and performance. Even though several studies have raised
the issue of authenticity, namely, the lack of ‘real students’ in demo lessons (see,
e.g., Rismiyanto & Suryani, 2020), the participants of our study did not mention
this aspect. Indeed, they repeatedly highlighted the fact that their peers
provided them support both while preparing for their demo classes and during
the ‘live’ session.
5.3 Reflection as a Tool for Professional Development

It is understood that reflection as a form of practitioner research is of great
importance in education (Schön, 1987) and is a primary source for learning. The
survey questionnaire, with its targeted questions, allowed for reflection and the
student teachers readily provided evidence of both the challenges they faced and
the way in which they were able to overcome those. The difficulties that the
student teachers mentioned are familiar from the studies that we presented in
the literature review. Bell (2007) referred to the complex nature of microteaching,
such as when students need to fulfill various roles (teacher, student, student
peer). As for improved performance, Kamimura and Takizawa (2012) found that
student teachers are able to process critical comments and do better when
microteaching is done in stages, which was the lived experience of our student
teachers. As for pair teaching, Yan and He (2017) described how Chinese student
teachers thought that teaching in pairs is alien to their local context. At UNAE,
where students are introduced to collaborative and cooperative ways of working
early on in their university careers, this has not surfaced as an issue.
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5.4 Insights Arising from the Observation Sessions

Even though at times observation is perceived as an uncomfortable occasion
because it can be part of teachers’ annual appraisal (Farrell, 2005), in our case the
carefully designed observation process resulted in constructive and forward-
looking criticism. Both external observers were able to make pertinent comments
and meaningful recommendations, as a result of which the class teacher was
able to incorporate new elements into the feedback that she gave to her student
teachers. Even though her modified and improved practice did not imply
changing her feedback process in a fundamental way, the ‘tweaking’ resulted in
an enhanced routine, an outcome that is often true of Action Research projects
(Smith and Rebolledo, 2018).
5.5 Answering the Research Question

Based on the results and the analysis of the research findings, we can now
answer our research question, which was phrased as follows:
How can the improved practice of microteaching (demo lessons) contribute to

the development of student teachers’ desired professional competencies and exit
profiles?
Since there is an apparent gap in the required exit profile (see Appendix A) and
the syllabus for the Teaching language skills module, we contend that any
improvement of an important element contributes to enhanced levels of
competency by the time students graduate and will lead to better performance in
the pedagogical knowledge domain. It will probably also result in improved
language skills (since the student teachers are expected to present and teach a
feature of the language or a grammar point intensively). Such an important
element is the demo lesson (microteaching), which was the focus of our study.
We found that student teachers perceived demo lessons a useful tool and felt
that as a result of having gone through the experience of peer-teaching, they
were better prepared for their practicum involving ‘real’ students (Rismiyanto
and Suryani, 2020).
These outcomes are in line with the findings of the study conducted by
Kamimura and Takiwaza (2012), who concluded that: a) student teachers found
feedback provided by their peers helpful; b) the student teachers were also able
to incorporate the comments made by their peers in the second round of their
teaching demonstrations leading to “marked improvements in their
performance” (p. 18).
The suggested improvements in the methodology to be employed by the class

teacher to guide and assess students were, therefore, successfully accomplished.
Reflection on the process of improvement by the class teacher highlighted the
positive impact of reflection on language teachers’ cognition and practice as
underlined by Anderson (2020) and Farrell (2016). The microteaching
experiences affected the student teachers’ education through strengthening
several skills that are expected of language teachers, including speaking skills,
motivation and self-reliance. The overall process resulted in the development of
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student teachers’ performance as previously demonstrated in Sagban et al.’s

(2021) study.
6. Limitations and Recommendations

Even though in Action Research it is sufficient to investigate one group of
students with their class teacher, one cannot overgeneralize the results of any
such research study. Exploring the microcosm of a relatively small group of
student teachers, their class teacher and two external observers may only
provide limited understandings of the usefulness of microteaching sessions.
However, there are several recommendations to be made. One is that there

needs to be more research comparing the experience of student teachers in
various contexts and investigating what the differences in perceptions and
practices might be owing to. A second recommendation is to look at the
effectiveness of the methodology employed regarding the successful acquisition
of the material taught during the demo lessons such as the ones described above.
It is clear that peer-teaching may not provide guidance here, since the student
teachers are instructing their peers whose level of English is usually higher than
that of their prospective primary and secondary school students, but before
student teachers start teaching ‘real students’, the effectiveness of their teaching
might be worth investigating. Finally, the often-raised issue of authenticity is
worth further examination since, ultimately, beginning teachers will become
instructors in the real world and real classrooms.
7. Conclusion
The small-scale Action Research project that was carried out at a national teacher
training university in Ecuador aimed at establishing how it was possible to
enhance the delivery of a module called Teaching language skills in such a way
that it improved both the student teachers’ competencies to teach the four
language skills and contributed to their exit profiles as proficient and all-
rounded beginning English language teachers. The two cycles of Action
Research design allowed non-evaluative performance observations by two
observers (a senior colleague teaching didactics and a senior student of the ELT
major). The agency awarded to the class teacher (through her own reflections)
and that of the two observers ensured that the observations took place in a
collegial and non-hierarchical manner. This was further enhanced by the active
participation of the student teachers who, beyond the demo lessons that they
delivered, were able to provide feedback to the student teachers whose
presentations they were actively engaged in as the target audience and
participants of the demo classes. By analyzing the triangulated data arising from
the observations and the responses to the survey questionnaire, the authors
contend that giving demo classes (microteaching) is a useful technique to
prepare student teachers for their future careers. Simultaneously, reflection and
an Action Research-style process can result in improvements that can make the
outcomes of microteaching more effective and its lessons even more memorable.
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8. Endnotes
(1) We use the term ‘student teachers’ but in the literature, one often comes
across other terms, such as ‘pre-service teachers’ or ‘teacher trainees’.
(2) “Microteaching” is often spelt with a hyphen or as two words. We are using
it as one word since that is how it often appears in scholarly articles.
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10. Appendixes
Appendix A
Summary of the graduates’ exit profile
The graduates of the Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages need to
possess the following competencies:
1. Command of the English language at C1 level according to the Common
European Framework of Reference that allows them to develop communicative
activities in the classroom.
2. Management of innovative and creative didactic techniques that facilitate the
teaching-learning processes of English in the students of basic education and
high school.
3. Management of information and communication technologies (ICT) as
didactic resources to facilitate the teaching-learning processes of English in the
students of basic education and high school.
4. Advanced development of the required logical, critical and creative thinking
to carry out pedagogic proposals that favor the teaching-learning process of the
English language in a way that promote the formation of values, acceptance,
integration of the differences and interculturality among students.
5. Motivation and sociocultural commitment to English language teaching (ELT)
with a communicative, inclusive and intercultural focus.
6. The necessary knowledge of educational research to diagnose and identify
educational problems among the students with the objective of designing and to
applying curricular projects of intervention that promote a solution to these
problems within a framework of respect, tolerance, inclusion and collaboration.
7. Leadership in the educational processes in English language teaching with a
social vision, respect for individual differences in the educational community,
the environment and different cultures as well as humanistic education and
promotion of educational inclusion.
(PINE Major Project, 2018)
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Appendix B
Survey questions on the demo lessons
Question 1. Why is planning and teaching demo lessons important for you as a
future teacher of English?
Question 2. What challenges did you face when you had to plan and teach the
demo lessons?
Question 3. How were you able to overcome the challenges you mentioned as a
response to Question 2?
Question 4. During the planning and teaching of the demo lessons,
what moments and specific activities do you think helped you learn the most?
659

Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 659-678, June 2023
Gender Equality in Science Classrooms:

Examining the Implementation of Gender-
responsive Approach and its Impact on Science
Education
Peter Paul Canuto
Ifugao State University, Lamut, Ifugao, 3605 Philippines
Felina Espique
Saint Louis University, Bonifacio Street, Baguio City, 2600 Philippines
Abstract. Gender-responsive education promotes gender equality at

schools and can be attained by addressing students’ gender issues
through gender responsiveness. In view of gender equality, the study
examined the experiences of two Science teachers in implementing a
gender-responsive approach to instruction and its impact on students'
learning in secondary Science classrooms. Data were gathered through
purposive sampling and descriptive phenomenology, supplemented by
follow-up interviews, and then analyzed using Colaizzi's
phenomenological approach. The interviews were conducted through
online video calls with a semi-structured questionnaire. With thorough
analysis, five major themes emerged from the teachers' shared
experiences. These themes pertain to the students' genders and
performances, gender-responsive approaches and methodologies, and
the effects and challenges of implementing a gender-responsive approach
in Science education. Furthermore, the teachers' gender responsiveness
was reflected in preparing lessons, instructional materials, gender-fair
language, extracurricular activities, a profiling system, sharing, group
work and projects, reporting and presentation, problem-solving and
laboratory activities, games, and assessments. Consequently, the teachers
affirmed that gender equality among Science classroom students was
achieved. With the surge of concerns surrounding students' gender, a
gender-responsive approach must be upheld. Though the study's results
directly relate to Science education, it is hoped that it will contribute to
the pedagogical knowledge of teachers in other disciplines in integrating
gender and addressing gender issues in the classroom.
Keywords: gender equality; gender responsiveness; gender-responsive

approach; Science classrooms; students’ gender issues
©Authors
660
1. Introduction
Gender issues, such as bias, stereotyping, inequality, gaps, bullying, and
discrimination, have directly affected society's workforce, business, and
education. Notably, there have been debates about gender equality and equity for
over a century (Meinck & Brese, 2019). In academia, it is known that gender is a
significant factor within schools worldwide (Nishimura, 2017). Though
commonly observed within the school (Hernandez & Cudiamat, 2018), the school
is still a significant asset for alleviating gender issues (Wigati, 2019). In response,
the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
declared gender as one of the most crucial lessons within the educational sector
(Meinck & Brese, 2019). Introducing gender in classrooms will minimize gender
bias and may serve as a strategic place to address gender equality (Wigati, 2019).
An effective way is to integrate gender into the school's curricula and instruction
(Galamgam et al., 2021).
Over the years, there has been a gradual increase in the gender parity index (GPI),
which shows the enrollment ratio between male and female students. It implies
that there are more enrolled females than males, indicating an increasing dropout
rate among males (Belal, 2009; Nishimura, 2017). The GPI also shows an increase
in gender gaps which may be ascribed to the rise of gender-sensitive policies
(Belal, 2009). Nonetheless, despite the surge in the attendance of females, women
still need to be as well educated as men (Evans et al., 2020). With the recognition
of gender variance, it must be acknowledged that there is the presence of students
who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) at schools,
regardless of their profiles in terms of ethnicity, race, and age (Mitchell & Mitchell,
2019).
Gender issues impact the professionalism of teachers and the students’

perceptions, actions, and achievements (Meinck & Brese, 2019). There is a modest
opinion among teachers that women are dependent on men (Toraman & Ozen,
2019). There is an observed increase in the percentage of female teachers
compared to males at all levels worldwide (Anderson, 2019). The female teachers'
availability may also affect school girls' attendance (Belal, 2009). The non-
differentiation of teaching style and instruction between male and female teachers
contributes to the students’ differences in academic achievement and engagement
(Barnett-Cooper, 2012). Using teaching strategies that promote the inclusion of
gender positively affects students' development (Ananga, 2021; Lee, 2021). The
type of training affects how teachers perceive gender (Dickey, 2014; Kollmayer et
al., 2020): likewise, using learning materials, including textbooks and online
resources, which depict gender stereotypes where more men are portrayed and
commonly illustrated as famous characters than women (Lee, 2021).
Among the various subjects offered in schools, it is evident that Science education
contributes to a nation's prosperity, welfare, and security (Abraha et al., 2019;
Abraha et al., 2021). With equity in education, students are already assured of
equal rights to a quality Science education (Jalak & Nasri, 2019). Though the
integration of gender is apparent in instruction, its construct in Science is still
ambiguous, creating a challenging atmosphere that surrounds both gender and
661
Science. No notable studies support the connection between gender and the
construction of scientific knowledge (Hearn & Husu, 2011). Even with the
exponential progress of science and technology, women are still not widely
acknowledged owing to gender issues. Women are less frequently portrayed as
the one who leads, invents, works, and does science and technology, while males
are extensively presented. There is atypical women's participation in handling
and conducting science and technology within organizations, including schools
(Hearn & Husu, 2011). The presence of societal and traditional views of women
and the number of schools for girls affect women's educational status (Shayan,
2015). Even with the implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) curricula, there are lingering concerns that it will amplify
educational inequalities considering that females are still disadvantaged in the
field (Kulakoglu & Kondakci, 2022).
With the numerous studies related to gender in the educational sector, it is

apparent that there are gender issues surrounding both teachers and students.
Gender-related issues include the disparity among the teachers and their teaching
strategies (Ananga, 2021; Barnett-Cooper, 2012; Belal, 2009; Lee, 2021; Toraman &
Ozen, 2019), the context of the school, policies, and curricula (Dickey, 2014;
Kollmayer et al., 2020; Wigati, 2019), and effects of gender on students'
performance (Ananga, 2021; Barnett-Cooper, 2012; Lee, 2021; Meinck & Brese,
2019). However, in Science education, most studies concentrated on the
preferences and perceptions of males and females regarding STEM subjects (Kang
et al., 2019; Makarova et al., 2019) and their career aspirations (Meinck & Brese,
2019). Therefore, there is still the lingering challenge surrounding the vague
relationship between gender and Science teaching.
To further understand the context of gender in Science education leading to

gender equality, this study aimed to examine the experiences of how the teachers
implemented a gender-responsive approach in instruction and its impact on
students' learning in Science classrooms. With the broad scope of lessons and
varied learning activities in Science to support the students' development,
understanding the approaches and other significant measures to address
students' gender-related issues are relevant. Specifically, this study aimed to (a)
determine how the teachers employed gender responsiveness to attain gender
equality among the students and (b) determine gender-responsive teaching
strategies used in delivering Science lessons and learning activities.
Studies among students enrolled in STEM have indicated gender differences. For
career aspirations, boys are often seen in professions related to STEM in contrast
to girls, who prefer trades in the social sciences (Meinck & Brese, 2019). Female
students are more interested in Biology, while males prefer Physics and
Chemistry (Kang et al., 2019). Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry are perceived
as masculine, with Mathematics being strongly regarded as masculine by both
female and male students. This masculinity associated with Science subjects poses
significant challenges among women (Makarova et al., 2019). In Science teaching,
homogenous group interactions result in a gender-responsive collaboration. It
662
creates a learning environment for all students to benefit significantly from

learning activities. Teachers need to provide more hands-on experience to sway
the interest of females (Kang et al., 2019). A virtual laboratory also improves
student achievement (Akhigbe & Adeyemi, 2020). Providing varied activities
suited for both genders is also an inclusive approach, bearing in mind that
practical activities are preferred by male students, while females prefer verbal
communication (Dickey, 2014). Moreover, teachers must be cautious in choosing
instructional materials such as textbooks that exhibit fewer gender-biased and
stereotypical images and texts (Lee, 2021).
Based on social norms and culture, the Philippines is matriarchal. However,

owing to Spanish colonialism, patriarchal culture in the country is embedded
(Anonuevo, 2000). Nevertheless, in recent years, the Philippines has led the East
Asia and Pacific (EAP) region and even the world regarding gender equality. This
is owing to the country’s progressive promotion of equal access to jobs among
women and the enactment of laws to eradicate discrimination against women
(Buchhave & Belghith, 2022; Philippine Commission on Women, 2014). In
Philippine history, it is observed that males were considerably better educated
than females. However, in recent years, male students have been observed to be
lagging behind females, causing a wider gender gap (Paqueo & Orbeta, 2019). It
was claimed that the curricula, teaching pedagogy, and educational materials are
gender-biased (Philippine Commission on Women, 2014). Concerning this, the
Department of Education (DepEd) issued the Gender-Responsive Basic Education
(GRBE) policy that is aligned with gender and development (GAD) according to
the country’s constitution. The GRBE policy ensures that all genders have equal
access to learning opportunities and addresses gender issues, consequently
attaining gender equality among the students.
As defined by the DepEd, gender responsiveness refers to undertaking activities

to correct gender discrimination and bias, resulting in gender equality and equity
(Department of Education, 2017; Galamgam et al., 2021). Gender responsiveness
can be achieved using the gender-sensitive approach, which takes into
consideration gender disparities in developing a curriculum and setting
classroom rules. This approach is inclusive since it entails presenting the gender
component to the learning materials and incorporating gender-sensitive
publications into the course readings and homework (Mihajlović Trbovc &
Hofman, 2015). Owing to the pandemic, a partnership between the DepEd and
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) created several
DepEd TV shows that advocate gender equality and fairness (Department of
Education, 2021). This example of a gender-responsive education program was
observed to create multiplier effects (Galamgam et al., 2021).
Studies suggest that school and curricula interventions need to be more gender
responsive. For teachers, progressive awareness of their students’ gender identity,
including complex terminologies and language, will lead to non-discrimination
(Mitchell & Mitchell, 2019). Teachers may also consider and integrate gender in
the curricula, lesson plans, and learning activities (Abraha et al., 2021; Zhu et al.,
2022) that must accommodate and address learning needs (Abraha et al., 2021).
663
Having faculty members and administrators open to communication and support

is crucial (Mitchell & Mitchell, 2019). It is suggested that stakeholders may
develop extracurricular activities and gender-related resources (Zhu et al., 2022).
Creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom will further foster communication
(Mitchell & Mitchell, 2019), thereby contributing to gender equality in classrooms.
3. Methodology
The phenomenological approach was used to examine the teachers' experiences
(Langdridge, 2017) on how they implemented a gender-responsive approach in
Science instruction. Specifically, this study utilized descriptive phenomenology,
which is used to explore and describe the lived experiences of individuals
(Christensen et al., 2017) and to understand further the aspect of those experiences
(Matua & Van Der Wal, 2015). Furthermore, bracketing was applied to eliminate
bias in results, whereby the researchers put aside their own beliefs, feelings, and
assumptions (Lester, 1999). In conducting a phenomenological study, Boyd (2001)
and Groenewald (2004) considered that around two to ten participants are already
sufficient to aim for saturation to attain the study's research objectives.
3.2. Participants of the study

The study involved two teacher-participants from Cordillera Administrative
Region (CAR), Philippines, during the school year 2021 – 2022. The participants
were selected through purposive sampling, enabling the selection of
knowledgeable and experienced participants on the phenomenon under study
(Creswell et al., 2011). The participants were faculty members teaching at the
secondary level and specializing in Science. No other criteria in the selection
process were included owing to the educational situation affected by the
pandemic. Specifically, Participant A has more than eight years of teaching
experience at the junior high level in a public school. On the other hand,
Participant B has more than three years of teaching experience in the senior high
level of a laboratory school of a state university.
3.3. Data collection, management, and analysis

The conduct of this study upholds the practice of scientific inquiry and the ethical
and professional standards in doing research. A semi-structured interview was
the primary means of collecting the data. An interview guide consisting of items
covering the participants' overall teaching experiences (Magnusson & Marecek,
2015) was used to ensure detailed information. Owing to the pandemic and the
observance of health protocols, the interview was conducted through online video
calls for both participants with their informed consent. Follow-up interviews were
also conducted to recognize the participants' experiences and attain data
saturation comprehensively. The follow-up interview led to emerging insights
based on the reflection of the results (Polkinghorne, 2005). It also provided
opportunities for clarification (Smith, 1994) and enhanced the validity of the
gathered data (Holter et al., 2019).
The seven-step phenomenological approach of Colaizzi (1978) was utilized in data

analysis. Using this approach, the results are a “concise yet all-encompassing
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description of the phenomenon under study”. First, the researchers re-read all the
raw and translated transcriptions a few times to familiarize themselves with the
contents and gain a deep understanding. Second, statements or phrases directly
significant to the phenomenon under study were identified and extracted. Third,
meanings were formulated from the recognized and extracted meanings. The
fourth step involved clustering the formulated meanings into common themes of
all the accounts. Fifth, inclusive descriptions of the themes were developed. Sixth,
the descriptions were condensed into a short statement that is essential to the
structure of the experiences. Lastly, the vital structures were validated by the
participants (Morrow et al., 2015). This process enabled the collection and
understanding of the participants' experiences of implementing a gender-
responsive approach.
4. Findings
Five main themes emerged from the validated data of the participants'
experiences pertaining to (a) the students' genders and their relation to behaviors
and performances, (b) gender-responsive teaching approaches, (c) gender-
responsive teaching methodologies and strategies, (c) effects of gender
responsiveness, and (d) challenges of implementing gender-responsive Science
education. However, it must be noted that both participants emphasized that the
gender-responsive approaches they shared were only applicable in regular, face-
to-face classes rather than during the height of the pandemic owing to the distance
and modular approach where direct interaction was restricted.
4.1. Gender of the students and their performance

The first theme relates to the gender of the students whom the participants taught.
Determining the students' gender affected how the teachers implemented gender
responsiveness into their instruction. Accordingly, gender also plays a relevant
role in the students' performances.
4.1.1. Gender of students

According to both participants, their students were familiar with the context of
gender identity and expression as well as gender issues such as bullying. In their
classes, there will always be LGBTQ students. However, they noted that these
students only comprised a minority of the class. Both participants had students
who were very straightforward about their gender during their self-introduction.
Some students were also very expressive with their behaviors and how they
dressed to show their gender identity. As Participant B expressed:
“You can identify the gender of the students even if they do not tell you.
It sometimes shows how they dress, move, and use make-up when they
come to school.”
However, Participant B implied that the students’ appearance will not always
correctly identify their gender. Sometimes, their gender will be determined as the
school year progresses or if the students share it themselves. Additionally,
Participant B stated that gender-related problems in the classroom were less likely
to happen since students were already exposed to and were already accepting of
the members of the LGBTQ. In support of this, Participant A indicated:
665
“It is already an unspoken rule among the students since gender is well-
represented in the classroom. It is already expected that some LGBTQ
students will be enrolled in each class.”
4.1.2. Behaviors and performance of students

In the Philippine secondary education Science classrooms, four major subjects of
Science are taught: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth and Space Science. In
these fields, both participants observed differences in the students’ behaviors and
performances concerning their gender. Both participants claimed that females
were more interested and active in Biology. Participant A mentioned that
maturity among females, including LGBTQ students, was prevalent when the
lessons related to life cycles, puberty, reproductive systems, and sex education. In
contrast, the males approached these topics pretentiously yet enthusiastically.
Female students were more mature in learning lessons and better at memorizing.
As Participant B stated:
“Females were more interested in Biology since it is more about concepts
and terminologies. Ladies were generally better at memorizing Biology
terms compared to gentlemen.”
In Physics, both participants have the same claims that males were more active
than females. Males were faster at computing problem sets and deriving formulas;
they also asked more questions. Participant A added that male students tended
not to review their notes but were nevertheless able to solve problem sets. As
Participant A noted:
“Boys were quick to solve problems. They were faster when it came to
computations. Thus, they were able to give immediate answers but are not
always correct.”
In Chemistry, the participants had contrasting observations. Participant A

claimed the females excelled since the subject involved memorization activities.
As shared by Participant A:
“The ladies were excelling and better at memorization, just like in Biology.
They could memorize the elements, chemical symbols, and formulas.”
In contrast, Participant B indicated that all genders were active and performed
well in Chemistry. As Participant B implied:
“There were no observable differences among the gender of my students as
to who was more interested or active in Chemistry. They performed
equally.”
Lastly, in Earth and Space Science, Participant A stated that LGBTQ students
performed better. Participant A specified that these subjects revealed more of the
creativity and resourcefulness of LGBTQ students. The subject involved more
creation of projects and outputs such as models and dioramas. As Participant A
mentioned:
“LGBT students were creative and expressive with their ideas, opinions,
and projects, especially with climate change. They were able to use recycled
materials to do their projects.”
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On the other hand, Participant B claimed that female students performed well in
Earth and Space Science. Accordingly, these subjects involved many
terminologies rather than computing problems. As Participant B shared:
“Females were excelling. They can memorize most descriptions and
characteristics. Ladies are better at memorization as compared to males.”
In general, both participants noted that LGBTQ students were not commonly
observed to excel or perform better in Science than males and females. This
scenario was due to their small numbers in class. Participant A further explained
that LGBTQ students were viewed by their classmates as 'all-rounders' who could
do well in most subjects but not in Science. As Participant A conveyed:
“Members of the LGBT excelled more in extracurricular activities such as
dancing and performances but were not very observable in Science.”
4.2. Gender-responsive approaches

The second theme is associated with how the participants employed gender
responsiveness in teaching Science. The participants' gender-responsive
approaches not only pertain to their ways but are also related to the gender
responsiveness of the school.
4.2.1. Preparing lessons

Participant A stated that specifying gender-responsive strategies or activities in
their lesson plans is unnecessary. However, specific contents of the lesson plans
may be highlighted to indicate the gender-responsive approach when required.
Participant A added that gender-response conduct was also innate and sometimes
depended on the situations that may occur during instruction. Participant B
shared that gender responsiveness is not particularly identified in the syllabus but
must be implemented and may be identified. Participant B added that gender
responsiveness is not always dependent on the topic but is applied to the learning
activities. Participant B gave an example:
“In the solar system, there is no male or female gender on the planets. I
only integrated gender when the students were grouped to create models
collaboratively or when the topic was biological.”
Participants used varied resources to prepare instructional materials (IMs), which

are a variety of educational materials and resources used to support the teaching
and learning process. They searched for visual examples that showed gender
equality, such as pictures of scientists or related professions, including books, clip-
arts, and video clips. However, both participants said they primarily used visuals
that only showed a specific gender owing to limited resources. In this case, the
participants clearly explained to their students that the general context is applied
across all genders. As Participant B shared:
“I explain why my IMs were presented in that way. For example, with the
use of colors in my cartolina. I explain that it not gender-specific. What if
it is the only material available, and I do not have the time to buy other
colors.”
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4.2.2. Gender-fair language

Both participants used gender-fair language in referring to their students and in
giving examples. The participants mentioned that they tried to use gender-neutral
pronouns such as '’they'’ instead of '’he'’ or '’she'’. Both participants used the
students' preferred names when calling on them, such as during recitations.
However, Participant A implied that using gender-neutral terms is not always
applicable in Science. Using gender-specific pronouns or names is also necessary
when teaching Science concepts. Participant A gave an example:
“It is not always applicable at all times. For example, we cannot use 'they'
when discussing menstruation. That term is specifically applied to girls,
so I must use 'she'.”
4.2.3. Extracurricular activities

It is common practice for educational institutions to conduct national or local
celebrations. Celebrations concerning gender include National Children's Month,
National Breastfeeding Month, and Anti-Violence Against Women and Children
(VAWC), among others. Both participants implied that these gender-related
celebrations were integrated into Science where their students could participate.
Participant A shared that through these celebrations, students would gain a
further understanding of gender equality and that it significantly helped when
discussing specific topics. Participant B added that the students also attended
seminars related to GAD. As Participant A mentioned:
“It exposes my students to other gender-related activities outside the
classroom. So, discussing some concepts is easier since the students
already have prior knowledge.”
4.3. Gender-responsive teaching methodologies and strategies

The third theme details the gender-responsive teaching methodologies and
strategies employed by the participants. By doing so, students’ gender issues were
addressed in delivering lessons and providing learning activities.
4.3.1. Profiling system

At the beginning of the study, Participant A collected students' personal data
information using a self-designed survey form that had to be signed by the
student and their parents or guardians. These forms were confidential and
exclusively used by the participant in classes. Part of the survey forms relates to
the students’ experienced gender issues. Participant A used the form in order to
gain insight into the students’ backgrounds to address gender issues immediately
and to be able to identify teaching strategies in advance. As Participant A
conveyed:
“I have my profile which I termed as profiling of students. It looked like an
index card. This is not just in terms of gender but also to further
understand the student's history regarding their experiences concerning
their genders.”
4.3.2. Sharing
Participant A encouraged sharing in class. Accordingly, when it comes to gender-
related topics, sharing allows the students to express themselves and correct
misconceptions about their gender identity. Some gender-related topics include
668
gendered social norms, sex education, and bodily changes during puberty, among
others. Sharing also allowed them to explain their gender preferences and gender-
related issues such as bullying and discrimination, thereby enabling the teacher
and their classmates to understand them better. As Participant A indicated:
“It is essential to learn and have a deeper understanding of what the
students are going through. These opportunities will let the students know
how they will be understood. Students could share what they were
experiencing, causing their classmates to understand them better.”
4.3.3. Group work and projects

Participant B explained that the mixing of genders must be applied to group work
and projects to reflect gender equality. There must be no group consisting of either
males or females only. Participant B altered the groupings when homogenous-
gendered grouping was done and added other genders, including LGBTQ
students, within the group. As Participant B indicated:
“I gave them the leeway to choose their groupmates or partners, but I
needed to check it. If there were homogenous groups, I would give them
other options, such as revising the groupings and adding different gender
into the group.”
Participant A implied that there should be no dominant gender in leadership. All

group members could choose their leader based on the student's ability and not
their gender. Participant A added that if the same groupings were used long term,
all members were given an equal opportunity to be leaders. As Participant A
shared:
“Choosing a student to become a leader regardless of gender will lessen
gender problems in the group. Plus, they will all experience being the
group leaders.”
4.3.4. Reporting and presentation of outputs

Participant B explained that all genders were well represented when it came to
reporting or during the presentation of outputs. Every student must discuss or
report in class. Participant B implied that the gender of the students was not a
factor when it came to reporting. In the case of Participant A, gender-specific
lessons were sometimes given to the opposite gender. This allowed the students
to learn concepts and better understand the lessons where familiarity may be
developed. As an example, Participant A shared:
“I will give the topic of the menstrual cycle to be discussed by the males.
Aside from the definitions, they must discuss further what should be done
to help when females are on their period and how to address the problems
they may encounter.”
4.3.5. Problem-solving activities

Even though males were quick in problem-solving, both participants gave their
students equal problem-solving opportunities. For Participant A, assigning a
particular problem to be solved in advance would ensure that all genders were
well represented. Participant B indicated that various genders were called up to
solve a problem on the board. When there are two problems, equal distribution
will be done. As Participant B shared:
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“From the students raising their hands, I choose different genders to solve
the problems on the board. I only assign problems to specific students when
a few raise their hands.”
4.3.6. Laboratory activities

Both participants commonly observed that male students prefer to refrain from
handling laboratory tools and equipment when performing laboratory activities.
Performing the procedures was also done mainly by females and LGBTQ
students. According to Participant B, males feared they might break the materials,
whereas females and LGBTQ students were gentler in handling tools and
equipment. In this case, Participant B implied a need to explain how to perform
the laboratory activity and emphasized that each student in the group had to
participate. Therefore, all students are given an equal chance of performing tasks
for all conducted laboratory activities. As Participant B mentioned:
“I let them have the equal opportunity to hold and use the laboratory tools
and equipment so that they will not be at a loss in the future, especially
when they go to college. I gave them equal chances and exposed them to
lab activities.”
4.3.7. Games
In utilizing games as a learning activity, Participant B grouped the students
heterogeneously based on gender. Specific rules were given to the students, and
they were not allowed to break them. This allowed effective communication and
encouraged teamwork. Participant B added that the students’ critical thinking
skills were developed since they developed and applied strategies to maintain
the game rules while simultaneously learning. Participant B gave an example:
“One of the rules was to be linked together at all times. One of the group's
strategies was to tie their clothes together instead of holding hands since
they were embarrassed to hold the hands of the opposite sex. In another
group, they could hold hands, but the boys and girls were arranged in
succession. In another group, LGBTQ students were placed between boys
and girls.”
4.3.8. Constructing assessments

Participant A indicated that common names were used when giving problem sets.
Giving realistic situations would also ensure clarity among the students. For
Participant B, when the names of males were used in the first problem, the second
problem had to use a female name, allowing equal distribution of genders in
problem sets. Both participants also explained that they avoid relating and giving
examples of problems that are gender biased such as relating strength and power
to males and slowness and weakness to females. As an example, Participant B
explained:
“I use standard examples. If not, I use factual records and real-life events,
such as records of athletes in the Olympic Games. There was also no need
to use gendered names since the names were already specified in these
events.”
670
4.4. Effects of a gender-responsive approach

The fourth theme relates to the significant effects of implementing a gender-
responsive approach in Science instruction. It impacts the students' learning
development, performance, and achievements. As a result, gender equality is
attained in Science classrooms.
4.4.1. Attainment of gender equality

Participant A explained that the teacher's role is to construct learning objectives
and design activities integrating gender. This provides equal learning
opportunities among the students and prevents gender issues. In doing so, all
students participate well during discussions and activities. As Participant A
shared in planning for activities:
“No specific activities were given based on gender since the students
would complain. Students might ask: Why is the activity only done by the
males, which is, in fact, as females, we can also do that? This will make the
students realize that lessons and activities are not only specific to a
particular gender.”
Participant B explained that the students would not feel isolated but instead
involved during lessons and activities. This led to active communication and
participation in group work. There was no conflict among the students. Hence,
they perform without restrictions according to their capabilities.
4.4.2. Boost the confidence of students

Both participants agreed that implementing a gender-responsive approach in
Science teaching impacted the students' confidence levels. Participant A claimed
a significant difference in the students’ confidence levels during the start of classes
compared to the end of the school year. It affects not only the performance of the
students but also their personal development as well. As Participant A reported:
“There was a noticeable increase in the confidence level of the students.
Their confidence was better at the end of the grade than on the first day of
class. Sometimes, I observed a total change.”
In the case of Participant B, the increase in the students’ confidence level was
related to their gender expressions. Accordingly, the institution's policy states that
cross-dressing is allowed in the school: however, students must process their
consent forms. This allowed the students to express themselves and participate
freely. The students can confidently recite, solve problems on the board, and give
presentations in front of the class. As Participant B shared:
“Cross-dressing is allowed inside the school. Boys can also have long hair.
This allowed them to be expressive of their genders. It is directly observable
that the students were overflowing with confidence.”
4.5. Challenges affecting gender responsiveness

The last theme relates to the challenges experienced by the participants in
employing gender responsiveness in Science classrooms. These challenges did not
only affect the teachers’ instruction but their students’ learning as well.
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4.5.1. Student-related factors

Though gender equality is achieved in the classrooms and the students were
familiar with their gender identity and could express their gender, both
participants claimed that the student was the main factor affecting gender
responsiveness in Science. Participant A stated there were difficulties in
introducing gender-related topics since some students perceived them as
inappropriate or lewd. As Participant A shared:
“Some of the topics were considered taboo by the students, like
reproductive systems. Other students may want to keep it private and
avoid talking during discussions.”
Participant B stated that some students did not feel welcome, could not fully
express themselves, and did not participate well in class when they were in a
group that was not accepting of their gender. This situation limited how gender
responsiveness was applied since divergence already existed among the students.
As shared by Participant B:
“If the students are in a group that is not open-minded, expressive, and
not accepting, they will tend to stop talking and choose not to participate
well.”
4.5.2. Culture-related factors

With the diversity of students, varied cultures and beliefs are present within the
classroom. Both participants stated that culture is a factor that affects how gender
is integrated into Science. Participant B explained that sometimes it was difficult
to explain topics related to gender or to correct misconceptions owing to the
student's cultural background, beliefs, and norms. During discussions, some
students were very timid about sharing and tended not to participate well,
thereby affecting their performance. Participant A explained that there were
limitations on how students expressed themselves. Some LGBTQ students were
being bullied because of how a particular culture perceived them. Some cultures
are still not very accepting of LGBTQ members. However, Participant B noted that
bullying related to gender is no longer common among students and rarely
happens. As Participant B shared:
“Well, especially in our locality, our culture is not very vocal and not
accepting of the gender preferences of some students. Some cultures force
them to act according to their sex and not their gender since the
community views it negatively.”
5. Discussion
The inclusion of gender in school has been observed to reduce gender issues and
promote awareness of gender equality and equity (Abraha et al., 2019; Wigati,
2019). In this study, both Participants A and B shared that there were more females
than males, and a minority of LGBTQ students in the class, reflecting the gender
gap in the enrollment ratio similar to the observations of Belal (2009) and
Nishimura (2017). However, this is already an implication that all genders are well
represented in Science classrooms. Though there have been positive
developments in addressing gender issues in Science education, gender
differences in the students' performances are still observable (Meinck & Brese,
2019; Kang et al., 2019; Makarova et al., 2019). In Physics, both Participants A and
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B claimed that male students were faster in computing problem-solving activities,

which may indicate that they have better kinesthetic modalities than females. This
relates to the works of Honigsfeld and Dunn (2003) and Sarabi-Asiabar et al.
(2014) who found that the kinesthetic learning style is dominant among male
students.
Participant A observed that females were better in Chemistry, while Participant B

claimed that both genders performed equally. The LGBTQ students were more
creative in Earth and Space Science, as observed by Participant A, while the
females excelled according to Participant B. Lastly, both participants observed
that female students performed better in Biology. Accordingly, females excel at
memorization which may relate to their sharper conceptual understanding, as
supported by Severiens and Dam (1997), compared to the creativity of LGBTQ
students and the problem-solving speed of the males. Further, both participants
observed that LGBTQ students did not generally excel in Science but were more
creative and better at executing performances. Currently, studies supporting the
creativity skills of LGBTQ students are lacking. Nonetheless, the gender
differences in the students' performances may be affected by their preferences,
perceptions, and interests in Science, as identified by Kang et al. (2019) and
Makarova et al. (2019). However, Halpern et al. (2007) noted that the relationship
between students' performances and their genders has no specific and clear
explanations and that other factors must be considered.
In the utilization of a gender-responsive approach in preparing Science lessons,

both participants indicated the integration of gender in their preparation of
teaching and learning activities and in the selection of IMs that cater to the
students' needs (Abraha et al., 2021). Though similar to the works of Hearn and
Husu (2011) and Lee (2021), there were still challenges in preparing educational
materials since most resources are gender biased, which shows a majority of male
characters compared to females. It posed limitations on how the participants
integrated gender in creating IMs. This may also include pretence challenges for
the students. According to USAID (2017), instead of helping the students to
address gender issues, the educational materials may negatively reinforce gender
roles and can discourage and affect their academic performances negatively if not
utilized appropriately. Nonetheless, ensuring that the IMs present gender
equality exposes the students to positive meanings and will allow them to
understand that all social groups are equal (Lee, 2021; USAID, 2017).
As part of teaching, both participants used gender-neutral terms, such as ‘they’

instead of ‘he/him’ or ‘she/her’, or using the students’ specific names. Calling or
addressing the students using their preferred names relates to their gender
identity. Using gender-neutral forms instead of masculine and feminine
characters is becoming a common trend, as USAID (2017) highlighted. By using
gender-fair language in Science, non-specific representations of gender in lessons
may impact students' perceptions, lessen how they view gender stereotypes, and
lead to non-discrimination, as Mitchell and Mitchell (2019) emphasized. Apart
from delivering instruction, the participants allowed and provided
extracurricular gender-related activities in which the students could participate.
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These activities helped in the students’ learning development outside the

classroom. Apart from the lesson plans, other gender-related activities could
supplement students' understanding and learning (USAID, 2017). They could
support the students in developing an appreciation for others' differences and
similarities and sharing or discussing pertinent ideas and issues surrounding
gender.
Both participants utilized various gender-responsive teaching methodologies and

strategies to promote students’ gender equality in the Science classrooms, similar
to those reported by Ananga (2021) and Lee (2021). It implied full implementation
of gender responsiveness in facilitating instruction in support of the DepEd’s
(2017) GRBE policy. Utilizing gender-responsive teaching methodologies and
strategies forces the students to learn and recognize the characteristics of other
genders. For group work, allowing mixed groups of students fosters gender-
responsive collaborations, which conforms with the views of Akhigbe and
Adeyemi (2020). Ensuring that males participate in laboratory activities
established their involvement in performing the procedures. Sharing among
students enabled them to know one another and express who they are concerning
their gender identity. Assigning tasks to all students gave them equal chances to
learn and participate. Ensuring every student gives a presentation and leads in
group activities ensures a balanced gender representation. In effect, gender-
responsive approaches significantly affect the students' performance, as USAID
(2017) underscored.
Due to gender responsiveness by both participants, there has been a noticeable

impact on the students. The participants shared that there has been a progressive
decline in the traditional view of gender separating males and females in
congruence with the views of Beechey and Moon (2015), Toraman and Ozen
(2019), and Shayan (2015). This declining traditional view includes the presence
of LGBTQ students in the classrooms. This promoted the attainment of gender
equality in Science classrooms, leading to equal opportunities for learning among
the students. The increase in students' confidence levels influenced them to
participate actively and be more confident of their gender identity, which agrees
with the observations of Akbari and Sahibzada (2020).
Though the gender-responsive approach is deemed adequate, there were

challenges identified by the participants. The personal perceptions of students
regarding gender affected how the participants conducted gender
responsiveness, thereby creating conflicts of interest that affected instruction.
There is the expectation and the assertation of how males and females must
behave and act based on culture and tradition, as noted by Schalkwyk (2000).
Some of the students were bullied because of gendered cultural views, thereby
limiting them from actively participating. However, the participants noted that
bullying due to gender differences rarely occurred. This may relate to the need for
culture to change and be adaptive as society needs to respond to social and
economic shifts correlated with globalization, the progress of science and
technology, and societal pressures, as stressed by Schalkwyk (2000).
Consequently, the implementation of a gender-responsive approach by
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Participants A and B was fruitful, helping to attain gender equality and providing
equal access to learning opportunities among the students in the Science
classrooms.
6. Conclusion
Educational institutions continue to help in addressing gender issues and
promote gender equality. Teachers have been instrumental in this endeavor and
have played significant roles by providing equity in education and employing
gender responsiveness. Gender responsiveness in education reflects
understanding gender and how to respond systematically to gender differences
among students. The study's findings offered a glimpse into implementing a
gender-responsive approach in Science education. There is a clear indication that
both participants integrate and relate gender in their preparation of lessons and
learning activities, even with the limited educational resources that portray
gender issues in Science. Gender responsiveness was shown by using varied
teaching approaches and methodologies that addressed gender differences
among the students. Despite the challenges, gender-responsive approaches and
methodologies enabled them to address gender issues and attain gender equality
in Science classrooms. The equal learning opportunities and increased confidence
of the students strongly support this.
However, it must be emphasized that the relationship or role of gender in Science

is still only vaguely understood. Nevertheless, the study justifies that the
implementation of a gender-responsive approach does not only attain gender
equality but also impacts students’ performances in Science classrooms. The study
can also contribute to the findings and results of related studies concerning
students’ gender and addressing gender issues in the classroom. However, it must
also be noted that the study's findings only relate to the experiences of the two
participants on how they integrated a gender-responsive approach in their
Science classrooms and does not represent general experiences of Science teachers
at the basic secondary level. It is suggested that further studies be undertaken.
7. Acknowledgment
The authors were grateful to the Science teacher-participants who committed
themselves to the interview despite circumstances due to the pandemic.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 679-693, June 2023
Teacher Recruitment and the Right Career

Choice: Parents’ Perceptions of the Teaching
Profession in Oman
Khalaf M. Al’Abri
Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Omer H. Ismail*
Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Aieman A. Al-Omari
Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
Abstract. This study aimed to identify why students are reluctant to

choose teaching as a career in the Sultanate of Oman from parents’
perceptions. It also aimed to verify whether there were statistically
significant gender differences in parents’ perceptions of the teaching
profession. Using a quantitative research design, the study applied a
questionnaire to a sample of 2,519 parents, of whom 66.7% were males
and 33.3% were females. The questionnaire results indicated that the
reasons for reluctance in choosing to teach from parents’ perceptions
centred on the difficulty of the career, the lack of financial incentives
compared to the workload, and teachers’ low social status compared to
other professions. The results also revealed gender differences in
choosing teaching as a career in favour of females from the perspective of
students’ parents. It is recommended that parents should respect their
children’s choice of future professions and their desire to be teachers. In
addition, the Ministry of Education in Oman must make significant
efforts to make teaching an attractive career again.
Keywords: career choice; teaching profession; parents’ perceptions;

Oman; quantitative research
1. Introduction
The education sector plays a significant role in all developed and developing
societies across various social, educational, cultural, political, and economic fields.
Education is one of the most important sources of national income for many
countries in the world. In Muslim countries, the Islamic religion values
*
Corresponding author: Ismail, omerhi@squ.edu.om
©Authors
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knowledge exceptionally highly. The first verse in the Qur’an is “Read”. Islam
offers teachers the maximum appreciation and respect, as the Messenger, may
Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, says, “I was only sent as a teacher”
Ahmed (2029). Arab culture also emphasises the roles of scientific teachers. As the
poet says, “Arise for the teacher and give him veneration, the teacher is almost a
messenger”. Therefore, teachers have gained a prestigious social status, and many
graduates seek to join the teaching profession.
Despite the importance of the teaching profession to any society, students are
reluctant to join the profession in many countries (Perryman & Calvert, 2020).
Recent societal and cultural development in the Arab countries has led to the
emergence of job opportunities with high social status, which have attracted
young people’s interest more than the teaching profession. This is exacerbated by
the fact that teachers face many burdens. These challenges and responsibilities
have sometimes led to diminished teaching competencies within the educational
system.
Although it offers many advantages, the modern teaching profession is less
popular than in the past. Some aspects of teaching have deteriorated, and there
are insufficient numbers of teachers, despite their importance and direct impact
on the education of young people and future generations (Al-Hamri, 2011; Al-
Tisha et al., 2014). Students are reluctant to join the teaching profession due to
many educational, functional, social, and material reasons, some of which are
related to administrative and job satisfaction. However, it is unfair to reduce
students’ reluctance to join the teaching profession to material or functional
returns (Ramos & Hughes, 2020).
There are many reasons why students are reluctant to enter the teaching
profession, including the educational and moral burdens that teachers face.
Countries’ diverse cultural, social, economic, and political contexts impact these
causes’ specific natures (Räsänen et al., 2020). Males are particularly
underrepresented in joining the profession. This creates a prominent issue.
In 2013, a World Bank report confirmed that female teachers accounted for about
90–99% of teachers in countries such as Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Italy. However,
UK statistics showed that male teachers constituted only 13.7% of primary school
teachers in 2018 (World Bank, 2013; Eurostat, 2021).
Despite this increase, the teaching profession still suffers from an imbalance
between females and males. Statistics confirm that about 28% of primary schools
have no qualified male teachers. Furthermore, the males in these schools are
unqualified teachers who play supporting roles in learning and teaching (Pollitt
& Oldfield, 2017).
2. Reasons for students’ reluctance to pursue teaching as a career

Several studies have been conducted in many countries to explore why students
are reluctant to enter the teaching profession. For example, studies have been
conducted in Oman (Aisan et al., 2011; Shura Council, 2015; Al-Mahdi, 2015),
Kuwait (Al- Tisha et al., 2014), Sudan (Al-Hamri, 2011), Jordan (Radwan, 2010),
the UAE (Al-Shahiya, 2019), the UK, New Zealand, and Australia (Bacolod, 2007;
Cushman, 2007; Lahelma, 2000; Mills et al. 2004). Aisan et al. (2011) found that the
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most important reasons for students’ reluctance were teachers’ low job
satisfaction, poor teacher professional preparation programs, limited internal
competence in schools, laws and regulations related to the profession, social and
family status, and teachers’ health status. Furthermore, the results revealed some
demographic variables that statistically significantly affected reluctance,
including gender, experience, marital status, social status, and workplace.
Interestingly, a study conducted by the Omani Shura Council (2015) revealed
many reasons behind the low levels of job satisfaction among Omani teachers.
These included teachers’ complaints about their social, psychological, and
material conditions, especially the continued high cost of living, which forced
them to search for additional income. Furthermore, Omani media depicts teachers
negatively, laws restrict teachers’ interaction with students and parents, and there
is no legally defined list of teachers’ rights.
Al-Mahdi et al. (2015) found a shortage of teachers in some subjects in Omani
schools. They identified that the subject facing the most significant shortage was
English language, where the number of foreign teachers reached 1,190 out of 1,856
teachers – twice the number of Omani teachers. Furthermore, the percentage of
male Omani teachers in this subject was only 35.88%. Music also suffered from a
shortage of male teachers, and only 11.41% of teachers were Omani. There was
also a shortage of teachers in most majors; this was higher among males than
females. The number of graduates from colleges of education was minimal
compared to the size of the demand for teachers in public schools. The study
highlighted that this is due to the mismatch between graduates and the labour
market’s needs in terms of numbers, gender, and subjects. There was a deficit in
some subjects but a surplus in others. This reflects the lack of a clear vision and
coordination between higher education institutions and the Ministry of
Education.
Al-Amiri (2011) identified the reasons behind teachers’ reluctance to work in
secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. These were related to the teacher, the student,
the curriculum, and the administrative organisation. Teacher-related reasons
included the belief that pre-secondary stages are easier to teach and the
psychological and physical stress of secondary school education. Student-related
reasons surrounded the large number of students taught in a semester, secondary
school students’ frequent behavioural problems, students’ low levels of
achievement, and students’ weak desire to study. The curriculum caused
reluctance through the intensity of education courses at the secondary stage, the
multiplicity of education materials, and the multiplicity of models required for
exams, assignments, and lesson preparation. The most prevalent administrative
factors influencing reluctance were a lack of teacher incentives in exchange for the
effort they exert in teaching at the secondary level, the weakness of the powers
granted to the teacher to combat students’ misbehaviour, the weak leadership role
of the high school principal in dealing with secondary students, and the lack of
courses offered to secondary school teachers to improve their scientific and
professional abilities.
Al-Hujairi (2015) identified that the most important reasons for primary school
teachers’ reluctance to teach in primary schools in Saudi Arabia were the increase
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in the number of students in the classes and the lack of incentives for the effort
spent in teaching these classes, which require unique methods and significant
control. Furthermore, some teachers lack experience in implementing activities in
these classes.
In Kuwait, Al-Rashidi (2016) showed that economic factors were the most
important reasons that Kuwaiti teachers were reluctant to join the profession. This
was followed by social, personal, and, educational reasons. There were
statistically significant gender differences in the economic, social, and personal
causes of reluctance in favour of males.
In Libya, Malouq (2016) highlighted eight reasons behind the reluctance of male
students to join the teaching profession. First, they believed that teaching was
arduous and tiring, requiring patience and not achieving many ambitions.
Second, the profession lacks salaries, rewards, and incentives. Third, the number
of female teachers far exceeds that of male teachers, making society perceive
teaching as a female profession. Fourth, male students frequently misbehave
toward teachers. Fifth, society views teachers as inferior and lacks appreciation
for them. Sixth, school administrations have significant control over teachers.
Seventh, teachers have limited opportunities for promotion. Eighth, teachers,
especially males, face several responsibilities and pressures.
Ahmed & Al-Krasny (2010) distributed a questionnaire to 2,756 students enrolled
in colleges of education in Sudanese universities. The study showed that
reluctance to enter the teaching profession had many causes. Economic factors
were the most significant, followed by social, psychological, and academic factors.
The students suggested several ways to make colleges of education more
attractive. They stated that the Higher Institute of Teachers should select
outstanding students and motivate them to ensure quality in teacher preparation
and education outcomes in the primary and secondary stages of education.
Furthermore, priority should be given to graduates from the Faculties of
Education, and opportunities should be created for further qualification and
training in postgraduate education. Additionally, teachers’ salaries and benefits
should be improved, and teaching students should be provided with access to
qualified people, libraries, and laboratories.
Many previous studies have also highlighted males’ reluctance to join the
teaching profession in developed countries. Szwed (2010) indicated that recruiting
more male teachers to work in primary schools is a vital goal for many Western
countries. Therefore, the British Schools Training and Development Agency
launched a 10-year marketing campaign to increase the number of male teachers;
however, it had limited success. The study attempted to analyse the causes of this
failure, including the feminisation of the teaching profession, the low status of
primary school teachers, and concerns related to child protection. The study also
discussed how to increase the recruitment and retention of male teachers in
primary schools. Similarly, Wilson (2011) conducted a study presenting the
experiences of male teacher retention in Europe. The study showed that male
teachers in early childhood education were viewed by society as unacceptable
because they lack the necessary skills for childcare compared to female teachers.
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These negative views and perceptions have contributed to males’ reluctance to

enter teaching, and many males have moved to administrative positions.
Weaver-Hightower (2011) considered the feminisation of primary school teaching
and argued that many educational concerns surround male students’ education
quality. This study found that males are reluctant to enter teaching in many
countries, especially at the primary stage. Despite public attempts and political
movements to increase their numbers, male teachers faced many obstacles and
challenges. This study revealed the challenges facing male employment and
retention in teaching. It presented strategies that males used to deal with the
challenges, including avoiding physical contact with children, using humour, and
using public places to have individual conversations with students.
Pollitt and Oldfield (2017) investigated the challenges facing male primary school
teachers in the UK, focusing on their motivations and their attitudes toward their
profession. Interviews were conducted with male primary school teachers. They
conducted objective data analysis on three topics related to potential challenges,
including physical contact methods. Perceptions were negative about working in
a female environment. The study recommended that teachers be trained at the
primary level to reduce barriers and concerns related to the feminisation of the
teaching profession. It also highlighted how to positively enhance motivations for
joining the profession.
In Finland, Räsänen et al. (2020) identified the reasons behind young people’s
reluctance to join the teaching profession, a major global problem in education. It
also explored the reasons behind teachers’ intentions to leave the profession. Data
were collected through a longitudinal survey of comprehensive school teachers
over 2010 (n = 2,310) and 2016 (n = 1,450). The results showed that 50% of teachers
intended to leave the profession, but their reasons differed significantly–the most
widely cited reasons related to the school system and workload. The results also
highlighted several aspects of the educational system that must be improved to
increase teacher job satisfaction and retention.
Perryman & Calvert (2020) state that teacher retention is a long-term problem.
Their study identified that in the UK, persistently large numbers of qualified
teachers have left within five years of starting the profession. The study used data
from a recent five-year survey and applied it to alumni of the UCL Institute of
Education in London. It explored the factors that motivated them to teach, why
they left the profession, or why they might consider leaving in the future. The
results found that workload was the most frequent reason for leaving or
considering leaving the profession. The most critical factors influencing leaving
the profession were more negative experiences teaching than expected, the nature
of the workload, and the performance and accountability evaluation system.
In the USA, Ramos & Hughes (2020) showed that schools nationwide had been
losing teachers at an alarming rate for several years. However, this decline is
reaching crisis levels across parts of the United States for various reasons. The
literature on public education has identified financial constraints as the main
reasons behind this shortage of teachers; however, research has recently begun to
examine other factors, such as work conditions and personal satisfaction. The
results of this study demonstrated that classroom conditions, particularly
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students’ discipline concerns, motivated teachers to consider leaving the

profession. Therefore, the study recommended intensifying initiatives to improve
schools, especially in combating teacher attrition. It suggested developing
possible political decisions and modifications to professional practice, which
would improve classroom climates and increase teacher recruitment and
retention.
3. Gender differences in students’ attitudes toward the teaching

profession
Baoush (2012) found statistically significant differences in students’ attitudes
towards the teaching profession according to gender in favour of females. Reasons
related to their more positive attitudes toward teaching than males due to
society’s acceptance of women working in the field of education. This was also
influenced by society’s perception of women’s innate role of women in caring for
and educating children.
In Kuwait, Al-Rashidi (2016) showed statistically significant gender differences in
students’ reluctance to choose teaching as a career. These were related to
economic, social, and personal reasons in favour of males. Furthermore, there
were statistically significant differences in the students’ reluctance to choose
teaching according to their educational qualifications in favour of high degree
holders.
Mutshaeni et al. (2015) measured school students’ attitudes towards the teaching
profession. They highlighted that secondary school students perceive the teaching
profession negatively. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires and
group interviews. The results revealed that these negative perceptions were
influenced by teachers’ low salaries, students’ lack of respect for teachers,
increasing violence in schools, the nature of teaching, stress from excessive
workloads, the increased responsibilities that teachers face daily in schools, and
the fact that teachers do not encourage students to choose teaching as a profession.
However, Holfve-Sabel (2006) compared the attitudes of students in Sweden
toward the teaching profession with attitudes 35 years ago. The results identified
a general improvement in students ’attitudes towards the profession. There were
significant differences in students’ attitudes toward the teaching profession
related to teachers and teaching, work atmosphere, and social relations with
classmates. Similarly, Mosha (2016) measured secondary school students’
attitudes toward the teaching profession. Data were collected through interviews
and a focus group discussion. The results revealed that high school students had
both positive and negative attitudes. However, females had more positive
attitudes toward the profession than males. Professions such as law, computer
science, hotel management, and human resource management were ranked
higher than the teaching profession. Students viewed teaching as a low-paying
profession. Teachers were not good role models for the students because they
complained and did not perform their duties satisfactorily. This can be explained
by a lack of resources, large classes, poor teaching and learning environments, and
low salaries. Egwu (2015) showed that students have a negative attitude towards
the teaching profession. This was influenced by their perceptions of teaching as a
difficult task and teachers’ low pay compared to other professions.
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4. Parents’ and society’s perceptions of the teaching profession

Limited previous studies have highlighted parental and societal perceptions of
the teaching profession. Ambosaidi et al. (2018) identified the image of the Omani
teacher in society. The study sample comprised 1,196 Omani community
members from different sectors and Oman governorates. The results showed that
society had a generally positive perception of Omani teachers. They appreciated
Omani teachers as the basis for society’s progress and growth, educators and
message holders, and positive influences on their community’s future. In Saudi
Arabia, Al-Sulaimi (2016) stated that teachers’ low status in Saudi society was due
to several reasons. These included economic reasons, the policies of the Ministry
of Education, social reasons, and reasons related to the individual teacher. Akashi
(2014) found that teachers in Algerian society had an inferior social status. He
suggested some solutions to this problem, including raising teachers’ monthly
salaries, providing them with housing, improving teacher-related social services,
offering teachers opportunities to increase their educational attainment, holding
seminars and scientific forums for teachers, and reducing the number of teachers.
Other suggestions included reducing the number of students in classes, limiting
working hours, providing necessary support services, improving teachers’
professional relationships by improving teachers’ morals, reviewing the content
of academic programs, and improving the social standing of teachers by
improving the social status of science and scholars in Algeria.
5. This study
As part of the National Education Strategy 2040, the Ministry of Education in
Oman follows national standards for selecting teachers to ensure a high quality of
education. New national standards have been introduced alongside adequate and
efficient teacher training. Oman has established a specialised institute for teacher
vocational training. The institute provides high-quality in-service training to
improve teachers’ competencies in their scientific subject and appropriate
teaching methods and focuses on the principle of education for sustainable
development. It aims to create a sense of belonging to the profession by
implementing programs promoting the participation of experienced teachers and
school principals from various educational governorates in Oman to develop
training programs. This will strengthen professional learning networks by
improving educational practices and research exchange to benefit policymakers.
The Ministry has also prepared a document for the teaching profession under the
Omani national framework, which aims to create a qualified teaching staff to carry
out tasks in line with the professionalisation of education. It requires teachers to
meet the professional licensing system’s requirements. This framework also
addresses challenges facing the profession, such as the reluctance of males to enter
the teaching profession. It also seeks to create incentives for teachers and a career
ladder for the teaching profession, like in many other professions (Oman
Education Portal, 2020).
Despite the Ministry of Education’s efforts to ‘Omanize’ the teaching profession,
educational statistics indicate a reluctance to enter the teaching profession,
especially in some subjects. Therefore, these subjects have been covered by foreign
teachers. The number of foreign teachers has reached 8,674, of whom 5,056 were
males and 3,618 were females. In some subjects, such as special education and
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English language, the number of male teachers is less than females by 31% to 40%.
The small number of male Omani teachers compared to females indicates males’
reluctance to enter the teaching profession. Overall, the number of Omani teachers
was 47,915, consisting of 13,364 males and 44,551 females (NCSI, 2019).
Young people’s reluctance to join the teaching profession is a significant challenge
for the Ministry of Education. It is one of the main obstacles to the Omanization
of the teaching profession. It hinders the Ministry of Education’s efforts to attract
national teachers. The reluctance of males to enter the teaching profession has
plagued administrators, officials, and decision-makers in ministries of education
worldwide. Having insufficient numbers of teachers disrupts comprehensive
development plans and negatively impacts education. Many studies have
highlighted the importance of males joining the teaching profession, especially at
the primary level, which suffers from a severe shortage of male teachers
worldwide. Several studies have indicated that male teachers can fulfil parenting
roles and be positive role models for pupils (e.g. McGrath & Sinclair, 2013; Bener
et al., 2006). In addition, the presence of male teachers in primary schools
improves children’s social skills and helps them talk about sensitive issues related
to male nature. Evidence confirms that male primary school teachers improve
children’s achievement and teach them vocational skills (Hjalmarsson & Löfdahl,
2014; Palmer et al., 2019).
In sum, despite the continuous efforts made by ministries and bodies that train
teachers in Oman, the number of Omani teachers in some disciplines does not
meet schools’ needs. 5% to 10% of Omani teachers retire or leave service annually.
The Ministry of Education must appoint replacements, meaning that many
foreign teachers are currently employed in Oman. Drawing on these themes, this
study seeks to achieve the following main goals:
- Identify reasons for young people’s reluctance to choose teaching as a
career in Oman from parents’ perspectives.
- Verify any gender differences in young people’s reluctance to choose
teaching as a career in Oman from parents’ perspectives.
6. Methods
This study used a descriptive and analytical method. It used a questionnaire to
collect data from parents of students in grades 10 to 12 in government schools in
Oman.
7. Participants
The study population consisted of all parents of school students in grades 10 to 12
enrolled in government schools in Oman during the academic year 2018/2019.
This included 120,214 individuals, consisting of 59,947 males and 60,267 females
(NCSI, 2019). The sample was chosen by a multi-stage random method. It reached
2,663 parents, of whom 1,777 were males and 886 were females. Table 1 shows the
distribution of the sample members according to gender, age, and educational
qualifications.
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Table 1: Sample distribution according to gender, age, and educational qualifications

(n = 2663)
Variable Variable classes N Percent
Gender Males 1,777 66.7
Females 886 33.3
Age Under than 30-years-old 159 6.0
From 30 to 39-years-old 404 15.2
From 40 to 49-years-old 1,514 56.8
From 50 to 59-years-old 482 18.1
60 years and over 104 3.9
Qualification Less than high school 449 16.9
High School 757 28.4
Intermediate diploma 530 19.9
BA 713 26.7
MSc/PhD 214 8.1
8. Instruments
Questionnaire on parents’ perspectives of the teaching profession. The
questionnaire consisted of 7 items. It involved several tools, including a
questionnaire about factors affecting the demand for the teaching profession
(Richardson & Watt, 2005), a questionnaire about professional identity
(Fisherman & Abbot, 1998), a questionnaire about job satisfaction (Spector, 1997),
and a questionnaire about motivation to leave the teaching profession (Skaalvik
& Skaalvik, 2016). The participants answered the questionnaire using Likert’s
pentagonal scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The questionnaire’s
validity was verified by presenting it to educational arbitrators, who were asked
about the appropriateness of the phrases to achieve the study objectives, clarity,
and linguistic integrity. The questionnaire’s stability was verified by calculating
the internal consistency using the alpha Cronbach's coefficient, which reached
0.78.
9. Results
First, reasons for reluctance to enter the teaching profession from the perspective
of students’ parents were identified. The averages and standard deviations were
calculated for the expressions and the whole questionnaire. These are shown in
Table 2.
Table 2: Averages and deviations for parenting polls about the teaching profession are
arranged in descending order n= 2663
Items Mean SD Impact level Range
1. I believe that the teaching profession is a sacred 2.83 1.28 Average
and sublime profession, but I do not want my 7
son/ daughter to join it.
2. The teaching profession is devoid of material 2.67 1.29 Average
incentives and is a profession that does not 6
achieve luxury living.
3. I do not encourage my son/daughter to enter 2.50 1.25 Low
the teaching profession because it is a stressful 3
profession for the body and mind .
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Items Mean SD Impact level Range

4. I do not want my son/ daughter to be a teacher. 2.30 1.27 Low
I know that he/she does not own/possess the 1
attributes of a good teacher
5. I feel that the teaching profession is not suitable 2.20 1.18 Low
for my son / daughter, as it is a profession 2
devoid of innovation and creativity.
6. I see the teaching profession as a profession for 2.03 1.22 Low
children who come from middle- or low-income 4
families.
7. The teaching profession is not appropriate 1.93 1.16 Low
for my son/daughter because it does not have a 5
prominent social status.
Overall average 2.35 0.82 Low
Table 2 shows that the two highest average scores were for items 7 and 6. This
shows that although parents believed in the prestige and sanctity of the teaching
profession, they did not want their children to join it due to its limited financial
incentives. Furthermore, the two lowest averages were for items 4 and 5. This
suggests that parents encourage their children to pursue professions with a high
salary and allow them to regularly advance to achieve job safety. These findings
show that teaching is no longer considered a profession that offers the individual
an elegant and distinguished social status. Instead, it is considered a tiring and
arduous profession that does not achieve ambitions. In addition, even if students
appreciate teaching and are aware of its role in children’s development, a lack of
encouragement from parents contributes to their unwillingness to become
teachers, especially as other professions offer larger salaries and more privileges.
Second, research suggests that there are gender differences in students’ reluctance
to enter the teaching profession. Therefore, an independent sample t-test was
conducted to identify whether there were gender differences among parents’
reluctance for their children to enter the teaching profession. This is shown in
Table 3.
Table 3: Gender differences in the reluctance of the teaching profession from the
perspective of students’ parents
Gender N Mean S.D T P
Males 1777 2.18 0.84 7.47 0.001
Females 886 2.43 0.73
The results in Table 3 indicate a statistically significant gender difference in favour

of females. This suggests that females perceive the teaching profession more
positively than males. Mothers encourage their children to join the teaching
profession more than fathers. This result can be explained by Omani society’s
view of teaching as inferior to other professions for many reasons, such as low
salaries, a lack of promotions, delays, and limited privileges.
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10. Discussion
This study’s results highlight the convergence of parents’ perceptions of the
teaching profession. Their perceptions centred on the difficulty of the profession,
its lack of financial incentives and rewards, and its low social status compared to
other professions. Parents believed that the most important reasons for males’
reluctance to join the teaching profession were low income and low social status
compared to other professions. Salaries, bonuses, and incentives are not
commensurate with the efforts of teachers. The teaching profession does not offer
the distinguished social status it did in the past.
The results of the study are consistent with the results of many previous studies
conducted in Saudi Arabia (e.g. Al-Hujairi, 2015; Al-Amiri, 2011), which revealed
four critical reasons for young people’s reluctance to become teachers: teachers,
students, the curriculum, and the administrative organisation. These include the
increase in the number of students in classrooms and the lack of incentives for
teachers. It also corroborates previous studies conducted in Sudan (Ahmed & Al-
Krasny, 2010; Al-Hamri, 2011), which found that several reasons influenced
young people’s reluctance to enter teaching. The most significant were economic
factors, then social factors, and then psychological and academic factors. This
study also corroborates many Jordanian studies (e.g. Al-Bashir et al., 2007;
Radwan, 2010), which divided the causes of reluctance into technical, economic,
social, and psychological causes. It also supports the results of some studies
conducted in Iraq (Abd, 2011; Al-Rikabi & Mohammed, 2009), which revealed that
the most important reasons for reluctance were related to seven main factors:
education, economics, security, service, transport and communications, society,
and psychology. It also partly corroborates the results of some previous studies
conducted in Finland, Britain, New Zealand, and Australia (e.g. Cushman, 2005;
Cushman, 2007; Johnson, 2008; Lahelma, 2000; Mills et al., 2004; Moran, 2008;
Pollitt & Oldfield, 2017; Szwed, 2010; Weaver-Hightower, 2011) about males’
reluctance to join the teaching profession. However, this study’s results differ
from these previous studies by determining the causes of reluctance from the
teaching profession and ranking their importance. These studies focused on other
factors, such as experiences, attitudes related to social standing, anxiety about
working in a predominantly female environment, and anxiety about laws and
legislation related to physical contact with children.
The results also found gender differences in reluctance to enter the teaching
profession favouring males. The factors of interest in the teaching profession were
statistically significant in favour of females. This result is consistent with the
results of several studies conducted in many Arab countries, such as Kuwait (Al-
Tisha et al., 2014), Sudan (Al-Hamri, 2011), Jordan (Radwan, 2010), the UAE (Al-
Shahiya, 2019), and several developed countries, such as the UK, New Zealand,
and Australia (Lahelma, 2000; Mills et al., 2004; Cushman, 2007; Bacolod, 2007).
There are social and cultural reasons and justifications behind parents’ preference
for their daughters to enter this profession rather than their sons. Prevailing
cultural values in Omani society help define the features and nature of women’s
occupations. Teaching is perceived as a highly suitable profession for females. The
Ministry of Education has also contributed to this by feminising the teaching
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profession in primary schools, specifically in first to fourth grades, by restricting

work to female teachers only.
11. Conclusion
Based on the findings, the authors conclude that low salaries for teachers and the
deteriorating social status of the teaching profession are among the primary
factors affecting parents’ perception of teaching as a career choice. Socioeconomic
factors play a vital role in influencing considerations of teaching as a career.
Therefore, parents of students, and society in general, must correct social
perceptions of the teaching profession. Currently, the profession is not measured
by its economic status (teachers’ salaries) but is also linked to the social and
cultural status of the profession. In some countries, such as East Asian countries,
the teaching profession has an even higher status than in some developed
countries. Parents should avoid a materialistic perspective when directing their
children to future professions. Instead, they should direct them to a career that
suits their preferences and abilities and respect their desire to choose a teaching
profession. Furthermore, teachers’ social position and professional image should
be improved. Parents should set an example for their children to respect teachers
and appreciate their efforts.
Further questions about the reasons for teachers’ low social status must be
answered. Undoubtedly, Omani society’s low appreciation for teachers’ roles
negatively affects male students’ desire to join the teaching profession. The
Ministry of Education in Oman should take action to restore this profession to its
prestigious status.
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Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 694-710, June 2023
Role of Executive Functions in Improving

Students' Narrative Text Writing Ability
Rastya Mutiarani Zahra* , Sumiyadi ,

Isah Cahyani and Andoyo Sastromiharjo
Department of Indonesian language education,
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia
Abstract. This research was motivated by the low ability of students to

engage in narrative writing. The purpose of this research was to examine
the role of executive function in the process of students writing narrative
texts and to investigate the contribution of executive function to various
aspects of narrative text composition. The research method used in this
study was a factorial analysis design to find out which executive
functions contribute the most to the students' narrative writing skills. The
participants of this study were 250 elementary school students with an
age range of 9-12 years old. The data collection was carried out through
several tests. The tests conducted assessed the transcription skills,
language skills, and executive functions involved in the students' writing
process, specifically using menggunakan CLAN (Computerized
Language Analysis), Mean Length of T-unit in words (MLTUw), and the
ERRNI test (Expression, Reception and Recall of Narrative Instrument).
The research findings show that executive function contributes directly
and indirectly to the students' narrative writing abilities. Aspects of the
constraints encountered, updating, and planning contribute directly to
both the long and short aspects of the text. In addition, the constraint and
renewal aspects indirectly contribute to the length of the text, the level of
complexity of the sentences, and the quality of the story content. The
implication of this research is that a teacher must be able to optimize the
implementing function, namely by planning, revising, and reviewing the
students' abilities using various writing strategies and methods. The
development of this executive function is very beneficial for students in
relation to improving their writing skills, especially the writing of literary
texts.
Keywords: executive function; writing ability; narrative text; factorial

analysis design; constraints; updating and planning
*
Corresponding author: Rastya Mutiarani Zahra; rastyamutiz@upi.edu
©Authors
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1. Introduction
Writing is a productive language skills. Writing skills are a process that also
involves thinking processes, especially when organizing ideas or ideas into a
single unit. Writing skills need to be directed by predetermined goals so then the
writing is clear and directed (Hadianto et al., 2022; Roitsch et al., 2021). This
executive function forms the basis of and supports the process of the writing skills.
The previous research examining student writing development found that
executive function is a self-regulating strategy or method that includes guiding
and controlling the students’ cognitive abilities during the writing process.
Executive function is defined as the stages used to monitor the writing process,
including planning, transcription, review, and improvement. Many studies have
adopted this model theory as part of a pedagogical and executive function
development in relation to their students' abilities (Baudouin et al., 2019;
McKinney et al., 2020). In the early developmental stages of children's writing,
executive function has a limited role due to the students' unstable and limited
transcription and writing abilities. The writing process model consists of two
main components, namely the transcription process and executive function. These
two main components strongly support transcription and the working memory
environment (Brown et al., 2021; Butterfuss et al., 2022).
The transcription process includes several aspects, including handwriting and the
use of spelling. Executive function includes three stages, specifically planning,
monitoring, and improvement. The text-making component includes the
conversion of ideas into linguistic forms such as words, sentences, and texts. For
writers who are adults or experts, this transcription provides the most dominant
contribution because in this process, the writer optimizes the use of cognitive
resources in their working memory. Beginner writers use the method of writing
about what they know about a topic using limited executive functions, namely
planning and revision, to avoid an excessive cognitive load. Writers of a young
age will switch to knowledge transformation strategies when their writing skills
are developing and their cognitive load decreases (Arterberry & Albright, 2020;
Oddsdóttir et al., 2021). When this process occurs, the executive function of the
writer will reach the highest level which facilitates the writer in arriving at a global
context, good text structure, and being able to produce coherent texts. Currently,
researchers have found that not only do high-level executive functions contribute
to writing ability but low-level executive functions also contribute to the writing
processes of students. The executive functions and their corresponding cognitive
skills can be seen in Table 1.
The current research focuses on the role of executive function on an individual's

ability to write narrative texts at both the macro- and microstructural levels. The
difference between this study and previous studies is that the assessments focus
on low and high-level executive functions based on neuropsychological tests. An
assessment was also carried out looking into the students' ability to update,
convert, and plan the writing process, as well as their transcription skills and use
of language. The researcher proposed a hypothesis that the low and high level
executive functions make different contributions at the macro- and micro-levels
of text structure because the level of language used is different. In this research,
the researcher formulated the problem, namely what the role is of low and high
696
level executive functions in relation to the students' ability to write narrative texts,
at both the macro- and microstructural levels. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the role of executive function in the students’ narrative writing
abilities and what aspects directly and indirectly contributed to the students'
narrative writing abilities. Through this research, teachers can optimize the
aspects that contribute the most to improving the students' writing skills.
2.1 Executive Functions and Writing Ability
The inhibitory component of the lower-level executive function contributed the
most to the writing task, whereas shifting was the strongest component in terms
of predicting the outcome of the report writing task. The previous research
confirms that the low executive function of these inhibiting and shifting
components is able to demonstrate the variable spelling and writing abilities of
students in low grades (Chung et al., 2018; Cordeiro et al., 2020). The contribution
of the lower-level executive functions to the writing process is difficult to interpret
because the writing instructions are at the same grade level as th writing
assignments. Thus, instructions are needed from different task classes, for
example word and text classes, because the executive function may have a
different contribution at each level. The executive function components of
inhibition and shifting are able to facilitate the students in terms of enabling them
to produce words, while high-level executive functions are able to facilitate the
students in producing texts and making them.
Table 1. Executive functions and relevant cognitive abilities

Compatibility of cognitive abilities and executive functions
Low-level Inhibition (1) Ability to select appropriate stimuli and block
Executive inappropriate stimuli (selective attention)
Functions (2) Ability to complete tasks when distracted
(continuous attention)
(3) The ability to block the blocking response
(inhibition response)
Update Ability to update and store information in working
memory
Shift The ability to divert the mind from the task to the
mental students and vice versa
High-level Ability to plan, solve Ability to develop ideas, plan, and use strategies.
Executive problems, and reason Specific executive functions: planning setting ideas
Functions and goals, translating cognitive into linguistic
form, reviewing, and revising
Several previous studies have attempted to explain the contribution of executive

function in relation to the writing abilities of students. Previous research has
explained that there are variables in executive function that can be used as part of
the data analysis (Kornblith et al., 2020; Salas & Silvente, 2020). In addition, other
studies were able to distinguish between the contributions of executive function
through a series of limited tests (Hooper et al., 2020). However, most of the
previous studies have not explained in detail how low-level executive functions
contribute to the students' writing ability. In general, it is stated that the
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contribution of executive function plays a role in controlling cognitive abilities

during the writing process. For example, the inhibiting executive function
component plays a role in inhibiting the use of words, where sentences that have
lexical meanings do not match the text that they write. In addition, this executive
function also plays a role in selecting the most appropriate set of words or phrases.
In the process of writing, writers need to store text representations in their long-
term memory. The content of this working memory must be updated to match the
existing schemata in the working memory (Follmer & Sperling, 2019; Roald et al.,
2021).
2.2 Composition and Evaluation of Narrative Text

There are two levels to a written text composition, namely microstructure and
macrostructure. The microstructure includes words and sentences, while the
macro structure is the text or discourse. Microstructural analysis is carried out at
the level of productivity and complexity, while macrostructural analysis is carried
out on the text’s organization, coherence, structure (reasoning, part structure), and
content (ideas) (Raphael-Greenfield et al., 2020; Wang, 2019). Based on Table 2, it
can be interpreted that this macro- and microstructure is very closely related to
the language used when producing the text. The productivity factor is related to
words, complexity is related to sentences, and the macrostructure is related to the
text (Price, 2020).
Table 2. Composition level of written text and language level as part of the
performance assessment
Levels of composition Language level Evaluation
Micros Word Productivity
Sentence complexity
Macro Text Content and structure of
the text
The assessment of writing ability at the level of both macro- and microstructures
can be used to assess the differences in ability between individuals in terms of
converting ideas into words, sentences, and texts. Competence when turning
ideas into words does not necessarily represent the same ability of converting
ideas into sentences and text. This difference in intra-individual ability explains
that the process of producing text requires different processes and cognitive
abilities at each language level. The low-level executive functions have
differences, meaning that they have different functions in relation to writing skills
at the higher level (Arterberry & Albright, 2020; Castillo et al., 2022). From this
theory, the question arises as to how executive function contributes to the
production of words, sentences and texts, and how executive function is an
important factor that affects beginners' writing skills. Nonetheless, studies
examining executive function according to the neuropsychology of low and high
executive function are still rare and limited. Therefore, through this research, the
researcher will reveal how the roles of low and high level executive functions
affect the production of narrative texts at the levels of words, sentences, and texts.
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3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The research method used in this study was a factor analysis design in order to
reveal the role of executive functions in relation to an individual's ability to write
narrative texts at both the macro- and microstructural levels (Beisly et al., 2020).
This method was used because it was in accordance with the research objective to
reveal the role of each component of executive function that contributes
significantly, not significantly, directly, and indirectly to the ability to write
narrative texts and to the micro-macro structure of the text. Through the factorial
design analysis research method, all roles of each component of executive
function were examined in order to determine their contribution to each text
structure made by the students.
3.2 Participant
This research involved 250 elementary school students who were taken from three
schools in the Sukabumi area of Indonesia. The gender ratio in the sample was
40% male and 60% female. The age of the participating students was in the range
of 9-12 years old (SD=10.45). The socioeconomic status of the students was in the
middle and high levels of class. The participants were selected using a purposive
sampling technique, taking into account the criteria for writing ability and age
range. The majority of the participants were bilingual with Sundanese as their first
language and Indonesian as their second language. To maintain the influence of
the diversity of language skills, the researcher made sure that the participants'
language skills were at the same level. The participants were divided into two
groups. An assessment was carried out relating to two components. The first
component included nonverbal cognitive abilities, specifically handwriting
fluency, and language skills. The second component was an assessment of the
students' executive functions. The researcher taught two class sessions, namely
the first reading assignment, and the task of writing narrative texts. The strength
of the factorial design analysis method used was being able to investigate the
factors or aspects of executive function that contribute significantly, indirectly,
directly, and indirectly to the students' narrative writing abilities, while the
weakness of this method was the discovery of emphasis in relation to finding
quantitative data and the non-optimal findings that were qualitative in nature.
3.3 Research Instruments and Analysis

3.3.1 Narrative text analysis
To measure the students' ability to write narrative texts, the researcher used the
expression, reception, and recall narrative instruments from Bishop (2004). This
instrument was used to assess the composition of the students' narrative texts. The
instrument consisted of two forms of fiction. The story was facilitated by pictures.
The students were asked to make stories from the provided picture booklets, and
the students were also given the opportunity to look at the entire booklet
containing the pictures before starting to write their stories. Composition,
duration of writing, and story length were not specified. Everything was left to
the students until they had written a story as a whole describing the given picture
booklet. The written narrative texts were analyzed using the analytical model
adopted from MacWhinney (2006). The story text was divided into the main
clause and subclause syntax. Narrative text analysis was carried out on its
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structure, namely regarding the level of complexity of the main clauses and
subclauses. Transcription was carried out by two researchers so then the
agreement between the raters was analyzed. Based on the results of the analysis,
the level of agreement of the researchers reached 97%. Macro- and microstructural
analysis was also carried out on the students' written transcripts.
3.3.2 Productivity and syntactic complexity

The texts were assessed for length using the number of words. This was used as
an assessment of the student’s productivity microstructure. Counting the number
of words was done using student narrative texts, applying CLAN (Computerized
Language Analysis). This calculation can also be used to determine the level of
reliability. The assessment of the microstructure of sentence complexity was
carried out using the Mean Length of T-unit in words (MLTUw). Sentence
complexity was calculated by dividing the number of words in the text by the
number of T-units. This assessment was also carried out to test its reliability.
3.3.3 Narrative text story content

The contents of the text were used as the material for evaluating the macro
structure of the narrative text. The content and coherence of texts were used by
the researchers to assess the suitability of the semantic information in the texts
and this aspect was also used for assessing the quality of the student texts. The
researchers used the standard procedure of the ERRNI test (Expression, Reception
and Recall of Narrative Instrument). This test consisted of the framework of 25
ideas inserted into the text. The ideas were strung together to form the
components of the text structure. The method of assessment was carried out by
giving 2 points for ideas that were intact when representing ideas in the text, and
1 point for ideas written incompletely or not yet clear. The maximum score was
50 if all ideas were intact. The assessment was carried out by two raters who
identified the story content. If there was a disagreement between the assessors, a
discussion was held. The student's writing transcript was divided in half with
each assessor getting 50% of the transcript of each writing. Furthermore, 30% of
the text transcripts were assessed by both raters to measure the level of inter-rater
reliability. From the results of the assessment, a reliability value of 0.95 was found.
According to this value, it can be said that the assessment instrument was reliable
enough for use in this research.
3.3.4 Writing skills

The researcher assessed the students' writing skills according to the aspect of
fluency when handwriting and their skills when using spelling in writing. The
score was calculated according to the number of letters written by the students
every 5 minutes. The reliability level for this test obtained a value of 0.70. The skill
of using spelling was assessed based on the spelling in the students' writing
starting from spelling and punctuation. The form of the assignment could take the
form of words, sentences, and fuller texts. The maximum score for using spelling
was 150. The reliability of the writing skill test was determined to be 0.93.
According to this value, the reliability of this writing skills test met the criteria for
use in this research.
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3.3.5 language skills

There were several aspects used to assess the students' language skills including
grammar, vocabulary, and sentence complexity. Grammar was assessed by
assessing the Mean Length of T-unit in words (MLTUw) as well as looking at the
level of sentence complexity during the writing process. Spoken language ability
was assessed through the telling of stories using the ERRNI test, analyzed using
CLAN, therefore it did not require a reliability test. Vocabulary skills were
assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test from Dunn (2005). For the
oral language test, the students told stories orally to those in front of them, and
the other students were asked to show pictures that matched what was being told.
The maximum score for language skills was 205. The reliability level of the
internal consistency was 0.95. This value met the criteria, meaning that this
instrument was able to be used.
3.3.6 Executive function

The assessment of executive function assignments was carried out based on three
important aspects of lower-level executive functions, namely inhibition, renewal,
and transfer. The high-level executive functions of planning are linked to the
written language of the test sequence. Multiple tasks were assessed to cover all
aspects of executive functioning. The researchers used four tasks to examine the
aspects of inhibition. The researchers used the Tea-Ch Sky Search (The Subtest of
Everyday Attention for Children) to assess the aspects of selective attention.
Selective attention was assessed by assessing the ability to control the speed of
their writing in seconds. The number of words generated divided by the amount
of time needed in seconds was used to get the selective attention score. The results
of the reliability test of this task obtained a value of 0.85. For sustained attention,
the researcher used the letter replacement task LDST (Letter Digit Substitution
Task) from Jolles, Houx, Van Boxtel, and Ponds, (1995). The students were given
a paper on which was written numbers 1-9 paired with letters. The students were
asked to match the letters with the appropriate numbers within 80 seconds. The
test obtained a reliability value of 0.90. The researchers used the Walk Don't Walk
subtest (Tea-Ch Walk Don't Walk) and the Opposite Worlds Subtest (Tea-Ch
Opposite Worlds) to measure the aspect of executive function inhibition. The
Walk Don't Walk subtest was used by the researchers and involved cassettes. The
researcher played and stopped the tape while the students did the writing
assignment. The test was carried out to determine whether the students'
concentration was hampered by the sound of music or not. The items assigned to
be written during this test were 25 items with a total possible score of 25. The
reliability level of this test was 0.75. In the Opposite Worlds subtest, the
researchers showed the students keys containing numbers and letters. Next, the
students were asked to name the pairs of numbers and letters that matched the
keys as quickly and as many as possible. The reliability value for this test was 0.85.
The researcher used the intelligence scale from Wechsler (2004) to measure the
students' updating abilities during the writing process. In this test, the students
were asked to repeat the sequence of numbers and letters written by the
researcher. If the sequence of letter and number pairs was correct, a score of 1 was
given. A score of 0 was given if it is wrong. The total score for renewal ability
using the Wechsler scale was 15 at maximum. The internal consistency of this
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assessment was 0.80. To assess transferability, the researchers used the executive
function test of Delis–Kaplan (2001). This test used the students' verbal fluency.
In this test, the students were given a set of letters by the teacher and then tasked
to say as many words as possible from the set of letters they were provided. The
score was calculated according to the number of words generated in 1 minute. The
reliability level of this assessment instrument was 0.80. To assess the students'
cognitive flexibility abilities, the researcher used the tracking test adopted from
Dellis (2001). In this test, the students were given paper with drawings of 32
circles made up of numbers and letters. In this test, the students were asked to
draw lines with interesting patterns between the numbers and circles. The score
for this assessment was the time it took to complete the task. The reliability level
of this task was 0.90. The executive functions of high-level planning were assessed
using the Tower of London method from Shallice (1982). The students were
assigned to make towers using discs according to the configuration contained in
the book. The students had to reach the goal, minimize their movements, and pay
attention to the disc movement. The total score was calculated by adding up the
scores for each tower (maximum score of 30). The internal consistency reliability
of this assessment was 0.85.
3.4 Data Analysis

The data analysis used several methods including descriptive analysis to
determine the average value, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values
based on aspects of the narrative text, and various assessments. Correlation
analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between the executive
functions when writing narrative texts. Next, path analysis was carried out to
determine the aspects of executive function involved in writing narrative text.
Lastly, regression analysis was carried out to determine the aspects that contribute
directly and significantly in relation to the interaction between the components of
executive function and the aspects of the ability to write narrative texts.
4. Results
4.1 Descriptive analysis
The researcher presented the descriptive statistics according to the results of the
assessment of the students' narrative transcription skills and language skills in
Table 3. In addition, the researcher also presents the results of the analysis of the
main components of the executive function used as formative tasks and their
relationship with the abilities that support the overall ability to write narrative
texts in the same table. The analysis was carried out to reveal the role of the main
components of executive function using a sample of 250 students using
orthogonal rotasu (varimax). The researcher used an eigenvalue greater than one
of the main components to summarize the data. The eigenvalues and percentage
of variance were calculated based on the three factors before the orthogonal
rotation was carried out. The eiganvalue data and percentage of variance for the
three factors are presented in Table 5. The three factors used were able to represent
56% of the total variance of the data. The rotational load factor of the eight criteria
is described in Table 6. Factor consistency was carried out using the criteria for
loading with a value of ± 0.50.
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Table 3. Results of the analysis of narrative text, transcription skills, language

skills, and the students' executive functions
n= 250 Mean SD Min. Max.
The written
narrative
Text length 256.40 114.60 70 548
Syntactic 7.40 1.40 2.70 11.30
complexity
Story content 28.45 6.75 13 50
Transcription
Handwriting 180.02 40.61 65 275
fluency
Spelling 96.54 17.90 45 130
Language skills
Grammar 7.70 1.40 4.90 11.70
Vocabulary 125.20 10.30 98 156
Executive
functions
Tea-Ch Sky 4.50 1.60 3 13.88
Search
Tea-Ch Walk 15.03 5.45 1 25
Don’t Walk
Tea-Ch Opposite 35.50 5.12 25 50
Worlds
LDST 36.60 8.30 15 50
WISC-IV-I Digit 13.13 2.40 6 24
Span
D-KEFS-Letter 16.60 5.30 5 30
Fluency
D-KEFS-TMT 124.70 40.52 40 253
TOL 16.25 3.70 7 26
From the results of the principal component analysis, executive function was
assessed from various factors. There are three factors that serve as the basis for the
analysis of the executive function. The first factor included Tea-Ch Walk Don't
Walk and Tea-Ch Opposite, LDST, and D-KEFS-TMT. Tea-Ch Walk Don't Walk
and Tea-Ch Opposite were used to assess the students' response barriers. LDST
was used to assess the students' continuous attention abilities and D-KEFS-TMT
was used to assess the students' cognitive flexibility. The second factor included
WISC-IV-I Digit Span, Tea-Ch Sky Search, and D-KEFS-Letter Fluency. The WISC-
IV-I Digit Span assessment was used to assess the students' working memory
updating abilities. The Tea-Ch Sky Search assessment was used to assess the
students' selective attention. The D-KEFS-Letter Fluency assessment was used to
assess the fluency of the students' phonemic verbal skills. The third factor
included TOL and D-KEFS-TMT. TOL was used to assess high-level executive
functions, namely the ability to plan and the strategic organization of the text. D-
KEFS-TMT was used to assess the students' cognitive flexibility. From the results
of the main component analysis, several important findings were found. In the
first factor, the results of the analysis show that the assessment focused on
attentional tasks, so it was believed to be an inhibiting factor. Furthermore, the
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second factor focused on the tasks that assessed working memory renewal
abilities and selective attention. The second factor is also referred to as the
contribution of the executive function to the quality of the students' narrative text
writing.
Table 4. Correlation between narrative writing assignment, transcription ability,

language ability, and the executive function assessment
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Text length 1
Syntactic .35** 1
complexity
Story content .60** .45* 1
*
Handwriting 33** .25* .31** 1
fluency
Spelling .30** .26* .20 .28** 1
Grammar .16 .50* .25* .06 .16 1
*
Vocabulary .20 .04 .28** .13 .15 -.13 1
Tea-Ch Sky .30** -.00 .16 .25* .05 .010 .08 1
Search
Tea-Ch Walk .27* .20 .20 .18 .25* .13 .03 .03 1
Don’t Walk
Tea-Ch .26* .23* .11 .30** .15 -.010 .03 .010 .38** 1
Opposite
Worlds
LDST .45** .13 .26* .21 .24* .08 -.03 .14 .16 .44** 1
WISC-IV-I .16 .25* .16 .18 .43** .15 - .15 .20 .17 .11 1
Digit Span .010
D-KEFS- .20 .08 .17 -.05 .06 .03 .07 .15 .16 .23* .18 .16 1
Letter
Fluency
D-KEFS- .08 .12 .18 .20 .20 .12 .16 .15 .27* .50** .26* .30** .20 1
TMT
TOL .08 .06 .16 -.02 -.04 .08 .07 .04 .08 .04 .15 .08 -.02 .35 1
**
Table 5. The percentage of variance and eigenvalues of the three factors used for
assessing executive function
Factor Eigenvalue Percent of variance Cumulative percent
First 3.40 30.0 30.0
Second 1.10 14.7 45.6
Third 1.09 13.8 58.7
Table 6. Main components of executive function with an orthogonal rotation

Factor
1 2 3
Tea-Ch Walk Don’t .70 -.09 .05
Walk
Tea-Ch Opposite .85 .14 .03
Worlds
LDST .60 .25 .08
D-KEFS-TMT .60 .28 .55
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WISC-IV-I Digit .23 .50 .25

Span
D-KEFS-Letter .40 .53 -.27
Fluency
Tea-Ch Sky Search -.13 .85 .05
TOL .03 .02 .93
Furthermore, the factor that serves to distinguish high and low executive function
planning was found to be the third factor. The third factor is also called planning
because through the measurement of the third factor, it can be seen that there is
an intercorrelation relationship between moderation and the students' cognitive
flexibility factor. From the results of the principal component analysis, it was
found that the tasks representing the executive functions of the D-KEFS-TMT and
D-KEFS-Letter fluency shifts contained three assessment factors. Referring to the
results of the previous studies, it was found that the executive function of low
grade students between shifting, inhibiting, and renewal cannot be separated.
Therefore, this research also analyzed the sample in this way. Shift factors are built
on the basis of the inhibition and renewal of lower-level executive functions.
Broadly speaking, the research findings indicate that there is a significant
difference in score between low-level executive functions according to the aspects
of inhibition and, renewal, and high-level planning executive functions. The
standard aspect score from the principal component analysis was found to be
M=0, and the standard deviation value=1. These values were used to analyze the
inhibition, renewal, and planning variables in the correlational, regression, and
path analysis processes.
4.2 Correlational analysis

After organizing the series of executive functions into three factors, the next
analysis was to examine the relationship between the differences in writing and
transcription skills, language skills, and executive functions. The students' writing
ability was assessed according to the aspects of productivity and sentence
complexity. Productivity includes the number of words. The aspect of sentence
complexity was analyzed at the microstructural level, while at the macrostructural
level, it included the analysis of both the writing content and ideas. The results of
the descriptive analysis on the writing steps are presented in Table 3. The
relationships between the narrative writing steps and transcription skills, as well
as the relationships between language skills and executive functions, are
presented in Table 7. The results of the analysis found that text length has a
significant correlation with the smoothness of the writing transcription process,
as well as the use of spelling in relation to the inhibition and renewal factors. In
addition, a significant correlation was found between sentence complexity and
fluency in transcription and the use of written spelling. In addition, a correlation
was found between grammar and inhibition factors. Furthermore, a correlation
was found between content and the students' handwriting fluency, vocabulary,
and grammar skills at the macro-structural level.
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Table 7. The relationship between narrative tasks and the students' transcription skills,
language skills, and executive functions
Microstructure Macrostructure
Text length Syntactic Story content
complexity
Transcription
Handwriting .32** .25* .33**
fluency
Spelling .30** .26* .20
Language skills
Vocabulary .20 .04 .28**
Grammar .16 .46** .25*
EF
Inhibition .30** .25* .20
Updating .30** .08 .20
Planning -.02 .06 .15
4.3 Regression analysis

Subsequent analysis was carried out using multiple regression analysis to
determine the role of executive function in improving the students' narrative
writing skills after analyzing their transcription skills and language skills. Based
on the results of the correlation, the researcher used three multiple regression
methods to find out which aspects were related to the length of the narrative text,
the content, and the complexity of the sentences used. First, the researcher
analyzed the students' transcription abilities, then they analyzed their language
skills. The results of the analysis were then examined against the executive
function to determine its contribution to the students' writing abilities. The
summary of the results of the multiple regression analysis is presented in Table 8.
In predicting the length of the students' writing, the students' language skills
contribute 15% of the unique variance, specifically the fluency of the students'
transcription skills and their ability to use correct spellings. This can be seen from
the standard beta score of each variable. There was not found to be a significant
number of variants in relation to the students' language skills. The unique
variance of executive function was found to be 10% in relation to transcription
and language ability. The number of major variants is represented by the
inhibition and renewal factors.
Table 8. The results of the regression analysis for the aspects of text length, sentence
complexity, and narrative text content
Microstructure Macrostructure
Text Syntactic Story content
length complexity
R2 b R2 b R2 b
1. Transcription .15 .010 .13
Handwriting .25* .18 .30**
Spelling .24* .22* .13
2. Language skills .17 .26 .22
Vocabulary .15 .03 .27**
Grammar .12 .43** .25*
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3. EF .25 .30 .25

Inhibition .25* .16 .14
Updating .22* -.04 .13
Planning -.05 .00 .010
The students' transcription ability contributed 10% of the variance of the aspect of
sentence complexity. The aspect of using spelling was the most significant
contributing aspect. Next, the researcher added the language ability variable.
From the results of the model analysis, it was found that the model contributed
17% of the total variance. The variances are generally represented by grammatical
variables. Executive function does not contribute significantly to the sentence
complexity variable. Content and transcription skills contribute 10% of the
content variance, described by the student's writing fluency variable. Language
ability contributes 10% of the total variance. Vocabulary and grammar were found
to be significant predictor variables. From the results of the analysis, it was found
that there was no executive function domain that contributed significantly to the
narrative text content variable.
4.4 Path analysis

Based on the results of the regression analysis, executive function does not
contribute to the aspects of sentence complexity, content, transcription ability, and
language skills. It can therefore be concluded that the ability of transcription
hinders the contribution of executive function in the text writing process. This
happens because the transcription process used is not automatic and because the
transcription process itself uses up cognitive resources. The next analysis
performed was path analysis. Path analysis was conducted to determine the effect
of executive function on the ability to write narrative text using transcription skills
as a medium. The suitability of this path analysis model was assessed using the
Chi square and the suitability index methods. The value of the Chi square test
results must be more than 0.05 in order to meet the suitability index criteria. To
test whether the path model met the criteria, the value of the suitability index, the
suitability index of comparison, the suitability of goodness, and the conformity
index had to have a result norm of more than 0.90, while the root value of the
mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) must be less than 0.09. From the
results of the path analysis, there were several variables that did not contribute
significantly (v2 = 12.02, p = .15, df = 8; RMSEA = .10, GFI = 2.00, NFI = .93, CFI =
.99, AGFI = .91). Several findings from among the path analysis results, including
the inhibition and renewal factors, contribute directly to the length of the narrative
text but do not contribute to the complexity and content of the narrative text.
5. Discussion
This study aimed to investigate the contribution of executive function on the
ability to write narrative texts among low grade students. Several breakthroughs
in this research were carried out to uncover new findings. The researcher
proposed the hypothesis that low and high level executive functions make
different contributions at the macro and micro levels of text structure because the
level of language used is different. The new finding in this study is that executive
function contributes directly and indirectly to the students' narrative writing
abilities. Constraints, updating, and planning aspects contribute directly to both
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the long and short aspects of the text. In addition, the constraints and renewal
aspects indirectly contribute to the length of the text, the level of complexity of the
sentences, and the quality of the story content. A series of tests were performed
using standardized neuropsychological measures of high and low level executive
function. The task of writing narrative text was found to be in accordance with
student development. The analysis of the narrative composition was used as the
basis for assessing writing ability. Through this study, the researchers focused on
compositional analysis at the macro- and microstructural levels. The research
findings show that executive function contributes to the composition of narrative
texts in two ways. The first way is where the inhibition and renewal aspects
contribute directly to the length of the narrative text which encourages the writer
to produce more words even though they have poor transcription and language
skills. This is in line with the theory that the number of words in this text is used
as a criterion for fluency in writing and can also be used as a predictor of writing
quality (Olmos-ochoa et al., 2021; Wubalem, 2021). The findings for inhibition and
updating the contributions to text quality were reflected in the students' ability to
select the relevant lexical meanings and their ability to update their working
memory while writing narrative texts (Bock et al., 2021; Hawamdeh et al., 2023).
If the ability to write fluently is not good, it will cause the ability to choose a
language to use to be slow. In addition, the writing process will be disrupted,
especially the speed of writing and text production, which will become shorter.
Another finding is that the inhibition and renewal factors also contribute
indirectly to the aspects of length, sentence complexity, and content, especially in
the composition of words, sentences, and texts. In addition, the factor of
understanding and updating is also able to become an intermediary linking
between these variables. This finding is reinforced by the theory that the process
of writing and transcription require a greater amount of cognitive power and
executive function in support of the ability to write narrative texts (Baudouin et
al., 2019; Hadianto et al., 2021a). The relationship between the factors of inhibition,
renewal, and writing fluency represent the role of executive function in
coordinating multiple aspects during the writing process, inclusive of planning
motor skills, orthography, the integration of motor orthography and processing
speed. Good writing skills will help divert the students' cognitive abilities so then
they are more optimally used in producing texts at every level, namely words,
sentences, and texts together (Dawilai et al., 2019; Mateos et al., 2020).
The inhibiting and renewal factors contribute in the same pattern to the
composition of narrative texts, namely by making a direct contribution to the
words and an indirect contribution to the words, sentences, and texts. This is
based on the theory that the high-level executive function of planning can support
the process of text production and reading comprehension (Choy & Cheung, 2022;
Wubalem, 2021). However, the findings of this study are contrary to this theory,
as there was no contribution found due to planning on any level of narrative text
composition. This happened due to several factors. First, high-level and complex
cognitive abilities develop in late childhood and will develop rapidly in early
adolescence. Second, the low grade students were not able to develop their
planning skills in the writing process. This is in accordance with the theory that
novice writers do not yet have sufficient enough planning skills for them to be
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used during text production (Fung & Chung, 2020; Hadianto et al., 2021b). So if
students already have the ability to write automatically, their cognitive abilities
can be used optimally due to high-level planning factors. These reasons are valid
according to the research finding that the planning factor in the composition of
narrative texts does not contribute either directly or indirectly. However, previous
research has confirmed that the students' planning ability was found to contribute
to the low grade exposition text writing assignment.
6. Conclusion, Limitations and Recommendations

Executive function contributes directly and indirectly to the students' narrative
writing abilities. Aspects of constraints, updating, and planning contribute
directly to the long and short aspects of the text. In addition, the constraints and
renewal aspects indirectly contribute to the length of the text, the level of
complexity of the sentences, and the quality of the story content. This research
also confirms that executive functions contribute at various levels of the narrative
text composition, starting with words, sentences, and texts. The implication of this
research is that a teacher must be able to optimize the implementing function,
namely by planning, revising, and reviewing the students' abilities through
various writing strategies or methods. The strategy that can be used to optimize
the executive role is to train the students by having them write various types of
text. Teaching writing should be guided, starting from the stages of planning
ideas, giving the students the opportunity to improve and re-assessing their
writing once the writing is finished. This strategy can train the students' executive
functions so then the students' sensitivity to errors and the students' writing skills
increase.
Research on writing skills reveals the role of executive function which acts as a
self-control when using planning, improvement, and review strategies. The
executive function was examined to find the right intervention to optimize the
role of executive function itself as part of supporting the students' writing abilities.
This study had several limitations, including that the students who were the
participants were from the early or lower classes. This means that further research
is needed to reveal the role of high-level executive functions in the middle or high
classes. This research is limited to macro and microstructures which focus on three
assessments, namely productivity, sentence complexity, and story content, so
further research is needed to examine other components such as lexical diversity,
the organization of ideas and reasoning. Another limitation is that this study only
focuses on the ability to write narratives by hand, meaning that the cognitive
abilities are divided into two, namely writing by hand and writing organization,
which is not optimal. Further research is expected to involve a larger number of
samples so then structural equation model analysis can be used in order to reveal
more. This research needs to be conducted on middle and high class students to
determine the differences in executive function in adult students.
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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 June 2023 Issue

Examining Philology Teachers’ Lesson Planning Competencies in Vietnam ............................................................. 121

Entrepreneurship Education: Encouraging Entrepreneurial Intentions for Equality Education Students in

Axiological Study of Educational Projects in Schools .................................................................................................... 494

Assessing the Effectiveness of Computer-Aided Instructional Techniques in Enhancing Students’ 3D Geometry

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Generative AI Chatbots - ChatGPT versus

Abstract. This paper reports on the comparison of the accuracy and

Keywords: ChatGPT; YouChat; Chatsonic; AI chatbots; responses;

Similarly, other new AI chatbots suddenly emerged. These include Caktus,

However, regardless of the afore-mentioned issues, some suggested positive

• An application letter for a paralegal position

Taking cognisance of the diverse applications of chatbots, the current paper

2. ChatGPT, YouChat, and Chatsonic: A Brief Overview

Moreover, as a third generation of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-

Additionally, ChatGPT possesses a natural language comprehension because of

Another limitation, but which also may be an advantage, depending on how it is

Moreover, YouChat is capable of generating charts, photos, videos, tables, graphs,

3.3 Data Collection Procedure and Data Analysis

4. Findings and Discussion

assumptions informing traditional language studies. It also contended that this

At a mechanical, academic level, the three AI chatbots managed to respond to this

4.2 What Is Critical Southern Decoloniality?

4.3 What Does Chaka Say About Critical Southern Decoloniality?

With reference to YouChat, it correctly identified Chaka’s professional title, his

colonialist English language paradigms. It does not appropriate it in a broad-

4.4 What Is the Difference Between Translanguaging, Multilanguaging, and

contexts (e.g., home, school, or workplace). Concerning languaging, it points out

5. Implications for Applied English Language Studies (AELS)

Additionally, the three chatbots displayed a tendency to generate almost similar

misappropriated the views it generated in its response to him. Thereafter, it

Moreover, the three AI chatbots simplistically and superficially parsed phrases

All of the above-mentioned shortcomings mean that AELS undergraduate and

6. Conclusion and Future Research

As generative AI chatbots are emerging technologies, the presence of which has

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Influence of Teacher-Targeted Bullying

Japsile Sambo and Sumeshni Govender

Abstract. South African schools seem to be experiencing an increase in

Keywords: bullying; learner; teacher; teacher-targeted bullying

recognition of TTB by learners within the whole-school organisation (Hoffmann,

Teacher-targeted bullying seems to be a discourse that is prevalent in South

The term ‘teacher-targeted bullying’ has been used by researchers in reference to

work environments. However, this type of bullying is different from other

2.2. Types of Learner Bullying

2.2.1 Verbal Bullying

2.2.2 Psychological Bullying

This is a form of indirect bullying which includes actions like intentionally

bullying. Intimidation, manipulation and stalking of an individual are also part

2.2.3 Physical Bullying

who have experienced them Cyberbullying is a tremendously harmful