Teacher morale affects all aspects of the school and education system. Yet, the current status of teaching does not provide a rosy picture as teachers are reported to be demoralized and stressed. This qualitative study explored teachers’ experiences that influence their morale. The study was guided by the research question: How do workplace experiences affect teacher morale in selected primary schools? Qualitative data were gathered through six focus group interviews with 36 teachers in four primary schools and were analyzed using a content analysis framework. Data revealed that teacher morale was low. Participants identified school climate factors such as inappropriate professional development activities and violence as threats to their morale. Furthermore, a lack of parental involvement in the affairs of the school was regarded as a setback by teachers. This study highlighted specific issues that influence teacher morale and contribute to the understanding of the state of their morale. The study recommends that more attention is given to ensuring that teacher morale is enhanced for educational goals to be realized. Improving teacher morale has many benefits in that it helps teachers to maintain a positive attitude and be happy at work.

Corresponding to industry trends and changes in engineering education accreditation criteria, non-technical professional skills training is now seen as central to baccalaureate engineering education. Beyond simply developing good managers in the engineering fields, engineering educators have adopted a goal to prepare engineering students to be leaders who can provide vision to their organizations with strong ethical standards. This study investigated engineering undergraduate students’ leadership efficacy development associated with such professional skills as self-awareness, global competence, ethical awareness, creativity, and teamwork skills. Responding to an online survey, 247 engineering undergraduates who were enrolled in an engineering leadership course participated in this study. Results of this study indicated that there are positive associations among the five professional skills (e.g., self-awareness, ethical awareness, global competency, creativity, and teamwork skills), and engineering leadership self-efficacy for engineering undergraduate students. The five professional skills (self-awareness, ethical awareness, global competency, creativity, and teamwork skills) predicted 54% of the overall variance of engineering leadership self-efficacy.

Technological advances and the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have forced higher education institutions to be innovative in delivering education in their countries. E- assessment using e-portfolio illustrates the importance of assessment practices that promote constructivist perception, allowing students to create their own learning as active participants through innovative learning and assessment activities. The purpose of this paper was to explore lecturer’s understandings on the functionality of e-portfolio as an alternative assessment in an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL). For this qualitative study, within an interpretative paradigm, interviews were conducted with four lecturers using thematic approach. The findings revealed that e-portfolio is beneficial for assessment in the ODeL as it allows students the opportunity to self-embrace their learning, e-portfolio enhances student-centeredness through authentic assessment practices. However, e-portfolio is not implemented to its potential due to challenges and constraints experienced by lecturers. Based on the findings, it is recommended that training workshops beneficial for lecturers should be conducted at the beginning of the course/module on how to create their e-portfolios. Furthermore, an e-portfolio assessment framework to be facilitated for the successful implementation of e-portfolio assessment strategy.  

Open educational resources (OER) are an innovation coined to bridge the educational divide by providing free quality learning resources. Consequently, this study explored the perception of the Namibian open and distance learning institutions' perception of the use of OER as a pedagogical approach. The study focused on faculty members from the three public ODL institutions in Namibia. Integrated theories with a qualitative case study and interpretivist paradigm underpin this study. Qualitative methodologies were used to collect and analyse data. This study showed an inconsistency between the faculty members' perceptions and OER use within the ODL institutions in Namibia. Although the faculty members displayed positive attitudes towards the use of OER, very little has been achieved in the use of OER within the institutions for the benefit of the Namibian ODL students. The study identified various challenges that impede OER adoption at the institutional level. Recommendations were formulated to address the identified challenges.

This study aims to determine the expectations of university students on the part of the Higher Education System and to what extent these expectations are met. Phenomenological approach, which is counted among qualitative research models, was utilized as the research model. The data obtained from student interviews were analyzed by content analysis. Findings were presented as themes and categories. The research participants consist of 21 students studying at different universities and programs in the 2020-2021 academic year. This study ascertained that the opinions of participating students in terms of themes, categories and codes and their satisfaction levels vary depending on the university they attend. Students expect from the Higher Education System that it enables them to get to their dream job, curricula and materials based on their needs, qualified lecturers, a foreign language education, academic freedom, a democratic environment, equal opportunities in education, an substructure, socio-cultural and physical-material opportunities, international interaction, practice-oriented opportunities for training/internship and participation in administration. The faculty or program choice is highly determined by the condition of a country, the gained scores in the central examination system, surroundings, offered orientation assistances in secondary education, the quality-perceptions of students related to universities, acquisition of employment and the sufficiency of universities to acquire a profession. Findings of this research made clear, that the level of The Higher Education System responding to the expectations of the students differs according to the possibilities of universities.

There are pedagogical challenges for the ideal balance of online community building and interaction among students and instructors for HyFlex learning. One of the challenges focuses on how instructors can effectively select and design an online discussion modality to promote positive, vigorous, and encouraging online asynchronous discussion to engage students. This research study adopted an exploratory mixed method approach designed to investigate student’s satisfaction level and academic performance with different interface design platforms for online discussion in HyFlex delivery modality education courses. Study results indicated that different interface design for online discussion platforms had a significant impact on students’ academic achievement for online discussion assessment although there is no significant impact on students’ overall satisfactory levels toward the courses. Implications from the results suggest a need to design and integrate effective online discussion platform to engage students and promote social learning in HyFlex learning environments.

Evaluation of the K-13 curriculum (2013 Curriculum) on the value of the national mathematics examination “Nilai Ebtanas Murni” (NEM) in every State Junior High School needs to be carried out thoroughly in order to improve the quality of education. This study uses spatial analysis to evaluate the curriculum and determine the development of NEM scores in the school year. Furthermore, the kriging interpolation method via surfer software was used to generate scores. The results showed that the 2015 K-13 mathematics curriculum did not give good results based on the 36-68 NEM score interval for the entire Pekanbaru area. In addition, the curriculum only gives good results for a small area in the north and south. In 2016, the curriculum which was accompanied by the entry of the new education unit level curriculum “Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan” (KTSP) showed a significant change in the NEM value. Although most of these areas experienced an increase in scores, the intervals still ranged from 36-68. The total revision of the K-13 curriculum carried out and used in 2017 showed a significant increase in scores for all regions with an interval of 68-84 scores. In conclusion, this study shows that the revision of the K-13 curriculum is the right step to produce quality mathematics learning.

Due to the pandemic in many countries, schools were closed in 2020. Therefore, education was suspended, and distance education was started. During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, teachers gave lessons online in virtual classrooms. In this study, Scale of Attitudes Towards Online Formative Assessment (S-AOFA) for teachers conducting online and distance courses was developed, and the teachers' attitudes were examined with respect to demographic variables. In the study conducted in the mixed-design method, qualitative and quantitative data were collected for the scale development and survey. Data were obtained from 369 teachers (science teacher, mathematics teacher, classroom teacher, and teachers in other fields) working in school in Turkey. S-AOFA was made up of 20 items and two factors as a five-point Likert-type. When the teachers' attitudes towards online formative assessment (AOFA) was examined, it was found that the mean for the factor of "Assessment Systems" was lower than that of the "Assessment Approaches". In addition, the findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the teachers' AOFA in terms of gender and that no significant difference existed in AOFA with respect to the school levels of the teachers (elementary, secondary and high school). Moreover, the results demonstrated that there was a low negative significant relationship between the teachers' AOFA and the number of students in which virtual lessons were given online. Lastly, there was a low level positive significant relationship between the teachers' AOFA and the in-class participation percentages of the students who were taught online in virtual classrooms. S-AOFA could be used by researchers in different studies in future.

Learning engagement is one of the most important issues facing online learning, which has many distractions beyond the teacher’s control and management. This study examined teachers’ observations of their students’ engagement in online learning and their efforts to engage them. Teachers can evaluate different factors and conditions that affect students’ perceptions, engagement, motivation, and achievement. Language learning is influenced by several factors, such as teachers’ rapport and interaction with their students, students’ interaction and collaboration, and their engagement with social activities in learning situations. This qualitative multi-case study collected data from five language teachers by semi-structured interviews, teachers’ self-reports, and observational notes about their experiences of students’ engagement in their online lessons. It lasted for 15 teaching weeks in a Saudi intermediate school during the second semester of 2020-2021. The thematic analysis results in four main categories; (a) teachers’ challenges, (b) students’ responsibilities, (c) environment and system, and (d) attitude and excuses. These categories are built on 11 themes that provide insights into the factors, challenges, and threats, which influence learning engagement in online courses for teachers and students. The study recommends some techniques to maintain the learning engagement and provides some suggestions for future research.  

Teacher professionalism is needed for quality education. The current practice for increasing teacher professionalism is to use skill applications. However, the implementation of skill applications has, in fact, not succeeded in significantly increasing teacher professionalism. This study aims to explain the importance of an effective skill application model coupled with a comprehensive approach to raise the level of teacher competence. This study is qualitative with its data derived from observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The paper's research findings show that existing programs are not sufficiently enhancing teacher competencies and professionalism. Various teacher professional development activities are conducted; however, there has been no continuous post-activity follow-up. These professional development activities tend only to fulfill the administrative requirements for teacher promotion. What is needed is a comprehensive and continuous teacher professionalism assessment model, which is underpinned by a system of mentoring. This study has implications for evaluating the teacher's professional competencies. More comprehensive skill applications need to be formulated as part of an integrated, sustainable, and mentoring [terpadu, sustainable, pendampingan-TSP] approach to develop teacher professionalism significantly.

This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess science teacher candidates’ professional and pedagogical competence in the Industrial revolution 4.0. The instrument consisted of 30 questions and was used in the main study, which was analyzed using the Rasch model to unravel the reliability and empirical validity. The questions were developed based on a predetermined grid including the skills and literacy aspects used in the industrial revolution 4.0. The 30 revised questions were then tested on 60 students of Science Education at two State universities in Indonesia who were in their third year of study times. The Rasch model was employed to test its reliability and empirical validity that included Wright map analysis, item difficulty level, distractor analysis, and item suitability with the Rasch model. The results showed that the reliability value of the professional aspect was .95 and classified as an excellent category. Moreover, the pedagogic aspect obtained .93 and was classified as a very good category. Only one question was the most difficult and did not fit the Rasch model, while the others already fitted. This reliable and valid instrument is suggested to be useful in assessing pre-service science teachers’ competence.

The purpose of the study was to identify how the designed instructional model moderated the vocabulary-related anxieties in students when they communicated in the media internationally. The methodological approach used in the study was aimed at controlling and manipulating variables which were as follows: The level of vocabulary anxiety related to communication in the media, cultural intelligence, and English vocabulary level. The study relied on quantitative and qualitative methods to gather the experimental data and answer the research questions. Insufficient vocabulary was found to be one of the key factors of anxieties in students when they communicated in the media internationally. The major sub-factors of the vocabulary-related anxieties in the students when they communicated in the media internationally (as perceived by the respondents) were spontaneous interaction with the native speakers, guessing the meaning of the words from the context, and paraphrasing ideas using synonyms. The instructional-purpose use of the predesigned vocabulary lists, learning them using the Telegram bot, talking to the foreign speakers in the media, self-analysis, and analysis by peers were proven to be capable to moderate the vocabulary-related anxieties in students when they communicate in the media with the foreign speakers.

There are different strategies to analyze teacher and student performance when they interact with each other in class. The most used strategies are direct observation and verbal reports. Even though what is observed or reported depends on theoretical frameworks regarding didactic interactions, these must be related to teacher functions such as supervision, providing feedback, and evaluation of student performance. In this study, instruments for observational recording and verbal reports were developed and validated considering teacher functions and their student performance counterparts to compare the degree of correspondence or divergence between data gathered from both strategies. 135 students enrolled in a science class and their teachers participated. The class was taught in a public high school located in center/south Mexico. Classes were videotaped and the corresponding observational records were analyzed. Two months later, verbal reports were administered to students and teachers. Coincidences and differences that were found revealed that observer-observe interaction is conditioned by social norms. These results were interpreted considering the notion of silence as a communicative element.

This study aims to develop a learning model based on 4C skills to improve high school students’ mathematical critical thinking skills. Research & development is the design used in this research by applying Plomp’s development theory which consists of three phases, namely needs analysis, design and implementation, and evaluation. This research was conducted at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 2 Parepare, South Sulawesi, Indonesia involving five experts, four teachers, and 20 students. Data collection and analysis were carried out qualitatively and quantitatively. Analysis of interviews’ data and observations qualitatively with the thematic analysis technique. We also analyse data from validation sheets, questionnaires, and mathematical essay tests with the help of SPSS 20.00. The results show that students and lecturers need a learning model to improve mathematical critical thinking skills. In addition, other findings stated that the learning model developed was proven to be valid, practical, and effective to be used in general. Developing your learning model can further improve students' learning outcomes and mathematical critical thinking skills because they are designed based on the actual needs and problems. For this reason, a teacher must be able to design his learning model.

The teaching method is one of the main aspects to make a huge contribution to the success of any education system, and project-based teaching (PBL) is an important aspect to contribute to the success of education also. This research was conducted through a review of project-based teaching that has been used in the education system of Vietnam, including a sample, and setting that included imperial and theoretical literature selected from the fields of education. Findings show that this method has been applied to various sectors of education, from kindergarten education to higher education, in many disciplines and subjects, in schools and educational settings, and has become more widely popular than ever. This method, however, has its drawbacks because it takes time to master and teachers need more skills to manage the learning atmosphere. This method has been commonly accepted as one that can help teachers and learners understand more and get more benefits in the learning and teaching process.

The aim of this research is to find out how higher education (HE) teachers reflect on the possibilities of personal development and evaluate the institutional promotion of academic teaching in an HE community. The purpose was thus to understand how university employed teachers experienced and reflected on the benefits of their pedagogical education and pedagogical fellowship during and after the studies. To obtain information regarding the current situations and prospects for the future of the research persons, questionnaires were used, and unstructured essays were written through their study time and subsequently. The research methods were qualitative content analysis and deep analysing methods. The teachers possess cognitive thinking skills of the highest level. Pedagogical and transformative thinking are not at the same level. The research persons express their views tactfully when outlining how teaching should be realized in the future. Still, they criticized the resistance to changes in academic teaching, especially before they themselves were part of the administration.

This study reviews 60 papers using a Likert scale and published between 2012 – 2021. Screening for literature review uses the PRISMA method. The data analysis technique was carried out through data extraction, then synthesized in a structured manner using the narrative method. To achieve credible research results at the stage of the data collection and data analysis process, a group discussion forum (FGD) was conducted. The findings show that only 10% of studies use a measurement scale with an even answer choice category (4, 6, 8, or 10 choices). In general, (90%) of research uses a measurement instrument that involves a Likert scale with odd response choices (5, 7, 9, or 11) and the most popular researchers use a Likert scale with a total response of 5 points. The use of a rating scale with an odd number of responses of more than five points (especially on a seven-point scale) is the most effective in terms of reliability and validity coefficients, but if the researcher wants to direct respondents to one side, then a scale with an even number of responses (six points) is possible. more suitable. The presence of response bias and central tendency bias can affect the validity and reliability of the use of the Likert scale instrument.

This study explores Korean pre-service teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and satisfaction with flipped learning courses in a teacher education program. A mixed research method was used to collect the end-of-semester survey (n=62) and individual interview data (n=4). Guided by the four pillars of flipped learning (FL), study results are followed. First, Korean pre-service teachers believed that flipped learning format provided a flexible learning environment where pre-service teachers (PSTs) learn course materials in their own space. This result indicated that their learning happened without the limits of time and space. Second, pre-service teachers showed that their self-directed learning could be enhanced while watching pre-recorded videos before attending the class. Most PSTs agreed that their self-directed learning could be enhanced after participating in the flipped learning courses. Third, pre-service teachers evaluated that the FL course instructor was a professional educator who conveyed the intentional content effectively. Fourth, pre-service teachers were generally satisfied with the FL courses and were willing to take the FL courses again in the future.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of game-based learning (GBL) through the use of Genially in English as a foreign language (EFL) online instruction. The participants were 61 EFL undergraduate students, who were distributed into an experimental group (32 students), and a control group (29 students). Their ages ranged from 22 to 56 years old, and their English proficiency level was B1, according to the Common European Framework of References (CEFR). The students were enrolled in two pre-intermediate courses that are part of an EFL Teaching program at a private university in southern Ecuador. The courses were delivered in an online remote learning environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study followed a quasi-experimental approach and it took place over a sixteen-week period. The instruments included a diagnostic survey, a pre-test, a post-test, a students’ perceptions survey, and a semi-structured interview. The main findings revealed that Genially games have the potential to enhance EFL learners’ academic performance in online instruction, particularly in aspects related to students’ knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in context. Besides, it was found that according to students’ perceptions, the implementation of games based on their real learning needs increases their motivation, especially when feedback is effectively provided.  

The aim of this study is to capture and analyse perspectives on higher education from the views of five students through in-depth interviews. The students' statements are analyzed in order to gain an understanding of their experiences of developing academic literacies in their university studies. They are regularly visiting the university study workshop for help with their exam assignments. The following questions have been formulated to fulfil the aim of the study: (a) what aspects of studies in higher education do the students express as important, favorable, or unfavorable, for their development of academic literacies? and (b) in what way do the students value the study workshops as an educational tool? The analysis reveals three themes: the importance of explicit support structures, the importance of teachers’ feedback, and the importance of using the students’ pedagogical capital. The results also show that the students highly value the study workshop when they reflect upon the one-to-one feedback, but the support seems to be insufficient both in supporting them to be more independent in their studies and in developing academic literacies from a critical and epistemological point of view.