Current Education Reform Research Articles

Analisis Problematika Kurikulum Merdeka pada Pembelajaran Matematika di SDN 012 Babakan Ciparay Kota Bandung

In Indonesia, the main focus of current education reform efforts is the Merdeka Curriculum. Mathematics is one of the subjects that has undergone many changes, especially at the elementary school (SD) level. This study investigates the impact and challenges that arise when implementing Merdeka Curriculum in mathematics learning at the primary level. The purpose of this study is to provide insights and details regarding the challenges associated with learning mathematics. This research uses a qualitative descriptive methodology that combines two methods to explore information at SDN 012 Babakan Ciparay, Bandung City, which leads to the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum. The research results obtained in this study found that there were difficulties in implementing the Merdeka Curriculum in students as well as teaching staff, especially in the application of mathematics learning. However, this does not significantly affect the effectiveness of learning and the interest of students and teaching staff.

The Infiltration Path of Aesthetic Education in Vocal Music Teaching of Preschool Education Major in Higher Vocational Colleges

Vocal music teaching is an important part of aesthetic education. In preschool education of higher vocational colleges, vocal music teaching should be carried out in aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic education should be infiltrated into vocal music teaching, which is in line with the requirements of current teaching reform of higher vocational colleges and can also promote all-round education. Combining with the significance of aesthetic education in vocal music teaching in higher vocational preschool education, this paper probes into the infiltration path of aesthetic education in vocal music teaching.

Emotional well-being of schoolchildren: theoretical foundations and prospects for research

Introduction. Within the framework of current educational reforms, a trend towards raising requirements for intellectual and psycho-emotional abilities of all educational process participants has become evident. With an increasing number of emotionally intense events, the issue of forming and maintaining the emotional well-being of schoolchildren is becoming more urgent. The key feature of the school environment is emotional well-being, which the authors define as a stable and emotionally positive state of a child in the learning environment; and which is based on satisfying one’s age-related needs, awareness of one’s own emotions and possession of the skills of emotional regulation and reflection.Aim. The article aims to formulate and analyse the problem of emotional well-being, to provide an overview of scientific approaches to its operationalisation, and to determine methodological foundations and directions for assessing the emotional well-being of Russian schoolchildren.Methodology and research methods. Research methods include a review of scientific works by contemporary Russian and foreign scholars; systemic, comparative, and logical analysis of modern approaches to the notion of emotional well-being of schoolchildren. The research methodological foundation is rooted in the provisions of positive psychology, the concepts of subjective well-being (N. Bradburn, E. Dinner) and psychological well-being (C. Ryff), self-determination theory (M. Seligman, R. M. Ryan, E. L. Deci), and ecological systems theory (W. Bronfenbrenner).Results and scientific novelty. The paper determines scientific approaches to analyse emotional well-being of a schoolchild, contributes to the concept of operationalisation, and defines the directions for assessing emotional well-being on the basis of two factors: social environment and personal characteristics of a schoolchild.Practical significance. The research results can be used as a foundation for designing the empirical research into characteristics of the emotional well-being of Russian schoolchildren. The present findings might help to develop a programme for improving schoolchildren emotional well-being considered as a key factor to assess schoolchildren emotional well-being in the learning environment in the context of constant social transformations.

Evaluation of Blended Teaching in STEAM Education Using Structural Equation Model Questionnaire Technology

Science-technology-engineering-arts-mathematics (STEAM) education is an interdisciplinary education model that breaks the barriers between disciplines and comprehensively cultivates the problem-solving ability of students. Online education has been increasingly recognized by learners by virtue of its unlimited time and space, repeatability, and rich teaching resources. Based on the concept of STEAM education, the blended teaching model integrates the advantages of traditional teaching and online education, sustainably innovating classroom teaching and exerting a far-reaching effect on the current education and teaching reform. In this study, the related questionnaires regarding the evaluation of blended teaching effect under the perspective of the STEAM concept were combed, and questionnaire measurement questions with regard to the evaluation of blended teaching effect were then designed. The effects of online-offline teaching environment, online teaching resource, and offline teaching process in blended teaching on the learning satisfaction of college students were measured via the Structural Equation Model (SEM) questionnaire technology. Results show that the overall Cronbach’s α coefficient of this questionnaire is 0.796, and the KMO value is 0.828, which is greater than 0.8, indicating the excellent reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Under the blended teaching model, the online-offline teaching environment and offline teaching process generate significantly positive effects on learning satisfaction. Online teaching resources exhibit a positive, yet insignificant, promoting effect on learning satisfaction. The study results are of important reference values for understanding and analyzing the online-offline interactions in blended teaching and identifying the main problems therein. Ultimately, the goal is to clarify the direction for improving blended teaching and designing blended teaching strategies that promote students’ learning engagement, leading to practical interventions.

FORMATION OF FUTURE BIOLOGY AND HEALTH BASICS TEACHERS’ READINESS FOR INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITIES

The article examines the main theoretical and methodological features of forming the readiness of future Biology and Health Basics teachers for innovative educational and pedagogical activities. The relevance of this topic is that the current education reform (changing the status of educational institutions, introducing modular programs, innovative changes in the assessment of students’ knowledge, optimizing the number of subjects) requires the expansion of theoretical and methodological knowledge about the implementation of innovative educational and pedagogical activities, which should be transformed into practical activities of a modern teacher. Substantiating the issue of innovative educational and pedagogical activities in the system of education as a whole, its essential characteristic is the improvement or updating of the entire educational content by creating, disseminating and mastering new effective ways and means of achieving the educational goals set by modernity. The purpose of the article is to actualize the peculiarities of the future teacher’s readiness for innovative educational and pedagogical activities.Today’s education in Ukraine is focused on the need to introduce a variety of approaches to solving new (reformist) educational tasks, and their active implementation in the theory and practice of professional and pedagogical activities. Innovative educational transformations require a particularly high level of theoretical knowledge and practical and professional training of the future teacher. Modern realities (modular programs, criteria for assessing the knowledge of students, etc.) require the future teacher to have a readiness to develop professionally, test and implement pedagogical innovations in the process of teaching such subjects as Biology and the Basics of Health, as this becomes a necessary component of his/her professional readiness.Having considered the essence and components of readiness for innovative activity, factors and conditions of its formation in future teachers of biology and health basics, we can draw the following conclusions:1. Formation of readiness for innovative activity in future teachers who will teach Biology and Health Basics in educational institutions of various types is one of the urgent problems of modern science and practice. Innovative activity in the education system involves rethinking, improving or updating educational practice by creating, improving and mastering new effective methods, techniques, ways and means of achieving the established goals in education.2. Readiness for innovation is an integral multi-vector quality of a personality, characterized by the presence and a certain level of formation of motivational and orientational, content and operational, and evaluative and reflective components in their unity, which is manifested in the desire for innovation, which is an update of teacher’s professional growth.3. Formation of biology and health basics teachers’ readiness for innovative activities is a process that reveals values and humanistic orientation, awareness of the methodology for solving professional and pedagogical problems, ways of implementing conceptual educational models in professional activities; comprehension of the results of pedagogical innovations, development of criteria for their evaluation and self-assessment.
 Keywords: readiness for innovative educational and pedagogical activity; motivational and orientation component; content and operational component; evaluation and reflection component; innovative potential; comfortable innovative environment; indicators of readiness for innovative activity; innovative behavior; social infantilism.

Retracted: Enlightenment of Physical Education Teaching Experiment Based on Cloud Computing to the Current Physical Education Reform

Retracted: Enlightenment of Physical Education Teaching Experiment Based on Cloud Computing to the Current Physical Education Reform

Research on the Construction of Technology-rich Classroom Learning Environment to Develop English Language Learning and Higher-order Thinking

Background and Aim: Applying emerging technologies to explore new learning ecology has become the focus of current education reform. Foreign language majors in China were once criticized for their lack of critical thinking abilities. This paper aims to construct a technology-rich classroom learning environment and explore its impact on participants’ English learning and higher-order thinking. Materials and Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental research design using a quantitative research approach. English language teaching experiment was conducted on 60 samples selected by using the purposive sampling method. Participants were university second-year business English majors, and their English listening, speaking and higher-order thinking skills were pre- and post-tested. Data were collected through tests and quantitative questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and paired-sample T-tests on the hypothesis were conducted by using the statistical software Jamovi. Results: Participants showed a high evaluation of the constructed technology-rich classroom learning environment. Their English listening skills and speaking competency have been efficiently improved, especially listening comprehension, speaking content, and language use. Their higher-order thinking was also improved, especially their analytical ability and cognitive maturity. Meanwhile, participants demonstrated a high level of cognitive engagement and learning satisfaction. Conclusion: This study proposed a model for technology-rich learning environment design, as well as a constructivist instructional design model, revealing the mechanism of technology promoting learning and providing relevant methods. The study also demonstrated that the simultaneous development of foreign language learning and higher-order thinking could be achieved in a technology-rich environment. This paper also puts forward suggestions for further enriching instructional design and technology-rich learning environment design.

Fūdo in Foreign Language Learning in Japan and Finland

While the Japanese education system and policy have been studied extensively, Japanese philosophy and thoughts have rarely served as a theoretical and methodological resource in the field of comparative and international education. Resonating with a current scholarly attempt to explore the possibilities and limitations of using Japan as an epistemic resource, I have experimented with drawing upon Japanese philosophical thinking, namely Watsuji Tetsurō’s (1889-1960) comparative phenomenological study, to analyse the current foreign language education reforms in Japan. In this paper, I tell the story of my thought experiment in which I explore autoethnographically how my epistemic mindset has changed during my PhD journey through a slow dialogue with Watsuji’s study on milieu, relationality and ontological inquiry into human beings. Aiming to multiply the epistemological resources for educational research, I analyse reflexively on the way in which I was destabilised by Japanese philosophy in (un)learning educational practices in Japanese contexts. In so doing, I explore how ‘foreign’ educational comparativists might be able to move beyond the storyteller role in foreign contexts or the expert role in home contexts and, accordingly, contribute to promoting a pluralistic knowledge production.

Policy Connotation and System Analysis of Ecological Environment Education

Ecological environmental education is an important part of building a high-quality education system and promoting the modernization of education. It is the focus of current education reform. Literature research has found that the research content of ecological environment education has gradually enriched, but policy research is not enough. The research has shown that although ecological environmental education has achieved certain achievements, the literacy of the ecological civilization of the whole people still needs to be improved. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has established the policy specifications for the development of ecological environment education content and methods of ecological environment education involved in the main body, content, and methods of ecological environment education. The prominent problem of ecological environmental education is that its status has not been paid attention to, teachers are subject to restrictions, the curriculum system is not perfect, and the teaching system is affected. Research suggests that the system and mechanism construction of ecological environmental education is recommended, creating a good social atmosphere for ecological environment education, establishing a new type of education system for high-quality ecological environmental education, building an ecological education environment in schools, and building a network ecological environment education base.

An open-sharing platform for physical education course resources based on the MOOC network

Abstract How to optimize course learning resources and learning methods to promote higher-order learning is an important research topic in current teaching reform. Based on the background of the big data era, this paper uses the MOOC network to build an open-sharing platform for physical education teaching course resources. Firstly, the MOOC network classroom teaching model is summarized through the analysis paradigm of the MOOC platform analyzing indicators to deal with teaching big data. The third-order nonlinear model is used in the teaching model to dynamically express the physical education teaching resource-sharing design system and establish a physical education simulation model. In the simulation model, the search optimal solution is improved for resource platform search, and global search is performed when the inertia factor is large and local search is performed when it is small. The univariate validation test for group S students revealed that the mean value of the performance of the answers selected by group S students before the test compared to after the test changed from negative to positive, from -0.46 to 0.16, which was a significant improvement. It can be seen that the teaching model based on the MOOC web-supported open-sharing platform of physical education course resources has positively contributed to students’ learning performance, learning interest, and independent learning ability.

ENHANCING THE TRAINING OF MODERN LEADERS IN THE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

There is great interest in present-day leaders in the 21st century because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to universities and student outcomes. There is also increasing recognition that schools require effective leader if they are to provide the best possible management system of higher education institutions. While the need for effective training contemporary leaders is widely acknowledged, there is much less certainty about leadership behaviors that are most likely to produce favorable outcomes. The researcher examines the underpinnings for the field of educational leadership and discuss the evidence of their relative effectiveness in developing successful universities especially during the periods of change. The research paper focuses on the improving of setting standards of training modern administration members in management system of higher education institutions (HEIs) and suggests a standard system for the modern leaders of education institutions according to competence-based approach to re­spond to the current education reform. It is the authors strong believe that training of modern leaders of administrative staff of higher education institutions stimulate social vitality, which itself has an economic impact, drives innovation and productivity growth in global economy.

Construction and Application of English-Chinese Multimodal Emotional Corpus Based on Artificial Intelligence

Multimodal corpus is a new type of multimedia teaching aid tool that was born and widely used in the current social development and educational reform process. It is mainly based on computer technology and network technology, and uses various multimedia materials as corpus to establish a more comprehensive English database. Corpus is increasingly used in English-Chinese multimodal teaching. Combining the content of the corpus with modern information technology will help to better understand the meaning, usage and collocation of English and Chinese multimodality, and then improve the initiative of autonomous learning. Furthermore, English-Chinese multimodality is a fixed or semi-fixed programmed language, which can be directly extracted from memory according to the context during use, which can effectively improve learners’ writing efficiency and overcome the negative impact of native language transfer. Facing the task of sentiment analysis, this article has taken the text semantic representation technology based on representation learning as the main method, and carries out a series of researches from the definition of implicit emotion, the characteristics of language expression and the recognition method. Finally, in the language system of modern Chinese, it is found that there are many sentence patterns that are very similar to the middle verb structure in language expression, but the efficiency is still improved by 3.6%. Compared with traditional methods, the English-Chinese multimodal sentiment corpus method based on artificial intelligence can better reflect the application value of language, which also helps to feel the real context, change the way of thinking, and make the way of thinking more suitable for the language awareness of native speakers, thereby improving the vividness of language expression.

Engineering-based modelling experiences of elementary gifted students: An example of bridge construction

BackgroundIntegrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in elementary classrooms has gained more attention with the current educational reforms. In this integration, finding ways to improve STEM knowledge and develop appropriate learning activities, and instructional strategies have been a challenge for educators. Although the similarities between gifted and engineering education have been emphasized, they have been not fully considered. PurposeThis study attempted to show how STEM knowledge appears in elementary gifted students’ planning, constructing, and reflecting phases of “Bridge Construction” activity. This study also aimed to investigate the occurrences of engineering habits of mind when gifted students engaged in the activity. Design/methodThe current study employed the case study design. The data were collected through design sketches, students’ worksheets, audio and video recordings of the whole process. ResultsFindings of this study revealed that gifted students applied STEM disciplinary knowledge to plan, construct and reflect on their bridges considering the constraints of the problem. The properties of shapes and data interpretation (mathematics), stability, balance, and properties of the materials (science) and engineering techniques were apparent in their overall engineering design process. In addition, the findings from the current study revealed that gifted students displayed all aspects of engineering habits of mind when they engaged in engineering-based model eliciting activity. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that engineering-based model eliciting activity can be an effective tool to differentiate the instruction for gifted students.

The Application of Modern Educational Technology in College Physical Education under the Background of Informatization

With the deepening of the current educational curriculum reform, modern teaching technology is a brand new educational mode produced based on the current historical background. On the one hand, modern educational technology is based on the inheritance of Chinese traditional PE teaching methods, and on the other hand, it improves and innovates and develops relevant teaching methods, making it get a comprehensive play. This article focuses on the development trend of modern educational technology to be deeply studied, and analyzes its relative advantages in the current university physical education teaching, and strive to further improve the current level of university physical education teaching, and promote its continuous development.

Research on Undergraduate Vocational Education Talent Training Based on the Deep Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Education

The education reform in the new era emphasizes the effective integration between artificial intelligence and education, which promotes industrial upgrading and cultivates outstanding talents to adapt to social development. This paper discusses the deep integration of education and artificial intelligence from the perspective of the comprehensive development of vocational education at the undergraduate level, and discusses the intelligent education mode that conforms to the development of the current era. Undergraduate vocational education should conform to the development of the times, clarify the development opportunities and challenges of the current education reform, and clarify the demand characteristics of the artificial intelligence talent training mode. Improving the quality of classroom teaching from different perspectives, such as professional model, curriculum model and teaching methods, is an important way to get rid of the practical difficulties and deepen the reform of talent training.

Bridging the gap: special educators’ perceptions of their professional roles in supporting inclusive education in Kazakhstan

As Kazakhstan joins the worldwide movement towards inclusive education, many students with special educational needs and disability in Kazakhstan continue to be educated in segregated settings. The role of key stakeholders such as special educators (defectologists), are important in the process of educational reform, and their attitudes may support or hinder the progress. Six special educators were voluntarily recruited to participate in one-on-one interviews in this case study research, concerning their perceptions about their role within current inclusive education reforms. The participants in this study perceived their role as solely teaching students with special educational needs and disabilities within the main specialization of a special educator. However, special educators in Kazakhstan understand disability as a dialectical concept, where biological and social factors are intertwined. Thus, their understanding of the importance of removing environmental and broader societal attitudinal barriers for individuals with special needs may present a valuable resource for change. Points of interest This article concerns the educational reforms in inclusive education in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia. Special educators known as defectologists play a significant role in supporting the educational needs of students with disability. The way that special educators understand disability influences their attitudes and practices. It will have bearing on the support they provide, the way they view their responsibilities as professionals, as well as the professional opinions that they share with their colleagues, the child’s parents, and other stakeholders. The profession of defectology in the Soviet and post-Soviet context may be misunderstood by Western researchers. Researchers in inclusive education may avoid or overlook the field of ‘defectology’ because it appears to adopt a deficit approach and be heavily medicalised. Until widespread changes are made into adopting new terminology in this field, future research into special education in Kazakhstan, may overlook the influence of special educators as key stakeholders. Researchers should be encouraged to see beyond the terminology to look deeper into the attitudes and practices of special educators in the Kazakhstani and Central Asian context.

Schooling children with disabilities during COVID-19: Perspectives of teachers and caregivers in Ethiopia

This paper provides insights into the experiences of children with disabilities in an Ethiopian context during prolonged school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on data gathered through telephone surveys from parents of children with disabilities who had been attending school prior to closures and teachers working in different educational settings, we discuss children’s learning journeys during closures, motivations to return to school and the implications of this on current educational reform efforts in Ethiopia. Our findings highlight the significant merits of including children with disabilities explicitly in wider education reform efforts; the many positive gains seen in parental desires to send their child back to school; and the need to recognize and strengthen the role of schools as spaces for promoting children’s socio-emotional well-being.

MỘT SỐ VẤN ĐỀ LÍ LUẬN VỀ RÈN LUYỆN KĨ NĂNG TỔ CHỨC HOẠT ĐỘNG TRẢI NGHIỆM TRONG DẠY HỌC CÁC MÔN HỌC CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH GIÁO DỤC TIỂU HỌC CÁC TRƯỜNG SƯ PHẠM

According to the 2018 general education program, at the primary level, the organization of experiential activities in teaching subjects plays an important role in developing students' qualities and capacities. However, in fact, the organization of experiential activities in teaching subjects in primary schools still has many shortcomings. In order for the organization of experiential activities in teaching subjects to be effective, primary school teachers must have good skills in organizing experiential activities. Because of that, the central task of the university of pedagogy is to train students' skills in organizing experiential activities in teaching subjects in order to help teachers better understand the nature of organizing activities. Experience in teaching subjects contributes to improving pedagogical capacity. This article has outlined some core theoretical issues about training skills in organizing experiential activities in teaching for students of primary education at pedagogical schools, including the issue of organizing experiential activities. in teaching, skills to organize experiential activities in teaching, and practice skills in organizing experiential activities in teaching as a scientific basis to propose activities to practice this skill to meet requirements current educational reform.

Risk and Protective Factors in Choosing Course Sets in Secondary Education: Perspectives of Career Counsellors and Students from the Latgale Region of Latvia

This paper presents an exploratory study of the perspectives of career counsellors and students on risk and protective factors in choosing course sets in secondary education. The study, conducted in the Latgale region of Latvia, uses a qualitative research design based on a triangulation between the perspectives of school career counsellors and students. Data obtained from interviews with four career counselors and a focus group with six 15–16 year old students from urban and rural schools were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study acknowledges that school career counsellors can serve as a vital resource for Latvian society in managing and addressing the challenges of current educational reform and inequalities in education and career management caused by socioeconomic disparities.

CHALLENGES FOR COLLEGE ENGLISH TEACHERS AS ASSESSORS

The present case study aims to explore the challenges that the teachers in a Vietnamese university have faced with in the role of language assessors in their outcome-based English courses. In order to fulfil this aim, the study employs Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987, 2015) as the theoretical framework and narratives as a data collection tool. It is revealed from the three selected teachers’ narratives about their personal and professional background, the experienced reality in their assessment work that their challenges are related to inadequate assessment literacy, lack of shared knowledge and unclear assessment identity, inadequate professional training and discussions. In light of the theoretical framework (i.e., Activity Theory), these challenges result from the tensions between the subject and the rules, between the mediating artifacts and the rules, and within the division of labor. With such findings, the study is expected to raise the teachers’ and the educational managers’ awareness of the contextual conditions for better teacher assessment competence and the assessment quality in the current education reform context. Accordingly, the study proposes a framework of college English teacher professional development.