Explanatory Mixed Research Design Research Articles

The Effect of Montessori Approach-Based Stem Activities On The Academic Self-Respect Of Preschool Students

In this research, the effect of Montessori approach-based STEM activities on preschool students’ academic self-respect was investigated. A sequential explanatory mixed research design of the mixed method was employed in the research. The participants of the research consisted of 63 preschool students. The qualitative data were analysed with statistical methods and the qualitative data with content analysis. A significant difference was found from the findings obtained at the end of the research when the academic self-respect scale pre-test and post-test scores were compared and the participants’ academic self-respect was improved. According to the data obtained from the development observation form, it was determined that the activities had positive effects on the preschool students’ motor development, cognitive development, language development, social and emotional development and self-care skills. In addition, according to the teacher interview form, it was claimed that the pre-service teachers’ psychomotor developed, that the students acted in a more balanced and coordinated manner, they were able to use the desired material with the desired feature and quality, recall previous information by concentrating, their communication with their peers improved and their problem-solving skills increased.
 
 Keywords: Academic Self-respect, Montessori, Preschool, STEM Education

Supporting Homework: Reverence or Profanity on Students’ Academic Achievements

The role of homework in students’ academic achievement has become matter of discussion for the decades. In this sphere, this research tried to investigate the role of homework in students’ academic achievement from learners’ perspectives with sequential explanatory mixed research design. Survey questionnaire and unstructured interview were used as the tools of data collection and 400 secondary level students from both public and institutional schools from a district of Nepal were the sample population. Two datasets; quantitative and qualitative were collected and analyzed sequentially. The findings of the research reveal that homework can enhance students’ academic achievement but the traditional type and amount of homework assigned, and the less support from their teachers and parents promote plagiarism and demotivate learners in doing it for their own sake. The findings suggest that homework should be for students’ leaning which is possible when they are intrinsically motivated in doing it.

Early Reading Difficulties among Qillisoo Primary School Children in Ethiopia: Reflections from Teachers, Children, and Parents

This study aimed to assess early reading difficulties among Qillisoo primary school children in Chiro Town, Oromia, Ethiopia: reflections from subject teachers, children, and parents. An explanatory mixed research design was used in the study. Using stratified and simple random techniques, the study included 108 children, 101 parents, and three English teachers. Questionnaires, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis were used to collect the data. As a result, questionnaires were distributed to both parents and children. During a reading lesson, subject teachers were interviewed using semi-structured interview questions, and classroom observation was used to investigate the classroom setting. A document review for attendance and timetable was also performed to assess children who were late or absent from class. The findings of the study revealed that a variety of challenges hampered children's reading ability, including a lack of textbooks and learning facilities (limited chairs and desks, class size, fixed desks), a lack of preschool exposure, a lack of parent awareness about the importance of reading, children's workload at home, textbook variation (coloured vs. no coloured), and parent's residential areas and occupation status. Parents who are educated report using a variety of methods to assist their children, including discussing their children's reading abilities with both their children and their teachers, assessing their children's reading abilities and assisting them in practicing reading, purchasing a variety of supplementary books, designing home reading activities, and checking their children's exercise books to see what they have learned. Based on the findings of this study, parents and schools should make reading materials available to children, and children should be encouraged to develop their ways of practicing reading English on their own. 
  

Difficulties of Grade X students in learning Trigonometry

Abstract This paper aims to explain the difficulties of grade X students in learning trigonometry that were explored from an empirical study in the year 2017 AD. The researcher used explanatory mixed research design where 155 students of grade X were selected randomly from the four schools of Kirtipur municipality to conduct initial survey to find low achievers and most difficult content areas of trigonometry by using achievement test. Then five low achievers and respective three mathematics teachers were selected and interviewed with the help of semi-structured interview guidelines to explore what difficulties had they experienced and encountered in learning trigonometry. The results revealed that mean achievement score of students in institutional schools was greater than that of students of community schools. However, there are some common areas of difficulties of students in both types of schools for learning trigonometry including the difficulties related to memorization of facts; comprehension of new concepts; transformation of verbal problems; derivation and proofs of trigonometric relations and unfamiliarity with the solving process of problems in application level. These difficulties are due to several reasons including abstract nature of contents, poor prerequisites among students, demonstration of teacher centered instruction, and focusing on rote memorization rather than conceptual understanding. Hence, it is recommended that both students and teachers need to focus on conceptual learning rather than rote memorization for meaningful understanding in trigonometry.

Teachers' opinions on the effectiveness of digital technology in the realization of cognitive objectives

Educational technologies are used as an effective tool in achieving educational objectives. In this research, it is aimed to examine teachers' opinions about the effectiveness level of digital technology in acquiring cognitive objectives. The research was conducted as the sequential explanatory mixed research design. “A questionnaire of technology beliefs for cognitive objectives” and semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers were applied. At the end of the research, it was concluded that teachers' views about the effectiveness of digital technologies in achieving cognitive objectives were generally high. The teachers think that smart boards and Web 2.0 are the most effective tools. Respectively computer, tablet pc, smartphone and Web 1.0 come next in that list. It has been seen that smart board and Web 2.0 technologies play an effective role in the acquisition of cognitive objectives by enabling the development of different parameters.

Programación individual, por pares o colectiva: ¿cuál conviene utilizar en la universidad?

El objetivo de esta investigacion fue comparar la programacion individual, por pares y colectiva a traves de las percepciones de 24 estudiantes del curso universitario Programacion intermedia con Visual Basic.Net. Los participantes fueron expuestos a las tres modalidades de trabajo en el desarrollo de proyectos de software durante sesiones regulares de clase. El diseno de investigacion fue mixto explicativo secuencial. Para el componente cuantitativo se aplicaron cuestionarios, y para el apartado cualitativo se realizaron entrevistas. Los resultados mostraron que los alumnos prefieren la programacion por pares porque la perciben como un punto medio entre no programar con nadie y hacerlo con un grupo numeroso. Programar de manera individual puede provocarles estres y bloqueo intelectual, mientras que hacerlo con demasiadas personas al mismo tiempo les genera distraccion y desbalance de trabajo. Una limitacion del estudio es el tamano de la muestra; sin embargo, hace aportaciones cuantitativas y cualitativas a un area de conocimiento poco explorada en la literatura formal. Los hallazgos sugieren promover el trabajo por parejas en los cursos universitarios de programacion, pues se implementa con facilidad, con pocos recursos y buenos resultados.

Professional Autonomy of High School Teachers in Turkey: A Retrospective and Prospective Policy Analysis

Unlike the restrictions on teacher autonomy over the decades, recent policy documents developed by the Ministry of National Education propose expanding their professional autonomy in Turkey. Based on existing and potential policies on the agenda, the current study examines high school teachers` professional autonomy in Turkey utilizing explanatory mixed research design. In the quantitative phase, data were collected from 12.329 teachers sampled via a two-stage stratified sample design by statistical region, school type and subjects using the “Teacher autonomy scale”. Besides, to reveal an in-depth interpretation of the findings obtained in the quantitative dimension, the qualitative dimension was conducted with 12 teachers sampled through the maximum variation method. The qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher based on findings from the quantitative phase. Results indicate that teachers think all dimensions of professional autonomy are perfectly or very reasonable. They find existing and potential policies of instructional, administrative, and personal-professional development autonomy very feasible whereas they find financial autonomy partly feasible. Although teachers have limited instructional autonomy, their responsibilities for the outcomes of instructional decisions are limited as well, due to the lack of a systematic accountability policy. I argue that potential policies should focus on redress the balance. Based on centrally developed curriculum frameworks, these policies should support teachers` instructional autonomy and increase their responsibility for instructional decisions. Flexible and balanced accountability policies are recommended rather than standardized and test-based approaches.

The effect of colonial legacies on Africa’s inward FDI: the case of UK FDI in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role colonial ties play in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ghana, several years after the official end of colonisation in the African continent. Colonisation left behind legacies of institutional framework, social ties and remnants of companies of colonial masters, which could potentially offer contemporary businesses from home countries the benefits of country of origin agglomeration.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses sequential explanatory mixed research design through 101 questionnaires and 8 interviews from the UK companies with FDI in Ghana. This approached enabled the initial quantitative results to be explored further through the qualitative data.FindingsColonial ties have limited influence on contemporary flow of FDI to Ghana, in spite of the institutional legacies between former colonisers and colonies. Majority of UK companies are influenced by agglomeration opportunities in general rather than country of origin agglomeration. However, country of origin agglomeration remains important to over a third of the companies surveyed.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was taken from the non-extractive industry in Ghana, and caution must be applied in generalising the findings. However, some universal issues concerning agglomeration and institutions are discussed.Originality/valueAlthough there has been some research on colonial history and its impact on FDI in Africa, existing knowledge on bilateral relations is rather limited. Unlike previous studies, this research provides depth by examining colonial influence on FDI between two countries, using two key concepts: country of origin agglomeration and institutions. It provides UK companies with contemporary views to consider when exploring FDI opportunities in Ghana, particularly in relation to the effects of the colonial history. It also provides investment promotion agencies with empirical results on the importance of various forms of agglomeration and institutions for FDI attraction.

COMMUNITY TRACKING IN A cMOOC AND NOMADIC LEARNER BEHAVIOR IDENTIFICATION ON A CONNECTIVIST RHIZOMATIC LEARNING NETWORK

This article contributes to the literature on connectivism, connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and rhizomatic learning by examining participant interactions, community formation and nomadic learner behavior in a particular cMOOC, #rhizo15, facilitated for 6 weeks by Dave Cormier. It further focuses on what we can learn by observing Twitter interactions particularly. As an explanatory mixed research design, Social Network Analysis and content analysis were employed for the purposes of the research. SNA is used at the macro, meso and micro levels, and content analysis of one week of the MOOC was conducted using the Community of Inquiry framework. The macro level analysis demonstrates that communities in a rhizomatic connectivist networks have chaotic relationships with other communities in different dimensions (clarified by use of hashtags of concurrent, past and future events). A key finding at the meso level was that as #rhizo15 progressed and number of active participants decreased, interaction increased in overall network. The micro level analysis further reveals that, though completely online, the nature of open online ecosystems are very convenient to facilitate the formation of community. The content analysis of week 3 tweets demonstrated that cognitive presence was the most frequently observed, while teaching presence (teaching behaviors of both facilitator and participants) was the lowest. This research recognizes the limitations of looking only at Twitter when #rhizo15 conversations occurred over multiple platforms frequented by overlapping but not identical groups of people. However, it provides a valuable partial perspective at the macro meso and micro levels that contribute to our understanding of community-building in cMOOCs.

School principals’ role in the interplay between the superintendents and local education authorities

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to probe the extent to which principals, as boundary spanners, manage with the influence of the local educational authority (LEA) and the superintendent over school matters.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on sequential quantitative→qualitative explanatory mixed research design. It is based on a sample of 161 Hebrew elementary school principals in two school districts in Israel who completed a questionnaire and on in-depth interviews with four school principals.Findings– The findings indicated that school principals initiate assistance from the superintendent and the LEA depending on the influence they have in schools. However, they utilize their relations with each external agency differently. With the LEA, they established mutual exchange relations whereas school principals engage with the superintendent in order to negotiate more effectively with the LEA. By doing so, principals can control external agencies’ involvement in schools along with strengthening the power of the central educational authority.Originality/value– The study makes a unique contribution to the literature on school principals’ role with external agencies by revealing their navigation and balancing among the various factors that influence schools. The study highlights the agential role of school principals.