ABSTRACT Many educational studies have examined the relationships between school science literacy achievement and various school-level factors, including school resources, teacher quality, and class size. The primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the predictive ability of student-, teacher-, and principal-reported variables for school science literacy achievement using a machine learning approach. Using data from 238 US schools collected by the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment, we examined the relative importance of 48 predictors in predicting school science literacy achievement. The machine learning algorithm identified ten relatively important predictors of school science literacy outcomes. Of the ten predictors, seven were reported by the students. We discussed the results concerning implications for school leaders in setting program priorities.

ABSTRACT This study examines three dimensions of Text-to-Speech (TTS) use – listening time, frequency, and sequence. Using response and log data from 28,090 students on a Grade 8 mathematics item from the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress, we estimated relationships between TTS use and accuracy with logistic regressions and Random Forest partial-dependence plots. TTS use was most common among lower-proficiency students. Among Below Basic students, listening to the problem statement was associated with higher accuracy, though benefits diminished beyond 25 seconds. Among Basic students, frequent toggling was negatively associated with accuracy, whereas among Proficient and Advanced students, no consistent relationship emerged. Overall, TTS appears to support access when used purposefully, while inefficient use may hinder performance. Although limited to one item and observational data, the findings suggest practical design and instructional strategies for promoting equitable access.

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of school-family collaboration on educational outcomes, identifies structural and relational barriers, and proposes contextually relevant solutions. Using a phenomenological design within an interpretivist paradigm, data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal that teacher-parent interactions are often strained due to misunderstandings, mismatched expectations, and communication gaps. Key barriers include socioeconomic disadvantage, limited access, time constraints, parents' educational levels, and negative attitudes toward schooling. Strong collaboration, however, is associated with improved student achievement, teacher motivation, parental involvement, and school climate, while weak collaboration undermines performance, institutional goals, and teacher morale. The study concludes that school-family collaboration must be strengthened through contextual, systematic, and inclusive strategies. It recommends developing culturally responsive participation models, flexible engagement practices, and sustainable interventions that enhance access and promote school belonging.

ABSTRACT The 2010s saw significant reform in ICT and computing education. ICT was written off as an irrelevant vocational subject, and effectively “scrapped.” Introduced in its place was the national curriculum computing programmes of study (Computing), with an emphasis on computer science. This blanket reform meant that secondary school “ICT” subject teachers were immediately required to teach “Computing.” This study’s findings demonstrate that ICT teachers felt unsupported throughout the reform process. Teachers have been unable to reconcile the identity of “Teacher of Computing” with their professional situations and have left teaching. This loss of teachers should be viewed as an “educational loss” of expertise and diversity in the computing classroom. It is recommended that teachers are given support to allow a reconnection with their previous “successful” professional identities. Good teachers should not be lost because of the rushed implementation of national reforms.

ABSTRACT It is understood that teachers’ beliefs exist within complex systems, yet there is limited empirical research on such systems. This study investigated systems of teachers’ pedagogical beliefs (e.g., teaching, curriculum, learning), motivational beliefs (e.g., self-efficacy, personal responsibility, goal orientation), and beliefs about students. Integrated clusters of teacher beliefs were identified within five higher-order factors. One cluster included motivations to teach based on social contribution, mastery goals, and focus on deep learning and relational teaching. Another cluster connected fixed attitudes about self and learners, personal utility motivations, and pedagogical beliefs focused on surface-level knowledge and transmission-type approaches to teaching, in addition to lower expectations for learners. Other clusters of beliefs related to intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, assessment beliefs, and teacher sense of personal responsibility. Findings provide new insights into the structure of teacher belief systems and illustrate opportunities to strengthen empirically supported understandings of the complex constructs of teacher belief systems.

ABSTRACT Despite a myriad of studies on language learning strategies (LLS), most of them explored LLS used by English learners with general or various language proficiency. To fill this gap, the current study adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to explore LLS employed by successful English learners. This study analysed research articles published from 2000 to 2023 in journals in the field of social sciences. The findings indicated that outstanding English learners tend to choose metacognitive strategies other than other LLS classification. Furthermore, this SLR study showed that most research on LLS revealed a tendency to sample students in higher education contexts. Therefore, future studies should address this gap by exploring LLS used by good language learners from various contexts. Methodologically, a majority of those previous studies have been conducted using exclusively quantitative methods. Thus future research should fill this gap by conducting more mixed-method studies.

ABSTRACT High dropout rate is a serious problem at universities all over the world. To study factors of students' dropout we analyzed data about students who enrolled for bachelor study at one Czech university in five subsequent academic years 2013/14–2017/18. Using decision trees and logistic regression we created several classification models to predict who will finish the study successfully and who will not. Analyzing data collected on a semester basis, we found that the most important variable for all five years is the percentage of lost credits in the most recent semester. We also assess the stability and robustness of the classification models by testing them on data about students who enrolled in the subsequent years. Here, we found that the decision trees are more stable and robust than logistic regression models.

ABSTRACT Following the COVID-19 pandemic and growing recognition of the integration of technology-mediated processes and resources in teaching and learning, there has been an increased adoption of blended learning in higher education institutions (HEI). However, there have been impeding factors that affect the adoption of this educational paradigm. This study employs mixed-methods research and an explanatory sequential design to offer a nuanced understanding of BL adoption. The study draws upon a homogenous population, encompassing educators from one public HEI in Ghana. Quantitative data from a Likert-scale survey and a sample of 71 randomly selected educators’ enabled the examination of their views on factors that affect BL adoption. Statistical analyses employed principal component analysis with Varimax rotation and Kaiser Normalization, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and descriptive statistics. The qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with 10 educators and thematic analysis to gain an understanding of how participants experienced the support for blended teaching. Results revealed that the lack of a policy framework for BL use at the institutional level, poor leadership style, limited professional training on BL, and insufficient internet connectivity impede the adoption of BL in higher education. The study concludes by highlighting the implications of the findings for theory, policy, and practice.

ABSTRACT This study describes the performance of students in the admission exam to a large public university, before and during the pandemic. The instrument had 120 multiple-choice items, with ample validity evidence. It was administered in person, paper-and-pencil. The exam had satisfactory psychometric properties. Analysis of 616,992 test takers’ scores showed a significant increase in average correct responses in 2020 (48.2%) compared to 2019 (45.8%; p < 0.001, d = 0.148), with a return to near-baseline performance in 2021 (46.7%) and 2022 (45.7%). Male candidates had higher scores than females (48.4% vs 45.2%; p < 0.001), and those applying to STEM fields achieved the highest results. The data show no evidence of pandemic-related learning loss. An initial performance boost occurred, likely due to increased study time and exam preparation during lockdown, followed by stabilization. The study underscores the need to further investigate gender disparities and to track long-term educational effects post-pandemic.

ABSTRACT It is important to have the support of an expert mentor when experimenting with different teaching methods. Three instructors within the scope of the project were given mentoring training by three experts. In this training process, collaborative, modeling and game-based teaching methods were preferred for each mentor-mentee pairing, respectively. According to the results of the study, while mentors found themselves competent as a result of their self-assessment before the implementation, they stated that they would have a positive, constructive and educational attitude in the mentoring process, that they would guide and support their mentees while training them, and that they would make a fair evaluation. In addition, mentors and mentees stated that the teaching process was conducted in a positive, warm and constructive way, that it helped them develop in their vision and professional fields, and that their performance improved at the end of the process.