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Evaluation is one of the most difficult areas of educational pursuits. The most common type of evaluation and assessment is through a written examination. The majority of the time, questions is drafted right before the examination without going through a quality control process, which might cause confusion or incorrect interpretation of the questions by the students. Students' self-confidence and self-esteem grow as a result of their increased understanding of the question paper's structure, and they then affirm their ability to complete the task. The design of the question paper is prepared, with consideration given to the objectives, the various forms and types of questions, and the various content areas, a projected time, Level of difficulty anticipated. In order to enhance the standard of student evaluation and assessment, this article focuses on offering instructions and a scientific technique for creating effective question papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to current debates about decolonising curriculum and advancing corresponding 'humanness pedagogies' in South Africa by developing a capabilitarian approach and foregrounding epistemic justice capabilities. This is aligned with and to fostering a shared African ethic for individual transformation-in-context and for building universities which benefit communities and societies. It is proposed that epistemic justice capabilities are foundational to decolonising curriculum and foundational for pedagogies which mediate disciplinary content and the dismantling of comparative inequalities among students in order to foster humanness. The capabilitarian framework seeks to secure the expanded wellbeing, co-flourishing and agency of all, in this case in and through higher education and a quality, decolonising curriculum oriented to an ecology of knowledges and a generous, inclusive humanity. The paper concludes with suggestions regarding a way forward to dismantle an exclusionary 'epistemic line' and associated oppressions.

This systematic literature review aimed to provide updated information on lifelong learning in educational research by examining theoretical documents and empirical papers from 2000 to 2022. This review sought to identify concepts, theories, and research trends and methods linked to lifelong learning in educational research in different countries. Our review findings showed that theoretical papers, such as reports, policies, and concepts of lifelong learning, are generally much more extensive than empirical studies. Word cloud analysis revealed that the most prominent concepts were lifelong learning skills, lifelong learning competencies, and the three types of lifelong learning (formal, nonformal, and informal). Following the inductive analysis, this study investigated three common research trends: conceptual framework or policies of lifelong learning, lifelong learning abilities, and influencing factors of lifelong learning and/or lifelong learning abilities. Regarding methodology, this study identified only three studies that used mixed methods, which is insufficient in the field. In addition, heterogeneity was also observed between research instruments in lifelong learning. Different data analysis techniques can be applied in this field, including content analysis, descriptive analysis, and inferential analysis. Finally, the participants involved in the examined studies were students, primary and secondary school teachers, undergraduates, postgraduates, student teachers, European Union Lifelong Learning experts, young adults, teacher educators, administrators, and academic staff.

This paper unpacks our efforts as external evaluators to work toward decolonizing our evaluation practice. Undertaking this writing exercise as a form of reflective practice demonstrated that decolonization is much more complex than simply translating materials, organizing locals to collect data, and building participants' capacity around Western modalities. While this complexity is clear in the decolonization literature, practice-based examples that depict barriers and thought processes are rarely presented. Through this paper, we deconstruct our deeply held beliefs around what constitutes good evaluation to assess the effectiveness of our decolonizing approach. Through sharing our critical consciousness-raising dialoguing, this paper reports our progress thus far and provides information and provocations to support others attempting to decolonize their practice.

Background: Despite increasing support for models in physical education, ambiguity exists concerning the role of teachers in the implementation of models. Very generally, some scholarship seems to suggest that teachers should work as technicians and use models in an instrumental manner. Other scholarship suggests that teachers should use models in ways that are responsive to the contexts in which they are working. This suggestion positions teachers more as craftspeople. Ambiguity is problematic given that teachers have been identified as 'key players' when it comes to the implementation of models. How teachers are positioned in research may have a significant impact on further research and pedagogical practices. Purpose: This paper has two specific aims. First, we aim to provide a detailed map of how scholars have positioned teachers within physical education models literature. Second, we aim to provide a reinterpretation of our findings using Deweyan theory. Data production: The scoping review conducted here is based on the framework provided by Arksey and O'Malley [2005. "Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework." "International Journal of Social Research Methodology" 8 (1): 19-32]. It involved: (1) the development of a research question which was: in which ways does PE models literature position teachers? (2) the identification of potentially relevant literature through searches of the Web of Science, SPORT Discus and Google Scholar databases. The search terms used were: 'Physical education' AND 'Models-based practice;' OR; 'Pedagogical model;' OR; 'Instructional model;' OR; 'Curriculum model;' OR; 'Model;' OR; 'Teacher,' and literature needed to be published between 2010 and 2021 in English, (3) the selection of literature for the review. This occurred as an iterative process that involved going back and forth between the potentially relevant literature and our research question, (4) charting of the literature, done through inductive thematic analysis. This involved a close inspection of the included texts and the identification of recurring types of positioning in the corpus, and (5) a theoretical reinterpretation of teacher positioning achieved in models scholarship. Findings: In the physical education scholarship on pedagogical models, teachers are positioned as: (1) resistant to using models; (2) incapable of using models correctly; (3) mechanical reproducers of models; (4) struggling implementers of models; (5) needing models to change their ordinary practices; (6) capable of using models correctly with support; (7) adapters of models, and (8) collaborators with researchers when implementing models. Discussion: Three issues are raised for discussion. The first relates to the potential disempowerment of teachers achieved by models. The second relates to the relationship between teachers and researchers. The third relates to how models themselves are conceived. Conclusion: The paper is concluded with two general reflections that follow from the issues raised in the discussion.

Design as a construct has multiple meanings depending on context, function, and agenda. This paper proposes to set out functions of design as it manifests in the context of technological activity for the purposes of technology education. The importance of context and by association intention in technological and designerly activity is presented with reference to recent reforms of lower secondary school subjects in Ireland, in an attempt to demonstrate the complexity of design's treatment in technological activity. Critical to the success of designerly outcomes and outputs, is having a clear intention for the objectives of learning. This paper proposes a framework of articulations of design in the context of technological activity that attempts to position its utility with respect to the development of capability. Unpacking 'learning about design', 'learning by design' and 'learning to design' provides delineated intent that makes explicit learning, pedagogical, and evaluative decisions, reinforcing the position that it is what learners can "do" opposed to "know," that is central to technological activity.

Paper folding is a common activity in East Asian kindergartens, but its potential value to early spatial skills have not been empirically explored. This study aims to investigate whether and how paper folding skills can predict spatial ability (SA) in the early years. Altogether 101 preschoolers (Ngirl = 45, M age = 4.54, SD = 0.75) were randomly sampled from two Hong Kong kindergartens and invited to complete the map-use and the paper folding tasks. The paper folding task taps two levels of children's paper folding skills: Basic Folding Skill (BFS) and Advanced Folding Skill (AFS). The parents reported the demographic information and their involvement in spatial activities at home. The results indicated the following: (1) there was a significant age-related increase in the paper folding performance; (2) child age could significantly predict both BFS (β = 0.551, p < 0.001) and AFS (β = 0.627, p < 0.001), while parental involvement could only predict BFS (β = 0.246, p < 0.001); (3) after controlling for confounders, paper folding skills could significantly predict SA as measured by the map-use task; (4) BFS was found to mediate the relationship between parental involvement and SA. The educational implications of these findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe and test students' perception of scientific learning, students' critical thinking skill level in scientific learning, differences in perception and critical thinking skill level of students based on school differences and gender, and the influence of perception on students' critical thinking skill in scientific approach learning. It involved 206 students from three high schools in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. Quantitative data was obtained from a perception questionnaire and critical thinking skill test. The perception questionnaire refers to Perception of Science Classes Survey (PSCS). The test used refers to indicators of critical thinking skill from Ennis in 2011. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests with the SPSS version 23 application for Windows. The results showed that 1) students' perception of scientific learning were in the medium category, 2) students' critical thinking skill level was in a low category, 3) there were differences in perception and critical thinking skill level based on school, but there are not any differences found based on gender, 4) there was an influence of perception towards students' critical thinking skill in scientific learning approach. Designing innovative learning methods, involving student activity, and providing recommended learning facilities are suggested to do to enhance students' positive perception and critical thinking skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a paper introduction presentation of scientific papers, the presenter needs to understand the contents of a paper, summarizes them by slides and explains them to the audiences, such as participants the paper introduction activity, and discuss the contents with participants. However, if the presenter does not have enough skills for reading the contents deeply or for creating understandable slides, participants are not able to get the importance of the paper precisely and do not have fruitful discussion. For such situation, participants give questions to understand the paper. Therefore, questions regarding to the contents from other participants implicitly suggest problems with the presenter's understanding of the paper and creating the slides. Therefore, it is valuable for the presenter to reflect on their skills that are used to prepare the paper introduction presentation based on the questions asked by other participants. This research proposes a reflection support environment for promoting the active and sufficient reflection using the questions asked by other participants. Our environment prepares an interface that records the activities involved in preparing the presentation, such as understanding papers and creating slides. Our environment also provides an interface with which the presenter can compare the recorded activities and the participants' questions. By comparing the questions with their understanding of papers and created slides, the presenter is encouraged to recognize the insufficient points of their reading and presentation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the recent activity of the pan‐European consensus of the ADEE Special Interest Group for Pre‐Clinical Operative Skills. Following the previous recommendations from the group, and in order to support teachers and to harmonise the delivery of skills training across Europe, a more formal curriculum relating to pre‐clinical operative skills needs to be created. This paper reports European consensus surrounding the categorisation (level of importance, and difficulty) of basic operative dental clinical skills within the undergraduate curriculum and provides recommendations relating to session structure and timing of curricular elements for basic operative dental clinical skills teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate the changes in high school students' perceptions of fluency with innovative technologies (IT) and the levels of students' scientific inquiry abilities as a result of engaging students in long-term scientific research projects focusing on community-based environmental issues. Over a span of 3 years, a total of 125 ninth- through twelfth-grade students participated in this study. A project-specific Likert-scale survey consisting of three parts (fluency with All Technologies, GPS/GIS, and CBL2/EasyData) was administered to all students as a pre- and post-test. At the end of the study, 45 students were randomly interviewed and asked to elaborate on the changes in their perceptions of fluency with IT. The results indicated statistically significant increases (p less than 0.001) in students' perceptions of their fluency with IT. Qualitative analysis of students' interview results corroborated the statistical findings of students' changes in perceptions of their fluency with IT. Students' research papers based on the environmental studies conducted at the interface of classroom and community were analyzed using the "Scientific Inquiry Rubrics," which consist of 11 criteria developed by the researchers. Results indicated the students' abilities to conduct scientific inquiry for 7 out of 11 criteria were at the proficient level. This study clearly points to the correlation between the development of IT fluency and ability levels to engage in scientific inquiry based on respective competencies. Ultimately, this research study recommends that students' IT fluency ought to be developed and assessed concurrently with an emphasis on contemporary higher order scientific inquiry abilities. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

Sustainability in university curricula remains important for equipping graduates from all disciplines with capabilities to respond to complex social, economic, and environmental challenges in their future professional roles. Situating sustainability learning within disciplinary contexts is needed for learners to apply sustainability theory to their future professions. Furthermore, developing capabilities is important to enable graduates to act in differing professional contexts. In response to these needs, this paper contextualises safety as part of sustainability in undergraduate engineering studies by exploring the complementarity between professional capabilities for safety in engineering and key capabilities found in sustainability education literature. The paper draws on findings from interviews with 41 pipeline engineers undertaken to build an understanding of differing views on engineering capabilities necessary for safety decision making. The results show synergies between safety and sustainability capabilities in the context of engineering practice and the opportunities to contextualise safety within sustainability in engineering education. From a safety perspective, given the expanding sustainable development agenda, there is an opportunity to increase education for public safety in engineering curricula within the scope of sustainability education and to shift learning from competencies to capabilities-based outcomes.

The paper investigates the effect of active civic education using project-based learning (PBL) on attitudes towards civic engagement in a heterogeneous society. The study used a qualitative research approach involving a content analysis of responses to open-ended questionnaires, students' reports and weekly discussions with the students. The study examines whether the PBL teaching approach, which was developed in medical schools, can be an effective tool for use in civic studies to promote civic engagement of college students in a multi-ethnic society. Active civic education matters; it prompted non-Jewish minority students in Israeli society to consider future civic engagement, and improved their understanding of the concepts of accountability, transparency, civil and human rights, and the ability of individuals in a democracy to obtain answers from their government. It also underscored their ability and obligation to contribute to their communities.

Vice Chancellors, Presidents, or Rectors occupy elite public positions in universities. A cursory glance of the roll call of names across elite universities ('top 100') globally reveals the dominance of white males. Research has given us some insight into the profiles of these senior leaders and their selection, but not with a particular focus on elite universities. Our theoretical disquiet in this conceptual article is linked with an enduring unease that processes of formal and informal merit work to reproduce, not eradicate, deep inequities in the recruitment and appointment of Vice Chancellors, Presidents, or Rectors at elite universities. In this article, we suggest that we need to rethink and reframe how we approach equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education leadership at elite universities We propose a different set of questions need to be asked; questions about performative understandings of merit and meritocracy. We argue that underpinning rhetoric of meritocracy works as a visible and audible performative tool that offers an appearance of a just, fair, and neutral process, yet reinforces the sameness of leadership. In querying discourses of merit and troubling the façade of diversity we take an intersectional approach, moving beyond single and conventional forms of discrimination. This conceptual paper draws upon a range of literatures and illustrative biographical examples to highlight the critical importance of an intersectional analysis that situates merit as form of advantage/disadvantage precisely because of the way in which these discourses are framed and enacted.

Lessons on Satoyama environmental education were held for undergraduate students who are training to be educators. The lessons blend inquiry-based learning through research using ICT tools and experiential learning in a complementary manner. Students learn about the underlying concepts about the environment from a global perspective through inquiry-based learning; experiential learning can encourage students to get involved with the environment at the local level and also develop abilities and skills to conduct classes in environmental education. This paper investigated how the lessons influenced the students in these areas: knowledge of technical terms related to Satoyama environmental education, students' confidence and desire to engage in environmental education, and how awareness of their own abilities were improved through the lessons. To understand the impact of the lessons quantitatively, survey contents of the subjective awareness etc. were printed on A4 paper medium and were distributed. The medium were collected after filling them during class. The data are analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and cluster analysis. As a result, overall recognition of technical terms increases on post-survey. There is an increase in the mean score for all items on confidence and desire to engage in environmental education. For the awareness on abilities, students feel that their abilities increased overall across all items.

This paper is framed as an email conversation between the authors, a lifespan developmental psychologist with expertise in the field of wisdom and an educational scientist with expertise in the field of giftedness. We discuss how giftedness is defined and whether the definition, and the concept in general, is still useful in today's world. We draw three conclusions. First, "giftedness" has taken on a particularly literal meaning as it tends to favor students that are already privileged. Second, educational systems should aim to identify and promote all students' individual profiles of strengths and interests instead of focusing on promoting the "gifted" ones. Third, given the current state of the world, educational systems should aim to empower "gifting" students who engage themselves for a greater good, instead of "gifted" students competing for grades and achievements.

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• Few perspectives in research on strategy have had as great an impact as Porter's (1980, 1985) framework for strategic positioning. The concepts of cost leadership and differentiation have been used both by practitioners in strategic planning and by scholars as the starting point for empirical studies. This widespread use has probably contributed to the high level of interest in the possibilities and limitations of the perspective. • In this paper, certain central aspects of strategic positioning are examined empirically. The study covers seven business units in two segments of the paper and pulp industry in the Nordic region over a 10-year period from 1991 to 2000. • Among the aspects discussed are the possibility of strategic change and the possibility of combining strategic position. Other aspects treated are the relationship of the intended strategic position, as declared in the annual reports, to the realized strategic position, as shown by the relative positions of the business units compared to their competitor. • The findings indicate that strategic positions are stable over time and that none of the business units was able to combine the positions of cost leadership and differentiation for a longer period of time. The results also suggest substantial congruence between the intended strategy and the realized strategy, at the units studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extracts the characteristics of the view of ability in educational practices during the period of rapid growth in Japan, focusing on the influence of these perceptions on the Ministry of Education's educational policies. The analysis draws on the debate about "vocational aptitude tests" and "observation guidance." Teachers' critical perceptions of "vocational aptitude tests" and "observation guidance" depend on their views of desirable ability. The main findings obtained are as follows. Since the 1990s, attention has been focused on non-cognitive ability; a similar view of ability (expansion of the view of ability) can be seen in educational practices in the 1960s. However, this expansion of the view of ability does not only appear in educational practices. According to the analysis of "ability and aptitude, etc." included in a reference document on observation guidance (presented by MoE, based on the French observation curriculum), an expansion of the view of ability can also be confirmed to be present in educational policy. The view of ability in educational practices may even coincide with that in educational policies.

Designing standardized exams for EFL undergraduates is a matter of great concern in pedagogical practices that assess learners' academic achievements. This case study was conducted at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia, to explore the significance of educational exam standardization and its impact on the process of implementation, leading to a balanced and equitable assessment of English language skills. During the study, 250 final English skill exam questions of two semesters were analyzed. A mixed-method approach using a questionnaire and Focused Group Discussion was adopted to collect relevant data. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 16, and the qualitative data was processed by thematic analysis. The quantitative data results showed that questions were balanced, valid, and reliable in language skill exam papers designed for undergraduate English students. The qualitative data revealed four major themes -- standardization of questions, the efficacy of Bloom's taxonomy, assessment/evaluation, and alignment of the question with learning outcomes. These emerging themes highlighted the effectivness of standardizing exam papers, identified problems, and suggested ways of improvement. The study indicates that exams must be scrutinized for the sake of standardization in terms of maximum course coverage; the variety in the question item; clear, concise, and precise instructions; validity and reliability of exam papers; and the alignment of questions with the course and program learning outcomes to ensure the implementation of the revised Bloom's taxonomy. The study suggests, to generalize the results, that further investigation should be done in another Saudi university for the sake of comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant ongoing initiative is to identify the conditions under which financial education is most effective, as it has been shown to work much better in some circumstances than others. One factor to consider is mathematical capability, as it has been linked to improved financial knowledge and financial outcomes. In this paper, we investigated one aspect of math capability: math confidence (that is, self-reported math ability). We examined how this factor interacts with financial education (measured by the number of financial education courses taken) with data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Survey (NFCS). We found that both mathematical confidence and financial education were positively associated with financial behaviors and, moreover, that the effects were largely independent rather than acting as substitutes -- suggesting that future intervention work should consider both factors.

This paper investigates in-service intermediate phase mathematics teachers' metacognitive awareness based on their engagement in a professional development intervention in two rural and one township school in South Africa. Professional teacher development interventions should be structured and collaborative as teachers tend to revert to traditional modes of teaching when interventions are brief and sporadic. This research was scaffolded across the zone of proximal teacher development (ZPTD) as conceptualized by Warford (2011). The aim of the study was to investigate how metacognitive awareness facilitated intermediate phase mathematics teachers' ZPTD, i.e., from their actual knowledge to "proximal development". 10 intermediate phase mathematics teachers participated in the qualitative research (n=10). The professional development intervention was conducted on two consecutive Saturdays, infused with an adapted lesson study approach. The data was collected through (i) individual interviews, (ii) reflective prompts, (iii) observations, and (iv) reflective journals. The data from each data source were coded and categorized and were triangulated to answer the research question. Participants deemed the professional development intervention and the accompanying materials as supportive and showed increased metacognitive awareness of their personal teaching praxis during and after the intervention, hence growth along the ZPTD occurred.