The aim this qualitative study is to determine current situation of policy on teacher employment model in Turkey from the perspectives of contracted teachers. The sample of the study consisted of 24 forms and branch teachers who were determined with the method of convenience sampling. The inclusion criterion for the sample was being contracted teachers who were employed in the provinces of Erzurum and Sanliurfa in Turkey in the academic year of 2017-2018. The data of the study was collected by using a semi-structured interview form consisting of open-ended questions. The data was analyzed by using the qualitative research method of content analysis. The findings of the study were discussed under the themes of the objective of contracted teaching, its negative aspects, and the future of the practice and solution recommendations. According to the results of the study, the vast majority of the participants were aware of the objectives of the practice of contracted teaching. The participants thought that the practice provided continuity in instruction-teaching and teachers at the schools they were appointed to. The vast majority of the participants were of the opinion that the practice of contracted teaching led to status discrimination as tenured-contracted teachers, and this reduced their motivations and organizational commitment. They stated that this practice carried negative aspects in terms of postgraduate education and being prospective teachers.

The purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students’ self-regulation skills and vocabulary learning strategies in foreign language. The sampling of the current study consists of 990 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade middle school students attending state middle schools in the Mentese district of the city of Mugla, Turkey in school year 2018-2019. As the data collection tools, the Perceived Self-Regulation Scale and the Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Foreign Language Scale were used. In the analysis of the collected data, frequencies, percentages, independent-samples t-test and one-way variance analysis (ANOVA), Post-Hoc Tests (Tukey and Dunnett’s C) and correlation analysis were used. The findings of the present study have revealed that the middle school students’ self-regulation skills and vocabulary learning strategies in foreign language are over the medium value. The middle school students’ self-regulation skills and vocabulary learning strategies in foreign language were found to vary significantly depending on gender, grade level, father-mother attitude and level of interest in English course. A medium, positive and significant correlation was found between the middle school students’ total scores of self-regulation strategies and vocabulary learning strategies in foreign language.

In this research, leisure activity engagement of students with intellectual disabilities was examined. This study aims to compare the engagement of students with intellectual disability in leisure time activities that they chose with the ones that were selected by their teachers. Four students diagnosed with intellectual disability at the age of fifteen participated in this study. While the dependent variable of the study is the students' engagement in the leisure time activities, the independent variables are the students’ and their teachers’ leisure time activity selections. The study was designed according to the alternating treatments model, which is one of the single subject research models. The study has revealed that enabling students to choose the leisure activities is more effective in increasing the engagement of three out of four participants in those activities.

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast faculty and graduate students’ perceptions of engaging online courses. This mixed-methods study occurred in a mid-sized state university in northeastern United States. Data from an online survey and semi-structured interviews indicated that graduate students and faculty perceived similar online course elements in the areas of social and teaching presence as engaging: interpersonal connections, structured learning environments, and variety in course activities and type of technology used. Both believed that poor organization was unengaging. Subtle differences in perception were illuminated by the qualitative analysis. The results have implications for online course pedagogy and research methodology.

Many educators hold beliefs that including students, at least to some degree, has academic and social benefits, however, they struggle with fundamental pedagogy. With a global shift from a segregated lens to that of an inclusive lens, special education teachers who once held positive beliefs towards segregated special education are now faced with a new reality of teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings. This paper highlights the experiences of ten educators who transitioned from teaching in a self-contained class to an inclusive class. Focus group and interview themes indicated that all had experienced a shift in their pedagogy- their overall beliefs and teaching methods- after they taught students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Despite their special education training, these educators were challenged by their own beliefs and expectations, the attitudes of others, and systematic barriers within the education system. Highlights of their change process include the positive performance of students with disabilities, the growth and development of the other students, and their overall pedagogical self-reflection. As a result, a framework, the Inclusive Educators’ Continuum of Change, was developed to highlight the change process and connect this research to the literature on inclusion and teacher change. This diagram can provide teacher educators a framework for discussing pedagogical change. Implications for professional development and teacher training for inclusive practice, as well as maximizing the educator skills in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) and mentorship opportunities will be highlighted.

This paper sought to investigate the mathematics teachers’ reflection on the role of Productive Pedagogies’ framework in festering effective classroom instruction. Two research objectives were used to discuss the reflection of the four mathematic teachers. A qualitative case study was adopted as the design of the study. Classroom observations, Research Journal and Reflective Interviews were organised to collect data for the study, while the narratives approach to data analysis was used to analyse the data collected. From the study, the mathematics teachers were able to gradually adjust to the new framework through effective reflective meetings with their colleagues and with the support of the researcher. They (mathematics teachers) reflected that, the framework helps them developed confidence, positive attitude and interest to their teaching practice. It helped fostered effective collaboration and created an atmosphere of trust between the mathematics teachers and their students. The study also suggested that the pedagogy influence the mathematics teachers to provide and received feedback from their colleagues and from their students. They were also of the view that there was a gradual shift from the traditional teacher centred instruction they are more conversant with to a more student-centred pedagogy. The implication of the study suggests the need to adopt the Productive Pedagogies framework into the Nigerian mathematics classroom to improve mathematics teacher’s classroom instruction.

Within the scope of the research, which aims to determine the leisure literacy and leisure exercise levels of the university students who volunteer in sports organizations, it is aimed to analyze the relationship and the differences of certain variables with measurement tools, as well as to examine the relationship and impact between leisure literacy and leisure exercise. In this context, 207 sports organization volunteers who participated in the study participated in the data collection, as well as a demographic information form, as well as the “Leisure Literacy Scale” and “Leisure-Time Exercise Scale" was used. In this study, the internal reliability coefficient for the Leisure literacy scale was .94 and .70 for the leisure exersice questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and Tukey (HSD-LSD) test and Pearson Correlation test and regression analysis were used for data analysis. The findings reveal that participants have high leisure literacy (81.25 ± 14.04) and men exhibit more active leisure exercise levels, certain variables change leisure literacy and leisure exercise levels. On the other hand, positive strong relationships between leisure literacy and leisure exercise were determined, and leisure literacy was found to have a positive effect on leisure exercise level. As a result of the research, it can be stated that the volunteer participants who take part in sports organizations and evaluate their leisure time actively, the literacy knowledge, background and action level for their leisure time is an important factor that makes individuals spend their leisure by exercising.

The aim of this research is to examine the psychological resilience levels of students studying in the Faculty of Sports Sciences according to some variables. The sample of the study consisted of Sports Sciences Faculty students of Duzce University, and the population consisted of 200 students from the Sports Sciences Faculty selected through a convenience sampling method. An eight-item personal information form developed by the researcher for demographic characteristics and ‘‘Short form of resilience scale’’ to determine resilience levels of participants were used. According to data obtained, while resilience levels, grades, gender, branch, department, age, and income variables of participants did not show a significant difference (p>0,05), it showed a significant difference according to sports age and place of living variables (p<0,05). Besides it was determined that resilience scores of male participants were higher than females, and team athletes had higher scores than individual athletes, lower classes had higher scores than upper classes, sports management students had higher scores than coaching and physical education and sports teaching students, and students who had younger age had higher scores than students who had older age. As a result of research, it was determined that resilience could be differed by class, sports age, residence variables. Also, it was revealed that sports age affects resilience negatively.

This study aimed to investigate whether Thai high school students’ perceived teacher support could enhance their reading ability through self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. The theoretical foundation of this study included the theory of social-motivational processes and social cognitive theory. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis and validation. The student questionnaire from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 survey questions regarding teacher support, sense of school belonging, self-efficacy, and reading ability. The sample consisted of the data collected from the Thai students in the PISA2018 survey, with an effective sample size totaling 7968. The research results of the overall model showed that the perceived teacher support of Thai high school students’ had no direct effect on their reading ability, but their perceived teacher support had an indirect effect on reading ability through their self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. From the results can be seen that high school teachers in Thailand, in supporting and encouraging their students in learning, must simultaneously develop their perceived self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. Only thus can there be obvious help to their students’ reading ability.

This study investigated the influence of teachers’ classroom management on pupils’ motivation for learning and academic achievement in Kwara State. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The population was all primary teachers and pupils in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State. The sample size was 250 teachers and all pupils in their classrooms. One research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. The instruments used to collect data were researchers’ developed instruments titled ‘Teachers’ Classroom Management Style Observation Scale (TCMOS) and Pupils’ Motivation for Learning Rating Scale (PMLRS) with reliability coefficients of 0.82 and 0.86 respectively. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, linear regression, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that there was significant influence of classroom management styles on pupils motivation for learning (F_(1,248) = 121.155, p < 0.05) and their academic achievement (F_(1,248) = 28.947, p < 0.05). It was therefore recommended that teachers should be encouraged to adopt appropriate classroom management to motivate pupils to learn for improved academic achievement. Also, courses on classroom management and leadership should be integrated into the teacher training curriculum while regular retraining of in-service teachers should be encouraged.

Adversity Quotient is a person's response to overcoming obstacles or problems. Barriers experienced, and the ability to overcome these obstacles vary in each person. This study was a literature review study focusing on adversity quotient in the field of education. This study reviewed several manuscripts that concentrated on research design, type of participants, and the critical role of adversity quotient in the field of education. A total of 18 articles were analyzed by exploring and reviewing manuscripts from trusted database journals, namely Scopus, Science Direct, and ERIC. This review explored three aspects of educational adversity quotient publications, including 1) the type of research design used in research related to adversity quotient in the field of education, 2) the types of participants chosen in research related to adversity quotient, and 3) the role of adversity quotient in education. Based on the results of manuscript reviews, adversity quotient research shows a great influence in the field of education. Research on adversity quotient shows that 1) descriptive and experimental research is the most commonly used design; 2) research participants in adversity quotient research are dominated by students, especially university students; 3) the role of adversity quotient is much shown in learning outcomes in the field of skills.

Digital storytelling has undergone extensive study in different content-areas, but its naturally-combined use with collaborative writing for skills development, and reflective practice remains underresearched in pre-service EFL teacher education. This study undertook joint tech-enhanced retelling of L2 texts by 56 Turkish EFL teacher candidates, rubric-based peer and teacher assessment of final products, comparative analysis of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) between outliers, and process evaluation using the significant learning taxonomy to explore impacts on L2 writing performance, academic learning, and personal growth. Despite assigning lower scores than the teacher-assessors, especially to the top-performers, the majority of peers successfully fulfilled the job, effectively performed the future reviewer role, and positively reacted to co-construction, and technology integration. CAF and reflection analyses indicated that the biggest difference between the highest- and lowest-scoring groups lay in grammatical accuracy, and lack of mutual interaction could account for the less cooperative group’s poorer performance. The classification of their post-task responses into six kinds of learning gains (foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn) also revealed that their collaborative digital storytelling experience (CDS) elicited more procedural, critical, creative and practical thinking on the academic learning front, while disciplinary and integrative thinking may have declined due to more immediate preoccupation with task achievement. Their critical thinking was mainly organised around consensus-reaching, fluctuating membership, and logistical challenges, and most demonstrated a clear understanding of the role of positive group dynamics in group outcomes. Despite heightened awareness of the performance-boosting, character-forming, and motivational benefits of collective scaffolding and multimodal meaning-making, a minority could also discern the instrumentality of innovative teaching techniques in their future classroom practices.

This study was designed to investigate the applicability of the IES/NSF pipeline-of-evidence protocol in ascertaining why two notable educational initiatives spearheaded and financially supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation achieved or not the goal of improved academic outcomes for K-12 public school students. Our interest was not whether there is a sufficient body of high quality research evidence to support the two initiatives but whether the research considered by the Gates Foundation established the likelihood that the initiatives would be successful and worth the decision to dedicate substantial funding, time, and effort required for each versus the many competing programs seeking sponsorship. We found that in the case of Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching, efficacy and effectiveness research were absent and the Gates foundation discontinued grant support because the initiative had not achieved the goal of improved high school graduation and college attendance among low-income minority students. In the case of Early College High School, we found empirical evidence was manifest at all but the effectiveness stage of the pipeline and the initiative continued to receive funding. Our findings support the importance of widening the net of methodologies that constitute a framework for elements needed to make predictions of effectiveness for any given intervention before investing in scale-up initiatives and the need for private foundations to be transparent in their decision-making process to enable others to scrutinize the research that informs the design of initiatives.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Personalized Book Advice Smart Application on secondary school students’ motivation as well as determining the views of students, teachers, and parents regarding the application. In the research, a mixed method approach, in which quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis methods are used together, was adopted. In the quantitative part, 585 secondary school students, 300 of whom are in the experimental group and 285 in the control group; In the qualitative part, 105 students, 6 teachers and 247 families were included in the research. Similarly, the qualitative of the study involved 105 students, 6 teachers, and 247 parents. In the quantitative part of the research, data collected with the Reading Motivation Scale developed by Durmus. In the qualitative part, the data were collected through a questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using parametric descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis technique. According to the findings obtained from the research, there is a significant difference in reading motivation of secondary school students in terms of post-test scores. It is seen that the students like to read adventure books and think that the books proposed by the application are suitable for their interests. Teachers state that they find the application successful, and they like that the application forms reading habits, and recommends books according to their interests, moreover, the recommended books are suitable for the students’ levels. On the other hand, the teachers think that teacher control is necessary. Additionally, parents state that they like the application because it recommends books according to the children’s interests and those recommended books were suitable for their levels, however, they added that the number of the books needs to be increased.

Shared leadership enables employees to develop positive feelings for their organizations and themselves. Especially, their devotional feelings and behaviours towards their organizations increase with the sharing of leadership. In this study, the shared leadership of the school and the organizational commitment levels of the teachers, their relationship with each other and the predictive status were examined. This study is a research within relational survey model. The data of the research were collected from 512 teachers in primary and secondary schools in Malatya districts of Turkey in the 2019-2020 academic year. The data were collected through the Shared Leadership Scale and the Organizational Commitment Scale of Teachers. For the analysis of the data, t-test, ANOVA test, correlation and regression analyzes were performed. According to the results of the research, shared leadership and organizational commitment levels in primary and secondary schools are high. There is a positively significant and moderate correlation between the shared leadership of the school and the organizational commitment of teachers. Shared leadership in primary and secondary schools positively and significantly predicts teachers' organizational commitment. For this reason, in order to increase the organizational commitment of teachers; it is important to create a sharing school life, in order to support teachers for the purposes of the organization and to include them in decision-making processes. According to the results obtained, it is recommended that young teachers with lower organizational commitment be given more duties, powers and responsibilities.

The aim of the present study is to examine the effect level of procrastination on academic achievement. To this end, a meta-analytic approach was applied and the studies published between January 2000 and May 2020 in Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Academic Search Ultimate databases were included in the study. The research was limited to articles examining the correlation between the variables and, accordingly, the correlation coefficient was specified as an index to identify the effect size. After reviewing 22 relevant studies with 8307 participants, the meta-analysis was conducted through Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. The findings revealed that the variables were negatively correlated with each other and the overall effect size of procrastination on academic achievement was found -0.61, which can be interpreted as the medium effect size. The findings of the study endorse the main tenets of theoretical framework regarding the aforementioned link.

The aim of this study is to identify whether high school students encounter any difficulties in mathematics and reveal the reasons for such difficulties. The participants of the study, which was a descriptive case study based on qualitative understanding, were a total of 164 students, including 85 students from Anatolian High Schools and 79 students from Science High Schools. Approximately 11% of the participants said they had no difficulties in math, whereas 99% of the students from Anatolian High Schools and 78% of the students from Science High Schools said they had difficulties in mathematic. Their thoughts about the reasons for such difficulties were analyzed by content analysis method considering the type of high school they attended. The findings obtained revealed that the difficulties encountered by the participants in mathematics were teacher-, content- and student-based. Anatolian High School students stated that they intensely faced teacher-based difficulties, whereas Science High School students stated that they faced content-based difficulties. It's expected that the results of this study may contribute to studies to be conducted to increase student success in mathematics education and provide ideas for further studies.

Motivation for school is an important concept which influences students’ academic, social and cultural development. Leadership behaviours to be displayed by school principals can be thought to affect the network of social relations in school and to support the climate of trust in school for students to develop positive attitudes towards the school. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the correlations between school principals’ social justice leadership behaviours, students’ trust in school principals and motivation for school. The study group was composed of 762 secondary school students from Altindag district of Ankara. The data were collected with social justice leadership scale, trust in the school principal scale and motivation for the school scale. The data were put to descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The findings demonstrated that students had moderate level of perceptions of school principals’ social justice leadership behaviours and trust in school principals and high level of motivation for school. Besides, significant correlations were also found between the variables. Additionally, it was found that social justice leadership predicted significantly trust in school principals and motivation for school. The findings showed that the social justice leadership behaviors of the school principal play a key role on students’ motivation and their trust in the principals.

This quantitative study aims to examine the relationships between enabling school structure, academic optimism and altruistic behaviours as well as to find out whether altruistic behaviours serve as a mediator between enabling school structure and academic optimism. A scale was applied to teachers from primary- schools in Turkey via random sampling. There were 707 teachers participating in this study. Three existing scales, which are enabling school structure, academic optimism, and teachers’ altruistic behaviours scales, were used to collect data from teachers. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were calculated in the study to investigate correlations among all the variables and reliabilities of the measures. Structural Equation Modelling investigated the effects of Enabling School Structure on School Academic Optimism through Teachers’ Altruistic Behaviours. The results confirmed a positive relationship between all variables of the study. The findings also revealed the mediator effect of TAB on the relationship between ESS and SAO. Finally, some recommendations were given based on results.

Time management for educational leaders has remained highly relevant to scholars, policymakers and practitioners. We analyzed survey responses from 98 public high school principals to examine the congruency between average total hours they worked per week against the sum total of the average hours worked per week in each of five distinct categories of leadership tasks. The observed congruence was 0.32, while Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.10. Female principals tended to underreport, and male principals tended to overreport, total work time. Principals with doctorate degrees exhibited higher congruence than those without, and overreporting was inversely related to highest degree. Principals in charge of large teaching staffs were more likely than their counterparts to be congruent and less likely to overreport total work time. Self-report appears to be an inaccurate method to measure time use among high school principals. If time use is a key component of the quality of principal leadership, more detailed and robust techniques for collecting time use data should be utilized in future studies.