Cross-Validation in Singapore of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory

1995 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 907-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela F. L. Wong ◽  
Barry J. Fraser

This paper reports the cross-validation in Singapore of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory, which assesses students' perceptions of psychosocial aspects of their science laboratory classroom environments. The sample consisted of 1,592 final year secondary school, i.e., Grade 10, chemistry students from 56 intact classes from 28 randomly selected coeducational government secondary schools in Singapore. This instrument, which has separate forms measuring students' perceptions of the actual and ideal (preferred) learning environment, comprises five scales: Student Cohesiveness, Open-endedness, Integration, Rule Clarity, and Material Environment. The study provided cross-validation support for use in Singapore in either its actual or preferred form and with either the individual student or the class mean as the unit of analysis. Each scale exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, factorial validity, predictive validity, and ability to differentiate among classes.

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110591
Author(s):  
Cosme Jesús Gómez-Carrasco ◽  
Jairo Rodríguez-Medina ◽  
Álvaro Chaparro-Sainz ◽  
José Monteagudo-Fernández

The objective of this study is to analyze the teaching approaches of trainee history teachers in Spain. A non-experimental quantitative design was employed with data being gathered via a questionnaire with a Likert-type scale (1–5). Six hundred forty-six students of master’s degrees in geography and history teacher training from 22 different universities took part in the study, of whom 358 were men (55.41%) and 280 women (43.34%). The analytical process was performed in four phases. In the first of them, the reliability of the measures was estimated (internal consistency, reliability of the individual indicators, and reliability of the construct). In the second phase, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out on the matrix of polychoric correlations between the items. In the third phase, evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was analyzed by way of a confirmatory factor analysis. In the fourth phase, a hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out in order to verify the presence of possible groups and, finally, to ascertain the differences between groups by way of an inferential analysis (ANOVA and Student’s t). No significant differences were detected in the scoring groups within the Conceptual Change/Student-Focused approach (CCSF subscale) according to the sex of the participants. However, there were significant differences in the Information Transmission Teacher-Focused approach (ITT subscale). A cluster analysis reveals significant differences with regard to the sex of future secondary education history teachers in Spain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-706
Author(s):  
Sarah Anthony ◽  
Sadia Saleem ◽  
Sara Subhan ◽  
Zahid Mahmood

The current mental toughness is multidimensional construct that help the individual to show persistent strength and preservation during the high competitive situations. The university life is the most vulnerable and pressured time for the university students. The aim of the current study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Mental Toughness Scale (MTS) in university students. A total of 306 participants (151 men and 155 women) with the age range of 18-25 (M = 20.66; SD = 1.36) were administered the Mental Toughness Scale, the Resilience Scale and the Student Problem Checklist. The results of the Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a three factor solution Sense of Personal Competence, Problem Solving Skills and Social Competence. Further, the MTS was found high internal consistency, reliability, construct and discriminant validity. The results pave the way for application of the Mental Toughness of University students of Pakistan and are discussed in light of cultural implications.


Author(s):  
Judith Foggett ◽  
Robert Conway ◽  
Kerry Dally

Abstract Student problem behaviour in schools is an issue for teachers, schools, and education jurisdictions. Problem behaviour also has an effect on families, the individual student, and the community. It is one of the principal issues of discussion for teachers, preservice teachers, principals, and policymakers. The purpose of this study was to examine a model that supports schools in managing available resources to promote positive behaviour and address problem behaviour. Interviews were conducted with 12 primary and high school principals to investigate their experiences of working together in 6 local management groups (LMGs) for the management of student behaviour. The findings revealed that the LMG model supported effective collaborative leadership practices between the high school and primary school principals and encouraged collegial networks among primary and high school teachers through joint professional learning opportunities. The benefits of the LMG model highlighted some positive outcomes for principals, teachers, and students with problem behaviour within their local schools.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-113
Author(s):  
Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka

The tradition of school sports facilities has its roots in ancient civilizations, primarily in ancient Greece. The preserved ruins of gymnasiums at Delphi, Olympia, Millet, Priene, Dedina, Pergamon, Ephesus or Thermessos, document well that sports facilities were a major part of the education system. They served not only for students and sports training but were opened to the public, used for social gatherings, political meetings and disputes. Contemporary school sports facilities derived from the 19th-century concept of the school’s educational program. It also included the indoor and outdoor physical education classes and facilities used for ‘body-building exercises’ - as it was named. In Poland, according to the current basic curriculum of the Ministry of National Education, the goal of physical education is to shape the long life habit of physical activity. The school activities should develop the appropriate interests and attitudes of students. Therefore, school activities should meet the needs, interests and abilities of the individual student as fully as possible. The present regulations of the Ministry of Education demand, that such classes should take place in a well-equipped sports hall or on a school playground.


1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Moojan Momen

As the Bahá’í Faith emerges from obscurity, Bahá’í scholars will have an important role in three fields: the presentation of Bahá’í Faith to the world; the defense of the Bahá’í Faith from attacks; and the intellectual growth and development of the Bahá’í community. This paper discusses the question of the place of scholarship in the Bahá’í community. The value of Bahá’í studies to the Bahá’í community is analyzed. The problems that may arise for Bahá’í scholars in relation to their own spiritual life and also in relation to the Bahá’í community are discussed. Some suggestions are then made with regard to the question of what academic approaches are most likely to be fruitful in the study of the Bahá’í Faith. Finally, consideration is given to the mutual obligations of the Bahá’í scholar and the Bahá’í community (in particular, the Bahá’í administrative institutions). Every Bahá’í who surveys the vast range of doctrines and concepts enshrined in the holy writings of the Bahá’í Faith or whose imagination is captured by the intensity of its brief history must, to some extent, be inspired to make a more thorough study of some aspect that interests him or her. To some is given the good fortune to have both the opportunity and inclination to put this study on a more formal basis. Whether this be at an institute of learning or through private study and research, there are many areas of the teachings and history of the Bahá’í Faith that invite painstaking research and thoughtful analysis. Such study is of great benefit to the Bahá’í community as a whole, quite apart from the immense satisfaction that it can bring to the individual student. There are also dangers in such study, particularly for the individual concerned, and often the extent of this danger is not appreciated by someone just setting out on such a course of study.


Author(s):  
Yasin Görmez ◽  
◽  
Yunus E. Işık ◽  
Mustafa Temiz ◽  
Zafer Aydın

Sentiment analysis is the process of determining the attitude or the emotional state of a text automatically. Many algorithms are proposed for this task including ensemble methods, which have the potential to decrease error rates of the individual base learners considerably. In many machine learning tasks and especially in sentiment analysis, extracting informative features is as important as developing sophisticated classifiers. In this study, a stacked ensemble method is proposed for sentiment analysis, which systematically combines six feature extraction methods and three classifiers. The proposed method obtains cross-validation accuracies of 89.6%, 90.7% and 67.2% on large movie, Turkish movie and SemEval-2017 datasets, respectively, outperforming the other classifiers. The accuracy improvements are shown to be statistically significant at the 99% confidence level by performing a Z-test.


Author(s):  
Nana Esi Quagraine ◽  
Cai Li ◽  
Isaac Ahakwa ◽  
Nana Aba Quagraine

This paper explored the link between dynamic capabilities, innovation capabilities, and competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Ghana, considering a mediation interaction. Data were obtained from two hundred and fifty (250) employees from selected telecommunication companies in the Accra metropolis through simple random probability sampling. However, two hundred and forty-two (242) responses were deemed accurate and used in the analysis. Partial Least Squares (PLS) based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed in the analysis. From the findings, this study’s data met internal consistency reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity. Dynamic capabilities had a positive and significant impact on innovation capability and competitive advantage. Also, dynamic capabilities through innovation capability positively impacted competitive advantage and were statistically significant. Based on the findings, it’s recommended that organizations and managers consider both exploitation and exploration competencies in product development as both competencies influence various aspects of an organization’s competitive advantage, as this will help ensure organizations’ sustainable performance and thus remain competitive.


Author(s):  
Mireilla Bikanga Ada

AbstractThis paper reports an evaluation of a mobile web application, “MyFeedBack”, that can deliver both feedback and marks on assignments to students from their lecturer. It enables them to use any device anywhere, any time to check on, and receive their feedback. It keeps the feedback private to the individual student. It enables and successfully fosters dialogue about the feedback between the students and the educator. Feedback and marks were already being delivered using the institution’s learning environment/management system “Moodle”. The study used a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach. Two hundred thirty-nine (239) participants were reported on their experiences of receiving feedback and divided among several groups: (a) feedback delivered in “Moodle”, (b) formative feedback in “MyFeedBack”, and (c) summative feedback in “MyFeedBack”. Overall, results showed a statistically significant more positive attitude towards “MyFeedBack” than “Moodle”, with the summative assessment subgroup being more positive than the formative subgroup. There was an unprecedented increase in communication and feedback dialogue between the lecturer and the students. Qualitative results enriched and complemented the findings. The paper provides guidelines for an enabling technology for assessment feedback. These offer insight into the extent to which any of the new apps and functionalities that have become available since this study might likely be favourably viewed by learners and help achieve the desired pedagogical outcomes. These include: (1) accessible using any device, making feedback accessible anywhere, anytime; (2) display feedback first (before the grade/mark); (3) enable personalisation of group feedback by the teacher; (4) provide privacy for each student; (5) facilitate dialogue and communication about the feedback; and (6) include a monitoring feature. Three goals already put forward in the literature—(1) making the feedback feel more personal, (2) getting a quicker turnround by making it easier for the teachers to achieve this, and (3) prompting more dialogue between the educators and students—are advanced by this study which shows how they can be supported by software, and that when they are achieved then users strongly approve them.


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