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This article explores whether and how contemporary discourses in lifelong learning (LLL) can support intercultural universities in Latin America. Since the late twentieth century, LLL has primarily been seen through a Eurocentric lens, with a strong focus on the development of skills for knowledge-based economies and societies. As this discourse has been promoted and adopted by so-called developing countries, the focus has shifted from an identified need for continuous learning in a global society to mainly targeting the promotion of basic education, as is evidenced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, we have identified a need for further discussion and research on intercultural universities, many of which are becoming increasingly vulnerable in current neoliberal times. This article looks at two intercultural universities in Mexico and Ecuador and suggests that a more indigenized approach to LLL could provide a stronger sense of ownership and participation in decision-making. Thus, LLL can be an ally for a new and decolonized conceptual framework that further legitimizes intercultural universities and provides a long-term strategy for the future.

The purpose of the research was to discover the views of three groups of International students who were undertaking their Higher Education (HE) in a publicly-funded college, rather than a university setting. A comparative survey was undertaken by International students attending an American Community College, an Australian Technical and Further Education Institute and a group of English colleges which offer Higher Education. All three groups were satisfied with their provision. The college setting was perceived to offer higher levels of support than would have been available at a university, plus enhanced employability prospects and lower fees than those charged by a university. The status of an Australian, English or American HE qualification was important, as was the reputation of their particular college. The market for International students is highly competitive and largely driven by universities. The English experience suggests that colleges should focus on the marketing of specialist courses. In all cases, the fact that teaching staff were primarily teachers, rather than researchers was highly valued by respondents, as was their currency in their subject. However, there were strong feelings about value for money and the ability to engage with Home students and wider Australian, British or American culture. International students choose to study abroad because they want to broaden their own horizons and learn more about other cultures: many respondents found these opportunities to be limited. In order to help address this, an International student recruitment Checklist for senior college staff is presented as part of the research findings. Keywords: Higher Education, International students, colleges, value-for-money.

Research on science-education reform affirms the importance of taking into consideration teachers’ pedagogical beliefs in relation of the constructivist perspective to ensure successful implementation of a reform-oriented curriculum. In addition, prominent studies pinpoint the need for teachers to have sufficient pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to adapt a reform-oriented science curriculum to meet students’ abilities and interests. This study focused on the reform-oriented science curriculum in Oman, and in particular, the grade 12 biology curriculum. The new biology curriculum emphasizes constructivism and encourages student-centered instruction, inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking. However, since its implementation in 2008, various obstacles and challenges have been reported by teachers. These include a mismatch between the planned curriculum and the implemented curriculum. This mismatch has been attributed to a lack of motivation and PCK among teachers that would allow them to shift their teaching practices. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to understand how teachers’ pedagogical beliefs about student-centered learning have shaped their implementation of the curriculum. The study also sought to identify how biology teachers perceive the relationship between their PCK and their pedagogical decisions. An ethnographic approach to data analysis was employed, with multiple data sources including classroom observations, learning artifacts, reflections, and semi-structured interviews used. The findings of this ethnographic study indicate that Omani teachers’ beliefs and PCK shape the implementation of the reform-oriented curriculum by influencing their conceptualization of the curriculum, their identification of students’ misconceptions, their decisions about classroom teaching practices, and the level of their students’ engagement. The results of this study corroborate and expand upon previous research that suggests that teachers’ beliefs and PCK should be taken into consideration when designing and planning for new curriculum materials, teacher-education programs, and professional development opportunities. Keywords: pedagogical beliefs, reform-oriented curriculum, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), constructivism, curriculum implementation.

The teaching profession is highly stressful. Stress is a negative phenomenon that develops under conditions of uncontrollable, prolonged and increased pressure. In this study, our goal is (a) to investigate teachers' perception of the sources of stress in school in light of the neoliberal reforms and (b) to compare these sources of stress in primary school, middle school and high school teachers. We hypothesize that the demands and the workload to improve scores in standardized tests, increase the need of teachers to take work home. Therefore, home demands may conflict with school demands. Furthermore, the greatest pressure is on elementary and middle school teachers: Early efforts to improve student achievements in the lower grades would result in better-prepared students in high schools. Data about the sources of stress is based on a previous study of Buskila, Buskila, Giris and Ablin (2019) that investigated the connection between the effects of stress on teachers on somatic syndromes. Three hundred and twenty-one public school teachers working in the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Israel participated in the study. Findings of the mean of the entire samples revealed that the highest level of stress was caused by intense teaching schedule with insufficient breaks. The second cause was related to the composition of the students in the class, and the third was home demands conflicting with school demands. In the middle schools, the highest levels of stress are caused by school principals (M=5.98, SD=3.09) and second is in high school (M=5.00, SD=3.33). The highest level of stress caused by the superintendent is on primary school teachers (M=3.97, SD=3.33) and the second are the middle school teachers (M=3.79, SD = 2.95). The lowest stress level was in high school (M=2.68, SD=2.83). Three significance differences of stress were found among primary, middle, and high schools: The school principal is the highest source of pressure in the middle schools (P=.034), and the superintendent causes the highest level of stress in primary schools (P=.006). The third cause was in high school, related to physical school conditions (p=.002). These results are relevant to teachers, educators, and policy makers involved in planning and managing educational strategies and teachers’ schedules. Identifying and preventing the sources of stress can facilitate better teaching conditions, and a more effective and efficient atmosphere in school. Keywords: Stress at school, teachers' stress, causes of stress in school

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of middle school mathematics teachers' self-efficacy and leadership styles on middle school students’ mathematical achievements and attitude towards mathematics. In this study, the general survey method was employed and the research population was consisted of a total of 917, 5th grade students, 472 girls and 455 boys, picked across 10 middle schools in a central district of a province located in North-West Anatolia. In order to gather scientific data, scales such as Mathematics Attitude Scale, Teacher’s Self-Efficacy Scale, and Mathematics Achievement Test were used. Teacher characteristics were divided into two categories which consist of two and three sub-categories respectively; autocratic and semi-democratic based on the Leadership Style Scale. And low, moderate, high level according to teachers’ scores in the Self-Efficacy Scale. The data obtained were analysed in accordance with the objectives by means of frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t test, one-way variance analysis (Ancova). The significance level in statistical analyses was set at p

Young children are familiar with astronomical phenomena from everyday life, such as the movement of the celestial bodies or the shift from day to night. The present study examines the extent to which kindergarten students understand abstract concepts related to celestial bodies and processes (such as gravity and time), and whether they change their perceptions of these concepts following an educational intervention. The study also examines what children report about this learning experience. The study, conducted in a kindergarten in Israel with 32 students, combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. The children’s knowledge of astronomy was examined before and after the intervention. The teacher conducted observations, collected the children’s creative projects, and interviewed them. She also asked them if they enjoyed the learning process and why. The findings show that few of the children had knowledge about concepts related to astronomy prior to the learning process, and some expressed misconceptions. Following the intervention, there was a significant increase in the children’s knowledge and ability to explain astronomical concepts and many of their previously expressed misconceptions had been corrected. Most of the children said they were interested in learning, although some said they felt fear during the lessons. The results indicate that kindergarten students are able to study topics related to astronomy, although they are abstract and difficult to demonstrate. The conclusion of the study is that teachers should be encouraged to integrate studies of astronomy and space into the science curricula for kindergartens. This should be done using appropriate pedagogy that will increase the children’s interest and involvement in learning and avoid causing them fears. Keywords: Science education, Astronomy learning in Preschool

The developments in science and technology have led to changes in the expectations of countries from the future and the individuals. In the 21st century, focusing on innovative approaches in the education system has become compulsory to raise individuals who question, find rapid and effective solutions to problems and who could think scientifically. One of these approaches is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) training. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between STEM and STEM sub-dimensions. The study group consists of 204 teacher candidates from different departments of the Faculty of Education of Sakarya University during the academic year 2018/2019. To collect data, the attitude scale for STEM and the sub-dimensions of STEM were used in the study. One-way ANOVA was used in this correlation for parametric tests. According to the results of the study, there is a positive and significant relationship between STEM and all STEM sub-dimensions based on the data collected from teacher candidates. Keywords: STEM, sub-dimensions, teacher candidates

This study examined the effects of computer animation instructional package on secondary school students’ achievement in practical biology in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test, control group, non-randomised and nonequivalent quasi-experimental design, with a 2x2x3 factorial design. Two intact classes from two secondary schools were purposively sampled. The instruments used were Biology Practical Achievement Test (BPAT) for data gathering and Computer Animation Instructional Package (CAIP) as the treatment instrument. The reliability coefficient of BPAT was determined using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and was found to be 0.91. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated in the study. The hypotheses were tested with t-test statistics at a significance level of 0.05. The study concluded that CAIP significantly improved students' achievement in practical biology. The researchers recommend that biology teachers should employ computer animation instructional packages to teach the practical aspects of photosynthesis among other biology topics. Keywords: Achievement, computer animation, practical biology, secondary schoo

This manuscript will address the definition of opioid usage, reasons for opioid usage, familial factors leading to usage, prevalence of the opioid epidemic, short and long-term consequences of opioid usage, as well as the impact that opioid usage has on students’ academic performance. Opioid usage has a direct and deleterious impact on students’ academic, social emotional, and psychological wellbeing, as well as a dire impact on family functioning. Sustained drug usage can lead to failure in school, dropping out, delinquent behavior, as well as lead to lifelong addiction issues. School counselors play a critical role in raising awareness about the dangers of drug usage, as well as motivating students to make healthy choices. Family support and involvement has also shown to play a vital role in the rehabilitation and success of students holistically. The definition of opioid usage, reasons for opioid usage, familial factors leading to opioid usage, statistics, consequences, modalities, as well as school counseling best practices for reducing opioid usage will be addressed.

Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh rendahnya hasil belajar Al-Qur;an Hadits siswa kelas VII B pada materi memahami isi kandungan surat Al-Kafirun dan Al-Bayyinah di MTs Thamrin Yahya Rambah Hilir Kabupaten Rokan Hulu. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah guru dan seluruh siswa kelas VII B yang berjumlah 30 orang siswa yang terdiri dari 14 orang siswa laki-laki dan 16 orang siswa perempuan. Sementara objek penelitian ini adalah penerapan model pembelajaran artikulasi untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar Al-Qur;an Hadits siswa kelas VII B pada materi memahami isi kandungan surat Al-Kafirun dan Al-Bayyinah di MTs Thamrin Yahya Rambah Hilir Kabupaten Rokan Hulu. Pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan teknik observasi dan tes hasil belajar. Hasil analisis data dapat disimpulkan bahwa penerapan model pembelajaran artikulasi dapat meningkatkan hasil belajar al-Qur’an Hadits siswa kelas VII B pada materi memahami isi kandungan surat al-Kafirun dan al-Bayyinah, dari rata-rata sebesar 63,33 pada sebelum tindakan menjadi 70,57 pada siklus I dan 78,03 pada siklus II. Hasil uji hipotesis diperoleh harga to sebesar 18,631 jauh lebih besar dari nilai ttabel pada taraf signifikan 5% (2,04) maupun pada taraf signifikan 1% (2,75). Dengan demikian hipotesis alternatif (Ha) dapat diterima. Kata Kunci: Model Pembelajaran, Artikulasi, Hasil Belajar, Al-Qur’an Hadits

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy factors, as measured by the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, and college readiness scores, as reported by American College Testing (ACT), for high schools in the state of Illinois. The 5Essentials have been considered crucial to school success and therefore used to describe learning environments and as basis for decisions on school improvement. However, little research has investigated the efficacy of the 5Essentials in their impact on academic achievement. This study used Illinois 5Essentials Survey and ACT data to interrogate the value of 5Essentials. Analysis of data determined that while correlational relationships do exist among the 5Essentials (collective efficacy factors) and that some have predictive qualities for student achievement, the strengths of those relationships are, at best, weak. Outcomes of this survey provide insights that policy makers should consider when recommending the use of these factors to influence school culture and student achievement. Keywords: collective efficacy, Illinois 5Essentials Survey, reciprocal causality, self-efficacy, student achievement, leadership

The article aims to analyze the place and significance of happiness in educational discourse. The analysis reveals ambivalence of happiness education, following positive education patterns. The ambivalence stems from the fact that happiness is narrowed down to the first component of the following dichotomies: subjective/objective, active/passive, individual/social. As we explain in our article, such clipped happiness education may involve the following consequences: necessitating ‘therapeutic education’ for students; neglecting matters of social justice; imposing ideas of happiness on a child through ideological indoctrination. Yet, we can conclude that the dual potential of positive education methods makes it possible to offset the above and other adverse consequences of the promoted idea of happiness.

The past few weeks have increasingly shown the difference in the impact of the closure of public and private educational institutions due to the public health emergency of national importance, due to the human infection with the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), cause of COVID-19. And in this scenario, the situation of deaf students in the 3rd year of high school is worsening and will take the ENEM in 2020. Therefore, the objective of this essay is to analyze the expectations of deaf students enrolled in high school at a public school in the state of RN, about ENEM at this time of COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic. The case study was used as a research method. The essay showed as results that it is necessary to reflect on the role of the school in inclusive education for the deaf, which is marked by ignorance and lack of linguistic policies that serve this student.

Background Many students solving quantitative problems in science struggle to apply mathematical instruction they have received to novel problems. The few students who succeed often draw on both their mathematical understanding of the equation and their scientific understanding of the phenomenon. Understanding the sensemaking opportunities provided during instruction is necessary to develop strategies for improving student outcomes. However, few studies have examined the types of sensemaking opportunities provided during instruction of mathematical equations in science classrooms and whether they are organized in ways that facilitate integration of mathematical and scientific understanding. This study uses a multiple case study approach to examine the sensemaking opportunities provided by four different instructors when teaching the same biological phenomenon, population growth. Two questions are addressed: (1) What types of sensemaking opportunities are provided by instructors, and (2) How are those sensemaking opportunities organized? The Sci-Math Sensemaking Framework, previously developed by the authors, was used to identify the types of sensemaking. Types and organization of sensemaking opportunities were compared across the four instructors. Results The instructors provided different opportunities for sensemaking of equations, even though they were covering the same scientific phenomenon. Sensemaking opportunities were organized in three ways, blended (previously described in studies of student problem solving as integration of mathematics and science resources), and two novel patterns, coordinated and adjacent. In coordinated sensemaking, two types of sensemaking in the same dimension (either mathematics or science) are explicitly connected. In adjacent sensemaking, two different sensemaking opportunities are provided within the same activity but not explicitly connected. Adjacent sensemaking was observed in three instructors’ lessons, but only two instructors provided opportunities for students to engage in blended sensemaking. Conclusions Instructors provide different types of sensemaking opportunities when teaching the same biological phenomenon, making different resources available to students. The organization of sensemaking also differed with only two instructors providing blended sensemaking opportunities. This result may explain why few students engage in the successful strategy of integrating mathematics and science resources when solving quantitative problems. Documentation of these instructional differences in types and organization of sensemaking provides guidance for future studies investigating the effect of instruction on student sensemaking.

During the escalating coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, attempting to contain its spread, a large number of educational institutions shut down face-to-face teaching and learning activities globally due to a complete lockdown. This lockdown revealed emerging vulnerabilities of education systems in the low-and middle-income countries of the world, with Nigeria being no exception. Given these concerns, this research study assessed parental involvement, learning participation and the commitment to online learning of adolescent learners during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. Au online survey questionnaire was employed to examine the level of online learning commitment and the contributory roles of each of the factors to online learning commitment of adolescent learners. In total, 1407 adolescents (male = 38.8%;female 61.2%) aged between 12 and 20 years (mean = 15: SD = 4.24) responded to the online survey, which was open for 2 months. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency distribution and inferential statistics of multiple regression. The findings revealed that the commitment level of adolescent learners to online learning was high. The findings further yielded a coefficient of R= 0.439 and R-2 = 0.192 variance in the prediction of the outcome measure. Parental involvement contributed 32% (beta = 0.322, p < 0.05) and learning participation contributed 23% (beta = 0.234, p < 0.05) towards online learning. The study concludes that parental involvement and learning participation played a significant and positive role in the commitment of adolescent learners towards online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. The authors suggest that parents be encouraged to synergise with the digitalised revolution, while the need for further in-depth research on the subject is emphasised in the suggestions for future research.

BackgroundAround the world, efforts are underway to include engineering design as part of elementary science instruction. A common rationale for those efforts is that Engineering Design-based Science Teaching (EDST) is a productive pedagogical approach for developing students’ understanding of core science concepts. Effectively utilizing EDST requires that teachers develop design activities that are highly connected to science content so that students can apply and expand their understanding of relevant concepts. In this study, we examine how a group of elementary (grades 3–5) pre-service and in-service teachers incorporated EDST into their planned science instruction. Those teachers were participants in a professional development project aimed at supporting EDST. We examine the ways that participants used EDST, the extent to which engineering design activities were connected to science concepts, and factors associated with those connections.ResultsMost of the participants in the study developed science units in which an engineering design activity was placed at the end of the unit. Approximately half of those design activities lacked connections to the science concepts in the unit; they were typically related to the topic of the science unit, but did not require the use or development of key science ideas. Eleven percent of participants developed engineering activities with deep connections to science concepts, and 35% developed activities with shallow connections. No differences were found between life science, physical science, and earth/space science units in terms of the extent of conceptual connections. However, we did find that participants who utilized and adapted published engineering curriculum materials rather than make them from scratch were more likely to have unit plans with higher levels of conceptual connections.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that elementary teachers need additional support in order to effectively utilize EDST in their classrooms. Even within the context of a supportive professional development project, most of the engineering activities developed by our participants lacked substantial connections to the science concepts in their unit plans. Our findings highlight the value of high-quality curriculum materials to support EDST as well as the need to further expand the curriculum resources that are available to elementary teachers.

Over the past few decades, education systems, especially in higher educa-tion, have been redefined. Such reforms inevitably require reconsideration of operational notions and definitions of quality, along with a number of relat-ed concepts. This reconsideration aligns with the core of higher education re-forms: improving efficacy and compatibility with emerging social demands while adapting to competitiveness and accountability trends. As primary players in the teaching and learning process, online tutors have a protagonis-tic role and, therefore, must be equipped with a suitable set of competencies and attributes in addition to content knowledge. This quantitative research aims to analyze the perceptions of 250 online tutors working in European higher education institutions, distributed in 5 knowledge areas: Business, Education, Humanities, Sciences and Health. This descriptive and explorato-ry nonexperimental study reveals the technological and pedagogical skills and competencies that online tutors consider fundamental for effective online teaching and proposes professional development actions to ensure quality online teaching

The exploratory study reported in this article is predicated on the notion that human translators’ cognition represents a key added value over disembodied artificial intelligence. It re-frames the methods, data and results of a precursor study, and supplements them with additional data and analyses to develop a new cognitive perspective on re-positioning human translation competence and translators’ expertise in the age of neural machine translation (NMT). The study is centred on an investigation of culturally specific complex conceptual metaphor in translation, and it melds a more conventional product-oriented approach with experimental translation process research (TPR). It indicates that human translators’ decision-making and problem-solving at different levels of training and experience take place on a conceptual level. Compared with the translations of the same metaphors by publicly available NMT systems and by beginners as well as more advanced students, the product data of the professionals involved in the study produce more varied translation solutions, with a range of deviations from the standardised output. This suggests that, after accessing the conceptual level of meaning realised in a particular lexical form, experienced professionals, as a group, are able to generate multiple potential target-text solutions in order to reach their target audience. The supplementary process data indicates that they do so situationally, based on 4EA cognition, through intuition and/or deliberative rationality. It is this, the author argues, that is the distinguishing feature of seasoned professional translators and a hallmark of their added value.

This paper was written at the same time that the annual language and culture seminar of Hellenic Culture School Switzerland was being held in Greece. That was a felicitous coincidence, since it allowed the observation and interpretation of the students’ learning behaviour and their target language interactions within its native environment. This short immersion into authentic language and culture input was welcomed by students of all proficiency levels as a challenge and call for participating in a new, enriched learning activity performed within a natural, real-life situation and hence, a more purposeful and meaningful communication context. Students were led to a self-directed reception and assimilation of language input, applying their own strategies, experiences or intuition. This attitude of students, normally deprived of a native language environment, reflects the need to incorporate authentic materials in L2 classes based on their ability to function as substitutes for the native environment, which is missing, and on their potential to become vehicles for language progress, pragmatic and cultural awareness. The importance of authentic texts in language learning has been discussed by theorists in applied linguistics and language learning throughout the 20th century but with the development of the communicative approach and task-based learning it has become a leading feature of language teaching materials. This paper explores the development of task authenticity in the selection of language teaching materials in class and examines the arguments for their use, based on the analysis of culture, currency and challenge.

In a global economy with such an increase in the role of information technology in global communication more and more national business are forming links with companies in other countries. There is a tendency to expect a degree of uniformity of approach as management behaviours can be argued to express the same aims and broadly similar approaches. However, research shows that although certain concepts may be held in common they are viewed very differently in different cultures perceived and acted upon by managers according to the culture they live and work in. This can lead to disagreements over operations management and communication. Using a two-phase approach this paper explores these cultural differences and their influence on the idea of a common organisational cultures. It argues for a cultural due diligence approach to examining and reconciling potential cultural differences to optimise the international business relationship.

Learning environments have become increasingly digital in recent decades, requiring teachers and students to develop general digital competences across all educational systems and stages. This also means that for future teachers, professional digital competencies are a valuable asset that enables them to work with the technologies already fully integrated in schools and embedded in most curricula. This paper describes the use of digital communication technology throughout the different stages of a Service Learning Project, involving 2nd and 3rd year students from the Degree in Primary Education at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Students and their teachers involved in the project use specific digital communication tools which favour the interaction and completion of the project goal: supporting literacy programmes in two languages for underprivileged students in two local schools. This paper analyses the tools used in the different stages of the project, the digital competencies they are related to and their suitability for similar Service Learning Projects.

With the realization of the substantial long-term educational, social, and economic benefits produced by high-quality preschool education, preschool teachers’ education is becoming more focused on in recent years. Moreover, other than the studies focus on providing evidence for the impact of the preschool education on the children outcomes, studies showing large benefits occur only when teachers are professionally prepared and adequately compensated are also increased. On the other hand, studies focusing on the program evaluation or educational systems mainly consider the issue from a more structured and multidimensional view. In this respect, as an example of open social systems, teacher education depends on many interrelated components that affect each other directly or indirectly. The aim of this study is to review and discuss some of these components of preschool teacher education Turkish context such as the student selection policy, faculty development, recruitment policy and competencies of the graduates. Current issues of preschool teacher education are reviewed within the light of the research and related documents in order to understand the context within a macro perspective.Keywords: Preschool teacher education, educational policy, open social system, Turkish context

In this study, the relationship between academic achievement and attitudes towards “technology and design lesson” of the middle school, eighth grade students’ gender, family income level, parent education level attitudes towards technology and design lesson have been investigated, and examined the relationship between attitudes and academic achievement. Eighth-grade total of 98 students selected from 3 middle schools by simple random sampling method has been identified at research in North Cyprus. The data collection tool used in this study was the ‘technology and design course attitude scale’. Descriptive survey model was used in the research. The data were analyzed using independent sample t-test, Anova, correlation, frequency and percentage calculations. At the end of the research; no significant difference found between attitudes towards technology and design lesson according to students’ gender, family income, parent education levels. Also no significant relationship found between students’ academic achievements in “technology and design course” and “attitudes toward the technology and design course”. Keywords: Technology and design, academic achievement, attitude towards lesson, students

The purpose of this study is to examine the amount of fat stored around the hips and thighs (waist-to-hip ratio) of college students in Ikere Ekiti, Nigeria, after a 12-week circuit strength training programme. The study adopted randomised pre-test post-test control group research design. Simple random sampling technique and fish bowl method with replacement were used. Anthropometric tape was the instrument used for the pre-test post-test data collection on the waist, girth and gluteal (hip girth) of participants. The two hypotheses formulated were tested with analysis of covariance statistics at a significant level of 0.05. It was observed that the intervention programme prevented the storage of fat around the hips and thighs of the experimental group from increasing to the level of high disease risk ≥ 1.00 for men and ≥ 0.85 for women. The study identified circuit strength training programme as a recipe to ameliorate hypokinetic conditions. Keywords: Circuit strength training, resistance exercise, waist girth, waits-to-hip ratio.

This study examines the effect of computer-assisted language learning on the vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL learners, in which 40 pre-intermediate and intermediate students enrolled at Iran Language Institute, Urmia, Iran were selected as participants. The participants were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control ones. The two experimental groups underwent the same procedures in receiving treatment, while the control groups did not receive any treatment. Initially, all groups participated in pre-tests. The students in the experimental groups were exposed to the treatments for eight sessions, which included the teaching of word lists selected from the students’ books using computers. These words were taught to the experimental groups using ‘Vocaboly’, while the control groups were taught using the traditional method of vocabulary teaching. Finally, all groups participated in post-tests. The comparison of the mean scores using a t-test indicated that the experimental groups outperformed the control groups on post-tests. Keywords: CALL, multimedia, CAVI, vocabulary learning, learner autonomy.

Experiences in early childhood have a great influence on a child's physical and mental development. Early childhood interventions are widely accepted as an effective way to prevent learning difficulties and to promote healthy development for children with special needs. For this reason, it is important for teachers who will work with children with special needs or children who are at risk to have sufficient knowledge about early childhood intervention and be competent in this area. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the views of preservice special education teachers about early childhood intervention. This study used quantitative research method and a questionnaire form was used to collect the data. The results are discussed in detail with reference to relevant literature. Implications and recommendations for further research are also provided in order to improve the quality of education policies, programs and practices related with early childhood intervention and increase awareness and knowledge related with early childhood interventions among teacher candidates. Keywords: Early childhood, early intervention, preservice special education teachers, views.

Introduction and theme actuality: this study is part of a larger work, which involves increasing sporting performance by applying mental training techniques, special techniques of neurolinguistic programming (NLP). Purpose of study and hypothesis: if ideomotor representations of athletes are completed with multiple sensations of all sensory sub-modalities such as visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory and gustatory, the possibility of applying the techniques of NLP will have more effective results. We have studied the relationship between sensory sub-modalities, in accordance with the Bandler and Thomson (2012) and application of Jacobson (2011). Methods and material: two records were made by using two tests, test 1 and test 2, on master students of the ‘Babes-Bolyai’ University Cluj-Napoca, from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport. The statistical indicators were calculated on elements of descriptive statistics and the data are presented using indicators of centrality, location and distribution. Statistical analysis of the non-parametric Wilcoxon test was used for sample pairs. Discussions and findings: to pinpoint the correlation between the two variables, we used the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ). Statistical analysis was performed using the correlation coefficients of Colton’s rule. No statistically significant differences were found (p > 0.05) in the statistical analysis because of the short timeframe, but there are many good and very good correlations at both tests, between the values of the items studied. Conclusions and recommendations: we want to continue with this study because the time difference between T1 and T2 was 3 months and we want to extend this study to a minimum of 6 months. All sensory sub-modalities are particularly important in achieving ideomotor representations underlying mental training. Keywords: Idiomatic representation, neurolinguistic programming, sensations, sensitive sub-modality, mental training.

This article deals with the problem of increasing the efficiency in motor learning with the help of video analysis. The text approaches the system providing a feedback in the process of downhill skiing skills acquisition. The platform influencing the movement notion introduces innovative means of the acquisition of essential downhill skiing skills in ski courses organised by the University of Hradec Kralove, the Department of Physical Education (PE) and Sport. This article is focused on the selected results of the survey realised by an enquiring method, which was aimed to find out opinions on a monitored platform among 131 students specialising in PE and sport in 2010–2015. The research results indicate that the use of video analysis in providing feedback has a positive effect on the process of downhill skiing skills acquisition. Positive opinions of the majority of respondents showed that the use of video analysis combined with verbal correction is an effective support within the downhill skiing practice. It is an efficient platform accelerating results in learning downhill skiing technique. However, conclusions also point to some negative aspects that can accompany the use of video analysis in the field of psychology of learning, e.g., feeling of demotivation after the video analysis. Keywords: Downhill skiing, video analysis, motor learning.

Bu araştırmanın amacı liderlik tiplerinin öğretmenlerdeki örgütsel sessizlik üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Araştırma ilişkisel tarama desenindedir. Araştırmanın evrenini İstanbul ilindeki liseler ve ortaokullarda çalışan öğretmenler oluşturmaktadır. Örneklem ise Yeni Koronavirüs Hastalığı (COVID-19) salgını sebebiyle kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilmiş, toplamda 401 öğretmene ulaşılmıştır. Verilerin toplanmasında Okul Müdürleri Liderlik Stili Ölçeği ve Öğretmenler İçin Örgütsel Sessizlik ölçekleri kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucunda okul yöneticilerinin liderlik tiplerinin, öğretmenlerde örgütsel sessizlik davranışını anlamlı şekilde yordadığı görülmüştür. Bu çalışma ile okul yöneticilerinin örgütsel sessizlik konusundaki farkındalıklarını artırarak okul içinde katılım odaklı etkileşimi teşvik eden yönetim modellerini içeren eğitim programları önerilmektedir.

Many studies indicate that a physical fitness characteristic is an important marker for healthy body and healthy mind. The major purpose of this study is to explore the levels of physical fitness of the students between 11 and 13 years of age. The participants of this study are 251 volunteer students including 95 boys and 156 girls between the ages 11 and 13 who participated at physical education lessons two times a week. The students were assessed for six anthropometric characteristics and five physical tests. Mean, standard deviation, and multiple comparisons were used for statistical analyses to find out differences between sexes with ANOVA, and Bonferoni Tests for differences between ages. Anthropometric measurements were reported as body mass index, height, weight, arm span, waist and hip and physical fitness traits such as agility, balance and strength. The findings suggest some differences between female and male students and between ages; male participants obtained higher results as means compared to female participants. Keywords: anthropometrics, agility, balances, strength, students

This paper disseminates some results of an international research on the social risk manifestations published in eight periodicals in Rio de Janeiro from July 2013 to December 2014. A sample of the research coincides with the population: 541 news, which constitutes 1255 analytical units. The methodology consisted of a content analysis of the news, using the Software Atlas. The quantitative results were presented from each one of the emerging categories. The results of the qualitative study were obtained by analysis of the most frequent categories of the social risks found. The press has been taken as the setting for the study for considering it as an important tool for analysis and discussion of the issue of social risk. The analysis of the news designed educational campaigns for prevention of social risk, targeting both the general public as well as the educational institution in charge of nurturing future Brazilian teachers, as they will be responsible for the education of newer generations in the prevention of social risk. Keywords: Social risk, prevention, public policies, teacher education, content analysis

In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, subject teachers of English medium in government schools are recruited from overseas and have a wide range of years of teaching experience. Research is divided into whether or not years of experience necessarily translates into a positive correlation with student-centred classroom practice such as the use of hands-on learning and inquiry-based approaches to learning in science. Abu Dhabi is in the process of dramatically overturning its education system, resulting in at times challenging teaching environments. Teachers working here are in the unique situation of being part of a rapidly developing education system and face similar challenges regardless of their years of experiences. This study surveys 249 expatriate English medium teachers to explore how their number of years of experience varies with their classroom practice, teaching beliefs and confidence levels. Although teachers with more experience were far more likely to express confidence in their own abilities (self-efficacies), we found the classroom practices of those between five and ten years of experience aligned most closely with inquiry-based, student-centred learning approaches applied in Abu Dhabi classrooms. Keywords: Years’ teaching experience, classroom practice, reform.

To explore the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the field of teacher teaching evaluation, the machine learning algorithm is proposed to construct a teaching evaluation model, which is suitable for the current educational model, and can help colleges and universities to improve the existing problems in teaching. Firstly, the existing problems in the current teaching evaluation system are put forward and a novel teaching evaluation model is designed. Then, the relevant theories and techniques required to build the model are introduced. Finally, the experiment methods and process are carried out to find out the appropriate machine learning algorithm and optimize the obtained weighted naive Bayes (WNB) algorithm, which is compared with traditional naive Bayes (NB) algorithm and back propagation (BP) algorithm. The results reveal that compared with NB algorithm, the average classification accuracy of WNB algorithm is 0.817, while that of NB algorithm is 0.751. Compared with BP algorithm, WNB algorithm has a classification accuracy of 0.800, while that of BP algorithm is 0.680. Therefore, it is proved that WNB algorithm has favorable effect in teaching evaluation model.

Background In recent years, makerspaces have become increasingly common venues of STEM education and are rapidly being incorporated into undergraduate programs. These spaces give students and instructors access to advanced design technology and facilitate the incorporation of a wide variety of projects into the curriculum; however, their impacts on students are not yet fully understood. Using matched survey responses (i.e., repeated measures) from undergraduate students enrolled in engineering courses that assigned a makerspace-based project, we evaluate how the use of a university makerspace impacts students’ attitudes towards design, engineering, and technology. Further, we examine whether there are differences based on students’ year in program, gender, and race. Results Paired t-tests were used to analyze whether and how nine factors changed within individual students over one semester. Analyses revealed that students who visited the facility showed significant gains in measures of innovation orientation, design self-efficacy, innovation self-efficacy, technology self-efficacy, belonging to the makerspace, and belonging to the engineering community. Subsequently, repeated measures analyses of variance (RMANOVAs) on the students who visited the makerspace revealed significant main effects of students’ year in program, gender, and race, as well as interactional effects of both year in program and race with time. Conclusions These results affirm the value of incorporating makerspace-based projects into STEM curricula, especially during early coursework. However, our analyses revealed consistent gender gaps in measures of self-efficacy before and after using the makerspace. Similarly, gains in belonging to the makerspace were not equal across racial groups. We conclude that while makerspaces are fulfilling some of their promise for educating innovative problem solvers, more attention needs to be paid to avoid reproducing disparities in STEM education that are already experienced by female students and racial minorities.

College students majoring in sports form the talent base for sports science. Their scientific research and innovation (SRI) ability directly bears on the level of sports science in future. In this paper, a questionnaire survey on the status quo of SRI ability cultivation for sports majors is carried out among postgraduate students and some teachers of sports department in five colleges of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. The survey paints a grim picture on the SRI ability of sports majors: the students are relatively weak in SRI ability; the teachers have an average SRI ability, and pay insufficient efforts in instructing or cultivating the students’ SRI ability; the schools fail to pay enough attention to SRI ability cultivation of sports majors, not to mention creating favorable SRI conditions or environment for them. To solve these problems, the cultivation strategies for SRI ability of sports majors were designed in six aspects, namely, interest development, faculty building, and infrastructure construction. The research results provide new theoretical evidence to SRI ability cultivation of sports majors, and an important reference for promoting their SRI ability.

Background Inquiry-based learning is widely applied in science education; however, so far, the outcomes of learning process have been systematically assessed mainly at the secondary school level. For primary school students, there is no valid instrument for assessing the outcomes of their science inquiry. The aim of the current study was to develop a test for assessing science learning outcomes (analytical skills, planning skills, interpretation skills, and science knowledge) related to the five phases of inquiry-based learning (Orientation, Conceptualization, Investigation, Conclusion, and Discussion) at primary education level (ISCED 1). Results A set of contextualized science tasks was created to assess each of the learning outcomes at three levels. The Science Inquiry Test for Primary Education (SIT-PE test) was developed through several phases, including pilot studies with large groups of fourth-grade students (10 to 11 years of age). The 1 PL Item Response Theory model was used to analyze the quality of the test and items based on the test’s reliability score, item difficulty measure, infit and outfit indices, estimation of item discrimination, item-scale correlation, and the quality of the scoring key. The final test, consisting of 24 items, was used with a sample of 1868 students. The analysis showed the SIT-PE test to be of good quality on test level and item level and to also have good predictive validity. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the correlated factors model and second-order factor model of the science learning outcomes both had a good fit to data collected with the SIT-PE test. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the multidimensionality of science learning outcomes and validated four dimensions of the model: analytical skills, planning skills, interpretation skills, and science knowledge. Conclusions In conclusion, the SIT-PE test could be further used for assessing students’ inquiry competence in primary education. However, it could be even further improved in several ways and this study provides guidelines on how to do that. In addition, the SIT-PE provides test developers with information on how to design derivations of the SIT-PE test for assessing particular science inquiry outcomes or the same outcomes in older age groups as well.

Recent years have seen a growing interest in augmented reality (AR) technologies due to their potential for simulating real-life situations and creating authentic learning tasks. Studies have shown that AR enables engaging and interactive learning experiences (e.g. Bressler and Bodzin 2013; Klopfer and Sheldon 2010) and can benefit student learning (e.g. Bonner and Reinders 2018; Siegle 2019). However, although research in AR for education is not scarce, educators often do not have a learning experience design (LXD) approach that is supported by the recent findings of learning sciences and instructional design models. To bridge this gap, the present study introduces an AR-learning prototype developed by using SAM I (Successive Approximation Model I), and the Threshold Concepts Framework, employed for meaningful integration of AR into the learning process. A pre-survey and a post-survey method were utilised in the data gathering process to gauge students’ experience with the AR module. The findings show that the majority of students have not had educational experiences with AR prior to the study, and they struggled to find ways to incorporate this technology into their content areas in a meaningful way. Nonetheless, participants realised the value of AR and stated that they most likely would use this technology in the future. Based on the findings, the authors present a set of suggestions for instructors and LXDs, and provide recommendations for future research. This article is part of the special collection: Mobile Mixed Reality Enhanced Learning edited by Thom Cochrane, James Birt, Helen Farley, Vickel Narayan and Fiona Smart. More papers from this collection can be found here.

The influence of artificial intelligence technology on teaching design is explored to improve teaching efficiency. First, artificial intelligence is introduced and its impacts on teaching design are analyzed. Second, the connotation of the paradigm of teaching design and the paradigm shift for teaching design are explored using the paradigm shift analysis framework. Finally, the changes in teaching design under artificial intelligence are analyzed, and the impacts of artificial intelligence on teaching activities are investigated. The results show that the application of artificial intelligence technology has led to different levels of change in the six elements of teaching design, including teaching objectives, service objects (teachers and students), teaching content, teaching media, teaching environment, and teaching evaluation. The connotation and paradigm shift of the teaching design are introduced from the four elements based on the artificial intelligence technology. It is found that artificial intelligence technology can enhance the learning ability and cognitive ability of students to a certain extent while improving the teaching efficiency and learning efficiency. The investigation proves that the teaching design based on artificial intelligence technology can be applied to teaching activities, thereby improving the learning efficiency of students and the teaching efficiency of teachers.

Indexado en Scopus Virtual Reality (VR) is often used to describe a 3D environment wherein objects and images of the real world are simulated through technology. In architectural or civil engineering, the design process with 2D planes could lead to error owing to misinterpretation in the visualization of elements. The civil engineering program of a university in Lima, Peru, mandates the teaching of the building information modeling (BIM) methodology in all the courses, thereby allowing the students to learn about the organization and optimization of projects from the design phase to construction phase. The engineering students are required to manage many variables with the BIM methodology, especially in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Nevertheless, the teaching method of BIM could be enriched by analyzing 3D project models using VR. Whereas BIM organizes and optimizes a project through a 3D model, VR can introduce the user to a model that is very close to the reality, thereby improving the interpretation and analysis of the details. This study contributes to the implementation of a plumbing engineering course under a civil engineering program. The proposed methodology was applied in an experimental group of undergraduate students, and the test results obtained were compared with those of a control group that had used a traditional approach. The results of this study show that students, by using the VR–BIM method proposed, can successfully visualize the accessories and recognize a satisfactory design in a creative and innovative manner. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Revisión por pares

This study aims to investigate the relationship between adolescents’ future expectations and their adaptation to school. Another aim is to examine adolescents’ future expectations and adaptation to school according to the following three variables: gender, school type, and reason for high school preference. In terms of participants, 651 students in three secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia region participated voluntarily. Data were collected using Adolescent Future Expectations Scale, School Adjustment Scale, and personal information forms. A “comparative and correlational research” method was used in the study. Spearman Rank Differences correlation analysis and Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests analyzed the data. As a result of the research, a low level statistically significant positive correlation was found between all sub-dimensions of adolescents’ future expectations (work and education, marriage and family, religion and society, health and life) and school adaptation. Adolescents’ future expectations and adaptation to school differed significantly according to gender and reason for high school preference. Additionally, the adolescents’ future expectations differed according to the type of school.

In order to build strategies for addressing the theme of death, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we proposed to analyze how the meanings of death are portrayed in children's literature. To this end, two children's books were selected: Forever in my heart, by Ziraldo (2002) and Menina Nina: two reasons for not crying, by Mauricio de Sousa and Paula Furtado (2019). In the article we present bibliotherapy; the meanings of death in different contexts and we bring examples from books. Based on some theoretical-methodological discussions of linguistics and Discourse Analysis, we performed a description of the works, focusing on verbal and non-verbal aspects. We found that the selected books can help explain the multiple ways of understanding death, thus, they can help parents to talk to their children and teachers to develop didactic strategies, following BNCC guidelines for Early Childhood Education and early years of Elementary School.

Based on cloud computing theory and service-oriented architecture (SOA) design pattern, a smart education management platform is designed by using cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology. The platform is deployed in the server cluster environment, with Hadpoop managed storage cluster as the data storage center. For the education management, education portal and remote classroom, the corresponding services are launched, which has the advantages of intelligent and efficient, massive data access and intelligent collaborative management. The test results show that the platform can be used normally in the ports of computer, mobile phone and tablet computer, and can successfully complete the basic operations such as user registration and login, educational administration, and content storage. The results of database stress test show that the total time consumption of sequential read, sequential write, random read and random write is 752s, 312s, 968s and 211s, respectively when millions of simulated data are inserted into the database, which indicates that the database can support large-scale data access. The stress test results of content storage service show that when the number of clients is adjusted to 500, 1000 and 3000, the output quantity of each read-write interface can be maintained at about 3500 pages/min in 60s, indicating that the system can still run stably under the condition of high concurrency. The management platform discussed has practical significance to promote the development of intelligent and information-based education management.

To improve the evaluation accuracy of educational applications (APPs), the evaluation methods of educational APPs under artificial intelligence (AI) technology are explored. First, based on the principles of establishing evaluation indexes, the evaluation indexes for educational APPs are established. Second, an index evaluation system for educational APPs is constructed, and weights are assigned to the established evaluation indexes of educational APPs with the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Finally, the availability and effectiveness of the established evaluation system are investigated through empirical analysis. The results show: Five first-level indexes and 20 second-level indexes have been established through the existing index establishment principles, and a framework for intelligent evaluation of educational APPs has been successfully constructed; AHP is utilized to calculate the weight of each index; among the first-level indexes, the weight ratios of the educational and scientific indexes of the educational APPs are larger, whose proportion exceeds 60%; among the second-level indexes, the educational objective, educational principle, and knowledge systematization account for the highest proportion; therefore, the intelligent evaluation system of education APPs is obtained; finally, the empirical analysis has revealed that the score given by the intelligent evaluation system and the actual score of users have a high consistency, which proves that the proposed intelligent evaluation system is feasible and effective. The proposed intelligent evaluation system can be used as the basis for the design of educational APPs to improve the values of educational APPs.

BackgroundIn the rapidly changing industrial environment and job market, engineering profession requires a vast body of skills, one of them being decision making under uncertainty. Knowing that misunderstanding of probability concepts can lead to wrong decisions, the main objective of this study is to investigate the presence of probability misconceptions among undergraduate students of electrical engineering. Five misconceptions were investigated:insensitivity to sample size,base rate neglected,misconception of chance,illusory correlation, andbiases in the evaluation of conjunctive and disjunctive events.The study was conducted with 587 students who attended bachelor schools of electrical engineering at two universities in Serbia. The presence of misconceptions was tested using multiple-choice tasks. This study also introduces a novel perspective, which is reflected in examination of the correlation between students’ explanations of given answers and their test scores.ResultsThe results of this study show that electrical engineering students are, susceptible to misconceptions in probability reasoning. Although future engineers from the sample population were most successful in avoiding misconceptions of chance, only 35% of examinees were able to provide a meaningful explanation. Analysis of students’ explanations, revealed that in many cases majority of students were prone to common misconceptions. Among the sample population, significant percentage of students were unable to justify their own answers even when they selected the correct option. The results also indicate that formal education in probability and statistics did not significantly influence the test score.ConclusionsResults of the present study indicate a need for further development of students’ deep understanding of probability concepts, as well as the need for the development of competencies that enable students to validate their answers. The study emphasizes the importance of answer explanations, since they allow us to discover whether students who mark the correct answer have some misconceptions or may be prone to some other kind of error. We found that the examinees who failed to explain their choices had much lower test scores than those who provided some explanation.

In recent times Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is picking up its force quicker than at any other time. Distinguishing autism characteristics through screening tests is over the top expensive and tedious. Screening of the same is a challenging task, and classification must be conducted with great care. Machine Learning (ML) can perform great in the classification of this problem. Most researchers have utilized the ML strategy to characterize patients and typical controls, among which support vector machines (SVM) are broadly utilized. Even though several studies have been done utilizing various methods, these investigations didn't give any complete decision about anticipating autism qualities regarding distinctive age groups. Accordingly, this paper plans to locate the best technique for ASD classi-fication out of SVM, K-nearest neighbor (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Naïve Bayes (NB), Stochastic gradient descent (SGD), Adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), and CN2 Rule Induction using 4 ASD datasets taken from UCI ML repository. The classification accuracy (CA) we acquired after experimentation is as follows: in the case of the adult dataset SGD gives 99.7%, in the adolescent dataset RF gives 97.2%, in the child dataset SGD gives 99.6%, in the toddler dataset Ada-Boost gives 99.8%. Autism spectrum quotients (AQs) varied among several sce-narios for toddlers, adults, adolescents, and children that include positive predic-tive value for the scaling purpose. AQ questions referred to topics about attention to detail, attention switching, communication, imagination, and social skills.

The article deals with the development of structural components of environmental consciousness for the formation of an individual’s civic identity.The psychodiagnostic research was conducted using the data collected from the first- to fourth-year students.In total, 130 students from various fields of study participated in this study, including students in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Technology departments.The study was carried out using the techniques developed by the authors and the technique by S.D.Deryabo and V.A.Yasvin ‘EZOP’.To check the relationship between the ecological attitude and the civic identity of the individual, we used mathematical methods.We hypothesized that the civic identity, which reflects the affiliation of an individual to the civil society of a particular state, has a complex multi-component structure and includes the structural components of the ecological consciousness; therefore, by promoting the development of the structural components of the ecological consciousness, we can contribute to the formation of the civic identity as well.Based on the obtained results, we conclude that the ecological consciousness and its structural components (in particular, the ecological attitude) are closely related to the civic identity of the individual.We show that developing environmental attitudes in students has a positive impact on the formation of their civic identity.This study concludes that there is a direct relationship between the development of environmental attitudes and such structural components of the civic identity as the attitude towards other, people, family, homeland, and nature.

Numerous review studies were conducted in the past to understand the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in m-learning context by examining several issues. Although each of those studies provided a valuable synthesis of TAM, further issues are still uncovered and call for further research. Therefore, this research aims to systematically review the existing TAM-based m-learning studies through the analysis of various issues, including the factors affecting the m-learning adoption, research methods, TAM progress over publication years, online databases, active countries, and sample size. Out of 458 articles collected, a total of 64 studies published between 2017 and 2020 were critically analyzed. The main results indicated that self-efficacy is the most frequent factor affecting the m-learning adoption, followed by subjective norm, enjoyment, mobile anxiety, facilitating conditions, social influence, innovativeness, and satisfaction, respectively. Additionally, most of the analyzed studies have relied on questionnaire surveys in collecting their empirical data. Although it was developed in 1989, the results showed that the number of TAM-based m-learning studies is increasing year by year, which in turn, increases the credibility of the model in explaining the users’ intentions towards technology adoption. We have also discussed the contributions of this systematic review and the implications that it could yield for future attempts.

To improve the education efficiency of the students, the student-centered education plan is explored. First, the Apriori algorithm of association rules is used to mine the potential related patterns in the score data of college students and establish a reasonable teaching method. Second, aided by the decision tree model, the factors affecting students' academic performance are studied, and the potential relationship between different courses is studied. Finally, the Apriori algorithm of association rules combined with decision tree model is used to generate the early warning mechanism of students' achievement, and the course performance of college students is empirically analyzed. The results show that: C language has two sides of dependence on many subjects; higher mathematics → linear algebra → mathematical statistics → computer composition principle → computer network. The teaching scheme of C language → C + + → Java more conforms to the learning mechanism of college students. Through empirical analysis, the early warning mechanism of association rule Apriori algorithm and decision tree model can effectively analyze student's course and give student's achievement. It is found that the method proposed can provide theoretical basis for students, teachers, and university administrators to carry out education reform and education management decision-making, improve students' performance and education quality, and realize the "student-oriented" education concept, so it can be applied to the actual education management.

The article examines the developers of courses on Ukrainian platforms of mass open online courses Prometheus, EdEra, Open University of Maidan, their quantitative analysis in various thematic areas. It is noted that education remains the main way to acquire new knowledge and form the necessary competencies. The main advantages of open educational resources, their classification, the reasons for the growing popularity in modern society are highlighted. It was found that mass open online courses are a logical continuation of distance learning courses, have their differences and features. However, some problematic issues related to the promotion of mass open online courses that need to be addressed are considered. An analysis of the number of online courses on Ukrainian-language platforms and their thematic areas. As of March 2020, there are 235 online courses on all considered platforms. The same topics for all platforms were law, training, education, media, economics, health. It was found that the most active developers of online courses on the platform of the Open University of Maidan were public and charitable organizations. Educational online platforms and international organizations are most actively involved in the creation of online courses on the EdEra resource. On the Prometheus platform, the largest number of courses was created at the initiative of international organizations, institutions of higher and secondary education

A presença de pessoas com deficiência intelectual em uma família pode modificar o funcionamento e relações familiares. Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar as evidências iniciais de validade de estrutura interna e convergência da versão brasileira da Family APGAR Scale, a fim de avaliar a percepção da funcionalidade familiar em familiares de pessoas com deficiência intelectual, usuárias de serviços da Assistência Social. Participaram deste estudo 185 familiares de pessoas com deficiência, usuárias de um serviço de uma entidade não governamental de atendimentos a pessoas com deficiência em uma capital do sudeste brasileiro. Os resultados a partir de procedimentos fatoriais exploratórios demonstraram a estrutura interna unidimensional da medida adaptada, composta por cinco itens, tendo bons indicadores de precisão do tipo coeficiente de Alpha (α = 0,96) e Ômega (ω=0,96). Também foram observadas evidências de validade convergente entre a medida adaptada neste estudo e a Escala Total de Apoio Social do Medical Outcomes Study (MOS). Com isso, os resultados indicam que a versão brasileira adaptada da medida apresentou propriedades psicométricas adequadas e pode ser utilizada neste contexto e população.