Lower Secondary School Students Research Articles

Barriers to curriculum accessibility for students with visual impairment in general education setting: The experience of lower secondary school students in Senegal

AbstractThis study explores potential barriers to curriculum accessibility for lower‐secondary school students with visual impairment in Senegal. A qualitative case study approach was used with purposeful sampling to collect data at a special school for students with visual impairment, and the three junior high schools that offer placement to the students with visual impairment after primary graduation from the special school. The study comprised 22 participants including six students with visual impairment, six regular teachers, three paraeducators, three special education teachers, and the four administrators of the schools. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observations. The study concluded that students with visual impairment in lower secondary schools face several obstacles to having proper access to the general education curriculum. The results highlight a lack of training and skills for teachers having students with visual impairment in junior high schools, a shortage of curriculum materials and adaptations, inconvenience of classroom environment, and a restricted collaboration between actors.

Students’ performance, attitude, and classroom observation data to assess the effect of problem-based learning approach supplemented by YouTube videos in Ugandan classroom

In response to global demands, Uganda’s Vision 2040 seeks to transform the country into a modern and prosperous nation by implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, focusing on equitable and quality education. The 21st-century workforce requires individuals who can effectively navigate complex workplace challenges. This dataset was gathered from Form-2 Ugandan secondary school students (aged 12 to 15) across 12 schools in the Sheema District. The dataset comprises three types of data: students’ performance in a physics topic (simple machines), their attitudes toward problem-solving and critical thinking when learning physics using Problem-Based Learning (PBL) supplemented by YouTube videos, and classroom observations documented with the reformed teaching observational protocol (RTOP). The intervention of teaching using PBL was executed in 2022, collecting data from 973 lower secondary school students. The intervention involved three approaches: one group (144 students) received PBL along with YouTube videos, another group of 482 students received PBL alone, and a third group (347 students) was taught using the traditional method. This data article explains the study’s data creation, collection, and analysis process. The dataset holds significance for secondary school teachers, policymakers, and researchers, offering insights into the impact of PBL with and without ICT resources on learning physics and students’ attitudes toward these learner-centered approaches.

Lower secondary school students’ conversations when constructing representations of plate boundaries in Minecraft

This article explores students’ (13 y) conversations when they construct representations of plate boundaries in the digital gaming environment of Minecraft Education. It also investigates how the spatial affordance of Minecraft Education may support students’ meaning making of the theory of plate tectonics. Video data of classroom activities with Minecraft Education was collected with head cameras. Analysis of the data shows that students overall used everyday language during the activity of constructing plate boundaries.  The study suggests i.) a need for more teacher-centeredness and structured scaffolding of scientific language during small group work in Minecraft, and ii.) a need to increase the spatial extent in Minecraft Education to include both the subsurface and more regional scales of resolution.

"STEM in Genere”: an impact evaluation

Research on labour market disparities between men and women has long since identified horizontal segregation in the educational system as one of the main factors driving the gender pay gap. One of the factors identified in the literature believed to be at the heart of horizontal gender segregation is the lack of representation and visibility of women in STEM fields. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of a program named “STEM in Genere”, developed within the Gender Equality Plan 2022-2024 of the University of Brescia (Italy), which is aimed at contrasting the underrepresentation and the stereotypical representation of women in science among primary and lower secondary school students. Students of participant classes will meet an educator for a total of 2 hours, in which counter-stereotypical thinking of women in science will be stimulated via learning games. Teachers of participant classes will follow in parallel a dedicated workshop about non-stereotypical science teaching. The effects of the program on students' gender stereotypes in science and study/job aspirations will be evaluated via a randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted in primary and secondary schools of the Brescia province, an affluent province located in the northern part of Italy. In particular, we will randomise classes within participating schools to have a good balance between the statistical power of the experiment and potential contamination threats. The contribution of this evaluation is threefold. First, we will collect first-hand data on students' views and aspirations in a country - Italy - in which the population traditionally holds quite conservative views about gender roles. Second, we will provide robust, experimental evidence on the effectiveness of the program “STEM in Genere”, which is potentially scalable nationwide. Lastly, we will contribute to the methodological debate about question framing in survey methodology, by randomly varying the formulation of the questions in the surveys. Policy implications for educational and learning environments will be discussed.

Migrant students’ experiences with and perceptions of assessment in Norwegian lower secondary schools

ABSTRACT This study explored how 12 lower secondary school students with migrant backgrounds experienced and perceived assessment in Norwegian lower secondary schools. Interviews were conducted to understand their perceptions of assessments, of the feedback they received through these assessments, and of the ways in which their teachers adapted assessments and assessment situations to meet their individual needs. The students reported diverse experiences with the assessment criteria and formats and explained how their teachers’ adaptions made in the assessments and assessment situations helped them demonstrate their competence and made them feel included. The assessment aspects they perceived as challenging included demonstrating their knowledge using the language of instruction, understanding how to participate and using assessment to further learning. Our findings suggest that teachers must develop students’ assessment literacy by actively teaching them how to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through classroom participation and by explaining how feedback can improve their learning. Such actions will also help make assessment practices more inclusive and equitable.

Inquiry-Based Chemistry Education Activities in a Non-formal Educational Setting for Gifted Students

Student giftedness is a complex, developmentally dynamic and contextual phenomenon that teachers confront every day. In the classroom, teachers often meet students who have exceptional potential or achieve very high learning goals. The aim of this study is to illustrate the evaluation of inquiry-based learning activities in a specific context (Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion learning modules) implemented in a non-formal educational setting for gifted students in relation to their level of individual interest and their autonomous and controlled motivation, comparing different groups of students. We investigate how these activities affect the students’ attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest and their interest in science careers. A total of 264 Slovenian lower secondary school students participated in the study. The students participated in non-adapted and adapted activities based on the inquiry-based learning approach. The data were collected using pre- and post-activity questionnaires. Participation in the study, which took place in the period between the 2021/22 and the 2022/23 school years, was voluntary. The data was collected anonymously and used for research purposes only. The results show several statistically significant differences in how students’ level of individual interest, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation for learning chemistry affects their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning, their situational interest in Diversity in Science towards Social Inclusion activities and their interest in science careers. For the gifted and non-gifted students who participated in “Forensics Science” lab activities before and after the adaptations to the modules, the results related to their attitudes towards inquiry-based learning and situational interest are also reported. Thus, the results of the study provide useful insights for researchers in the field of chemistry education as well as for chemistry teachers in lower and upper secondary schools. The presented study is a good example of best practices that chemistry teachers can apply in teaching chemistry, thus enabling all students, not only the gifted ones, to learn chemistry using the inquiry-based learning approach.

Assessing 15-year-olds’ Understanding of Chemical Concepts in the Context of the Lithosphere and Pedosphere

The aim of this study was to determine the understanding of environmental chemistry content related to lithosphere and pedosphere, such as soil and soil types, soil horizons, rock and rock types, weathering, minerals, coal, and soil erosion, and to investigate misconceptions among 9th grade lower secondary school students. 503 students (254 male and 249 female) from 14 different primary schools and 8 different regions of Slovenia participated in this study. A three-tier achievement test (with 10 three-tier tasks to identify misconceptions) was used to collect the data. The results how that the Slovenian students’ knowledge of the lithosphere and pedosphere is adequate. On average, students achieved 55.6% of all possible points. The lowest level of knowledge was found for the topic of soil formation. The number of misconceptions on this topic is low and does not exceed 30% for any task. The highest number of misconceptions was found for the topic of soil formation and pollution.

The role of momentary emotions in promoting error learning orientation among lower secondary school students: An intervention study embedded in a short visual programming course.

Students make many errors in visual programming. In order to learn from these, it is important that students regulate their emotions and view errors as learning opportunities. This study aimed to explore to what extent momentary emotions, specifically enjoyment, anxiety and boredom, as well as the error learning orientation of students, interacted during a 1-day course on visual programming in an out-of-school learning environment. The sample consisted of 269 lower secondary school students (grades 7-9). The data were collected in an intervention study, with questionnaires applied directly before and after the course, and with four measurements of state emotions during the course. The results showed that error learning orientation had an expected effect on the students' emotions at the beginning of the course. The emotions changed positively over the course of the workshop, while the error learning orientation remained stable. No differences in error learning orientation were found between the control and intervention groups. An expected, reciprocal effect of students' emotions on their error learning orientation at the end of the course day could not be found. Changes in error learning orientation are difficult to achieve during 1-day courses. Nevertheless, through targeted, pedagogical approaches, which aim to minimize the influence of unfavourable emotions that occur in problem-oriented learning situations, teachers could help students develop a positive error learning orientation in the long term, whereby errors are viewed as an opportunity for learning.

Exploring the effect of a phenomenological teaching-learning sequence on lower secondary school students’ views of light polarisation

The wave model of light in general, and the phenomenon of light polarisation in particular, are difficult topics for secondary school students. Prior research has indicated that a model-free phenomenological teaching approach may be fruitful in helping students overcome some of the widespread learning obstacles. These phenomenological approaches are characterised by their departure from abstract and mechanistic models of light, opting instead to prioritise students’ observations throughout the exploration of phenomena and experiments, unburdened by mathematical formalism or theoretical models. In this paper, we present a three-lessons phenomenological teaching-learning sequence on light polarisation. We evaluated of the teaching concept in classroom practise and analysed ways of thinking about light polarisation among N = 110 students (aged 12–14 years) who participated in the intervention using qualitative content analysis of free-text responses. The results provide preliminary empirical evidence that the presented instructional approach can contribute to the development of a qualitative understanding of polarisation among learners in introductory optics.

Mental health status according to the dual-factor model in Swedish adolescents: A cross sectional study highlighting associations with stress, resilience, social status and gender.

In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to I) investigate the dual-factor model of mental health by forming and describing four participant groups and II) examine associations between mental health status and background factors, school-related factors, stress, and resilience among adolescents in a community population in Sweden. Data were collected through a survey completed by 2,208 students in lower and upper secondary school on the Swedish island of Gotland. After missing data were removed, a total of 1,833 participants were included in the study. The survey included the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) for the assessment of mental well-being and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for the assessment of mental health problems. These two measures were combined into a dual-factor model, forming four mental health status subgroups: Vulnerable (47.5%), Complete mental health (36.2%), Troubled (13.9%), and Symptomatic but content (2.5%). Associations between these groups were explored regarding background factors, school-related factors, stress, and resilience through chi-squared tests and logistic regressions. Girls (OR: 1.88) and participants with high stress levels (OR: 2.23) had elevated odds for Vulnerable mental health status, whereas higher resilience (OR: 0.87) and subjective social status in school (OR: 0.76) were factors associated with reduced odds for this mental health status classification. Female gender (OR: 5.02) was also associated with Troubled mental health status. Similarly, a high level of stress (ORs: 4.08 and 11.36) was associated with Symptomatic but content and Troubled mental health status, and participants with higher levels of resilience had decreased odds for being classified into these groups (ORs: 0.88 and 0.81). The findings highlight the importance of interventions to increase resilience, reduce stress, and address stereotypic gender norms as well as social status hierarchies to support adolescents' mental health.

Development and validation of the inquiry-based nature of science and argumentation: A new instructional model on students’ scientific argumentation ability

One of the important goals of science education is to improve scientific argumentation ability which is part of the core practice of science. The main goals of this research are to develop and validate the inquiry-based nature of science and argumentation (IB-NOSA) instructional model which is designed to improve scientific argumentation ability. The research design in this study is Research and Development (R&D) using the steps proposed by Borg & Gall. The feasibility test of the IB-NOSA instructional model was assessed using the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method, an assessment of the IB-NOSA model book, and an instrument test of scientific argumentation ability involving four experts. The practicality test was assessed by a lower secondary school science teacher. The data were analyzed using quantitative methods, and the validity and reliability indexes were calculated. The results of the study show that the IB-NOSA instructional model is feasible and practical. Meanwhile, the validation results of the scientific argumentation ability test instrument show that each item is in the range of 0.92 to 1. This indicates that each item is valid for further use. Therefore, it can be concluded that the IB-NOSA instructional model has feasibility and practicality for use in science learning and for developing the scientific argumentation ability of lower secondary school students.

Innovative Practices in Teachers’ and Students’ Trainings

The present work is dedicated to innovative educational practices, that are based on teaching and learning through the methods of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), combined with the use of various digital tools. These project activities are suitable for implementation in the learning process both in face-to-face and distance learning. They enable the development of communication and collaboration skills, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, as well as the creation of digital content. The described practices and digital tools are used in the preparation of teachers in various qualification courses conducted by the Department for Qualification and Professional Development of Pedagogical Specialists at University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”. They are used and implemented also in education of students in lower-secondary schools (5th – 7th grade). The teaching practices are based on the results of a three-year study of already trained Bulgarian teachers, who try them daily in the learning process and notice their positive impact on students. The article describes a realized STEM project, named “European countries”.

Participation and Educational Conservatism Among Lower Secondary School Students in a Disadvantaged Neighborhood in Finland: A Request for Visible Pedagogies

ABSTRACT In this article, we ask how students with a range of social class and ethnic backgrounds perceive their opportunities to participate in the classroom and influence their learning, and what perceptions teachers have of teaching and students’ participation in a school with a diverse student body. The context of this study is a lower secondary school in a relatively disadvantaged neighborhood in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Finland. The ethnographic data comprise 40 observation days and interviews with students (n = 24) and teachers (n = 11). We used Basil Bernstein’s notions of pedagogic rights, particularly participation, as well as visible (i.e., teacher-centered) and invisible (i.e., learner-centered) pedagogies in our analysis. We argue that despite the current national core curriculum’s emphasis on students’ active participation in their learning process, students’ wishes regarding teaching and their own learning were somewhat conservative: visible pedagogies were preferred over invisible pedagogies. Also, the teachers perceived that teacher-led teaching and clear structures were beneficial in a school in which students’ backgrounds were diverse. Based on the views of the students and teachers, teacher-led teaching promoted learning. However, teacher-led teaching may prevent students from participating in the classroom discussions and constructing their active, democratic citizenship.

The home environment during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in learning enjoyment and learning effort: A study of German lower secondary school students

This study investigated changes in learning enjoyment and learning effort, two central yet under-researched aspects of school-related emotion and motivation, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also verified whether selected aspects of the home environment predicted changes in the two aspects. To this end, we used data gathered from 4240 German lower secondary school students surveyed before (Grade 7, 2018/19) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Grade 8, 2019/20 and Grade 9, 2020/21). The analyses, which involved latent change score models with covariates, revealed a decrease in student learning enjoyment and learning effort between Grades 7 and 9. Moreover, the student-perceived consequences of the pandemic predicted a decrease in both of these constructs, whereas parental ability to provide learning support during distance learning predicted a decrease in learning enjoyment. The strength of this relationship depended on prior student academic achievement. The results highlight the role of environmental factors for the development of learning enjoyment and learning effort.

Development of a Screen Reading Self-Efficacy Scale for Lower Secondary School Students: Validity, Reliability, and Invariance Studies

Bu çalışma, ortaokul öğrencilerinin ekrandan okuma öz yeterliliklerine yönelik bir ölçek geliştirme çalışmasıdır. Çalışma öncesi alan yazın taranmış ve 44 maddelik bir madde havuzu oluşturulmuştur. Madde havuzu uzman görüşüne sunulmuş, maddelerin kapsam geçerlilik oranları hesaplanarak 33 maddelik bir taslak form elde edilmiştir. Bu form, küçük grup ile ön uygulama çalışmasına tabi tutulmuş ve maddeler korunarak birinci büyük grup uygulamasına geçilmiştir. Açımlayıcı faktör analizi amacıyla gerçekleştirilen birinci büyük grup uygulaması 338 ortaokul öğrencisi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler, istatistik programında analiz edilmiş ve 3 boyuttan oluşan toplam 17 maddelik bir ölçek elde edilmiştir. Bu ölçek, doğrulayıcı faktör analizi amacıyla 514 ortaokul öğrencisinden oluşan ikinci büyük gruba uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen verilerde ölçeğin 3 boyutlu 17 maddelik yapısının doğrulandığı görülmüştür. Yapının veriye uyumunun tüm indeksler bazında iyi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak elde edilen veriler bu çalışma ile geliştirilen ölçeğin geçerli ve güvenilir ölçmeler yapmak amacıyla kullanılabileceğini göstermektedir.

Mapping lower secondary school students' conceptions of three aspects critical for understanding the nervous system.

Understanding the nervous system is an important but perhaps ambitious goal, particularly for students in lower secondary education. It is important because of its' direct role in both mental and physical health, and it is ambitious because instruction focuses on the human nervous system, which is extremely complex, and subject to numerous misconceptions. Despite its' complexity, the science curricula, both nationally and internationally, emphasize an understanding of the system, and not just knowledge of isolated facts. But what does it mean to understand this system, and what content knowledge is critical for understanding it? Unfortunately, the curricula are usually too general to answer these questions, therefore other sources of information are needed. Using the science literature, the present study defines the system level of the nervous system and proposes three basic aspects necessary to understand it: 1) neural circuit architecture, 2) synaptic action, and 3) nerve signal origin. With this background, the aim of the present study is to identify lower secondary school students' conceptions of these three aspects, and to determine how they impact students' understanding of the system. To reach this aim, the study used a questionary which allowed for a mixed method design, and the results show that many students have an immediate conception of the brain as the origin of nerve signals. In addition, many students hold the alternative conceptions that 1) synaptic action is exclusively excitatory, and that 2) neural circuits consists of neurons connected in a chain, one single neuron after another. These alternative conceptions prevent students from understanding the system. Implications for instruction are discussed in the context of conceptual learning theories, and teaching strategies are proposed. Since similar curricula goals and textbook content exist in several countries, the present results may be representative across nations.

Electronic Collections of Solved Problems in Physics and Physics Experiments

The Collection of Solved Problems in Physics and the Collection of Physics Experiments have been developed at the Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University for more than fifteen years. Although they are prepared as support materials for the students of our department, the audience is much larger. The Collection of Physics Problems is used not only by university students of other study programs and universities, but also by lower and upper secondary school students and their teachers. There are more than 950 (in Czech), and 320 (in English) fully solved problems covering all major areas of physics with a specially designed solution structure that promotes active thinking and the development of problem-solving skills. Selected problems are accompanied by interactive components. They are mainly prepared in GeoGebra or Wolfram Mathematica. Their aims are various, e.g., they help to create a correct geometrical view of the problem; they show the temporal development of the process; they simulate a mental process involved in solving the problem; they graphically show the solution for values other than those given; they allow to simulate various alternatives. These elements are designed for free play and exploration by the reader, and they are accompanied by tasks that lead the reader to a deeper understanding of the problem. The Collection of Physics Experiments is widely used by in-service teachers at both levels of secondary education. The collection includes approximately 170 experiments in Czech and 80 experiments in English. The focus is on selecting practical classroom experiments that captivate students. Most experiments come with video sequences presenting sample experiment settings and/or procedures.

Impacts of broadband internet on adolescents’ academic outcomes: heterogeneous effects among lower secondary school students in Norway

ABSTRACT The expansion of internet is likely to influence adolescents’ academic outcomes. Yet, how internet coverage impacts students’ educational performance remains poorly understood. To address this major knowledge gap, this study uses a quasi-experimental approach with Norwegian data to causally examine how the gradual introduction of home broadband internet across municipalities impacted the academic outcomes of lower-secondary school graduates (N = 103,796). Analyses apply sibling fixed-effects models with micro-level registry data from adolescents aged 15–16, and compare differences in effects by gender, social background, migrant status, and academic achievement levels. Findings show that the introduction of broadband internet across municipalities brought moderate grade improvements concentrated among boys in the subject areas of Mathematics, Arts and Crafts, Social Sciences, and Norwegian. The positive effect of broadband internet coverage on academic performance was three times larger for boys than for girls. For boys, broadband internet coverage led to strong grade improvements among the lower-achieving and socioeconomically disadvantaged, and to moderate grade benefits among those of Norwegian background, while boys from higher-achieving and socioeconomically privileged groups reduced their grades moderately. By contrast, for girls, broadband internet coverage worsened substantially the academic performance of those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, whereas girls of migrant background obtained higher grades with this expansion of internet. The study findings reveal how the growth of internet coverage impacts adolescent educational performance, but differently across groups, showing a complex intersection across gender, social background, migrant status, and academic achievement levels.

Students’ attitudes to school music and perceived barriers to GCSE music uptake: a phenomenographic approach

AbstractThe study aimed to investigate how students in lower secondary schools in England perceive the subject of music in terms of its importance and enjoyment. Following findings from the first survey phase of the project, it specifically sought to shed light on the reasons why the majority of students decide not to choose music as one of their optional subjects at GCSE level. The paper presents interview findings with students in three schools at the north-east of England following the phenomenographic method of data analysis. Among factors found to impact on students’ decision to continue music at Key Stage 4 (ages 14–16 years) were the desire to spend more time learning music, having more choice and autonomy in the classroom, having more information about the content and requirements of GCSE music, feeling disadvantaged due to not being proficient at instrumental playing and having a limited perception of their own musicality or perceiving music as being elite or difficult. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for the teaching and learning of music in secondary schools.

Correction: Do changes in perceived teacher behaviour predict changes in intrinsic reading motivation? A five-wave analysis in German lower secondary school students

Correction: Do changes in perceived teacher behaviour predict changes in intrinsic reading motivation? A five-wave analysis in German lower secondary school students