Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have received much attention in higher education; however, evidence about MOOCs at the K-12 level is scarce. To shed light on the phenomenon, we use the i-MOOC ...that aims at fostering upper secondary level students’ information literacy. The i-MOOC is a blended MOOC developed and refined in a design research process; it meets established criteria for high-quality MOOCs. In 2020, 1032 upper secondary level students in German-speaking Switzerland took the i-MOOC; the sample comprises N = 167 students who voluntarily filled in a questionnaire. The students are mainly from high schools and vocational schools. Learning effects are captured with a performance test. Information literacy gains are significant and medium in size: d = 0.75. The technology acceptance of students is evaluated using the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). Student technology acceptance of K-12 MOOCs is primarily driven by hedonic motivation, i.e., perceived fun and entertainment. However, this type of motivation negatively predicts learning gains. Implications for teachers and educational decision makers are discussed.
•A systematic literature review on empirical evidence for K-12 MOOCs.•A conceptual framework for the quantitative evaluation of K-12 MOOCs.•Empirical evidence for a K-12 MOOC at upper secondary level in Switzerland.•Based on our evidence, the validity of student evaluation of K-12 MOOCs is doubtful.•Based on our evidence, hedonic motivation is a negative predictor for learning gain.
Argumentative writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) is an important skill in upper secondary education in Germany and Switzerland. This article provides insights into students’ EFL writing ...skills in the aspects of language quality, content, and structure (N = 2314 TOEFL argumentative essays from two time-points, beginning and end of Year 11). These essays were analyzed by trained human raters using analytic assessment rubrics for each aspect and evaluated in a cross-sectional as well as a longitudinal perspective. Results show that there were significant variations between these aspects in learners’ texts, suggesting that they represent separate dimensions of the argumentative writing ability. Scores were lowest for language quality, suggesting that this was the most challenging aspect for EFL learners. Learning gains over one year were largest for structure, smaller for content and smallest for language quality. Overall, learners in Switzerland showed higher skills in all three aspects, but German learners showed larger gains in structure over the school year. Implications for classroom learning and further research are discussed.
This dissertation contributes to practice-ethnographic educational research and focuses on the phenomenon of subjectivation through performance assessment. It examines alternative assessment ...practices in secondary school classrooms that aim to evaluate performance without grades in order to promote individual learning development. Using the practice ethnographic approach, the unintended power effects of these assessment practices are analysed. Using four different assessment practices, power dynamics and self-relations of students and teachers are examined to understand how these practices influence the formation of self-relations and how an assessment regime is unfolded in the classroom by processing an increasing responsibiliation of students for performance. The study emphasises the importance of a differentiated investigation of assessment practices and concludes with an outlook on possible future research approaches.
In this study, efforts have been made to explore the incidence of early marriage-induced dropout among girls at the secondary level of education. This study has three objectives. There are: to find ...different factors that affected girls’ dropout; to investigate the extent to which child marriage functioned as a reason for girls’ dropout; To relate the findings of the study to Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs. Social survey and case study methods have been applied for data collection. Data have been collected from 131 respondents with informed consent. The research area of this study was Bharsho village under the district of Naogaon in Bangladesh. In this study, the socio-economic condition of respondents’ parents and father-in-law was poor. A majority of the respondents’ main reason for dropping out was early marriage. Early marriage was a very significant factor that affects girls’ dropouts. This study shows a strong relationship between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, early marriage, and girls’ dropout.
Background: Virtual education has provided higher-quality teaching and learning. The current study examines secondary school education experts’ lived experiences and the impact of virtual education ...networks on students’ scientific, personality, cultural, and religious concepts.Methods: This is a qualitative study using a phenomenological method. All educational experts in the selected countries were interviewed in 2022, and 24 were selected using purposeful and snowball sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Colaizzi method. Finally, the validity and reliability of the tool were assessed.Results: A total of 21 components were created from 131 open codes. The scientific concepts included more prosperous and sustainable learning, the boredom of students, development of learners’ technological skills, acquiring informal skills, fast feedback, and reducing the quality of education (6 components and 41 open codes); the personality concepts included increasing individual-educational efficiency, increasing psychological-social problems, addiction to cyberspace, changes in the student’s social perspective (4 components and 33 open codes); the cultural concepts included changes in the thought pattern, social interactions and lifestyle, fashionism, moral deviation, and development of interpersonal communication (6 components and 33 open codes); and the belief concepts included ambivalence, access to inappropriate content, better understanding of religious facts, tendency to deviant thoughts, and acceptance of opposing patterns (5 components and 24 open codes).Conclusion: The research findings show that despite some unfavorable outcomes, the positive ones stand out and highlight the significance of parental and school supervision, as it can help students follow this path with the most excellent effectiveness and the slightest vulnerability.
Feedback from teachers is of great importance for the learning development of pupils. For optimal support of learning processes, it is important how students perceive and utilise feedback. Based on ...theoretical supply-utilisation models, this book addresses the question of the extent to which students in upper secondary school perceive feedback from teachers in German lessons differently and how this perception affects students' motivation development. The findings from latent change models provide information on the stability and change in feedback perception over the course of a school term as well as on differences in feedback perception between students. In addition, the longitudinal analyses highlight the interplay between different dimensions of feedback quality and the development of learning motivation. The findings expand the state of research on the perception of feedback and the development of differentiated effects on motivation and also open up a wide range of suggestions for educational practice.
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