Forum for Education Studies

Caught in the rye: Novice teachers’ journeys of self-discovery and identity formation

Pourya Javahery — 2024-12-10

This qualitative study explores the experiences of novice teachers as they navigate the complexities of identity formation and self-discovery during their early careers. Grounded in Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) and themes from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the research employs thematic analysis of interviews and reflective notes from eight novice teachers to uncover their emotional and professional struggles. Four key themes emerged: Alienation, identity and self-discovery, rejection of societal norms, and the search for genuine connections. Findings indicate that feelings of alienation often undermine teachers’ confidence and motivation, while self-discovery fosters resilience and adaptability. The rejection of standardized norms prompts educators to seek more meaningful teaching practices, enhancing student engagement and empowerment. Furthermore, the study highlights the significance of building authentic relationships with colleagues and students in creating a supportive teaching environment. This research underscores the need for systemic support, including mentorship and collaborative practices, to improve novice teacher retention rates. By linking literary themes to educational experiences, this study advocates for the integration of narrative inquiry in teacher training programs, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by new teachers.

Knowledge management and e-Portfolios for sustainability

Oksana Polyakova — 2024-12-13

Integrating sustainable practices within technical university settings has garnered significant attention in recent years. However, there needs to be more progress in merging these practices with active foreign language learning and knowledge management. Recent studies have introduced new perspectives on social constructivism and second/third language (L2/3) acquisition, emphasizing knowledge-building and gender-related factors. This paper presents the methodology of a pilot study conducted during an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. The primary instructional technique employed was electronic portfolios (e-Portfolios), which facilitated extensive data collection to compare gender-differentiated lexical production among engineering university students. Two research instruments provided a comprehensive qualitative analysis of professional portfolio texts written in English. The visualization of e-Portfolio data, incorporating lexical and sentiment analysis, revealed specific differences in the characteristics of learners. This approach aims to integrate a broader perspective of ESP with sustainability and university knowledge management, areas that have yet to be explored. This study’s convergence of academic and labor market needs highlights the potential to prioritize sustainability goals while fostering and showcasing innovation in higher education.

The fragile foundation of pre- and early-school programs for disadvantaged children

Geert Driessen — 2024-12-13

In many countries, pre- and early-school programs are the core of educational disadvantage policy. Such programs aim at preventing educational delays of children growing up under unfavorable socioeconomic circumstances. The programs provide a range of compensational stimulation activities in child care centers and kindergartens, sometimes combined with activities for parents at home. Despite the investment of billions of dollars each year, the educational gap between the rich and poor is widening. The question, then, is whether such programs are really effective. Therefore, studies into the effectiveness of such programs are significant. In this sense, this article reviews two so-called model programs, the Perry Preschool and the Abecedarian programs, which were small-scale experimental programs conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. This review critically analyzes a series of publications written by the projects’ staff and reanalyses done by Nobel laureate James Heckman and colleagues. They claim that both programs are highly effective and that their findings can be generalized to other reasonably similar programs. This review shows, however, that both experiments were hampered by several methodological shortcomings, which seriously threaten the reliability and validity of their outcomes. Furthermore, the projects were so exceptional, in terms of circumstances, target groups, budgets, and teacher qualifications, that it is not possible to generalize their results. It is concluded that not just quality research, but especially critical quality research, is imperative. That is, researchers should be more critical with regard to their own work and that of their colleagues, and they should not accept research findings at face value.

Digital education in Germany: Policies, teacher perspectives, and challenges in a post-pandemic world

Eucidio Pimenta Arruda — 2024-12-16

This article intends to conduct a theoretical examination of education and technology public policies proposed for the German school system, under a post-pandemic context in which governments around the world have strengthened their pedagogical initiatives in digital technologies in the school environment. The results presented here are part of the research “Post-pandemic education: understanding of analogic education and digital education from the perspective of educational institutions and teachers in Brazil and Germany”, carried out between 2023 and 2024. As a method, we conducted extensive documentary research that analyzed within the context of technology-mediated educational policies in Germany, in a global context. We sought to relate these policies to a possible change in school education that can also reposition teacher training in the country. In the German context, the article describes the education system, digital education policies and the challenges in their implementation. The results show important avenues for changes in teacher training for the use of technology and the need for additional research to assess the impact of digital education.

Open educational practices and virtual learning readiness among B.Ed. trainees

Deepika Chauhan — 2024-12-16

In recent time, Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) trainees have increasingly adopted technology-oriented learning to enhance their classroom teaching and learning experiences. These trainees are also creating various learning environment, such as self-directed learning, group learning, and other activities with the digital tools. This study examined the integration of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Virtual Learning Readiness (VLR) among B.Ed. trainees across different districts in Uttar Pradesh, India. With the growing dependence on technology, these trainees are utilizing digital resources like mobile learning applications, Zoom, Google Meet, Google Classroom freckle and digital whiteboards to improve their classroom engagement. The research, which included 960 B.Ed. trainees, employed standardized tools to evaluate their levels of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Virtual Learning Readiness (VLR). The findings indicated that the trainees exhibited a moderate level of both variables, with notable variations based on certain background factors. A statistical analysis has done, which included percentage, descriptive, differential, and relational methods to analyze the collected data critically. However, the main challenges include limited time to locate suitable resources, insufficient awareness regarding quality assurance, technological constraints. The study suggests that targeted booster programs should be organized to enrich trainees’ technological skills, enabling them to excel in future classroom teaching and learning. The study’s outcomes are expected to significantly contribute to the improvement of the emerging learning society.

Modelling education equality through online platform adoption: Insights into the digital divide, fairness, perceived ease of use, and usefulness

Songyu Jiang — 2024-12-17

Online education platforms are pivotal in achieving educational equity. This study employs grounded theory to examine the factors influencing the adoption of online education platforms by students and educators in Chinese higher education institutions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 participants, including 15 students and 15 educators, to provide a detailed qualitative analysis. The findings identify critical factors affecting platform adoption, including digital accessibility and infrastructure, user experience and interface design, adoption and integration challenges, and the impact on educational outcomes and equity. Significant disparities in digital access, especially between urban and rural areas, underscore the need for enhanced digital infrastructure to ensure equitable access to online education. The usability of the platforms, facilitated by user-friendly interfaces and comprehensive training, emerged as essential for engaging students and educators effectively. The study also highlights technological challenges and a lack of digital literacy as significant barriers, necessitating targeted interventions like digital literacy programs and robust technical support.

Remote pedagogical residence in pandemic times of a pedagogy course from a university campus in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Amanda Oliveira Rabelo — 2024-12-20

This article aims to discuss in an experience report the activities developed through the Pedagogical Residency Program for literacy of the Pedagogy course at UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense) at INFES (Instituto Noroeste Fluminense de Educação Superior-Northwest Fluminense Institute of Higher Education) located in Santo Antônio de Pádua/Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, which due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it started to be carried out remotely, in a virtual context, using digital technologies. We will describe the context and activities that were carried out within this new reality. In conclusion, we argue that pedagogical residency program has been of paramount importance for the education of future pedagogues, bringing the possibility of studying and researching in depth about literacy and different ways of working activities that are meaningful and creative for children.

Cloud computing: Innovative strategy towards effective pedagogy in Christian religious studies

Odey Elizabeth Akpanke — 2025-01-14

Cloud computing is an emerging phenomenon within the realm of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that holds significant potential for enhancing various aspects of skill acquisition, data analysis, critical thinking, knowledge updating, problem-solving, research data generation, and the facilitation of engaging and stimulating teaching and learning experiences, among other benefits. Cloud computing is widely recognized as a standard paradigm that offers efficient network access to a shared pool of computing resources. These resources can be provisioned and released with minimal effort and reciprocal agreements between service providers. Education, on the contrary, is a systematic procedure of imparting knowledge that necessitates consistent updating and application of internationally recognized best practices in its execution. Therefore, this paper articulates the significance of implementing and utilizing cloud computing as an innovative approach to future-oriented and efficient pedagogy in the field of Christian Religious Studies. The outcome of this interaction can best be illustrated from the experience of many seminaries and theological colleges that have adopted cloud-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle or Canvas. These platforms allow educators to share course materials, facilitate discussions, and assess student performance. The research design employed in this study is survey methodology. The study’s population included 540 participants, specifically 313 undergraduate students, 192 education lecturers, and 35 administrative staff members from a tertiary institution. The sample size of 230 respondents was determined using the YARO YAMENT formula and selected through a stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire consisting of 30 items was utilized to collect data. The questionnaire was developed, validated, and its reliability was assessed using the CRONBACH alpha formula, yielding a coefficient of 0.84. The collected data underwent analysis utilizing measures of central tendency (mean) and dispersion (standard deviation) in order to address the research inquiries. Additionally, the null hypothesis was assessed through the application of ANOVA. The study revealed that achieving a global equilibrium in terms of information and materials accessible to cloud computing users is crucial. Specifically, online materials should be designed to incorporate both local and global content, ensuring their relevance and appeal to individuals regardless of their language or cultural background. Fifteen viable strategies for enhancing futuristic and effective pedagogy in the field of Christianity.

Adoption and impact of AI-enhanced learning platforms in education

Sougato Das — 2025-01-17

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is rapidly transforming learning environments, and the adoption of AI-based e-learning platforms (AI-ELP) is gaining momentum. However, understanding the factors influencing AI-ELP adoption is crucial to ensure its effective implementation. This research study aims to extend the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by incorporating technophobia, technophilia, content quality, and functional quality. By examining the psychological tendencies of users toward technology and the quality aspects of AI-ELP, this study seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the adoption process. Through a quantitative study involving research scholars at IIT Kharagpur, the research will identify key factors influencing the acceptance and use of AI-ELP. The findings will have significant implications for educational practitioners, policymakers, and platform developers, enabling them to tailor strategies that address user concerns, enhance platform quality, and promote successful AI-ELP adoption in educational settings.

An interdisciplinary approach to education will help solve many of its urgent problems

Alexander Voznyuk — 2025-02-11

The article considers some of the challenges of our era that modern education has faced: 1) the information boom; 2) narrow specialization in many sciences and technologies; 3) deterioration of human being’s and humankind’s ability to understand themselves and the world; 4) insufficient use of systemic, fundamental, interdisciplinary knowledge in the educational process; 5) deepening the tendency of the profiling of education, expanding the amount of academic disciplines and training time; 6) the phenomenon of “half-life of specialist’s competencies”; 7) the Dunning-Kruger effect; 8) a decrease in the level of conceptual thinking of the participants in the educational process. It is shown that these problems in modern education can be solved with the help of such methods and tools as 1) continuous (lifelong) education; 2) integrated educational technologies (STEM education, educational methods based on frame theory, etc.); 3) a fundamentalization approach in education; 4) interdisciplinary synergetic approach as well as application of interdisciplinary connections in the educational domain; 5) systemic knowledge crystallized on the basis of general systems theory; 6) a modified version of this theory developed by the author; 7) developed by the author fundamental explanatory models/principles of structuring reality that can serve as a fundamental theoretical background for any other type of knowledge when the latter is easily comprehended and acquired on the basis of the fundamental explanatory models/principles due to their universal character. Promising directions of our research are connected with the application of the obtained data in the context of the educational process due to the integrated training courses for students of different types of educational institutions.

Research on digital resources for organizing STEM education in elective courses with integrated content in Ukrainian schools

Tetiana Nazarenko — 2025-02-12

Every year, various changes occur on planet Earth. Robotics appears, both in production and in everyday life, 3D printers, driverless cars, drones, the development of augmented reality and artificial intelligence, etc. Various innovations have also affected the education system of Ukraine. Forms, methods, teaching aids, the role of teachers and students, curricula and assessment systems are changing. With the modernization of the educational process, new directions in education are emerging. For example, today you can hear about blended, inverted, mobile, social learning, video scribing, cloud technologies, flipped classroom, storytelling, start-up challenge, etc. In connection with the spread of coronavirus infection and active military operations in the territory of Ukraine, distance learning has been introduced, which requires certain skills from both teachers and students. It is worth being able to use various gadgets to complete educational tasks, communicate with parents, students, colleagues, etc. Today, another educational reform is underway in Ukraine, which is supported by state educational documents, in particular, the approved concept of STEM education, which involves the integration of natural sciences and emphasizes the development of new technologies, mathematical calculations, and innovative thinking. In this context, the educational process is reoriented to the development of the individual, and such a reorientation involves improving the entire education system, and therefore, the methods of teaching individual disciplines, including natural sciences. To do this, it is necessary to calculate various aspects of implementing STEM education in the educational process of general secondary education institutions in Ukraine, which in the future should satisfy the country’s needs for qualitatively trained STEM education specialists. Therefore, scientists from the Institute of Pedagogy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine are conducting relevant research, including on the topic of implementing the Concept of STEM education and educational STEM technologies in the educational process of general secondary education institutions. As a result of the study, it was found that the most acceptable is the use of integrated content of various elective courses that are of an extracurricular nature. Thus, using various gadgets that are used in the educational process in elective courses, we came to the conclusion that digital technologies of augmented reality are the most effective. The purpose of the scientific work of scientists of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine is to analyze the implementation of STEM education in the educational process of Ukrainian schools and its impact on the formation of key and subject competencies in students, in our case—geographical ones. The pedagogical experiment was supposed to last three years from September 2020 to June 2023, but the military actions that began on the territory of our state suspended it in February 2022. It was attended by 923 teachers and 4750 students who chose STEM teaching through elective courses.

Physical fitness of young pupils engaged in the health gymnastics

Іhor Zanevskyy — 2025-02-17

Numerous studies conducted in recent years indicate an unfavorable trend in children’s health, which prompts the optimization of schoolchildren’s physical activity outside of school hours. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of physical development and physical fitness of children of primary school age. Methods: analysis and generalization; sociological methods; pedagogical observation; methods of assessing the level of physical development and physical fitness; methods of mathematical statistics. The research was conducted on the basis of the sports complex of the Ivan Boberskij Lviv State University of Physical Culture. 33 children, 18 girls and 15 boys, participated in the study. Results: According to the survey data, 57.6% of children like recreational gymnastics classes, 45.5% attend classes for the purpose of improving their health. Harmonious physical development corresponds to 69.4% of children. 69.4% of children have a body mass index within the normal range, 21.1% are underweight and 9.4% are overweight. Adequate adaptation of the cardiovascular system to physical exertion according to the Ruffier test in 93.8% of children. The vital index was normal in 81.1% of the examined. 72.6% of children showed a sufficient level of hand flexor strength. The boys had slightly higher results in the 30 m run and the handstand. In the flexibility test, the girls’ results were better (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in the 30 m run and the 4x9 m “shuttle” run (p > 0.05).

An application of TikTok flipped classroom in art education

Ting Hu — 2025-02-21

This study investigates the effectiveness of the TikTok flipped classroom teaching model in enhancing students’ art design abilities, compared to the traditional teacher-centered teaching model. Using a quasi-experimental design, the research was conducted over a 16-week teaching intervention with two second-year art design classes from a university in Guizhou Province, China. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants, with 41 students in the experimental group (TikTok flipped classroom model) and 41 students in the control group (traditional teaching model). Both groups had comparable average final exam scores in art-related courses from the spring semester of 2024. The study sought to address three research questions: Whether the traditional teaching model significantly enhances art design abilities, whether the TikTok flipped classroom model has a significant impact, and whether there is a significant difference in art design abilities between the control and experimental groups. Results are expected to provide valuable insights into innovative teaching methods, particularly the use of social media platforms like TikTok, in art education.

Cookies on plates: Extending Fibonacci-like numbers to fractions in a 3rd grade classroom

Sergei Abramovich — 2025-02-24

The paper is written to share the authors’ ongoing research project of bringing elements of problem-solving curriculum of elementary mathematical teacher education to grade school. Exploring 3rd graders’ understanding of tasks with more than one correct answer, their ability to move from visual to symbolic, and pattern recognition as a problem-solving method using the playful context of cookies on plates structured by Fibonacci-like numbers resulted in several outcomes, both expected and unexpected. Mathematical interpretation of those outcomes provided new ideas to be discussed with teacher candidates. The collateral creativity of a 3rd grader in representing half a cookie made it possible to extend Fibonacci-like numbers to fractions and support this extension with the use of multiple digital instruments, including spreadsheets, Wolfram Alpha, and the Graphing Calculator under the conceptual umbrella of computational triangulation.

Development of stem skills and national identity through 3D modeling in educational programs

Taras Lutsiuk — 2025-02-25

This paper explores the advancement of STEM skills and national identity through the incorporation of 3D modeling into the curriculum of secondary educational institutions using Blender software. It focuses on how 3D modeling can be used to enhance students’ technical prowess and creativity while simultaneously bolstering their motivation and sense of civic duty. The significance of modern educational technologies in nurturing critical thinking, investigative skills, and effective communication, which together foster the holistic development of the individual, is emphasized. The main objective of this article is to showcase practical experiences in embedding 3D modeling within middle school curricula to cultivate STEM skills and promote a sense of patriotism. It examines how hands-on activities and projects can motivate students to actively engage in rebuilding and progressing their nation, underscoring the critical role of patriotic education in today’s learning environments. Illustrating this, the article describes a lesson titled “Creating 3D Objects,” where students utilize Blender to work on a mini-project called “Street of Peace and Freedom,” involving the design of 3D building models. This project saw enthusiastic participation from students, who not only developed new skills but also acknowledged their contributions towards the future of their country. The role of educators in selecting suitable educational programs and materials, especially the integration of Blender for teaching 3D computer graphics in ninth-grade informatics courses, is discussed. The insights from Taras Liutsiuk on the integration of textbooks and effective utilization of Blender’s functionalities highlight the need for skilled pedagogical approaches. Particular attention is paid to the impact of this teaching methodology on ninth graders, a critical period for intense development of both academic and social competencies. Furthermore, the article addresses the future prospects of STEM education in Ukraine, advocating for equitable education access for all students, enhancements in pedagogical strategies, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies in educational settings.

Team-based learning—An approach to enhance collaboration and academic success in engineering education: A comprehensive study

Marina Sousa — 2025-03-05

Team-Based Learning (TBL) has emerged as an effective pedagogical approach for promoting active learning, collaboration, and academic success in higher education. This article explores the fundamental principles and implementation framework of TBL, emphasizing its relevance in engineering education, where the development of both technical and transversal skills, such as teamwork and problem-solving, is critical. Drawing on an extensive literature review and the authors’ practical experience, the study examines the benefits and challenges associated with TBL, including increased student engagement, improved knowledge retention, and the development of critical skills. Additionally, it addresses obstacles such as resistance to change, time constraints, and the need for faculty training. The article further analyzes the potential integration of TBL with emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and hybrid methodologies, creating more dynamic and interactive learning environments. This comprehensive analysis aims to support teachers and institutions in adopting TBL, thereby contributing to the enhancement of the quality and impact of the teaching-learning process.

Book Review: Aline, G.; Holger, H. The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and psycholinguistics; Routledge: New York, 2023; ISBN: 978-0-367-89376-7

Zilong Zhong — 2025-01-15

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