Teacher Support Research Articles

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions, Attitudes, and Challenges of Using Scratch as a Coding Tool to Foster Active Learning in Life Sciences Classrooms

In the contemporary educational landscape, integrating technology into teaching practices is crucial for promoting active engagement and learning, particularly in science classrooms. This study investigated preservice teachers' perceptions of using Scratch as a coding tool to enhance active learning in Life Sciences classrooms. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study used purposive sampling to select five preservice teachers with relevant Life Sciences teaching experience. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and thematic analysis was employed to examine the data. The study found that Scratch was perceived positively by preservice teachers as a tool that could foster essential twenty-first-century skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, and communication. Preservice teachers demonstrated varying levels of familiarity with and adaptability to Scratch, influencing their methods of integration into teaching. While the tool showed promise in engaging students and enhancing active learning, the study also uncovered significant challenges, including resource limitations, inadequate teacher support, and logistical issues such as load shedding. These findings underscore the potential of Scratch to support innovative teaching practices and develop critical skills in learners. However, they also highlight the need for improved resources and support structures to maximise the effectiveness of technology integration. The study offers valuable insights for curriculum developers, higher education institutions, educational communities, and teachers, emphasising the need for strategic interventions to address implementation challenges and optimise the use of Scratch in fostering 4IR skills and preparing students for future careers.

The Relationship between Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Perceived Teacher Support and Learning Engagement

The Relationship between Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Perceived Teacher Support and Learning Engagement

Language Learning Issues of Non-Reader in Rural and Urban Senior High School: A Comparative Analysis

The general objective of this study is to assess the language learning difficulties of non-readers in rural and urban senior high schools in the Division of Cotabato City in the School Year 2022-2023. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of environmental context, including resource and teacher support, on language development of the learners with poor literacy skills. The research design used was qualitative and the study used a thematic analysis to elicit the experiences of 30 non-readers from rural and urban schools. The data was collected through interviews, focus group discussions and classes observation. The research shows that non-readers in the rural and urban areas have basic problems, including inadequate literacy skills and poor participation in language learning activities. However, there was inequality in the distribution of resources and the level of support received by teachers where urban schools were found to have better resources and teachers’ training than the rural ones. Other factors that added to the difficulties of non-readers, mainly the home environment and peer relations, were worse in rural areas. Therefore, the study underlines the necessity of developing specific measures to approach the issues of non-readers. The enhancement of the vocabulary, resource distribution, and teacher training should be the strategies that aim at eradicating the inequality that exists in the education systems especially for students with different literacy levels or those in different geographical locations

Strategies for Improving the Academic Achievement of Rural Primary School Students from the Perspective of Home-School Collaboration: The Influence of Parents' Positive Parenting Styles and Teacher Support

Strategies for Improving the Academic Achievement of Rural Primary School Students from the Perspective of Home-School Collaboration: The Influence of Parents' Positive Parenting Styles and Teacher Support

Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners' Perceptions of and Anxiety in a Flipped English Classroom

The study explored 104 Chinese undergraduate students' perceptions of and anxiety in a flipped English classroom (FC). The results indicated that most participants showed favorable attitudes towards the FC, but higher levels of anxiety in the FC. The negative correlations between Flexibility and speech anxiety and Instructor and low self-confidence were statistically significant. In students' responses, better prior-to-class preparation and teacher support were two advantages of the FC, while fear of speaking and lack of confidence were their concerns, which were correlated with anxiety, including speech anxiety and low self-confidence.

The Construction of High-Risk Student Leave and Return-to-School Process from the Perspective of Home-School Collaborative Education

Psychological crisis management is a critical component of school mental health education today. In recent years, psychological crises on campus have become increasingly prominent. However, the existing "home-school collaboration" intervention system is still lacking in comprehensive processes and systems, which can lead to issues such as unclear responsibilities, incomplete systems, vague procedures, and disconnection between home and school education when addressing psychological crises from the perspective of home-school collaboration. Therefore, this paper analyzes a student psychological crisis intervention case at our school and explores in detail the construction of a system for managing the leave and return-to-school process for high-risk students from the perspective of home-school collaborative education. It aims to provide institutional support for frontline teachers dealing with students facing psychological issues and offers suggestions for improving the management of high-risk students in schools.

Research on Challenges and Strategies of Students' Adaptive Learning within AI

It's acknowledged that an adaptive e-learning system can be efficient for users to conduct personalized learning in which learners could choose appropriate content and preferred models based on artificial intelligence (AI) recommendations. Nowadays, the rapid development of adaptive platforms, fueled by the evolution of machine learning and AI, incontestably brings innovative potential to the educational field. However, there are many unavoidable challenges followed by the swift process of integrating AI and other technologies into adaptive learning practices. Through the extensive review of previous research on adaptive e-learning and comprehensive analysis of their prominent outcomes, the paper focuses on exploring the challenges of adaptive learning within AI that students are facing and proposing possible solutions. It's found that adaptive learning is mainly experiencing the challenges involving how to avoid data bias and protect personal privacy, making continuous evaluations of users, lack of emotion monitoring and technological support for both students and teachers and the technology integration and inequity. To deal with the increasing problems, some practical strategies are presented, such as properly governing data for learning management, conducting continuous evaluation and prediction for users, and visualizing cognition, which can be supportive of students' professional development in adaptive learning.

Research on Teacher Support Strategies in Project-based Learning in Kindergarten

Teacher professional support is key to children's in-depth project exploration, significantly impacting their overall learning and development. This article first analyzes the concept of project-based learning and then discusses specific support strategies within project-based learning. Teachers should conduct comprehensive project design and meticulous planning in advance, providing essential emotional, methodological, and resource support to children, while enhancing their observational and evaluative abilities. By fostering a supportive environment, educators can encourage creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration among students, ultimately leading to a richer educational experience.

Exploring the mediating role of teacher identity between professional learning community and teacher resilience: evidence from Eastern China

Promoting teachers’ long-term professional growth is a critical problem in teacher education. Professional learning communities have a long-term, positive impact on teacher development, while teacher resilience gives drive for long-term improvement. However, little research indicates how professional groups indirectly affect teacher resilience through their identity, which has consequences for long-term teacher development. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, a recent survey of 2815 primary and secondary school teachers in East China discovered that professional learning communities strongly predict the formation of teacher resilience. This study explores the relationship between professional learning community and teacher resilience by establishing a multi-mediating model, and confirms the mediating role of each dimension of teacher identity. Based on these results, facilitating sustainable professional development requires constructing strong professional learning communities, nurturing teacher identity, and enhancing positive emotions and resilience. Further research should explore how specific activities within communities and forms of teacher support develop resilience over time while accounting for contextual factors. Investigating mechanisms underlying the relationships between communities, identity, emotions, and sustained growth can inform policies and programs aiming to promote long-lasting teacher development.

A decade of PISA: student perceived instructional quality and mathematics achievement across European countries

This study examines the relationship between instructional quality and mathematics achievement, taking into account socioeconomic status. Data from ten European countries participating in PISA 2012 and 2022 were analysed using the framework of the Dynamic Modelling of Educational Effectiveness. In PISA 2012, instructional quality was defined by student-oriented instruction, classroom management, teacher support, disciplinary climate, and cognitive activation. The finding indicated that teacher support, disciplinary climate, and cognitive activation positively predict student achievement, but dimensions of student-oriented instruction and classroom management were negatively related in several countries. Instructional quality was captured by four dimensions in PISA 2022, namely, teacher support, disciplinary climate, cognitive activation in mathematics of encouraging mathematical thinking and of fostering reasoning. Teacher support and disciplinary climate had a positive effect on achievement, but two aspects of cognitive activation had opposite effects on achievement. SES also had significant indirect effects on achievement through various instructional quality dimensions. Across two PISA cycles, teacher support, disciplinary climate, and cognitive activation consistently benefited low-SES students, while classroom management and student-oriented instruction tended to harm their performance. These results underscore the role of instructional quality in promoting equity for disadvantaged students. Trend data from these two cycles of PISA, give an indication of specific instructional strategies that do consistently contribute to student achievement. Implications and findings are discussed in relation to the policy and practice context in different education systems.

Teacher support promotes the classroom engagement of mathematically poor students: a moderated mediation model

Mathematically poor students exhibit poor academic performance, as well as increased mental illnesses and behavioural issues; however, the learning dilemma faced by mathematically poor students and the factors affecting their classroom engagements remain unclear. To address this issue, the Perceived Maths Teacher Support Scale, Classroom Engagement Questionnaire, Maths Anxiety Scale and Academic Self-Efficacy Scale were administered to 486 junior school students in Henan Province, China. After determining the differences between the mathematically poor students and a matched control group, a moderated mediation model was constructed to examine the internal influence mechanisms of the mathematically poor students’ classroom engagement. The results demonstrated that, compared with the control group, the mathematically poor students exhibited higher maths anxiety and lower classroom engagement, academic self-efficacy and maths teacher support. Moreover, the interaction between the environmental (maths teacher support) and personal factors (academic self-efficacy and maths anxiety) affected the mathematically poor students’ classroom engagement. These results enrich the research on mathematically poor students and further elucidate the effective promotion strategies for improving their classroom engagement.

DETERMINATION OF THE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PROBLEMATIC SOCIAL MEDIA USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS OF ALBANIAN AND MACEDONIAN DESCENT IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Problematic social media use turns out to have effects on many dimensions of teenagers' lives, including emotional well-being, social interactions, and interpersonal relationships. The focus of research is oriented directed towards identification, in addition to its effects, the predictive factors associated with problematic use of social media. The purpose of this study is to predict the effect of family support, school support and school well-being on the problematic social media use among adolescents in North Macedonia. The study included 5144 adolescents 11, 13 and 15 years old, of which 48.4% are boys and 51.6% are girls. Considering the structure of the population in the country, 66.6% are young Macedonians and 33.4% Albanians. The data presented are part of the cross-sectional study "Health and Behaviour of School-aged Children", collected during 2022. The results of the research showed that family support is a predictor of problematic social media use for Macedonian and Albanian girls and boys, whereas teacher support did not emerge as a determinant of problematic social media use. Prediction role of classmates’ support and school pressure are also discussed.

The Effects of Servant Leadership, Occupational Commitment, and Work Engagement on Creativity of Teacher

This study identifies the influence of servant leadership on teacher creativity. We considered occupational commitment and work engagement as sequential mediators in the relationship between servant leadership and teacher creativity. This current study uses surveys by distributing questionnaires to teachers at the "X" education foundation in one of the cities in East Java. Hypothesis testing uses partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our study shows that servant leadership does not directly enhance teacher creativity but rather through occupational commitment and work engagement. This finding contributed to the understanding that servant leadership influences teacher creativity through the sequential mediation of occupational commitment and work engagement. As an implication, the "X" educational foundation needs to choose principals who are able to act as servant leaders. In order to effectively increase teacher creativity, servant leaders must provide support and opportunities for teachers that will boost their commitment to their work. Teachers with high occupational commitment will be more engaged with their work, allowing them to become more creative. In addition, various employee management activities, such as training, recognition, and selecting effective school principals, are needed to increase teachers' commitment, engagement, and creativity.

Understanding global citizenship education in the classroom: A case study of teaching practices

The complexity of supporting teachers for Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in formal education contexts is widely recognised. Informed by classroom practice, this article documents a case study of three teachers to interrogate GCE pedagogy, and to contribute new insights to inform support for teachers. Previous research identifies factors that influence GCE teaching and learning, specifically teacher values, GCE orientations, and cultural and structural tensions. However, further insights drawn directly from teacher practice are required to understand more fully these complex and dynamic processes. Based on a qualitative study of upper secondary classroom practice, we analyse distinctive aspects of GCE and illustrate how and why GCE manifests differently across various classroom settings. Specifically, we consider the role of teacher’s ideological stances regarding the participatory nature of GCE and, consider how teachers can move from traditional, teacher-led approaches to more empowering experiences for students.

Conceptualising Intercultural Literacy: Narratives from English Language Teachers

This current study investigates how English language teachers in Indonesian higher educational institutions define and conceptualize intercultural literacy and practice it in their classrooms. Eight ELT practitioners were interviewed through narrative inquiry, and the data was analyzed using thematic analysis to explore their lived conceptualizations. The findings suggest three major themes on intercultural literacy, including conceptualization of intercultural literacy, implementation in professional practice, challenges in fostering intercultural understanding, and strategies to overcome these challenges. Teachers defined intercultural literacy as encompassing cultural understanding, adaptability, comparative analysis, and professional knowledge. They integrated it into their teaching through curriculum design, student-centered methods, and digital tools. This was done by weaving these into the curriculum design and retraining pedagogy with student-centric methods and other digital tools. However, the participants mentioned that they faced some obstacles, including institutional barriers, limited funding, and the difficulties of switching from the traditional to the newest teaching method. These issues were mitigated by professional development, collaboration, and inclusive instructional materials. The current research finding indicates the importance of comprehensive professional development and institutional support for teachers in developing intercultural competence in their students. These findings contribute to intercultural literacy in Indonesia and practical recommendations for improving it within Indonesian higher education. The finding highlights the how to prepare students for a globalized world through intercultural literacy and educator support.

Survey on the Attitudes of School Community Members Regarding the Role of the Language(s) of Schooling in the Integration Process of Pupils with an Immigrant Background in Slovenia

In terms of integration policy, Slovenia is considered a country that promotes the integration of children with an immigrant background into schools as quickly as possible. However fast the integration process may be, languages always play a key role in the education of pupils with an immigrant background and teachers need to adapt to their different language needs and literacy levels. Furthermore, it is important that teachers use teaching methods that promote pupils’ linguistic development in their mother tongue as well. In this paper, we present the results of research on the role of languages of schooling in the success of all pupils in Slovenian primary education institutions, with a focus on those with an immigrant background. To achieve this goal, we conducted an anonymous survey (n = 78) among teachers and support staff and interviewed principals from nine Slovenian primary schools. The main aim of the survey and interviews was to investigate the status and understanding of the role of the languages of schooling in the context of the newly proposed cognitive-inclusive language didactics based on collaborative learning. The study found that while school staff recognise the importance of multilingual education and linguistic integration, there are significant gaps in training and support mechanisms for teachers. Although schools generally support the use of multiple languages, there is a lack of cross-language awareness and visible promotion of multilingualism in the school environment. The findings of the study suggest the need to introduce comprehensive, standardised training and support for teachers that focuses on improving cross-language awareness and inclusive educational practices, which can ultimately lead to better integration outcomes for immigrant pupils and enrichment of the educational environment for all members of the community.

Perceived Language Proficiency and Autonomous Motivation as Predictors to Perceived Communicative Competence in English

Introduction: The current study, following a sequential mixed-methods design, mainly aimed at investigating the possible predictors of perceived communicative competence (PCC) in English in perceived language proficiency (PLP) and autonomous motivation to learn English. Methodology: In doing so, 204 homogeneous university English-major students participated in this study based on convenience sampling, and a pool of six students joined the interview sessions based on purposive sampling. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and the multiple regression were conducted to analyze the data. Results: The results obtained from the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient confirmed that there was a medium, positive correlation between PLP and PCC in English, and also between autonomous motivation to learn English and PCC in English. Moreover, it was found that PLP was the best predictor of PCC in English. Following inter-coder reliability, the commonalities emerged from the students’ responses to the interviews yielded seven common themes, entailing good sense, desire to learn, participation, engagement, disengagement, teacher support, and ability to communicate fluently. Conclusion: The study yielded deeper insight into the effective role of factors, such as good sense, desire to learn, participation, and engagement in enriching their PLP and PCC. At the end, some practical implications are suggested for EFL learner and teachers.

THE CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION IN CREATING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR MARGINALIZED GROUPS. A CASE STUDY OF MASJID TERMINAL SCHOOL, DEPOK CITY

The MASTER School (terminal mosque) is a free school founded by community representatives focusing on inclusive schools for marginalized people from low-income families in the Depok area, West Java. This school is considered to support the government's strategic plan to provide education for all. However, realizing the lack of the government's role in equalizing access to education, this paper attempts to answer the question: What factors are initiatives for MASTER schools to consider when developing inclusive education for marginalized groups through community-based education? How does MASTER school develop inclusive education for marginalized groups through community-based education? The method in this research is qualitative with a case study approach. The data was collected from interviews and observations of schools and classes, as well as from relevant journals and articles, sist research analysis. The findings of this paper show that several factors contributed to the establishment of the MASTER school, including social awareness, which is generated by self-designed school founders motivated by the surrounding social environment. In addition, the inclusive education implemented at the MASTER school is based on a narrow understanding of the differences between children in the same room and pro. It provides education without the support of adequate facilities and teachers. In addition, there still needs to be more understanding of educational inclusion, which is also a challenge for its implementation.

Developing and validating an L2 writing willingness to communicate scale: A sequential embedded mixed-methods approach

Current willingness to communicate (WTC) scales center on WTC in general second language (L2) learning, while L2 writing WTC is underrepresented. This study intended to close this gap by developing and validating an L2 writing WTC scale. A three-phase sequential embedded mixed-methods design was adopted to overcome the over-reliance on quantitative data and provide adequate evidence of validity. Nineteen items were generated based on our literature search and thematic analysis of the interview data ( n = 10). With quantitative data collected from 288 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), the psychometric properties of the initial scale were examined by exploratory factor analysis. After that, the revised 17-item questionnaire was validated by confirmatory factor analysis and other validation methods with data from 224 EFL learners. The results indicated that the underlying structure involved writing task traits, English language ideology, writing teacher support, interest in English language, and self-perception of English language proficiency. The scale was further validated through factor analysis of the quantitative data ( n = 173) and thematic analysis of the immediate retrospective interview data ( n = 12) from EFL learners to test its generalizability in other L2 learning contexts and for face validity evidence. The findings showcased a promising mixed-methods design for scale development and clarified the underlying factors of L2 writing WTC. Implications for scale development and the teaching and learning of L2 writing were discussed.

Classroom environment and engagement in the EFL writing context: The mediating role of goal orientations

Although second language (L2) engagement has received increasing attention, L2 writing engagement has been rarely investigated. Based on the social-cognitive theory, environmental sources could influence individuals’ motivations which in turn affect their engagement. However, factors contributing to L2 writing engagement have not been thoroughly understood. The present study investigated the associations between three dimensions of classroom environment (teacher support, student cohesion, and task orientation) and L2 writing engagement as well as the mediation roles of mastery and performance approach goals among 721 Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Structural equation model analysis suggested that task orientation was the most influential environmental factor; it could not only directly influence EFL writing engagement, but could also indirectly influence it through mastery and performance goals. Teacher support could only indirectly influence engagement through mastery and performance goals. With dimensions of EFL writing engagement disentangled, teacher support negatively predicted agentic engagement but not the other three dimensions. However, mastery and performance goals fully mediated the path from teacher support to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Task orientation had positive effects on all aspects of writing engagement and most of the effects could be carried by the two types of goal orientations. Implications and future directions are also discussed.