Catalonia has a long tradition of school innovation movements. These have increased in recent years as public administration and private entities have initiated substantial school reforms oriented ...toward the use of evidence in teaching practice. As the Catalan education system is highly autonomous, not all schools have embraced the evidence-informed practice (EIP) movement, and this has created differences between schools that choose to implement a change or innovation based on scientifically demonstrated evidence and those that do not. In the present paper, we will attempt to understand the current state of the inclusion of evidence-informed practice in Catalonia and to assess teachers' perceptions of its adoption as part of their daily practice. In order to address these issues, we start by exploring the legal and structural framework grounding the implementation of evidence-informed practice in the Catalan system, and through interviews conducted in a sample of primary school leaders and teachers, we approach the organisational and individual level to explore the opportunities to implement an authentic evidence-informed practice approach in the Catalan education system.
The Slovene language has several roles in the educational process in the Republic of Slovenia, including its role as a subject in the curriculum in its own right. It is a basic general education ...subject in public primary schools and has the most hours of all of the subjects. All teachers were forced to teach remotely for the first time in the history of education (first during the 2019/20 school year and then in the 2020/21 school year) during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The results of a survey comprising 348 teachers with the ability to teach the mother tongue at primary school level (grades 1-9 of primary school; 59% were class curriculum teachers and 41% were Slovene language teachers) show, among other things, that teachers mostly have a good attitude towards distance teaching and feel empowered for this type of teaching, although they feel that this method makes them mentally and physically more tired than teaching in the classroom. Among the advantages of distance teaching, teachers mention the greater use of modern information and communication technology, more use of e-material and the opportunity for formal monitoring of students. In their opinion, the biggest problems of distance teaching (of the Slovene language) include: lack of student participation; lack of non-verbal communication, thus creating difficulties in understanding; and technical issues. Most teachers believe that students acquire less knowledge or far less knowledge by distance education than they would from education in the classroom. Teachers who feel more empowered to teach remotely also have a better attitude towards teaching their mother tongue and are more satisfied with the communication aspect with students in distant teaching. Teachers who have received the necessary training for distance teaching as part of their work feel more empowered to teach this way than teachers who have not had such training.
The world of new media has inevitably changed teachers' and students' attitude towards information. Data of all kinds and from any scientific field are easily available at any time. Nevertheless, ...isolated data have nothing to do with knowledge. We refer to »knowledge« when an interdependence of information has a particular significance in defined conditions. How to use and connect this information is one of the primary issues teachers have to engage with since they are still the main organisers of the educational process. Taking into account the objectives of his/her explanations, he/she chooses certain relevant contents, and connects them, striving for an interdisciplinary view of the world that makes sense and gives sense to his/her explanations, all in an attempt to motivate students in their approach to knowledge. This article presents research in which the participants, future art teachers, had to answer a questionnaire that required comparing artistic compositions and compositions present in nature. Almost half of them could not find proper examples, even though the participants were students who should have been able to manage contents from both fields. Understanding how art follows nature is an important goal within the education of future art teachers. Difficulty in connecting data, transferring knowledge, giving meaning to images and understanding visual and verbal discourse seem to be a persistent problem in many aspects of their education. Possible strategies to improve the situation using transmedia narratives are presented in the conclusion.
Although several reforms have shifted the direction of education, a debate on the strengths and limitations of science education in Kosovo has not yet been initiated. The present article analyses the ...development of chemistry education in Kosovo and encourages questions that could shape science education practices in general. In particular, the article analyses the pre-university chemistry curriculum in Kosovo over the years, as well as examining chemistry teacher education programmes. The analysis is based on descriptive research of data and document analysis. The multidimensional analysis of the issues and challenges of chemistry education will provide recommendations for future research on chemistry education and chemistry teaching practices in order to make chemistry education and the pre-university chemistry curriculum relevant to the context of Kosovo. As pre-university education curricula, especially the curriculum for the natural sciences, and the preparation of both pre-service and inservice teachers in Kosovo are considered challenging, a firm conclusion for actions has not been reached. Nevertheless, the article seeks to spark a debate in the field.
This qualitative study was carried out in five different elementary schools in the Czech Republic. It aimed to investigate how English as Foreign Language teachers developed teaching competence and ...practised information communication technology integration in classroom teaching. To this end, this study employed the idea of a Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge -TPACK -in-Action Model. It advocates a 'learning by doing' approach on (social) construction to better understand how teachers develop technological and/or computer-assisted language learning competency for teaching and practice in an English as a Foreign Language environment. Under this model, this study conducted qualitative analysis and found two different approaches in practice, which were categorised as Formal Practice and Functional Practice. The former involved a conservative mechanical practice of technology use in language teaching whereas the latter involved it in terms of (social) construction. According to analyses based on conservative practices, teachers expressed that mechanical TPACK in association with technology in classes limited the transmission of mechanical knowledge from English texts. In Functional Practice, however, teachers drawing upon alternative learning interactions expressed positive transformation results from TPACK, associated with the use of technologies integrated into class instructions as a collaborative tool for learning models. In these latter integrated practices, teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections in combining technologies in an English as a Foreign Language environment, as new literacy skills, identified an increase in the learner's creative potential.
Evidence shows that teachers' beliefs about the purpose of assessment are relevant with regard to how assessment is planned and implemented in classroom settings. Using a range of data sources, this ...qualitative interpretive study examined how 10 English as a Foreign Language teachers in Czech lower secondary schools perceived their assessment beliefs (subjective theories) and how these beliefs influenced their assessment practices within the classroom. The findings showed that although the majority of the teachers used a wide range of sources to construct their subjective theories of assessment, most of their assessment practices are still based on old-fashioned routines and in contradiction of previous research findings. An analysis of the importance of assessment practices revealed that grading, testing, questioning, and verbal feedback were used often, while self-, peer, written, and portfolio assessments were the least exercised options. Furthermore, the results indicated that the majority of the teachers used assessment for managing behaviour and for certification rather than to improve teaching and learning. The results also suggested that introducing targeted professional development courses that aim to create innovative assessment practices could contribute to transforming teaching and learning for better student learning.
The present quantitative study investigated the relationship between willingness to communicate (WTC) and learner autonomy in an EFL context. In addition, it explored the probable effect of gender on ...the relationship between learner autonomy and WTC. Furthermore, it investigated whether WTC could predict learner autonomy. The data were collected from 142 upper-intermediate and advanced EFL learners (72 males and 70 females) by means of two questionnaires, the Learner Autonomy Questionnaire and the WTC Scale. The findings indicated that WTC correlated significantly and positively with learner autonomy. Moreover, correlational analysis revealed that gender modified this relationship in that the relationship between WTC and learner autonomy was stronger and more positive among female learners. The results revealed that WTC was a partial predictor of learner autonomy in this EFL context.
This study investigates how well prepared student teachers are to implement species identification in school. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a PowerPoint presentation in ...which local plant and animal species were presented. Participants (n = 357) correctly identified, on average, 23% of the plants and 44% of the animals. They identified plants mainly by flower characteristics and leaves, and animals mainly by shape and colour. Family and school were key sources of participants' knowledge of species. The self-estimated competence of participants to identify species was positively correlated with their taxonomic knowledge and the amount of time they had spent on species identification during their own schooldays. The number of correctly identified plant and animal species increased with interest in identifying species and participation in species identification courses. Participants considered learner-centred education and experience-based learning, and the use of living organisms to be most important when identifying species in school.
This article reviews the educational policy for the integration of society in Georgia. It is an analytical research paper on the current situation of ethnic minority education in Georgia. The ...problems and opportunities of bilingual education policy are analysed in the article. The content analysis research method was utilised in the study. The author argues that bilingual education is a crucial tool for the integration of Georgian society; however, local control, involvement, and context are crucial in the implementation of a national bilingual educational programme. The changes on the political, institutional and pedagogical levels of bilingual education are necessary for the successful implementation of bilingual education reform.
Since a humanoid robot does not get tired regardless of how many mistakes a student makes, and because it can be equipped with novel teaching techniques and updated with the most current knowledge, ...it can be useful for achieving many educational goals. The rationale behind this is that it has been shown in the literature that robots are more useful as teaching aids than computers or other instructional tools, as they can mimic human responses. Furthermore, humans, especially children, prefer robot interaction to other interaction types. Adults generally struggle to learn a foreign language, but this is true of some students, too. With their multilingual interaction capabilities, their ability to provide real-time feedback, and their humanlike physical shape, some types of humanoid robots can be of great assistance to students in learning a foreign language. The use of humanoid robots leads to a personal connection with the students, and this can help overcome issues related to shyness, reluctance, frustration and lack of confidence that may emerge in dealing with a human teacher. Moreover, as humanoid robots can be programmed to know specifically what each individual student needs to learn, they can be quite useful for one-on-one speaking activities. Considering the many possibilities that can be offered by information and communication technology tools, particularly by humanoid robots, this paper reviews the roles and functions of humanoid robots in teaching a foreign language, presents novel approaches in this domain, provides research challenges, and finally outlines future research directions.
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