Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal

Editorial - VARIA Issue

2022-09-22T13:37:36+02:00

The Inclusion of Differentiation in Literacy Lessons in the First and Second Grades of Slovenian Primary School

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

In the modern educational process, teachers adapt lessons to the student’s individual abilities, prior knowledge, interests and social skills. The present study, whose aim is to examine the inclusion of differentiation in literacy lessons in the first and second grades of Slovenian primary schools, was carried out on a smaller scale (N = 79). It aims to determine the views of first- and second-grade primary school teachers on differentiation, and to find out how differentiation takes place in literacy lessons and which factors affect student performance in class. The results show that the inclusion of differentiation in literacy lessons is present in the entire initial literacy teaching process, and that Slovenian teachers undergo regular training and professional development courses in this area, thus contributing to the educational success of students and affecting their personal growth and development. Teachers estimate that the intertwining of individual abilities, family environment, engagement in co-curricular activities and well-developed social skills represents a key factor in student success. It was expected that internal differentiation would be more effective than external differentiation. Surprisingly, however, teachers report that heterogeneous groups do not enhance educational efficiency.

College Attendance among Low-Income Youth: Explaining Differences across Wisconsin High Schools

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

Bolstering low-income students’ postsecondary participation is important to remediate these students’ disadvantages and to improve society’s overall level of education. Recent research has demonstrated that secondary schools vary considerably in their tendencies to send students to postsecondary education, but existing research has not systematically identified the school characteristics that explain this variation. Identifying these characteristics can help improve low-income students’ postsecondary outcomes. We identify relevant characteristics using population-level data from Wisconsin, a mid-size state in the United States. We first show that Wisconsin’s income-based disparities in postsecondary participation are wide, even net of academic achievement. Next, we show that several geographic characteristics of schools help explain between-secondary school variation in low-income students’ postsecondary outcomes. Finally, we test whether a dense set of school organisational features explain any remaining variation. We find that these features explain virtually no variation in secondary schools’ tendencies to send low-income students to postsecondary education.

Are they Stress-Free? Examining Stress among Primary School Teachers in Tanzania

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

Teachers enter the profession with enthusiasm for the new adventure. Unfortunately, when they start working, they encounter circumstances that give rise to stress. The present study, which used a sample of 550 participants from 50 primary schools selected from the Kisarawe district in the Coastal Region of Tanzania, examines the extent of stress among primary school teachers and the factors influencing stress. Overall, the results indicate that teachers’ levels of stress range from low to moderate. Moreover, the results from hierarchical regression analysis indicate that factors such as sex, class size, age, career intentions and teaching subject significantly predict teachers’ stress. The study concludes that there is a need for the government, policymakers and school administrators to reduce teachers’ workload. Furthermore, school administrators in particular should be supportive and should design mechanisms that could develop a sense of collegiality among teachers in order to improve teacher-to-teacher relationships.

Quality Pedagogical Practice in Early Childhood Education Institutions Relating to Children at Risk of Social Exclusion

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

Quality early childhood education and care has been the focus of interest of researchers for over half a century. Approaches to the quality monitoring and quality assurance of early childhood education and care, as well as its conceptualisation and operationalisation, have changed and developed over the decades in line with contemporary understandings of child development and learning, and in accordance with changes in the purpose and functions of early childhood education and care. The results of many relevant studies confirm that quality early childhood education and care is crucial for short-term and long-term positive outcomes in different development and learning areas, especially in the case of disadvantaged children, including children at risk of social exclusion. The aim of this paper is to present the concept of quality in early childhood education and care from various research perspectives, with special emphasis on a review of the literature on the quality of pedagogical practice aimed at children at risk of social exclusion. The paper presents the theoretical model of responding to the needs of children at risk of social exclusion in Croatian early childhood education and care. Special attention is given to the quality of pedagogical practice regarding children at risk of social exclusion, as a prerequisite for planning targeted measures and interventions directed at this group of children and their families within the Croatian early childhood education and care system. It was concluded that the key factors for quality pedagogical practice are an interdisciplinary approach of highly qualified professionals and the participation of all key stakeholders within the child’s immediate environment, as well as connection between relevant policies and practice, which are crucial for early childhood education and care quality.

A Model of Transformational Leadership in the Organisational Culture of Preschool Institution

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

The culture of an organisation refers to the common and dominant values and norms, as well as the beliefs and perceptions of its employees. Organisational culture influences employee behaviour and attitudes. The culture of the institution predetermines the tone of the environment, which can affect employee satisfaction. The basic premise of this paper is established in the connection between the characteristics of the leader and the transformational model of leadership in the organisational culture of the preschool institution. This research aims to determine whether the assessments and self-assessments of leaders and preschool teachers differ in the frequency of using the transformational leadership style and to determine the relationship between the transformational leadership style and the leader’s personality traits. The research was conducted in a private Croatian preschool institution, which consists of 10 kindergartens. A total of 51 participants in 9 kindergartens participated in the research. The study used a quantitative research approach. The research results show that preschool teachers and leaders do not differ significantly in estimates of the frequency of application of the transformational leadership style and that there is a significant correlation between some characteristics of the leader and the transformational model of preschool leadership.

Organisational Culture in Public University: A Case Study in Kosovo

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in research that focuses on organisational culture as an important construct that can support or hinder the implementation of changes in higher education. In developing countries of Europe, limited studies are assessing organisational culture and its alignment with planned changes in higher education institutions. Hence, the objective of this research was to identify the dominant organisational culture types in higher education and understand how the planned changes are aligned with the dominant cultures. The research was conducted in a large public university in Kosovo. The Competing Values Framework was used to assess the organisational culture. The study adopted a quantitative research approach. The sample consisted of 102 academic staff from a population of approximately 960. The data were collected using a standardised instrument (The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI)) to identify the dominant organisational culture based on four organisational culture types: clan, hierarchy, adhocracy, and market. The data related to the planned changes of the university were collected through document analysis. The research identified hierarchy and market cultures as the dominant cultures. The results also show that the dominant organisational cultures militate against the main planned changes. The findings confirm the relevance of the Competing Values Framework in assessing the organisational culture in higher education institutions and provide direction to academic leaders about how they can align their planned changes with the organisational culture to achieve better outcomes.

Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Readiness and Satisfaction among Indonesian Students

2022-09-22T13:33:10+02:00

The spread of Covid-19 has affected the entire world, including the education sector in Indonesia. This study examines the relationship between Indonesian students’ readiness and students satisfaction with online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. It used an online questionnaire to reach 518 students as a participant. Structural equation modelling (SEM) with SmartPLS software was utilised to examine the relationship between the variables. The finding indicated four dimensions of student readiness (online student attributes, time management, technical competencies, and online communication competencies) closely related to students’ satisfaction with online learning. The result provided an understanding of the condition of online learning satisfaction from students readiness point of view during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. This study serves as a starting point for stakeholders (government and education institutions) in making future policies.

Through Thick and Thin: Lower Secondary School Students’ Barriers to Learning under Covid-19 Conditions

2022-09-22T13:33:11+02:00

At the global level, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the whole education system, ranging from pre-school to higher education. Without any prior preparation, the teaching process has undergone a massive transition from face-to-face to distance learning. This transition has posed many challenges. This article aims to reveal what barriers to learning lower secondary school students face and how schools can minimise these barriers. A systematic review of the academic literature from two well-known databases, EBSCO and ScienceDirect, was performed to identify and determine the prevailing consistencies and gaps. The empirical study follows a qualitative research design: an explanatory case study. The data were collected through observations of online lessons, interviews with teachers and the school principal, and students’ reflections. In addition, an inductive thematic analysis was employed. The empirical results help to identify secondary school students’ barriers to learning in terms of learning accessibility and technological literacy; planning and reflections on learning; self-regulated learning and active involvement; and emotional and psychological well-being. Furthermore, the study highlights how a school can minimise these barriers.

Distance Learning under the Covid-19 Conditions within Architectural Education

2022-09-22T13:33:11+02:00

Distance learning is one of the means of education used in various levels, from primary school to college. However, distance learning in architectural education differs from other disciplines, as architectural education is design-based with predominantly applied courses. As the spring semester of the 2019/20 academic year had to continue online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it remained uncertain whether or when face-to-face (FtF) education will start till the end of the term, the necessity to focus on online education suddenly raised in architectural faculties. This study aims to start a discussion on how to proceed with online architectural education, focusing on quality, defining the fundamentals, and proposing suggestions within this scope. In order to achieve this aim, research on the evaluation of the existing distance learning platforms of universities, the differences between the implementations of theoretical and applied courses, the advantages and disadvantages of the process are made. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature review on universities that provide fully online, hybrid and conventional (FtF) education throughout the world is conducted, given and discussed in the paper. After the research on ongoing processes, a case study to determine the experiences, opinions and approaches of students and academic staff with the scope of emergency remote teaching is designed and conducted. Together with the findings of the review and the case study, the challenges, strengths and opportunities of online architectural education are discussed and evaluated with a focus on maintaining and raising the quality of the education. In conclusion, suggestions and proposals are made and presented to be applied and developed in architecture faculties’ future online education experiences.

Parents’ Opinions about their Children’s Distance Learning during the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic

2022-09-22T13:33:11+02:00

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, distance education became the only official form of instruction in all schools in Croatia for a period commencing 16 March 2020. This situation changed the expectations, roles and responsibilities of parents with regard to the teaching and learning process of their children. Understanding parents’ experiences during school closure is important for the development of recommendations for similar situations. This paper presents part of the results of an online survey investigating the opinions of 1,205 parents of primary school children on various aspects of distance education. The responses were analysed by researchers using the thematic analysis approach. The initial answers of parents regarding the positive and negative aspects of education during the lockdown were grouped into categories. The results indicate that distance education positively contributed to the development of children’s self-regulated learning and to providing greater parental support in learning, as well as empowering children in using ICT. Parents emphasise positive changes in the quality of family relationships, which are partly the consequence of joint learning with their children and partly due to changes in the way of life during the lockdown. Negative aspects can be divided into two general categories, the first of which is linked to children (e.g., lack of support from school, lack of children’s interest in learning), while the second refers to the challenges faced by parents (e.g., fear of school failure, undertaking the double role of custodian and teacher). The findings suggest the need for the development of recommendations that would provide support for parents and children in situations where the teaching and learning process take place in an online environment.

How the Covid-19 Pandemic was Experienced by Slovenian and German Adolescents with Specific Learning Difficulties

2022-09-22T13:33:11+02:00

The spring phase of the pandemic made the education of adolescents with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) challenging. In the present study, which included 122 adolescents with SpLD (50% from Slovenia, 50% from Germany), we investigated how Slovenian and German adolescents with SpLD perceived and solved some of the challenges of distance learning. The study data were collected with two online questionnaires (in Slovenian and German, respectively). Slovenian adolescents were statistically significantly more likely than German adolescents to mention problems with attention, the importance of multisensory learning, and the importance of being able to choose the time to learn, as well as psychosomatic problems. Slovenian adolescents had more experiences with praise from teachers during the pandemic and they also mentioned more issues with the transition to distance learning and the use of information and communication technology. Younger adolescents had more parental help. Male adolescents were more likely to report that they did not have the right spatial conditions for learning. German adolescents spent more time chatting on social media and experienced less support for learning. Female adolescents were more likely to express fear of the pandemic and a lack of learning support, while male adolescents across the sample missed their peers more. Most of the respondents came from families in which the pandemic did not cause serious material and spatial problems, but German adolescents were statistically significantly less likely to feel these consequences. According to the respondents, the spatial and material conditions were similar in both countries.

Ana Ž. Pešikan, Learning in Educational Context: Psychology of Learning/ Teaching [Srb: Učenje u obrazovnom kontekstu: osnove psihologije učenja/nastave], Službeni glasnik, 2020; 451 pp.: ISBN: 978-86-519-2435-7

2022-09-22T13:37:33+02:00

Doug Lemov and The Teach Like a Champion Team, Teaching in the Online Classroom. Surviving and thriving in the new normal, Jossey-Bass: 2020; 192 pp.: ISBN 978-1119762935

2022-09-22T13:37:30+02:00