Humanization in Educational Environments; Aspects Necessary for Living in School Today

While it is true, quality has always been measured through statistics and percentages, often forgetting the training of the whole person.Now, when we talk about issues such as humanism and education supported by technology, we can fall into extremes: it is common to label technology as the provider of all the evils of today’s civilization; or the opposite assumption; to argue that incorporating technologies into education would be the panacea for all the problems it faces and finally, to assume that the subject of the humanities is more typical of actions and attitudes of the past than as a current need, giving vitality to any educational process. However, and fortunately for the educational community, today there are global efforts to make the educational task a human action that minimizes inequities and the abysmal differences that exist in countries like ours. Fernando Reimers says: “Equal educational opportunities must be the priority objective of educational policies, the aim of education must be to contribute to creating just societies. This requires improving the learning environments of the poor, but not only along the paths that have been started over the last decade. This aspect pointed out by Reimers is precisely the central aspect that all educational action must contemplate, the educational policies that are implemented in our country must guarantee, above all, the construction of a just and egalitarian society, strengthening the cultural wealth that we have, with respect to to the diversity of people, their past, their present and especially their future”.

A Psychodrama Intervention to Loneliness Due to COVID-19

Loneliness as a psychological state is affective and cognitive discomfort or uneasiness from being or perceiving oneself to be alone or otherwise solitary. Since the beginning of the pandemic, people stayed at home, afraid of contracting COVID-19. As youths followed lectures via the internet for long hours without physical participation, they became more and more withdrawn and socially isolated. This study explores psychodrama as an intervention to reduce loneliness in university students. COVID-19 pandemic durations seemed to be caused loneliness for all people. The short-version of the ULCA loneliness scale was applied to 358 university students. 24 students were selected for the study based on their higher scores on the assessment. These students also accepted that COVID-19 negatively affected their loneliness state. The average age of participants was 21 years old, and no one was younger than 19 years old. Randomly they were divided into two groups as experimental and controlling with equal representation of number. The experimental group joined 15 weeks of psychodrama groups for 90 minutes each week. All sessions were held with via internet video platform meeting program. In psychodrama method of psychotherapy, clients enacted their concerns to achieve new insight about themselves and others. The psychodrama program started with introducing group participants and expression of why they are in the group to each other. The group was guided with an experienced group leader. With the techniques of psychodrama such as warmup, mirror, doubling, and role reversal, participants self-disclosed their current moods. K-square statistical analyses suggested that the group of university students who joined psychodrama overcame their loneliness. Education policy makers should bear in mind that today’s Covid-19 society suffers from psychological treatment deficits in the area of loneliness. Group action methods should be taken immediately. Group guidance, counseling, and drama in education and psychodrama can be useful for students to cope with problems resulting from of COVID-19. Youths truly need to share their suffering with professionals. Preventive guidance activities should be given importance in schools.

Practical Challenges to Teachers and Students in Asynchronous Cross-cultural Communication Projects

Teachers are expected to prepare their students for life in a world that changes daily, fueled by technological progress and globalisation (Howells, 2018). In this internationalized world, English has become the lingua franca for business, science and education (Tatsioka et al., 2018). Young professionals are expected to be proficient in English and able to easily communicate with colleagues from other countries. Achieving these objectives presents challenges for teachers and students. Practical approaches to incorporating authentic communication across cultures in the English language classroom are discussed in this paper. Over three years we authors implemented several projects using different didactic methods to bring students from Japan and Germany together to improve their proficiency in language as well as their cross-cultural communication skills. Students worked in small teams on joint tasks, in which the use of ICT (information and communication technologies) was crucial to successful outcome. Naturally, any careful advance planning was quickly met by the emergence of unforeseen problems that needed immediate attention from teachers and students. In this paper, we focus on challenges teachers and students may encounter when developing new strategies to include meaningful cross-cultural and intercultural exchanges in the tertiary ELF classroom, based on teacher and student experiences.

Teacher Burnout: A Case Study among EFL Instructors at the English Preparatory Schools at Universities in North Cyprus

The job of being an English language instructor is both demanding and challenging. Recently many researchers have been paying attention to determine teachers’ attitudes, burnouts, and self-efficacy towards the subject and to find a relationship between those psychological concepts and certain variables. However, there is not much research done in the field of English language teaching in North Cyprus, Turkey, and in the Middle East regarding EFL teacher burnout and self-efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the perceived levels of burnout among EFL Instructors at the English Preparatory Schools in Girne American University, Near East University and the European University of Lefke in North Cyprus using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Education Survey developed by Friedman. The study, in which 51 EFL instructors participated found that instructors experienced low levels of emotional exhaustion, low levels of depersonalization in relationships with students, colleagues, and others, and a high level of personal accomplishment in their work. An EFL instructor’s age, marital status, work experience, weekly teaching hours, job status, native or non-native status do not seem to influence instructors’ responses on each of the sub-scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. However, variables gender and the university they work to influence their responses related to emotional exhaustion, but they do not influence their responses related to depersonalization and personal accomplishment scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

A Study of a Multiple Evaluation System of College English Online Teaching in China

The comprehensive and scientific evaluation of college English teaching in online mode is an important basis for further promoting and optimizing the pragmatic reform of college English teaching. Based on the operational principle, the principle of service to students, and the feasibility principle, this study aims to construct a multiple evaluation system of online college English teaching based on three aspects: online interaction, online autonomous learning, and English online practice. A questionnaire has been conducted among undergraduates, teachers, and experts. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to analyze the relative importance of the indicators at the first two levels in the multiple evaluation system. The results revealed that the weight coefficients of teacher-student interaction, learning resources, and English listening practice are higher, while those of learning freedom and oral English practice are lower. Therefore, the online college English teaching reform should take the following measures: equipment input of college English practice teaching should be reinforced, communication channels between teachers and students should be strengthened, and online teaching resources should be enriched.

College Students’ Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Studies have shown increased levels of distress during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, and college students are becoming more recognized as a vulnerable population. This narrative systematic review aims to synthesize the current understanding of mental health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic impacts that the pandemic had on college students in the United States. A search was conducted on PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. A total of 34 observational studies were included which examined aspects of college students’ health and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. A great deal of students was shown to experience a moderate level of stress and subsyndromal depression and anxiety in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several risk and protective factors have been characterized. Students experienced various academic, financial, and housing disruptions. Studies have highlighted the need for institutional support to reduce the adverse psychological impact of the pandemic. There is a need for further large-scale research to assess the scope of COVID-19-related biopsychosocial impact, especially in vulnerable populations such as racial/ethnic and sexual/gender minorities.

Business School Student Deception: Tracking and Learning from Actual Behavior

Business educators’ mission is to help students develop knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills that will help them be successful once they graduate. This is certainly true of ethical issues, including the use of deception. This study reports on an assignment that can increase students’ awareness of their own capacity for deceptiveness, self-reflection on what this means for them and the greater business world, and awareness of the different types of deceptiveness that can and do occur. Data is provided from 239 undergraduate/graduate students at two universities on three campuses who completed a five-day deception measurement exercise. Students measured and categorized their deception behavior and reflected upon the results. Results suggest the objectives were met regardless of school location, method of classroom delivery, level of instruction, or whether the assignment was mandatory or not. The fact that this exercise has been used at multiple universities under almost every class modality suggests it can be successfully replicated at other universities for many courses.

The State of American Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Survey of American Public, Private, and Charter School Teachers

The purpose of the present study was to examine how teachers and students are adjusting to the new online platform, the frequency and significance of connectivity problems and how teachers believe their students’ education quality is. An electronic link to a Qualtrics survey was sent to participants and a snowball sampling procedure (Handcock & Gile, 2011) was used. The online survey was open for 4 weeks and a total of 165 teachers representing 22 states across the U.S. In general, a large percent of students across the country do not have stable or any internet services in their home. Furthermore, even for those that have internet access, connectivity issues caused problems for the entire class. New teachers in their first five years are less likely to offer alternatives when internet was not available and more likely changed their curriculum due to internet access issues.

Distance Learning in Greece during Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reaction of Greeks to this new educational reality due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Since the first restrictive measures were implemented in March 2020in Greece, distance learning has become a dynamic part of people’s daily lives with the prospect of remain in gas such in the future. A total of N=170 students, parents, teachers, civil servants, private sector employees who were involved in the distance learning process either as instructors or as students in the period of Covid-19 pandemic in Greece, were selected with the use of snowball sampling. A questionnaire using demographic and satisfaction related variables was completed by the respondents, namely citizens across Greece, based on a Likert scale questionnaire which is a useful and multidimensional instrument, to assess satisfaction within the time frame from July 7, 2020 to October 20, 2020; the period when there occurred a loosening in the restrictive measures between the two lockdowns in Greece. It was investigated how the demographic factors, specifically gender, age, occupation, and place of residence, influence the attitude of the respondents towards synchronous and asynchronous distance learning as well as their intention to continue using online education services in the future after the lifting of the restrictive measures. Additionally, the customers’ preferences concerning the most enjoyable distance learning experience were examined, so that they will be available to the distance learning program designers. Descriptive statistical analysis and non-parametric statistical hypothesis tests were conducted in SPSS and R. Most of the respondents had not participated in online courses before the Covid-19 outbreak, 46 % did participate in e-learning courses before the Covid-19 lockdown while 54 % did not and 34.1% respondents prefer face-to-face learning, while 15.9% prefer e-learning. Also, 50% respondents prefer a combination of face-to-face learning and e-learning. Hypothesis tests showed that there are statistically significant differences between users’ preferences as well as regarding their demographic characteristics. Undergraduate and postgraduate university students continue to participate in online learning courses and are willing to invest financial resources and time in this new educational process (?2(4)=10.440, p=0.034), unlike high school students who prefer face-to-face learning (p=0.042). The present study will lead to practical implications, such as the formation of e-learning programs which aim for the best user experience and the best learning outcomes. Also, private educational organizations can include the results in the key elements to implementing a strategic marketing mix.

Using LinkedIn to Teach Students How to Build Their Professional Network and Enhance their Personal Brand

The majority of hiring managers use social media to find, screen, and eliminate job applicants. Students need to understand the short- and long-term effects of what they post on line. Instructors need to teach students to actively promote and curate a positive image in an online environment. Personal branding focuses on portraying oneself, one’s competencies and experiences in a positive light. Since LinkedIn is the most used professional networking platform, it is essential that students not only create a profile but learn to include the essential information that employers are seeking. The author performed a literature review on personal branding, social networking and factors needed to have a successful LinkedIn profile. Based on these findings, a LinkedIn assignment was developed for students to help them build their personal brands and increase their visibility on the web. The author conducted a content analysis of over 150 student reflections on the LinkedIn assignment and found the top three benefits of the LinkedIn assignment to be: building a network, designing a great profile, and finding/receiving job and internship offers. This paper contributes to research by providing a specific assignment that any faculty can use to teach students how to brand themselves on LinkedIn.