Psychosocial Learning Environment Research Articles

An Assessment of the Technology Supported Learning Environments and Attitude Towards Technology in Selected Naac Accredited Colleges of Education In Jammu

The study assessed students' perceptions of their technology-supported learning environments in teacher education classrooms in NAAC Accredited Colleges of Education in Jammu. The study is quantitative in nature and consisted of a sample of 150 students taken from two NAAC accredited colleges of education. The study utilizes the Technology Rich Outcome Focused Learning Environment Inventory (Aldridge and Fraser, 2003) modified by Gupta (2007). The results of the study reported that the modified TROFLEI was a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the learning environments in a technology-supported teacher education classroom. The assessment of the nature of the psycho-social learning environments revealed that students have a high mean score on all the scales of the TROFLEI and there are significant differences in the actual and preferred learning environments. Results showed that students usually want more teacher support, more cooperation and equity, more involvement and task orientation and more technology teaching than what they perceive is at present in a technology-supported learning environment. With regards to attitude towards technology, the students generally exhibited a positive attitude towards technology. Significant associations were also reported between the students' perceptions of their technology-supported learning environments and their attitudes toward technology. No significant gender differences were observed in the technologysupported learning environments.

Assessing Psychosocial Outdoor Learning Environment of Pre-service Science Teachers through The Field Trip Experiences

Field trip activities are often considered additional activities and are considered recreational activities rather than ones that teach science effectively to students. Field trip activities are one form of effective experience-based learning to train pre-service teachers in the outdoor environment. This study attempted to describe the design of outdoor science learning in the form of the field trip for pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and the condition of psychosocial learning environments in outdoor activities. This research is a case study carried out in a pre-service science teacher training program at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kudus, Indonesia. The field trip was designed with field visits on six objects for three days in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The field trip activity was attended by 70 PSTs. Qualitative data is captured through the documentation of activities at each outdoor learning location. Quantitative data collection instruments included seven psychosocial scales, namely (1) Environmental Interaction; (2) Integration; (3) Students cohesiveness; (4) Teacher supportiveness; (5) Open-endedness; (6) Preparation and organization; (7) Material environment. The field trip design for PSTs recommends activities that lead to observation and exploration of visiting objects relating not only to the content of the science but also to the pedagogical aspects of the science. The psychosocial aspects of PSTs indicate that field trip activities show a positive meaning in all aspects, although there are significant differences in the conditions of expectations and reality experienced by PSTs. The integration aspect is not significantly different. The decline in perception is still at the medium level, and the condition of the perception is still at a positive level. Research and development studies that emphasize the process of integrating classroom learning with outdoor activities can be carried out further to be able to give meaning to science learning, which is not limited by classrooms or laboratories.

A framework for exploration of relationship between the psychosocial and physical learning environment

In order to construct a shared body of knowledge, research involving the relationship between the psychosocial learning environment (PSLE) and the physical learning environment (PLE) needs a commonly-accepted conceptual framework. By means of a thematic literature review, we collected the main aspects of the PSLE and PLE, their definitions and their relations as identified by earlier research. These findings led to a conceptual framework that structures the dimension of the PSLE into the sub-dimensions of personal development, relationships, and system maintenance and change, and the dimension of the PLE into the sub-dimensions of naturalness, individualisation, and stimulation. For each of these sub-dimensions, the framework distinguishes an intended, implemented and attained representation. A conceptual PSLE-PLE Relationship (PPR) model enables relations to be visualised. The review confirms that PSLE and PLE are interrelated in interactions between different sub-dimensions and their representations. However, evidence regarding these relationships is still weak because of the limited number of studies and their methodological limitations.

Supporting the transition to secondary school: The voices of lower secondary leaders and teachers

ABSTRACTBackground: The primary-secondary transition is recognised as a challenging time for students, and poor transition processes can negatively affect the students’ development. School professionals play an important role in enhancing the students’ transition experience, but international literature calls for more research concerning their perspective on this transition.Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate what lower secondary school leaders and teachers in Norway emphasise when supporting the primary to lower secondary school transition.Methods: A qualitative single case study approach was used. The participants were ten form teachers, their team leader and the principal (n = 12) within one lower secondary school. These were the individuals overseeing the transition process on behalf of a cohort of students who transferred to their school in August 2017. Data were collected through observations and focus group interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed qualitatively, inspired by the constant comparative method of analysis.Findings and conclusion: Framed by their own experiences, the leaders and teachers emphasised ensuring predictability, establishing a safe psychosocial learning environment, giving the students time to learn to be lower secondary school students, and collaboration at the school level and with the families. These efforts are largely in line with what the research recommends. The findings indicate, however, that the teachers need more support during this process. The article concludes that a closer dialogical interaction with colleagues at the primary and secondary levels, parents and students could support the leaders and teachers to promote an even better transition.

Relationship Between Science Classroom Psychosocial Learning Environment and Secondary School Students’ Motivation

The learning environment of a classroom plays an integral role in students’ life. If a student’s surrounding environment is good then they perform well in studies. Learning environments are of different types like physical environment, social environment, psychological environment, instructional environment and psychosocial environment. Among these, Psychosocial learning environment is very important. It not only encourages the science learners to learn new things but also enhances their motivation for science learning. The aim of this study is to investigate of relationship between science classroom psychosocial learning environment and secondary school students ‘motivation. The research design used is descriptive and quantitative in nature. Population of the study consisted of 10th grade Secondary School Students’ who enrolled in all the campuses of District public school Okara during academic session 2016-2018.The total numbers of students were 1146.The random sampling technique was used to select the sample. Two Questionnaires were used to collect the data about the perceptions of students for psychosocial environment and motivation. Collected data were tabulated in SPSS (version24) and then analyzed by using one sample t-test, and two way between groups analysis of variance (Two-way ANOVA). Significant difference between science classroom psychosocial learning environment and secondary school students’ motivation in science classes was found for Student Cohesiveness, Teacher Support, Involvement, and Equity.

Analysis of Student Perceptions of the Psychosocial Learning Environment in Online and Face-to-Face Career and Technical Education Courses

Analysis of Student Perceptions of the Psychosocial Learning Environment in Online and Face-to-Face Career and Technical Education Courses

Psycho-social Learning Environment from Nurse Students' Perspective

The quality of the learning environment is vital for the delivery of quality training as there is a proven connection between this environment and the outcome of students' achievements, satisfaction and success. The aim of the study was to explore the experience of student nurses in Sri Lanka about their psycho-social learning environment. The study had a qualitative descriptive design. Data was collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and individual semi structured interviews from final year nursing students in two Schools of Nursing in Western and Southern provinces in Sri Lanka. Data was analysed through manifest and latent content analysis. Findings showed that supportive supervisors, students' cohesion and social activities influenced students' motivation, satisfaction and confidence thus empowering nurse students in preparing them for their nursing profession. In contrast, theory practice gap, non-supportive supervisors, lack of facilities discouraged and disempowered them and made them feel insecure and frustrated thus making them de-motivated and fed up with their nursing education as a consequence. An empowering learning environment, which strengthens the nurse students' self-confidence and motivation to learn, is therefore a necessity in order to facilitate nurses who can deliver a professional nursing care.

Does grade configuration matter? Effects of school reorganisation on pupils’ educational experience

This paper studies the effects of school organisation on pupils’ school environment, travel patterns and educational outcomes, exploiting a policy change that reorganised Swedish middle school education. The reorganisation induced pupils to remain in small local schools throughout grades 1–9, as opposed to making a transition to large middle schools between grades 6 and 7. The reorganisation had large consequences for pupils’ environments in the affected areas: travel distances to school decreased as well as the school cohort size; the composition of peers became more homogenous; and notably we find a reduction in teacher qualifications and experience. Despite that the previous literature has found that school transitions, school size and teacher experience are important inputs in the education production function, we find no evidence that remaining in a small local school had effects on educational outcomes. We reconcile our evidence using a survey which reveals that Swedish pupils do not perceive large differences in the psychosocial learning environment between schools of different grade configurations. Our results are important in informing policy makers and urban planners of the costs and benefits of different types of school organisations.

Peer-support for strengthening psychosocial learning environments

Peer-support for strengthening psychosocial learning environments

Peer-support for strengthening psychosocial learning environments

Peer-support for strengthening psychosocial learning environments

Psychometric Properties of the European Portuguese Version of the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES)

Over the last few decades, distance education and distance learning have assumed a relevant role in education paradigms. To evaluate the perception and preferences of the psychosocial online learning environment by Portuguese post-secondary higher education, the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES) was applied in a Portuguese context. This article describes the adaptation and validation of DELES to be used in distance and hybrid education psychosocial learning environments in Portugal. The results suggested five scales rather than the six of the original DELES. The Internal consistency values were all good or excellent. However, a second-order principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that the scales might also be scored and used as a unidimensional measure. Beyond investigating the DELES-Pt “actual” form concerning students’ perceptions of the learning environment, we also studied psychometric features of the DELES-Pt “preferred” form regarding students’ preferred learning environment. The results were like those achieved with the actual form in other investigations. When both forms were compared, a significant discrepancy was observed between students’ perceptions and preferences. The implications of these findings for applied settings are discussed. DELES-Pt forms demonstrated adequate reliability and validity; however, further studies with the DELES-Pt are needed to compare with our data.

COMPLETE \u2013 a school-based intervention project to increase completion of upper secondary school in Norway: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDrop out from upper secondary school represents a risk for the future health and wellbeing of young people. Strengthening of psychosocial aspects of the learning environment may be an effective strategy to promote completion of upper secondary school. This paper is a study protocol of a school based cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating two school-based interventions, namely the Dream School Program (DSP) and the Mental Health Support Team (MHST). The interventions aim to improve psychosocial learning environments and subsequently school achievements and decrease drop-out and absence.Methods/DesignThe COMPLETE RCT is aimed at youth in upper secondary school, grade 1 (age 15-16 years), and examines the effect of the combination of the DSP and the MHST; and the DSP only, compared with a comparison group on the following primary outcomes: student completion, presence, average grade, and self-reported mental health. Seventeen upper secondary schools from four counties in Norway were randomized to one of the three arms: 1) DSP and MHST; 2) DSP; and 3) comparison (offered DSP intervention in 2018/2019). The study will evaluate the interventions based on information from two cohorts of students (cohort 1 (C1) and cohort 2 (C2)). For C1, data was collected at baseline (August 2016), and at first follow-up seven months later. Second follow-up will be collected 19 months after baseline. For C2, data was collected at baseline (August 2017), and first and second follow-up will be collected similarly to that of C2 seven and 19 months respectively after baseline. Process evaluations based on focus groups, interviews and observation will be conducted twice (first completed spring 2017).DiscussionThe COMPLETE trial is a large study that can provide useful knowledge about what interventions might effectively improve completion of upper secondary school. Its thorough process evaluation will provide critical information about barriers and points of improvement for optimizing intervention implementation. Findings can guide school development in the perspective of improving psychosocial learning environments and subsequent completion of upper secondary schooling.Trial registrationThe trial was retrospectively registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov register on December 22.2017: NCT03382080.

Health-promotion research over three decades: The social-ecological model and challenges in implementation of interventions

This debate paper traces the development of innovative methods for undertaking health promotion research with a socialecological orientation, with a few examples drawn from 30 years of research on adolescent health promotion research at the University of Bergen. We aim to show how the social-ecological model is becoming more evident as a guide to research, using three cases that illustrate progress and potential. The first case is the Norwegian part of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. The second case is a project just underway, The COMPLETE study, which is a community-led effort to promote students' mental health and create a good psychosocial learning environment. The third case is a developing idea for the next generation of social-ecological research on adolescent well-being, using an asset approach to foster social inclusion and sense of community in multiple settings.

Student perceptions of the classroom learning environment and motivation to learn Chinese

AbstractThis study investigated the associations between student perceptions of their classroom psychosocial learning environment and their motivation to learn Mandarin Chinese in the United States. The students took two surveys that measured their perception of the Chinese classroom psychosocial learning environment and their motivation to learn Chinese. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. There were statistically significant associations between student perception and motivation for learning the Chinese language. The three scales of Task Orientation, Involvement, and Equity emerged as having the most influence on students’ motivation to learn Chinese. The Task Orientation scale had the strongest relationship with student motivation.

Validation of a Spanish version of the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES) in Spain

The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the Spanish version of the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (Sp-DELES). This instrument assesses students’ perceptions of virtual learning environments using six scales: Instructor Support, Student Interaction and Collaboration, Personal Relevance, Authentic Learning, Active Learning, and Autonomy. Further, the Sp-DELES includes an additional scale that assesses students’ Satisfaction with their classes. The original DELES has been used in at least 27 independent studies with strong reliability and validity. For this study, we sampled 265 students from the University of Alicante enrolled in various hybrid and distance education courses taught by the Department of Health Psychology. We analysed the Sp-DELES for validity using principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation, and for reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. The Sp-DELES exhibited good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha for the scales ranging from 0.86 to 0.97) and the original six-factor structure was replicated and accounted for 72.9 % of the total variance. Overall the results are consistent with those of the original English-language version of the instrument. The Sp-DELES has proven to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing psychosocial learning environments in tertiary-level hybrid and distance-education settings.

Exploring the importance of peers as leaders in the Dream School Program: from the perspectives of peer leaders, teachers and principals

This study explores the experiences of using peers as leaders in a secondary school intervention in Norway from the perspectives of the principals, the teachers and the peer leaders. The overall aims of the intervention are to improve the psychosocial learning environment and promote positive mental health. Five secondary schools which had used the programme for at least 1 year took part in the study. We conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with five principals, five focus group interviews with teachers and five focus group interviews with peer leaders. Through a thematic text analysis, the findings revealed four main categories: peer leaders’ gains, someone of their own age, positive impact on new students, and lack of collaboration between teachers and peer leaders. The study adds to the current research body on peer-led education by providing insightful knowledge from multiple informants of the benefits of using peers as leaders in a health-promoting school intervention.

Creating a Child Friendly Psychosocial Learning Environment in Mathematics: A Case of Problem Solving in Grade 6

This article aims to explore the question, ‘How to create a child friendly psychosocial learning environment in teaching young learners mathematics?'. I report on lessons taught during action research collaboration between Joel, a male primary mathematics teacher, and I, a female mathematics educator. I used field-notes, journal entries, and lesson and interview transcripts to construct vignettes of two of the lessons taught by Joel in grade six mathematics teaching in a rural school. The vignettes are constructed using the strategy of narrative analysis. I, thereafter, explore the question in more detail using analysis of narrative strategy. It was found that young learners (aged 11years to 12 years) could direct their own learning if offered opportunities to construct, refine and use their own representations in solving mathematics problems. The psychosocial learning environment created promoted learners’ engagement in mathematical reasoning, and search for mathematical connections. This process encompassed a caring attitude, openness and a relaxed mood. Hence, I offer some implications for mathematics teachers with respect to classroom practices, and the teacher-learner interpersonal relationship. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1048

Finnish primary school as a learning environment for six-year-old preschool children

ABSTRACTThe aim of this qualitative case study is to explore how the teachers, parents and children describe the advantages and disadvantages of preschool education when it is located in the comprehensive school context. In addition, the study aims to clarify which dimensions of the learning environment occur in preschool? The learning environment is defined in physical-aesthetic, psycho-social, and pedagogical-ethical dimensions. Accordingly, the school environment provided a socially rich learning environment for preschool children and allowed versatile relationships between the preschool children and the school's pupils. The physical proximity was beneficial to preschool teachers' co-operation with class teachers and other school experts. However, the physical proximity caused doubts which were related to parents' concerns about children's transportation, their long school days and the organisation of care in the school context. Many preschool teachers experienced that the school context lacked opportunities for play and the amount and quality of indoor and outdoor equipment and material didn't support preschool children's high-quality learning. The school's physical environment had especially significant links with the psycho-social environment by expanding social networks and favorably influencing preschool children's and pupils' school motivation. There were, however, some negative features in the psycho-social learning environment, one of which was bullying, which worried preschool children and was mostly experienced in outdoor activities.

Psychosocial learning environments and the mediating effect of personal meaning upon Satisfaction with Education

This article reports the quantitative phase of a mixed-methods study that was conducted to investigate the relationships between psychosocial learning environments and student satisfaction with their education as mediated by Agentic Personal Meaning. The interdisciplinary approach of the study integrated the fields of learning environment research, existential meaning research and positive psychology research. A postulated model was tested using structural equation modeling to determine goodness-to-fit with data obtained from secondary and college students in two progressive private schools in India. Findings indicate that the learning environment variables of Teacher Support, Task Orientation, Cooperation, Student Cohesiveness, Involvement and Equity were significantly correlated with student Satisfaction with Education and with Agentic Personal Meaning. Findings also provide evidence that existential meaning and life purpose mediates the relationships between the psychosocial learning environment variables of Teacher Support, Task Orientation and Cooperation and the outcome variable of student Satisfaction with Education.

Development and Validation of Automobile Technology Learning Environment Inventory in Tertiary Institutions of Nigeria

Researches confirmed that a strong correlation exists between students’ perceptions of psychosocial learning environment and their outcomes. Most of these researches were carried out in science education and just very few were conducted in the area of automobile technology, especially in tertiary institutions. This paper investigates students’ perceptions of automobile technology learning environment in tertiary institutions of Nigeria. Factor analysis of the instrument provided strong evidence that the instrument is valid and reliable to measure students’ perceptions of automobile technology learning environments in tertiary institutions of Nigeria. The findings revealed that the automobile technology students preferred a more favourable and positive learning environment. Significantly, the findings of the study may provide insight on the students’ perceptions of learning environments and the feedback could be used in improving the quality of teaching and learning automobile technology in Nigeria. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7718/iamure.ijmet.v2i1.243