Vol 19 No 7 July 2020

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Vol.19 No.7
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
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Vol. 19, No. 7 (July 2020)
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VOLUME 19 NUMBER 7 July 2020
Table of Contents
Perceptions of Foundation Phase Teachers on Principals as Literacy Leaders in Selected Primary Schools ............. 1
Bernadictus Plaatjies
The Challenges Faced by Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers during their Teaching Practice in the UAE:
Implications for Teacher Education Programs.................................................................................................................. 23
Adeeb M. Jarrah
Incorporating Academic Writing Phrases into EFL Students’ Research Proposals ..................................................... 35
Anselmus Sudirman, Adria Vitalya Gemilang and Hendrikus Male
Digital Literacy Development Trends in the Professional Environment ....................................................................... 55

Andriushchenko Kateryna, Rozhko Oleksandr, Tepliuk Mariia, Semenyshyna Iryna, Kartashov Evgen and Liezina
Anastasiia
The Extent to which Knowledge-based Economy Skills are Included in the Secondary Level Curriculum in Qatar
................................................................................................................................................................................................. 80
Mamduh Ashraah and Ahmad Yousef
Perceptions of Students towards the Postgraduate Biology Practical Demonstrators at Sefako Makgatho Health
Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa ..................................................................................................................... 101
Liziwe L. Mugivhisa, Caswell Mavimbela and Joshua O. Olowoyo
Enhancing Students’ Mental Models of Chemical Equilibrium Through Argumentation within Model-based
Learning ............................................................................................................................................................................... 121
Anupong Praisri and Chatree Faikhamta
Researching the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Student Life in Greece ................................................................. 143
Maria Kouroutsidou, Nikolaos Raptis and Konstantinos Karampelas
Game Framework Analysis and Cognitive Learning Theory Providing a Theoretical Foundation for Efficacy in
Learning in Educational Gaming ...................................................................................................................................... 159
Jason Stratton Davis
Teaching Vocational with Technology: A Study of Teaching Aids Applied in Malaysian Vocational
Classroom…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...176
Anesman B. W. Abdul Rahman, Mohd Azlan Mohammad Hussain and Rafeizah Mohd Zulkifli
Effect of Small Private Online Course (SPOC) on Students’ Achievement in Pre-University Chemistry............... 189
Husna Izzati Muhamad Shahbani, Salleh Abd Rashid, Muhamad Shahbani Abu Bakar, Jastini Mohd Jamil and Izwan Nizal
Mohd Shaharanee
Enhancing Higher-Order Thinking Skills among Home Science Students: The Effect of Cooperative Learning
Student Teams- Achievement Divisions (STAD) Module ............................................................................................. 204
Misra Takko, Rahimah Jamaluddin, Suhaida Abdul Kadir, Normala Ismail, Arnida Abdullah and Arasinah Khamis
The Effects of Children’s Friendship Training on Social Skills and Quality of Play among Children with Autism
Spectrum Disorder .............................................................................................................................................................. 225
Horng Shen Ellipse Goh, Samsilah Roslan, Ezza Mad Baguri, Sing Yee Ong and Siaw Yan Li
Impact of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Module Based on the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM)
on Student’s Performance .................................................................................................................................................. 246
Noorashikim Noor Ibrahim, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd Ayub and Aida Suraya Md. Yunus
The Impact of the Lack of ICT Resources on Teaching and Learning in Selected South African Primary Schools .....
............................................................................................................................................................................................... 263
Paul Nwati Munje and Thuthukile Jita
The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the Malaysian University English Test (MUET)
Performance among Technical Students .......................................................................................................................... 280
Nor Lailatul Azilah Hamdzah, Indra Devi Subramaniam, Nadiah Zainal Abidin and Ruslan Hassan
Blended Learning Approach to Mathematics Education Modules: An Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’

Perceptions........................................................................................................................................................................... 298
Ifunanya Julie Adaobi Ubah, Erica D. Spangenberg and Viren Ramdhany
Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model for teaching Market Dynamics..... 320
Ijeoma C. Ogbonnaya, Andile Mji, Olivia N. Mafa-Theledi and Beatrice Ngulube
1

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 1-22, July 2020
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.7.1
Perceptions of Foundation Phase Teachers on

Principals as Literacy Leaders in Selected
Primary Schools
Bernadictus Plaatjies*
Department of Education Management and Leadership
University of the Free State, South Africa
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7900-7843
Abstract. The bleak picture of South Africa’s poor learner performance in

international tests is perceived to be linked to ineffective literacy
leadership in primary schools. This paper therefore explores the
perceptions of foundation phase teachers on principals’ capacities as
literacy leaders. For this paper, literacy leadership is limited to two facets:
instruction and assessment. As such, the study explored teachers’
perceptions on principals as leaders in these two aspects. As custodians
of the literacy curriculum, teachers possess a wealth of knowledge on
instruction and assessment practices. It seems that this rich knowledge
and classroom experiences are sometimes untapped into or ignored,
which would seem strange and unfortunate. If utilised to the maximum,
teachers’ knowledge and expertise could contribute immensely to
improve literacy practices. This exploratory qualitative study employed
a multiple-case study design and was conducted with 35 teachers from
four schools in the Mangaung district of Bloemfontein’s Free State
Department of Education (FSDOE). The study sample was purposefully
selected and data were collected through open-ended questionnaires.
Thematic analysis was employed to make sense of the data, and the
findings disclose that teachers hold conflicting views regarding their
principals as literacy leaders. Although some noble leadership practices
were underscored, especially regarding internal moderation processes,
the general impression was that principals’ literacy leadership skills are
lacking. This study has highlighted the need for a greater focus on
subject-specific leadership in general, but more so for literacy specifically.
Keywords: instructional leadership; leadership; literacy; reading; writing
1. Introduction
Studies report that the significance of literacy skills (reading and writing) is
undisputed. Robust evidence demonstrates that rigorous literacy skills are
* Corresponding author: Bernadictus Plaatjies, Email: plaatjiesbo@ufs.ac.za
©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

2
required right from the beginning of school education, through to employment

and citizenship (Howie et al., 2017; Spaul, 2012; Gunning, 2014). Bryant and
Bradley (1985, cited in Pretorius, 2001) summarised the importance of reading and
writing abilities for learners. The authors opined that reading and writing are
crucial communicative competencies in the early years of learners. Therefore,
paying close attention to learners who experience literacy difficulties is thus vital,
as consequences appear to be dreadful. According to Gunning (2014, p. 9),
“[r]eading and writing problems, especially when they are severe, affect all aspects
of a student’s life.” To this end, the Department of Education and Training (2018,
p. 6) in Australia pointed out in a report that “todays’ students need a strong
foundation in literacy to be innovative, adaptable and responsive”.
Numerous definitions exist for literacy. For De Lange, Dippenaar and Anker
(2018), literacy includes the components of reading and viewing, thinking,
reasoning and writing. The focus in this paper will only be on reading and writing
as literacy components. According to the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP, 2019, p. 3), “reading is a dynamic, active and complex process
that involves the understanding of written text, developing and interpreting
meaning and using meaning as appropriate to the type of text, purpose and
situation.” Writing, on the other hand, is regarded by Durga and Rao (2018, p. 1)
as “an extremely complex cognitive activity in which the writer is required to
demonstrate control of variables simultaneously”. At the sentence level, these
include control of contents, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling and
letter formation. Beyond the sentence, the writer must be able to structure and
integrate information into cohesive and coherent paragraph and text. The problem
in South Africa, though, is that learner performance in literacy is substandard, as
confirmed by assessment data from local tests over the last decade. For example,
results of the Annual National Assessments in literacy, which are administrated
by the country’s Department of Basic Education (DBE), concretely demonstrate
this poor performance (Spaul, 2012).
South African learners’ performance in international tests paints an equally bleak

picture. In fact, data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
[PIRLS] of 2016 show that South African learners were placed last out of all 50
countries who participated in the PIRLS assessment (Howie et al., 2017). “Even
more alarming is the fact that South Africa may be six years behind the top
performing countries, and that around 78% of learners do not reach the
international benchmarks and therefore do not have basic reading skills by the end
of the gr.4 school year, in contrast to only 4% of learners internationally,” as Howie
et al. (2017, p. 11) explained. Besides, the country’s scores in both reading and
mathematics are lower than many much poorer countries in sub-Saharan Africa
(Spaul & Taylor, 2015, cited in Taylor & Hoadley, 2018). South African Minister of
Education, Ms. Angie Motshekga, confirmed the challenges associated with
literacy by stating that: “Our greatest challenge in this administration has been to
tackle the literacy outcomes highlighted in all international, regional and national
assessments” (Republic of South Africa [RSA]. DBE, 2013, p. 2).
It appears that school principals have limited capacity to provide direction with
teaching and learning. To this end, Hoadley (cited in Bush & Glover, 2009) and

3
Mestry (2017) claimed that many principals lack an extensive understanding of

their instructional leadership roles. Although considerable research has been done
to address the problems with literacy – especially with regard to classroom
practices – less is known on how to approach the challenges from a leadership
perspective. It appears that research is particularly scanty regarding principals’
knowledge of the literacy curriculum, instruction and assessment and how they
should provide support through instructional leadership to teachers.
This is particularly evident in the South African context, characterised as it is by

the stark realities of poverty and inequalities. Houck and Novak (2017, p. 30) stated
that “[v]ery little has been done to examine the specific knowledge that principals
require in terms of literacy leadership”. Plaatjies (2019, p. 137) contended that
“very little is known about how principals should influence literacy instruction
through Instructional leadership”. Similarly, Hoadley (2018) concurred that the
South African research base in this area is very small. These gaps in research are
considered against the appeal from scholars in the field of literacy leadership, such
as Townsend, Bayetto, Dempster, Johnson and Stevens (2018), who pointed out
that principals should play a far more prominent role as literacy instructional
leaders. Hence, an in-depth understanding of this role seems to be vital for
improved literacy leadership practices. This study aims to close this gap in
research by obtaining teacher perceptions on their observations of principals’
leadership practices considering literacy instruction and assessment.
Being at the forefront as drivers and custodians of the literacy curriculum, teachers
possess a comprehensive understanding of related challenges. For this reason,
tapping into this knowledge can provide rich notions on what leaders can do to
strengthen instructional practices.
2. Research Questions
The following research questions frame this paper: (1) What are foundation phase
teachers’ perceptions on principals’ knowledge of the skills to be taught in the
literacy curriculum? (2) What are the perceptions on principals’ understanding of
literacy assessment requirements? and (3) What are the perceptions on how
principals provide support to teachers in literacy instruction and assessment?
3. Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

This paper is guided by the guidelines provided by Ravitch and Riggan (2017).
They proposed in the guidelines that a conceptual framework “should not only
include the relevant theoretical literature, but also the empirical findings of prior
research and the researcher’s own experiential knowledge, beliefs, commitments
and values” (Ravitch & Riggan, 2017, p. 12). As a starting point, my conceptual
framework was informed by relevant and legally binding educational policy
documents like the Personnel Administrative Measures (PAM) (DBE, 2015) and
the Standard for Principal-ship (DBE, 2016) that outline the leadership roles of
South African school principals. These documents are in no way specific as to what
principals’ leadership roles regarding literacy are. As my study focuses
predominantly on the instruction and assessment components of literacy
leadership, my conceptual framework was informed by the work of instructional

4
leadership expert Phillip Hallinger (2005). The main domains of instructional

leadership are quite extensive in scope, and overlapping, in most cases. I therefore
demarcated this paper to one aspect of Hallinger’s Instructional Leadership
Model: the leadership of the (literacy) instructional programme. Focusing on
literacy as such, the study is also informed by the Literacy Leadership Model of
Taylor and Collins (2003), though focusing only on diligence, instruction and
assessment.
4. The School Principal as Leader of Instruction

Leadership is next only to instruction amongst school-related impacts on pupil
attainment (Manna, 2015). Substantive evidence confirms that instructional
leadership in particular is associated with positive student outcomes. Vogel (2018,
p. 1) described instructional leadership as “a critical, if not primary task of school
leaders”, whilst a meta-analysis conducted by Marzano, Walters and McNulty
(cited in Vogel, 2018, p. 1) revealed that “principals who were instructional leaders
were also found to have a stronger positive impact on student achievement”.
Regarding the value of subject-specific instructional leadership, Anderson (cited
in Bouchamma, 2012, p. 2) declared that “the best outcomes in mathematics and
language were linked to instructional leadership”. It is not, however, easy to fulfil
this role. As recent research from a study on time allocation to instructional
leadership indicates: “Principals spent considerable time on running the building
and considerably less time on instruction related activities” (Sebastian, Camburn
& Spillane, 2018, p. 90).
Before locating the study in the broader scholarship that exists in literacy
leadership, a brief overview of literacy skills, according to the South African
Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) or CAPS curriculum, is
presented below. To perform their roles as respected instructional leaders in
literacy instruction and assessment, principals should have a sound
understanding of the literacy skills to be taught, as stipulated in this curriculum.
4.1 Overview of literacy skills to be taught in the CAPS curriculum

The main requirements in the curriculum for the reading component are as
follows: Joint reading and writing, group/guided reading, paired/independent
reading, and phonics awareness. Emphasis is also placed on the five components
of reading instruction, which, according to most reading experts, include:
“Phonemic awareness, word recognition (sight words and phonics),
comprehension, vocabulary and fluency” (DBE, 2011, pp. 11-13). This list is merely
a summary; the policy document contains an exhaustive outline of many other
related content and skills. Dole and Nelson (cited in Bean & Dagen, 2012) declared
that knowledgeable literacy leaders know that literacy does not involve only these
five parts, and that a firm literacy curriculum needs to be broad. Phonological
awareness, letter-sound knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and oral
composition are referred to as the Big 6 by Townsend et al. (2018), and these are
seen as pivotal for reading acquisition. Principals need to safeguard that each
element is given satisfactory time, care, and means to allow pupils to study well.
In addition, both time and emphasis should be delivered for teachers to permit
each element to be debated, advanced, employed, and evaluated in means that

5
support educators to see just how fine their learners are succeeding (Townsend et
al., 2018). Assessment activities for reading are, in most cases, preceded by
informal assessment activities related to phonics (spoken and/or applied/written
activities). Other reading skills that require formal assessment activities are
developing reading skills, shared reading and group and directed reading (DBE,
2011).
Requirements related to writing for Grade 1 learners include handwriting

(including pre-writing programme), shift to a joint script or cursive writing, and
materials for scripts. For Grades 2 and 3, the curriculum includes shared writing,
writing messages and sentences, writing in present and past tenses, spelling,
paragraphs, diaries, punctuation and writing about personal experiences (DBE,
2011). As is the case with reading, CAPS demands that formal writing tasks should
be preceded by informal assessments. This also includes a wide array of
competencies related to assessing handwriting skills, the development of letter
formation, and shared, group and independent writing (DBE, 2011).
4.2 Principals’ commitment to literacy instruction and understanding of the

literacy curriculum
Taylor and Collins (2003, p. 2) argued that “current literacy leadership commences
with a commitment from the school leader”. He/she should take leadership,
otherwise learners will not become skilled readers and writers. Another
prerequisite for understanding effective literacy instruction and assessment
requires a solid understanding of the tenets of the literacy curriculum. Without an
understanding of the literacy content, skills and knowledge, principals will
struggle to provide sufficient instructional support to teachers (Alig-Mielcarek,
2003; Taylor & Collins, 2003). Louis, Leithwood, Anderson and Wahlstroom (2010)
warned that lack of familiarity of the curriculum will hamper sound monitoring
and support for teacher growth. It is, after all, the principal as the instructional
front-runner’s responsibility to ensure the application of the core syllabus in the
school (Botha, 2013, p. 200). Furthermore, Bouchama (2012, p. 3) stated “that
leaders in effective schools distinguish their commitment and expertise by their
personal involvement in planning, coordinating and evaluation of the
curriculum”. In line with this argument, Zimmerman (2017, p. 47) claimed that
“[f]or effective school-wide literacy development, school management teams,
including principals, heads of department, subject area leaders and all teachers
in every subject, need to be actively involved in goal setting, monitoring and
implementation”.
Scholars agree on the importance and value of sound curriculum knowledge by

principals. Plaatjies (2019), for example, linked curriculum knowledge to
improvement in instruction, with Munroe (2011, p. 9) positing that “an
understanding of each aspect of literacy will enable leadership on where and how
to target problem areas”. At the same time, Botha (2013, p. 199) opined that
“principals need to know about the changing conceptions of the curriculum,
educational philosophies and beliefs, knowledge specialisation and
fragmentation, curricular sources and conflict, and curriculum evaluation and
improvement”.

6
4.3 Knowledge and understanding of subject content, instruction and

assessment
One standpoint of instructional leadership proposes that leaders must understand
the content of subjects (Stein & D’Amico, 2000, and Stein & Nelson, 2003, cited in
Sebastian & Allensworth, 2012). A basic understanding of subject content appears
to be necessary to provide well-grounded support in literacy instruction. Pinello
(2015) averred that literacy leaders should possess knowledge of literacy
instruction, and be able to align curriculum, instruction and assessment (Taylor &
Collins, 2003). Principals in particular should possess a pure and profound
understanding of teaching, learning and assessment (Mestry, 2017). A basic
understanding of subject knowledge, instruction and assessment and the
curriculum will, in turn, empower principals to provide attentive backing
connected to lesson planning, structure and content regarding reading and
writing, and monitoring and moderation processes. Emanating from the thorough
scrutiny of literacy instruction, principals will gain a solid understanding of
teachers‘ expertise. This will, in turn, help principals to provide support in targeted
areas where teachers are lacking. This means, in other words, that “the
instructional leader needs to have up-to-date knowledge on three areas of
(literacy) education namely; curriculum, instruction and assessment” (Du Four,
2002, cited in Kubicek, 2015, p. 704).
4.4 Assisting teachers through classroom supervision of instruction

According to Dole and Nelson (cited in Bean & Dagen, 2012, p. 152), “[l]iteracy
leaders know that the instructional delivery of the curriculum is one of the most
critically important elements of teaching.” Assistance to teachers is therefore vital,
and principals may enhance teaching through collaboration in classrooms with
teachers or by improving teacher capabilities (Sebastian & Allensworth, 2012).
Many studies provide direction on how principals may provide assistance,
overseeing the curriculum across the school. Clear expectations to staff and setting
a firm literacy basis for each schoolroom are important (Taylor & Collins, 2003).
Supervision of instruction as instructional leadership duty, for example, may
include evaluating the teaching and learning process, teachers’ subject knowledge
and their lesson planning. Principals should make sure that teachers plan
sufficiently by checking their lesson plans (International Literacy Association
[ILA], 2019; Klar & Brewer, 2013). Obliged by the PAM and Standard for
Principal-ship policies (DBE, 2015, 2016), principals should ensure that heads of
department (HODs) monitor the work of teachers in their subjects (Mestry, 2017).
Herrera (2010, p. 32) claimed that principals should “know what is taking place in
the classrooms … through frequent visits and making suggestions and meaningful
feedback on the improvement of quality teaching and learning” (see also Alig-
Mielcarek, 2003; Mestry 2017). Classroom observations should be purposefully
conducted, focusing on a set of pre-identified and negotiated criteria. The ILA
(2019, p. 5), for example, stated that “when principals enter classrooms, they
should see and hear students in small groups, working purposefully and
collaboratively to solve problems or negotiating the meaning of a text”. As part of
this purposeful engagement and close monitoring of the instructional programme,

7
the process should be accompanied by asking questions about how and why, and
supporting innovative attempts to support student learning (Klar & Brewer, 2013).
This process should be accomplished through a persistent emphasis through
official and casual consultations with instructors, mentorship, and expert
education. Principals should claim the confidence and necessary skills to conduct
respectful and productive professional conversations. These should rotate around
the improvement of instructional quality (Hoy & Hoy, 2009, cited in Mestry, 2017).
Apart from conducting class visits, principals need to be accessible and visible and
provide instructional support by conducting informal walk-throughs (Klar &
Brewer, 2013).
4.5 Professional development to improve literacy instruction

Quint, Akey, Rappaport and Willner (2007) (cited in Matsumara, Satoris, Di Prima
& Garnier, 2009) found that enhanced participation of principals in developmental
sessions for teachers, with an emphasis on focusing directly on teaching practices,
is connected with better execution in the classroom. This leads to improved
performance in reading. Sheppard (1996) and Blasé and Blasé (1998) (cited in
Kgatle, 2013) likewise opined that instructional leaders must inspire presence at
work-related meetings, assemblies and seminars, building a culture of
cooperation, knowledge and individual growth. Improved levels of teacher
teamwork is related to better learner performance in reading (Spillane & Hopkins,
2013), whilst in-service training has been meaningfully associated with productive
changes in approaches to subjects (Parise & Spillane, cited in Spillane & Hopkins,
2013). Pinello (2015, p. 49) asserted that “literacy leaders should establish a team
with a coach, build capacity for literacy and provide time for professional
development and establish accountability standards”. Within these forums,
principals should direct the attention to definite tasks of instruction rather than
nonconcrete deliberations, exact instructional methods and how to teach specific
kinds of content to teachers (Townsend et al., 2018).
5. Methodology
An interpretivist paradigm was adopted for this study, which constructs meaning
through the participants’ own understanding and reflections on their experiences
(Adom, Ankrah & Yeboah, 2018). This qualitative multiple-case study was
conducted in four large primary schools (1000+ learners each), involving 35
foundation phase (Grades 1-3) teachers. At School 1, eight teachers completed the
questionnaire, at School 2 six, at School 3 eleven and at School 4 ten.
The qualitative approach was deemed appropriate, as I wanted to make sense of

participants’ perceptions regarding literacy leadership (Marshall & Rossman,
2011) the researcher opted for the multiple-case-study design, which, according to
Creswell and Poth (2018), aims to examine numerous cases to gain insight into an
essential phenomenon – in this study, literacy leadership.
To manage the complex process of analysing and interpreting the qualitative data,
the researcher used several activities. These included “immersion in the data,
organizing these data into chunks (analysis), and bringing meaning to these
chunks (interpretation)” (Rossman & Rallis, 2017, pp. 227-228). McMillan and

8
Schumacher (2006) stated that to ensure reliability and honesty, the data should
relate with participant responses. The first step during the breakdown of the
information was to analyse the unique context of the school, since taking context
into consideration is important in multiple-case studies (Creswell & Poth, 2018).
“Contextual features and their influences on the participants’ experiences are
important for qualitative researchers” (see Maxwell, 2013, p. 30). Data were first
presented thematically case by case, followed by cross-case analysis within
themes.
As the aim was to offer details as to “how” and “why” heads exhibit leadership in
literacy, this researcher also utilised the exploratory and descriptive case study
design, as proposed by Yin (2011). The data collection process was supported with
the observational method (Appendix 1). Information was collected, described and
analysed within the context of each school. This included information about:
• the socio-economic position of the neighbourhood in which the school is
located;
• the quality of the school buildings and classes;
• the management of the school with regard to good order; and
• a brief observation about the classroom environment.
Information about the quintile status of the school and years of experience of each
principal was obtained from the principals of each school.
The study sample – foundation phase teachers – was selected purposefully as they
were, as Creswell (2009, p. 178) concluded, “best suited to address the research
problem.” Data were collected during the third school quarter of 2019 by means of
open-ended questionnaires, a method which, according to Cohen, Manion and
Morrison (2018), hooks the truthfulness, fullness, profundity and honesty of
responses, trademarks of the qualitative approach. Prior to the distribution phase
of the questionnaires, participants were sensitised around the purposes of the
research. The questionnaire (Appendix 2) consisted of three broad questions only,
and aimed to elicit participants’ broad perceptions on principals’ knowledge on
literacy instruction and assessment:
1. Describe your principal’s knowledge of the skills to be taught in the literacy
curriculum (reading, writing and assessment).
2. Describe your principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements.
3. How does your principal provide support to teachers in literacy instruction
and assessment?
6. Ethical Considerations
The trustworthiness of the paper was ensured by considering issues of credibility,
dependability, conformability and transferability. Credibility was ensured
through the process of member-checking and prolonged engagement with the
participants. To further guarantee that the responses remained a correct reflection
of the data provided in the questionnaires, participants had to be given the
opportunity to read the interpreted data. Findings were verified with the help of a
colleague to ensure that they are consistent with the data collected. This ensured
the dependability of the research. Conformability of the research was ensured by

9
adhering to what Gasson (2004, p. 93) proposed: “… findings should represent, as

far as is (humanly) possible, the situation being researched rather than the beliefs,
pet theories, or biases of the researcher.” Transferability was safeguarded through
providing sufficient information about the researcher, the research context and
processes to allow the reader to select in what way the outcomes can be transferred
(Morrow, 2005).
Ethical clearance was granted by the University of the Free State (ethics approval
number UFS-HSD 2019/0087/1808), whilst authorization to conduct the study was
gained from the Free State Department of Education (FSDOE). Informed approval
was attained from all the participants of the four participating schools prior to the
start of the study. Ethical issues considered were drawn from the advice of Cohen
et al. (2018). These included participants’ rights to pull out at any phase or not to
complete specific items in the questionnaire; an agreement that the research will
not harm them (the principle of non-maleficence); and the guarantees of
confidentiality, anonymity and non-traceability in the research. To ensure
namelessness, acronyms were used to classify the partakers. Under the discussion
of each respective school, T is used for teacher, with the number of the relevant
participant for that school (e.g. T1–T8 for School 1, T1–T6 for School 2; etc.).
7. The Role of the Researcher

This researcher, see himself as a social constructivist in the research environment.
He seek what Creswell (2013, p. 24) described as an approach of individuals
(researchers) who seek “an understanding of the world in which they live and
work” and to “develop subjective meanings of their experiences”. His research
focus centres on the core business of the schooling enterprise, teaching and
learning in the classroom, but mainly from a leadership approach regarding
instruction. Classrooms are dynamic and complex spaces. Harvard professor
Richard Elmore (cited in Schmoker, 2006, p. 14) described classrooms as an area
protected by a buffer, “… a protective barrier that discourages and even punishes
close, constructive scrutiny of instruction … the buffer ensures that we know very
little about what teachers teach, or how well they teach.” Principals, as
instructional leaders, may thus sometimes find it difficult to gain deep knowledge
and experiences of instructional practices in the classroom. With the approach of
providing open-ended questionnaires, the aim was to not pressurise participants
by intruding on their buffers. Through the use of open-ended questionnaires, “the
researcher can listen carefully to what people say and do in the life setting”
(Creswell, 2013, p. 25).
8. Presentation of the Findings

With referral to the contextual aspect, South African government schools are
subjected to a quintile system, where all schools are allocated into one of five
categories. This categorisation is due to the country’s wide economic disparity, the
issue of socio-economic status and the disparity between rich and poor schools.
The schools in the most economically deprived (poorest) geographic parts are
categorised as quintile 1, 2 and 3 schools, and those in the greatest economically
privileged (wealthiest) environmental areas as quintile 4 and 5 schools. Schools in
quintiles 1 to 3 are non-fee-paying schools and receive more funding per learner

10
from the government than schools in quintiles 4 and 5 (Ogbonnaya & Awuah,
2019). Below follows a discussion on each participating school, it’s context and the
related findings.
8.1 School 1
Contextual description
This quintile 3 school is located in a neighbourhood characterised by
mixed-income housing. Although the reality of poverty and low economic status
is evident in the neighbourhood, the infrastructure of the school is sound, and
classes are neat with colourful decorations. The dedicated principal has more than
20 years’ experience in this position. The school appeared to be well managed.
Eight literacy teachers completed the questionnaire.
Theme 1: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of the skills to be taught in the literacy
curriculum
The findings on this theme indicate that the participants of this orderly school
perceived their principal to have a good understanding of the CAPS literacy
curriculum. According to them, this dedicated principal is well informed about the
subject content to be taught in literacy. Furthermore, she is well aware of the skills
to be taught related to reading and writing. This understanding of the literacy
curriculum is interestingly enough contributed to her experience as a language
teacher:
“Fortunately my principal was a language teacher, she therefore
understand the curriculum.” (T1)
Theme 2: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements

On the question of how the participants would describe their principal’s
understanding of literacy assessment requirements, the feedback demonstrates
that the principal possesses a good understanding of the requirements. She knows
the prescribed amount of assessment tasks to be conducted and ensures their
completion according to the CAPS guidelines. According to one of the
participants, her knowledge of assessment can also be attributed to her being a
language teacher:
“She understand the assessments because she was a teacher herself.” (T3)
Theme 3: Perceptions on how the principal provides support in literacy instruction and
assessment
Good support is provided to teachers in the form of professional learning
communities and development, workshops and subject meetings. The following
excerpts are evidence of the types of support that the principal provides:
T1 and T3: “We participate in professional learning committees (PLC).”
“She also makes educators aware of opportunities of professional
development.” (T4)
“She encourages us to have subject meetings regularly, and attend
workshops.” (T3)
Participants also revealed that internal moderation processes and supervision
form part of the support strategy to improve literacy instruction and assessment.
T4 proclaimed that these processes are performed mainly by the HODs and grade

11
heads. This is confirmed by T5, who explained that the HOD conducts pre- and
post-moderation of all the work done, including assessment activities. The literacy
instructional programme is further monitored by HODs via the Integrated Quality
Management System (IQMS), class visits and the inspection of learners’
workbooks. According to one of the participants (T6), the principal follows up with
HODs and intervenes where needed.
8.2 School 2
This school is located in a low-income area with visible signs of severe poverty.
Because of this factor, the school has a quintile 2 status. The school building is
brand new, and classes are spacious and well furnished. The learning environment
in classes is bare, though, with very few classes that have evidence of print-rich
literacy environments. The principal has five years’ leadership experience. Six
questionnaires were completed at this school.
curriculum
The data on this question show that participants viewed their principal’s
knowledge of the literacy curriculum as unsatisfactory. Participants who held this
opinion criticised him because of un-involvement and lack of commitment in the
foundation phase. They regarded the attention to literacy instruction as
insufficient. Others opined that the principal is a former mathematics teacher,
which they regard as the main reason for his lack of knowledge and commitment
to provide leadership in literacy. The issue of an inadequate understanding of the
literacy curriculum because of subject experience and involvement as a teacher is
evident in this case. One of the participants (T2) asserted:
“The principal is not much involved with language as a whole, since he
was mathematics educator for 27 years, he normally says that his
understanding about language is little.”

In response to the question on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment
requirements, the findings display that this principal lacks a respectable
understanding. The principal’s insufficient understanding of literacy assessment
is revealed by comments such as: “he need guidelines regarding assessments
related to literacy curriculum” (T1) and “does not have knowledge of the
foundation phase” (T3). These comments by participants refer once again to the
issue of how not being a language or literacy teacher impacts principals’
knowledge in this regard. Concerning this, T4 openly stated:
“His knowledge regarding the requirements in reading and writing can be
limited because he specialise in another subject area.”
assessment
This theme elicited very little feedback from the participants. They merely
indicated “good” or “not so good” or had poor responses on the question of how
they would describe the principal’s support to teachers. Participants viewed the

12
principal as uninvolved in supporting teachers in the teaching and learning of

literacy.
8.3 School 3
This neat and well-organised school is located in the same neighbourhood as
School 2 and falls under the same quintile (2). The principal at this school has more
than 30 years of experience. Although the school building is old, it is well looked
after and the classes appear also to be conducive for literacy learning. Eleven
literacy teachers completed the questionnaires at this school.
curriculum
Most of the participants from this school felt that the principal displays adequate
knowledge of the literacy curriculum. They ascribed the principal’s knowledge to
her years of experience. Their responses to this question indicate that the principal
places much emphasis on the reading component of the literacy curriculum. T4
mentioned:
“She would come during class visits and motivates learners to engage in
reading activities. She asks them to explain with which reading activities
they are busy with.”
This principal scrutinises relevant literacy policy documents which empower her
to have an enhanced understanding of assessment requirements. It is also apparent
that the principal and the school management teams (SMTs) have sound planning
systems in place. This includes an approach where the assessment programme is
provided to learners and parents at the commencement of every school year. The
aim is to guarantee awareness of when formal assessment tasks will be conducted.
In language departmental meetings, the emphasis is on informal activities. The
good practices by the principal regarding the implementation of the literacy
assessment policy are supported by the following remark by one of the
participants:
“She makes sure activities are well coordinated, and that the school have a
Programme of Assessment as well as School assessment Plan. Formal tasks
for all grades and subjects which is shared with the parents and
guardians.” (T8)

The feedback by participants points out that the principal has a solid
understanding of the promotional requirements regarding the literacy curriculum.
Being a language teacher herself, she is attuned to a good understanding of
assessment as well. This point is reflected in the following statement:
“She has taught English, I believe that she has the knowledge regarding
everything in English.” (T7)
assessment
On the question of how the principal assists teachers in literacy teaching, findings
reveal that the principal employs various strategies for additional literacy

13
instruction opportunities. For example, T4 alluded to the fact that their principal
implements marathon classes, whereas T6 opined that the principal supports each
phase’s initiative plans. T8 and T7 said that their principal provides feedback to all
phases and offers support wherever she is able, within the IQMS setup. Support
to teachers also entails internal moderation processes by the HOD and grade
heads, who conduct pre- and post-moderation. These SMT members also conduct
moderation of assessment activities and supervise instruction on behalf of the
principal, as mentioned by T9.
8.4 School 4
This school also has a quintile 2 status. The principal is newly appointed, with only
one month’s experience in this role. The school buildings are solid, but very filthy.
The school appeared to be noisy and overcrowded. The classes are also not very
neat and, in some places, have graffiti on the walls. Ten teachers filled in the
questionnaires at this school.
curriculum
The participants from this school also opined that their principal has a solid
understanding of the skills within the literacy curriculum. This knowledge is
linked to his experience as a language teacher. This argument is reflected by the
following two participants’ responses:
“The principal is a language teacher and have a broad knowledge of
literacy.” (T2)
“Our principal was a former language teacher. He is very much aware of

the requirements because he is himself a language teacher.” (T8)

Participant replies regarding their principal’s understanding of literacy
assessment reveal that the principal lacks a respectable understanding of this
aspect. This led to the “principal provide sometimes [sometimes providing]
contradicting commands” (T4). The principal’s insufficient understanding of
assessment was further revealed by comments such as “he need guidelines
regarding assessments related to literacy curriculum” (T6).
assessment
Feedback on this question indicates that the principal, other members of the SMT,
and teachers do not attend training opportunities provided by the Department of
Education. This lack of dedication and commitment is evident in the following
comments:
“We attend training, but not all teachers were involved in the training.
Subject coordinators and HODs does [sic] not always go to trainings.”
(T10)
“Also important is the fact that principals themselves do not attend these
workshops and training, and some are not even involved in the foundation
phase: He is more involved at gr. 4-7.” (T9).

14
Quarterly subject meetings appeared to be a popular way to address literacy

challenges. “HOD’S and principals keep teachers informed about recent
developments in literacy instruction,” T8 mentioned. Interestingly enough,
though, is that participants pointed out the existence of reading, poetry, speech
and spelling competitions at their school.
9. Discussion and Analysis of the Findings Across Cases

Context
The data reveal that all participating schools are located in communities with high
poverty rates, with School 1 exposed to a lesser degree to contextual challenges
than the other three schools, due to the mixed-income factor. Research
demonstrates that providing instructional leadership in such disadvantaged
environments can be a daunting exercise. Consequently, it may be difficult to
provide rich learning opportunities to vulnerable and at-risk learners (Scott, 2017).
Despite the locations of the schools, the infrastructure and general neatness of the
schools were sound, except for School 4. This can probably be attributed to the lack
of experience and low commitment levels of the principal. Only School 3 displayed
evidence of a print-rich literacy environment, which is a sign of what Manna (2015)
regarded as vital for effectiveness for serving children with the fewest advantages
in life. Schools appeared to be in good order, except for School 4.
The findings are discussed below based on the research questions, themes
presented and in conjunction with the literature review.
Research Question 1:
Perceptions on principals’ knowledge of the skills to be taught in the literacy
curriculum
The views of the participating foundation phase teachers across the participating
schools indicate contradicting findings on this theme. Participants at Schools 1
and 3 opined that their principals have a firm grounding of literacy instruction and
the literacy curriculum. These excellent principals’ sound knowledge is attributed
to their subject-teaching experience. Both these leaders also have many years of
experience as principals. These factors enable them to provide sound direction
with respect to literacy instruction. Manna (2015) declared that excellent principals
can have a powerful impact on teachers.
The participants from Schools 2 and 4, though, felt that their principals’ knowledge
base with respect to literacy is wanting. This finding is in line with previous
research, which indicates that curriculum and instructional knowledge is lacking
amongst some South African principals (Kgatla, 2013; Taylor & Hoadley, 2018;
Plaatjies, 2019). It is also clear from the data that the principals of School 2 (a former
mathematics teacher) and School 4 (a newly appointed principal) lack commitment
and experience. It is furthermore possible that work overload, inadequate time,
contextual challenges and the new position of principalship might be
overwhelming. This finding is in line with what Mestry (2017) determined
regarding principals who experience countless problems in matching varied
organisational obligations with their curriculum headship tasks. This therefore

15
questions whether principals have the capability to take on all the responsibilities
by themselves.
The lack of sufficient curriculum and instructional knowledge amongst principals

may have enormous repercussions. It can complicate matters to provide strong
curriculum coordination and instructional support, and it hampers trust and
respect towards principals (Taylor & Hoadley, 2018). Teachers expect their leaders
to possess expertise as instructional and curriculum leaders (see Dempster et al.,
2017) and smart principals are aware of this. Leithwood, Louis, Anderson and
Wahlstroom (2004, p. 11) even went so far as to argue that “the curricular
knowledge of successful elementary principals frequently rivals the curricular
knowledge of their teachers”.
Not surprising, though, is that where principals display a lack of knowledge of the
literacy curriculum, it is ascribed to them not teaching the subject (as is the case
with School 2). This finding is consistent with what Key (cited in Pinello, 2015,
p. 46) found: “… principals with reading instruction backgrounds were found to
be more attentive to literacy instruction and also have a better overall knowledge
of literacy”. Strangely enough, this finding is partially in contrast to what is
expected from principals as instructional leaders. As Townsend et al. (2018, p. 207)
put it: “there is a need for principals to have good content knowledge about
literacy.” According to this viewpoint, it is a prerequisite for principals to have
sound knowledge, irrespective of being a subject teacher or not in literacy.
Perceptions on principals’ knowledge of literacy assessment requirements
The data demonstrate that the principals from Schools 1 and 3 are knowledgeable
regarding literacy assessment requirements. This is in line with what Lear (2017)
proposed, that principals should have a have a deep understanding of the various
components of literacy learning, including assessment-based instruction. Their
knowledge is ascribed to possessing teaching experience in literacy and languages,
whereas the lack of knowledge of the principals of Schools 2 and 4 is once again
ascribed to not having this kind of teaching experience. Very little feedback was
given on this aspect, especially by the participants of School 2. This gave the
impression of a lack of leadership and management attention by principals.
Zimmerman (2017) confirmed that many South African primary schools do not
have management and planning structures and strategies.
A pleasant finding is the emphasis that the two principals of Schools 1 and 3 put
on internal moderation processes to evaluate assessment practices. The question
remains unanswered, however, whether these promising efforts are sufficient to
meticulously adhere to the monitoring and moderation of assessment
requirements. Dole and Nelson (cited in Bean & Dagen, 2012, p. 149) stated in this
regard that “literacy leaders need to be effective leaders in assisting teachers to
monitor carefully what is taught in literacy”. The data did not conclude, though,
whether a well-coordinated internal moderation plan was present to rigorously
attend to every aspect of literacy instruction and assessment. Zimmerman (2017)
warned that in these non-privileged settings, such managerial ineffectiveness

16
could lead to a lack of coordination of teaching practices across grades and phases.
Townsend et al. (2018, p. 207) were of the view that such an approach should be
encouraged by solid evidence of learners’ abilities, so that what they need to do
subsequent is well aground. This should be supported by subject meetings
conducted at least twice per quarter.
Perceptions on how principals provide support in literacy instruction and
assessment
The data reveal that Schools 1 and 3 displayed some noteworthy practices
regarding the assistance that principals provide to teachers in literacy instruction
and assessment. The orderly environments and many actions in support of
teachers are evidence of these principals’ commitment. This finding confirms the
association between principals’ actions and dedication and improvement in
instruction and assessment. Manna (2015) raised this issue by claiming that
principals can, through their engagements, be influential multipliers of active
instruction and guidance practices in schools. Similarly, Zimmerman (2017, p. 39)
pointed out that “high performing schools serving low-income learners need a
safe, orderly and positive environment, strong leaders, excellent teachers,
competent, committed, caring, collaborative teachers with a sense of pride,
competence and purpose of the school”.
The lack of involvement by the principals of Schools 2 and 4 is also evident under
this theme. According to Hoadley (2018), a neglected aspect with respect to literacy
leadership is the attention to the management of reading activities. This may be
because of principals’ lack of subject knowledge and experience. This view is
supported by Pinello (2015), who claimed that several managers lack the essential
information and abilities to successfully upkeep literacy development. Superville
(2019) warned, however, that it might be unrealistic and unfair to expect principals
to possess deep content knowledge of all the subjects taught, including subjects
that they may not have taken when they were students. Given the lack of attention
to the issue, it is quite interesting to note that Schools 1 and 4 hold regular subject
meetings as part of a support strategy.
Participants did not elaborate in detail on what the assistance from principals
entails, giving the impression that sufficient planning and monitoring are lacking.
For Zimmerman (2017), planning and monitoring of literacy teaching and learning
are key activities which lead to high levels of accountability in the school
management structure. In almost all the responses, participants indicated only one
or another form of support, and not varied forms of support. This ranged from the
popular subject meeting to professional learning development. For example,
participants did not indicate how professional learning groups address
improvement in specific components of literacy instruction and assessment.
Neither did they provide details on how committees, workshops and training deal
with challenging aspects related to literacy instruction. These findings seem to be
consistent with Mbhalati (2017) and Bomer and Maloch’s (2019) work, in which
they claimed that professional development strategies in literacy instruction are
lacking. A possible explanation for this might be the difficulties associated to get

17
everyone involved in professional development activities, as this can be a tricky

exercise (Bomer & Maloch, 2019).
These forms of teacher supervision are supported by Bouchamma (2012, p. 3) “as

part of a committed principal’s PD [professional development]-strategy” and by
Townsend et al. (2018, p. 207), who preferred “a commitment to focused
professional conversations, or disciplined dialogue”. The participants’ vague
explanations on what professional development activities entail provide the
impression that neither the participants as teachers nor the principals really
possess an in-depth understanding of what professional development activities for
literacy entail. This finding appears to indicate a possible lack of intellectual
engagement on literacy instruction, and is confirmed by Mestry (2017), who
claimed that principals hardly offer knowledgeable direction for progress on
instructional matters.
It is interesting to note that the role of HODs as instructional leaders were

highlighted overwhelmingly, especially in Schools 1, 3 and 4. This in line with the
desired approach of shared leadership as by Guth and Pettingull (cited in Pinello,
2015). Principals cannot make the essential inroads alone toward a fruitful literacy
programme which includes supporting classroom instruction (Pinello, 2015).
HODs’ involvement as literacy leaders can be ascribed to principals’ heavy
workloads, a distributed leadership approach by principals and/or adhering to
the related policy requirements, which require involvement of the entire SMT. The
Standard for Principal-ship document, for instance, places a responsibility on
principals to “empower staff to become instructional leaders who share the
responsibility for achieving the mission, vision and goals that have been set” (DBE,
2016, p. 21). The PAM document (DBE, 2016, p. 27), on the other hand, requires
that the “Departmental Head should co-ordinate evaluation/assessment, written
assignments, etc. of all the subjects in that department”. Interestingly enough, only
participants from School 4 referred to support including specific content-related
strategies.
A rather disappointing finding in the study is that there is little evidence of

classroom visits, observation of lessons and visibility of principals. None of the
participants alluded to this aspect of instructional leadership. Hallinger (2011)
stated that this direct oversight and maintaining of instructional oversight do pay
off. Also absent from the participants’ feedback is how principals address
instructional challenges through formal and informal discussions with teachers,
classroom visits and observations, and other forms of targeted professional
development activities. Superville (2019) pointed out that a firm grounding by the
principal in the classroom environment is necessary to have educated
conversations with teachers about strengths and weaknesses. It seems that
principals possibly do not have the expertise, motivation or enough time to
perform these crucial functions. Mestry (2017) concurred that most principals
devote little periods in classrooms and even fewer time analysing syllabus delivery
with educators.

18
10. Conclusion
This paper set out to determine the perceptions of foundation phase teachers on
principals as literacy leaders in selected primary schools. Focusing only on the
components of instruction and assessment, this study extended knowledge of
principals’ leadership abilities in this regard.
The findings suggest that some principals have a sound knowledge of the literacy
curriculum. Those who lack knowledge will be unable to provide strong
instructional leadership, which can hamper teachers in developing deep, engaging
literacy lessons for foundation phase learners. On the other hand, sound
knowledge of the curriculum and instruction may ground principals to provide
educated support to teachers. This is especially vital in the challenging high-
poverty contexts. To address the deficiency on literacy curriculum knowledge
amongst principals, it is recommended that the four schools engage in a
collaborative professional development strategy.
With regard to the second research question, the findings indicate almost similar
outcomes on the competency and commitment levels of the respective principals.
The implication of this finding is that principals will struggle to provide in-depth
support to teachers in assessment practices. They should therefore undergo
training to obtain a basic understanding of the literacy assessment framework.
The data suggest that principals utilise a variety of strategies to support teachers
with instruction. However, the data also show less support with respect to
assessment. Consequently, teachers’ understanding regarding assessment may not
be up to standard. To this end, continuous professional development and training
sessions should be comprehensive in addressing the needs of teachers with regard
to support.
Any research project has its limitations and this one is no exception. With regard
to the methodology employed, a mixed methods approach may have provided
more clarity on principals’ knowledge of subject content, assessment and
instruction. The quantitative aspect of a mixed methods design might have
classified the frequency of principals’ engagement in instructional leadership
duties such as supervision and classroom observation.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 23-34, July 2020
The Challenges Faced by Pre-Service Mathematics

Teachers during their Teaching Practice in the UAE:
Implications for Teacher Education Programs
Adeeb M. Jarrah
United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8216-8848
Abstract. Teaching practice is a fundamental component of teacher

education programs, not only because it provides student teachers with
first-hand experience, but also because it is an opportunity for them to
put into action everything they have learned about education and their
subject matter. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the
challenges that encounter pre-service mathematics teachers during their
teaching practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A qualitative
phenomenological approach was used. Data for this research were
collected through semi-structured interviews with fourteen participants
at the end of their teacher education program. A thematic content analysis
was performed on the content of interview transcripts to identify
common themes. The emerging themes revealed that participants had
serious concerns and they encountered various difficulties during
teaching practice. Notable findings included participants’ difficulties
transferring theoretical knowledge into practice, lack of availability of
manipulatives, challenges with student discipline and classroom
management, difficulty experimenting with innovative pedagogical
practices, and concerns regarding the structure and the timing of the
student teaching program. For student teachers to emerge at the end of
their teaching practice as qualified and confident professional teachers, it
is imperative that teacher preparation programs and school
administrators reflect on the findings of this study. The study concluded
with recommendations to direct future research.
Keywords: Teaching Challenges; Student Teacher; Classroom

Management; Student Discipline; Teacher Training
1. Introduction
The teaching of mathematics, or any subject, for that matter, is a multifaceted task.
To do this successfully, students need and deserve knowledgeable teachers, who
are willing to learn about their students as learners of mathematics, and to acquire
the skills, disposition, and instructional strategies needed to teach the subject
(Kilpatrick & Swafford, 2001). To achieve this goal, teacher training has become a

24
top priority in many countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where
the preparation of well-qualified teachers is one of the eight pillars of the UAE’s
educational development vision (Vision 2021, 2017). Specifically, the vision for
2021 is to ensure that all of the UAE’s private and public schools have highly
qualified teachers who are sensitive to the needs of a diverse student population,
dedicated to high-quality learning experiences for all students, and committed to
life-long professional learning and growth (Vision 2021, 2017). Thus, teacher
education programs must examine the process of preparing pre-service
mathematics teachers, including their readiness, attitudes, competency, and
teaching practice.
Teaching practice is a fundamental component of teacher education programs, not

only because it provides student teachers with first-hand experience, but also
because it is an opportunity for them to put into action everything they have
learned about education and their subject matter (Maphosa, Shumba & Shumba,
2007; Abdullah, Omar, Embong & Bakar, 2015; Trent, 2013). Teaching practice
exposes student teachers to the real world of teaching and acquaints them with
the complexity of classroom practice, thus contributing to their future orientation
towards the teaching profession (Fajardo & Miranda, 2015). However, teaching
practice is also a challenging experience (Ferrier-Kerr, 2009; Trent, 2013), and for
this reason it is important to ensure that student teachers are supported as well as
possible. Therefore, the focus of this study is to uncover the challenges faced by
pre-service mathematics teachers during their teaching practice in the UAE.
Thus, this research adds knowledge to the literature on the challenges student
teachers encounter during their teaching practice in Emirati elementary schools,
since no such study was found upon reviewing the related literature. The research
may benefit those dealing with teacher preparation programs, and may also
provide school administrators with a better understanding of student teachers’
needs during this essential phase of their teacher preparation.
2. Literature Review
A review of the literature was conducted concerning the challenges encountered
by pre-service teachers during their student teaching. It is worth noting that the
terms teaching practice, practicum, or student teaching are often used
interchangeably in the literature (Grootenboer, 2006).
2.1 Teaching practice

As is generally true, teaching practice in the United Arab Emirates University
(UAEU) context is one of the most important elements of a teacher education
program, and it is expected that a student teacher will gain valuable experience
from it. Once student teachers complete their coursework, composed of 126 credit
hours, they practice teaching in schools for one semester of 16 weeks. During this
teaching practice period, student teachers must demonstrate mastery of all
standards for beginner teachers accepted by the teacher education program in the
College of Education. Students are expected to spend a full semester of practice
teaching in an elementary school. During this time, they are expected to gather
experience of certain duties and roles as part of their induction to teaching, and it

25
is also intended that they develop and understand the knowledge and skills
required in more depth. However, little is known about what transpires during
this essential period of a UAEU student teacher’s life because of a lack of research
within the UAE context (Ibrahim, 2013).
2.2 Challenges of Pre-service Teachers

The literature reports several challenges experienced by pre-service teachers. One
of these relates to theoretical knowledge to teaching practice in real classroom
settings, and this problem has been reported as a major concern (Gan, 2013;
Peercy, 2012). For example, Gan (2013) reported that pre-service teachers voiced
difficulties about applying the theory studied in their coursework to their
classroom practice. According to Peercy (2012), pre-service teachers do not use the
theories they learn on training programs, and face difficulty bridging the gap
between theory and practice. A second issue reported in the literature by pre-
service teachers concerns the availability and use of manipulatives. Educators
believe physical objects help students enjoy learning, keep them engaged, and
narrow the gap between abstract and concrete concepts (Furner & Worrell 2017;
Cockett & Kilgour; 2015; Larbi & Mavis, 2016). As a learning resource, the use of
manipulatives encourages students to engage with learning in concrete ways.
However, in a study in the Philippines, Ulla (2016) indicated that a lack of teaching
resources prompted pre-service teachers to recycle strategies and methods. In
another study on teachers’ beliefs and teaching mathematics with manipulatives,
Golafshani (2013) recommended that schools provide teachers with resources to
increase the use of manipulatives, to provide teachers with a greater range of
teaching strategies in their classroom situations.
A third issue which has emerged in the literature as a challenge for pre-service
teachers is classroom management, since student teachers only have a theoretical
rather than practical knowledge of this area. This issue tends to be compounded
by a lack of guidance and cooperation by schools on classroom management for
pre-service teachers (Moussaid & Zerhouni, 2017). In a study conducted by Han
and Ye (2015), it was suggested that pre-service teachers encounter many
difficulties in China regarding classroom management, when teaching students
learning English for university. These very problematic experiences in the
classroom may be ascribed to the fact that the pre-service teacher’s authority is
lower than fully trained and experienced teachers (Foncha, Abongdia & Adu,
2015). Furthermore, student teachers can experience a great deal of anxiety about
managing the classroom, and this may cause serious problems with their post-
training classroom management (Foncha, Abongdia & Adu, 2015).
A fourth concern seen in the previous research relates to pedagogic challenges. In

a study by Moussaid and Zerhouni (2017), pre-service teachers encountered
various difficulties, one of which was teaching methodology. Under this umbrella,
they included lesson planning and delivery, lack of teaching experience,
managing lesson pace and transitions, contextualization and modelling, and lack
of pedagogical content knowledge. In another study, Gökçek (2018) investigated
sixty-one pre-service teachers who had enrolled in a compulsory six-hour
teaching practicum. The study concluded that the pre-service teachers faced

26
several challenges, including the use of activities, materials, methods, and

techniques, and instilling an affection for mathematics. In a study on the impact
of a school-based practicum on pre-service teachers’ affective development in
mathematics, although forty per cent of the participants had positive views of
their experience after practicum, fifty per cent were neutral Grootenboer (2006).
These studies indicate that student teachers’ general experience of pre-service
teaching could be improved.
In this regard, student teaching programs must be structured to provide trainees

with experiences that help them to develop and grow into professional teachers
(Johnson, 2015). Various researchers have described what an effective structure
for student teaching should necessitate. First, long training duration is preferred
in many different countries such as Jordan and China (Han & Ye, 2015; Hamidi,
Al-Shara, Arouri & Abu Awwad, 2014). In Jordan, this preference might be
because pre-service teachers first need to become acquainted with the school
system, and then with the teaching systems and styles (Hamidi, Al-Shara, Arouri
& Abu Awwad, 2014). In China, pre-service teachers lamented how short training
programs are insufficient, since by the time they become familiar with a school,
the program has ended (Han & Ye, 2015). In a comparative study of practicum
experiences in ten universities, Manzar-Abbas and Lu (2013) notably reported that
the duration of the practicum is short and its timing inappropriate. They therefore
recommended increasing the duration and sending student teachers into schools
much earlier.
The above summary and discussion of the literature indicate that teaching
practice is crucial for the personal and professional development and growth of
pre-service teachers (Azhar & Kayani, 2017). Therefore, the need to investigate
and improve the impact of their experience is key. The main purpose of the
present study is thus to investigate the challenges that encounter pre-service
mathematics teachers during their teaching practice in the UAE.
2.3 Research Question

The study sought to answer the following question:
What challenges do pre-service mathematics teachers encounter during their
teaching practice?
3. Methodology
3.1 Research design

The purpose was to explore the lived experiences and challenges of a group of
pre-service mathematics teachers during teaching practice. To this end, the
phenomenological approach was considered appropriate since it would allow
participants to describe their lived experiences freely, and thus provide specific
insights. The phenomenological approach would also contribute to a more
profound understanding of these challenges. According to Creswell (2013: 76),
“phenomenological study describes the common meaning for several individuals
of their lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon”. Phenomenological
research is typically conducted through in-depth interviews, in which

27
participants have the freedom to express their views in their own terms (Creswell,
2007). For this reason, the study used semi-structured interviews for the data
collection.
3.2 Participants
The fourteen female participants of this study were all senior students enrolled in
their final semester of the elementary education program in the College of
Education at the UAEU. The rationale for focusing on just fourteen pre-service
teachers was because they were the only available students in their final two
years. Participants were therefore chosen based on purposive sampling.
3.3 Data collection

The researcher conducted individual interviews in Arabic as participants were
native Arabic speakers, and the interview time was approximately 45–60 minutes
each. Participants were briefed about the purpose of the interviews and the nature
of the research, and given assurances about ethical considerations such as
confidentiality; they were also told that they could terminate the interview at any
time. All interviews were audio-recorded for later use, after consent forms had
been given. To protect the identities of the participants, the researcher abbreviated
each participant by the code PMT plus a number, i.e. PMT1–PMT14.
3.4 The Research Instrument

To gather detailed information about the lived experience of the participants, it
was essential to construct questions that covered different dimensions of teaching
practice, and which would provide descriptive answers. Two general questions
were developed based on a review of the relevant literature and the researcher’s
experience in teaching and learning mathematics. Thus, open-ended questions
were constructed to encourage participants to share concerns and views.
Specifically, the following two questions were used as a general outline:
- What challenges did you encounter during your teaching practice?
- What strategies did you use to overcome the challenges you encountered?
Additionally, participants’ answers were often explored further with follow-up
questions, to obtain more information, further clarification, or specific examples.
3.5 Data Analysis

Prior to analysis, the collected data were transcribed from the audio recording,
and then analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) to identify the
emergent themes (Anderson, 2007). With TCA, similar patterns and views found
in the data are gathered and put into categories, and these are then placed under
specific themes. It is worth mentioning that the researcher completed the data
analysis process independently before the same process was repeated by another
colleague to improve the quality and credibility of the findings.
4. Results
Table 1 illustrates the results for the first research question on the challenges faced
by pre-service mathematics teachers during their teaching practice. Participants’
perspectives formed five important themes.

28
Table 1. Themes & Samples of Quotations by Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers

Theme PMT Samples of Quotations by Participants
PMT1 “I feel that there are a number of courses that talked
1. Relating Theory about many theories and I did not benefit from during
to Practice my student teaching.”
PMT5 “I had very limited exposure to actual classrooms
during my training to relate the theories studies to the
reality of teaching.”
PMT3 “The school where I was placed to do my student
teaching did not have enough manipulatives to
2. Availability of demonstrate mathematical concepts to students.”
Manipulatives PMT4 “Lack of Support in Terms of Materials and
Equipment.”
PMT9 “My professor taught us how to teach mathematical
concepts with concrete objects …but what I needed was
not available.”
PMT7 “My students thought I was there to visit or play, not to
teach …that is why they did not listen and they were
misbehaving.”
PMT9 “Students did not keep quiet and I spent a lot of time
3. Student trying to make them quiet…because of that I did not
Discipline and finish my lessons.”
Classroom PMT11 “It was very difficult to manage my class because my
Management students did not think of me as a real teacher.”
PMT13 “I tried to apply what I learned from courses to manage
students...I felt I need more strategies to control them.”
PMT8 “I felt like the students were not engaged because I was
afraid to suggest innovative teaching methods to my
4. Pedagogical cooperative teacher.”
Challenges PMT10 “Students struggle with some mathematical terms
because of their lack of language.”
PMT13 “I had one student with special needs…I was not sure
if I was doing the right thing dealing with him.”
PMT14 “I struggled with lesson planning because we were
trained in English but we had to teach in Arabic.”
PMT8 “I was scared and I felt I was not part of the school at
the beginning of the experience.”
5. Student PMT9 “One semester is not enough. We should be exposed to
teaching teaching much earlier in our program.”
structure PMT2 “I did not gain much experience regarding what
happens in staff meetings because I was excluded from
such meetings.”
Theme 1. Relating Theory to Practice

Two participants thought that several university courses they completed during
their undergraduate program were too theoretical, and failed to provide them
with the means to cope with the realities of the classroom. As one participant
stated, “I feel that there are a number of courses that talked about many theories and I did
not benefit from these during my student teaching” (PMT1). Another participant stated
that some university courses were about theory without any connection to actual

29
classroom practice. PMT5 believed that she “…had very limited exposure to actual
classrooms during training to relate the theories studies to the reality of teaching.”
Theme 2. The Availability of Manipulatives

Participants stated how they had learned that the use of manipulatives is very
effective for enhancing student understanding. However, three participants
believed that the lack of these manipulatives had hindered their performance as
mathematics teachers. PMT3 stated that, “The school where I was placed to do my
student teaching did not have enough manipulatives to demonstrate mathematical
concepts to students.” Similarly, the availability of manipulatives as a challenge was
echoed by PMT 9, who said “My professor taught us how to teach mathematical
concepts with concrete objects …but what I needed was not available.”
Theme 3. Student Discipline and Classroom Management

Student discipline and classroom management was the most frequently
mentioned challenge by participants. They highlighted their lack of management
skills and how difficult it was to teach disruptive students. Participants’
comments regarding this challenge were as follows:
“My students thought I was there to visit or play, not to teach …that is
why they did not listen and they were misbehaving.” (PMT7)
“Students did not keep quiet and I spent a lot of time trying to make them
quiet…because of that I did not finish my lessons.” (PMT9)
“It was very difficult to manage my class because my students did not
think of me as a real teacher.” (PMT11)
“I tried to apply what I had learned from courses to manage students...I
felt I need more strategies to control them.” (PMT13)
Theme 4. Pedagogical Challenges

Regarding pedagogical challenges, participants felt that they were not
comfortable suggesting or trying a different teaching methodology than the one
used by the cooperative teacher. As one participant explained, “I felt like the
students were not engaged because I was afraid to suggest innovative teaching methods to
my cooperative teacher” (PMT8). Another participant thought the students’ limited
English proficiency had negative effects on her pedagogical practices. One
participant pointed out, “Students struggle with some mathematical terms because of
their lack of language” (PMT10). Another participant lacked confidence when she
was interacting with a special needs student, and commented, “I was not sure if I
was doing the right thing dealing with him” (PMT13).
A fourth participant noted that she faced difficulty planning and delivering a
quality lesson because she was trained in a different language to the one she was
using for teaching. Participant PMT14 thus explained, “I struggled with lesson
planning because we were trained in English, but we had to teach in Arabic.”
Theme 5. Student teaching structure

The interviewed teachers reflected on the structure of how student teachers were
allowed to practice teaching, and pointed out several issues with its current

30
format. Participant PMT2 believed that one semester of teaching might not be
enough to gain the skills needed, and she stated, “I did not gain much experience
regarding what happens in staff meetings, because I was excluded from such meetings.”
Another participant reinforced this belief, saying that “One semester is not enough.
We should be exposed to teaching much earlier in our program” (PMT9). These and
other participants felt that exposure to a school setting much earlier would help
them to avoid being scared, as PMT8 expressed when she said, “I was scared, and I
felt I was not part of the school at the beginning of the experience.”
5. Discussion and Conclusion

The aim of this study was to explore the challenges encountered by pre-service
mathematics teachers during their student teaching period, and in this regard, the
in-depth interviews uncovered several important challenges. While all the student
teachers in this study indicated that they benefited from the experience of teaching
practice, they also experienced challenges which may have affected their ability
to grow, and to learn what teaching as a profession entails. It is, therefore,
necessary to address and overcome these challenges to avoid any negative effect
on student teachers’ perceptions of becoming a teacher.
First, with regard to relating theory to practice, and as shown in the interview
excerpt, the participants commented that university courses helped them gain an
overview of certain pedagogical theories, but crucially they did not know how to
translate this knowledge to the classroom. The challenge of relating theory to
practice has also been documented by other studies (Gan, 2013; Peercy, 2012).
Indeed, since the 1960s, the disparity between university coursework and the
realities of teaching practice has been a consistent issue (Cochran-Smith, 2005;
Korthagen, 2010). However, teacher educators are yet to find an effective way to
bridge the gap between theory and practice. The responses of this sample of
interviewees may suggest that the teacher preparation program they experienced
is either unfamiliar with what is needed in schools, or does not provide enough
opportunities to practice what was learned. Thus, supporting the learning of
student teachers requires that the teacher preparation program links student
teaching experience in schools with on-campus coursework (Darling-Hammond,
2006).
The finding on the lack of availability of manipulatives may be why these student
teachers did not feel innovative and had difficulty engaging students. This is in
line with Ulla (2016), who also found that a lack of teaching resources for pre-
service teachers meant that they recycled strategies and methods. Moreover, the
participants in this study echoed Golafshani’s recommendation that schools
provide teachers with manipulatives to use as teaching strategies that fit their
classroom situation (2013). Furthermore, the availability of manipulatives is an
effective tool in mathematics instruction because students can visualize the
mathematical concepts before they are introduced to them in the abstract form
(Furner & Worrell, 2017).
One serious obstacle faced by these student teachers was how to manage
classrooms and control students. As shown in the interview excerpts, the

31
participants mentioned these obstacles more than any other topic, and they
specifically commented on the difficulty of teaching lessons because students
were disruptive and the classroom became difficult to manage. Nguyen, Tran, and
Luu (2017) reported similar results, and indicated that student teachers view
classroom management as a major challenge, particularly student misbehavior, in
the practicum context. Other studies have reported similar results, and suggest
that this challenge may have a negative impact on student teachers’ views of the
teaching profession (Uibu, Salo, Ugaste & Rasku-Puttonen, 2017; Gan, 2013). The
large number of student teachers who report issues with classroom management
may be linked to the fact that they have theoretical knowledge, but lack the chance
to put it into practice during the earlier part of their preparation programs. These
results point to an urgent need for embedding classroom management techniques
into the curricula of teacher education programs, rather than maintaining the
traditional focus on theories.
The challenge of pedagogical and content knowledge was also a concern

expressed by the student teachers during their teaching practice. In this case,
however, the challenge was being afraid to apply some of the more innovative
teaching methods they had learned in their preparation program due to potential
conflict with the cooperative teacher. This finding is similar to Gan’s study (2013),
which noted the difficulty of experimenting with the innovative pedagogical
practices learned on their methodology courses. In the current study, the findings
also revealed that the student teachers lacked the confidence to choose
appropriate teaching strategies with special needs students. Equipping student
teachers with strategies for dealing with special need students is extremely
important because the UAE has adopted a law which places such students in
mainstream education. As shown in the interview excerpt, one participant said
that the reason she faced difficulty was the language of instruction, as she had
been trained in English but was using Arabic in her student teaching.
Finally, while all participants stated that they had benefited greatly from the
experience, they also had concerns regarding the structure of the training
program, and reported that one semester was insufficient to become acquainted
with the requirements and practice of teaching. Similar results about the duration
of student teaching were reported by Mutlu (2014). Additionally, participants
expressed a desire to be exposed to the experience of teaching earlier in their
preparation program, rather than waiting until the very last semester. Again, this
is similar to the findings of Mutlu (2014), who reported that student teachers
thought their teaching practice should start in the second or third year of their
preparation program.
To summarize, this study has explored the challenges faced by pre-service

mathematics teachers during their teaching practice in the UAE. To achieve the
intended objective, fourteen participants from the College of Education at the
UAEU were interviewed. The results indicated that pre-service teachers
encountered several challenges: relating theory to practice; the availability of
manipulatives; student discipline and classroom management; pedagogical
challenges; and, the structure of the program for student teachers.

32
6. Implications and Future Research

This study has value for teacher education programs throughout the UAE because
it provides different institutions with an opportunity to evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of their student teaching program. The voices emerging from this
study require teacher education programs to re-examine their practices both on
and off-campus. Specifically, the ﬁndings point to the need for teacher educators
to be vigilant about the content of their coursework, and how it translates to
meaningful practices in schools. Furthermore, it is necessary for teacher education
programs to listen to their trainee teachers and the challenges they face during the
student teaching period. For student teachers to emerge at the end of their
teaching practice as qualified and confident professional teachers, and to improve
how they are prepared, it is essential to explore and overcome the challenges they
face during this key period. Future research should, therefore, complement this
study by exploring the challenges from the point of view of cooperating teachers
and university supervisors.
This study has some limitations which must be acknowledged. Specifically, the
results of the study may not be generalized due to the small sample size and the
research method employed. Larger scale studies with different research
methodology may yield more concrete results.
7. References
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35

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 35-54, July 2020
Incorporating Academic Writing Phrases into

EFL Students’ Research Proposals
Anselmus Sudirman
Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5520-9838
Adria Vitalya Gemilang

Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7784-7811
Hendrikus Male
Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Jakarta
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4424-7852
Abstract. The phrasal expressions in research proposals represent an

integral semantic unit coherently, including the basic academic phrases
and syntactic elements. The objectives of this research are (1) to describe
the types of academic writing phrases in EFL students' research
proposals, (2) to find out the benefits of academic writing phrases, and (3)
the problems that EFL students faced while constructing academic
writing phrases. This interpretive/qualitative research seeks to identify,
classify, and analyse data pertaining to the academic writing phrases in
28 research proposals. The results show the academic writing phrases that
are organised into introducing the topic using specific writing phrases
and guidelines, identifying the significance of the issue, the scopes and
objectives of the research, the review of literature, and the explanation of
key terms. These contributions confirm the benefits of academic writing
phrases for educational purposes, namely to pursue knowledge of EFL
writing, encourage self-confidence, support self-awareness and modify
writing practices. As reflected through the interview results, however,
EFL students are afraid of making mistakes, and they find it hard to
explore ideas and use academic writing phrases to enhance linguistic
advancement, metalinguistic knowledge, phrasal familiarity, clarity, and
acceptability. The pedagogical implications of the findings merit further
considerations.
Keywords: writing; academic writing; academic writing phrases; EFL

students; research proposals
©2020 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

36
1. Introduction
The primary focus of this research is to examine three areas in academic writing
that challenge EFL students to explore academic writing across contexts (Qin &
Uccelli, 2020). First, the phraseological praxis in academic writing articulates a
mode of academic phrases. The term academic, in a broad sense, puts forward
theoretical and practical grounds of writing phrases and their relevant
contributions to the organization of ideas. Second, academic writing phrases in
the introductory part of a research proposal comprise the background information
of issues, research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, and the synopsis of
methodological platforms. Distinctive categories of academic phrases (Davis &
Morley, 2015) reflect typical orders – fixed or more flexible, depending on the
complexity of issues under discussion (Morley, 2015). Thus, most academic
writers deal with academic phrases that help them make a difference in writing a
research proposal.
Academic writing phrases put more emphasis on interlingual transfer of idioms,

and collocations (Afshunpour & Memari, 2014; Chen, 2019). The unit of phrasal
expressions designates a coherent semantic unit including base-phrase chunking
and syntactic constraints (Kozawa, Sakai, Sugiki & Matsubara, 2010). Besides,
academic words or phrases (Akbari, 2017) can be found in the research proposal
formats, guidelines, and section class identifications. Both common words and
phrasal expressions are based on the locality classification that underline the
frequency of academic writing phrases in each section. As academic writing has
been a major concern for non-native speakers of English, they encounter
difficulties in communicating verbal ideas (Kozawa, Sakai, Sugiki & Matsubara,
2010), and using academic writing phrases. Consequently, they cannot improve
their grammatical performances, organizations of ideas, writing quality (Abbas,
Hammad, Hwang, Khan & Gilani, 2020), and linguistic expressions (Qin & Uccelli,
2020).
Other researchers have identified several problems concerning the use of

academic writing phrases in EFL contexts. In terms of phraseological area, EFL
students tend to use unclear collocations and phrases in the pedagogical corpora
widely incorporated into teaching materials (Oakey, 2020). In what follows, there
is a growing gap between the stocks of phrases and the way they are either taught
or used in the classroom. For example, lexical bundles in specific contexts
(Hyland, 2008) do not contain lexical words, giving rise to the difficulties in
understanding academic writing phrases (Oakey, 2020), and less focused
classroom interactions (Parkinson & Musgrave, 2014) account for the dynamics of
writing performances.
EFL students keep a firm commitment to use academic writing phrases in a wide
variety of writing practices. Without mastering academic writing phrases, they
may lead to a degree of writing complexity and the communication of ideas fails
to be expressed as clearly as possible. Most students write in the EFL environment
that is more or less influenced by their mother tongues, in this case, Indonesian
language or other local languages. The outcome of their writing seems uncommon
to native speakers of English because of inter-lingual errors (Elfiondri, 2019) and
inter-lingual interference involving a translation strategy in a mother tongue

37
domain (Kaweera, 2013), and the unfamiliar use of certain academic writing
phrases.
In response to such fundamental issues, this research seeks to frame three

questions, as follows:
1. What are the types of academic writing phrases in EFL students' research
proposals?
2. What benefits do EFL students obtain from constructing academic writing
phrases in the research proposals?
3. What problems do EFL students face while constructing academic writing
phrases in the research proposals?
Academic Writing
Academic writing is an appropriate course for college or university students
(Bailey, 2015; Habibie, 2019; Mur-Dueñas, 2019; Casanave, 2019) because of its
high level of complexity, targeted audience, purpose, and tone. Unlike literary,
personal, or journalistic style of writing, academic writing pays more attention to
the diction, formality of tone, grammatical rules, etc. that may influence the
clarity, and objectivity of messages transferred formally and impersonally.
Concerning a tone, Badley (2020) offers an insight into the use of formal language
by avoiding informality including sentence fragments, exclamations, initials
(and, but, or so), and modality contractions. Academic writing aims to persuade,
explain, or convince audiences about the correct claims on relevant issues, and its
processes entail prewriting, planning, searching references, handling references,
data collection and analysis, and writing and revising drafts. In the prewriting
stage, EFL students are required to choose a topic and narrow it down.
Brainstorming ideas (Boddy, 2012) is a process of listing concepts in free-writing
activities, and clustering sessions of writing. Topical options in academic writing
refer to how the practicality of course descriptions contributes to the time
management involving motivation, future research concern, and thematic
domains that narrow down the gamut of topics, location, subject, timeline, etc.
These attributes determine the construction of lexical phrases (Li & Schmitt, 2009)
to pursue a convincing argument so that the practice of writing in a more
extensive scope is worth considering.
The construction of the phrases is closely connected to EFL students' writing

competence in patterning sentences, and grammatical components (Staples,
Egbert, Biber & Gray, 2016). The ability to combine clauses and nouns emerged
before prepositional bundles (Ruan, 2017) is of paramount importance.
Furthermore, EFL students' literacy on academic writing depends wholly on the
understanding of the lexical phrases that might shift from the low and medium
level of awareness to the high-level one (Çandarlı, 2018).
Academic Writing Phrases

The integrated practices of constructing academic writing phrases have long been
touted as the advancement of background knowledge (Morley, 2015). Each
academic writing phrase has componential parts of generally accepted
expressions that likely identify a range of writing topics, tasks and genres

38
(Rakedzon & Baram-Tsabari, 2017), collaboration, audience awareness, flexibility,

and information sharing (Barrot, 2020) in the 21st century. Academic writing
phrases also deal with linguistic complexities, self-awareness, and understanding
of issues (Abednia, Hovassapian, Teimournezhad & Ghanbari, 2013). In short,
academic writing phrases establish emerging issues and self-exploratory stages to
connect theories and practices of writing.
Another critical point to consider is that academic writing phrases play a pivotal
role in shaping EFL students' writing (cognitive) performances (Teng, 2019;
Farahian & Avarzamani 2018; Birjandi & Tamjid, 2012) through the revision
behaviour, time on task, pause behaviour, pausing strategy (Zarrabi & Bozorgian,
2020). In most cases of EFL contexts, consistent practices of academic writing can
be modified to enhance writing competence (Bai, Wang & Nie, 2020; Beck &
Jeffery, 2007), and factual achievement in developing critical ideas. Instead, little
attention has been paid to the integrated practices of academic writing phrases in
research proposals for EFL university students. In short, a metalinguistic
understanding of lexical phrases is necessary to change EFL students' self-
awareness from the low and medium level to the high level one, depending on
the variability (Çandarlı, 2018) within the intended research proposals.
In contrast, Badley (2019) argues that academic writing has a strict system for
generating jargon and over-theoretical approaches. The overemphasis on theories
leads to tangent criticism that writers and researchers find it hard to stay open
and accessible to a more progressive style of writing. Post-academic writing
(Badley, 2020; Badley, 2019) is a term that emphasizes a humanity message for
human readers in contexts. This notion is that EFL students learn to write as they
want to become post-academic writers in the future. The use of phrases in EFL
students' academic writing across different levels reflects a consistency to achieve
desired writing performances. EFL students prefer to employ more academic
writing phrases (Thonney, 2012) because they want to advance toward a higher
level of competence (Ruan, 2017) and academic writing skills (Imaniah, Mayuni
& Lustyantie, 2019).
Academic Writing Phrases in Research Proposals

In the practice of writing research proposals, academic phrases play a pivotal role
in constructing sentences sequentially (Vincent, 2013), and setting basic strategies
to distinctively feature lexical bundles used in the novice writing (Ruan, 2017).
These key factors strengthen the advancement of academic writing and the
acceptability of research proposals compiled by EFL students. Several studies
show that students' complicated noun phrases in research proposals aim to
describe the English language proficiency for academic purposes (Parkinson &
Musgrave, 2014), popular science writing skills (Rakedzon & Baram-Tsabari,
2017), phraseological patterns, semantic and pragmatic divergences (Nuccorini,
2006), and lexical phrases (Li & Schmitt, 2009). The use of phraseological patterns
is likely to indicate a non-native manner of learning resulting from the text level
of difficulties (Leroy, Kauchak & Hogue, 2016), students' lack of vocabulary,
grammar, and background knowledge.
In some cases, the quality of phraseological expressions in a text impacts the

quality of other documents as a whole (Rojo, 2018). The quality of an academic

39
version rests on the accuracy and fluency, grammatical complexity, and

proficiency of writing (Lan, Lucas & Sun, 2019; Lan & Sun, 2019). The models of
academic writing phrases are used in situational contexts (Kerz & Wiechmann,
2015) in response to how university students write texts that functionally outline
lexical phrases (Li & Schmitt, 2009; DeCarrico & Nattinger, 1988). Without intense
practices regularly, however, EFL students cannot produce native-like academic
writing phrases.
Critical points in much of the literature indicate that EFL students tend to copy
and use other writers' words or phraseological phrases (Davis & Morley, 2015).
This plagiarism can be prevented through the phraseological detections of
phrases at "the basic level of categorization" (Clifton & Frazier, 2012), and lexical
phrases in the academic genre (Cai, 2016). As a consequence, EFL students are
encouraged to produce new but original expressions in an academic discourse
level (Benelhadj, 2019). The correct use of academic writing phrases in sentences
and paragraphs determines the accuracy, fluency, syntactic complexity
(Ansarifar, Shahriari & Pishghadam, 2018), grammatical complexity (Biber, Gray,
Staples & Egbert, 2020), and linguistic complexity (Qin & Uccelli, 2020) of
expressions in the research proposals.
As a linguistic phenomenon, the phrasal verbs represented in a written form

combine students' knowledge, practice, and writing skills. This is because [EFL]
students (Rahman, 2013) have difficulties in demonstrating such fundamental
skills to increase writing competence (Kelso, 2018; Ratminingsih, Marhaeni &
Vigayanti, 2018; Miller, Grise-Owens, Drury & Rickman, 2018; Berge, Evensen &
Thygesen, 2016; Surmann, 1997). Therefore, it is necessary to pursue a
metalinguistic domain of lexical phrases, namely low and medium level
awareness of academic phrases (Çandarlı, 2018) to map out EFL students’ writing
performances. The objective of Çandarlı’s research is to accentuate the L1-
Turkish-speaking, first-year university students’ metalinguistic knowledge of the
lexical phrases in academic writing. The research’s novelty promotes to what
extent lexical phrases support academic writing activities (Powers, Fowles &
Welsh, 2001; Golpour, Ahour, Ahangari & Lu, 2019) in higher education. In one
way or another, this metalinguistic knowledge (Myhill, Jones & Wilson, 2016) can
be acquired to gain new understandings of academic writing phrases in diverse
contexts.
Other studies on academic writing phrases highlight that Chilean students write
locally coherent persuasive texts to grasp the local coherence (LC) that seeks to
identify students’ reasons, arguments and opinions in academic writing (Concha
& Paratore, 2011). Hence, there is an urging demand for metalinguistic knowledge
to moderate the constructions of concepts and operationalize students’ abilities to
correct, describe, and explain errors (Roehr, 2008) in academic written English
(Liu & Myers, 2020). Metalinguistic knowledge contributes to the practical use of
lexical bundles (Wei & Lei, 2011), syntactic complexity of assignments (Mostafa &
Crossley, 2020), modelling, deconstructions of texts (Nagao, 2019), and lexical
phrases in academic writing (Li & Schmitt, 2009). It is imperative that EFL
students are aware of those requirements to increase their proficiency of academic
writing phrases and build a strong theoretical foundation of writing, language

40
performance (Smith, 2004), language resources, and pedagogical conversations

(Galloway, Stude & Uccelli, 2015).
3. Research Method
Type of the Study
This interpretive/qualitative research (Sosenko, 2012) emphasizes the
interpretation of documents (the introductory and literature review sections of
EFL university students' research proposals). Open-ended interviews seek to elicit
more information on the benefits of and problems in constructing the academic
writing phrases.
Research Setting
This research was undertaken at the English Education Department of Universitas
Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia involving fourth semester
students' research proposals (N=28) out of 30 total populations (Cohen, Manion,
& Morrison, 2000). It was conducted within six months starting from February to
June 2019, concentrating on the praxis of academic writing phrases in EFL
students' research proposals.
Research Instrument
The research instruments included (1) documents, in this case, the research
proposals in three different fields, such as EFL, linguistics, and literature, and (2)
the interview documents of 11 EFL students used to elicit information on the
critical reflection and reflexivity (Mann, 2016), and emerging views on theories
and practices (Willis, 2015) of academic writing phrases. The sampling design of
the interview is specifically enumerated since the total population can often be
interviewed, and rarely exceeds 15 and 25 recognizable participants (Trotter, 2012;
Crouch & McKenzie, 2006).
The processes of developing the validity and reliability of research instruments

include investigating the quality of interpretative frames, distinguishing between
perceived problem definitions, identifications, proposed solutions, empirical
background theories, and normative preferences (Moret, Reuzel, van der Wilt &
Grin, 2007). Researchers also evaluated the utility of research instruments by
implementing verification strategies, and self-correcting during the conduct of
inquiry, engaging trustworthiness techniques to assess their quality and
credibility (Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olson & Spiers 2002; Rose & Johnson, 2020).
To verify the validity and reliability of the interview data, the researchers
described participants’ perspective, reformulated interpretative frames of
verbatim transcripts and data coding, reconstructed a method for analysing the
interview scripts (Moret et al., 2007), and incorporated social reliability into the
research instrument to enrich understandings of the emerging phenomena
(Sanders & Cuneo, 2010).
Data Collection Technique

Audio-recorded interviews with 11 out of 28 participants were conducted to gain
essential information on the benefits of and problems in constructing the academic
writing phrases in research proposals. The duration of interviews with
participants ranged from 30 to 45 minutes, followed by the clarification of

41
responses before the final stage of interview data transcriptions, as viewed from
the following table.
Table 1. The participants' profiles and views on the academic writing phrases and
problems emerged
No Names Gender Interests Views Problems
by
Initials
1 HN M EFL - Pursue knowledge of EFL Getting
writing started with a
- Improve writing few lines
competence
2 ANM M EFL - Encourage self-confidence Fear of
- Challenge writing making
accuracies mistakes
3 AP F Literature - Hone writing skills Getting
- Accomplish writing started with a
assignments few lines
4 NTP M EFL - Support self-awareness Getting
- Modify writing practices started with a
few lines
5 SMB M Literature - Identify areas of writing Exploration
features of ideas
- Seize writing
opportunities as well
6 FSB M Linguistics - Understand writing issues Fear of
- Ignite self-exploratory making
capability mistakes
7 AMM F Literature - Solve writing problems Exploration
- Reflect writing benefits of ideas
8 DK M EFL - Think logically Fear of
- Reconsider revisions making
mistakes
9 ASS F EFL - Recognize writing Exploration
weaknesses of ideas
- Find out the solutions
towards them
10 SA F EFL - Construct an Fear of
understanding of writing making
practices mistakes
- Connect between theories
and practices
11 YA F Linguistics - Develop writing skills Exploration
- Explore ideas based on of ideas
different topics

42
Data Analysis Technique

Data reduction
Data reduction is a process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and
transforming the 'raw' data into a systematic analysis or a coding system. It aims
to describe how the research questions can be answered, or how the research
problems are responded to.
Data Classification
Types of Data
Two types of data include the primary data consisting of 28 original research
proposals compiled by the fourth-semester students at the English Education
Department of Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The researchers chose undergraduate research proposals for two reasons: (a) they
were written in the English language and contained academic phrases as linguistic
features, and (b) the documents have the level of difficulties in that the researchers
were challenged to study them. The secondary data comprise the results of
interviews with 11 out of 28 undergraduate research proposal writers. They gave
the researchers data or information about the praxis of academic writing phrases.
The secondary data supported the primary data.
Data Coding
From the primary data, the researchers made two code categories, namely putting
the academic writing phrases into groups, and studying them to form meaning
components of the documents. From the secondary data, the researchers made
strategy codes (Ary, Jacobs & Sorensen, 2009). Each indicator of the recorded and
transcribed interviews was coded (as a kind of convention). The category codes
aim to make the information unit of tape-recorded interviews concerning vital
perspectives on the benefits of and problems in constructing academic writing
phrases.
Data Collection Procedures

There were two kinds of data collection procedures. First, the preparation phase
consists of two steps, namely (i) choosing research proposals to be researched, and
(ii) contacting twenty eight research proposal writers at the English Education
Department of Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Second, the implementation phase covers four elements, namely (i) studying the
documents, (ii) analysing the components of academic writing phrases, (iii)
conducting unstructured tape-recorded interviews with participants, collecting
the data, transcribing, and (iv) analysing them.
Data Analysis Procedures

The researchers paid attention to two domains of analyses, such as the analysis of
primary data limited to the categories of academic writing phrases, and the
analysis of interview data (secondary data). The interview questions were used
to share "emerging views on theories and practices" (Willis, 2015) of academic
writing phrases, benefits of and problems in constructing such phrases, as
illustrated in the table 2.

43
Table 2. The data blueprint

No Research Questions How Who What
1 What are the types of 28 28 EFL Content
academic writing phrases documents university (Primary data)
in EFL students’ research of research students
proposals? proposals
2 What benefits do EFL Interview 11 EFL Benefits
students obtain from students (Secondary data)
constructing academic
writing phrases in the
research proposals?
3 What problems do EFL Interview 11 EFL Problems
students face while students (Secondary data)
constructing academic
writing phrases in the
research proposals?
4. Findings and Discussion

Incorporating Academic Writing Phrases into Research Proposals
This research explores how EFL university students use academic writing phrases
in a wide variety of contexts in their research proposals. The following academic
phrases are categorized as a medium level of awareness (Çandarlı, 2018) through
which students highlight the significance of the topic under research.
a. One of the critical parts of understanding a language is to communicate well.
Paper 01)
b. Using Facebook as [a] learning media is an instrumental part of education. (Paper
02)
These phrases are used in the background section of the study, indicating the topic
introduction incommensurate with the clarity, fluency, and accuracy of
expressions. The academic sentences can be framed in such a way that students
can re-construct them differently. The models of such sentences are contextually
used for certain academic purposes.
Other academic phrases deal with the goal of the study, and it corresponds to
particular objectives that should be mentioned earlier and achieved later in the
discussion section, as stated as follows.
a. The goal of language teaching is to transfer knowledge to EFL students. (Paper
04)
b. This research will examine the use of mobile phones for academic writing purposes
among students, faculty members, and teachers. (Paper 21)
This model of academic phrases has an educational purpose in that EFL students
learn to be creative in creating other forms of academic phrases contextually, and
each of them is not a formulaic expression. Instead, the more students are creative
in constructing the academic sentences, the better their research proposals will be
in terms of the complexity and acceptability of the sentences.

44
The significance of the study is another concern of the research that directs
researchers to the creation of academic phrases and the formulations of priorities,
as highlighted in the following evidence.
a. This research will give the contribution to the teachers, students and [other]
researchers. (Paper 19)
b. This research will give significant benefits to the teaching technique and learning
media. (Paper 11)
These academic phrases investigate the research contributions that might be

important to consider. Students need to formulate different academic sentences
contextually by following the model provided.
The fundamental issue of the study determines how researchers put forward the
scope of topics discussed. The following academic phrases are closely related to
the literary work and linguistics that portray the actual concentration of the
research. The construction of the academic phrases is a repetition of the same form
that frequent words (Vincent, 2013) correspond to the basic categories (Ruan,
2017).
a. This study will [focus] on students’ responses towards the use of English movies.
(Paper 12)
b. The study will [focus] on analysing [a] woman’s character in the movie. (Paper
16)
The reference segment in these sentences seeks to shed light on writers' positions
in which the research proposals show fewer paraphrasing techniques. As mostly
evidenced, however, the research proposal writers describe a general but relevant
review of the literature using simple academic phrases, as follows.
a. According to Reynolds (2016), lack of knowledge in the conversational usage of
collocations results in incompetent writing. (Paper 01)
b. Ur (1996) defined that vocabulary is the words a teacher uses in the teaching of
English as a foreign language. (Paper 05)
These academic phrases can be re-constructed to grasp their basic categories

(Ruan, 2017) and contextual uses, aiming at mapping out the consistency of
writers in providing critical theories or ideas so that readers can understand the
current reviews highlighted.
A review of literature should be written systematically, meaning that it has a wide

variety of academic phrases to put forward. More regularly, investigating ideas
or theories is an area of concern, and how referencing systems are carried out in
varied disciplines, as shown in the following example.
a. Through her work, Malone (2018) indicated that children stories are based on
social experiences in local environments. (Paper 06)
b. Venuti (1998:240) shows that a translator has to choose a foreign language text
and sets a strategy to translate it. (Paper 02)
The textual evidence in such academic phrases principally supports a line of

argument that indicators show variables to exemplify. Research proposal writers
use the reporting verbs such as show and indicate to verify theories or ideas. Their
reconstructions and conceptual patterns should be applied in different situations.

45
The construction of a literature review determines the meaning of texts that

bridges a gap between the textual evidence and its context. As the documents are
written regularly, meanings should be expressed as clearly as possible. Using
wide-ranging academic phrases, each part of the documents puts forward clear-
cut messages in that readers can digest ideas or theories, as elaborated in the
following example.
a. Majchrzak (2018) states that bilingualism is not only concerned with two
language systems, but also the perfect individual speakers of the languages. (Paper
04)
b. Lamb (2018) mentioned that children can be readers of different literary texts in
early modern cultures. (Paper 03)
The reporting verbs in such sentences are used to highlight the writers' ideas on
both bilingualism and children as readers of literary texts. The messages behind
these two statements are re-constructed in other pertinent research proposals
contextually.
In general, the most frequently used academic writing phrase in the research
proposals is a mode of explaining key terms (31.3%), and this emergence is
influenced by EFL students' frequency of listing, clarifying, and defining key
words. The dynamic nature of EFL issues in higher education designates the
objectives of the study (22.3%), the importance of the topic (12.5%), and the
introduction to the subject (13.4). What follows is a review of previous studies
(10.7%) that necessarily has led to the background information of citations, and
criticism. However, EFL students undergo a references deficiency within the
gamut of both learning materials and research proposals. The highlighted scope
of the topic (9.8%) is a core component of academic writing. Still, EFL students
face practical difficulties in formulating the research scope, as shown in the
following table.
Table 3. Categories of academic writing phrases in the EFL students’ research proposals,
as evidenced in 224 samples of data
No Categories of Academic Writing Number of Percentage
Phrases Frequency (%)
1 Introducing the topic 30 13.4

2 Significance of the topic 28 12.5
3 Scope of the topic 22 9.8
4 Objectives of the study 50 22.3
5 Review of prior research 24 10.7
6 Explaining the key terms 70 31.3
Total 224 100
The Benefits of Constructing Academic Writing Phrases

To construct academic writing phrases is one of the essential activities for EFL
students. Its contribution to the betterment of writing competence is genuine and
positive to develop writing skills, intellectual abilities, critical reflection, and
imagination. Arguments in each section of the research proposals are presented
to pursue the writing skills, background knowledge and the linkage of logical
ideas. Through inductive and deductive thinking processes or a combination of

46
both, EFL students attempt to improve writing performances that require

technical skills, self-confidence, and intelligence.
Academic writing aims to enhance mechanical activities such as taking notes and
defining words from a dictionary, remembering or documenting them. Likewise,
writing essays or scientific works are depleted with detailed definitions of
conditions needed to claim propositions. The essence of scientific writing is
inseparable from the effort to classify terms in a dictionary that begins by listing
the word categories. The actual book of concepts can help EFL students develop
writing skills while accomplishing assignments.
The consistent practice of academic writing phrases represents the sequence of

events. EFL students seize the opportunities to emphasize procedural steps, clues,
series of events, or relationships between ideas, between the causes of problems.
This effort is based on the standard of accuracy and clarity of using words
logically and critically. Academic writing activities become an integral part of
their learning experience enriched with knowledge fundamental to build critical
thinking, especially those involving comparative studies of literature, EFL, and
linguistics. Through academic writing, EFL students not only present information
from different viewpoints, but also restructure and re-evaluate theories to make
them more attractive, salient, and interconnected, as excerpted in the table below.
Table 4. The participants' profiles and views on the academic writing phrases
No Names Gender Interest Views on Constructing Academic Writing
by Phrases
Initials
1 HN M EFL - Pursue knowledge of EFL writing
- Improve writing competence
2 ANM M EFL - Encourage self-confidence
- Challenge writing accuracies
3 AP F Literature - Hone writing skills
- Accomplish writing assignments
4 NTP M EFL - Support self-awareness
- Modify writing practices
5 SMB M Literature - Identify areas of writing features
- Seize writing opportunities as well
6 FSB M Linguistics - Understand writing issues
- Ignite self-exploratory capability
7 AMM F Literature - Solve writing problems
- Reflect writing benefits
8 DK M EFL - Think logically
- Reconsider revisions
9 ASS F EFL - Recognize writing weaknesses
- Find out the solutions towards them
10 SA F EFL - Construct an understanding of writing
practices
- Connect between theories and practices
11 YA F Linguistics - Develop writing skills
- Explore ideas based on different topics

47
The realm of academic writing phrases is directly related to the linguistic features
including the lexical bundles (Thonney, 2012) and the activities of studying and
interpreting the topic of discussion. Writing activities involve the domain of a
problem analysis by comparing, grouping, sequencing the debate, and
summarizing it into logical, transparent, and straightforward sections. However,
the study of problems depends entirely on how the EFL students unpack the ideas
on their minds and communicate them more clearly, and straightforwardly, and
how they rest on a single hypothesis or even more to analyse the research
problems.
The practices of writing academic phrases encourage EFL students to brainstorm

ideas (a writing strategy carried out by grouping ideas, words, or concepts related
to the topic of writing), drafts, editing, and revisions. As a learning process,
academic writing is more than just creating the final products, but making a series
of academic writing skills (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2018; Ebadi & Rahimi, 2019) more
likely towards achieving maximum results. It serves as a practical means of
knowledge inquiry (Lin, 2016) that features a typical tone to demonstrate EFL
writing theories, glaring facts, and arguments.
EFL Students' Problems in Constructing Academic Writing Phrases

The interview results show that EFL students face a number of problems in
constructing academic writing phrases in their research proposals, as follows.
Problem 1 – Getting Started with a Few Lines
The most challenging part of writing a research proposal is to get started with a
few lines of sentences that mainly contains academic phrases (Participants 3). As
students' constructions of sentences should be aware of the accuracy principle, the
first and most common pitfall is how to get ahead full of ideas and put conceptual
frameworks into words.
The following quote illustrates, "It's roughly hard to start with the academic
phrases. It feels like a pitfall" (Participant 1). As an advanced framework, another
participant stated that academic phrases are specific terms that seem difficult to
apply because integrated components such as phrasal quality, linguistic
advancement, acceptability, and clarity are worth prioritizing (Participant 4).
Problem 2 – Exploration of Ideas
As struggling proposal writers, participants found it difficult to express ideas

because of the background knowledge, and linguistic competence. As the
participants were in the second year of undergraduate studies (at the time of
writing their research proposals), they realized how their limited knowledge
capacity determined further exploration of ideas using acceptable academic
writing phrases (Participants 8 & 11).
Other participants stated, "[I was in] the fourth semester at the time, I didn't
understand the academic phrases" (Participant 5), and "… the most difficult part
was how to explore ideas, particularly when I was in a position of having an
inadequate understanding of academic phrases" (Participant 7).

48
Problem 3 – Fear of Making Mistakes
As writing is a productive skill, a participant stated that they could not

outperform in writing their research proposals mostly resulting from the fact that
they are afraid of making mistakes (Participant 2). Even though making mistakes
is human, all difficulties and challenges are derived from low writing competence.
Students need to practice writing as much as they can while learning from the
mistakes they make. Therefore, academic writing is not solely a reflection of
productive and creative ideas, but it is merely a trial and error practice of learning
to be a writer (Participant 8).
Typical answers by a participant included, "…I'm afraid of making mistakes

[when] writing academic essays. I sometimes feel ashamed my writing is
incorrect; consequently, when writing, I'm afraid of making mistakes" (Participant
6). Another participant emphasized that a minor mistake leads to inferior feelings,
and feeling ashamed may indirectly result from the low mastery of the topic and
the matter of poor writing competence (Participant 10).
5. Conclusion
The academic phrases are typically beneficial for EFL university students in the
praxis of writing for educational purposes such as writing the introduction and
literature review of research proposals. The writing components of academic
phrases include accuracy, clarity, and complexity of expressions, and
(re)constructions of patterns to help students create other academic phrases
contextually. Lecturers introduce the academic writing phrases to EFL university
students as one of the solutions toward the understanding of the language usage
in the research proposals within a semester course. This is the essence of
developing their writing skills and potentials, particularly when they learn to
display components of academic writing phrases concisely but precisely.
Embedded in every writing practice is the commitment to seize opportunities for
applying given theories. Practical writing techniques are also necessary to capture
EFL students' creativity, cooperation, engagement, and communication.
However, as the interview results proved, EFL university students find a wide
variety of writing problems such as a pitfall of getting started with a few lines of
ideas, the exploration of topical ideas, and fear of making mistakes. To begin
writing is the most challenging part because research proposal writers should
build understandable concepts that represent meanings of academic phrases.
6. Limitations and Pedagogical Implications

The current research suggests a broader framework of EFL students’ academic
writing, but it indicates two weaknesses related to the benefits of and problems in
constructing academic writing phrases contextually. First, the results of this
research stem from a small size of data samples in a geographical location. Second,
EFL students’ perspectives and beliefs on academic writing and its benefits and
problems do not represent other principles of academic writing phrases. For this
reason, future researchers are recommended to use a large size of data samples in
different settings and investigate other variables on the problem-solving schemes,
for example, how EFL students re-construct academic writing phrases to get
insights into a more complete way of understanding the critical issues.

49
The main emphasis on using academic writing phrases in research proposals

leads to pedagogical implications in a global context. First, academic writing helps
EFL students broaden their background knowledge, and writing skills through
“critical writing practices” (Huang, 2012). The implementation of this academic
writing is limited to the EFL academic phrases beyond the critical writing skills,
namely describing, evaluating and analysing ideas with critical eyes. Second,
writing lecturers may assume responsibility for providing EFL students with
academic writing phrases to develop their critical thinking skills. That is why this
research investigates an EFL context of academic writing to produce different
phrases incorporated into research proposals.
7. Acknowledgement
We would like to express our gratitude to anonymous reviewers and editors of
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research for their
constructive criticism, comments, and suggestions on the initial drafts of this
article.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 55-79, July 2020
Digital Literacy Development Trends in the

Professional Environment
Andriushchenko Kateryna
Kyiv National Economic University, Kyiv, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6274-5310
Rozhko Oleksandr
Taras Shevchenko National University, Kyiv, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8415-2084
Tepliuk Mariia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-336X
Semenyshyna Iryna
State Agrarian and Engineering University, Podilia, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9300-8914
Kartashov Evgen
University of Educational Management, Kyiv, Ukraine,
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6522-5508
Liezina Anastasiia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0516-6598
Abstract. This article describes the impact of digital literacy on the

professional environment, which allows people to create and share
digital content. It also describes how digital literacy can be used
communicate and solve problems for effective and creative self-
realization in education, work and social. There are 3 models of digital
skills that are largely mutually complementary: DigCompEdu 2018, EU
DigComp and Target Competency Model 2025. These models describes
changes in the working conditions and requirements for the employee
in the context of digitalization. New technologies in teaching digital
skills that are continuous, social, personalized and focused on the needs
and interests of the students are proposed. The combination of various
educational technologies, training formats and technical innovations
into a single educational system has also been justified. The
improvement in the quality of digital education is due to better data
analysis and forecasting, the development and the launch of advanced

56
educational products which uses artificial intelligence techniques.

Improvements in forecasting tools enable a better understanding of
digital transformation in various departments and ensure their
interaction.
Keywords: digital education; competencies; skills; learning support

tools; gamification; chatbot
1. Introduction
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has led to the widespread dissemination of
digital technology, where the use of artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality
and other innovations have had a powerful impact on the nature of training and
work. In 2018, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, changes were made to
the methodology for calculating the annual Global Competitiveness Index of
countries. The timeliness, expediency and justification of making changes in the
indicated methodology were caused by the rapid expansion of digital
technologies, which significantly affects the dynamics of the world economy.
The new methodology for rating the competitiveness of countries emphasizes
the role of human capital, innovation, sustainability and speed, and the ability to
respond to change, not only as a driving force, but also as determinants of the
country's economic success (Levy & Murname, 2003; Aesaert et al., 2014).
Digitalization of the economy has led to the penetration of technology into the
working environment and personal space of each person. Nowadays the pace of
digitalization exceeds the development of skills in the field of digital media
applications for most people. Therefore, the issue of digital fluency of the
population, especially in the professional environment, is rising. However,
despite the scientific work on the definition of "digital economy", there is no
holistic scientific concept explaining the essence and peculiarities of its
functioning. At the same time, it can be said with confidence that more research
endeavors are based on understanding the knowledge economy and its
importance for the development of economic activities. In this regard, an urgent
scientific task is to develop the development trends in the professional
environment of digital literacy. In the current conditions of functioning and
dynamic development, the business environment is characterized by the
attraction of traditional and intellectual resources, which are the basis of
business activity (Ibrahim et al., 2019).
Digital fluency is determined by the set of knowledge and skills that are
necessary for the safe and effective use of digital technologies and the Internet
(Voogt et al., 2012). The basis of digital fluency is digital competencies which is
the ability to solve various problems in the field of use of information and
communication technologies (ICT). It also includes the possibility to use and
create content using digital technologies, including searching and sharing
information, answering questions, interacting with other people, and computer
programming. The European Commission, in its definition of digital
competency, prepared as part of the Digital Education Action Plan (DEAP),
emphasizes the importance of the conscious and responsible use of digital

57
technologies in education, at work and in public life. Digital competency should

include digital collaboration, security and problem solving (Microsoft, 2018).
Digital fluency includes the personal, technical, and intellectual (digital) skills
that are needed to live in a digital world. By digital skills, we mean established,
automatic models of behavior based on knowledge and skills in the use of
digital devices, communication applications and networks for accessing and
managing information (Levy et al.,2003). Digital skills allow people to create and
share digital content, communicate and solve problems for effective and creative
self-realization in education, work and social activities in general.
This paper uses a wide range of general and special research methods: historical
- in the process of studying modern views on the understanding of digitalization
in economic theory; structural analysis - to streamline the conceptual apparatus
of the digital economy; scientific generalization - in the systematization of
various elemental combinations of the use of digital trends and the comparison
and analysis of trends to study trends in digital transformation with the
identification of possible areas of application of foreign experience in improving
existing approaches.
Digital skills in everyday life

The widespread use of digital technologies in everyday life changes the
interaction with the environment. The ways of accessing various services,
information, knowledge are changing, and this interaction is intensifying
through various channels: social networks, online services, shopping on the
Internet, watching video content, etc. Digital skills are becoming the key to
living in the digital environment (Moller et al., 2012). They allow you to increase
efficiency and reduce the time it takes to solve problems in the digital world,
make a person’s life more comfortable and open opportunities for personal and
professional development. Poor Internet skills is one of the common reasons for
refusing to use the Internet in the field of the use of information and
communication technologies (ICT).
Digital skills at work

The importance of digital skills for work and social inclusion is growing. The
rate of acquiring such knowledge will determine the success of a person’s life
and the prospects of his or her employment. According to Microsoft, 65% of
today's school and university students will do work that does not exist yet
(Microsoft, 2018). For example, professions such as virtual living environment
designers, robotics attorneys, biohackers, or IoT data analysts will appear. A
significant number of employees with digital competencies at different levels in
the company will provide a competitive advantage (Kefela, 2010).
In the corporate world, ‘digital champions’ companies stand out, in which the
level of digital skills for employees is much higher than the average for the
market (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004). This applies not only to specialized employees
whose work is related to ICT, but also to the entire staff of the company and its
management. Such companies are more effective in their activities, particularly

58
in connection with using more efficient business models that are appropriate to
the changing needs of the digital world. They have a shorter time to market
goods and services, using digital marketing and techniques of start-up
companies. They have an efficient cost structure through the use of technology
platforms. They have high quality digital products that provide investment in
digital talent and a high level of customer satisfaction with product quality
through personalized offers and individual digital experiences. It is also
believed that the success of these ‘digital champions’ is due to three key
elements (Carnevale et al.,2013): investments in digital technologies account for
at least 5% of operating expenses; assigning more than 10% of employees to
roles that require professional digital skills and the use of digital technology in
the business functions of companies.
2. Literature review and problem statement

Given how quickly the development of scientific and technological progress
takes place, information and communication technologies (ICT) are the core of
economic developments. Information and communication technologies are the
basis for knowledge-based innovations. Innovations are developed and
implemented by people, which is why it is very important for company
personnel to be capable of developing and generating new ideas, as well as their
implementation (Andriushchenko et al., 2019a). Employees need not only to be
good specialists and possess hard skills, but also have digital skills, as well as
having sufficient soft skills to adapt to the changes in the external environment
(Aesaert et al., 2014).
21st century skills should include communication skills, digital fluency,

acceptance of responsibility, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and
productivity (Voogt et al., 2012). There is a need for the identification and
development of modern competencies and methods of employee training, as
well as for self-development, and effective participation in the development of
the company (Ananiadou et al., 2009). Lewin and McNicol argue that the
growing influence of globalization and the digitalization of society led many to
accept that digital fluency is required to succeed in the workplace (McNicol,
2015).
The main thing is the awareness to move away from the framework of simple
technical use. The ability to learn and function in a technological society is much
more important than owning a particular program or software (Ahmad et al.,
2004). The researchers approach digital literacy as: (1) the ability to use
innovative technologies to solve cognitive tasks at work; (2) the possession of
skills that are not necessarily technology-oriented, as they may not apply to the
use of any specific software; (3) possession of skills that form Higher Order
Thinking Skills (HOTS) and (4) possession of skills related to cognitive processes
contributing to the lifelong learning of employees. In most cases, these concepts
include both the main parts (e.g. computer, ICT, Internet, multimedia) and the
complementary part of specific knowledge (e.g. competence, literacy, skills)
(Hatlevik et al.,2015).

59
Van Deursen proposed a number of ‘digital skills’ concepts, which included

technical or media aspects (average skills), and material or substantive aspects
(skills related to the content). Subsequently, that work was supplemented by
other skills, namely operational, informational, communication, and strategic. A
formal assessment was carried out, which identified a gap in the research. Thus,
the purpose of this study is to determine the ways to solve the issue of digital
fluency in a professional environment, taking into account globalization and the
constant development of scientific and technological progress. In this study, the
authors are interested to understand how the development of digital literacy,
including the launch of advanced educational products, affects the improvement
in the quality of work of employees and how to combine various educational
technologies, training formats and technical innovations into a single
educational system (Van Deursen et al., 2016).
3. The Study
Currently, various government authorities, consulting companies and
researchers have developed various models of digital competencies/skills,
which are largely mutually complementary. However, we will focus on only
three of them, which, in our opinion, reflect the structure and interconnection of
individual types of digital competencies/skills.
3.1. DigCompEdu 2018: European Digital Competency Model for Education

EU activities in the field of developing digital skills of the population are based
on the EU Digital Competence Framework for Educators (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Layout of the European Digital Competencies Model for Education

Formed: by authors about

60
Under the European Union's Digital Education Development Plan (DEAP),

efforts are being made to formulate a new vision of digital
competencies, which are concentrated in three key areas: (1) improving the use
of digital technologies in teaching and learning; (2) the development of the skills
which are necessary for digital transformation; and (3) reliance on analysis and
forecasting based on data in education. The digital skills that underlie digital
competencies can be divided into user and professional (Andriushchenko et al.,
2020). Custom skills can further be classified include basic and derivative skills.
Basic digital skills are associated with functional literacy in the use of electronic
devices and applications. They are necessary for access and use of digital
devices and online services. Moreover, they are critical for everyone. They
include the ability to work with various technical devices, files, the Internet,
online services, and applications. Basic skills also include psychomotor skills.
For example, the ability to type on the keyboard (the development of fine motor
skills) or working with touch screens (the development of gestures).
Derived digital skills are associated with the ability to consciously apply digital
technology in a relevant context at home and in the workplace. Mastering such
skills is aimed at the effective and meaningful use of digital technologies and
obtaining practical results. These skills include creative skills for working in
online applications and digital services (social networks, instant messengers,
information portals), the ability to create digital content and, the ability to work
with information (collect, structure, verify for reliability, store, protect data)
(McKinsey Global Institute, 2018).
Specialized professional digital skills which are required for solving complex
professional tasks in the digital environment are skills that underlie high-tech
professions such as programmers, developers, web-designers and big data
analysts. It is necessary to get a special education for their development. This
can also include teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking.
3.2. EU DigComp
The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens proposes a detailed
classification of digital competency, which includes 5 areas and 21 digital
competencies that are required by all citizens (Table 1). This classification is
applied in 21 countries of the European Union and provides recommendations
for educating people and developing policies in the field of digital economy
development. The five areas are: information processing, online
communications, transactions and financial management, creation of digital
content, and using digital problem-solving tools.

61
Table 1: Digital Competency List

Areas of Competences
competences
1. Information 1.1 View, search and filter data, information and digital
literacy content
To formulate the need for information, to search for data in a
digital environment, to have access to content. Create and
change your own information retrieval strategies.
1.2 Evaluation of data, information and digital content
Analyze, compare and critically evaluate the reliability of
data sources, information and digital content.
1.3 Data, information and digital content management
Organize, store and retrieve data, information and content in
a digital environment. Organize and process them in a
structured environment.
2. Communication 2.1 Interaction through digital technology
and cooperation Interact through various digital technologies and identify
appropriate digital communication tools in conte1xt.
2.2 Exchange through digital technology
Share data, information and digital content with others
through appropriate digital technologies. Act as an
intermediary exchange.
2.3 Civic participation through digital technology
Participate in society through the use of public and private
digital services.
2.4 Collaboration using digital technology
Use digital tools and technologies for collaboration, as well as
for the joint production of resources and knowledge.
2.5 Etiquette in the network
Know the rules and norms of behavior in the process of using
digital technologies and communication in digital
environments. Adapt communication strategies to a specific
audience. Understand and take into account cultural and
generational diversity in the digital environment.
2.6 Managing Your Digital Identity
Create and manage one or more digital identities. Have the
opportunity to protect your reputation.
3. Creating digital 3.1 Creation and development of digital content
content Create and edit digital content in various formats.
3.2 Integration and processing of digital content
Modify and improve the quality of information and content,
integrate them into a single set of knowledge to create new
content.
3.3 Copyrights and licenses
Understand how copyrights and licenses for data,
information and digital content are being used.
3.4 Programming
Plan and develop clear and consistent teams for computing
systems to perform specific tasks.
4. Security 4.1 Protection of the device
Protect devices and digital content. Understand the risks and
threats in the digital environment. Be aware of data security
measures.

62
4.2 Protection of personal data and ensuring confidentiality

Protect personal data and privacy in the digital environment.
Understand how to use personal information to prevent
damage.
4.3 Protection of health and well-being
Avoid health risks and threats to physical and psychological
health in the process of using digital technologies. Be able to
protect yourself and others from potential dangers in the
digital environment. Be aware of digital technologies for
social well-being and integration.
4.4 Environmental protection
Be aware of the environmental impacts of digital technology.
5. Problem 5.1 Solution of technical problems
solving To be able to identify technical problems that arise during the
work with digital devices and solve them (from
troubleshooting to solving more complex problems)
5.2 Determination of needs and technological solutions
Identify needs and select the necessary digital tools to solve
them. Customize digital environments for personal needs.
5.3 Creative use of digital technology
Use digital tools and technology to create knowledge and
innovation. Develop conceptual solutions to problematic
situations in digital environments.
5.4 Identification of gaps in digital competency
Understand which digital competencies need to be
developed. To be able to support others in developing their
own digital competence. Seek opportunities for self-
development in the digital environment
Formed: by authors
3.3. Competency Target Model 2025

The model creates a shift in focus from the narrowly understood computer
fluency to ongoing emphasis on the development of composite, integrated skills
of cooperation and communication in the digital environment. It is also
important to consider digital skills in close connection with soft skills and
general knowledge. This approach is illustrated by the Target Competency
Model 2025 as shown in Figure 2.
In addition to the purely technical skills of working with digital devices, this
model also includes cognitive and socio-behavioral competencies aimed at
ensuring a comfortable existence, effective communication and self-
development of a person in a digital environment. Based on these competencies,
the main areas for development can be identified:
• digital skills and knowledge. For example, basic digital fluency, data
analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, programming, IT systems
architecture, and cybersecurity;
• skills and knowledge that help to cope with the volatility and uncertainty
of the future. For example, adaptability, critical and systemic thinking, ability to
cope with stress, change management, business planning, and self-learning
ability according to the concept of ‘lifelong learning’;

63
• skills and knowledge that help to cope with a large flow of information,
including basic skills in programming, search, processing and analysis of
information, information hygiene, media fluency, as well as attention
management;
• skills and knowledge that determine high communication abilities for
effective interpersonal interaction. For instance, teamworking, cooperation, self-
presentation skills, and business negotiation skills, and skills and knowledge
that cannot be mastered by machines, for example, empathy and emotional
intelligence, creativity and creative thinking, and control of robotic processes.
3.4. Change in working conditions and requirements for an employee

The development of automated systems capable of complex physical actions,
high rates of change in technology and the social environment transform the
essence of human labor in all sectors of the economy. The employment structure
will change. New professions will appear, and the demand for digital
competence of workers will increase.
By 2022, as a result of the introduction of new technologies, 75 million jobs will

disappear (WEF, 2018). Digitalization in the service sector will lead to the
reduction in the staff involved in working with clients and processing data in
back-offices. Jobs will be reduced in the field of administrative work. However,
technological innovations will create an additional 133 million jobs in intelligent
and high-tech areas related to new technologies, such as mobile technologies,
artificial intelligence, big data and cloud technologies.
Only 9% of employees can be replaced by automated solutions. With the

penetration of new technologies, it is expected that labor productivity will be
growing by an average of 30% for the period 2015–2022. Automation poses a
threat to both low-skilled and mid-level professionals, such as office workers,
builders, machine tool operators (WEF, 2018). Figure 3 shows the change in
employment in US industries from 1980 to 2015. Due to technological
development, employment is growing among low- and highly-skilled workers,
while it is decreasing among middle-skilled workers. Low-skilled personnel are
still expensive to automate, and highly qualified personnel are still difficult to
automate because of the complexity of the tasks. This is confirmed by the report
of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In OECD countries, the proportion of intermediate workers decreased from 49%

to 40% for the period 1995–2015. For comparison: the share of highly and
unskilled employees over the same period increased by 7.6% and 1.9%,
respectively. Already, various kinds of specialists working with IT systems are
extremely in demand. These include UX designers, mobile and front-end
developers, scrum masters and agile trainers, full stack developers, machine
learning engineers and DevOps engineers.

64
Cognitive skills
Self-development Organization Management skills
 Self-awareness  Organization own activity  Prioritization

 Learning ability  Resource management  Tasks setting
 Perception of criticism  Team building
and feedback  The development of
 Curiosity others
 Motivating others
Decision non-standard  Delegation
tasks
Achieving results  Creativity, including the
Adaptability
 Responsibility, risk taking ability to see opportunities
 Persistence in achieving  Critical thinking  Work in the face of
goals uncertainty
 Initiative
Social and behavioral skills
Communication Interpersonal skills Intercultural interaction
 Presentation skills  Teamwork  Awareness

 Writing skills  Ethics  Social responsibility
 Negotiation skills  Empathy  Cross-functional and cross-
 Openness  Customer focus disciplinary interaction
 Stress management  Foreign languages and
 Adequate perception of cultures
criticism
Digital skills
Creating systems
Information management
 Programming
 Data processing and analysis
 Applications Development
 Design of production systems
Figure 2: Target competency model 2025

Formed: by authors

65
Emp
loym
ent
level 0.4%
chan
ge 0.3%
from 0.2%
1980 Same remark
0.1%
to
2005 0.0%
-0.1%
-0.2% 0 2 4 6 8 100
0 0 0 0
The
process
of
crowding
Simple
tasks
<>
Complex automatable
tasks
Creative tasks
out work
Low- Machines and Highly qualified
qualified software staff
staff,
including
Figure 3: Autor’s Curve
migrant
workers Formed: by authors
In light of rapid technological changes, companies will increasingly interact with

complex digital ecosystems spanning a range of enterprises and technologies,
using artificial (AI) intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT) or automated
devices in their work. This will lead to the emergence of new areas of
employment and new professions, some of which may not even exist today. As
can be seen from Figure 4, the distribution of a new profession in the market
takes only between 15 and 20 years.
10 – 60 25 –
15% % 30%
In the next In the next In the next

5 years 10 – 15 years 30 – 40 years
First Most Lagging

(advanced) industries enterprises, hard-
production or regions to-reach regions
or regions
Figure 4: The process of retirement of the profession
Formed: by authors

66
3.5. New areas of employment

The Atlas of New Professions predicts that, by 2030, 57 ‘traditional’ professions
will disappear, and 186 new ones will appear. According to forecasts, 65% of
today's schoolchildren and students will occupy positions that do not yet exist
(IMD, 2018). By 2025, professions such as virtual living environment designers,
technological ethics advocates, digital culture interpreters, freelance biohackers,
and IoT data analysts are expected to be in high demand. At a later time, even
more technologically advanced professions will appear including: space tour
guides and personal content managers (Microsoft, 2018).
With the growth of automation, a call for the creation of new sectors will sharply
increase, and at least four areas can be identified where significant changes can
occur. The development of new generation technologies for industrial and
consumer applications will revolutionise the technological sector. For example,
the design and programming of smart energy networks and other smart systems
for cities and households, or the production of urban robotics and unmanned
autonomous vehicles, or the design and production of renewable bioengineering
materials. There will be a growth in the demand for personalized services in the
field of education, healthcare, experience design and entertainment. People will
be spending more and more time in the virtual world through virtual reality
systems, social networks and making use of virtual currencies. All these changes
will lead to the creation of a new creative economy.
4. New technologies in teaching digital skills

Learning in the digital age will be continuous, social, personalized and focused
on the needs and interests of the student. Educational decisions will be made on
the basis of big data collected during previous training sessions (Kovtun et al.,
2020). This means that there will be a significant change in the educational
paradigm. This change does not necessarily mean that learning processes will be
transferred into a digital environment. Instead, learning in the digital age will
become a deeper transformation of the entire learning process. This will include
the use of new digital tools to rethink how to teach and learn (Figure 5).
Technological innovations in the information environment (development of

mobile networks, artificial intelligence, automation, advanced data analytics,
etc.) make it possible to expand learning opportunities by combining traditional
teaching methods with modern technologies, as in using algorithms to
personalize learning experiences.
These processes are illustrated in a graph put forward by Capgemini Corporate

University, illustrating the company's educational process.

67
Virtualization Digitalization
E-learning Digital and social learning
Focus on content and its Focus on training and

virtualization business objectives
Mass character Personalization
Organization structured by Interdisciplinary & Agile

department Teams
Focus on digital technology Focus on digital learning

communities
Figure 5: Using new digital tools

Formed: by authors
4.1. Continuing education
Most people still understand that formal education takes place at schools and
universities. However, there are many other opportunities for acquiring
knowledge and developing skills outside these traditional environments. A key
factor in the competitiveness of the personality of a professional and company in
the VUCA (Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) -world is the
principle of continuing education. The underlying process is lifelong learning,
which is a constant, voluntary and self-motivated search for knowledge for
personal or professional reasons. Education can no longer be divided into place
and time for acquiring knowledge. Instead, learning should be seen as a constant
and everyday interaction with other people and with the world (EFMD, 2018).
Lifelong learning can be broadly understood as flexible, diverse, available at

different (times and in different places. Lifelong learning requires the individual
to not only to customize and get deeply adaptive, but also to get personalized
training in mastering new skills, and to develop his or her critical mind to satisfy
a diverse and context-sensitive learning needs with no age limit. According to
the concept of “learning of the future” proposed by Levy E. an individual must
master five skills in order to meet the demands of changes in the external
environment (UNESCO, 2017). These are: learning to know which is not just
awareness of the nature of information, mastery of learning tools, but also the
acquisition of structured knowledge; learning to do which is the development of
a set of skills for those types of work that are necessary now and will be
necessary in the future, including innovation and adaptation of training to
future working conditions; learning to live together and with others which
includes constructive communication, peacefully resolving conflicts,

68
discovering other people and their cultures, strengthening community potential,

individual competence and abilities, economic sustainability and social
integration; learning to be which is education that contributes to the
comprehensive and full development of a person: mind and body, intelligence,
sensitivity, aesthetic assessment, spirituality, etc, and learning to learn and
continuing to learn throughout life.
Lifelon
g
Deat
h
Life-wide Formal Informal
Birth
Figure 6: The concept of continuous and comprehensive training Is it training or
education?
Formed: by authors
The National Agency for Education of Sweden has proposed the concept of
continuing and comprehensive education as shown in Figure 6. The concept
combines lifelong learning throughout a person’s life and life-wide learning,
which includes all types of training and personal development, both in the
educational environment and in ordinary (non-educational) situations. It is
determined by interests, the subjective value of training, as well as individual
learning needs, which are manifested only in everyday activities, and involves a
combination of formal and non-formal learning.
4.2. Learning through experience

An experiential learning approach has become widespread in education,
especially in the corporate environment. This is a set of educational technologies
that involve students in any activity and the gaining of relevant experience, as
well as the evaluation of this activity and acquired experience, identification and
assimilation of new knowledge and skills (Figure 7).
Educational technologies that underlie learning through experience are usually

divided into three groups. Business simulations and games are training
technologies in which processes, events, places, and situations are reproduced,
which provides an interactive learning experience with a controlled level of risk.
Business games are a type of simulation that includes game elements, such as
history, goals, feedback, and the game itself. Training at the workplace in the
normal course of work of the participant can be either structured (coaching,
mentoring, etc.), or unstructured (sharing knowledge during work or observing
others).

69
Learning
Through
Experience
Action training Workplace Simulation and

Training Business Games
Action training Structured Simulations
Project Coaching Simulator

Oriented
Learning
Personal Mentoring Dynamic

Development System
Programs Simulations
Question Based Tutorship Branching

Model Stories
A Model Based Training Others Business

On the (Leaders) Games
ProgrammedKno
wledge
Research Model Unstructured
Social Learning
Shadowing
Working
communication
s
Overseeing The
Work of Others
Figure 7: Learning technologies through experience

Formed: by authors
Learning by action is when individual participants or teams complete tasks and

learn in the process of developing solutions to real business problems and
situations. Most learning models which are based on experience consist of
learning cycle of two to five steps. The classical model of learning theory

70
through experience, developed by David Kolb offers four stages of learning as

shown in Figure 8. The learning process can begin with any of the stages, but
most often starts with immediate or specific experiences, which is the basis for
observation and reflection.
Activist Idea's generator

How: through the implementation How: intuitively through reflection
of those types of work that Strengths: imagination and
intuitively seem right fantasy, assessment from different
Strengths: flexibility of thinking, points of view
the ability to quickly adapt to a Who: researchers relying on
specific situation Concrete several sources of information to
Who: school teachers offering new Experience formulate a specific theory
teaching and learning methods Doing something
–
gaining
experience
Active Reflective
Experimentation Observation
Planning the next Assessment of
steps – checking what is
what has been happening, –
learned from thinking or talking
experience about experience
Analyst Theorist
How: first thinking, then doing Abstract How: through analysis and
Strengths: search for specific and Conceptualizatio reflection
clear answers for the real n Strengths: combining disparate
application of the information Formulation of facts into meaningful theory
received Who: university professors and
Who: scientists and engineers conclusions – theorymakers
learning from
experience
Figure 8: ELT Learning Cycle

Formed: by D. Kolba
Dissemination of training through experience in corporate practice

In 2016, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) conducted a large-scale
study of the educational sphere, in which 270 companies took part. Three-
quarter of them were commercial enterprises and the rest were state and non-
profit organizations. Sixty percent of these companies has more than 1000
employees. It turned out that learning through experience is used by 76% of
these organisations (ATD, 2016). Among them, 69% use this approach to train

71
their managers.To evaluate learning outcomes through experience, more than

half of the respondents monitor students' satisfaction with the learning process,
and also focus on the usefulness of the acquired skills for students and evaluate
the change in business indicators related to the direction of training (Figure 9).
Satisfaction of the
students learning
processSatisfaction of 54
the
students learning %
process
The use of students
acquired knowledge / 48
skillsThe use of students
acquired knowledge / %4
skills
8%
Career growth / student
promotionCareer growth /
student promotion
Career business indicators, tied

to a specific learningCareer
business indicators, tied to a
specific learning
35
%3
Execution of tasks or 5%
steps associated with
learning
processExecution of 0 10 40 60
20 50
tasks or steps % % % %
% %
associated with learning
process
Figure 9: Indicators for assessing the effectiveness of training through experience

(% of respondents)
Formed: by authors
4.3 Social learning

Social learning is the exchange of information and experience, collaboration and
joint creation of content between and within networks (both employees and
external individuals) using interactive discussions and social media based on
digital technologies. Social learning is acquired by corporate social networks that
implement the functionality of microblogging, knowledge sharing, group chats
and interactive notifications. Social training at the company significantly speeds
up the creation and delivery of educational content to students (time-to-market)
and, accordingly, makes training more flexible. Furthermore, the use of social

72
learning approaches allows training to be carried out when it is necessary, and

not when the program is scheduled to start, which is called just-in-time learning.
It provides informal training opportunities and stimulates a wide collaboration
of employees, effectively involving all employees in training. Finally, the
introduction of social learning optimizes the work of the learning departments
and allows you to focus on the result, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Social Learning with Microsoft Learning as an Example
No longer our job Our job
✓ manage trainers ✓ use technology to scale
✓ conduct hundreds of trainings ✓ provide easy access to advanced
for 30 people in a class knowledge
✓ support passive learning ✓ teach “learn by doing” and share
experiences
✓ be experts ... ✓ meet the goals of the business and its
✓ ... and coach everyone ... transformation
✓ ... for each topic ✓ set limits and become obsessed with
quality
✓ organize coaching and trainee
communities
✓ create all content yourselves ✓ organize a community of authors
✓ let anyone publish anything in ✓ highlight data-driven
any format ✓ do less, but better
✓ measure the number of views
and downloads
Formed: by authors
Forrester (ATD, 2016). has developed a way to evaluate the overall economic
effect of various social learning systems. Under their model, productivity
growth through time saving is calculated. Firstly, the more involved an
employee becomes, the less time he spends on fulfilling his routine duties, such
as searching for information and conducting meetings, etc. Secondly, the better
the communication in the company, there is duplication of projects and these are
implemented at lower cost. And, thirdly, social adaptation reduces the cost of
training new employees. According to a conservative estimate by Forrester, a
highly involved employee saves 30 hours, while an average employee saves 15
hours a year. Thus, by measuring the activity of users in the network, we can
make an assessment of the increase in productivity (ATD, 2016). ATD offers the
following key metrics for assessing the effectiveness of social learning (ATD,
2011): frequency of access to individual training materials; activity in online
learning communities; the popularity of custom content; connection with
business goals and KPI; variety of types of user content; frequency of adding
content; frequency of use of individual social media tools; behavioral
characteristics of users who share content; polls of employee satisfaction with
social learning; and connection with individual goals.
4.5 Flipped learning

A relatively new approach is flipped learning, which is a learning technology for
the direct transfer of knowledge from a group educational space to an individual
one. The group learning space is transformed into a dynamic and interactive
environment in which the teacher takes on the role of facilitator, mentor, tutor,

73
consultant and helps students put theory into practice, develop skills and deeply
reflect on the subject for further independent training and development (Figure
11).
The key components of the technology of the flipped class are: 1) an online
platform for communication in connection with educational content; 2)
interactive instructions and simulators for working in typical educational
contexts; 3) providing monitoring systems for teachers and management for the
purpose of feedback to employees; 4) feedback forms for students with the
purpose of operational correction of training programs (Batista-Foguet et al.,
2009).
The core of any flipped learning is the flipped classroom. The flipped
classmodel’ appeared in the practice of American school education to prepare a
didactic material for home study in the format of video lessons and
presentations. Thus, more time could be devoted during the face-to-face lesson
for the development of problem solving skills, group interaction, cooperation,
the application of knowledge and skills in a new situation, as well as the creation
presentations and application of a new educational product by the students.
The flipped class is one of the models of blended learning aimed to expand the
possibilities of individualizing education, which takes into account the
educational needs, interests and abilities of students, in which the teacher acts as
an assistant and mentor. The introduction of e-learning formats does not reduce
the importance of face-to-face sessions. Full-time classes are great for group
discussions, for working with small and medium-sized businesses and other
close interactions. In the flipped model, the theoretical material can be
completely moved to online, while all practical tasks, possibly in a playful way,
get extra time in the classroom.
In most organizations where LMS systems exist, it is possible to determine the

most successful employees in terms of training speed. These students can be
quickly involved in the classroom in the process of sharing their already
acquired knowledge and train their comrades. McAfee Corporation adopted the
‘flipped class’ approach to reform the initial training camp program for hiring
new employees (Wasfy,et. al, 2013 ).
4.6 Gamification
Gamification is the practice of applying approaches specific to games in non-
game processes in order to attract students and increase their involvement in
solving learning problems. It is based on the use of scenarios that require user
attention and real-time response (Figure 11).
The learning process includes scenario elements specific to the game, such as
scoring, difficulty and skill levels, awards, statuses, ratings, progress indicators,
competitions between participants, virtual currencies, etc.

74
What system should be Can gamification

implemented as part of the effectively motivate staff?
gamification of the 39%
company?
recognition of
rather yes yes
achievements
48% 39% 39% plot motivation
14% rath-
game motivation er no
13% 6%
4% baby boomers
game motivation 4% (1943 – 1963)
3%
other generationX
(1963 – 1983)
38%
generationZ
(2003 – 20120
43% 53%
consider that it is most generationY
effective to immerse all (1983 – 2003)
employees in the game
39%
success is department
independent
3% IT
4% PR
6% development
In which departments 9%work with clients
is it advisable
12%marketing
introduction
gamification? 12%other
18%sales
Figure 11: Gamification in Ukrainian companies

Formed: by authors
In general, gamification is aimed at creating a common gaming experience

contributing to the student’s emotional involvement. According to polls, almost
90% of business representatives recognize gamification as effective in motivating
staff, whereas 39% believe that the success of its use does not depend on the
department and direction of activities (Levy et al., 2003). The implementation of
game approaches in the educational process extends from the partial
introduction of game-type elements into the educational trajectory to the
complete immersion of all educational activities in the game context. For
example, Minecraft has been successfully modified in Russia, the USA,

75
Australia, Sweden and other countries in order to achieve specific educational

goals (Mirrlees et al.2020,). Minecraft has developed a special training module
that adapts to the needs of basic and corporate training. Some existing video
games can be adapted for training, thus, Masaryk University in the Czech
Republic uses the computer game Kingdom Come: Deliverance in Class. In the
context of corporate training, gamification functions are determined by the need
to give employees the opportunity to develop leadership skills, provide non-
invasive forms of teamwork assessment, and maintain a general level of
motivation for effective participation in business processes.
The main idea is to borrow the spirit of the game, which can unite people to
form a community that can provide support and assistance to all participants.
Amway (Bakhshi et al.2020,) has developed a special online simulator for front
office employees. The design of the simulator involved an online championship
on cleaning various types of facilities using company cleaning products. The
results collected after the championship showed that, for employees of regional
departments, the overall sales growth was 80% higher than the achievements of
those who had traditional face-to-face training (Andriushchenko et al. 2019b).
In cases where users cannot concentrate on educational material for a long time,
the use of gamification allows the transfer of educational content into current
business operations or production processes. At the same time, gamification is
also an effective way of outsourcing certain production and technological tasks
to an external audience. A case in point is the use of the Foldit game (Hatlevik et
al., 2015). During this game, users were asked to solve a sequential series of
puzzles, which, together, allowed them to successfully solve the problem of
protein folding. Interpose has introduced the use of special game currency (Claro
et al., 2012). Initially, a special price list was formed, according to which each
employee could earn a certain amount of game currency for over-fulfilling a
sales plan or a proposal to optimize business processes. Earned units of game
currency cannot be exchanged for national currency, but can be used to purchase
various gifts and conduct leisure activities for family members.
4.7. Chatbots
The use of machine learning algorithms allows organisations to optimize the
training processes for employees. Retail companies working with a large array
of repetitive requests can make use of smart chatbots.
The advantages of bots are the ease of interaction with them, the speed of their
reaction and the ability to configure them for the user. Using the bot greatly
simplifies the interaction with services by providing a universal interface.
Separately, IVR bots can be distinguished. These are the same chatbots, but with
a changed interface: when synthesis and recognition systems are being
connected, standard chat is transferred into voice format. Connecting emotion
analytics systems and communication strategies to the IVR bot allows each
employee to work out custom KPIs specified with respect to their effectiveness
zones.

76
Active users of the four largest social
networks and instant messengers
Big Four Big Four social
applications media
messengers applications
Figure 12: Messenger applications overtake social networks
Formed: by authors
The array of information accumulated by chatbots allows you to visualize the

idea of the best work practices across the organization as a whole and apply this
knowledge in training. By laying the elements of gamification on this process, it
is possible to launch competitive formats of personnel certification based on the
results of training sessions. The specific errors in the operation of chatbots and
IVR bots depend on the rate of equipment of the call center, the accuracy of the
tasks for fuzzy search, the rate of the recognition system and the audience of
callers (Andriushchenko et al. 2019c).
5. Conclusion
To solve current problems in the field of education, the training system for high
digital competency cadres should undergo decisive changes. In the context of
globalization processes, the priority for innovative business development is the
vector of digitalization. The effective functioning of the subjects of market
relations is possible, due to the identification of alternative competitive
development strategies, taking into account digital trends. In this context, the
key point is the rapid adaptation of digital technologies into the economic
activities of economic entities. The digital revolution has become a powerful
driver of innovative business development. Digitalization encourages market
participants to explore ‘unknown territories’, and the corresponding
transformation serves as a driver of prosperity for the development of
innovative entrepreneurship. The relevant trends require the study of innovative
business models and the search for new sources of attraction and generation of
intellectual resources. It is unlikely that corporate leadership, in its present form
will survive the digital revolution. Therefore, it is necessary to radically change
management priorities and use dynamic opportunities, which will allow
organisations to gain competitive advantages over their competitors. Therefore,
the digital revolution can become both a utopian for the development of
innovative business, or a prerequisite for survival in the market. Digital
transformations will lead the subjects of market relations to achieve a high level

77
of innovation, competencies, efficiency, leadership and responsibility with

fundamentally positive results for companies and societies.
The rate of knowledge of such skills will determine the success of a person’s life
and the prospects of his or her employment. This study revealed a tendency to
demand skills adaptive and digital skills from professionals. The development
of digital fluency affects the quality of work of employees. The ability to
combine various educational technologies, training formats and technical
innovations into a single educational system is the hallmark of a talented
employee. It is also important to balance the traditional models of full-time
study with mobile technologies, augmented reality tools and other digital
educational tools. An appropriate distribution of responsibilities between
teachers and digital learning support tools is crucial. The quality of digital
education can be improved through better data analysis and forecasting,
development and launch of advanced educational products using artificial
intelligence, improving forecasting tools to understand the relationship of digital
transformation in various departments and ensure their interaction.
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80

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 80-100, July 2020
The Extent to which Knowledge-based Economy

Skills are Included in the Secondary Level
Curriculum in Qatar
Mamduh Ashraah
Qatar University, Qatar
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8717-9469
Ahmad Yousef
School of Basic Education, PAAET, Kuwait
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2864-4636
Abstract. The present study aimed to analyze the knowledge-based

economy skills presented in Islamic Education books studied by high
school students in Qatar. The sample for the study included Islamic
Education books, analyzed cover to cover, for the eleventh and twelfth
grades excluding the introduction, the list of references, and lesson
questions. The researcher prepared a content analysis form as the study
instrument in accordance with previous studies containing 53 signs
apportioned to 11 basic rules. The overall result for this study showed a
disparity and a low frequency in the ratio of skills based on the
knowledge economy included in the content of Islamic education books
for high school students. The most inclusive criteria are in descending
order "learning how to learn", "management of information" and
“problem-solving". The study’s primary aim was to help develop the
content of the Islamic curriculum through current global skill trends for
high school students. It is necessary to include rules for the skills needed
for a knowledge-based economy in middle and high school Islamic books.
The study also recommends other group studies be conducted to
complement these conclusions and assessments.
Keywords: knowledge-based economy; Islamic education; high school
1. Introduction
School textbooks are the most important educational resource as they contain the
educational material and experiences through which desired educational
objectives are achieved. A book contains a huge amount of information and data
that teachers deliver to students using a variety of teaching methods and
strategies. Therefore, the ministries of education develop books and curricula in
line with huge technological and socio-economic developments.

81
Education for Knowledge Economy (ERFKE) projects have been launched

whereby the knowledge economy is based on investing in humans, their minds,
capabilities, creativity and effectively exploiting the huge amount of information
provided by the revolution in technology and communications. This is the essence
of the transmission of economic activity from the production of goods to the
production and manufacture of knowledge services (Naser Al-Din, 2016;
Malhotra, 2003).
The importance of the knowledge economy lies in achieving benefits for both the
teacher and learner, as it allows students to communicate with their teachers
through participation in developing learning resources and it also encourages
cooperative learning that plays an essential role in information and
communication technology. For example, the computer provides an opportunity
for learners to obtain information, organize and store it quickly, and with less
effort time and cost than traditional learning methods; hence, the teacher is the
supervisor and facilitator of a student's learning (Wheeler, 2000).
Among the basic requirements for societies to convert to a knowledge-based

economy is the presence of a supportive social force, infrastructure, and human
forces capable of making and employing knowledge. In addition to updating
educational programs and plans, developing laws and systems which support
scientific and education research is essential, alongside allocating sufficient funds
for information technology and enhancing its role in public life (Al-Safi et al.,
2010).
2. The study problem and its questions

The knowledge explosion and the revolution of knowledge are the most
prominent characteristics of our current age; it has led to the transformation of
our society’s economy from an economy based on machinery and traditional
natural resources, to an economy based on knowledge, data and information in
which our capital is the human mind. Hence this era has been called the era of
knowledge economics. We can achieve it by establishing specialized centers for
training and qualifications and updating curricula and methods of learning based
on smart technologies, such as advanced robots and digital technologies like the
Internet of Things (IoT).
Each new human development, such as new technology, must demonstrate its
impact on society and individuals in general and on the educational process and
learners in schools. Therefore, it has become essential for supervisors in
educational institutions to keep pace with this development and achieve the
desired goals at the lowest possible cost, effort and time, through workshops and
courses to introduce supervisors and teachers to new technological developments.
In order to achieve this, educational systems have had to consider the field
carefully, preparing individuals and building their skills to cope with the changes,
since teachers represent the main pillar through which the attitudes and outlook
of educated individuals are formed for life. Furthermore, at this point, there has
been a race to develop educational systems comprehensively to cope with the
rapid changes that the era of the knowledge economy is witnessing )Al-Zahrani &
Ibrahim, 2012).

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The problem which this study aims to answer focuses on the extent to which the
textbooks for Islamic education at secondary level in the State of Qatar cover the
skills required for knowledge economics, by answering the following study
questions:
1. To what extent are the knowledge economy skills included in the Islamic
education book for the eleventh grade scheduled in the State of Qatar?
education book for the Twelfth grade scheduled in the State of Qatar?
3. Significance of the study

The importance of the current study lies in the fact that it is one of the first studies
to focus on analyzing Islamic educational books to assess knowledge economic
skills, as Islamic education involves material and a course of study no less
important than other prescribed subjects. The importance of knowledge
economics in an era of knowledge revolution increases the need to undertake such
an analysis. The present study constitutes a qualitative addition to pedagogy
within the educational field in general, and particularly in the field of Islamic
education.
4. Objectives of the study

The present study aims to reveal the extent to which Islamic education books for
secondary level in the State of Qatar cover the skills required for knowledge
economics, to provide benefit to the curriculum. Textbook developers have
focused attention on the inclusion of knowledge economics skills in textbooks in
general and Islamic education textbooks in particular because Islam has kept and
keeps pace with all future developments. This is testament that the true Islamic
religion is suitable for every time and place.
5. Study definitions and procedural definitions

The term knowledge economy refers to an economy based mainly on the element
of knowledge using the human mind, through the use of research and
development instruments, available economic resources, and the use of qualified
staff (Al-Shammari & Al-Laithi, 2008).
Moatamen (2004) defined the knowledge economy as an economy that focuses on

how to obtain, use, employ, create and reproduce knowledge to improve quality
of life, to become more responsive and in line with the challenges of globalization,
information and communication technology, the universality of knowledge and
sustainable development as a comprehensive and integrated concept.
In another definition, a knowledge economy is reported as being an economy

based on investing in intellectual capital through developing the education
system, employing information and communication technology, supporting,
producing and disseminating knowledge (Al-Kudairi, 2001).

83
Meanwhile, researchers define it according to the requirements of research as an

economy that relies on information and knowledge and considers how to produce
and employ it, through the full use of modern technology and how to benefit from
it in the field of education.
Knowledge economy skills refer to a set of knowledge processes and attitudes

necessary to apply knowledge to life situations that require the use of problem-
solving skills using critical and creative thinking (Al-Banna & Jalal, 2010).
The World Bank defines it as an economy that uses events to achieve economic and
social development, and this includes bringing in foreign knowledge, as well as
adapting and building knowledge to meet its own needs (Alakhdr, 2019, p1).
In educational terms, researchers have defined knowledge skills as a set of

knowledge and processes that must be included in the curriculum to keep pace
with the era of knowledge economics to produce knowledge used in life situations
that require the skills related to learning, information management, creative
thinking, decision making, problem-solving, teamwork, information technology,
communication, personal influence, leadership, and critical thinking.
Islamic education books are the books prescribed by the Ministry of Education in
the State of Qatar for teaching in educational institutions for the academic year
2019/2020 at secondary level.
6. Theoretical framework and previous studies

A knowledge economy is characterized by its capability for creativity and
innovation; since it is based on the human mind, it helps to spread knowledge,
employ it and produce it in all fields and helps educational institutions to develop,
innovate and achieve their desired goals )Al-Hashimi & Fayzah, 2007). Since it is
characterized by abundance, unlike the traditional economy, which is a scarce
economy, it has the potential to encompass creativity and innovation and is
considered more appropriate for supporting conditions for a safe environment
(Ghadeer, 2010).
One previous study, by Al-Belooshi and Al-Ma'amari (2020) focused on building

a list of the future knowledge economy skills that should be available in
educational settings in Oman in accordance with the requirements of the
knowledge economy. Using the Delphi method, the data were collected by
sending a list of possible skills to a sample of experts representing elite decision
makers. The results indicated that basic knowledge skills represented the top five
skills, followed by life and professional skills, digital skills, interpersonal skills
and communication skills.
Al-Watry (2019) study showed the degree of inclusion of knowledge economy

skills within vocational education books for the intermediate stage in the State of
Kuwait as reported by teachers and their practice thereof. To achieve the goals of
the study, a descriptive survey method was used; a questionnaire was also used
to collect data from the sample participants. This sample consisted of a mixture of
335 male and female teachers of professional education. The study found that the

84
knowledge economy skills presented in the books for professional education for
the intermediate stage in Kuwait were well appreciated and that the degree of
practice of professional education teachers was also high.
Al-Damak (2019) study aimed to investigate the degree of inclusion of the

standards of knowledge-based economics in home economics books at secondary
level in the State of Kuwait. The sample included both family and consumer
science books for the secondary level home economics specialization. An analysis
tool was developed including (17) criteria, and the following results were found:
the total number of iterations of knowledge-based economics standards in these
books was (1177) iterations, and the researcher recommended that the authors of
home economics books should pay attention to the standards of knowledge-based
economics and include them in the content of the assessed books.
Al-Otaibi (2017) studied the extent to which content relevant to a knowledge

economy was included in science books for the top three grades at primary level
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA); the sample for the study consisted of
science books for the top three grades at primary level in the KSA (student books,
activity books) in the first and second parts. It indicated that indicators of
knowledge economics consisted of 39 signs and in the content of science books for
the top three grades at primary level, 6 fields were included arranged in a row.
These were the thinking skills, knowledge, communication skills, economic field,
the cultural and technical fields.
Shatat (2017) conducted to evaluate the developed science textbook for third-
graders in the light of the knowledge economy in Jordan, according to teacher
estimates. The researcher used the descriptive approach, and the study sample
consisted of (74) female teachers who were teaching science to third-graders in the
fourth Amman Directorate in the Tabarbour area. The study concluded that the
degree of availability of knowledge economy standards in the science book,
according to teachers ’estimates, was average. The researcher recommended the
need to focus on including knowledge economics skills in the science textbook for
the third grade and motivating female teachers to focus more on these skills.
Meanwhile, Al-Kuthiri and Safi (2017) conducted a study to identify the parts of
the knowledge economy included in the jurisprudence course for middle-class
first graders in the KSA. To achieve the goals of the study, the two researchers
prepared a content analysis form and then analyzed the content in light of the
identified parts of the knowledge economy. Among the most relevant findings
was the conclusion that 22 knowledge economy elements were available in the
content of the jurisprudence book for the first intermediate grade. These were
distributed across three fields, namely the technical and communication field, the
field of knowledge and mental development, and the social and national field.
These researchers also recommended that elements of the knowledge economy
should be included in the content of the jurisprudence book for the first
intermediate grade in the KSA.
The study by Ahmad (2017) ascertained several results, the most important of
which was the availability of knowledge economy elements in the Arabic

85
language textbook for the sixth primary grade, and also the performance of Arabic
language teachers with a very low degree of knowledge of the field of information
technology, the economic field, the national field, the field of leadership and the
ethical field; skills were available to a small degree in the field of mental
development, and to a moderate degree, in the field of social growth and
cooperative work, while they were extensively available in the field of
communication. The researcher also recommended that the content of Arabic
language books should include the skills required for the knowledge economy.
The study by Al-Khawaldeh and Hammadneh (2015) aimed to identify the degree
to which social education books observe the principles of knowledge economics
for secondary education. Content analysis was undertaken and the researchers
developed a list of principles of knowledge economics that should be available in
the books on social education. The results showed an absence of statistically
significant differences at a significance level (α=0.05).
Hamzah (2014) study aimed to identify the extent to which the content of the
mathematics curriculum for the fourth grade included basic consideration of
modern educational trends in which are part of the ERFKE from the perspective
of teachers in government schools in Jordan. The study sample consisted of (62)
male and female teachers. Schools in Amman were chosen in a simple random
way. The researcher used a questionnaire that he had developed and which
contained (55) paragraphs distributed into (4) fields. The most important results
were that the educational material takes into account the criteria for a knowledge
economy to a large degree, and that the evaluation of learning and the tools
accompanying the content of the mathematics curriculum for the fourth basic
grade correspond to the standards for a knowledge economy at an average level.
The study by Al-Khaldi (2013) aimed to reveal the degree to which the concepts
of knowledge economics are possessed by Islamic education teachers in Jordan in
the light of certain demographic variables. The researcher designed a
questionnaire consisting of (35) items, distributed to the sample that consisted of
93 male and 133 female teachers. The results indicated that the degree to which
individuals possessed the concepts of a knowledge economy was high in the field
of planning for teaching and lesson implementation; intermediate for classroom
management; and low in the field of evaluation and the field of educational aids.
Al-Edwan and Hamaidi (2011) conducted a study aimed at investigating the

extent to which the books for social and national education for the lower basic
stage, first, second and third grades in Jordan included the standards for
knowledge economics from the teacher's point of view. A questionnaire was
designed that included 40 rules, divided into five key fields, and this was
distributed to primary school teachers in Madaba Governorate. The results of the
study indicated, according to the teachers’ points of view, that there is a general
weakness in the clarity of the rules and philosophy behind the knowledge
economy concept in the books for the targeted stage, especially in the field of
thinking skills. The third-grade book had the highest rate of inclusion of the
standards for knowledge economics, followed by the second-grade book, then the
first-grade book.

86
Al-Qaisi (2011) study aimed to investigate the features of a knowledge economy

and the features that should be included in the content of Sharia science courses
when developing secondary education in the KSA. The researcher prepared a tool
for the study to classify the features of knowledge economics, and which included
(78) features distributed across seven main areas. As a result, the knowledge field
was best represented, with (949) instances, while the national field was lowest
ranked with a frequency of only (62).
The aim of the study conducted by Al-Zoubi (2010) was to demonstrate the impact
of an Islamic education curriculum developed based on the principles of a
knowledge economy, on the achievement and the development of creative
thinking at the primary level in Jordan. Two units of the Islamic education
curriculum for the ninth grade were developed and a sample consisting of (59)
students in the ninth grade was selected from the Directorate of Education of Al-
Koura district. The students were divided into two groups: control and
experimental. Content analysis of the targeted book, achievement test, and
creative thinking test (TORRANCE) was undertaken. The results showed an
uneven distribution of the principles of the knowledge economy within the
Islamic education curriculum; the technological field was most commonly
included, and the cognitive development field was least commonly included.
As for Al-Howaymel (2009), his study aimed to evaluate the Arabic textbook for
the second grade in the light of knowledge economics from the viewpoint of
teachers. The study sample consisted of (76) male and female teachers teaching
the second grade in the Al-Karak governorate. The researcher developed a
questionnaire which included (59) statements, distributed across seven fields. The
results showed that there were no statistically significant differences due to
educational qualifications or teaching experiences.
Bani Ata (2004) conducted an analytical study to understand the degree to which
high school history books in Jordan adhered to the international standards for
textbooks and to build a proposed model for their development in light of these
standards. The sample for the study consisted of (88) male and female teachers
and 250 students. In terms of books, the sample consisted of the book
Contemporary History of Jordan for the second grade at the secondary level and the
book History of the Arabs and the Contemporary World. During the content analysis,
the results of the study showed that there is less adherence in the book History of
the Arabs and the Contemporary World to international standards compared to the
book Contemporary History of Jordan for the second secondary grade.
We note from the previous studies that most of the studies focused on analyzing
the content of the curricula and evaluating them in the light of the knowledge
economy from the viewpoint of the teachers themselves, such as Al-Howaymel
(2009), Hamza (2014), and Shatat (2017), while some studies focus on the
principles of knowledge economics in Islamic education books and social
education, such as Al-Zoubi (2010).

87
Some studies were concerned with the standards of the knowledge economy in
the textbooks, such as Al-Damak (2019). On the other hand, the rest of the studies
were concerned with the availability of concepts, parts or areas related to a
knowledge economy in the educational curricula such as the subject of Islamic
education in the studies by Al-Khaldi (2013) and Al-Qaisi, (2011); Arabic in the
study by Ahmed (2017); jurisprudence for first intermediate female students in
the study by Al-Kuthiri and Safi (2017) and science for the top three grades in the
study by Al-Otaibi (2017). One study concerned the skills related to knowledge
economics in books for vocational education (Al-Watry, 2019).
The paucity of previous studies in Islamic education, especially those which

analyze the extent to which knowledge economics skills are included, is the
strength of this study. What distinguishes it from others is that the curriculum
that was analyzed is new and has been developed in the State of Qatar. Research
and studies in this area have not been conducted previously.
The knowledge economy has different dimensions, the most important of which
is the economic dimension, while the social dimension is concerned with
increasing awareness of both information and information culture in society. The
technological aspect is concerned mainly with the spread of technology and its
applications to different areas of life. Finally, the cultural aspect is concerned with
regarding knowledge as highly important and paying attention to creative
capabilities and spreading awareness, culture, and science in daily life to some
extent (Nour Al-Din, 2010).
It is worth noting that the knowledge economy involves skills that must be
supported by competencies and curricula to keep pace with individual, industrial
and cognitive requirements. A memorandum issued by the New Zealand
Planning Council in (1991) states that for the country to move into the era of the
knowledge economy, the following competencies must be considered, namely:
labor and management skills, information technology, language skills, thinking
skills and creativity in problem-solving (Yim-Teo, 2004).
On the other hand, the National Council for Learning in Japan identified the
following skills: the spirit of competition among students, developing an
individual's ability to be creative and innovative and preparing individuals in a
way that enables them to have a place in society (Al-Qarara,2013). But Jordan
Ministry of Education (2005) defined the skills as creativity, learning how to learn,
information management, organizational awareness, leadership, information
technology, communication, and personal influence.
The Islamic education book analysis tool was built into this study in the light of
knowledge economy skills that were identified by the countries mentioned above
and includes signs for each of the knowledge economy skills.

88
7. Method and procedures

This study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, because such an approach
helps to study phenomena, and describes the relationships between them and
other related factors with the possibility of analyzing and interpreting data. In this
study, the author used a content analysis method.
8. Sampling strategies
The sample for analysis consisted of all the academic subjects included in the
content of Islamic education books for the second stage (eleventh grade, twelfth
grade) in the State of Qatar, as planned for the academic year 2020/2019. Each
book consists of 16 lessons, and thus the total of lessons analyzed in this study
was (32) lessons. The five units of analysis which follow have been previously
identified: word, subject or idea, character, paragraph, space, and time scale. In
this study, an entire paragraph was adopted as an analysis unit and this was used
for registering and indexing the Islamic education books.
Among the controls that governed the process of analyzing the books for Islamic
education in this study, firstly, only 32 lessons were analyzed, excluding the
index, introduction, and lesson questions; secondly, only the first-semester book
was analyzed for each grade.
9. Research instrument
To answer the study questions, the researchers developed a tool for analyzing the
content of Islamic education books, for the second stage, in the light of knowledge
economics skills in the State of Qatar. The tool took into account research in this
field presented in previous studies such as Shaqfa (2013), Al-Qaisi (2011), and
others, as well as the opinions of educational specialists and experts, and
exploring education reform for knowledge economy projects in Jordan.
The researchers identified 11 primary fields for knowledge economy skills

included in the books for Islamic education for secondary level. Sub-signs were
categorized under each field and the preliminary study tool was presented to
three faculty members in the curriculum department and specialists in Islamic
education curricula for assessment, to verify the validity of the content analysis
tool, and ascertain the degree of importance, clarity, and belonging. Some
paragraphs related to the wording were then modified with guidance from the
principles or regulations stipulated or suggested by of the assessors as suitable for
Islamic education. The tool was aligned for use in analyzing the content of Islamic
education books for the second stage according to the concepts of knowledge
economics; the list consisted of 11 rules and 53 signs distributed as follow: the idea
of learning how to learn (7 signs), the information management field (3 signs), the
creative thinking field (4 signs), the decision-making field (5 signs), the problem-
solving field (8 signs), the teamwork field (4 signs), the communication field (5
signs), the information technology field (3 signs), the personal impact field (6
signs), the leadership field (3 signs) and the critical thinking field (5 signs).
To measure the reliability of the content analysis tool, reliability over time was
used. Stage 1: the researchers analyzed the textbooks twice over two separate

89
periods (2 weeks). Stage 2: the researchers calculated the coefficient of agreement

between the two analyses using the number of times there was agreement
between the two analyses divided by the total number of points of agreement and
difference, using the Holistic equation. Table (1) shows the coefficient of
agreement between the two analyses for the content of Islamic education books
for the eleventh grade.
Table 1: The coefficient of agreement between the two analyses of the content of
Islamic education books for the eleventh grade
Rules Analysis process Agreement Difference
First Second points points
Learning how to learn 35 32 32 3
Information management 44 40 40 4
Creative thinking 20 18 18 2
Decision making 15 15 15 0
Problem-solving 36 38 36 2
Group work 18 18 18 2
Communication 22 26 22 4
Information technology 5 5 5 0
Personal impact 15 13 13 2
Leadership 5 7 5 2
Critical thinking 27 25 25 2
Total 242 237 229 23
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠

Reliability coefficient = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠+𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠X100%
229
Reliability coefficient = 229+23x 100% = 90.87%
It is clear from Table 1 that the agreement rate was high between the first and
second analyses according to the content rules for Islamic book for the eleventh
grade as it reached 90.87%, which is a good percentage that indicates the reliability
of the analysis process.
10. Results and discussion

In this paper, the researchers put forward a detailed presentation of the study's
findings and discuss it as follows:
education book for the eleventh grade scheduled in the State of Qatar?
To answer this question, the researchers calculated the rates and percentages for
each of the fields. The following table presents the results.

90
Table 2: The rates, percentages, and rankings of the knowledge economy skills
included in the Islamic education book for the eleventh grade
# Field Frequency Percentage Rank
1 Learning how to learn 35 14.17 3
2 Information management 43 17.40 1
3 Creative thinking 18 7.28 6
4 Decision making 15 6.07 8
5 Problem-solving 38 15.38 2
6 Group work 18 7.28 7
7 Communication 25 10.12 5
8 Information technology 5 2.02 11
9 Personal impact 14 5.66 9
10 Leadership 7 2.83 10
11 Critical thinking 29 11.74 4
Total 247 100% -
It is apparent from Table (2) that the overall percentage of the availability of rules
for knowledge economy skills in the content of the Islamic education book for the
eleventh grade is low. The eleven rules are included in the content of the Islamic
education book for the eleventh grade in different proportions. The information
management field ranked first with 43 instances, with a percentage of 17.40%, and
second was the problem-solving field with 38 instances and a percentage of
15.38% followed by the field of learning on how to learn with 35 instances and a
percentage of 14.17%. The information technology field was ranked lowest with
only five instances and a rate of 0.22%. It is also apparent from the results that the
field of creative thinking and the field of teamwork had the same frequency with
18 instances each and 7.28%. Information management may have been ranked
first because Islamic education books contain, in every single paragraph, either
Quranic verses or supplications of the Prophet. Therefore, accuracy and quality
are required when adding these skills to Islamic education curricula to achieve
the Islamic goals for society and the individual. The justification of for the
exclusion of the information technology field beyond its current presence -
according to the researcher’s knowledge – stems from educators and developers
of the Islamic education curriculum not being aware of the necessity of linking the
subject to technology even though technology is an important source of
knowledge in this age.
Table 3: The rates and percentages of each indicator for each field in the content of
the Islamic education book for the eleventh grade
Indicator Frequency Percentage
Field
The book activates the curiosity 2 5.56
of learners
It develops the ability to 6 16.66
continue self-learning
Learning how to It stimulates the use of the 3 8.33
learn appropriate environment for
learning
It motivates students to apply 9 25
what they learn in their lives

91
It activates as many senses as 3 8.33

possible during the learning
process
A Review that has been learned 9 25
to improve his information
It urges research and discusses 4 11.11
knowledge critically to confirm
it
Total 36 100%
It develops ability in 1 2.33

Information information technology
management It includes quality and accurate 33 76.744
data and information
It contains information searches 9 20.93
and classification activities
Total 43 100%
It encourages the writing of 6 35.294

research and reports
distinguish and perceive the
Creative thinking issues raised
generate diverse ideas
It urges new details to be added 5 29.412
to an idea accurately
Total 17 100%
It urges individuals to consult 4 26.667

people of experience and set a
role model
It encourages the 2 13.333
implementation of sound
Decision making decisions
It urges individuals to slow 2 13.333
down in terms of the issuance of
judgments
It provides correct and complete 7 46.667
information on the subject
It determines the available 0 0
options based on the available
information
Total 15 100%
It provides serial and integrated 16 42.105

It encourages boldness, 3 7.8947
perseverance, and initiative
It develops the ability to 0 0
discover sources of knowledge

92
Problem-solving It promotes self-confidence and 4 10.526

self-reliance
It helps students to reach and 3 7.8947
apply the results
It urges planning and 2 5.263
information gathering for
results
It urges the use of modern 10 26.315
technical means of research and
investigation
Total 38 100%
It encourages active 4 25
participation
It raises students' motivation for 5 31.25
teamwork
Group work It encourages the exchange of 2 12.5
information and experiences
between students
It calls for mistakes to be taken 5 31.25
as learning opportunities, not
blame and criticism
Total 16 100
It strengthens the relationship 5 20.83

between school and society
It develops the ability to manage 1 4.166
the communication process
Communication It encourages constructive 5 20.83
criticism and backs it up with
evidence
It develops listening and 5 20.83
expression skills and accepts
others' opinions
It is prepared for the topic to be 8 33.33
raised in advance
Total 24 100%
It motivates students to use 1 20

technology to organize research
Information It motivates students to use 2 40
technology technology in research analysis
It encourages the use of 2 40
appropriate electronic sources
for the required information
Total 5 100
It calls for an understanding of 3 20

the surrounding world
It emphasizes verbal fluency 6 40
and eloquence

93
Personal impact It promotes leadership and 2 13.333

initiative
It calls for flexible solutions 0 0
It employs the Arabic language 4 26.666
properly and influences others
It calls for a proper response to 0 0
external influences
Total 15 100%
Leadership It enhances the importance of 0 0

taking into account the feelings
of others
It contributes to a positive 3 42.85
exchange of experiences
It promotes collaborative work 4 57.14
and tackles others' problems
Total 7 100%
It enhances the ability to find 8 27.586

similarities and differences
It identifies information related 2 6.896
to the topic
Critical thinking It promotes critical thinking and 7 24.137
justification
It demonstrates variety in 9 31.034
questions to contribute to a
deeper understanding
It enhances the ability to 3 10.343
accurately identify problems
Total 29 %100
As shown in Table 3, regarding the information management field, we find that

the indicator, "It includes quality and accurate data and information" achieved the
highest availability rate at 76.74%. The researcher attributes this result to the
nature of Islamic education books and their association with the Quran Kareem
and the Sunnah of the Prophet, therefore quality and accuracy. As for the field of
learning how to learn, we find that the indicator, "A Review that has been learned
to improve his information" and the indicator, "It motivates students to apply
what they learn in their lives" achieved the highest availability at 25%. For the
problem-solving field, the indicator, "It provides serial and integrated information
on the subject" had the highest availability rate at 42.1%. This is due to the
advantages of Islamic law in dealing with all issues and submitting all suggestions
that a person faces in his life. This result is consistent with the study (Al-Edwan
& Hamaidi 2011) and (Al-Otaibi, 2017).
education book for the Twelfth grade scheduled in the State of Qatar?
To answer this question, the researchers used the tool to analyze the content of
the Islamic education book for the twelfth grade in light of the fields for
knowledge economy skills that were prepared for this purpose. The rates and
percentages for each of the fields were then calculated.

94
Table 4: The rates, percentages, and rankings of the knowledge economy skills
included in the Islamic education book for twelfth grade
# Field Frequency Percentage Rank
1 Learning how to learn 31 14.975 2
2 Information management 30 14.492 3
3 Creative thinking 11 5.314 8
4 Decision making 16 7.729 6
5 Problem-solving 42 20.289 1
6 Group work 25 12.077 5
7 Communication 26 12.560 4
8 Information technology 0 0 11
9 Personal impact 10 4.830 9
10 Leadership 4 1.932 10
11 Critical thinking 12 5.797 7
Total 207 100% -
It is apparent from Table 4 that the general percentage of the availability of rules
for knowledge economy skills in the content of the Islamic education book for
twelfth grade is low. The eleven fields appeared in the Islamic education book for
the twelfth grade in different proportions. The problem-solving field was ranked
first with 42 instances, with a percentage of 20.289%. In second position was the
learning how to learn field with 31 instances and a percentage of 14.975%; the
information management field followed closely in frequency with 35 instances
and a percentage of 14.492%. The information technology field was ranked lowest
with 0 instances as the textbook did not have any indicators relating to
information technology skills. It is also clear to us from the results that the field of
teamwork and the field of communication were close to each other in terms of
instances (25 and 26 respectively) with similar percentages (12.07% and 12.65%,
respectively). The reason for this is due to the presence of Quranic verses and
Prophetic hadiths that are verified before they are placed in the curriculum. The
other reason is that the book includes many curricular and extracurricular
activities that motivate students to seek knowledge in different ways. The
researchers attribute the exclude the information technology in Islamic book to
the nature of the subject and how to teach it.
Table 5: The rates and percentages of each indicator for each field in the content of the
Islamic education book for the twelfth grade
Field Indicator Frequency Percentage
The book activates the curiosity of 4 12.930

learners
It develops the ability to continue 6 19.354
self-learning
Learning how to It stimulates the use of the 1 3.225
learn appropriate environment for
learning
It motivates students to apply 5 16.129
what they learn in their lives

95
It activates as many senses as 5 16.129

possible during the learning
process
A Review that has been learned to 6 19.354
improve his information
It urges research and discusses 4 12.930
knowledge critically to confirm it
Total 31 100%
It develops ability in information 0 0

technology
Information It includes quality and accurate 25 83.33
management data and information
It contains information search and 5 16.66
classification activities
Total 30 100%
It encourages the writing of 6 35.294

research and reports
Creative thinking distinguish and perceive the issues
raised
It develops the ability to generate 4 23.529
diverse ideas
It urges new details to be added to 5 29.412
an idea accurately
Total 17 100%
It urges individuals to consult 4 25

people of experience and set a role
model
It encourages the implementation 0 0
Decision making of sound decisions
It urges individuals to slow down 7 43.75
in terms of the issuance of
judgments
It provides correct and complete 2 12.5
It determines available options 3 18.75
based on available information
Total 16 100%
It provides serial and integrated 18 42.857

It encourages boldness, 2 4.7619
perseverance, and initiative
It develops the ability to discover 3 7.1428
Problem-solving sources of knowledge
It promotes self-confidence and 4 9.523
self-reliance
It helps students to reach and 0 0
apply the results

96
It urges planning and information 5 11.904

gathering for results
It urges the use of modern 10 23.809
technical means of research and
investigation
Total 42 100%
It encourages active participation 8 32

Group work It raises students' motivation for 7 28
teamwork
It encourages the exchange of 6 24
information and experiences
between students
It calls for mistakes to be taken as 4 16
learning opportunities, not for
blame and criticism
Total 25 100
It strengthens the relationship 5 21.73

between school and society
It develops the ability to manage 0 0
the communication process
Communication It encourages constructive 4 17.39
criticism and backs it up with
evidence
It develops listening and 3 13.04
expression skills and accepts
others' opinions
It is prepared for the topic to be 11 47.82
raised in advance
Total 23 100%

technology to organize research
Information technology in research analysis
technology It encourages the use of 0 0
appropriate electronic sources for
the required information
Total 0 100
It calls for an understanding of the 1 10

surrounding world
It emphasizes verbal fluency and 3 30
Personal impact eloquence
It promotes leadership and 3 30
initiative
It calls for flexible solutions 2 20
It employs the Arabic language 0 0
properly and influences others
It calls for a proper response to 1 10
external influences
Total 10 100%

97
It enhances the importance of 1 25

taking into account the feelings of
Leadership others
It contributes to a positive 1 25
exchange of experiences
It promotes collaborative work 2 50
and tackles others' problems
Total 4 100%
It enhances the ability to find 2 16.66

similarities and differences
It identifies information related to 2 16.66
the topic
Critical thinking It promotes critical thinking and 1 8.33
justification
It promotes variety in questions to 4 33.33
contribute to a deeper
understanding
It enhances the ability to 3 25
accurately identify problems
Total 12 100
As shown in Table 5, for the problem-solving field, the indicator, "It provides
serial and integrated information on the subject" had the highest availability rate
at 42.85% This is due to the advantages of Islamic law in dealing with all issues
and submitting all suggestions that a person faces in his life.. follow it the learning
how to learn field, we find that the indicators, “A Review that has been learned to
improve his information” and, “It develops the ability and continuity of self-
learning” had the highest availability rate at 19.35% The researcher attributes this
to the fact that the Islamic Education Book focuses on recalling previous
information and building new information. To expand the knowledge structure
of students, and achieve horizontal and vertical integration in the educational
process. while for the information management field, the indicator, "It includes
quality and accurate data and information" had the highest availability rate at
83.3%. about the field of teamwork, the indicator, "It encourages active
participation" had the highest availability rate at 32%. These results differ with a
study of (Al-Zoubi, 2010).
11. Conclusion and Recommendations

According to the findings in this paper, we find that Islamic education textbooks
at secondary level in Qatar do not include all the fields for knowledge economy
skills and the content, in these terms, is weak and varied. The Islamic education
book for the twelfth grade did not include any information technology field skills.
Furthermore, the Islamic education book for the eleventh grade referred more to
the skills for a knowledge economy with a frequency of 247 relevant instances
compared to the book of Islamic education for the twelfth grade which referred to
the skills for a knowledge economy 207 times. This indicates the weakness of

98
Islamic education books for the high school stage in the State of Qatar and
indicates that textbooks do not meet the requirements for the age of knowledge.
This area, therefore, requires development and reconsideration to achieve content
appropriate to the era of the knowledge economy that we live in, at a time when
knowledge is increasing and technology is developing. According to the results,
researchers recommend the following: reconsidering the design of Islamic
education books to teach the skills needed for a knowledge economy; utilization
of educational technology in teaching the Islamic education curriculum, and
paying more attention to higher skills and critical thinking. Finally, it is important
to reconsider the training and qualifications of teachers in order to maximize the
spread of these skills.
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101

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 101-120, July 2020
Perceptions of Students towards the

Postgraduate Biology Practical Demonstrators at
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University,
Pretoria, South Africa
Liziwe L. Mugivhisa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6112-5478
Caswell Mavimbela
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5754-439X
Joshua O. Olowoyo
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8601-091X
Abstract. The present study assessed the experiences of junior students

on the ability, performance, and competence of demonstrators or
instructors for practical classes in the Biology department. A total of 148
self-administered questionnaires were completed by the junior Biology
students in years 1, 2, and 3. The result showed that 52.1% and 62.3% of
the participants indicated that the demonstrators had adequate content
knowledge of the practical sessions and were helpful during practical
sessions respectively. Furthermore, 51.4% agreed that the marking of the
practical assessments by the demonstrators was not usually accurate.
Most of the respondents stated that the demonstrators were good
listeners (77.4%), approachable (71.9%) and 83.0% of the participants did
not have any problems with taking instructions from the demonstrators.
The majority (69.0%) of the participants wanted the services of the
demonstrators to be continued and 36.0% felt that there was a need to
increase the number of demonstrators for the practical sessions. Some of
the shortcomings of the demonstrators as mentioned by the respondents
were the use of cell phones during the practical sessions and that the
demonstrators were fond of talking amongst themselves rather than
concentrating on the students they were supposed to assist. In general,
though the demonstrators were considered to be helpful and that their
services should be continued it is however recommended that they
should be required to write pre-practical tests before the practical classes
to improve their competency in marking and giving accurate answers
during the practical classes.
Keywords: Demonstrators; Practical Classes; Laboratory; Postgraduate

Students

102
1. Introduction
The large numbers of undergraduate students enrolled at universities together
with the decrease in the public funding has resulted in postgraduates or senior
students being employed on a part-time basis to assist with the running of
undergraduate classes at institutions of higher learning (Flaherty et al., 2017). This
has assisted with addressing the challenges of high numbers of students even
though there is a low teacher-to-student ratio (Durán et al., 2012). The first-year
class consists of a group of students with diverse backgrounds and academic
abilities, hence, it becomes more difficult to coordinate activities that encourage
the application of concepts outside the lecture such as laboratories (Sana et al.,
2011). Due to the large classes, one lecturer cannot conduct the laboratories and
lectures resulting in an introduction of having postgraduate or senior students to
lead the laboratory sessions which make up a major component of the classes in
the sciences (Chapin et al., 2014). According to Felege, (2018), the use of teaching
assistants who are graduates for several teaching duties has been practiced at
most tertiary institutions.
For the majority of the institutions of higher education, there has been more
reliance on the employment of the graduate teaching assistants who can also be
referred to as demonstrators. Big universities in the United States depend on
graduate students and teaching assistants for teaching the laboratory sessions in
the sciences especially at the introductory levels of subjects such as Biology (Basey
et al., 2014; Schussler et al., 2015). These graduate teaching assistants have been
found to play an important role in the standard of the education of the
undergraduates and to have an impact on the understanding of the
undergraduates when it comes to the comprehension of inquiry-based chemical
concepts in the laboratories (Wheeler et al., 2015). The graduate teaching assistants
who are in the practice of integrating their overlapping roles of being teachers and
students have an impact on the learning of the students (Spike, 2016). The
postgraduates have also been used as teaching assistants in other fields such as
Medicine in the majority of the medical schools in the United States (Lachman et
al., 2013).
Even though these graduate students usually have minimum formal teacher
training or preparation, they should be considered as partners who have an
impact on the influence and support of the learning and education of the students
(Spike, 2014). According to Chiu and Corrigan (2019), from the 1990s, most
managers at the universities have started to realise the significance of having
graduate teaching assistants who are properly trained so that they are able to
provide high-quality support and assistance to the undergraduates and as a
result, there have been efforts made to invest in the training of these graduate
assistants.
The graduate students are used as teaching assistants with responsibilities

ranging from managing laboratory sessions to assessing students in Science
Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields (Weidert et al., 2012).
However, few studies have been done to assess the impact of the demonstrators
on the teaching of the undergraduates (Kendall and Schussler, 2013). In addition

103
to their roles as facilitators, graduate teaching assistants in the laboratories are

responsible for marking, giving feedback, setting up materials/types of
equipment, motivating and encouraging students, presenting experimental
techniques and pre-laboratory lectures, and assisting students in scientific
practices (Wheeler et al., 2015).
According to Lama and Joullie (2015), at most Australian universities, enrolments

of students increased when there was a greater emphasis on doing research
resulting in less involvement of academic staff who were employed on a full-time
basis in teaching. As a result, there was a need for demonstrators to offer support
for the learning of the students in the science laboratories. The support of the
learning process for the undergraduate students during the practical sessions is
largely dependent on the demonstrators who have a substantial impact on the
experiences of the undergraduate students in the laboratories (Kirkup et al., 2016).
Only through the work that is carried out in the laboratories, can the practical
work in science education be guaranteed (Gudyanga & Jita, 2019). Leaners acquire
actual experiences of the natural world in the laboratories. When improvements
are done globally with respect to the science curriculum, changes also have to be
considered when it comes to the large-scale components of the practicals
including how experimental work is conducted by the students (Gudyanga & Jita,
2019). According to Russell and Weaver (2008), there is a belief that within science
education there is a coalition of practice and theory in the laboratories. Taking
part in proper research in a laboratory for an undergraduate who wants to pursue
a career in the scientific research seems like a noble opportunity (Linn et al., 2015;
Bowling et al., 2015; Bangera & Brownell, 2014). According to a survey by Linn et
al., (2015) at 200 institutions, undergraduates appreciated the research experiences
which they gained in the laboratories.
Laboratory sessions play a role of being the core element of the courses in the
sciences and they are for the development of experimental skills and sometimes
even being for emphasizing the theoretical concepts and principles (Braun &
Kirkup, 2016; Gardner & Jones, 2011). The hands-on activities which take place in
the laboratories are considered to be essential for science degrees (Hofstein &
Lunetta, 2004). According to Wilson et al., (2011), experiences that undergraduates
can gain in conducting research in the laboratories have been associated with
improvement of the educational experiences of the undergraduates and increased
retention rates of the graduates. Also, there is an enhancement of the skills in
research and increased perseverance to the undergraduate degree and selection
of a career in STEM when students engage in research in the laboratories.
According to DeBeck and Demaree (2012), in most cases, teaching assistants play
roles as the primary contact for the students and as a mediator between the
students and the professors. As a result, demonstrators end up interacting directly
more with the students. When demonstrators are given contracts by university
management, it is usually for the whole year meaning that the undergraduates
may be in contact with the same demonstrators for the whole year. As a result, the
contact that the demonstrator has with the students becomes 2 to 3 times more

104
than the time the student would spend with any other academic member of staff
(Braun & Kirkup, 2016; Gardner & Jones, 2011). In the laboratories, the
undergraduate students are more exposed to one-on-one experiences with the
demonstrators compared to when they are in with lecturers (French & Russell,
2002).
In the large lectures, students do not usually get a chance to interact with the
content of the lecture actively or get a chance to ask questions because they may
feel frightened to participate in such big groups and to also interact with the
lecturers which they might not be familiar with (Drane et al., 2014). Besides,
lecture classes are much bigger than the laboratory sessions pointing towards the
importance of the role of demonstrators in the learning of science (French &
Russell, 2002).
Interactions between demonstrators and students which are effective can

contribute to the success of the laboratory sessions through students' engagement
with the products and processes of science in the laboratories (Kirkup et al., 2016).
The positions of teaching assistants are usually associated with esteem, respect,
power, and authority in the undergraduate laboratories and classrooms (Chapin
et al., 2014). Usually, these positions are given to academically sound
postgraduate students. The experiences of the undergraduates are important in
determining whether the students are retained in the sciences and have a good
understanding of the subject content which they will use later in their professions
(Kendall & Schussler, 2013).
According to Flaherty et al., (2017), it has been stated in a national Australian

report that the laboratory demonstrators are the most significant resources
associated with the undergraduates’ experiences as they know what is to be done
in the laboratories and also how it should be done. Also, they set the tone of the
learning environment for the undergraduates. In the study of Kirkup et al., (2016),
demonstrators were seen as having powers to make a laboratory experience of the
undergraduates either miserable or great. Irrespective of how important the
demonstrators are, there has been little effort carried out in assessing the influence
they have on the experiences of the students in the undergraduate laboratories
where the main focus is on the experiments (Wyse et al., 2014). Few studies have
also been done to assess the impact of the demonstrators on the teaching of the
undergraduates (Kendall & Schussler, 2013).
Due to the changes in the global economy, there has been an escalation in the
demand for STEM professionals (Wilson et al., 2011). There is also a need for ways
to reconceptualise STEM education at the tertiary level at the nation's universities
and colleges because of an escalating need for professional engineers and
scientists together with fears about the absence of commitment in science careers
(Drane et al., 2014). However, below 50% of the students who have enrolled in the
STEM undergraduate curricula, will eventually graduate with a degree in STEM
in the United States (Wilson et al., 2011). As a result, this can contribute to a decline
of about one million science graduates from colleges in STEM over the coming
decade (Graham et al., 213). Policy-makers and educators have stressed that there

105
is a need for a shift in the STEM education from the model of traditional lectures
to methods that encourage teaching based on research to enhance the learning of
the students (Carlson et al., 2016).
Teaching assistants have been shown to play a crucial and fundamental role in the
teaching of undergraduates in computer science (Patitsas, 2012). The performance
of teaching assistants at twenty-three laboratories at the University of British
Colombia in North America was found to be affected by aspects such as
demonstrators getting support from the lecturers. In a large urban university at
the United States research-intensive university, carefully chosen undergraduate
teaching assistants were employed and supported to assist with supporting
students in the general chemistry course for preliminary STEM majors so that the
performance of the students could be enhanced (Phillipp et al., 2016b). In addition
to other several studies in Phillipp et al., (2016b), the presence of the teaching
assistants was found to correlate with the determination of the students to
proceed to the next semester of the course irrespective of how the students had
performed.
According to Felege (2018), research has shown that there is more engagement of
the students with the demonstrators. Students tend to seek assistance from the
teaching assistants because of the latter being less intimidating. This has also been
shown to have several benefits related to the learning of the students. The teaching
assistants are also considered to be more flexible, sociable, and casual by the
students and this encourages the students to reach out and approach them instead
of teaching staff. Students tend to approach the teaching assistants more for help
and this contributes to a decrease in the demand and workload on the teaching
staff (Kendall & Schussler, 2012). However, according to Weidert et al., (2012),
there is more workload put on teaching staff when teaching assistants are
involved because they need to be trained, supervised and mentored and also time
can also be spent on correction of mistakes made or addressing of confusion
brought about by the teaching assistants.
In some universities such as where the present study was conducted,

postgraduate students or undergraduate students who have good grades and are
about to finish are usually employed as demonstrators to assist with practical
classes. This assistance often comes with stipends that are paid to the
demonstrators at the end of each month. To the best of our knowledge, no studies
have been carried out to investigate the experience of the Biology students on the
performance and competence of the practical demonstrators at most of the
universities in South Africa although they are usually employed as part-time
student assistants. Hence, the study aimed to assess the experiences of the Biology
students on the performance and competence of the practical demonstrators in
the Department of Biology in the School of Science and Technology at Sefako
Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa.
2. Materials and Methods

The study was quantitative and involved completion of a total of 148 Self-
administered questionnaires (Appendix 1) consisting of open and close-ended

106
questions by the Biology undergraduates to assess the effectiveness of the

postgraduate students (Honours, Masters, and Ph.D.) who are laboratory
demonstrators in the Biology department in the School of Science and Technology
at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) in the north of Pretoria.
The study was purposive, based on voluntary participation and the willingness
of the students to partake. Consent was first sought from the students before they
could participate. The students were informed that their participation was purely
voluntary, that they could withdraw from the study at any time, and that their
unwillingness to participate in the study would not affect them in any negative
way or disadvantage them. The questionnaires were distributed to the students
during the afternoons which were scheduled for their practicals before the
commencement of the practicals. This was done so that participants would not be
inconvenienced in any way.
The postgraduates who were assessed by the participants were responsible for
running the undergraduate Biology practical classes (years 1, 2, and 3) usually
under the supervision of a staff member who provides instructions before the
commencement of the practical classes and oversees the running of the entire
practical sessions. The students who participated in the study were from Year 1
(9.0%) Year 2 (89.0%) and year 3 (2.0%) with the age distribution of 16-20 (50.0%),
21-24 (47.0%) and 25 – 29 (2.0%). The majority (77.0%) of the participants were
females with males only making up 21.0% of the participants while 2.0% of the
respondents did not indicate their gender.
The practical classes are offered once a week for each level (years 1, 2, and 3) for a
duration of three hours in the afternoons. The laboratory practical classes are done
in conjunction with the content of what the undergraduates are taught in lectures.
The practical marks form part of the formative assessment and count
towards the final year marks of the students. In addition, there is also a practical
exam written by undergraduates at the end of each semester. The information
sought from the participants included the demographics (year of study, age, and
gender). The main information which was sought was on the experiences of the
undergraduates on demonstrators such as whether they felt the demonstrators
were helpful during practical sessions, if the demonstrators had enough
knowledge on the content of the practical sessions, if the demonstrators were well
prepared for practical sessions and if they were fair in the assessment of their
submitted work. Data was represented using frequency tables and graphs. An
analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to assess if there was any significant
difference between some of the responses of the students.
The current practice at the university (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences

University) is that postgraduates who assist in the laboratories are employed as
students' assistants and are remunerated based on the number of hours they have
worked. As a result, the postgraduate demonstrators value the work they do as it
assists them financially during their postgraduate courses. All the postgraduates
who assist in practical classes have a strong academic background in Biology as
they have to score above a minimum of 60% for them to be admitted into the
postgraduate level and be able to assist with practical sessions.

107
3. Results and Discussions

The result as shown in Figure 1 indicate that more (49.0%) participants indicated
that the people who qualified to be demonstrators were the postgraduates while
39.0% of the participants felt that any senior student could work as a demonstrator
at any level which is below his or her level. A high number (12.0%) of the
participants did not respond to a question on who qualifies to be a demonstrator.
This challenge of the students choosing not to respond to some of the questions is
the first shortfall of self-administered questionnaires in the study.
No response
12%
Postgraduates
Any senior 49%
student
39%
Figure 1. Responses of the participants on who qualifies to be a demonstrator.
Figure 2 shows that more of the participants felt that the demonstrators had
adequate knowledge on the content material of the practical compared to the
participants who felt that the demonstrators did not have adequate knowledge of
the content material of the practical classes. These results are in agreement with
those in Kirkup et al., (2016) and Tulane and Beckert (2011), where the
demonstrators were found to be knowledgeable about the experiments in the
laboratories. In Fernald et al., (1975), the mastery of content knowledge was one
of the criteria which was used for the selection of undergraduate teaching
assistants. However, about the knowledge on the content material, in Filz and
Gurung (2013), knowledge on the content of the course was not seen as an
important feature required for undergraduate teaching assistants.
Slightly more than half (52.0%) of the respondents responded that demonstrators
were prepared for the practical sessions was whereas 41.8% of the respondents
responded that the demonstrators did not come to the practical classes prepared
(Figure 2). The participants did not respond to the question on the preparedness
of the demonstrators during practical classes was 6.2%. These findings compare
with the findings in Kirkup et al., (2016), where the demonstrators took time to
prepare for experiments before going to the laboratory sessions. In Buerkel-
Rothfuss et al., (1993), the participants felt that the teaching assistants were

108
qualified, prepared, organized, responsible, and as interested in teaching as the

lecturers.
The majority of the participants (62.3%) as shown in Figure 2, indicated that the
demonstrators were helpful compared to fewer participants (32.2%) who
indicated that the demonstrators were not helpful during the practical sessions
while 5.5% of the participants did not indicate whether the demonstrators were
helpful or not helpful. These results of the majority of the students finding the
demonstrators helpful agree with those of Kirkup et al., (2016); He et al., (2018)
and Braun et al., (2018) where the students stated that the demonstrators were
helpful when it came to the explanations and demonstrations of the experiments
in the laboratories. According to Filz and Gurung (2013), being helpful is one of
the characteristics that demonstrators have to possess before they can be hired.
70
60
Number of participants
50
40
Yes
30 No
20 No response
10
0
Adequate Preparedenss Helpfulness of
knowledge for practicals demonstrators
Responses of the participants
Figure 2. Responses on preparedness, helpfulness, and knowledge of demonstrators.
Participants who doubted the responses that the demonstrators gave on some of
the aspects of the practical sessions made up 50.7% while 45.2% of the participants
stated that they did not doubt the responses of the demonstrators on some aspects
of the practical sessions and 4.1% of the participants did not respond to the
question as shown in Table 1. These findings are not in agreement with those in
He et al., (2018) where only 11.0% of the participants had stated that the teaching
assistants had occasionally given them wrong information. In Brauna et al., (2018),
2.0% of the participants in the Chemistry class doubted the expertise of the
demonstrators compared to 24.0% of the participant in the Physics class who
doubted the knowledge of the demonstrators. In Philipp et al., (2016a), the
majority (90.0%) of the undergraduate teaching assistants had confidence in their
knowledge of the content material and could provide answers to the questions
raised by the students. The teaching assistants also felt that they contributed to
the understanding of the students.

109
According to Table 1, 52.1% and 43.8% of the participants understood the role of
the demonstrators and did not understand what the role of the demonstrators was
during the practical sessions respectively while 4.1% of the participants did not
indicate if they understood or did not understand the role of the demonstrators.
As a result, 13.0% of the participants had a problem with taking instructions from
demonstrators during practical sessions with more (83.6%) of the participants not
having problems with taking instructions from the demonstrators. These findings
in the present study are comparable to those in Braun et al., (2018) where 93.0%
and 76.0% of the participants in the Chemistry and Physics respectively
acknowledged the important role that the demonstrators played in their learning
process. According to Chapin et al., (2014), teaching assistants or demonstrators
end up gaining skills in giving instructions and being confident.
A smaller (28.1%) number of participants described the demonstrators as being

impossible and hard to deal with compared to a much larger (64.4%) number of
participants who described demonstrators as not being impossible or hard to deal
with during practical sessions with 7.5% not responding (Table 2). The majority
(61.0%) of the participants indicated that they would report the demonstrators to
the seniors if they mistreated them compared to 32.9% of the participants who
indicated that they would not report them while 6.2% of them did not indicate
whether they would report or not report the demonstrators if they mistreated
them.
With regards to the responses on whether the demonstrators can listen to the
complaints or queries by the participants, (115/148) participants felt that the
demonstrators were able to listen to their complaints or queries while only
(26/148) participants indicated that the demonstrators did not have the patience
to listen to the complaints or queries with (7/148) participants not responding. In
McKeegan (1998), being patient and responsible were some of the traits which
undergraduate teaching assistants had to possess. In Philipp et al., (2016), the
undergraduate teaching assistants stated that it was important that teaching
assistants had patience and willingness to understand that not all the students had
the same background.
Most (64.4%) of the participants felt that the demonstrators were fair and did not
show any favouritism towards the students while 29.5% of the participants felt
the demonstrators were not fair and showed favouritism towards some of the
students while 6.2% did not respond to the question. In Buerkel-Rothfuss et al,
(1993), the authors mentioned that the teaching assistants were softer when it
came to grading compared to the staff members and that it was important to
remind teaching assistants regularly to be objective and fair when grading the
students' work.

110
Table 1. Responses of the participants on the demonstrators.

No
Responses Yes No
response
Do you doubt the knowledge/responses of the
50.7 45.2 4.1
demonstrators?
Do you understand the role of a demonstrator in a
52.1 43.8 4.1
practical?
Do you have any problems with taking instructions from
13.0 83.6 3.4
demonstrators?
Are the demonstrators difficult/impossible to work
28.1 64.4 7.5
with?
Are demonstrators able to listen to complaints/queries
77.4 17.8 4.8
by participants?
As shown in Figure 3, students believed that demonstrators could mark the

practical reports even though most of the participants felt that the marking of the
demonstrators was inaccurate. More participants had prior complaints on the
marking of the demonstrators compared to those who had not complained about
the marking of the demonstrators. The accuracy of the marking of the scripts by
the demonstrators is crucial as the practical marks (weekly marks and practical
exam) contribute towards the final mark of the students which qualify them for a
pass or a fail in the Biology course. Inaccurate marking can give a false
representation of the performance and the learning of the students.
60
50
40 Yes
No
30
No response
20
10
0
Ability of Marking of Previous
demonstrator to demontrators complaints about
mark accurate demonstrators
marking
Responses on the marking of demonstrators
Figure 3. Responses of participants on the marking abilities of the demonstrators.
Figure 4 shows that the majority (69.0%) of the participants felt that technical
officers had a final say in what happens during practical sessions compared to
only 23.0% of the participants who indicated that it was the lecturers who had a
final say in what happens during the practical session whereas 8.0% of the
participants did not respond on who should have a final say during practical
sessions.

111
No response
8%
Lecturer
23%
Technical
officer
69%
Figure 4. Responses on who has the final say in the case of disputes between
demonstrators and students.
Table 2 shows that the majority (71.9%) of the participants responded that the
demonstrators were approachable when there were queries while the least (11.6%)
of the participants felt that the demonstrators were not approachable when there
were queries. A high number (16.4%) of participants did not respond to whether
the demonstrators were approachable or not (Table 2). These findings agree with
those in Braun et al., (2018) where the majority (94.0%) and (82.0%) of the
participants in Chemistry and Physics classes respectively reported that the
demonstrators were more approachable compared to lecturers. According to
Gardner and Jones, (2011), the undergraduate students may find the postgraduate
demonstrators more accessible and approachable compared to the lecturers
because of the smaller differences between their social status and ages resulting
in them consulting the demonstrators more than they would approach the
lecturers.
In Buerkel-Rothfuss et al., (1993), the teaching assistants were considered to do

well in teacher-student relationships such as being friendly and more willing to
listen to alternative viewpoints of the students. However, in He et al., (2018) 2.0%
of the participants had stated that the teaching assistants were usually unavailable
when they were needed. According to Chapin et al., (2014) and Gardner and
Jones, (2011), the laboratory demonstrators have been rated by the
undergraduates as being more engaging and approachable compared to the
lecturers who are considered to be more boring and formal even though they are
experts when it comes to content. According to Kendall and Schussler (2012), the
teaching assistants are considered to be less intimidating compared to the
lecturers even though they might not be as knowledgeable, experienced, and
competent about the course content. As a result, students tend to think
demonstrators are more approachable, understanding, and flexible.

112
A significantly higher number of the participants indicated that the demonstrators

did not use their cell phones during practical sessions or spoke amongst
themselves when they were supposed to be assisting the students during the
practical sessions ((p<0.05). The use of cell phones can be considered to be a
distraction on the attention of the demonstrators on their effectiveness to run
practical sessions and should hence be prohibited. The use of cell phones by the
demonstrators could also be seen as a deterrent for the students to engage and
interact with them. Quite a large number of participants (11.0% and 10.7%) did
not respond to whether the demonstrators spoke on their cell phones or amongst
each other during the practical sessions.
A relatively higher number (61%) of participants had reported the demonstrators

to the seniors (lecturer or technical officer) if they were unhappy with their
conduct or the way they treated them compared to only 32.9% who had never laid
any complaints about the demonstrators. This could have been due to the
participants being afraid of intimidation from the demonstrators if they reported
them or maybe it could also be because they have not encountered unpleasant
situations from the demonstrators.
Table 2. Participants’ responses on the ability of the demonstrators to be competent and

behave during practical sessions.
No
Responses Yes No
response
Do you feel free to approach demonstrators in the
71.9 11.6 16.4
laboratory?
Do demonstrators talk amongst themselves and do not pay
38.4 50.7 11.0
attention to participants?
Do demonstrators use cell phones during practical sessions
38.7 50.7 10.7
instead of assisting participants?
Do demonstrators show favouritism? 64.4 29.5 6.2
Have you ever reported a demonstrator if you were
61.0 32.9 6.2
unhappy?
Figure 5 shows that the order of the responses of the participants on the overall
attitude of the demonstrators during practical sessions was "good" (64.0%) >
"excellent" (16.0%) > no response (11.0%) > "bad" (9.0%).

113
100
90
Number of responses
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Excellent Good Bad No response
Attitude of the demonstrators
Figure 5. Responses to the overall attitudes of the demonstrators.
The majority of the participants (69.0%) did not want the services of the
demonstrators with regards to them assisting in practical sessions to be
terminated while only 16.0% of the participants felt that the services of the
demonstrators could be terminated with 15.0% of the participants not responding
to whether the services of the demonstrators during practical sessions could be
terminated or not. The results in the present study, agree with those in He et al.,
(2018) where the majority (97.0%) of the participants stated that they strongly
agreed that the continued use of the teaching assistants could be beneficial.
Figure 6 shows that only 36.0% of the participants, responded that the number of
demonstrators allocated to the practical sessions should be increased compared
to 53.0% of the participants who felt that the number of the demonstrators was
adequate and did not need to be increased while 11.0% of the participants did not
indicate whether there was a need or no need of the number of demonstrators to
be increased.
More (69.0%) participants mentioned that they wished they could also become
demonstrators when they became seniors compared to only 24.0% of them
indicating that they do not wish to become demonstrators when they are senior
students whereas 13.0% of them did not indicate their preferences shown in
Figure 6. The findings of the majority of the participants wanting to become
demonstrators when they get to the upper levels of study are in line with the
findings of He et al., (2018), where about 64.0% of the participants said that the
positive contribution that the teaching assistants had made to their learning had
encouraged them to want to take a similar role in their future.

114
80
70
60
50
40
30 Yes
20 No
10
No response
0
Services of Number of Consideration to
demonstrators be demonstrators become a
discontinued should be demonstrator
increased
Responses of participants
Figure 6. Responses of the participants on services of demonstrators and desire

to become a demonstrator.
4. Conclusion
The present study assessed the experience of currently registered undergraduate
Biology students on the competence and ability of either postgraduate students
or senior undergraduate students that are employed as demonstrators for
practical classes. From the study, it can be concluded that in most of the critical
areas, there are mixed feelings on the competencies and the abilities of the
demonstrators to provide the needed information for the undergraduate students.
Areas such as getting prepared for classes, marking of scripts, behaviours of the
demonstrators during the practical classes as regards the use of cell phones, and
talking amongst themselves during the practical classes are areas where
improvements are needed on the part of the demonstrators. Some of the
participants sometimes doubted some of the answers that the demonstrators gave
them and also felt that their marking was not accurate. However, the majority of
the participants indicated that the demonstrators were approachable, helpful, and
had adequate content knowledge of practical sessions and that their services
should be continued. It is hence suggested that the laboratory demonstrators
should be equipped with skills and guidance on how to fairly assess the students'
laboratory reports, receive training on how to relate and respect the
undergraduate students, and how to give feedback to them positively and
constructively. The guidance and training would provide the demonstrators with
more confidence, knowledge, better communication skills, and even confidence
for them to teach and have a passion to pursue a teaching career. It is also
suggested that the demonstrators have weekly classes on what will be discussed
in the practical sessions and write pre-practical tests before they assist the
undergraduate students with the practical sessions to improve their competency
in marking and giving accurate answers during the practical sessions.

115
Acknowledgments
The authors would sincerely like to thank all the students who completed the
questionnaires and participated in the study.
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Appendix 1
SEFAKO MAKGATHO HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY

School of Pathology & Pre-Clinical Sciences
Biology Department
PO BOX 139, MEDUNSA, 0204
Email: Caswell.mavimbela@smu.ac.za
Perceptions of Students towards the Postgraduate Biology Practical

Demonstrators at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South
Africa
1. Age
2. Gender Male Female
3. Year of Study BSc 1 BSc 2 BSc 3
The experience about Science Tutors and

Demonstrators
4. Do you think that the demonstrators/tutors
are helpful to you during the practical Yes No
classes?
5. Do you understand the role of the

Yes No
demonstrators/tutors

119
6. Do you have a problem like taking

Yes No
instructions from them?
7. Do you think demonstrators/tutors/ tutors

have enough knowledge of the content of Yes No
the practicals/tutorials?
8. Do you feel like they are well prepared for

Yes No
practicals/tutorials?
9. Do you ever doubt their responses or

knowledge on some aspects of Yes No
practicals/tutorials?
10. Do you think that they are qualified to mark

Yes No
your scripts?
11. Do you think they mark your scripts

Yes No
accurately?
12. Have you ever complained about their

Yes No
marking being inaccurate?
13. If you have a query are they willing to listen

Yes No
to your complaint?
14. Do you feel that the demonstrators/tutors

are fair and do not have favourites when Yes No
they mark/assist in practicals/tutorials?
15. Do you believe that the

demonstrators/tutors have the final say in
Yes No
cases of you not being happy with the way
they have marked your scripts?
Technical
16. If No who do you feel has the final say? Lecturer
officer
17. Is it easy for you to approach

Yes No
demonstrators/tutors if you have queries?
18. Do you think they are impossible to deal

with?
19. If a demonstrator mistreated you would you

Yes No
report them to the members of staff?

120
20. How would you rate their attitudes towards

Excellent Good Bad
you
21. Do you think they talk too much among

Yes No
themselves and not pay attention to you?
22. Have you ever noticed them using their cell

phones when they were supposed to be Yes No
helping you?
23. Would you recommend that we increase the

numbers of demonstrators/tutors in your Yes No
class?
24. Would you recommend that we do away

Yes No
with the use of demonstrators/tutors?
25. Can you provide an area where you think

Yes No
they should improve?
26. Would you also apply to become a

demonstrator/tutor when you reach a Yes No
senior level?
27. Which level of students do you feel should Any senior

Post-graduate
be allowed to demonstrate? level

121

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 121-142, July 2020
Enhancing Students’ Mental Models of Chemical

Equilibrium Through Argumentation within
Model-based Learning
Anupong Praisri and Chatree Faikhamta

Department of Education, Faculty of Education,
Kasetsart University, Thailand
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4396-1015
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7364-9140
Abstract. The purpose of this study is to investigate how students

develop their mental models of chemical equilibrium through
Argumentation within Model-based learning (AMBL). This qualitative
research methodology draws upon a pre-post chemical equilibrium
mental models survey, teacher’s logs, classroom observations, and
students’ reflective diaries. The participants, purposively selected,
were 29 grade 11 students. Data were analysed via qualitative
methods, namely categorizing, comparing, and concluding. The research
findings reveal that AMBL could develop students’ tentative mental
models into scientific models, particularly on the topics of dynamic
equilibrium and reversible reactions. Key ideas for enhancing students’
mental models include: providing students with opportunities to use
evidence and justification in order to develop their mental models into
scientific models; the suggested use of several media to represent
particles at the microscopic level; and using driving questions to help
students modify their models and link their understanding of both the
macroscopic and microscopic levels through the modelling process. The
study recommends the need for more emphasis on the role of
argumentation in the modelling process.
Keywords: Mental Models; Model-based Learning; Argumentation;

Chemical Equilibrium
1. Introduction
Chemical equilibrium is one of the key concepts in chemistry, and for several
decades efforts have been made to help students understand this concept.
However, it has been found that most students still have naïve conceptualizations
of it (Van Driel & Gräber, 2002; Hackling & Garnett, 2007; Özmen, 2008;
Karpudewan et al., 2015). Because it is related to the study of invisible matter
representation, chemical equilibrium is classified as abstract content that is

122
difficult for students to understand (Kousathana & Tsaparlis, 2002; Akin &
Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, 2018). For instance, students sometimes perceive that
chemical equilibrium would have a complete forward reaction before a reverse
reaction and that system equilibrium would be unchanged (Yakmaci-Guzel,
2013). Additionally, students have believed alternative concepts, such as the idea
that if temperature is stable, adding a product substance would increase the
equilibrium constant, or that a higher temperature would increase the products,
disregarding whether the reaction was endothermic or exothermic (Voska &
Heikkinen, 2000; Kousathana & Tsaparlis, 2002). As a result, the students could
not explain the matter’s behaviour at the particulate or sub-microscopic level. This
indicates that encouraging students to comprehend only the concepts in forming
their ideas may not be enough. Research has shown that learning with a variety
of representations is vital to enhance students’ conceptions in chemistry,
especially in linking the three levels of representation (macroscopic, sub-
microscopic, and symbolic) (Taber, 2013; Sanchez, 2018; Schwedler & Kaldewey,
2020; Gkitzia, Salta & Tzougraki, 2020).
Nevertheless, chemistry educators expect that students will be able to explain

three levels of representation (Johnstone, 1993; Taber, 2013) to explain how such
matter behaviour happened, progressing from the macroscopic level to the
microscopic level. To communicate for better understanding, the two levels of
change should be linked with a symbolic level, such as a chemical equation. The
explanation for these three levels is regarded as the model or conceptual
representation created by chemists to clarify chemical phenomena (Justi & Gilbert,
2002). Thus, constituting models usually commences with chemists observing
chemical phenomena and attempting to explain phenomena by creating the
simplest models—MMs, or representations which are specific models for
individual creators as a part of the knowledge lying within them (Gilbert, 2005;
Nersessian, 2010; Bongers et al., 2019). The teachers could perceive misaligned
understanding from the students’ expression of their MMs (Harrison & Treagust,
1996; Coll & Taylor, 2002; Taber, 2017).
For more than three decades, a variety of research has been conducted on
developing students’ MM (Maia & Justi, 2009). Taylor, Barker, and Jones (2003)
suggested that building mental models is a development process in which
learners should be provided opportunities to articulate their mental models,
clarifying what scientists mean by ‘models’; making their mental models
intelligible; repeatedly critiquing the scientists’ mental models to enhance their
plausibility; using the scientists’ mental model to solve related problems, thus
enhancing its efficacy; and defending the scientists’ mental model, thus further
enhancing its fruitfulness. Based on these ideas, researchers have suggested
model-based learning (MBL) (Coll & Lajium, 2011; Khan, 2011; Maia & Justi, 2009;
Markauskaite et al., 2020) as a strategy to engage students’ modelling process.
Some research studies have developed learning about chemical equilibrium
through model-based instruction (Maia & Justi, 2009) using the model of
modelling diagram (MMD). Their findings revealed that this technique could
develop students’ visualization and representation skills. Such learning strategies

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affected the students - changing their concepts or developing other learning skills
- as they enjoyed studying and truly understood chemical equilibrium.
However, Giere (2001) stated that, while the models in this world cannot
completely explain phenomena, it could be said that we have evidence and
reasons to create models that explain the phenomena better. So, in modelling, a
rebuttal process is required based on the explanation with empirical evidence.
Generally, the rebuttal process occurs when evaluating the congruence of the
models and experiments. The rebuttal process should not only emphasize the
model evaluation (Mendonca & Justi, 2013) but should also focus on every step of
the modelling as the driver for the model to be more complete. Scientific
argumentation is the process of promoting student creation of scientific
explanations by generating claims based on evidence-based explanations (Jime
́nez-Aleixandre & Erduran, 2007; Sampson & Clark, 2009). This evidence could be
empirical evidence or scientific knowledge, and such a process occurs in the
science instruction process (Faikhamta, 2016) and the modelling process. For
instance, an argument could start from creation of the MM, such as a teacher
asking students why they drew an atomic model as a solid sphere. The students
would provide different reasons in attempt to validate their claim depending on
different reasons, depending on their existing knowledge.
To test the model, an argument would emerge when the students tested the
congruence of the created models with empirical evidence (Passmore & Svoboda,
2012). The students would reason with empirical evidence to try to confirm their
claims, and they would try to convince others to believe their models or believe
how the new models were better than the old ones. Therefore, if the rebuttal
process were added in every process of model-based learning management, the
students’ MMs would be more similar to the scientific models (i.e. more
complete).
As noted above, during the modelling process the students relied on the rebuttal
process to promote their MMs in accordance with the scientific models. From the
literature, guidelines for model-based learning together with the rebuttal process
were few, indicating a gap in the research. To fill this research gap, we examined
whether and how Argumentation within Model-based Learning (AMBL) would
help students develop their MMs of chemical equilibrium. The objective of this
research was to study, through the use of two research questions, the
characteristics of AMBL to develop the MMs of students concerning chemical
equilibrium:
1. What is the student’s MM of chemical equilibrium like during AMBL?
2. In what ways did AMBL enhance the MMs of chemical equilibrium of students?
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual frameworks of this study are mental modelling and three levels of
representation, and argumentation within model-based learning. These two
frameworks underpin the social constructivist view of learning (Leach & Scott,
2003), which is used to explain how students learn to participate in modelling and
scientific argumentation in the classroom. Science learning involves the processes

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of students’ social interactions and their personal internalization of the ideas and
language used to explain the natural phenomenon.
Mental modelling and three levels of representation

Due to its study of matter and representation, the content of chemistry is mostly
abstract. Chemists explain three levels of representation: macroscopic,
microscopic, and symbolic (Johnstone, 1993; Taber, 2013; Cheng & Lin, 2019). An
explanation of the three levels of representation is regarded as a model, or MM,
created by chemists to explain chemical phenomena (Justi & Gilbert, 2002). The
models are presented in different forms, such as figures, abstract objects, and
chemical equations. The MM is the model - or pictures in the brain - along with
the unique characteristics of the person who created it as a part of their underlying
knowledge. This is regarded as a personal model for explaining chemical
phenomena (Gilbert, 2005; Nersessian, 2010; Bongers et al., 2019). Each person has
a different MM. If that MM is surveyed and inspected until it is accepted by the
scientific community, it will be developed into a scientific model that represents
the phenomenon correctly, precisely, and completely (Gilbert et al., 2000; Van Der
Valka et al., 2007; Cheng & Lin, 2019). For the MM of chemical equilibrium,
chemists often explain representation on three levels and give examples of
concepts about reversible reactions. They begin by observing visible phenomena,
such as when a solution’s colour alternates between pink and dark rich blue when
a solution of cobalt (II) sulphate and hydrochloric acid is cooled and heated. After
that, they create a model at the microscopic level to explain the behaviour of the
representation. That is, the particles of substrates reacted, the products were
generated, and the particles of the products reacted and reversed to become the
substrates. Nevertheless, in the reaction, the particles of the substrates and the
products would remain for forward reaction and reverse reaction. To
communicate for better understanding, a representation at two levels would be
identified with chemical symbols: a chemical equation with an arrow pointing
forward and backward to show reversible reactions, as displayed in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The mental model connected with the three levels of the representation of
the reversible reaction.
However, explanations of three levels of representation are connected, as they
explain the same matter on different levels. Therefore, to help students
understand that the concepts are different, teachers should let students
comprehend the three levels of phenomena simultaneously, without separating

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the explanation (Akaygun & Jones, 2014; Sanchez, 2018). Thus, if the students can
visualize the explanation of chemical phenomena by connecting three levels, like
the exemplified chemists, it is clear that they will have MMs of reversible reactions
similar to the scientific models.
Argumentation within model-based learning (AMBL)

MBL (Harrison & Treagust, 2000; Khan, 2011; Coll & Lajium, 2011; Markauskaite
et al., 2020) is an instructional method that can develop students’ MMs so they are
consistent with scientific models (Khan, 2011; Barak & Hussein-Farraj, 2013;
Markauskaite et al., 2020). This begins with the students creating MMs to examine
existing knowledge before experimenting to evaluate congruence with the models
constituted under empirical evidence. If the created model cannot explain
phenomena, the students need to improve or modify the model before
implementation to explain new phenomena and to broaden the model (Buckley
et al., 2004). This view of MBL is strongly rooted in a social constructivist
framework (Scott, Asoko, & Leach, 2007).
Model-based learning is not only a step-by-step teaching approach; it is also about

the sense-making process of natural phenomena through modelling. In the
modelling process, argumentation should occur (Berland & Reiser, 2009;
Passmore & Svoboda, 2012; Evagorou, Nicolaou & Lymbouridou, 2020) .
Argumentation is a dialogic process that involves providing, supporting,
challenging, and refining claims using criteria valued in science (Kulatunga,
Moog, & Lewis, 2013; Sampson & Clark, 2009). Scientific argumentation
encourages students to create arguments to explain natural phenomena based on
reasoning (Juntunen & Aksela, 2014). For example, students try to seek empirical
evidence to confirm or disprove their claims; thus, argumentation plays an
essential role in helping to generate reasonable explanations, models, and theories
(Siegel, 1995; Erduran & Jimenez-Aleixandre, 2012). Similarly, scientists use
evidence for claims in creating arguments based on scientific reasons to show
relationships between the claims and evidence (Toulmin, 1958). Nevertheless,
Sampson and Clark (2009) examined the relationship between co-working and
scientific argumentation and found that, to attain better scientific knowledge and
understanding, students should jointly construct an argument within the learning
exchange. Most of the argumentation that occurs in small groups is co-
constructed, suggesting that students work cooperatively in this group setting
(Kulatunga, Moog, & Lewis, 2013)
The researchers assume that engaging students with argumentation in model-

based learning encourages them to enter into ways of thinking, acting, and
speaking like scientists. Mendonça and Justi (2013) established relationships
between argumentation and modelling in the use of two modelling-based
teaching sequences (on ionic bonding and intermolecular interactions). They
found that argumentative situations occurred in all stages of model-based
learning. Argumentative situations were relevant to students’ sense making,
articulation and persuasiveness in modelling process. Students should have
opportunities to choose and justify their models; propose intermediate models;
communicate them to their peers; plan and investigate in order to collect data to

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evaluate their proposals; criticise their models and those of their peers; and
modify models according to some criteria or from the commitment to some
evidence (Bottcher & Meisert, 2010; Passmore & Svoboda, 2011)
According to Mendonca and Justi (2013), the argumentation process should not
only emphasize model evaluation but include every step of modelling to make
the models to be more complete. Therefore, our study adds an argumentation
process to every step of MBL to make the MMs of students more similar to the
scientific models. This instructional strategy is referred to as Argumentation
within Model-based learning (AMBL). Students should be encouraged to develop
more MMs – models that show greater consensus - through modelling and
argumentation in their community. They should have a chance to express their
own MMs, and to evaluate, justify, and revise their models based on evidence.
2. Research methodology
In this study, a qualitative research approach based on an interpretive paradigm
(Patton, 2002) was used to build an understanding of how students developed
mental models on chemical equilibrium. The context of the study, data collection
and analysis are described as follows;
2.1 Context of the study

The participants included 29 grade 11 students (nine male students and 20 female
students) at a public school in Thailand. All participants have studied at high
school level since grade 10. The particular school was chosen for its convenience
and proximity; the first author had worked there as a teacher and these students
were taught by the first author. These factors allowed us to understand
profoundly the degree to which each student developed MMs. In order to teach
chemical equilibrium, AMBL was developed based on the literature reviews of
MBL and argumentation and consisted of three key features:
Creating knowledge through the modelling process. The students used their existing
knowledge/experience to create MMs about the phenomena under study. Since
the MMs of students mostly differ from the scientific models, teachers should give
students the opportunity to fully express their MMs through drawing, explaining,
discussing, and role playing.
Jointly creating knowledge in promoting students to improve/modify their models.

Transactions between teachers and students, or students and students, lead to the
creation of models that are closer to the scientific models. For example, if the
created model cannot explain the phenomena, teachers may facilitate in asking
questions to motivate discussion and debate between the teachers and students,
or among the students themselves, for more complete model improvement.
Discussion based on empirical evidence for evaluating consistency within the created
models. The students should gather empirical data as evidence for examining the
consistency of the created models. They should also attempt to explain with
empirical data to confirm that the claims or created models are correct, or provide
an empirical, evidence-based explanation to explain how the newly created
models are better than the old ones.

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2.2 Data collection and analysis

To address the two research questions, we gathered and analysed the data using
the following tools. The first research question involved what the chemical
equilibrium MM of an 11th-grade student was like during AMBL. Data were
gathered with an MM survey containing mainly open-ended questions for the
students to draw pictures and describe their models with detailed reasons
(Vosniadou et al., 2004). It was divided into 23 sub-items covering chemical
equilibrium content within five main topics, including reversible reaction,
equilibrium in chemical reactions, the equilibrium constant, factors affecting
equilibrium, and Le Chatelier’s principle. The MM survey was developed
according to various research (e.g. Srichiangha, 2014; Vosniadou et al., 2004) and
then validated by panels of experts. The researchers analysed questions per item
by reading all students’ answers thoroughly, including the aspects of alternatives,
drawn pictures, and the reasons used for explanation and interpretation. After
that, following Chi and Roscoe (2002), the answers were used to group the MMs
of the students into six groups: correct mental model (CMM); incomplete correct
mental model (ICMM); complete faulty mental model (CFMM); faulty mental
model (FMM); idiosyncratic mental model (IMM); and no response (NR).
The second question concerned how AMBL developed the MMs of chemical
equilibrium of the 11th-grade students. Data were collected through students’
reflective journals, in which they wrote what they learned and expressed their
feelings and opinions about the lesson and learning activities in each period. We
determined the scope as three main issues: what the students did that day, what
they learned, and whether they liked the lesson. Furthermore, a post-teaching log
was recorded by the first author. The researchers applied the qualitative data
collected for data analysis using the inductive process (Cohen, Manion &
Morrison, 2000). The researchers used the data to interpret and identify shared
features of concrete data and to make an abstract conclusion to be synthesized as
a theme. Additionally, all data from the interpretation and analysis were
examined for validity by two experts and critics for triangulation, who provided
suggestions from the data analysis.
3. Findings
Students’ mental models and ways of enhancing their mental models were
presented as follows:
3.1 The students’ MMs

According to the data collection, when comparing results before and after the
AMBL on chemical equilibrium, we identified the development of the 11th-grade
students’ MMs as follows: After learning, most students had correct mental
models (CMM) of the equilibrium state in chemical reactions (52%), followed by
reversible chemical reactions (31%). In comparison, with only the instruction
provided prior to learning, the students had flawed mental models (FMM) in
every aspect, as shown in Table 1.

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Table 1: Number and percentage of the students with chemical equilibrium MMs
before and after the Argumentation within AMBL)
*
Number of students [person (percent)]
Issues CMM* ICMM* CFMM* FMM* IMM* NR*
B A B A B A B A B A B A
Reversible 0 9 9 10 5 3 13 5 0 2 0 0
reaction (0) (31) (3) (34) (19) (10) (48) (17) (0) (7) (0) (0)
Equilibrium in the 0 15 0 0 3 11 21 0 0 2 3 1
chemical reaction (0) (52) (0) (0) (11) (38) (78) (0) (0) (7) (11) (3)
Factors affecting 0 5 0 12 3 3 17 9 0 0 7 0
equilibrium (0) (17) (0) (41) (11) (10) (63) (31) (0) (0) (26) (0)
Equilibrium 0 5 1 13 3 6 15 1 0 2 8 2
constant (0) (17) (4) (45) (11) (21) (56) (3) (0) (7) (30) (7)
Le Chatelier’s 0 0 0 4 1 1 21 23 0 0 5 1
principle (0) (0) (0) (14) (4) (3) (78) (79) (0) (0) (19) (3)
Note: B- Before, A- After, CMM: correct mental model; ICMM: incomplete correct mental
model; CFMM: complete faulty mental model; FMM: faulty mental model; IMM:
idiosyncratic mental model; NR: no response.
Reversible chemical reaction

For this topic, the teacher asked the students to select different scientific models
in a preparation process of ammonia gas as a raw material for producing fertilizer.
The students needed to select the best possible model when opening a valve for
N2 and H2 to be mixed to become NH3 (in a third tank), as shown in Figure 2.
N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) ⇌ 2NH3 (g) + 93 kJ
Tank No. 1 Tank No. 2 Tank No. 3
?
Where = N2 = H2 = NH3
Figure 2: Illustration of the question in issue of the reversible chemical reaction,

equilibrium in the chemical reaction, and factors affecting chemical equilibrium.
Before learning, it was found that the students mostly had FMM (48%). When
analysed, the only answer was that the substrates reacted entirely to become
products. That is, N2 reacted with H2 entirely to become NH3. This indicated that
the students exercised the concept of complete reaction, and most students in this
group answered ‘because a molecule of N2 is combined with 3 molecules of H2 to
be a molecule of NH3. Therefore, 3 molecules of N2 and 9 molecules of H2 can be
combined to be 3 molecules of NH3,’ as shown in Figure 3a.
After the lesson, the students had increased their CMM by 31%, showing that they
experienced development in their MMs. When analysing the students’ answers,
the researchers found two patterns. In the first pattern, students selected the first
model because of a molecule of N2 reacting with three molecules of H2 to become
two molecules of NH3. The substance particles would not react entirely because
the students misinterpreted meanings from the chemical equation with reversible
marks. Most students interpreted meanings from the symbols representing the

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reversible reaction. That is, the reversible reaction (⇌) was connected with the
particulate model. The students explained ‘because a molecule of N2 is combined
with 3 molecules of H2 to become 2 molecules of NH3, as it was a reversible
reaction without complete change or reaction’, as shown in Figure 3b. In the
second pattern, students selected Y model because a molecule of N2 reacted with
three molecules of H2 to become two molecules of NH3; the substance particle did
not react completely because the students could visualize it at the microscopic
level.
(a) (b)
Figure 3: The model selected by
the students (the third tank) when
opening a valve for N2 and H2 to
be combined.
Equilibrium in the chemical reaction

In this topic, the teacher used a situation linked with the first point and added a
question about which, when entering the equilibrium state, substance particles in
the third tank would be drawn and described. Before learning, most students had
FMM (78%). When analysing the students’ answer patterns, we found two
patterns. In pattern one, the system entered an equilibrium state when the
substrates reacted entirely to become products. In this pattern, the students
understood that when substrates do not entirely react, the system does not enter
the equilibrium state. However, if the substrates completely react to become
products, the system will reach equilibrium. A student in this group explained
that ‘when 3 molecules of N2 are combined with 9 molecules of H2, the product
will be 3 molecules of NH3’, as shown in Figure 4a. In the second pattern, the
system will be in equilibrium when the quantity of each kind of substance particle
is equal. This pattern of answers indicated that the students comprehended that
the system was in equilibrium, as in the expression ‘same or equal.’ Accordingly,
the students visualized particles with the same quantity; the system would thus
be in equilibrium when the quantity of particles of every substance was equal. A
student explained that ‘there are equal numbers of particles in the equilibrium’,
as shown in Figure 4b. After learning, the students developed more CMM (52%).
When analysing the answers, the teacher found only one pattern, as most students
understood that when the system is in equilibrium, nitrogen reacts with hydrogen
to become ammonia gas, and it disintegrates to become nitrogen and hydrogen
because the rate of forward reaction is equal to the reverse reaction. One student
answered, ‘There were 3 N2 and 9 H2 9 with a ratio of 1:3, and they would be
combined to become 2 NH3, but there were 1 N2 and 3 H2 left because the
equilibrium is reversible’, as shown in Figure 4c. Additionally, the students had
complete faulty mental models (CFMM), as they perceived that when the system
entered dynamic equilibrium, the substrates reacted to become the products at the
same ratio of the chemical equation, and the reaction was not complete. Some
students in the group explained that the ‘forward reaction from substrates became

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the products to decrease 1 nitrogen and 3 hydrogens to increase 2 ammonias’, as

shown in Figure 4d.
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 4: The drawings of students showing gas particles
in the third tank when the system is in equilibrium.
Factors affecting equilibrium

For this point, the teacher used connected situations from the issue of equilibrium
in the chemical reaction but added the condition that the substance particles in the
third tank must be drawn when interrupted by increasing pressure. Before
learning, most students had FMM (63%), while some students provided no
response (NR). When analysed, there were three answer patterns. In the first,
increasing pressure made the gas particles closer because of the decrease in space
or volume of the gas particles. In the second answer pattern, increasing pressure
caused more ammonia because of increased substrate reaction. Finally, in the
third pattern, decreasing pressure increased the volume of the gas particles,
leading to more products. Some examples of the students’ responses: ‘when
increasing pressure in a gas cylinder, nitrogen and hydrogen will be more
disintegrated, leading to the increase of reaction of both gases, and more ammonia
is produced’ (Figure 5a), and ‘when increasing pressure, the ammonia particles
will be closely arranged, showing more exothermic process and increasing
ammonia’ (Figure 5b). After learning, almost half of the students had incomplete
correct mental models (ICMM; 41%). When analysing the answer patterns of the
students, we found only one pattern: increasing pressure led to more ammonia or
more forward reaction because of the substrate reaction, but the reaction was not
complete. An example of a student’s answer is: ‘when reducing pressure and
volume, the substances would collide more, resulting in more reactions and
increasing ammonia, but it is still reversible’ (Figure 5c). Meanwhile, some
students had increased CMM (17%), and there were two answer patterns. In the
first pattern of answers, increasing pressure led to the production of more
ammonia due to particles of the substrates being more than products; the system
balanced it by making the substrate’s particles react to generate more ammonia.
This indicated that the students could explain changes at the microscopic level.
Some students who followed this pattern explained that ‘when increasing
pressure, the volume is decreased, and the substrates turn to be more products
because of more substrates. As a result, when reducing the volume of the
substances, the quantity must be decreased’ (Figure 5d). In the second pattern,
increasing pressure resulted in more ammonia because the volume reduction
affected the coefficient of high Mol moving to low Mol. This indicated that the
students’ explanations relied on the relationship of the reaction proportion
according to the relative quantity. An example of a student’s answer included
that, when increasing pressure, the volume and space would be decreased. As a

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result, the particles collided more, leading to an increasing amount of ammonia

(volume decreased from high Mol to low Mol).
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 5: Student drawing demonstrating gas particles in the third tank under increasing
pressure.
Equilibrium constant
Regarding this topic, the teacher asked the students to draw substance particles
from the equilibrium constant of nitrogen monoxide generation (N2 + O2 ⇌ 2NO).
The students needed to understand that the equilibrium constant could only
happen when the system was in equilibrium. Before learning, it was found that
most students had FMM (56%). After learning, almost half of the students had
ICMM. Some students had CMM and IFMM. When analysing the students’
answer patterns, the teacher found two patterns. In the first answer pattern, air
consisted of N2, O2, and NO equally because the substrates reacted to become the
products. For example, some students explained that ‘when N2 and O2 in the air
are combined, it become NO’ (Figure 6a). In the second pattern, only NO was
found in the air because N2 reacted with O2 completely due to the complete
reaction. The students explained that ‘in the equilibrium state, N2 and O2 are
combined entirely to become NO’ (Figure 6b). After learning, almost half of the
students had ICMM (45%). When analysing the answer patterns of the students,
the teacher found only the pattern that N2 reacted with O2 to become NO at a ratio
of 1:1:2, in accordance with the same proportion of the equation, because the
students considered the reversible chemical equation and interpreted it at the
microscopic level. One student explained: ‘N2 + O2 ⇌ 2NO at a ratio of 1: 1: 2, thus,
there are 3 N2, 3 O2, and 6 NO’ (Figure 6c). In the meantime, the number of
students with CMM increased by 17%. However, when considering the answer
pattern of the students, the teacher found the same pattern as the ICMM group.
However, this group additionally explained that ‘the substrates are left to
generate a reversible reaction.’ Therefore, they were categorized in the CMM
group. One student in this group answered that ‘N2 + O2 ⇌ 2NO: N2 reacts with
O2 to become the new product, which is NO, and it is reversible’ (Figure 6d).

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(a) (b)
(c) (d)
where = N2. = H2 = NO
Figure 6: Pictures of the students showing gas particles in the air.
Le Chatelier’s principle
The teacher presented a hypothetical situation about hiking Mt. Everest, where a
person in such a high place would have a headache and nausea because oxygen
would not sufficiently nourish the body tissues; these symptoms constitute
hypoxia. The equation was as follows: Hb + O2 ⇌ HbO2. The teacher asked the
students to draw the substance particles in a case where the Mt. Everest hiker had
a blood test to identify hypoxia, with a 1-hour X-ray. Before learning, the students
had FMM, which was not different from post learning, where the students still
had FMM (80%). When analysing the answer patterns of the students, we found
three patterns. In the first pattern, the students did not show the particles of HbO2
because the amount of O2 was insufficient; thus, HbO2 was not found to nourish
the body. In the second answer pattern, the students did not show particles of O2
due to an inadequate amount of O2; thus, the particles were not found in the body.
Finally, in pattern three, the students supposed that when time passed, the
forward reaction would occur and finally become complete (Figure 7a). After
learning, the answer pattern was the same as the third pattern, which accounted
for 50% of the students in the FFM group. The answering pattern differed from
before learning in that the students thought that dynamic equilibrium had
occurred and that the particles had not increased, leading to hypoxia. The
students understood that the dynamic equilibrium resulted in limited constant
particles, and they thought that the O2 particles were few, bringing about few
HbO2 molecules. The students answered that ‘HbO2 may be the same because O2
in the atmosphere is low, and when HbO2 is low the oxygen cannot nourish the
body, leading to hypoxia’ (Figure 7b). However, after learning, some students had
ICMM (14%), compared with zero students who had CMM before learning. When
analysing the answer patterns, we found that there was only one pattern, which
was that hypoxia decreased the concentration of oxygen as the substrate.
Therefore, the system would adapt, leading to fewer particles of the products,
thus increasing the substrate’s particles. This indicated that the students used the
main concept of Le Chatelier’s principle regarding the factors of concentration to
explain substance adaptation for the system to be in equilibrium. A student in this
group answered that ‘in the 60th minute, the particles of HbO2 are low, while the
particles of Hb are high and the particles of O2 are low, leading to low HbO2”
(Figure 7c).

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1 min. 30 mins. 60 mins. 1 min. 30 mins. 60 mins. 1 min. 30 mins. 60 mins.
(a) (b) (c)

where = Hb = O2 = HbO2
Figure 7: Drawing of the students showing substance particles when a hiker has
hypoxia.
3.2 In what ways did students develop MMs in chemical equilibrium?
Creating different mental models led to conviction in jointly developing MMs in
accordance with the scientific models.
To realize their MMs, the students needed to evaluate the created models by
presenting to other groups. Different existing experiences compelled the students
to create distinct models, leading to the conviction process. A technique used was
that the group creating an FMM would give their presentation first, and the group
creating the model consistent with the scientific models would present later. As a
result, the group with the FMM would be convinced to adjust their models. Such
a technique is highly effective because the students in the classroom would realize
their errors and correct the models. However, the co-point of both models was the
alternative model used to explain the same phenomena, with a different
agreement with the scientific models. The students would perceive the
development of the models from the conviction process for model modification.
An advantage of the model development was that the students selected a
developed model to explain the phenomena. On the other hand, the model before
development would not be chosen by the students to explain the phenomena
because it had not been covered in the lesson.
The students constructed the models at the particulate level to explain the
phenomena of reversible reactions between cobalt (II) sulphate and hydrochloric
acid when cooled and heated. The teacher asked the students to present their
created models and found that the students created different models. The
presentation started with the group with faulty models (which the teacher
identified by surveying the students while they created their models). After that,
the group had models in agreement with the scientific models. An example of a
conversation between the teacher and students follows:
Teacher: When heating the solution, what colour do you notice?
Student A: It’s blue, so I moulded it with blue colour.
Teacher: If it is cooled, what is it like?
Student A: The solution will turn from blue to pink, so our group moulded it with
pink plasticine. (This student is representative of the faulty model.)
Teacher: Is there any group different from this one?
Student B: My group. We think that it will not be only blue or pink, as there must
be remainders for the reversible reaction. (This is the conviction process to link
their groups’ models.)
(This student is representative of the correct model.)
Teacher: Do you agree with this group?
All Students in Class: Yes.
Teacher: If I let you revise the model, what will it look like?
Student C: The substrates will remain.

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As the above conversation illustrates, the teacher provided the group with the
faulty models with the opportunity to present first, by asking the question, ‘Is
there any group different from this group?’ This was to give an opportunity to the
group with the correct model an opportunity to present and convince their peers
that their group created the correct model. Some students understood that the
reversible reaction should have a complete reaction before a reverse reaction.
Thus, the students created the models with no remaining substrate particles
(Figure 8a). Meanwhile, as another group argued that the reversible reaction did
not react entirely, the students created models with substrate particles remaining
(Figure 8b). The reasoning of the group with the correct models was more reliable
than the first group, and they could convince their friends. Additionally, the
teacher asked the questions necessary to make the modification more effective,
such as ‘Do you agree with this group?’ and ‘If I let you revise the model, what
will it look like?’ When analysing the students’ diaries, the teacher found
agreement. That is, the conviction process contributed to the students’ model
development. Examples of a student’s diary included: ‘I learned about substances
that are reversible because they do not completely change and there are particles
left to be reversible’, and ‘I know that the complete substance is not reversible
because it is complete. That is, no other substances disturb. If there are other
substances, it will be reversible because of the presence of other matter’.
(a) (b)
Figure 8: The mental models of the group with (a) a faulty model and (b) a
model similar to the scientific models in explaining the colour changes of the
solution from the experiment.
Analogical method promoting modelling at the microscopic level

Analogy is a necessary technique for the creation of MMs, especially microscopic
models. The analogy helped the students to visualize the invisible content, such
as the dynamic equilibrium phenomena, in which the forward reaction is equal to
the reversible reaction at any time. However, since the students could not see it,
to represent the concept the teacher used the analogy of alternating water fetching
under the condition that the containers should have the same volume. The teacher
asked the students to construct their MMs on the microscopic level through role
playing. When fetching water for a moment, the students noticed the constant
equivalent volume. The analogy promoted the students’ vision of dynamic
equilibrium as the rate of forward change equal to reversible change. An example
of a conversation between the teacher and students about the analogy of water
fetching follows:

135
Teacher: Which substance has more initial volume? (The teacher fetched water
with his hands. At first, since there was no volume of the product, he fetched the
air.)
Student D: The substrates are more than products.
Teacher: What happens when time passes?
Student E: The substrates are equal to the products.
Teacher: When do the substrates equate to the products?
Student F: When the water in both beakers is equal.
Teacher: If time passes for one day, ten days, or 100 years, what do you think the
substance quantity will be?
Student F: It will be the same.
Teacher: What do you think the beakers look like in the chemical reaction?
Student F: Rate of forward reaction and reverse reaction.
Asking the students to explain the phenomenon of chemical equilibrium by linking the
three levels of representation through the modelling process to make MMs consistent with
the scientific models.
The teacher emphasized his instruction to the students to explain the
phenomenon at three levels through the creation of the MMs. For instance, the
students were asked to experiment and observe the colour change before creating
a model to explain the substance’s behaviour at the particulate level and to
determine the chemical symbols to link with the explanation at both levels. This
pattern of teaching would be obvious in the first and fourth learning plans, as
exemplified in the fourth learning plan.
At the macroscopic level, the teacher required the students to perform an

experiment or activity to explain the factors of concentration affecting the
equilibrium, observing whether the substance was more or less concentrated.
Questions asked after the experiment required the students to give reasons for the
colour change, such as the colour changing when adding Fe(NO3)3 to the solution,
the cause, the observation, and the exemplification of the students’ answers in
some groups. For example, when adding Fe(NO3)3, the solution’s colour was
darker because the substrates reacted increasingly to generate more products.
Some noticed that the substance in the test tube had a darker red colour. To obtain
more concrete data and to demonstrate the symbolic models, the teacher then
asked the students to use a graph drawing to explain the representation, at the
symbolic level, between the concentration change over a period of time, as
depicted in Figure 9a. The conversation between the teacher and the students was
as follows:
Teacher: When mixing substrates and the system is in equilibrium, what does the
graph look like? Student A: It’s parallel (symbolic).
Teacher: When adding Fe3+, do you think the graph is still parallel?
Student A: I don’t think so, as we are interrupting the equilibrium (symbolic).
Teacher: What is increased when adding Fe3+?
Student A: The concentration of Fe3+ increases.
Teacher: What should the graph look like?
Student A: It rises/becomes higher (symbolic).
Teacher: What is the concentration of Fe3+ when time passes?

136
Student A: It decreases, because it will react more with the darker colour of the
solution (macro). Teacher: What should the graph look like?
Student A: It descends.
Teacher: What is the concentration of SCN-?
Student A: It decreases only (symbolic).
The teacher attempted to use questions to stimulate the students to link to the
representation. For example, what does the graph look like when substrates are
mixed and the system achieves equilibrium? Or what is increased when adding
Fe3+? This indicated that the teacher’s questions contributed to the students’
understanding in creating the symbolic models to make the data more concrete.
After that, the intent was to link the microscopic representation to the symbolic
level. The teacher asked the students to explain the substance’s behaviour on the
microscopic level using coloured papers cut into circles to represent the
substance’s particles. The students were asked to use the papers for the particles’
representation by demonstrating the particles in four periods, according to the
students’ work: the beginning, when achieving equilibrium, when adding Fe 3+,
and when returning to equilibrium, as shown in Figure 9b. When the students
created the models at the particulate level, the teacher needed to link the three
levels of representation by questioning the students, as seen below:
Teacher: What does the graph look like when mixing both substances?
Student A: Parallel (symbolic).
Teacher: What is the substance particle’s ratio?
Student A: The particles are at a ratio of 1:1:1 (micro).
Teacher: What do the particles look like when adding Fe3+?
Student A: When adding Fe3+, there are 6 yellow particles, 3 colourless particles,
and 3 red particles. When the system has just reached equilibrium, the yellow
particles react with the colourless particles to become red particles. There are 4
yellow particles, 1 colourless particle, and 5 red particles left.
Teacher: How is it consistent with the graph?
Student A: When adding Fe3+, the concentration of Fe3+ increases, and the graph
rises (symbolic) to the new equilibrium. Then, the graph descends (symbolic)
because of forward reaction as the solution’s colour gets darker (macro).
Meanwhile, the concentration of SCN- decreases (symbolic), and the concentration
of [FeSCN]2+ is higher (symbolic).
Teacher: Is it consistent with the representation at the particulate level?
Student A: Yes, it is.
As the conversation above, having the students understand abstract matters can
be concretized in two ways. By drawing a graph, the students could interpret the
data of the representation on the macroscopic level in a concrete manner, but the
particulate-level modelling could help them explain the behaviours of the
substances, such as which substance reacted with which substance, the remainder,
and the state of the particles upon equilibrium.

137
(a) (b)
Figure 9: Symbolic modelling (graph) and concentration changes over a period
of time, and linking the representation at the macroscopic and microscopic
levels.
4. Conclusion, Discussion, and Implications

The research findings provide knowledge about MBL, especially as it concerns
increasing and emphasizing argumentation to enhance students’ mental models
(MMs). AMBL could develop the MMs of the students to align to scientific models
(Khan, 2011; Barak & Hussein-Farraj, 2013; Potisen & Faikhamta, 2017;
Markauskaite et al., 2020). Through the modelling process, the students could
create their MMs to understand the representation of chemical equilibrium on
three levels. Additionally, the students could generate arguments for developing
their MMs to become similar to the scientific models.
When comparing the results before and after AMBL, most students had CMM for
the aspect of equilibrium in the chemical reaction and reversible reaction.
Compared to before learning, the students had FMM for every point. Reviewing
the reversible reaction before learning, since the students understood that the
particles of the substrates reacted entirely and became the products, almost half
of them had FMM. A cause of this misaligned understanding was that the
students could not differentiate between the complete reaction and the reversible
reaction. Consistent with the findings of Van Driel and Gräber (2002), introducing
a lesson with chemical reactions helped the students understand that the reaction
happened in the same direction. That is, the substrates reacted and produced the
products completely, and the products could be reversed to become the
substrates. After learning, the students had CMM (31%), explaining that the
reversible reaction occurred when the particles of the substrates reacted to become
the particles of the product. Their reasons explaining that substrate particles did
not completely react, are (1) the interpretation of the symbols representing the
reversible reaction, which was the reversible chemical equation (⇌), connected
with the models at the particulate level (Srichiangha, 2014), and (2) the
comparison between the complete reaction model and the reversible reaction
model. The students reflected that they employed the created models as scientific
knowledge to explain the chemical phenomena.
The argumentative situation can be applied to a discussion of models during

model-based learning (Mendonca & Justi, 2013). While argumentation occurred
in all stages of model-based learning, the teacher played a vital role in fostering
discussion. The researchers support Clement and Rea-Ramirez (2008), who
stressed the importance of teachers asking questions during model-based

138
learning. The teacher should ask supporting and discrepant questions to

encourage students to evaluate, revise, generalise, and use their knowledge. As
shown in the teacher-student dialogues, the teacher facilitated the construction of
the students’ models, asking questions about the models, investigating the
empirical evidence, and providing clear justification for evaluating and modifying
their models.
One of the key features of AMBL in supporting the students’ explanations was
that the students explained the phenomenon of chemical equilibrium through the
modelling process by linking the representation on three levels. As a result, the
students had MMs in accordance with the scientific models. For example, the
students experimented to observe colour changes (macroscopic level), created
models to explain the behaviours of the particles (microscopic level), and defined
the chemical symbols to link the explanation on both levels. It was clear that the
students observed the reversible symbol (⇌) as linked with the reversible
representation on the microscopic level. According to the reasoning of the
students regarding the second point, the students created the microscopic models
to differentiate between the alternative models (the complete reaction models)
and the scientific models (the reversible reaction models). When revising their
models, the students usually created different models, resulting in a conviction
process. However, the effective conviction gave each group a chance to present
their models, and the students had learned the alternative and scientific models.
Vosniadou (1994) supported the idea that the alternative model was an MM that
differed from the scientific models; it was another alternative in explaining the
phenomenon. The students may have used the alternative model to compare with
the scientific models when describing the phenomena. This aligns with the
research study of Faikhamta and Supatchaiyawong (2014), in which the MBL was
a learning process where the students could practice thinking scientifically so that
they would understand the scientific models as scientific know-how created by
scientists to explain natural phenomena.
Based on the research results, the researchers have the following

recommendations. First, for instruction with AMBL, teachers should give
students a chance to understand the three levels of representation through the
modelling process. This can start with an experiment that allows students to
observe visible phenomena before explaining the behaviours of the substances at
the particulate level. The students can link the macroscopic and microscopic
changes to transition abstractness and concreteness, and an analogical technique
can help students explain the invisible phenomenon or the particulate model.
Second, based on a lesson teaching Le Chatelier’s principles, we would like to
recommend that instructors may allow students to create models at the
microscopic level for the aspects of increasing and decreasing concentrations,
which are not separable. However, students may spend a great deal of time
creating a microscopic model when just increasing the concentration, and the
teacher may have to ask them to link alterations for the two remaining levels,
which may also be time consuming. Therefore, it is recommended that animations
be used to help explain the phenomenon of de-concentration for the students
creating the microscopic model of the concentration increase. This will save time

139
and allow the students to achieve MMs consistent with the scientific model. Last,
students can use AMBL to address reasons for creating their models, to modify
and revise the models, or to reason in support of their claims—all of which require
that teachers provide the students with the opportunity to fully give their
opinions. Teachers may ask questions such as, ‘Does anyone agree/not agree with
your friend?’ in a case where the students have different opinions, or ‘Are your
models different from this group’s?’ in a case where the students create different
models. Moreover, ‘How do you know?’ is a question that stimulates students to
find evidence to confirm their reasoning, while ‘Do you agree with your friend?’
and ‘How can you adjust it?’ encourage students to practise listening to others’
opinions of their reasoning. Therefore, these questions contribute substantially to
stimulating students when constructing models or providing explanations for
scientific reasoning.
While this study focused on argumentation as a key component embedded in

MBL, we did not investigate students’ argumentation skills. It would be
interesting for further research to investigate and develop students’
argumentation skills when using AMBL (Aydeniz & Dogan, 2016; Juntunen &
Aksela, 2014). Such research might focus on how students develop their
argumentation skills and argumentative discourse. To enhance students’
argumentation skills, AMBL may also be integrated with animated media and
technology to contribute to model presentation (Buckley, 2000; Fretz et al., 2002;
Barak & Hussein-Farraj, 2013; Markauskaite et al., 2020).
Additionally, it is important to investigate how teachers teach MBL in a chemistry

context. A chemistry teacher must have pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to
teach specific chemistry concepts, such as chemical equilibrium (Akin &
Uzuntiryaki-Kondakeci, 2017). Teachers are required not only to understand
chemistry concepts but must know how to teach argumentation skills in specific
chemistry topics to a particular group of students (Bucat, 2014). This kind of study
will provide an in-depth understanding of teaching chemistry.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 143-158, July 2020
Researching the Impact of the Economic Crisis

on Student Life in Greece
Maria Kouroutsidou, Nikolaos Raptis and Konstantinos Karampelas

University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0345-541X
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7781-5556
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6631-1408
Abstract. The present work explores the views of students in Greek

Universities who have been impacted by the economic crisis in Greece
since 2009. In the theoretical part, the economic crisis is considered a
violent change that tends to be incorporated permanently into socio-
economic life, affecting public expenditure in tertiary education as well as
family income and expenditure. These developments harm university
studies, student life, and expectations of graduates for their future. The
theoretical part ends with the formulation of three research axes about the
extent to which the economic crisis affects (a) the socio-economic
environment and family spending, (b) students’ life at the university, and
(c) students’ perception of their future. In the empirical part, a series of
questions along these axes are investigated quantitatively, through
descriptive statistics using a questionnaire specially constructed for this
research, which addressed to students. The sample comprised 300
university students. Their views seem to primarily support the hypothesis
of the negative impacts of the economic crisis on families, studies, and
expectations. The study ends with suggestions for further research.
Keywords: Economic Crisis; Student Life; University; Greece
1. Nature and scope of the Problem: An introduction

The present research examines the crisis that Greece has been experiencing since
2009 and its impact on universities, as perceived by the students, in terms of the
impact on their background, studying conditions, and prospects. This crisis
influenced various aspects of life and public services in Greece, including
education (Azaria et al., 2020).
Universities worldwide have suffered enormously from the crisis of the first
decade of the 21st century (Coleman & Bekhradnia, 2014; Daim & Ozdemir, 2015).
Altundemir (2012), when investigating the impact of that crisis on American
public universities, concluded that several states had taken drastic measures to
reduce spending in the universities to face the challenging economic climate. In

144
various states and for various institutions, the reduction was affected in different
ways. In some states, funding to higher education institutions was reduced in
general, and in other cases, funding for expenditure on redundant personnel was
reduced. Due to these reduction measures, some universities have increased
tuition fees. Other states have reduced funding or scholarship opportunities for
students and have even terminated programs. To ensure the effective functioning
of their universities in the future, the boards of directors of many universities have
begun to form research policies that will ensure the institution’s long-term goals.
The literature reveals that these measures create a dilemma about whether to opt
for university education.
However, despite the economic crisis, enrollment at American universities has not
declined, probably because of the widely held belief that university education is
essential. Especially in these challenging times, it seems that higher education
qualification is worth purchasing at all costs, even though it poses many
challenges for students. This finding broadly aligns with the theory of human
capital and the importance attributed to education generally and higher
education, particularly by individuals and societies (Becker, 1993).
The European Universities Association (EUA, 2011) investigated the impact of this
crisis on public universities in various European countries and reached similar
conclusions. Initially, as the State funds a large proportion of European
universities, many national governments that decided to take strict austerity
measures reduced the average funding of higher education to decrease public
expenditure. Many universities were compelled to make drastic reforms, as
teaching budgets were reduced, and faculties or departments merged while
research activity was generally reduced. However, several countries either
increased or did not reduce the funding for research, probably because it is widely
believed that universities through research can help to deal with the crisis and
provide a stimulus for economic growth and social welfare. Such a stimulus
would come by way of promoting new fields of study and the creation of new job
opportunities (Christopherson et al., 2014). Several universities have considered
private funding and raising tuition fees as options.
Nevertheless, even in Europe, the number of students who want to pursue

university studies has increased, which is now mentioned as a rising challenge. In
any case, it increases the validity of the finding that people consider a university
degree as an essential qualification and a crisis does not impede them from
obtaining it (EUA, 2011).
In short, higher education has been affected by the crisis in various parts of the
world. However, the idea that university studies are necessary and worthwhile
did not seem to become less popular (EUA, 2011; Christopherson et al., 2014;
Coleman & Bekhradnia, 2014). This trend is justified to exist in the Greek context
(Katsikas, 2013). However, limited research emphasizes students’ opinions, which
is the main point of this particular study.

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2. Review of the Relevant Literature

As the article emphasizes the impact of the crisis on higher education, as
perceived by students, in a particular context, which is Greece, it is crucial to go
through literature review findings around the fields of study that this study
addresses, in order to form the appropriate hypothesis or assertion. They concern
research on higher education trends, the role of students in higher education, the
socio-economic crisis as it occurred in Greece, generally and specifically in what
concerns higher education (EUA, 2011; Cohen et al, 2013; Katsikas, 2013).
Trends in Higher Education

Since the 1950s, sociological and economic research is being conducted on the role
of education and its correlation with development.
At an individual level, through an economic and social perspective, the theory of

human capital (Becker, 1993) supports the notion that education is an investment
that qualifies people to be productive and therefore provides better access to the
labor market and higher income in professional life. At the same theoretical level,
higher education has been considered a useful tool not only for the development
of personal skills and attainment of knowledge and abilities by the people but also
for the promotion of innovative ways of thinking, preparation for mobility across
the world, and establishment of scientific and professional identity. All these can
lead to a better quality of life (Oxford University, 2015). Simultaneously, many
theorists have supported that education, when established as an institution with
the vision to reduce social inequalities, can increase social mobility for
underprivileged people of low social classes through the appropriate use of
knowledge, skills, and capacities (Becker, 1993).
Through economic and social perspectives, the influence of higher education on

productivity is considered to lead to increased GDP and thus to a high economic
and social development, reducing poverty, improving quality of life, and
prefectural development (Oxford University, 2015).
This relationship between education, improvement of individual career

prospects, and socio-economic development has been a fertile field for research
(Wolf, 2002). Though this view has been criticized, many countries have opted to
invest in the expansion of higher education by founding new universities, schools,
and departments in universities. According to Berry (2002), the governments’
approach has been supported by people of every background who believe
university education is the key to future success. Aside from this, it is widely
believed that higher education is an essential condition for adapting to reforms
and changes in a flexible labor market and improving and updating the
knowledge and skills of workers. For these reasons, Coleman and Bekhradnia
(2014) state that a lack of university education opens fewer opportunities for
professional development and career.
As Altbach et al. (2009) mention, the significant trends in higher education

nowadays are affected by a crucial challenge. This is because governments link
the financing of universities with social and political topics they view as relevant.

146
Eight basic dimensions or trends influence any policy concerning higher

education.
The first has to do with the orientation toward knowledge-based economies.

Higher education has a crucial role in that orientation because, in such economies,
college or university education is seen to be useful both at personal and social
levels by individuals. They see a university qualification as vital because they see
educated individuals engaged in research and progress as more likely to achieve.
The second trend is relevant to the first and relates to the familial expectations
that individuals should have higher educational qualifications. Even though the
rising number of university graduates caused by this expectation sometimes
cannot be absorbed by the labor market, this trend has not stopped. Contrarily, it
has triggered a demand for further higher education at certificate, undergraduate,
and post-graduate levels, which is seen as an edge in a highly competitive labor
market (Altbach et al., 2009; Berry, 2002).
The third trend that arises from the previous trend is the rising cost of studies per
student. The growing number of students attending universities indicates a
growth in the demand for higher education. Consequently, to make up for the
lack of government funding, higher education institutions raise the cost of
education.
The fourth trend arises from the inability of governments to meet the rising
demand for higher education. In other words, the governments are neither flexible
nor competent enough to meet the demand for funds made by the universities to
cope with the increasing expenses caused by the rising number of students. This
trend, combined with the demands for and rising costs of other services, causes
the governments to raise tax rates and look for cost-effective services (Altbach et
al., 2009; Altundemir, 2012).
The fifth trend is globalization, a multi-dimensional and highly complex

phenomenon. Therefore, its influence on universities is multi-dimensional and
complex. For example, due to globalization, people can now move with greater
ease from one country to another than in the past. Therefore, more people than
earlier migrate to other countries for education, increasing enrollment at
universities. Moreover, globalization permits industries to move from one
country to another for advantages such as a lower cost of education, which causes
changes in government revenue and expenditure, including expenses on higher
education.
The sixth trend is the orientation of universities toward tapping new financial
resources. This trend may be motivated or guided by governmental policies. As
government expenditure and funds in higher education decline, universities seek
new sources of funds. One of the sources is to raise tuition fees. This inevitably
causes social debates and some dissatisfaction (Altbach et al., 2009;
Christopherson et al., 2014; Hasanen, 2020).
The seventh trend comprises the growing emphasis on the finance and funding
factor. As universities have to develop policies and solutions to support their

147
function, they now pay considerable attention to finding sources for funds than
earlier. Moreover, they search for greater cost-effective solutions to carry on their
functions.
The eighth and final trend is the tendency of the universities to become more
autonomous and competitive. Many national governments, to help higher
education survive the fierce competition, decide to liberate the universities’
management to raise funds. In other words, universities are expected to cope with
new realities of rules of the free market. In many cases, governments promote
private funding or private colleges or universities.
Overall, due to these trends, there is concern about the impact of this external
competitive climate on the universities (Altbach et al., 2009; Coleman &
Bekhradnia, 2014; Sointu et al., 2019). Several solutions have been suggested and
adopted as part of the policy of cost-cutting, of which some are promoted by
central authorities or universities and other institutions and implemented with
varied effects. Many universities have restructured themselves and their functions
by introducing new courses or new and less expensive modes of teaching, such as
online classes. Several universities have revised pay structures for their
employees. Furthermore, there is a significant reduction in student support by the
State and other organizations that provide student loans (Altbach et al., 2009).
The Role of Students

Overall, students have been the center of attention for central policymaking
currents that arise due to more full social forces and phenomena such as
globalization, immigration, cultural exchanges, and increasing diversity of
societies. The policy focuses on how to help students support themselves
financially rather than funding. Though the students’ dominant role in society’s
future progress is recognized, they face significant challenges (Altbach et al., 2009;
Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
The role of students and their attitudes toward university studies can be
approached in three categories along three axes. The first axis concerns their
families and social background and how they affect their plans and decisions for
studies. University policies worldwide indirectly expect students to find the
means to finance their studies. Students and their families are expected to decide
how to meet this financial challenge. The decisions might focus on setting
priorities, prioritizing the family’s basic needs and expenses, and ranking the
priority of higher education among all the needs. In other words, students and
their families should review their needs and finances and decide what they can
sacrifice to spare the money to finance the higher education of their younger
members. While deciding, they will probably need to develop a plan and focus on
what the family may gain from their children’s higher education. The younger
members need to assess what they will do with their university degree and where
and what sort of work they seek. At this stage, they will have to assess the general
climate and conditions of society, especially the labor market and the
opportunities it offers. Usually, during a crisis, students and families plan
differently than during prosperity. In the former, they are more concerned about

148
how to minimize the cost of gaining the desired degree to provide a sustainable
career (Christopherson et al., 2014; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
The second dimension is that of the impact of the economic crisis on students’ life.
Students’ attitudes, which positively influence their decisions, are affected by the
general trends in education and universities. Overall, students will experience the
outcomes of governmental decisions on higher education and, similarly, might
have to be resigned to the side-effects of the challenges arising out of these
policies. These outcomes and challenges might generally be linked to financial
factors or decisions. For example, students will probably notice when the
government reduces investment in higher education. It would have several
consequences, such as fewer resources for the universities; fewer university
employees of every category, such as academic, teaching, research and
administration; fewer funding opportunities for students; reduced campus
activities of every kind; an overall pessimist attitude. However, the impact of the
crisis might not be felt in the universities alone. The family and background of the
student might be affected as well. This would probably also influence students’
decisions and attitudes. For example, while searching for cost-effective studies,
young people might opt not to relocate but may prefer studying in their
hometown to save accommodation expenses. Furthermore, they may economize
on expenses such as clothing and even writing material. If moving to the
university town is unavoidable, students may work or move into shared
accommodation to save expenses. In any case, any student desiring higher
education must balance the impact of the crisis through several decisions related
to their studies (Altbach et al., 2009; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009;
Benham et al., 2020).
The third dimension specifically concerns students’ expectations and how they
are affected by the crisis. Students’ expectations are certainly a complicated topic,
highly influenced by social factors and economic motivations. They might concern
future career opportunities in general and the relationship between qualifications
and job and career. Moreover, they may focus on how social factors correctly
interact and interrelate with their decisions, either at a personal level or at the level
of the larger student population. For example, students during a challenging
period might decide not to opt for studying the subject that interests them most
because the one they choose provides more opportunities for work and good
quality of life—the two desires motivate young people to relocate (Altbach et al.,
2009; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011).
The three dimensions of the crisis that impact students’ background, life, and
expectations are closely interwoven. Various aspects of each dimension
sometimes merge into the others. However, they provide a clear outline of how
the crisis and the more extensive community influence students’ experience and
attitudes toward universities, higher education, studies, degrees, and career
paths. Literature and research approached them in a piecemeal and scattered way
without focusing on students (Christopherson et al., 2014; Martin & Sauvageot,
2011; UNESCO, 2009). The central topic of investigation in this research is this
neglected area. It is at that point the rationale for this study is located.

149
Education and Socio-Economic Environment in Greek Society

In Greece, according to Petmezidou-Tsoulouvi (1987), Kazamias et al. (2002), and
Sianou-Kyrgiou (2010), significant research concerned the development and social
status of higher education. Due to higher education, a rising number of persons
were finding access to more and better work opportunities and social mobility
had increased.
Despite the observed concerns over the potential of higher education to assist
social mobility, Greek families have always supported their children to pursue
higher education leading to a degree (Fragoudaki, 1985; Sianou-Kyrgiou, 2010).
This entails much investment of time and money in private afternoon courses to
prepare the children for highly competitive entrance exams to universities to enter
prestigious schools or departments that are expected to lead to a high quality of
life and high social, professional, and financial status in future. Moreover, the
Greek State emphasizes higher education and its development (Pesmatzoglou,
1989; Katsikas, 2013). As it was concluded by the research carried out by the Greek
Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research IOVE, (2017) especially after the
1997 reforms, higher education departments and universities were expanded and
new universities were established at the prefectural level to give young people
broader access to higher education by steeply increasing the number of places in
Greek universities. However, this reform has caused debate over the quality and
outcomes of higher education. Nevertheless, this did not change the status of
Greek universities from being selective to selected. Competition for a place in
Greek universities remained severe, particularly in prestigious schools and
courses likely to guarantee excellent career opportunities (Gouvias, 2012; Azaria
et al., 2020).
In short, international trends around higher education have also been observed in
Greek society. The number of students willing to attend universities has been
rising. The reason is the broader belief that a university degree can lead to better
career opportunities and quality of life. Families encourage this belief in young
people and students (Altbach et al., 2009). Universities and the national
government had to cope with this rising demand and challenges accompanying
the increasing costs (Christopherson et al., 2014).
3. Hypothesis
In Greece, since the economic crisis of 2009 broke out, all aspects of economic and
social life have been significantly affected (Chrysochoou et al., 2013; Sklavos,
2014). Austerity measures, high taxation, falling income, rising unemployment,
and drastic reforms have been a reality. This reality is expected to stimulate
further reforms in education (Fullan, 2001), which is expected to impact
educational institutions, including the institutions of higher education, systems,
and structures (Sklavos, 2014).
In this aspect, it is expected that the crisis will negatively impact higher education.
The austerity policy is expected to lead to less investment in higher education by
the State. Moreover, families are expected to invest less in higher education of
their younger members at every stage, from preparation for entrance, study, and
graduation.

150
However, a different perspective by Papastamou (2016) urges that the crisis is a

challenge and an opportunity for improvement. Specifically, the crisis might serve
as a stimulus for universities to develop into centers for dealing with various types
of crises in general. Theoretically, this vision might serve as a reason for the State
and families to invest in higher education. Skrbinjek et al. (2018) surveyed 29
European countries and concluded that the crisis had shrunk investment in higher
education.
Research, by and large, confirms that the crisis in Greece has had a drastically
negative impact on higher education (IOVE, 2017) and university life
(Megaloeconomou, 2015; Tsikalaki & Kladi-Kokkinou, 2016) due to the policy of
reduced funding for higher education. More specifically, after a significant
increase during 2001–2008, from 2009 until 2014, a 24% reduction followed, which
mostly affected expenses on students’ meals, academics, and support personnel.
Even though it is not higher than the reduction of funding for the rest of the public
sector in Greece, it is higher than that in higher education in other European
countries (IOVE, 2017).
Outcomes from research on student life and progress have given specific insights.
On one hand, student enrollment increased, resulting in a higher student-to-
teacher ratio, which posed a challenge to teachers and reduced the number of
enrolled students who did not complete studies (IOVE, 2017). Moreover, this
increased social inequalities (Kazamias et al., 2002; Chrysochoou et al., 2013;
Megaloeconomou, 2015; Tsikalaki & Kladi-Kokkinou, 2016).
The impact of the universities’ crisis can be examined by thoroughly investigating

all its dimensions, including challenges for the academic community,
impediments to academic careers, difficulties students encounter, and the State’s
general role (IOVE, 2017).
However, limited research has considered students’ views on this topic, especially
in the Greek context, which is the rationale for this research. Students “constitute
the most central stakeholder group in higher education around the world”
(Altbach et al., 2009, p. 97). Therefore, their opinions must be considered (Martin
& Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
Bearing in mind the described research findings, it is expected that students

would have experienced the side effects of the crisis in all the three dimensions,
which means in the everyday life and expectations of their family, in the study
conditions, as well as the future prospects and expectations (Altbach et al., 2009;
Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009; Christopherson et al., 2014; Tsikalaki
& Kladi-Kokkinou, 2016; Azaria et al., 2020; Benham et al., 2020)
4. Methodological Approach
This research seeks to gain insights into students views’ on the outcomes of the
crisis in Greek higher education, focusing on three dimensions of its impact. The
first concerns its impact on students’ families. The second concerns its impact on
student life in universities and the third on students’ ambitions and visions about

151
their career and life (Altbach et al., 2009; Chrysochoou et al., 2013; Christopherson
et al., 2014; IOVE, 2017; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
It was decided that a quantitative method focusing on descriptive statistics was

the appropriate methodology for this research. The reason was that the research
focuses on examining student’s views that have not been thoroughly examined so
far (Altbach et al., 2009; Azaria et al., 2020; Chryssochoou et al., 2013; Katsikas,
2013). It did not require studying inferential statistics and comparing values and
parameters at that stage (Cohen et al., 2013). The data was collected through
questionnaires. The questions were grouped under three categories; each category
corresponded to one of the above dimensions. Every group included statements
that addressed primary issues concerning the dimension revealed in the research
and literature under study (IOVE, 2017). Participants were asked to rank each
statement on a Likert scale, from 1 to 5 (1: Totally disagree, 2: Overall disagree, 3:
Neither agree nor disagree, 4: Overall agree, and 5: Totally agree). The first and
second dimensions were covered in 14 statements. Seven statements related to the
third dimension.
The responses to the questionnaire were transferred to SPSS to be evaluated. The

process included the absolute and relevant frequencies, calculated as a percentage
of the total sample population. Along with it, the standard deviation was
calculated. Due to the frequencies, it was possible to identify students’ trends in
thinking and overall opinion about the crisis' dimensions and side-effects (IOVE,
2017).
All the 300 students—183 women (61%) and 117 men (39%)—included in the
sample completed the questionnaires. The average age of the sample was 21.1. Of
the sample, 237 (80.6%) studied in the university while the remaining 57 (19.4%)
studied at higher technical institutes known in the Greek education system as TEI
(Τεχνολογικό Επαγγελματικό Ίδρυμα- Technological Educational Foundation).
The sample was, therefore, representative, and hence, the findings may be
accepted as accurate. Regarding ethics, the participants answered the
questionnaire anonymously; the phrases included were stated in a way that did
not cause any risk or adverse reaction to them (Cohen et al., 2013).
5. Findings & Principal Results

As concluded by the findings, students express through their views that the
crisis had a negative impact. This applies to all three dimensions, family
environment, study conditions and prospects,
Findings on the First Dimension: Crisis Impact on Social and Family

Environment of Students
From the data presented in Table 1, it becomes evident that students feel the crisis
has affected their social and family environment in several ways. Regarding the
adaptation to the crisis conditions, 76% of participants expressed they agree
employees are reconciled to income decrease. This statement had an average score
of 3.18 out of 5 on the Likert scale. Similarly, 77% of participants agreed totally or
generally that people have resigned to the crisis (av. 3.93), and 93% said that the
crisis has permeated into everyday life (av. 4.17).

152
On the question of whether the economic condition in Greece was reversible, 27%
expressed general or total agreement while 47% expressed general or total
disagreement (av. 2.76). Moreover, 38% agreed totally and 51% disagreed totally
(av. 3.03) with the statement that the crisis is temporary. With the statement that
the economic conditions would worsen, 47% agreed while 21% disagreed (av.
3.38). Finally, the statement that crisis leads to immigration had an 82% express
agreement (av. 4.35).
Table 1: Findings on the First Dimension: Crisis Impact on Social and Family
Environment of Students
Indicators
Generally
Generally
agree nor
disagree
disagree
disagree
Neither
Totally
Totally
agree
agree
Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Av S.D.
1. Workers are designed
66 22 162 54 45 15 24 8 3 1 3,88 0,876
to have lower incomes.
2. Citizens are resigned to
the fact that there is a 60 20 171 57 57 19 12 4 0 0 3,93 0,740
crisis in Greece.
3. Crisis is a part of
75 25,3 201 67,7 18 6,1 3 1 0 0 4,17 0,570
everyday life.
4. Crisis is reversible. 24 8 57 19 78 26 105 35 36 12 2,76 1,134
5. Crisis is temporary. 15 5 99 33 81 27 72 24 33 11 3,03 1,101
6. The economic condition
of the country will 42 14 99 33 96 32 57 19 6 2 3,38 1,009
worsen.
7. Crisis leads to
81 27,6 162 54,1 18 9,2 24 8,2 3 1 4,35 0,888
immigration for work.
8. Family income has
96 32 165 55 3 1 9 3 0 0 4,18 0,718
declined.
9. Family retail purchases
45 15 144 48 75 25 33 11 3 1 4,01 0,900
have reduced.
10. Family expense on
39 13,1 159 53,5 48 16,2 48 16,2 3 1 3,89 0,941
food has reduced.
66 22 171 57 42 14 18 6 3 1 3,95 0,829
clothing has reduced.
household appliances has 84 28 165 55 36 12 9 3 6 2 4,04 0,837
reduced.
13. Family entertainment
72 24 159 53 57 19 12 4 0 0 3,97 0,769
expense has reduced.
Regarding the impact of the family’s crisis, 87% of the participants agreed that
family income had declined (av. 4.18). Moreover, 63% agreed that the
consumption of goods had been restricted (a. 4.01). More specifically, the
participants agreed that family expenses on goods of everyday use had shrunk:
food (67%, av. 3.89), clothing (79%, av. 3.95), household appliances (93%, av. 4.04),
and leisure or entertainment (77%, av. 3.97). Lastly, a substantial percentage (85%,
av. 4.22) agreed family members felt uncertain about the future.

153
The above findings show that students believe the crisis had a substantial impact
on their background, families, and environment and negatively affected their
views of the future. However, being students, this did not deter them from getting
a university education. The findings agree with those from such previous research
that demonstrated a crisis causes families to find cost-effective solutions to enable
their young members to go to university (Altbach et al., 2009; Christopherson et
al., 2014; IOVE, 2017; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
Findings on the Second Dimension: Impact of Crisis on University Studies

and Student Life
Table 2 shows that students felt the crisis had affected their studies and life.
Indicatively, on the effects of the crisis on universities, 78% agreed universities are
affected (av. 3.98). Moreover, they agreed the crisis had caused a reduction in the
university’s resources, (82%, av. 3.99), university personnel (86%, av. 4.23), and
cultural courses, activities, and classes (75%, av. 3.83). On the link between crisis
and student life, 71% of the sample agreed there are effects (av. 3,9). More
specifically, 91% agreed that parents had drastically reduced expenses on studies
(av. 4.31). This relates to the agreement of 71% (av. 3.71) with the statement that
the family has reduced expenditure on essential goods. Students tended to agree
that the crisis has led to hesitation in buying essentials such as books (55%, av.
3.38), traveling while studying (51%, av. 3.42), and participating in university
activities (40%, av. 3.08), including exchange programs such as Erasmus (59%, av.
3.55).
Concerning dealing with the crisis, 82% (av. 4.10) agreed that students were
considering the crisis while deciding what to study, relating to the agreement
(86%, av. 4.21) that students prefer not to change location to avoid the extra
expenses. Along with that, 76% (av. 3.92) agreed that house-sharing is an option
to reduce expenses, 94% (av. 4.29) stated they worked while studying, even
though 71% stated (av. 3.93) that working and studying at the same time is
challenging. Lastly, 75% (av. 3.98) stated that they interrupted studies for financial
reasons and 43% (av. 2.91) stated their family required that every course was
completed without delay. Findings drawn by students’ views justify previous
research outcomes that the crisis negatively impacts universities. The general
trends adopted, either as policies or decisions, have been focused on cost-effective
services in terms of personnel, infrastructure, and university functions. However,
as students claim, at an individual or family level, there have been side-effects as
well. Students tend to opt for more economical options concerning their studies.
They try to reduce expenses whenever necessary. These attitudes and beliefs are
commonly shared by the sample, as the values of average and standard deviation
show. The primary conclusion drawn is that young people prefer making
financial sacrifices and getting a university degree (Kazamias et al., 2002; Altbach
et al., 2009; Christopherson et al., 2014; IOVE, 2017; Martin & Sauvageot, 2011;
UNESCO, 2009).

154
Table 2: Impact of Crisis on Studies and Student Life
Indicators
Generally
Generally
agree nor
disagree
disagree
Totally
Neither
disagree
agree
Totally
agree
Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Av. S.D.
1. The financial crisis has
87 29,3 144 48,5 42 14,1 21 7,1 3 1 3,98 0,900
affected universities.
2. University’s resources
81 27,3 162 54,5 33 11,1 12 4,3 9 3 3,99 0,906
have reduced.
3. University personnel
123 41 135 45 30 10 12 4 0 0 4,23 0,787
has reduced.
4. University activities
60 20,2 162 54,5 51 17,2 15 5,1 9 3 3,84 0,908
have reduced.
5. The crisis has affected
87 29 126 42 60 20 24 8 3 1 3,90 0,945
student life.
6. Parents have reduced
123 41 150 50 24 8 3 1 0 0 4,31 0,660
expenses on education.
7. Expenses on essential
14 14 57 57 17 17 12 12 0 0 3,71 0,848
goods have reduced.
8. Expenses on study
material, books, pens, etc. 39 13 126 42 51 17 78 26 6 2 3,38 1,067
have reduced.
9. Traveling while
51 17 102 34 72 24 72 24 3 1 3,42 1,062
studying has reduced
10. Participation in
university activities has 30 10 90 30 75 25 84 28 21 7 3,08 1,122
reduced.
11. Participation in
student exchange
51 17 126 42 72 24 39 13 12 4 3,55 1,045
opportunities (e.g.,
Erasmus) has reduced
12. Course selection has
90 30 156 52 48 16 6 2 0 0 4,10 0,729
been affected.
13. Students avoid
123 41 135 45 27 9 12 4 3 1 4,21 0,842
relocating for studies.
14. Home-sharing is opted
75 25 153 51 51 17 15 5 6 2 3,92 0,892
to reduce expenses.
15. Students tend to work
114 38 168 56 12 4 3 1 3 1 4,29 0,684
while studying.
16. Working while
102 34 111 37 57 19 21 7 9 3 3,92 1,038
studying is challenging.
17. Students have
interrupted studies due to 87 29 138 46 57 19 18 6 0 0 3,98 0,850
financial restrictions.
18. Families press for on-
time studies’ 27 9 87 29 54 18 96 32 36 12 2,91 1,203
accomplishment.

155
Findings on the Third Dimension: Crisis Impact on Students’ Expectations

As seen in Table 3, there is general agreement that the crisis has affected students’
expectations. Indicatively, 56% (av. 3.48) believes that a higher number of
qualifications increases the possibilities for excellent job opportunities.
Simultaneously, 74% (av. 3.88) of the population agreed there is pessimism
toward their professional future while 73% (av. 3.99) agreed the crisis affects their
work decisions. Moreover, there is agreement at 60% (av. 3.54) that a university
degree is not sufficient for the labor market that applies more, particularly when
it comes to university degrees from Greece (43.5%, av. 3.3). Along with that, 51.5%
(av. 3.44) agreed post-graduate studies could help during a crisis, whereas 73%
(av. 3.93) considered moving to another country.
Overall, students’ expectations are influenced by the crisis, as the literature has
stated. This is seen through their statements that they are not so optimistic about
overcoming crises and their working opportunities. They also agree that an
undergraduate degree does not guarantee a successful career by itself. However,
they still consider it necessary. Moreover, they hold the opinion that, generally,
higher education institutions and universities can provide qualifications that
assist in the future career, whether post-graduate studies or any other option.
Finally, they identify that the trend of mobility exists since they are willing to
relocate for a career (Altbach et al., 2009; Christopherson et al., 2014; IOVE, 2017;
Martin & Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
Table 3: Impact of Crisis on Students’ Expectations
Indicators
Generally
Generally
agree nor
disagree
disagree
disagree
Neither
Totally
Totally
agree
agree
Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Ν % Av. S.D.
1. Qualifications increase job
30 10,1 135 45,5 90 30,3 33 11,1 9 3 3,48 0,927
opportunities.
2. Students are pessimistic
toward professional career 75 25,3 144 48,5 51 17,2 21 7,1 6 2 3,88 0,937
opportunities.
3. The crisis influences
78 26,3 138 46,5 69 23,2 6 2 6 2 3,93 0,869
students’ decisions on work.
4. The degree is not
sufficient for the labor 51 17,2 126 42,4 87 29,2 51 17,2 9 3 3,54 1,059
market.
5. University studies in
Greece do not suffice for 45 15,2 84 28,3 108 36,4 39 13,1 21 7,1 3,31 1,100
excellent job opportunities.
6. Students select
postgraduate studies as a 36 12,1 117 39,4 102 34,3 27 9,1 15 5,1 3,44 0,989
means against the crisis.
7. Students consider moving
84 28,0 135 45,4 16 16,5 24 8,2 3 1 3,93 0,935
abroad because of the crisis.

156
6. Conclusions
This research aimed to identify the impact of the economic crisis on students’ life
in Greece through the prism of socio-economic background, studying conditions,
and aspirations for the future. The crisis can have a three-dimensional impact on
students’ lives, as it can influence their family and social background, the
conditions of studies and student life, and their expectations and personal
perspectives. Research conducted around this topic so far does not seem to
emphasize the views of students. This is the main contribution of this research.
Bearing in mind the literature around crisis and universities, it would be expected
that students would experience and express the opinion that the crisis had a
significant negative impact on all three dimensions (Altbach et al., 2009; Azaria et
al., 2020; Chryssochoou et al., 2013; Katsikas, 2013).
The findings reveal that participants believe the crisis is a long-lasting

phenomenon with significant effects, not easily reversible. It is generally accepted
that immigration for financial reasons is inevitable. Especially in what concerns
family, participants agree that most families have reduced income, consumption,
or spending. This has caused cuts in expenses on household appliances, clothes,
entertainment, and other basics. These findings are compatible with research
outcomes (Altbach et al., 2009; Christopherson et al., 2014; Sointu et al., 2019).
Regarding university studies, participants said the crisis has affected the quality
of studies, mainly because of the reduction in funding and families’ efforts to
reduce expenses. This motivates students to reduce expenses on travel, stationery,
and other basic needs. The crisis has affected subjects’ choice to study, and
preference is now given to subjects that lead to better, more secure, and easier-to-
find career opportunities, especially near their homes. This indicates a lack of
confidence in future career opportunities and the value of the university degree,
leading them to seek further education to qualify for work in a competitive labor
market (Altbach et al., 2009; Christopherson et al., 2014; IOVE, 2017; Martin &
Sauvageot, 2011; UNESCO, 2009).
Therefore, the findings confirm that students claim to have been affected deeply
by the crisis (Altbach et al., 2009; Azaria et al., 2020; Katsikas, 2013). Before
generalizing these conclusions, it is essential to stress the limitations of the
particular study. A first limitation has to do with the specific sample that was
gathered in a certain period. Perhaps, in the future, benchmarking with broader
samples and more full dimensions of the crisis will strengthen the accuracy of
these conclusions (Cohen et al., 2013).
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 159-175, July 2020
Game Framework Analysis and Cognitive Learning

Theory Providing a Theoretical Foundation for
Efficacy in Learning in Educational Gaming
Jason Stratton Davis

Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3680-2975
Abstract. Several meta-analyses and studies have been undertaken in

game-based research, which compare the efficacy of conventional
teaching against the introduction of educational games into the
classroom. The findings point to educational gaming providing teaching
approach that allows for improved efficacy in learning and deeper
conceptual understanding. But there is a paucity of research in terms of
explaining ‘how’ and ‘why’ students learn from games. The mapping out
the students’ experiences of learning, as a result of an economics gaming
intervention, was achieved using research methodology called Interactive
Qualitative Analysis (IQA). The findings of the IQA process were then
further refined and developed into Game Framework Analysis (GAF)
model which points to games providing a learning system that allows for
deeper conceptualization of concepts and more meaningful application of
knowledge. The question that arose was ‘How could this be possible?’
Part of the answer is provided by Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) which
was developed by Sweller (1988). CLT examines the management of
working memory in learning contexts and the resultant effects on
learning. Games were found to have in their DNA, the ability to create
complex learning environments that can manage the cognitive load in a
way that facilitates an optimal usage of working memory, resulting in
effective learning.
Keywords: Educational Gaming; Cognitive Load Theory; Game

Framework Analysis
1. Introduction
To date the debate as to whether educational games are an effective medium of
instruction that improves student learning continues. But there is increasing
evidence from meta-analyzse and systematic reviews on educational gaming that
games are beneficial for student learning. But there have been very few studies
that have looked at building up a theoretical understanding of why educational
games are able to achieve these learning gains which is the focus of this paper.

160
This paper starts by looking at literature review of the evidence provided by meta-
analyzse, systematic review and research done in the subject of economics.
Together, they showed that educational games are an effective pedagogical tool
that improves student learning. However, this evidence does not explain why
student learning has improved and provides no theoretical underpinning as to
reasons for these gains.
It is for the above reasons that we firstly consider a qualitative study that theorizes
about students’ learning from an Economic gaming intervention. And then
secondly, at Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), which gives the theoretical grounding
as to why students learn from educational games.
Following this, we then looked briefly at the methodology of the qualitative study
which used Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as its method for collecting
data. The IQA process ensures that the participants are actively engaged in the
research process and culminates in a visual model of the study. This is then further
refined into the development of the Game Framework Analysis (GAF), a model
of how and why learning takes place during the play of an educational game.
GAF postulated that a deeper conceptual understanding of the topics taught

through the gaming intervention was experienced by the participants in the study.
We then began to theorize as to how this was possible which brings us back to
CLT. According to CLT, by optimally operating the working memory learning can
be improved. This optimization can be enhanced by reducing and managing the
intrinsic and extraneous load in the working memory, leaving more space for the
germane load (where new knowledge is created).
The paper then discusses at how games can actively reduce the extraneous and
intrinsic load in both in their instructional design and deployment. The conclusion
reached is that games as an instructional medium have firm theoretical
foundations as to why they enhance learning as shown by CLT.
International literature has over the years shown a growing interest in using
games as an instructional medium to improve learning. In this regard, several
meta-analyses have been undertaken in game-based research, comparing the
efficacy of conventional teaching against that of educational gaming. These meta-
analyses that span a broad spectrum of areas of study, ranging from the class to
business training. Whether comparing the meta-analyses undertaken on
classroom instruction (Randel et al., 1992; Hays, 2005; Vogel et al., 2006; Wouters
et al., 2013) or within a business training situation (Sitzmann, 2011) in general,
have reached the same conclusion, namely that games are a useful educational
tool.
A greater retention of knowledge and higher cognitive gains are the significant
benefits arising from the interactive engagement of students when comparing the
use of games with conventional teaching (Randel et al.,1992; Hays, 2005; Vogel et
al., 2006; Wouters et al., 2013). For utilizing games for business training, Sitzmann
(2011) noted that trainees showed higher levels of self-efficacy, declarative
knowledge, procedural knowledge, and retention. By introducing educational

161
games into the curriculum, Hays (2005) states that one can provide an effective
medium of learning for a variety of learners. Furthermore, Wouters et al. (2013),
who focused on the cognitive and motivational effects of games, suggest that
games could also be used to teach several different subjects. However, the use of
games is not a panacea in all situations because they are only effective if they are
related to the topic and have clearly defined learning outcomes.
Furthermore, according to Hays (2005), an educational game cannot be a stand-

alone instructional method. Instead, it must be linked directly with the outcomes
of the instructional program so that students understand what happens in the
game and how it relates to the outcomes through feedback and debriefing. The
effectiveness of games is enhanced when used in conjunction with other teaching
methods. By embedding games into the curriculum with content that is precisely
defined, students not only exhibit a higher level of interest, but their attitude
towards the subject improves (Randel et al.,1992; Hays, 2005; Vogel et al., 2006;
Wouters et al., 2013).
An exciting aspect that emerged from Sitzmann’s (2011) meta-analyses was that
the entertainment value of the game was of no importance because the learners
gleaned the same amount of information irrespective of whether the game had
high or low entertainment value. However, the greater the number of times they
repeated the game, the more significant the efficacy. Also, Wouters et al. (2013)
noted that learners still gleaned more knowledge with the introduction of
educational games as compared to traditional teaching methods. Irrespective of
whether they played individually or in groups, by playing the game as a member
of a group, they gained more from the learning experience.
A comprehensive systematic review on the effects of games and simulations in

higher education by Vlachopoulos and Makri (2017), confirmed the beneficial
contribution of game-based learning. In terms of cognitive outcomes, games
promoted:
‘’knowledge acquisition (Smetana & Bell, 2012; Backlund & Hendrix,
2013; Clark et al., 2015; Warren et al., 2016), as well as content
understanding and concept learning (Connoly et al., 2012; Li & Tsai,
2013; Fu et al., 2016).’’ (Vlachopoulos & Makri, 2017, p.8)
According to Vlachopoulos and Makri (2017), there were also significant gains in
the affective and behavioral domains. On the affective side, games improved
motivation, engagement and satisfaction in learning. While on the behavioral side
games provided many opportunities for collaborative learning, increased
interactivity and feedback between students, and for the acquisition of social and
soft skills (Vlachopoulos & Makri, 2017).
Moving on from the findings of the meta-analyses and systematic review of

educational gaming we now consider specific studies related to the subject within
which the study is located, namely Economics. In this field most of most of the
research undertaken to-date has been quantitative. It concentrates on comparing
the academic performance of students between those who participated in a
gaming intervention and those who participated in traditional ‘chalk and talk’
method. These studies established that the use of games to teach Economics

162
improved the student s’ achievement (Emerson & Taylor, 2004; Ball et al., 2006);
resulted in better students’ retention of course material (Nkonyane & van Wyk,
2015); stimulated higher student motivation (Gremmen & van den Brekel, 2013);
as well as created a favorable impression of Economics (Tsigaris, 2008; Davis,
2011).
Overall, the meta-analyses and systematic review findings are similar to

Economics, that educational gaming provides a teaching approach that allows for
improved efficacy in learning and a deeper conceptual understanding. However,
there is a lack in the research examining ‘how’ and ‘why’ students learn through
the playing of educational games. Only then will one be in a better position to
gauge the benefits and be able to deploy games so that efficacy of learning is
enhanced.
3. Background
The study undertaken looked at first year economics students’ learning
experience of a gaming intervention and forms the basis for this paper. The
objectives of this study were to:
• Explore how games influence students’ learning, with a view to
developing insights for pedagogy; and
• To theorize students’ learning from Economics games with the view to
deepening existing theory on learning using educational gaming
interventions.
The critical questions posed by this research were:

• ‘How’ do first-year Economics students experience learning in a gaming
intervention? and
• ‘Why’ do students learn from Economics games the way they do?
The study used Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) to map the students’
experiences of learning during Economics gaming intervention. Three games
were chosen in the field of Micro-Economics, each of which would concentrate on
the conceptual understanding of a specific micro-Economics topic, namely:
• Holt (1996) ‘Trading in a Pit Market’, with the learning outcome to show
how markets reach equilibrium through the interaction of buyers
(demand) and sellers (supply);
• Kruse et al. (2005) ‘Market Forces and Price Ceilings: A Classroom
Experiment’, with the aim to show the effect of a price ceiling on the
market; and
• Neral (1993) ’Widget Production in the Classroom’, used to provide
students with a tangible experience of the law of diminishing returns.
A first year economics class of 120 participants was then exposed to the Economics
gaming intervention. Out of these participants, 24 were randomly invited to
participate in the study. However, only 15 of the participants accepted the
invitation to participate but this was within recommended the sample size for IQA
of 12 to 20 participants (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004)
During this research process of mapping out the students’ experiences into ‘how’
and ‘why’ they learnt from Economics gaming intervention, it came to the fore

163
that part of reason for the efficacy of learning was underpinned by Sweller’s (1998)
Cognitive Load Theory (CLT).
Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)

CLT provides a framework that focuses on the management of working memory
as learners interact with the instructional material to achieve effective learning (de
Araujo et al., 2016). The working memory is finite, as it can only hold the
maximum of seven informational elements at a time (Young et al., 2014).
Consequently, if the load on the learner’s working memory is exceeded, the result
is a decreased efficacy of learning, thereby jeopardizing the student’s performance
and attainment of knowledge.
CLT, according to Sweller (1988), identifies three cognitive loads which affect the
working memory: intrinsic, extraneous and germane. The intrinsic load is both
affected by the learner’s level of expertise and by the level of difficulty of the task
(Sweller et al., 2019). It cannot be affected by instructional interventions. The
extraneous load, on the other hand, involves the search for information related to
the performance of the task – the cognitive cost of processing information. The
extraneous load is affected by how instructions are structured and presented
(Hawlitschek & Joeckel, 2017). Instructional techniques can, therefore, increase
the extraneous load:
“by providing insufficient guidance, thereby forcing learners to employ
weak problem-solving methods such as trial and error, or to search for the
information necessary to complete the task.” (Young et al., 2014, p. 5).
The third cognitive load, the germane load, is the working memory resources
taken up by processing new information (Ouellette et al., 2019). This involves the
learner’s mental efforts to construct new schemata (knowledge). As a result, there
is a need to have more of the working memory dedicated to the germane load to
facilitate deeper conceptual understanding.
The only way to achieve this is by managing both the extraneous and intrinsic
loads so that the germane load takes up the remaining space left by the sum of the
intrinsic and extraneous loads.
The initial focus of the research was solely on minimizing the extraneous load as
the intrinsic load is assumed to be fixed, thereby making more working memory
available for the expansion of the germane load. However, later research points
to the fact that the intrinsic load may not be fixed and can be manipulated in a
manner that creates further room in the working memory for the germane load to
operate in. Therefore, one should look at managing both the intrinsic and
extraneous loads in a manner that allows for more working memory to be devoted
to the germane load.
Managing the extraneous load

The design of instructional material should, according to CLT, aim to reduce the
extraneous load by managing the intrinsic load and optimizing the germane load
(de Araujo et al., 2016). Table 1 below illustrates possible ways in which to reduce
the extraneous load.

164
Table I. Some Effects Studied by Cognitive Load Theory and Why They Reduce
Extraneous Loads (van Merrienboer & Sweller ,2005, p. 151.)
Effect Description Extraneous load
Goal-free effect Replace conventional Reduces extraneous
problems with goal-free cognitive load caused by
problems that provide relating a current problem
learners with an a-specific state to a goal state and
goal attempting to reduce
differences between them;
focuses learner’s attention on
problem states and available
operators
Worked example Replace conventional Reduces extraneous
Effect problems with worked cognitive load caused by
examples that must be weak-method problem-
carefully studied solving; focuses learner’s
attention on problem states
and useful solution steps
Completion Replace conventional Reduces extraneous
problem effect problems with completion cognitive load because giving
problems, providing a partial part of the solution reduces
solution that must be the size of the problem space;
completed by the learners focus attention on problem
states and useful solution
steps
Split attention Replace multiple sources of Reduces extraneous
Effect information (frequently cognitive load because there
pictures and accompanying is no need to mentally
text) with a single, integrated integrate the information
source of information sources
Modality effect Replace a written Reduces extraneous
explanatory text and another cognitive load because the
source of visual information multimodal presentation
such as a diagram (unimodal) uses both the visual and
with a spoken explanatory auditory processor of
text and a visual source of working memory
information (multimodal)
Redundancy Replace multiple sources of Reduces extraneous
Effect information that is self- cognitive load caused by
contained (i.e., they can be unnecessarily processing
understood on their own) redundant information
with one source of
information
Managing the intrinsic load

The intrinsic load in the working memory can be reduced through the following
interventions, namely by increasing the student’s expertise and reducing the
difficulty of the task. Both of these interventions have to be considered in the
development and design of the instructional material. Hence the positioning of
instructional material after the requisite skills and knowledge have been acquired
to complete the task would reduce the intrinsic load.

165
Furthermore, by reducing the difficulty of the task through minimizing the

interactivity amongst the elements – the more interactivity between the elements,
the more complex the task, and the higher the level of expertise required to
complete the task - the higher the intrinsic load. However, if the task is then
deconstructed into discrete elements that can be processed serially, it would
thereby minimize the intrinsic load. Then, at a later stage, the materials are
presented in the full complexity (Klepsch & Seufert, 2020).
4. Methodology
The study used Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as the means of collecting,
analyzing and interpreting the data. IQA falls within the social constructivist
paradigm where participants analyze and interpret the data research. The first
phase of the IQA process utilizes focus groups in which the participants
(constituents):
“themselves perform the first steps of analysis by organizing their
discourse into categories of meaning called affinities” (Northcutt &
McCoy, 2004, p. 44).
The causal relationships between the affinities are then mapped out by the
participants, from which a conceptual map is derived. This is referred to as an
Inter-Relationship Diagram (IDR) which is then developed into a Systems
Influence Diagram (SID) - the final product of IQA. The SID is a visual
representation of the drivers and the outcomes: the influences between the
affinities, causes and effects.
The second phase of IQA involves individual semi-structured interviews where,

the affinities are further explored on a one-on-one basis. This not only allows for
personal perspectives, but also encourages a greater level of detail, richness and
depth of description of the data.
Throughout the IQA research process, participants themselves are responsible for
generating the affinities and analyzing their causal relationships. This differs
significantly from traditional qualitative research, where the researcher generates
the data. Concerning IQA, the researcher’s role changes as they
“move(s) from designer to facilitator, teaching the group members the
process and guiding them to generate and analyze their own data with
minimal external influence” (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004, p. 44).
In this way, the opportunities for researcher bias is minimized.
5. Presentation of outcome of study - GAF

The outcome of the research was the development of the Game Framework
Analysis (GAF). GAF provides a framework with which one can analyze ‘how’
and ‘why’ students learn from a gaming intervention.

166
Tour Trough GAF
GAME SPACE – EDUCATIONAL GAMING

ENVIRONMENT
PRIMARY DRIVER: USE MORE GAMES
PLUS
PRIMARY OUTCOME: DID NOT FEEL LIKE A LESSON
POST-GAME REFLECTION
OUTCOMES
LEARNING
SECONDARY DRIVERS BEHAVIOURAL AND EMOTIONAL THIS LEARNING

1. INVOLVEMENT/EXPERIENCE BUY-IN THROUGH ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
2. FUN/ENJOYMENT/EXCITEMENT AND IMMERSION IN GAMES CULMINATES IN
RESULTING IN THE ASSIMILATION
RESULTING IN 4. AUTONOMY; COMPETENCE; OF KNOWLEDGE
3. DEEPER CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING RELATEDNESS; FEEDBACK THROUGH
A. AWARENESS
B. REALIZATION
COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT: C. INTEGRATION/
ENACTMENT OF KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION
(FEEDS BACK INTO THE SYSTEM)
5. EXPERIMENTATION, STRATEGY
DEVELOPMENT, REASONING,
CRITICAL THINKING
Figure 1: Game Analysis Framework (GAF)

167
As depicted in Figure 1, the learning process from the gaming activity in the GAF
model occurs between two pillars, namely Learning Outcomes and Post-Game
Reflection, both of which remain essential components as they provide the
structure within which the deliberative activity and transformational play take
place. The Learning Outcomes provide the starting point where the challenges of
the game are set and embedded with educational outcomes. On the other side,
Post-Game Reflection represents the end of the gaming process where
participants now discuss their learning experiences from the game. This allows
for the development of a clearer linkage between challenges of the game and the
educational outcomes paving the way for deeper conceptual understanding
Between the two pillars is the learning environment, which is represented by the
Game Space within which the gaming activity takes place. The primary driver
revealed by the IQA process - ‘Use More Games’ and the primary outcome - ‘Did
not Feel Like a Lesson’ are catalysts of the Game Space, and it is their interaction
that facilitates the disruption of the traditional educational learning space by
introducing active learning into the classroom.
It is within this Game Space, that ‘how’ and ‘why’ students learn from an
educational gaming activity is modelled. This takes the form of two processes: the
first of which is a cogs-and-belt system that unlocks the ‘safe’ of deeper conceptual
understanding (‘how’) and the second illustrates ‘why’ students learn from the
educational gaming intervention after reaching that ‘aha’ moment.
Two main cogs drive the cogs-and-belt system: the first of which - ‘Involvement/
Experience’-initiates the momentum of the belt-driven system by interlinking
directly with the second cog – ‘Fun/ Enjoyment/ Experience’. There is a reciprocal
relationship between the two main cogs whereby their combined interaction adds
greater traction to the learning process. This traction, in turn, sets in motion the
belt that drives the third cog, namely ‘deeper conceptual understanding’. Once
the belt is in motion, this becomes a continuous process driven by the cogs.
The belt itself comprises two components - behavioral and emotional engagement
(4) and the enactment of knowledge (5). The former, behavioral and emotional
buy-in, immerses students in the gaming process by encouraging autonomy and
facilitating competence and relatedness that is complemented by immediate
feedback. This then leads to the second stage – the enactment of knowledge that
allows for cognitive engagement, which includes experimentation, strategy
development, goal formation, reasoning and critical thinking that then loop into
the system.
Through students, this educational gaming intervention, are now empowered to

take ownership of this deeper conceptual understanding and personalize it, as
their knowledge is no longer merely academic. The game has provided the means
for them to link theory to everyday occurrences in the real world. The illustration
now depicts this access to awareness, realization and integration/application
unlocked by deeper conceptual understanding, which is within the hands of the
students and who are then enabled to create personalized meaning of the
theoretical concepts.

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The model points to games providing a learning system that allows for a deeper
understanding of concepts and a more meaningful application of knowledge. The
question that arose was: ‘How could this be possible? Part of the answer, is
provided by the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) developed by Sweller (1988). CLT
provides a framework that focuses on the management of working memory as
learners interact with the instructional material to achieve effective learning (de
Araujo et al., 2016). If the finite working memory is exceeded, then there will a
decrease in the efficacy of learning, resulting in poor retention of knowledge.
Therefore, the design of instructional material should, according to CLT, manage
the load of working memory to enhance the efficacy of learning. This means
designing instructional material in a manner that manages the extraneous and
intrinsic load that creates space within the working memory for the optimization
the germane load. (de Araujo et al., 2016).
6. Discussion
In this section, we examine how games used in the gaming intervention reduce
the extraneous load and the intrinsic load so that there is room for the expansion
of the germane load, allowing for a deeper conceptual understanding of the
Economics topics covered.
In this case study, three games were used to teach Microeconomics topics: Holt
(1996) ‘Trading in a Pit Market’, Kruse et al. (2005) ‘Market Forces and Price
Ceilings: A Classroom Experiment’ and Neral (1993) ‘Widget Production in the
Classroom’.
6.1 Reducing Extraneous Load

What follows is a step-by-step look at how games reduce/manage the extraneous
load laid out as per Table 1: Some Effects Studied by Cognitive Load Theory and
Why They Reduce the Extraneous Load.
Goal-free effect
The educational games focused the players on specific tasks at hand. For example,
in the ‘Pit Market Trading game’, all the participant had to focus on was either
being a buyer or seller in a market, trading to get the best price. They did not have
to worry about focusing on demand and supply, definitions, diagrams or
equilibrium prices. They were simply a buyer or seller aimed at making the best
trade possible. By the end of successive trading rounds, participants began to
notice that the successful trade prices were tending to equilibrium.
Worked example effect

An effective means of reducing the extraneous load is through the use of worked
examples, which are structured in such a way that students have to follow a step-
by-step process to find the solution to complex problems (Renkl, 1997). By
introducing games into the Economics classroom, students actively participate in
authentic, complex tasks that are scaffolded in difficulty as they progress from the
one challenge to the next, culminating in a deep conceptual understanding of the
problem.
The three Microeconomics games included in the Economics gaming intervention,

namely: the Pit Market Trading game (Holt, 1996), Price Ceiling game (Kruse et

169
al., 2005) and Widget game (Neral, 1993). These games created simulated
environments in which students were economic agents working through a series
of embedded tasks to reach the learning outcomes of the games. This structured
learning environment allowed for students to focus their attention on the specific
tasks at hand, compartmentalizing actions and thereby allowing them to know
precisely what they had to do at each step of the game. In this manner, they
reduced their extraneous load. For instance, in the Price Ceiling game (Kruse et
al., 2005), students were allocated roles as landlords or renters. Initially, a free
market reigned in the market for accommodation, based solely on the interaction
between the landlords and the renters. The learning outcome at this stage was to
show that markets converged to equilibrium. Then the complexity was added,
namely the implementation of a price ceiling. Now, the landlords were governed
by a maximum price (price ceiling) that they could charge as a rental. As a result,
market conditions changed.
According to Sweller (1988; 2004), worked-out examples reduce the extraneous

load by freeing up the working memory and enabling students to concentrate
their attention on solving the tasks at hand. By scaffolding the tasks, less working
memory is needed to be allocated to processing each task because the student only
needs to solve one challenge at a time, rather than the task as a whole.
As a result, these worked-out examples as provided by the gaming intervention

increase the germane cognitive load because:
“they enhance understanding of the solution procedure” (Paas & van
Gog, 2006, p. 5).
In fact, not only do the students know:

“the procedural steps for problem-solving tasks, but also understand
when to deploy them and why they work” (Gott et al., 1993, p. 260).
The quotation below captures this idea that as the students followed rules
of the game, the knowledge of economics was being built up and being
actively learned - their minds were set free to think actively.
“Since the things that we know, you have to study it and when you have
to study it, you have to grasp it. The game in order for the game to play,
you have to know the rules. In order for the Economics, to know it, you
have to discuss the information given to you… So then while they would
be that doing in the lecture room, the knowledge it would be coming left
and right asking questions because it is free, my mind is free my mind is
fresh, the reason being it is a game but it is a lesson”1
Completion problem effect

The games in the intervention take conventional problems and break them down
into a series of challenges that need to be completed step-by-step. As each
challenge is completed, the participant moves closer to a fuller understanding of
the topic being portrayed.
1 Actual quote from the study.

170
For example, the second game was based on Kruse et al. ‘Market Forces and Price
Ceilings: A Classroom Experiment’ (2005), to show students the effect of a price
ceiling on the market. The learning outcome of the game was to demonstrate how
a price ceiling affects the equilibrium process.
The class was divided into groups, taking on the roles of landlords and renters in
a market for student accommodation. Record sheets were distributed to the
landlords as well as the renters, where the landlords’ record sheet contained the
costs involved with maintaining the buildings (for each period) and the renters’
sheet contained a budget for rental accommodation (for each period).
At the start of the trading period, each of the landlords wrote down their rental
price on a piece of paper based on their costs, which was then affixed to the wall.
The renters then, in sequential order, decided whether they wanted to rent the
accommodation or not, based on their budgets. Once the renter agreed to the
landlord’s price for a specific apartment, the accommodation was considered to
be rented out, and then a line was drawn through the rental price on offer. The
trading period ended once each renter had an opportunity to either rent, or decide
not to rent, any of the available accommodation.
For the participants to get used to their roles (either as renters or landlords), the
first four trading periods were unrestricted (i.e. the market was free of any
intervention). This enabled the students to experience how the market converged
towards equilibrium. When the fifth trading period began, the government
intervened in the market. It imposed a price ceiling on the rentals as part of a
policy to assist students with the affordability of accommodation. The landlords
then had to consider the imposed price as well as their costs for the
accommodation (during that period) and make a decision as to whether or not it
was viable to rent their apartments. As a result, only a few apartments were
available to rent at that price ceiling. On the other hand, most of the renters were
competing to rent the apartments at that price because it fell within their budgets.
This meant that the quantity demanded for apartments, as shown by the number
of renters, exceeded the quantity of apartments supplied, causing a shortage
(excess demand) for apartments in the market.
Therefore, the overarching learning outcome of understanding the effect of a price

ceiling was broken down into two parts:
• Part 1: where the free trading between landlords and renters in various
scenarios tends to equilibrium; and
• Part 2: where the government introduces a price ceiling, and a shortage in
the market is experienced.
Split-attention effect
In the gaming environment, student attention is focused on what is needed to
complete the task within the parameters of the game. In the Neral’s (1993) Widget
production game, the focus was on producing the widgets in each round of
production. The attention of the student was not split amongst multiple sources
of information such as diagrams, tables and definitions that would be used to

171
describe the theory being portrayed in a traditional lecture, but instead focused
on the task.
This focus on the widget production only enabled them to follow the data they
generated and to draw conclusions on their lived experience of the game, without
being side-tracked by mathematical formulas and definitions that usually
accompany the traditional lecture on the Law of Diminishing Returns. This
resulted in reducing the extraneous load and making space for the germane load
- where students can to reflect and develop new schemata based on their learning
experience in the gaming environment.
Modality effect
As games harness the learners’ audio and visual senses simultaneously, their
capacity to process information is enhanced. “’Physically integrating multiple
sources of information facilitates learning by reducing working memory load”’
(Mousavi et al., 1995, p.320). Therefore, by reducing the learners’ dependence on
one sensory channel (which could easily get saturated because it is finite) and
spreading the load across two or more channels, their working memory capacity
is expanded. This is referred to as ‘off-loading’. Thus, when a learner receives
verbal and visual instructions simultaneously, it will generally cause them to learn
more efficiently than if the same instructions were received in only one format
(Mayer & Moreno, 2003). Games tend to create environments that encourage the
use of multiple sensory channels, ranging from visual to auditory to tactile,
resulting in a vivid learning experience.
“We tend to capture them easier than words. I think it is because of the
colours, the pictures, the fun for everyone. You see the faces, who did
what, who was part of this group which makes you remember when you
are studying that … Ja, so I think when you capture something it is easier
for your brain to store and keeping the information in than when you are
reading from a textbook”2
Redundancy effect
The game space becomes the single source of information that the students
required to complete the tasks at hand, whether trading with each other in the Pit
Market trading game as a buyer or seller; being a landlord or renter Price Ceiling
game; or that of a firm trying to produce widgets. The rules of the game govern
the participants’ behavior as they haggle, trade and produce goods, thereby
reducing the extraneous load. Moreover, participants do not need to search for
information beyond the structure and rules of the game.
6.2 Reducing the intrinsic load

In this section, we examine how games used in the gaming intervention reduce
the intrinsic load and make room for the expansion of the germane load that
allows for a deeper conceptual understanding of the Economics topics covered.
Level of Expertise
The games played in this intervention were not done in isolation but embedded
with the curriculum so that when it came to playing the game, learners had some
2 Actual quote from study.

172
understanding of the concepts being taught. For example, the second game was
based on Kruse et al. ‘Market Forces and Price Ceilings: A Classroom Experiment’
(2005), to show students the effect of a price ceiling on the market. The learning
outcome of the game was to demonstrate how a price ceiling affects the
equilibrium process.
The students already had prerequisite knowledge about equilibrium in a market,

which means that all they had to do was add another layer of understanding on
concepts they already knew, thereby lowering the intrinsic load.
Also, the games were not played as single participants but rather in groups, with
each person getting a chance to participate. This means that the student had access
to extra levels of expertise offered by other students within the group.
Furthermore, the group had access to the lecturer if they needed help as the
lecturer was available and was no longer caught up in teaching but was instead a
game host, having time to answer queries. This may have also helped to reduce
the intrinsic load of the game.
Reducing the difficulty

The games, through rounds of playing, slowly built up towards the complex final
outcome. This sounds very similar to the Work Example and Completion problem
effect under approaches to reduce the extraneous load. They are very similar in
that they break down a complex problem into a series of events that, when
followed, result in the ‘Aha’ moment – where all the steps are linked together to
gain a deeper conceptual understanding of the topic.
For example, in Holt (1996) ‘Trading in a Pit Market’, the students trade as a buyer
or seller. They see, through successive rounds of trading between buyers and
sellers, that a market equilibrium price is reached. This conclusion is then also
reinforced by post-game reflections which add to the deeper conceptual
understanding.
7. Conclusion
Games can create complex learning environments that are able to manage the
cognitive load in a way that facilitates an optimal usage of working memory,
resulting in effective learning. Managing the extraneous and intrinsic load is
paramount if the germane load is to be optimized and expanded. The germane
load is where schemata are created and retained in long-term memory, thereby
ensuring that learning lasts beyond the classroom.
CLT theory provides insight into ‘how’ and ‘why’ games can create a deeper
conceptual understanding, giving it legitimacy as a medium of instruction. In
more general terms CLT, prompts instructional designers focus more sharply on:
“(1) Investigating intrinsic cognitive load helps in understanding the
subjective complexity placed on the learners, (2) investigating extraneous
cognitive load helps in understanding the impact of differences in design,
and (3) investigating germane cognitive load helps to understand the
effort learners invested in learning.” (Klepsch & Seufert, 2020, p. 47)

173
Such a process of reflecting on the educational design, whether for games,

experiential learning or conventional lectures, will lead to learning environments
that improve the quality of learning. Perhaps it should become the norm when
designing learning environment.
In terms of future research in relation to games and CLT, it is further proposed

that we look at how games not only are able to reduce intrinsic and extraneous
loads, but also how they ensure that the additional space created in the working
memory is allocated to the development of new knowledge - increasing the
germane load.
In addition, research comparing the cognitive loads between games and other
mediums of instruction may yield interesting results that would add to the body
of existing knowledge. In terms CLT, further research needs to be undertaken in
looking at how the intrinsic load can also be managed to create space for a more
optimal use of the germane load in the working memory.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 176-188, July 2020
Teaching Vocational with Technology:

A Study of Teaching Aids Applied in Malaysian
Vocational Classroom
Anesman B. W. Abdul Rahman, Mohd Azlan Mohammad Hussain* and

Rafeizah Mohd Zulkifli
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8491-6283
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9760-1010
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3621-2668
Abstract. The Electronic Hardware Repair and Maintenance Course

(EHRM) is one of vocational courses at Malaysian Vocational Colleges
which have theoretical concepts that students find difficult to understand.
Thus, implementation of technological teaching aids (TA) has been
expected to help teachers better explain the theoretical concept in this
course. The purpose of this study was to identify the various teaching aids
applied in EHRM learning sessions as well as to study the usage level of
technological teaching aids. This quantitative study was conducted using
the questionnaire as the research instrument, the data were analysed
descriptively then were reported in percentage and mean. The samples of
the study involved 360 students and 106 teachers in the field of Electronic
Technology at Malaysian vocational colleges. The findings show that the
most widely technological teaching aids used by the Malaysian
Vocational college teachers in EHRM classes are radios, televisions,
computers and LCD projectors. However, this study found that the use
of online material, such as websites, in the EHRM Course is still at low
level. This study also indicates that the overall usage of teaching aids in
EHRM classes is still at moderate level. Based on the outcome of the
study, teaching and learning of EHRM course in Malaysian vocational
colleges have been suggested to increase the level of technological
teaching aids usage, especially by utilising online-based learning
resources to make class sessions more interesting as well as enhancing the
student learning outcomes.
Keywords: teaching aids; vocational college; electronic technology;

teaching vocational courses

177
1. Introduction
Industries’ activity and demand in skills are changing rapidly so vocational
education programmes need sufficient transformation to keep on top of these
developments (Zulkifli, Mohammad Hussain, Hanapi, Suhairom & Wahid, 2018).
In Malaysia, Vocational Education Transformation is an initiative undertaken
aimed at strengthening the vocational education system to make Malaysia become
a high-income nation. One of the steps taken by the Ministry of Education
Malaysia in transforming vocational education was by upgrading vocational
secondary schools to vocational colleges starting in 2012 by offering programmes
of studies at the vocational certificate and diploma levels as early as 16 years old.
Vocational college study programmes consist of two years at the certificate level
(Malaysian Vocational Certificate) and two years and six months at the diploma
level (Malaysian Vocational Diploma), including five months of industrial
training.
The introduction of vocational colleges in Malaysia has led to the comprehensive

curriculum changes based on current industry and market needs (Bidin & Kamin,
2013). As a result, the curriculum has adopted a new curriculum standard known
as the Vocational College Standard Curriculum (VCSC). This change has created
many new courses in the Malaysian vocational college system. The new courses
introduced are in line with the current rapid advances in technology, especially in
the Electronic Technology programme. However, the question that arises is
whether the transformation will lead to a better change in teaching and learning
process conducted by teachers. Based on the survey conducted by Abdul Rahman
et al. (2015), there are three constraints faced by vocational college teachers and
students during the PdPc process, which are: time constraints, inadequate and not
up-to-date equipment and students being bored easily. Besides that, according to
Ishar (2012), lack of appropriate teaching aids is one of the concerning issues in
vocational college, which causes students in having difficulties in understanding
a learning concept. Majumdar (2009) also mentioned that pedagogy of vocational
education is still ineffective, does not fulfil industry requirements and needs a
strategy so that knowledge and skills can be applied during the teaching and
learning process.
Among the many vocational courses available, one of them is the Electronic
Hardware Repair and Maintenance Course (EHRM). The EHRM course includes
the topics of Colour TV Receiver and Radio Receiver which have a theoretical
concept that is difficult to be explained to students during the lesson (Jamaludin,
2014). Thus, implementation of technological-based teaching aids has been
expected to help teachers better explain the theoretical concept in these courses
compared to the traditional “chalk and talk” teaching approach. The use of teaching
aids is important to enhance students’ understanding while maintaining their
learning interest (Azman, Azlee, Musttapha, Balakrishnan & Mohd Isa, 2014). For
example, the use of gamification in a teaching and learning session has shown
positive achievement in the attitude, motivation and perception of the vocational
college students (Ismail, Sa’adan, Samsudin, Hamzah, Razali & Mahazir, 2018). A
suitable teaching aid in teaching and learning session also will able to increase
students’ focus on teaching and learning session (Jasmi, Ilias, Tamuri & Mohd
Hamzah, 2011). The use of teaching aids can also have a positive impact on

178
students’ academic excellence and teachers’ teaching methods (Hamdan & Mohd
Yasin, 2010; Ilias, Husain, Noh, Rashed & Abdullah, 2016 ). In short, literatures
and studies indicate that students’ learning session can be improved by applying
appropriate teaching aids during the lesson.
Therefore, this research have been conducted to study the frequency and quality
teaching aids used by Malaysian vocational college teachers in the Electronic
Technology programme, specifically on the EHRM Course. Other than that, this
study is also conducted to identify which technological and online based teaching
aids were used by Malaysian vocational college teachers. This is because, according
to studies conducted by previous researchers, the use of technological tools and ICT
in teaching enables to improve the students’ understanding on the concepts that
have been taught (Mohd Hashim & Abubakar, 2017), diversifies learning activities
(Hasnuddin, Norfaizuryana & Nor Azzarahton, 2015), positively impacts
students’ attitude, motivation and achievement (Iberahim, Mahamod & Man
Mohammad, 2017), as well as improves students’ performance, knowledge and
skills (Higgs, Barnett, Billett, Hutchings & Trede, 2013). Therefore, this study is
necessary to ensure the teaching staff at VC are not left behind in applying
technology-related TA to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
2. Research methodology
This study has been conducted using the quantitative method. The questionnaires
were used as an instrument for data collection and the data were analysed using
descriptive analysis. The results of the study were reported in percentage and
mean.
2.1 Research sampling

There were two groups of sampling involved in this study, students group and
teachers group. Student samples were selected using the stratified random
sampling method. The vocational college selection was categorised by zones
consisting of Southern Zone, Eastern Zone, Central Zone, Northern Zone, Sabah
Zone and Sarawak Zone. The stratified random sampling was chosen for the
student samples because this type of sample is most suitable for the zone, state,
division, and district-based studies or sample selection based on several
categories (Yusri, Rahimi, Shah, Abdul Majid & Wah, 2012). According to the
enrolment, the total number of Electronic Technology students in the third
semester of second year at Malaysia vocational colleges in 2019 is 1,118 students
(Malaysia Ministry of Education, 2019). Hence, a suitable sample size according
to Krejcie and Morgan (1970) is no less than 291 students. Thus, the total student
sample of this study was fixed at 360 students, which was more than the sample
size proposed by Krejcie and Morgan (1970).
The sampling method used for the teacher was simple random sampling.
Vocational college selection was categorised by zones. Then, two vocational
colleges were selected for each zone through simple random sampling to obtain
the teaching staff sample. The simple random sampling was selected on the
sample of the teaching staff because this method was fairer to the population.
Therefore, the sample of the teaching staff involved in this study was 106
Electronic Technology teaching staff at vocational colleges.

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2.2 Research instrument

The instrument used in this study consisted of two sets of questionnaires for
students and teachers of the Electronic Technology programme. The contents of
the items in both surveys are the same. The instrument was adapted with consent
from the previous researcher, Burhan (2016). Questionnaire items for students and
the teaching staff were constructed using the five-point Likert scale as shown in
Table 1.
Table 1. Five-point Likert scale

Likert Classification
1 Never
2 Rarely (Once in 6 weeks)
3 Sometimes (Once in 4 weeks)
4 Often (Once in 2 weeks)
5 Very Often (Every week)
2.3 Validity and reliability

The validity and reliability of the instrument are intended to maintain the
precision of the instrument (Dimopoulos, Paraskevopoulos & Pantis, 2009).
Therefore, the validity of the instrument was performed by five experts who were
appointed for the purpose of face and content validity. The selection of five
experts was in accordance with the suggestions given by Makki, Khalick, and
Boujoude (2003) and Dimopoulos, Paraskevopoulos, and Pantis (2009) in which
they asserted that at least three experts in the field of expertise are needed for
verification of item content. Thus, the number of specialists selected was more
than three. The specialists selected were educational technology specialist,
technical and vocational education specialist, electrical and electronic engineering
specialist and language specialist. The expertise of the specialists was also taken
into account based on their experience of more than 10 years in their own field.
A pilot study had to be conducted to identify reliability of the questionnaire used

in this study. The pilot questionnaire will be evaluated on its reliability as to
whether the questionnaire is suitable for the actual study, or vice-versa. According
to Hair and his colleagues (2016), the expected reliability value and Cronbach's
Alpha is > 0.7, while 0.6 is still considered. A pilot study of the student
questionnaire was conducted at a vocational college in the Federal Territory of
Kuala Lumpur involving 50 Electronic Technology students who had previously
taken the EHRM course. Meanwhile, a pilot study for the teaching staff
questionnaire was conducted at four separate vocational colleges from a separate
zone. Therefore, the total number of teaching personnel from the four vocational
colleges is 51. The selection of the four vocational colleges for the pilot study of
the teaching staff questionnaire was due to the fact that each VC has less than 10
teaching staff teaching Electronic Technology. The total samples of the pilot study
for both forms of the survey are based on the suggestion given by Johanson and
Brooks (2010) who stated the total sample number of a pilot study must not be
less than 30. A result from pilot study show that The Cronbach’s alpha value for
the student questionnaire was 0.802 and for the teaching staff questionnaire was
0.804. Since Cronbach’s alpha value was larger than 7.0, the questionnaire has
been proved reliable to be used for the actual study study.

180
A total of 454 student questionnaires and 113 teaching staff questionnaires was
distributed in the actual study. However, only 360 student questionnaire forms
were required, while for the teaching staff questionnaire forms, only 106 were
completed and returned. Accordingly, a total of 466 student and teaching staff
questionnaires was processed and analysed using the ‘Statistical Package for
Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0’. The Cronbach’s alpha value of the student
questionnaire in the actual study was 0.71 and for the teaching staff questionnaire
was 0.78.
2.4 Data analysis

The data were analysed using descriptive analysis. According to Sekaran and
Bougie (2016), descriptive statistics can be used to describe an ongoing
phenomenon. Hence, the researchers used the Statistical Packages for Social
Sciences Version 25.0 (SPSS) software to identify the frequency and the usage level
of teaching aids during EHRM Course teaching and learning session. The results
of the studies are reported in the form of percentage and mean. For this purpose,
the mean interpretation used is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Interpretation of mean range value

Mean Score Level
1.00 to 2.33 Low
2.34 to 3.67 Moderate
3.68 to 5.00 High
Source: Wiersma (2000)
2.5 Result
Table 3 shows the percentage and level of teaching aids used in EHRM classes
based on the students’ perceptions. The table shows that printed materials had
the highest usage with a mean score of 4.56. In addition, the use of technological-
based teaching aids, including LCD projectors and computers, also showed high
levels of usage among the Electronic Technology teachers, each with a mean score
of 3.91 and 3.77, respectively. The level of usage on teaching aids, including roller
boards, models, televisions, radios and actual equipment, was at the moderate
level with each having mean scores of 3.53, 3.44, 3.27, 3.23 and 3.21, respectively.
Judging by the usage percentage, these teaching aids have a percentage value of
less than 47.3% in the categories of frequent and most frequently used. The study
also found that magnetic boards was less popular to be used in the teaching and
learning of the EHRM course with a mean score of 1.22 and 77.8% of those who
responded rated the magnetic board as ‘never used’. This was followed by game
materials, flash cards, charts, compact discs, transparencies, websites, pictures
and overhead projectors (OHP) which also had low usage levels, each with mean
scores of 1.40, 1.54, 1.74, 2.03, 2.04, 2.28, 2.32 and 2.33, respectively. Meanwhile,
the usage frequency percentage of these teaching aids did not exceed 10.

181
Table 3. Mean and percentage of teaching aids usage based on student perception
Score (%)
No Item Mean Level
1 2 3 4 5
1 Printed 1.1 1.9 6.7 20.6 69.7 4.56 High
materials
2 Writing boards 1.1 1.7 6.1 25.8 65.3 4.53 High
3 LCD projectors 2.8 4.2 20.3 45.0 27.8 3.91 High
4 Computers 1.9 6.4 25.0 45.8 20.8 3.77 High
5 Roller boards 0 0.3 52.5 41.7 5.6 3.53 Moderate
6 Models 3.9 13.9 28.3 42.5 11.4 3.44 Moderate
7 Televisions 0 5.8 61.4 32.8 0 3.27 Moderate
8 Radios 0 9.7 59.4 29.4 1.4 3.23 Moderate
9 Actual 0 10.0 60.8 27.5 1.7 3.21 Moderate
equipment
10 Overhead 21.7 34.7 34.4 7.5 1.7 2.33 Low
projectors
(OHP)
11 Pictures 17.8 46.1 23.9 10.8 1.4 2.32 Low
12 Websites 1.7 69.2 28.9 0.3 0 2.28 Low
13 Transparencies 33.9 42.8 11.1 9.7 2.5 2.04 Low
14 Compact Discs 29.7 45.0 18.3 6.4 0.6 2.03 Low
15 Charts 43.6 41.1 13.3 1.1 0.8 1.74 Low
16 Flash cards 55.3 37.8 5.0 1.7 0.3 1.54 Low
17 Game materials 70.0 22.5 5.8 0.8 0.8 1.40 Low
18 Magnetic 77.8 22.2 0 0 0 1.22 Low
boards
Overall Mean 2.79 Moderate
Note: 1: Never 2: Rarely 3: Sometimes 4: Often 5: Very Often
N=360
As a comparison, Table 4 shows the frequency and level of teaching aids usage
based on the teachers’ perception. The table indicates that the teaching aid with
the highest usage level was the writing board with a mean score of 4.38 and a high
usage frequency percentage of 90.6% in the categories of ‘often’ and ‘very often’.
In addition, the use of technological-based teaching aids, including computers,
LCD Projectors, radios, and televisions also indicated a high level of use among
the teaching staff of Electronic Technology and with a usage frequency percentage
of over 70%.
In addition, the usage level of learning materials, such as actual equipment,
models, pictures, roller boards, and charts, was moderate with each having mean
scores of 3.33, 3.15, 3.11, 2.93 and 2.63, respectively. The magnetic boards’ usage
was less popular to be applied in EHRM course, with the level of usage was only
at a mean score of 1.17 and this TA also had a high percentage of 86.8% of never
been used. This finding is similar to the finding from the students’ analysis that
the use of magnetic boards was the lowest used by teachers in EHRM course.
Meanwhile, transparencies, overhead projectors (OHP), compact discs, flash
cards, websites and game materials were among the lowest used TA with each
having mean scores of 1.48, 1.75, 1.93, 2.02, 2.03 and 2.15, respectively. In

182
conclusion, the level of teaching aids used in EHRM course classes is at a moderate
level based on the students’ and teachers’ perception.
Table 4. Mean and percentage of teaching aids usage based on teachers’ perception
Score (%)
No Item Mean Level
1 2 3 4 5
1 Writing boards 0 0 9.4 43.4 47.2 4.38 High
2 Computers 0.9 1.9 9.4 35.8 51.9 4.36 High
3 LCD projectors 0 0.9 15.1 38.7 45.3 4.28 High
4 Printed 0 0 21.7 69.8 8.5 3.87 High
materials
5 Radios 0 0 27.4 59.4 13.2 3.86 High
6 Televisions 0 0 30.2 56.6 13.2 3.83 High
7 Actual 0 4.7 59.4 34.0 1.9 3.33 Moderate
equipment
8 Models 7.5 16.0 38.7 29.2 8.5 3.15 Moderate
9 Pictures 15.1 15.1 27.4 28.3 14.2 3.11 Moderate
10 Roller boards 0 29.2 50.0 18.9 1.9 2.93 Moderate
11 Charts 17.9 27.4 33.0 17.0 4.7 2.63 Moderate
12 Game 37.7 25.5 23.6 10.4 2.8 2.15 Low
materials
13 Websites 16.0 65.1 18.9 0 0 2.03 Low
14 Flash cards 46.2 20.8 20.8 9.4 2.8 2.02 Low

15 Compact Discs 47.2 23.6 18.9 9.4 0.9 1.93 Low
16 Overhead 61.3 16.0 10.4 11.3 9 1.75 Low
projectors
(OHP)
17 Transparencies 71.7 15.1 8.5 2.8 1.9 1.48 Low
18 Magnetic 86.8 9.4 3.8 0 0 1.17 Low
boards
Overall Mean 2.89 Moderate
Note: 1: Never 2: Rarely 3: Sometimes 4: Often 5: Very Often
N=360
In order to clearly compare teaching aids used in the EHRM course based on the
students’ and teachers’ perception, Figure 1 shows both groups of respondents’
mean score using the bar chart. Based on the graph, there is no significant
difference between the results of the analysis obtained from the students and the
teaching staff in regard of types of teaching aids used in their EHRM course
teaching and learning.

183
Mean Score of Teaching Aids Used in EHRM Classes Based on Student and
Teacher Perception
Figure 1. Comparison of teaching aids used in the EHRM course based on the
students’ and teachers’ perception
3. Discussion
This study has discovered that printed materials were the most frequently used
teaching aids by the teachers based on students’ perceptions. The findings of this
study are in line with the findings of Hamdan and Mohd Yasin (2010), who found
that the use of printed materials had a high level of usage among teachers of
technical schools in the district of Johor, Malaysia. However, there is a difference
in the perceptions of the teachers in which writing boards were most frequently
used in teaching and learning of the EHRM course. This finding is consistent with
Ashaver and Igayuve (2013), who found that writing boards are the only
significant teaching material used by lecturers at Katsina-Ala College of
Education in Nigeria. Nevertheless, both teaching materials are still the highest
used teaching aids in terms of the frequency of use in the EHRM course.
According to Hamdan and Mohd Yasin (2010) regarding the use of printed
materials, the highest frequency of this teaching aid is because they are easier,
simpler and time-saving to prepare as, normally, the printing job is done by office
assistants in schools. In addition, the attitude of some of the teaching staff who
refuse to make changes in their teaching and learning process also contributes to
the increased use of printed materials, as they prefer to use existing learning
materials without having to innovate their teaching and learning session.
Likewise, with the use of writing boards, whereby the teaching staff prefer to use
them as they are always available in the lecture rooms or classrooms.

184
Meanwhile, the use of roller boards, models, pictures, charts and actual
equipment recorded a moderate usage level by students and the teaching staff of
Electronic Technology. This is in proportion to the studies of Shya (2004) and
Hamdan and Mohd Yasin (2010) which shows that the level of teaching aids used
was at a moderate level achieved by the respondents in their studies of technical
teachers at a technical secondary school. Moreover, the use of television and radio
is also at a moderate level based on students’ perceptions. On the contrary, the
use of television and radio is at a high level from the teachers’ perceptions. This is
because the EHRM course has topics related to television and radio receivers that
require the teaching staff to use them as a student practical activity.
According to Zulkifli, Mohammad Hussain, Abd Wahid, and Che Rus (2019),
teaching and learning in vocational courses were expected to be conducted using
the 21st century teaching and learning activities which focused on student-based
learning supported by sufficient technologies. The 21st-century teaching and
learning also requires teachers to be competent in computer usage because 21st-
century learning involves the use of the internet in the teaching and learning.
Hence, this study shows that the use of technological-based teaching aids,
including computers and LCD projectors, among the Electronic Technology
teaching staff has a high level of usage based on the students’ and teaching staff’s
perceptions. This shows that the teaching staff at vocational colleges are ready for
21st-century learning. However, this does not imply that the Electronic
Technology teachers practising 21st-century learning in their class as the findings
on the use of websites in the EHRM Course are at a low level. Thus, the frequent
use of computers and LCD projectors in the teaching and learning of the EHRM
course is likely due to the teaching staff preferring to use PowerPoint slides in
their teaching and learning activities. In the meantime, the use of overhead
projectors, transparencies, magnetic boards, compact discs, flash cards and game
materials recorded low levels of use by the Electronic Technology teachers at
vocational colleges. Among those teaching aids, magnetic boards had the lowest
usage level in the teaching and learning activities. It is possible that the teaching
staff are not interested in this teaching aid, or there are vocational colleges that
still do not provide this teaching aid as there is not any need in their teaching
activities.
The result of the study also indicates that the level of teaching aids usage among
the Electronic Technology teachers at vocational colleges is still moderate. The
findings of this study are in line those obtained from Hamdan and Mohd Yasin
(2010), who carried out a study on the use of learning materials by technical
teachers at a technical secondary school in Johor Bahru. This situation indicates
that the level of use of teaching aids among vocational teachers is still at a
moderate level, despite the transformation of vocational secondary schools since
2012. Therefore, it is advisable for the relevant authorities to take action so that
the use of technological teaching aids among vocational teachers can be further
enhanced; this is in line with the current educational developments in order to
have a better impact on student learning.
As a suggestion, an immediate step that can be taken to encourage the use of
technological-based teaching aids, such as computers and the internet, as the

185
current learning trend is based on web 2.0 technology which requires teachers and
students to apply ICT in their teaching and learning. In the context of this study,
the findings show that computer usage is at a high level, while internet use, such
as web usage, is still at a low level. This situation gives the impression that the
Electronic Technology teachers at vocational colleges have yet to fully implement
learning based on the web 2.0 technology. Therefore, a study needs to be
conducted to look at the level of internet access facilities at the Malaysian Ministry
of Education’s vocational colleges, as well as the level of acceptance of students
and the teaching staff in applying the web 2.0 technology in the teaching and
learning of the EHRM course.
4. Conclusions
In conclusion, although the conventional teaching aids, including writing board
and printed materials, are still popular in the Electronic Hardware Repair and
Maintenance class setting, there were several technological teaching aids being
widely used in this course, which are radios, televisions, computers and LCD
projectors. However, the most important finding of the study is the fact that the use
of online material, such as websites, in the EHRM course is still at a low level. This
finding indicates that vocational teachers are still not in line with the latest trend
of technological teaching aids in a 21st century classroom which utilise the online
media as a source of information, teaching activities as well as a new way of
students-teacher interaction. Hence, the use of technological-based teaching aids
should be heightened, especially the use of the internet, in teaching and learning to
make learning more interesting and effective in enhancing student learning
outcomes in the EHRM course. Other than that, vocational college teachers need
to be exposed to adequate training to ensure they are skilled in the new methods
of teaching and learning use of the latest technology tools, and diversifying their
teaching methods. These are to ensure that students learning session in EHRM
course can be effectively implemented.
5. Acknowledgement
This research study was supported by the 2018 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
Inovation Research Grant. The title of the study is “The Development of Self-
centered Arduino Microprocessor Learning Module for Minor Students in Design
and Technology Program, FTV” (2018-0177-107-01).
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Appendix 1
Appendix 2
189

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 189-203, July 2020
Effect of Small Private Online Course (SPOC) on

Students’ Achievement in Pre-University Chemistry
Husna Izzati Muhamad Shahbani and Salleh Abd Rashid

Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5148-5173
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9402-7858
Muhamad Shahbani Abu Bakar, Jastini Mohd Jamil

and Izwan Nizal Mohd Shaharanee
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0389-2908
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6262-6223
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3566-7257
Abstract. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of Small

Private Online Course (SPOC) on the students’ achievement in chemistry
subject at the pre-university level. For this purpose, three types of
learning series were designed, which are Learning Series One, Learning
Series Two, and Learning Series Three. Learning Series One and Learning
Series Two comprised of face-to-face (F2F) learning and SPOC in a
different order while Learning Series Three consists of F2F learning only.
Two experimental groups and a control group involved 66 students who
were studying chemistry subject at a pre-university college were
randomly selected. They learned the chemical bonding topic of the
subject for twelve weeks using the assigned learning series. After
justifying the reliability and validity, the pre-test and post-tests for
achievement have been used as research instruments for students’
assessment of achievement in the different groups. The study outcomes
show that there is a significant difference among different learning series
in the achievement test scores in favour of Learning Series One, which
initially implemented SPOC followed by F2F learning. Based on the
results obtained, the researcher recommended that SPOC has to be
introduced and widely implemented in teaching Chemistry subject at the
matriculation college as it produced a positive impact on the achievement
of the students. More studies have to be carried out for other subjects in
the future using SPOC for the teaching and learning process as the
effectiveness of the online learning has been proved by the literature.
Keywords: Online Learning; Learning Series; Achievement; Chemistry

190
1. Introduction
Teaching science subjects is a demanding task because it involves the requirement
of manipulation of science concepts and the visualisation of the elements. The
abstract, scientific, or spatial nature of science concepts limit students’
understanding (Botella, Peñalver & Borrás, 2018). Students struggle to understand
abstract concepts and visualise the invisible science concepts (Cardellini, 2012;
Awan & Khan, 2013; Knudtson, 2015). Consequently, the teaching and learning
process in science should be improved to allow the students to have a better
understanding of the science concepts. This problem can be solved using a few
teaching methods such as blended learning and online tools, as suggested by
educators (Siew-Eng & Muuk, 2015). Previous studies show only a small number
of learning implementations in the digital ecosystem at matriculation colleges in
Malaysia (Razak & See, 2010; Misran, Abd.Aziz, Arsad, Hussain, Zaki & Sahuri,
2012; Khan & Masood, 2014; Ping & Maniam, 2015). To date, the students still
attend tutorials, and they remain as passive listeners while the teacher is
delivering the content. The scholars in the field of education affirmed that F2F
learning is not the most effective method in the current educational field anymore
(Sung, Chang & Liu, 2016).
In order to make the most of academic opportunities for this generation, novice
and veteran university instructors provide a collective response to the use of
technology in learning (Mohr & Mohr, 2017). The increasing number of
implementations of blended learning in academic institutions resulted in
improved student performance (Olelewe & Agomuo, 2016; Asarta & Schmidt,
2017; Chen, Breslow & DeBoer, 2018; McCutcheon, O’Halloran & Lohan, 2018).
This approach is believed to provide the students with additional support
throughout knowledge development (Boelens, Voet & De Wever, 2018). One of
the responses is a twenty-first-century learning model such as blended learning
and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) (Mullen et al., 2017; Baragash & Al-
Samarraie, 2018).
Twenty-first-century learning models are essential for the students because the
variation of online tools and activities can help satisfy their differences in learning
styles (Carter, Hanna & Warry, 2016). Due to the fact that twenty-first-century
learning models use ICT as a learning platform thus, open-access platforms such
as MOOC and SPOC appear to be the ideal learning approach (Kaplan &
Haenlein, 2016; Fox, 2013). SPOC has the features to fit the pre-university students
more in this study as a smaller scale of students were assigned into groups of
classes with a private instructor scheduled according to student availability
compared to MOOC (Fox, 2013; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2016) which provides open
access via the web for a massive amount of participants.
Both MOOC and blended learning promote active learning for science subjects
such as chemistry because both methods included a virtual laboratory and short
lecture videos interspersed with short quizzes (O’Malley, Agger & Anderson,
2015). Active learning is effective in enhancing student engagement and learning,
which is able to improve student achievement and attitude (Hakimzadeh,
Hakimzadeh & Batzinger, 2011). A recent report showed that collaborative
learning made the students performed better than individual learning in a F2F

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environment (Lin, Yen & Wang 2018). This study aims to identify the effect of
different learning series using SPOC and F2F learning on the students’
achievement. Based on the literature review, the current work aims to address the
following questions:
1. Is there any significant difference between students’ achievement using SPOC
followed by F2F learning (Learning Series One) compared to students’
achievement using F2F learning followed by SPOC (Learning Series Two)?
2. Is there any significant difference between students’ achievement using SPOC
achievement using F2F learning only (Learning Series Three)?
3. Is there any significant difference between students’ achievement using F2F
learning, followed by SPOC (Learning Series Two) compared to students’
achievement using F2F learning only (Learning Series Three)?
Consequently, the following two hypotheses can be introduced:

1. There is no significant difference between students’ achievement using SPOC,
achievement using F2F learning, followed by SPOC (Learning Series Two).
2. There is no significant difference between students’ achievement using SPOC,
achievement using F2F learning only (Learning Series Three).
3. There is no significant difference between students’ achievement using F2F
learning, followed by SPOC (Learning Series Two) compared to students’
achievement using F2F learning only (Learning Series Three).
Connectivism theory was proposed by Siemens (2005), who interprets learning
occurs through connections within networks. This learning theory, along with
behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism was applied in this research. The
combination of these learning theories provides information on the facilitation
and instructional design involving technology such as computer-mediated tools
in implementing blended learning and fully online learning (Bell, 2011; Picciano,
2017).
SPOC phenomenon, which originates from this theory, was used in this research
as a platform for student learning. SPOC is chosen over other online platforms
because the instructors can monitor the learning structures and activities
according to the learning outcomes (Swigart & Liang, 2016) at the same time
allows the students to learn at their own pace and time (Patru & Balaji, 2016).
Consequently, in order to facilitate online learning effectively, the instructor must
act by the recommended Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
(TPACK) framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). The framework addresses the
teachers’ capabilities in manipulating pedagogy and using technology to teach
specific subject content. Thus, while applying other traditional learning theories
along with connectivism, integrating pedagogy, technology, and content
knowledge appears to support the current teaching and learning process
(Padmavathi, 2017).

192
Chemistry students in Malaysia face problems in learning the subject (Khan &
Masood, 2014). Studies show that most students did not enjoy their learning
environment during the lab session, tutorials, or lectures. Thus, the students who
had the same problem may seek help from their course mates and discuss it with
them (Khan & Masood, 2014). Lack of understanding while learning new
knowledge can result in misunderstandings and misconceptions (Üce & Ceyhan,
2019). Another research on matriculation program in Malaysia conducted by
Misran et al. (2012) illustrated the approaches used by the lecturers of the
matriculation college have a significant influence on the performance and
academic achievement of the students. Therefore, teaching and learning methods,
especially for science subjects, should be improved.
Asarta and Schmidt (2017) compared the achievement of students between

blended learning and traditional approach. The students who experienced flipped
and flexible instructional strategies achieved higher than the students in the
conventional approach. A study made by Olelewe and Agomuo (2016) also shows
the same effect of blended learning on the students’ achievement. In the same
vein, the data obtained in a study by Chen, Breslow, and DeBoer (2018) indicated
that the students who utilise computer-based feedback and self-regulation
methods have higher performance in science courses. This type of feedback leads
to effective study strategies and significantly predicts higher achievement. Both
papers published by McCutcheon, O’Halloran & Lohan (2018) and Baragash &
Al-Samarraie (2018) share the same variables. They compared the effects of
blended learning and online teaching approach on the students’ achievement.
McCutcheon, O’Halloran & Lohan (2018) found that the students who received
training via blended learning have higher achievement in knowledge. Baragash
and Al-Samarraie (2018) found out that combining multiple delivery modes in
their study, which were F2F learning, learning management system-based
learning, and web-based learning (WBL) gave positive effect on students’
achievement. Thus, the online approach is proven to be effective for science
education compared with the traditional approach.
Some studies show the effect of MOOC on the students’ performance. Velázquez
(2017) examined student performance when using MOOC compared to a F2F
course. The study indicated an improvement in the students’ performance when
using MOOC for the learning process. The interaction between the students and
the instructor promoted the students’ critical thinking and social skills. Thus, they
had a better appreciation for knowledge. Majority of MOOC participants, around
72% of those surveyed agreed that they joined MOOC because it appeared to be
fascinating and a great way to gain new knowledge (Abeer & Miri, 2014). Guo,
Kim, and Rubin (2014) determined the influence of video towards engagement
with MOOC using video analytics and interviews. The results showed that the
students were more engaged in MOOC when it consisted of short videos. Vaibhav
& Gupta (2014) investigated the students’ interest in learning when using games.
The study involved two-course groups, one with games using edX platform and
another with no game resulting in the number of succeeding students increased,
and the failing number decreased. Besides, Israel (2015) carried out a study on the
effectiveness of integrating MOOC in the F2F learning environment for

193
undergraduate students, which revealed that most studies reported modest

beneficial impacts in integrating MOOC in F2F classrooms.
An improved version of MOOC called SPOC (Fox, 2013) facilitates a small scale
of the online course, allowing students to have a more detailed and in-depth
learning experience (Zhang, Yu, Yang, Feng, Lyu & Xu, 2019). The main objective
of SPOC is to administer students with a customised learning experience to
improve their learning performances, reduce dropout rates, and give a
profoundly adaptable learning condition (De Carvalho Junior, Robles, De la Serna
& Rivas, 2019; Petersen & Gundersen, 2019). By implementing SPOC, researchers
would like to determine the effect of SPOC on the students’ achievement at the
pre-university level, particularly in Chemistry subject in Malaysia.
3. Methodology
An experimental research method in which three independent variables were
examined to determine the effects on a dependent variable with pre-test and post-
tests, three group design were adopted. The independent variables in this
research are three learning series, which consist of F2F learning and SPOC, while
the dependent variable is students’ achievement. An appropriate sampling
technique for this study was used in which the samples were selected by cluster
sampling. When the population is large, cluster sampling is most useful because
it is difficult to acquire a list of all members of the population (Gay & Airasian,
2003). Therefore, by using cluster sampling, three groups studying chemistry
subjects were selected from a pre-university college in Malaysia for the present
study. The study samples in those three groups consisted of 66 students in total.
A control group, experimental group one, and experimental group two were
assigned to be treated differently. The study samples comprised of 21 students in
experimental group one, 26 students in experimental group two, and 19 students
in a control group based on actual classes in selected samples. The distribution of
students in groups is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Distribution of Students on Groups
Group Learning Series Number of Students
One
Experimental Group One 21
(SPOC followed by F2F)
Two
Experimental Group Two 26
(F2F followed by SPOC)
Three
Control Group 19
(F2F only)
The researcher allocated three groups of students for a control group and two
experimental groups according to the combination of delivery methods
experienced by the students, also known as learning series. Learning Series One
experienced by experimental group one students was a combination of SPOC
followed by F2F learning while Learning Series Two, which experienced by
experimental group two students was a mixture of F2F learning followed by
SPOC. The delivery method, which consisted of F2F learning only was named
Learning Series Three, experienced by students in the control group. The flow of
the learning series is visualised in Figure 1.

194
Learning Series One Learning Series Two Learning Series Three

(Experimental Group one) (Experimental Group Two) (Experimental Group Three)
SPOC F2F F2F SPOC F2F F2F

(4 weeks) (4 weeks) (4 weeks) (4 weeks) (4 weeks) (4 weeks)
Independent Learning (12 weeks) Independent Learning (12 weeks) Independent Learning (12 weeks)
Figure 1: Pedagogy of Learning Series

The instructor informed the students about the meeting schedules throughout the
research. A briefing on how to use online tools was given to the students in the
experimental groups. The learning equipment used for SPOC in this study was
Google Classroom, as shown in Appendix 1. The instructor uploaded the learning
outcomes for each subtopic on the Google Classroom before the teaching and
learning session started, as presented in Appendix 2. Along with the online
learning session, learning materials such as notes and educational videos were
also provided. Meanwhile, the control group was provided with a hard copy of
notes, the course learning outcomes, learning objectives, and the course outline.
The chemical bonding topic was selected in this study. It was taught by a full-time
chemistry lecturer from the college for all learning series. The online class covered
the same materials as the F2F class but was conducted using SPOC via Google
Classroom. Online students were expected to spend as much time learning as
their peers on the F2F. The cognitive domain of the students was focused on this
research for measuring the students’ achievements. Using Bloom’s Revised
Taxonomy, the topic for achievement test involved level two (understand) in
lower-level cognitive skills and level three (apply) in higher-order cognitive skills
(Stanny, 2016). There were several subjective questions for the achievement test,
as shown in Appendix 3. The questions developed were based on and matched
the learning outcomes of the topic. All questions were adapted from the past year
questions and verified by the subject matter expert of the chemistry subject. The
achievement pre-test was held during the first week of the experiment, and all
students took the post-tests after each different method done by the instructor to
check on their level of knowledge of the content. The marks were analysed to
determine the students’ achievement. There were four sets of achievement tests;
pre-test, post-test one, post-test two and post-test three. The time required for the
students to answer the test was one hour.
Prior to the implementation, the achievement test was given to a pilot sample
comprising 25 students who were not included in the experimental or control
group. The pilot study aimed to validate the time required for the students to
answer all questions and clarify the questions and instructions. In order to verify
the validity of the achievement test, the questions and marks allocated for each
question were submitted with the course learning outcomes, teaching plans and
the contents of the topic to the subject matter experts of the chemistry subjects
from the college for their advice and comments regarding the suitability and
clarity of test questions. Table 2 illustrates the delivery and assessment process for
the implementation of this study to identify the effects of different learning series
on the students’ achievements.

195
Table 2: Delivery and Assessment Process of Students
Learning
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Series/Week
Guided Learning and Assessments (22 hours)
Pre-test
Post- Post- Post-
Learning (1 hour) SPOC SPOC F2F F2F F2F
test 1 test 2 test 3
Series One SPOC (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours)
(1 hour) (1 hour) (1 hour)
(3 hours)
Independent Learning (18 hours)
Post- Post- Post-

Learning Pre-test F2F F2F F2F SPOC SPOC SPOC
test 1 test 2 test 3
Series Two (1 hour) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours)
Pre-test
Learning Post- Post- Post-
(1 hour) F2F F2F F2F F2F F2F
Series test 1 test 2 test 3
Three F2F (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours) (3 hours)
(3 hours)
For experimental group one, the students experienced Learning Series One, which
consists of SPOC followed by F2F. The students in experimental group two
experienced Learning Series Two, which delivery methods were initially F2F
learning followed by SPOC. Meanwhile, the control group students only
encountered the F2F teaching method, which is known as Learning Series Three.
The pre-test and three post-tests were conducted for all 66 students (both control
and experimental groups). The quantitative research method was used to collect
the data about the effects of different learning series on the students’
achievements. The achievement test is a method used for the collection of data.
The use of Google Classroom as the SPOC platform for the online learning
environment was important for this study to determine the students’
achievement. The data information for achievement tests was collected by
referring to the students’ marks for their test. A specific amount of time was given
for the students to complete the test. The marks for the achievement test of every
student were recorded and analysed.
All research subjects’ names and personal information such as email addresses,
were kept confidential with identities only known to the researcher. The pre-test
and post-tests data were entered in the SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences)
for analysis were presented in the results section. In this study, each experimental
group was treated with different learning series, and the achievement of the
students was measured with a pre-test and post-tests. The independent t-test was
used to identify any significant difference at the 0.05 level of confidence between
the experimental groups with the students’ achievements.
4. Results
The graph in Figure 2 shows the mean marks in the percentage of pre and post
achievement tests for the three learning series. What stands out in this graph is
the continual increase in the marks of the students’ achievement for all learning
series. It reveals that the marks scored by the students were improved after each

196
achievement test. The percentage marks of each student for the pre-test and all
post-tests are shown in Appendix 4.
Figure 2: Mean Marks Percentage of Different Learning Series
The data in Table 3 shows the statistic results of the pre achievement test of the
students. The mean percentage of pre-achievement tests of all students in the
three learning series is less than 10%. This data proves that the students did not
have much knowledge about this topic as they had never learned it before
enrolling in this course. Table 3 and Table 4 indicate that each strategy has had a
positive impact on academic achievement, as all post-test means have higher
values than pre-test means.
Table 3: Pre-Achievement Test Mean Percentage

Learning Series Std. Std. Error
N Mean Min Max
Deviation Mean
One
(SPOC followed 21 6.0317 6.6348 1.4478 0.00 13.33
by F2F)
Two
(F2F followed by 26 0.2564 1.3074 0.2564 0.00 6.67
SPOC)
Three
19 0.3509 1.5294 0.0526 0.00 6.67
(F2F only)
Meanwhile, Table 4 illustrates the statistic results of the post achievement tests of
the students within the same groups. The means of post-test one, post-test two,
and post-test three for each learning series are shown in Table 5. It can be noticed
that the values of the mean of Learning Series One are higher than Learning Series
Two, followed by Learning Series Three.

197
Table 4: Post Achievement Tests Mean Percentage

Post Learning Std. Std. Error
N Mean Min Max
Test Series Deviation Mean
One 21 37.2024 11.6049 2.5324 18.75 56.25
One Two 26 29.8077 12.2866 2.4096 18.75 62.25
Three 19 29.9342 12.4267 2.8509 6.25 68.75
One 21 48.2993 19.2863 4.2086 14.29 78.57
Two Two 26 42.8571 12.9363 2.5370 7.14 57.14
Three 19 40.6015 19.2036 4.4056 7.14 78.57
One 21 77.6786 20.0167 4.3680 25.00 100.00
Three Two 26 77.4038 20.1616 3.9540 37.50 100.00
Three 19 68.4211 18.5725 4.2608 31.25 93.75
Table 5: All Post Achievement Tests Mean Percentage

Learning Series Std. Std. Error
N Mean Min Max
Deviation Mean
One
(SPOC followed by 21 54.3934 12.43816 2.71423 19.35 78.27
F2F)
Two
(F2F followed by 26 50.0229 10.89657 2.13699 21.13 73.13
SPOC)
Three
19 46.3189 11.67360 2.67811 14.88 80.36
(F2F only)
Table 6 shows that there is no significant difference of the students’ achievement

of the means of Learning Series One and two as well as Learning Series Two and
three at (0.05) meanwhile a comparison of both Learning Series One and Learning
Series Three shows a significant difference of due to the different learning
methods.
Table 6: Comparison of Achievement Marks Between Different Learning Series

Learning Mean Std. Error
t df Sig.
Series Difference Difference
One and
4.37053 18.63951 .234 4 .206
Two
Two and
1.43725 .94225 1.525 4 .280
Three
One and
8.07450 16.65593 .485 4 .041
Three
5. Discussion
The findings of this study were discussed in detail, considering the research
questions and hypotheses. The first research question is, “Is there any significant
difference between students’ achievement using SPOC followed by F2F learning
(Learning Series One) compared to students’ achievement using F2F learning
followed by SPOC (Learning Series Two)?”. No significant difference in the
students’ achievement of the means of Learning Series One and two at (0.05), as
shown in Table 6, indicates the same delivery methods but in different order did

198
not result in any difference in the students’ achievement. This result suggests that
the first hypothesis can be accepted. This result also agrees well with existing
studies by De Carvalho Junior et al. (2019), which indicated that there was no
statistically significant difference in terms of usability between students enrolled
in SPOC compared to MOOC as both platforms are online learning platforms.
Based on the results of this research, a higher mean of achievement in Learning
Series One and Learning Series Two compared to Learning Series Three shows
that learning using online tools can be more effective than F2F. A literature review
conducted showed that the implementation of MOOC in traditional classrooms
has beneficial results on students (Israel, 2015). Students became more engaged
with MOOC as it consisted of shorter videos, casual talk-head videos, and Khan-
style videos (Guo, Kim & Rubin, 2014).
Referring to the second research question which state “Is there any significant
difference between students’ achievement using a SPOC followed by F2F learning
(Learning Series One) compared to students’ achievement using F2F learning only
(Learning Series Three)?”, the result in Table 6 illustrates that there is a significant
difference between Learning Series One and Learning Series Three, which
supports the data in Table 5 that shows a higher mean percentage for Learning
Series One compared to Learning Series Three. It may be explained by the
different methods used in both learning series. Learning Series One, which
comprised a mixture of SPOC and F2F environment, produced better results in
the students’ achievement than Learning Series Three, which only used F2F
learning as the delivery method. Such finding is also seen in a recent report by
Velázquez (2017), who examined the student performance when using MOOC
compared to F2F learning. The study indicated that there was an improvement in
the students’ performance when using MOOC for the learning process due to the
mixture of pedagogies, which consists of online tools is more effective than using
only one. Besides, higher mean scores in blended learning compared to F2F in
Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering subjects were demonstrated
in the study by Seage and Türegün (2020). Therefore, this result rejects the second
hypothesis.
Finally, the data in Table 6 revealed a non-significant trend of the students’

achievement among Learning Series Two and Learning Series Three. It means that
although both learning series used different learning approaches, there is no
significant difference in the students’ achievement among both learning series. In
terms of the studies to date, the data obtained in several papers reported that there
was no significant difference of the students’ achievement acquired even though
different delivery methods were used during the teaching and learning process
(Kemp & Grieve, 2014; Harwood, McDonald, Butler, Drago & Schlumpf, 2018;
Paul & Jefferson, 2019; Thompson & McDowell, 2019). The findings of the present
study contradict the significant number of studies that obtained differences in
students’ achievement across these settings (Baragash & Al-Samarraie, 2018;
Chen, Breslow & DeBoer, 2018; McCutcheon, O’Halloran & Lohan, 2018).
Although the data shows no significant difference between Learning Series Two
and Learning Series Three, the students’ achievement in Learning Series Two was
higher than Learning Series Three. The content model of SPOC proposed by

199
Petersen and Gundersen (2019), which relates learning outcomes and the
assessment to different learning tools, has created a better achievement for
students who have encountered F2F learning. The achievement of students was
also higher when the computer-based immediate simple corrective feedback tool
by edX platform was implemented compared to traditional learning (Chen,
Breslow & DeBoer, 2018). Furthermore, students have earned higher grades in the
course as they have been able to re-access learning materials more than once,
which suggest that learning using online tools is more convenient than traditional
learning because they can pick the learning sequence as well as the amount of
material they need (Soffer, Kahan & Nachmias, 2019). Consequently, the result of
this study suggests the final hypothesis to be accepted.
However, the mean marks percentage shown in Table 5 proves that students who
experienced Learning Series Two achieved higher than the students who
experienced Learning Series Three. However, achieving better was not
statistically done. In general, the mean marks percentage of Learning Series One
and Learning Series Two, which comprised of both online learning and F2F
learning, are higher than Learning Series Three, which consists of F2F learning
only. Hence, a more engaging atmosphere in online learning appears to be better
for the students.
As with the majority of studies, the design of the current study was subject to
limitations. This research was limited to the students who were studying
chemistry subjects at a pre-university college in Malaysia. The second limitation
to the generalisation of the results was the study mainly focuses on the effect of
the learning series using SPOC as an online learning environment and F2F
learning on the students’ achievement in chemistry subject. Therefore, the results
obtained cannot be generalised for other subjects. The third limitation concerns
access to the sample size. The researcher has limited access and authority to the
sample size due to the number of students assigned for every class have been set
by the college management. The fact is that such a small number of sixty-six
randomly selected sample participants can be doubted to represent the
participating sample’s nature. More accurate results can be acquired using a
larger sample size. On the other hand, the students’ learning capabilities and
learning access to other sources are the extraneous variables in this study.
As far as the current study is concerned, in the light of the finding, the following
recommendations can be produced:
1. The teaching and learning process at pre-university colleges in Malaysia
should not rely on the traditional pattern of lecturing concerning teaching
chemistry subject. Instead, the delivery method involving the online
environment such as SPOC has to be introduced and widely implemented,
where the use of modern technology supports the presence of an instructor.
2. More studies have to be carried out for the subjects other than the chemistry
subject in the future using different types of the online environment for the
teaching and learning process as the effectiveness of e-learning has been
proved by the literature.
3. In order to allow the students to get used and fully utilised the modern
technology for education, the teaching period using e-learning approaches
should be elongated so its benefits can be maximised.

200
4. More student samples are required, and the research area should be
broadening in further studies to get more accurate results.
5. It is recommended that further studies need to be carried out to cover different
education levels to optimise the modern technology in the teaching process.
6. Conclusion
The findings demonstrated that there is a significant difference in the achievement
test scores in the interest of learning series, which consists of SPOC followed by
F2F learning. On the other hand, according to the data obtained, it revealed that
the learning series comprised of SPOC produced better achievement by the
students over F2F learning. One of the significant findings to emerge from this
study is that two learning series, which both consist of two similar delivery
methods but in different order, show no significant difference in the students’
achievement but display higher performance. In conclusion, it has been shown
from this review that the best learning series from this research for the lecturers
at matriculation college for chemical bonding topic is the learning series which
composes of SPOC followed by F2F learning. It all boils down to the fact that the
students who experienced this type of delivery method produced the highest
score in their achievement.
The study has improved our understanding of the online learning environment
using SPOC in higher education in Malaysia during the emergence of technology
in education. It allows the Department of Chemistry at the matriculation college
to develop an effective learning series and promote cooperation with other science
departments that can benefit the curriculum. Moreover, the learning series can
encourage lecturers to assess students’ academic achievement in relation to the
learning sequence so that students can learn effectively. These results offer some
recommendations to chemistry and Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) subject educators and instructional designers in using
learning series which consists of different delivery methods, including online
learning as it improved the students’ learning.
7. Acknowledgement
This research was funded by a grant from Universiti Utara Malaysia (SO. CODE:
14587).
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Appendix 1
SPOC Interface
Appendix 2
Topic Learning Outcomes
WEEK SUBTOPICS LEARNING OUTCOMES

a) Write the Lewis dot symbol of an atom. Relate valence
electron with Lewis dot symbol.
b) State the octet rule. Describe how atoms obtain the octet
configuration.
c) Describe the formation of:
i. Ionic or electrovalent bond
Valence
ii. Covalent bond using Lewis structure
Electron and
1 (Include the explanation in terms of difference in
Lewis
electronegativity. Use only elements of period 2 except
Structure
Be and H).
d) Draw the Lewis structure of covalent compound with
single, double and triple bond.
e) Determine the formal charge and the most plausible
Lewis structure.
f) Explain the exception to the octet rule: incomplete octet,
expanded octet and odd number electrons.
a) Explain Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory
(VSEPR).
Molecular b) Draw the basic molecular shapes: linear, trigonal planar,
2
Shape tetrahedral, trigonal bipyramidal and octahedral.
c) Predict and explain the shapes of molecule and bond
angles in a given species.
a) Explain polarity and dipole moment in linear molecules.
b) Introduce intermolecular forces
i. Van der Waals forces
Intermolecular
3 - Dipole-dipole or permanent dipole interaction
forces
- London forces or dispersion forces
b) Introduce intermolecular forces
ii. Hydrogen bonding
4 Post-test
Appendix 3
Pre-test Questions
CHEMICAL BONDING
1. Calculate the total valence electrons in BeCl and CH Cl. (2 marks)

2 3
2. Determine the number of electron group and electron group in PCl and (3 marks)
5
predict its molecular geometry.
3. Given a compound boron trifluoride, answer the following questions

a) Draw the Lewis structure for this molecule. (2 marks)
b) Determine the formal charge of the central atom. (1 mark)
c) State whether the molecule obey octet rule and describe its exception to (2 marks)
the octet rule.
d) Draw the molecular shape of this molecule by applying VSEPR theory. (2 marks)
e) Name the molecular shape and predict its bond angle. (2 marks)
f) Describe about the polarity of this molecule. (1 mark)

Post-test One Questions
CHEMICAL BONDING
1. Predict the polarity of BCl3 and PCl3. Explain your answers. (6 marks)
2. Draw and name the molecular shape for BCl3 and SO3. (4 marks)
3. For the following organic compounds, arrange them in order of decreasing

boiling point. Explain your answer.
CO2 , CH3CH2OH, CH3OH (6 marks)
Post-test Two Questions
CHEMICAL BONDING
1. Draw and name the molecular shape for PF6- and NO3- by applying VSEPR
theory. State the formal charge for all atoms in the most plausible structure
(8 marks)
of both molecules..
2. For the following organic compounds, state the type of intermolecular

forces for each molecule and arrange them in order of increasing boiling
(6 marks)
point. Explain your answer.
CH4, HCN, H2O
Post-test Three Questions
CHEMICAL BONDING
1. Draw the Lewis structure for BeF2, ICl2- and NO2. State the type of octet rule
exception. (6 marks)
2. Show two possible Lewis structures of CS2 and determine the most
plausible structure of the molecule . (6 marks)
3. Consider CF4 and CCl3F. Which molecule is polar? Explain. (4 marks)

Appendix 4
List of Students’ Achievement
Learning Series One
List of Percentage Marks (%)

Students Pre-test Post-test One Post-test Two Post-test Three
Student 1 0.0 43.8 57.1 93.8
Student 2 0.0 25.0 14.3 25.0
Student 3 13.3 31.3 71.4 93.8
Student 4 13.3 37.5 42.9 68.8
Student 5 13.3 31.3 50.0 81.3
Student 6 0.0 37.5 78.6 81.3
Student 7 13.3 50.0 28.6 75.0
Student 8 0.0 18.8 42.9 37.5
Student 9 0.0 37.5 71.4 100.0
Student 10 13.3 50.0 50.0 62.5
Student 11 13.3 18.8 78.6 100.0
Student 12 6.7 43.8 42.9 93.8
Student 13 0.0 50.0 50.0 75.0
Student 14 0.0 56.3 50.0 81.3
Student 15 0.0 25.0 35.7 56.3
Student 16 13.3 18.8 64.3 100.0
Student 17 0.0 56.3 42.9 100.0
Student 18 13.3 37.5 28.6 75.0
Student 19 0.0 37.5 21.4 75.0
Student 20 0.0 37.5 21.4 81.3
Student 21 13.3 37.5 71.4 75.0
Learning Series Two

Student 1 0.0 25.0 42.9 87.5
Student 2 0.0 25.0 57.1 62.5
Student 3 0.0 25.0 42.9 93.8
Student 4 6.7 62.5 42.9 93.8
Student 5 0.0 25.0 57.1 87.5
Student 6 0.0 37.5 50.0 93.8
Student 7 0.0 25.0 57.1 75.0
Student 8 0.0 18.8 57.1 100.0
Student 9 0.0 18.8 50.0 68.8
Student 10 0.0 31.3 42.9 43.8
Student 11 0.0 18.8 50.0 75.0
Student 12 0.0 18.8 35.7 75.0
Student 13 0.0 18.8 50.0 81.3
Student 14 0.0 43.8 57.1 93.8
Student 15 0.0 43.8 42.9 100.0
Student 16 0.0 18.8 35.7 93.8
Student 17 0.0 37.5 42.9 62.5
Student 18 0.0 18.8 35.7 87.5
Student 19 0.0 56.3 57.1 100.0
Student 20 0.0 37.5 28.6 93.8
Student 21 0.0 43.8 14.3 93.8
Student 22 0.0 31.3 42.9 37.5
Student 23 0.0 18.8 7.1 43.8
Student 24 0.0 18.8 28.6 56.3
Student 25 0.0 25.0 35.7 37.5
Student 26 0.0 31.3 50.0 75.0
Learning Series Three

Student 1 0.0 6.3 7.1 50.0
Student 2 0.0 31.3 50.0 62.5
Student 3 0.0 18.8 42.9 31.3
Student 4 0.0 43.8 78.6 62.5
Student 5 6.7 25.0 42.9 93.8
Student 6 0.0 37.5 7.1 68.8
Student 7 0.0 37.5 50.0 62.5
Student 8 0.0 25.0 35.7 31.3
Student 9 0.0 25.0 14.3 81.3
Student 10 0.0 31.3 78.6 68.8
Student 11 0.0 31.3 35.7 56.3
Student 12 0.0 31.3 42.9 81.3
Student 13 0.0 68.8 42.9 81.3
Student 14 0.0 31.3 50.0 81.3
Student 15 0.0 18.8 50.0 93.8
Student 16 0.0 25.0 42.9 87.5
Student 17 0.0 25.0 21.4 50.0
Student 18 0.0 25.0 42.9 75.0
Student 19 0.0 31.3 35.7 81.3
204

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 204-224, July 2020
Enhancing Higher-Order Thinking Skills among

Home Science Students: The Effect of
Cooperative Learning Student Teams-
Achievement Divisions (STAD) Module
Misra Takko
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Alam Megah 2, Shah Alam Selangor, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4459-4002
Rahimah Jamaluddin
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0815-8860
Suhaida Abdul Kadir

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2761-6265
Normala Ismail
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8776-0840
Arnida Abdullah
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6593-7310
Arasinah Khamis
Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3233-4027
Abstract. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the

cooperative learning module using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions
(STAD) techniques in enhancing students' HOTS achievement in the topic
of the digestive system and food absorption. A quasi-experimental design
was used in this study to gauge the effectiveness of the module. Purposive
sampling technique was used to choose the respondents. The study
involved 182 students who represented the experimental group and the
conventional group. Students were given an intervention by using Home
Science STAD Module for five weeks. Descriptive statistics and paired
sample t-test were used to determine the effectiveness of the Home Science
STAD module on students’ HOTS achievement. The findings show

205
students' understanding increased for the digestive system and food

absorption topics. There was a significant difference in students' HOTS
achievement between the experimental learning and conventional
learning group. The finding shows the students were actively engaged in
teaching and learning. Post-test result shows that the students were able to
answer the HOTS question correctly and they can deliver clear
explanations and justifications compared to the answers in the pre-test.
Findings from this study revealed that the Home Science STAD Module
was appropriate to serve as a guideline for teachers who apply and
integrate HOTS in the teaching process. Further studies can apply
cooperative techniques in other educational contexts in promoting HOTS
among students.
Keywords: Higher-Order Thinking Skills; STAD; Cooperative Learning;

Home Science Education; Quasi-experimental
1. Introduction
Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is one of the agendas emphasized in the
Malaysian education system. This is clearly stated in the Malaysian Education
Development Plan 2013–2025 (KPM, 2013) which emphasizes higher-order
thinking skills (HOTS) through six student aspirations. In essence, the Ministry of
Education Malaysia intends to make students critical thinkers to enable them to
compete globally. HOTS should be an important aspect of the teaching and
learning process especially with regards to TVET in order to prepare them for
future employees and problem solvers (Chinedu & Kamin, 2015). The best
strategies to prepare future employees and problem solvers, is to teach students
how to think instead of what to think (Chinedu, Libunao, Kamen & Saud, 2014).
However, some teachers failed to apply effective HOTS teaching strategy as stated
in the policy (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013). Chun and Abdullah (2019)
in their research described the policy on HOTS cannot be fully translated into
practice due to time constraints, high syllabus content, student ability, and factors
of teacher’s attitudes towards HOTS teaching which in turn affected teachers’
perceptions and how teachers conduct their daily lessons. It remains the focus of
researchers to look at the gap between education policy and classroom practice on
HOTS teaching in the classroom.
In generating the HOTS among school students, active participation involving

student-cantered learning is seen to be significant. Constructivist learning as one
of the most preferred pedagogical practices by Malaysian teachers in promoting
HOTS. Teachers are keen on using inquiry teaching, problem-based learning,
brainstorming and thinking map in the class (Chun & Abdullah, 2019). On the
other hand, Jacobson, Davis, and Licklider (1998) stated that cooperative learning
can be applied in various fields of learning, especially in technical studies.
Cooperative learning is a learning method that involves four to five members in
each group and emphasizes the mastery of skills, concepts, and information
(Johnson & Johnson, 1994). This learning method also promotes collaboration and
social cognitive skills enhancement (Virgana, 2019: Gull & Shehzah, 2015).
Further, cooperative learning methods encourage students to communicate with
each other, which can indirectly overcome their shyness and lack of confidence in

206
discussing with peers while engaging in problem-solving or group discussions.

The cooperative learning methodology also contributes to other skills, such as
social skills, leadership, listening, thinking, and others (Nor Hasliza, 2012).
Secondary School Standard Curriculum, Home Science education is one of the

elective subjects under the stream of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) for form 4 and forms 5 students. The main purpose of this
subject is to provide students with knowledge as well as preparing them with
various skills such as critical thinking, creative and innovative thinking skills, and
a positive attitude among the students. To accomplish the main goals of the
National Philosophy of Education, six Secondary School Standard Curriculum
frameworks have been integrated, which blend knowledge, skills, and values with
21st-century learning skills.
In Malaysia classrooms, teacher-centered learning or lower-order thinking skills

(LOTS) is taking place and being practiced in teaching and learning process that
inhibit the development of HOTS (Arlina & Melor; 2014; Bavani et al 2016; DeWitt
et al 2016; Aziz & Andin, 2018). In most situations, teachers only serve as
informants and students act as recipients of information (Vebrianto & Osman,
2012). Conventional learning does not encourage two-way interaction that helps
student thinking process. This method only helps students to only memorize the
concept of learning and yet the aspect of thinking is left out (Vebrianto & Osman,
2012). This scenario has caused difficulties to students in applying thinking skills
because they are not exposed to problems solving activities, which may generate
their creative, critical, and innovative thinking. This ultimately results in students'
thinking skills will remain at a low level (Wan & Shamilati, 2018; Khairon, Hanita,
Fauziah & Azian, 2017; Aziz & Andin, 2018). New examination format of
assessment structure required students to master the learning content to enable
them to answer HOTS questions. In the previous examination format, the focus
was on objective questions that required students to memorize the content to
achieve excellent results.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Education, students choose the

stream of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in schools
which contribute to 44 percent in 2018 compared to 48 percent in 2012, a decrease
infour percent. This four percent drop is equavalent to 6,000 students drop (Yeo,
2019). This figure also includes students who took Home Science Education as an
elective subject since Home Science Education was one of the subjects under
STEM stream. Based on the Malaysian Certificate of Education results, it was
reported that students did not achieve satisfactory results in HOTS, with the
average grade of less than 3.00 for the Home Science subject. Due to this scenario,
a cooperative learning module by using STAD techniques has been developed to
overcome this problem, especially to help Home Science students master difficult
topics such as the digestive system and food absorption.
Although numerous studies have investigated cooperative learning approaches

in enhancing student achievement (Okwelle & Owo, 2018; Gull & Shehzah, 2015;
Ling Ghazali & Raman, 2016; Isiaka & Yusuf, 2015; Anwar, Tatlah & Butt, 2018), a

207
few studies that examine students' achievement in HOTS essay questions in

Malaysia especially in the context of the technical subject such as Home Science
Education. Therefore, there is a need for more knowledge about the effectiveness
of cooperative learning in enhancing not only student academic achievement but
also enhancing students HOTS as well as other soft skills such as communication,
problem-solving, collaboration, and motivation.
1.1 Objective, Research Question and Hypotheses

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the
cooperative learning module using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions
(STAD) techniques in enhancing students' HOTS achievement in the topic of the
digestive system and food absorption. The study further explored the differences
in HOTS achievement among Home Science students before (pre-test) and after
(post-test) they learned using the module. The research question and hypotheses
are as follows:
Research Question:
i. Is there an impact on students’ HOTS achievement in learning digestive
system and food absorption topic using Student Teams-Achievement
Divisions (STAD) techniques?
ii. What are the minimum and maximum marks of pre-test and post-test for the
cooperative learning group and conventional learning group?
iii. Is there any improvement of students HOTS answer between pre-test and
post-test?
Research hypotheses:
Ho1: There is no difference in students’ HOTS achievement HOTS in the pre-test
between the cooperative learning group and conventional group
Ho2: There is no difference in students' HOTS achievement in the post-test
between the cooperative learning group and conventional learning group
Ho3: There is no difference in students' HOTS achievement in the pre-test and
post-test for conventional learning group.
Ho4: There is no difference in students' HOTS achievement in the pre-test and
post-test for cooperative learning group.
2. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework Used in the Module

Development
Three cognitive theories namely constructivism, cooperative learning, and
Bloom's Taxonomy are used in this study to illustrate the relationship between
these theories in developing the Home Science STAD module. These theories
provide a better understanding in testing students' ability to answer HOTS
questions as shown in Figure 1.

208
Constructivist
Theory
HOTS
Taxonomy Cooperative
Bloom’s learning
Figure 1: Theoretical Framework
2.1 Constructivist Theory

According to the theory of constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), knowledge is actively
built by thinking individuals, while passive individuals do not accept any
knowledge conveyed by their teacher. Students will adapt any new information
to their existing knowledge to create new knowledge in their minds. When they
come across objects that are meaningless to them, they will interpret what they
see and customize their information so that they can better interpret this
information (Yadav, 2016; Bhutto & Chhapra, 2013).
Constructivism implies that teaching and learning will be student-centered. The

teacher serves as a facilitator that helps students build knowledge and solve
problems. The teacher will also identify students' existing knowledge and tailor
his/her teaching method to the basic nature of the knowledge. Also, teachers
serve as instructional designers that provide opportunities for students to build
new knowledge. Learning based on the theory of constructivism is a process by
which students develop new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge.
Students will choose and interpret information, formulate hypotheses, and make
informed decisions as they provide meaning and experience formation
(Olusegun, 2015; Yadav, 2016). Instead of providing students with answer,
teachers must challenge them by encouraging effective critical thinking (Chinedu,
Libunao, Kamen & Saud, 2014). This is coherent with the study which is
emphasises HOTS in Home Science Education.
2.2 Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning refers to instructional use of small groups so that students
work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (Johnson &
Johnson, 1999). It is a principles and techniques for helping students work
together more effectively (Jacobs, Power & Loh, 2002), teaches them how to
interact and socialize, exchange ideas, share information, and emphasizes the
mastery of skills, concepts, and information in which students are classified into
specific groups (Nurulhuda, 2014; Slavin, 1995). They are various techniques
under cooperative learning. Some cooperative learning techniques utilize student
pairing such as Think-Pair-Share, Think-Pair-Write, Three-step Interview, Say
and Switch. While others utilize small groups of four or five students such as
Round Robin, Reciprocal Teaching, Jigsaw II, Cirle the Sage, The Williams and

209
including STAD or Student-Teams-Achievement Division (Kagan, 1994, Slavin

1995). According to Johnson and Johnson (1994), students who learn to cooperate
in a group can enhance their performance. After all, they can learn better and
become responsible students because they have group goals that need to be
achieved together.
Cooperative learning is an effective learning strategy because, through this

method, students with different levels of ability, skills, and thinking learn together
in a group. To ensure a successful cooperative learning process, each student is
responsible for sharing existing knowledge and skills to help other team members
(Okwelle & Owo, 2018). Furthermore, each member of the group should be highly
committed to the task assigned. Cooperative learning will encourage students to
interact actively and positively in a group (Mark-Mensah & Sam, 2018; Anwar,
Tatlah & Butt, 2018). Engaging in small group activities can develop high-level
thinking skills and enhance individuals' ability to apply knowledge (Virgana,
2019; Brame & Biel, 2015; Rahayu, Syafril, Wati & Yuberti, 2017) as well as
increasing student motivation during group discussions and achievement (Gull
& Shehzah, 2015; Isiaka & Yusuf, 2015; Ling, Ghazali & Raman, 2016).
In general, cooperative learning is collaborative learning or cooperation involving

small groups with various levels of capability and achievement as well as a
different gender, race, and religion (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). To achieve
common goals within a group, the most important attribute is a student's success
in helping others achieve their goals and objectives in their learning. In this study,
the researchers have chosen the Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD)
technique because it is more effective than others. One of the advantages of STAD
is each group consists of heterogeneous students. After students having their
group activities, each member will participate in a quiz or individually calculated
test. Then, the scores earned by each group member will be added to the group
score. Finally, the best group will receive a prize as a token of recognition to the
group. Using this technique, students can easily master the topic through
discussion and collaboration of small groups of 4 to 5 members. Indirectly this
technique can improve Home Science students in mastering their subject content.
So, in this module, cooperative learning with the STAD technique is used to
achieve the teaching and learning objectives.
2.3 Taxonomy Bloom’s and Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

The rapid development in the 21st century, education is a major concern as it
contributes to fostering students' readiness to face global challenges and prepare
them to enter the workforce (Larson & Miller, 2012). This requires students to
master the 21st century skills, especially HOTS which need to apply by the
educators into teaching-learning activities (Hashim, Ali & Sahmsudin, 2018). 21st
century skills were defined as skills that progressively ask for creativity,
perseverance, and problem solving combined with performance. According to
Collins (2014) the awareness of educational stakeholders on the importance of
teaching HOTS is very prominent to ensure learning success.

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Using HOTS in the classroom also requires more than giving students HOTS
questions, rather students must be taught how to make thinking visible and this
can be done with teacher guidance (Siti, 2016). According to the Malaysian
Examinations Board (2013), higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is the ability to
apply knowledge, skills, and value in forming reasoning and reflection of
problems, decision making, innovation, and creation of something. According to
Gillies (2014), HOTS is defined as a widespread challenge and use of the mind set
when one must interpret, analyse, or manipulate information to answer a
question. The foundation of the cognitive process is to generate and organize
information, analyse, synthesize, be creative, and perform evaluations.
Thinking skills are one of the six key characteristics that students need to have to
ensure that they reach their full potential and can compete globally (Ministry of
Education Malaysia, 2013). According to Anderson and Krathwohl (2001),
thinking skills are the most basic skills that can be developed in the classroom and
are key to high achievements for all students. As such, the HOTS has been
implemented through five elements, namely pedagogical curriculum, curriculum
assessment, private community support, bodybuilding, and resources.
Realizing the urgency of the 21st century skills, HOTS approach is fundamental
to the framework of the formation of a global education system, and it is no
exception to Malaysia that has adopted the Bloom and Anderson taxonomy
through Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013–2025 (Ministry of
Education Malaysia, 2013). The Ministry of Education has emphasized on HOTS
in the school system by introducing the I-THINK program in 2011, starting with
10 pilot schools, followed by all the schools in Malaysia in 2014 as a preparatory
step to implement HOTS in Malaysia's education curriculum (Ministry of
Education Malaysia, 2013).
Developing HOTS in classroom requires teachers not only need to have subject
matter knowledge, but they also have to know what HOTS contains of and how
it can be included into the curriculum (Daud, 2017). Teachers need to provide the
students with HOTS which Mishra & Kotecha (2016) claim the Bloom's revised
taxonomy as reference point to HOTS.
Based on constructivism theory, cooperative learning and Taxonomy Bloom’s, the

researcher has constructed the conceptual framework of the study as in figure 2.
The framework of this study includes two independent variables namely
cooperative learning and conventional learning. While the dependent variable
was the higher order thinking skills (HOTS).
Independent variables Dependent variables
Teaching methods Higher Order Thinking

• Cooperative (STAD) Skills (HOTS)
• Conventional
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework

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2.4 Home Science STAD Module

The Home Science STAD module was developed as a result of data collection
through document analysis involving content, the Home Science Curriculum and
Assessment Standard Document (Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, 2015) and the
previous year's Malaysia Certificate of Education questions. The construction of
this module also considered the feedback obtained in a semi-structured interview
with Home Science expert teachers. Based on the interview, researcher was
informed that digestive system and food absorption topic is one of the most
challenging topics for Home Science courses. Students do not understand the
topic because it involves scientific processes as well as enzymes that need to be
memorized. Analysis of past exam questions also showed the existence of HOTS
questions related to this topic. According to that findings, researchers chose to
build the module by focusing on the topic digestive system and food absorption.
This Home Science STAD module was developed into two editions, namely
teacher edition and student edition.
The teacher edition of the Home Science STAD module was developed as a guide
to enable teachers to implement cooperative learning more effectively according
to the prescribed procedures. The teacher edition module includes the
introduction to cooperative learning, daily lesson plans, examples of induction
sets that teachers can use, descriptions of the implementation of cooperative
learning activities, handout notes for students including six different types of
exercises by topic, quizzes and short essay questions, and an answer scheme.
Meanwhile, the student edition module was designed as a learning material
consisting of introductory notes to cooperative learning, six different types of
exercises by topic and by group, quizzes and short essay questions, and additional
notes for students as a reference in addition to textbooks.
The module includes four key components involving activities for teachers and
students in teaching and learning, teaching content, explanation on how to divide
students into groups, and how to conduct group learning, quizzes, and group
recognition. The teaching content contains a description of the teaching material
to be delivered by the teacher based on the topic. Then, to facilitate student
understanding, group activities are conducted to enable students to share ideas,
opinions, and information with their peers. After completing a certain topic,
quizzes will be conducted to measure students' understanding of that particular
topic. As a motivation and encouragement for students to stay motivated and
engaged in group learning activities, group recognition is given based on the
group scores obtained.
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
To investigate the effectiveness of the Home Science STAD module among Home
Science students, a quasi-experimental of pretest-posttest nonequivalent groups
design was used. According to McMillan (2011), this design of research is among
the most widely used. The design of this research involves the treatment and
control groups by using pre- and post-trials. The rational of using pretest-posttest
nonequivalent groups, this design can be used to test the comparison of effects in

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various situations where fully experimental techniques are not feasible (Neuman,
1991) especially in real-world situations such as in schools setting. Through this
design, researchers can identify the possible effects of learning methods used on
dependent variables (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen & Razavieh, 2013) as well as this
design of research is among the most widely used (Cook dan Campbell, 1979).
This study involves the treatment of cooperative learning (X1) while the control
groups (conventional learning) did not use any instructional module but only
followed the traditional teaching (X2). To assess the level of students' existing
knowledge of the digestive system and food absorption, a pre-test was conducted
and represented by OA₁ followed with post-tests which represented by OB₂ to
measure students' HOTS after finished 5 weeks teaching and learning process.
The research design as shown in figure 3.
OA₁ X1 OB₂
--------------------------
OA₁ X2 OB₂
Figure 3: Research Design
3.2 Samples
Two schools in Selangor and two schools in Negeri Sembilan were involved in
this study. To answer research objectives and fulfil the number of samples for
experimental groups, a purposive sampling technique was used. Given by the
state education department in Malaysia, the number of students in one class are
about 20 to 30 students depends on the school location. Limited number of
secondary schools in Malaysia offer Home Science Education courses. In order to
gather at least 40 students for each experimental group, researchers decided to
choose two Home Science Education classes with special category such as form
four students. Number of respondents chosen in this study was 197. These two
classes have made the total number of respondents for the study 197, non-
responses were 15 students who absented comprising 91 samples for treatment
group (cooperative learning) and 91 samples for control group (conventional
learning). To overcome the bias, researchers only used 182 respondents in this
study. The response rate was 92.4%.
3.2 Research Instruments and data analysis

In this study, a test questions were developed purposely to measure student's
achievement in answering HOTS. A focus group interview with expert teachers
in Home Science Education was done before researchers develop the module and
test questions. Based on discussion with the focus group, it was reported that
students have difficulty answering essay questions, especially HOTS. As a result,
researchers have analysed the previous year questions of Malaysian Certificate of
Education examination for Home Science subjects, and it was found that there are
two or more HOTS questions related to the topic of the digestive system and food
absorption. Based on that information, test questions were developed based on
the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document as well as previous year
examination questions. A structure question consisted of 11 short essays were

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given to the student in pre- and post-test. Students need to answer all the
questions within 1 hour and thirty minutes in an examination setting.
Pre-tests were given to students before cooperative learning using the Home
Science STAD module begins. This is to attain students' knowledge on the topic
of digestion and food absorption. If the level of students’ knowledge for both
groups was about the same, then the two groups is suitable for carrying out the
study (Cook & Cambell, 1979). Treatment groups were exposed to five different
topics, different group activities and quizzes for every week. After students have
completed five weeks' learning sessions, they answered post-test questions which
examined students HOTS achievement using the Home Science STAD module.
Student answers script will be evaluated and given marks based on the scoring
scheme provided. Then, student’s marks will be summed up and given the
appropriate grade based on the upper secondary scoring grade system 2016 used
by all schools in the School Examination Analysis System under the Ministry of
Education Malaysia. Researchers appointed and trained selected Home Science
teachers from both schools to distribute the test questions and handling the
modules to respondents. To monitor the data collection process, the researchers
observe these selected teachers. The examples of the question as shown in Figure
4.

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Figure 4: Examples of HOTS question
3.3 Validity
To ensure that the effects of threats can be well controlled in experimental studies,
researchers have considered several internal validities namely history,
maturation, selection of samples, and instrumentation. To mitigate the impact of
this threat, researchers have established a study period of 5 weeks. This study was
conducted in a short period of time to reduce the maturation threat. To increase
the internal validity, researchers decided to choose two classes at the same school
for cooperative learning and conventional learning groups. Where the students in
the two classes have similar age, the teachers are the same sex, and have similar
teaching styles. The selection of samples was also made based on students’
achievements scores in previous year examination. This is to avoid the effect on
dependent variable if the selected samples were smarter or more in favour of a
group.
In order to validate the test questions and the modules, the researchers submitted
the documents to three experts’ educators in Home Science Education field for
language, face and content validity. Feedback received was used to enhance,
improve and strengthen the test questions. The test questions later were
administered to 30 students at one of secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur for face
and content validity. The validity was ascertained to ensure that the test
questions, and modules developed were suitable to use in formal data collection.
The findings obtained from the study were analysed by using the SPSS version
23.0 software to determine the effectiveness of the Home Science STAD module
by using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-test.

215
3.4 Data Collection Procedures

Figure 6 visualised the data collection procedure for treatment group of cooperative learning.
1.Presentation of teaching content by teacher

• The teacher delivers the teaching material
• According to RPH provided
• Using the teaching material provided
2. Group distribution
• 4 people per group with various skills (heterogenous)
• Categorize the student into four:
25% - Students with high skills, 25% - Students with low
skills and 25% - Students with Moderate skill
3. Group Learning
• Student sit is group facing each other
• Discussion among the group member to solve the task
• Teacher monitoring student learning and activity
• Teacher give support to develop positive competition environment
• Presentation by each group as the result of the discussion
4. Individual Quizz
• Student particpate in the individual quiz
• Discussion were not permitted
5.Improvement of individual score

• Quiz result were recored by percentage
• Quiz score will be compare with students basic score
• Basic score were gathered from the everage of previous test score
6. Group recognition
• Sum up the total score for each group. Devide the score with the
number of student in that group to get the average.
• Score obtained known by group score
• Recognition by each group to be announce in the class
Figure 6: Procedure for treatment group (cooperative learning)

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4. Findings
4.1 Students' HOTS achievement in pre-test between the cooperative learning
group and conventional group
Table 1 shows the students' pre-test HOTS achievement for cooperative learning
and conventional learning groups. Based on the analysis, the cooperative learning
group had a mean score of 31.35 (S.D. = 11.55), while the conventional learning
group had a mean score of 29.15 (S.D. = 12.67). These findings showed that there
was no significant difference in the mean scores for pre-test HOTS achievement
between the two groups (t (180) = 1.223, p =. 223 >. 05).
Table 1: Pre-test HOTS achievement for the cooperative learning group and
conventional learning group
Group No. of Mean Standard t- Degree of Significant
students deviation value freedom
Cooperative 91 31.35 11.55
1.223 180 .223
Conventional 91 29.15 12.67
These findings indicated that before the learning session was conducted, students'
knowledge of the digestive system and food absorption among the two groups of
the respondent was the same. Therefore, both groups of respondents suited the
research requirement and the purpose of this study. The results also indicated that
the threats in terms of sample selection could be reduced before performing the
experiments.
4.2 Students' HOTS achievement in the post-test between the cooperative

learning group and conventional learning group
Table 2 shows students' achievement based on the post-test that was conducted
for the cooperative learning group and conventional learning group. Based on the
analysis, the cooperative learning group obtained a mean score of 54.41 (S.D =
12.04), while the conventional learning group obtained a mean score of 38.36 (S.D
= 8.04). These findings indicate an increase in HOTS achievement for both groups.
The findings showed that there was a significant difference in the mean scores
between the two groups (t (157) = 10.57, p =. 000 <. 05), and the cooperative
learning group outperformed the conventional group.
Table 2: Post-test HOTS achievement for the cooperative learning group and
conventional learning group
Group No. of Mean Standard t- Degree of Significant
students deviation value freedom
Cooperative 91 54.41 12.04
10.57 157 .000
Conventional 91 38.36 8.04
4.3 Students' HOTS achievement in the pre-test and post-test for conventional
learning group and cooperative learning group
Furthermore, paired sample t - test were conducted to test differences in students’
HOTS achievement between pre- and post-test for the conventional learning
group. According to Table 3, findings show that the mean score for the pre-test
was 29.15 (SP = 12.67) and the mean value for the post-test was 38.36 (SP = 8.04).
The findings show that the mean score of student HOTS achievement in the post-

217
test is higher than the mean score for the pre-test of conventional learning group
students. Data analysis revealed that there was a significant difference in mean
scores between the pre-test of 29.15 (SP = 12.67) and the post-test of 38.36 (SP =
8.04); t (90) = −6.627, p = .000 <.05).
Table 3: Pre and Post-test HOTS achievement for the conventional learning and
cooperative learning group
Group Number Mean Standard t-value Degree of Significant
of deviation freedom
students
Pre-test 91 29.15 12.67
-6.627 90 .000
Post-test 91 38.36 8.04
Pre-test 91 31.35 11.55
-.12.99 90 .000
Post-test 91 54.41 12.04
Same goes to cooperative learning group (Table 3), analysis indicated a higher
mean score in post-test with 54.41 (SP = 12.04) compared to pre-test 31.35 (SP =
11.55). The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in
mean score between pre-test 31.35 (SP = 11.55) and post-test 54.41 (SP = 12.04); t
(90) = −12.99, p = .000 <.05).
4.4 Distribution of minimum and maximum marks of pre-test and post-test for
the cooperative learning group and conventional learning group
To gain a deeper understanding, the researchers has performed a cross-sectional
analysis of the pre- and post-test test scores for both groups. Findings showed that
the pre-test score for the cooperative learning group range from 9 marks to 57
marks. Meanwhile, the pre-test score for conventional learning groups ranges
from 7 marks to 52 marks. Besides, the post-test score showed that the mark for
cooperative learning group range from 24 to 80 and score for conventional
learning groups range from 20 to 53 mark.
Data in Table 4 shows the minimum and maximum scores distribution of pre- and
post-test scores for the cooperative learning and conventional learning group.
Based on the data, the number of students who failed the pre-test for both groups
(cooperative and conventional) was high, 71 (78%) for the cooperative learning,
and 69 (76%) for the conventional learning group. Student HOTS achievement
after the post-test indicated the number of students who pass increased for both
groups. However, the highest increase was observed in the cooperative learning
group with the number of students passed up to 59 students. Compared to the
conventional group, only 19 students got a mark of more than 40. It can be
described that the number of cooperative learning group students who failed was
decreased from 71 (78%) to 12 (22%). For the conventional learning group, the
number of students who got marks below 40 is still considered higher with 50
(55%).

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Table 4: Distribution of minimum and maximum marks in pre-test and post-test for
cooperative and conventional learning groups
Marks Cooperative learning group Conventional learning group
Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test
Fail (0-40) 71 (78%) 12 (13%) 69 (76%) 50 (55%)
Pass (41-100) 20 (22%) 79 (87%) 22 (24%) 41 (45%)
4.5 Analysis from student's answer script

A qualitative analysis was done to better understand students' ability to answer
structure essay questions. The findings showed that the way students answer the
HOTS question was improving. From the pre-test findings, the answers given by
the students were limited, short, and unclear. Students were not capable to
provide a good explanation with many examples or justifications. Many questions
were not answered correctly and some of the questions were left unanswered.
This finding can be observed for both groups. As an example, for question 2a
(refer Figure 5 page 11) explains the effect of consuming the above foods in excess
quantity. The answered given by the respondent are; can cause obesity because
the fat content in the food is high (respondent 1), cause obesity (respondent 2) and
obesity, excess fat (respondent 3).
Interestingly, findings in post-test analysis showed that students were able to

answer the questions correctly. They can provide a good explanation, clear
justification, and reasonable answers and the answers were written in a long
sentence. Such as; the effects of taking the food on a regular basis in excess
amounts will cause obesity as eating too much. In turn, it can lead to overweight
and inability to perform any heavy and difficult activities (respondent 1), has a
variety of diseases including obesity. We need to eat a balanced diet and follow
the food pyramid to prevent obesity. It can be difficult to do activities and can
cause us to become inactive (respondent 2) and the effects of food intake on a
regular basis can lead to obesity, especially fat and more other disease
(respondent 3).
5. Discussion
This research has shown that the effectiveness of using Home Science STAD
Module enhancing students' ability to answered HOTS questions for topic the
digestive system and food absorption. It was found that even though the
respondents were among weak students, their achievements improved after they
were exposed to cooperative learning. This finding indicates that through an
appropriate learning process and teaching techniques, students were able to
remember and understand the content. This is evident when the cooperative
learning group of STAD recorded a better achievement compared to the
conventional learning group (Hasmyati & Suwardi, 2018; Adeneye, Alfred &
Samuel, 2012; Isiaka & Yusuf ,2015; Ling, Ghazali & Raman, 2016; Rahayu, Syafril,
Wati & Yuberti, 2017; Yunita, Juneau & Relmasira, 2018).
The findings of this study parallel with research done by Slavin (1996) who stated
that cooperative learning method can give an impact on students’ achievement.

219
This is because having supportive and group activities such as quizzes and
exercises help students to better understand and achieve their learning goals and
objectives. Students who helped their peers in sharing information through group
discussion can encourage themselves to get better result. For weaker students,
they need to be given ongoing training and guidance to enhance their
understanding and enable them to answer the HOTS questions. This finding also
support the cooperative learning theory (Johnson & Johnson, 1994) who stated
that students' failure to answer test questions, especially in the form of HOTS, is
not because they are weak students. Sometimes students with low achievement
tend to have difficulties to understand the terms used in the higher-order thinking
skills questions, no matter the language use whether in Malay or English (Ahmad,
Abu & Abdullah, 2017). Because language have positive relation to the high order
thinking skills among the students (Ali, Mokhtar & Jamaluddin, 2017). Therefore,
the students’ needs guidance from their teachers to learn how to respond for
HOTS questions (Chinedu, Libunao, Kamen & Saud, 2014) and teachers as
educators need to be creative in seeking alternative teaching strategies and
techniques to ensure the delivery method used by the teachers following the
various levels of student intelligence (Yee, Ping, Yunos, Othman, Tee, Mohaffyza
& Bc ,2019; Chinedu & Kamin, 2015, Azian, Fauziah, Noor & Norhanim, 2017).
These findings indicate that cooperative learning using the Home Science STAD
module is very effective in improving student achievement in answering short
essay questions. The findings are in line with previous studies conducted by
Nurulhuda (2014), Tsay and Brady (2010), Zahara and Suzela (2011), Okwelle and
Owo (2018), Gull and Shehzah (2015), Virgana (2019) who also found there were
significant difference in students’ achievement towards cooperative learning
methods. Therefore, cooperative learning needs to be expanded and used by all
Home Science Education teachers in teaching and learning to enhance students'
understanding, especially in the topic of the digestive system and food
absorption, as well as producing a conducive learning environment.
6. Conclusion
This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the cooperative learning
Home Science Module using Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)
techniques in enhancing students' HOTS achievement in the topic of the digestive
system and food absorption. In this study, three hypothetical statements were
accepted. Analysis of the post- test scores in comparison for both groups showed
a significant difference between mean scores for HOTS achievement. Analysis of
the students’ pre-test and the post-test for both groups showed there was a
significant difference in mean scores of HOTS. The number of students who pass
the HOTS questions increased for both groups. However, the highest increase was
observed in the cooperative learning group. Moreover, findings showed that
student we able to answer the HOTS questions in a long sentence with a good
explanation and justification.
The success of the teaching and learning process depends on the activities carried
out by the teachers in class. The methods or strategies used by teachers in
delivering knowledge to the students significantly influence student achievement

220
and cognitive skill enhancement (Chinedu & Kamin, 2015; Virgana, 2019: Gull &
Shehzah, 2015). Therefore, teachers need to be wise in designing and selecting
teaching methods and strategies that are considered appropriate with students'
abilities and intelligence (Chinedu, Libunao, Kamen & Saud, 2014). The
cooperative learning method using the Home Science STAD module is one of the
approaches that can be used to complement the conventional learning method
practiced by Home Science Education teachers. This is because cooperative
learning methods provide students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge
and develop other 21st-century skills such as teamwork and communication skills
(Nor Hasliza, 2012). Also, this finding assures educators, especially Home Science
Education teachers that student-centered learning is best applied to students with
low academic achievement. This finding supports the theory of constructivism
which stated that learning becomes more meaningful when students are directly
involved.
7. Implication and Suggestion

The findings could have important implications for ensuring the successful and
effective development of HOTS among Home Science teachers and students.
Specifically, findings of the current study are significant to Teacher Training
Institutes, universities that offer teacher training programs, pre-service and in-
service teachers, researchers, and other related stakeholders in the field of
education. The evidence of this study could enhance our understanding on the
effectiveness of cooperative learning in promoting student’s knowledge and
ability to answers HOTS questions. Hence, school authorities must consider to use
cooperative learning in the areas of Technical and Vocational Education (TVET).
Given that the nature of TVET students is similar to Home Science Education
students, this will help to improve student’s achievement. Findings of this
cooperative learning study should be disseminated to all schools in Malaysia to
encourage other teacher to consider the instructional methods (Ling, Ghazali &
Raman, 2016). All educational stakeholders, especially the government as the
policy makers should take the responsibilities to enhance and integrate HOTS in
the process of teaching and learning. The Ministry of Education needs to provide
continuous training and supervision to the teachers as well as teaching materials
(Mei, Joko, Sri & Hening, 2019) in order to deal with the challenges of HOTS
development. It also serves as a basis for the design of more effective and holistic
approaches of teaching and learning strategies for HOTS, so that the goal of
developing students’ critical thinkers as stated in the education policy can be
achieved.
This study clearly shows that it is necessary to conduct a more extensive research
on cooperative learning in helping weak students specially to master their subject
content as well as equipped them with 21st century skills. This is important for
educators to prepare the students as future employees and problem solvers
(Chinedu & Kamin, 2015) with regards to achieve Malaysian aspirations as
mention in Malaysia Education Development Plan 2013–2025.

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8. The strengths and weaknesses of Home Science STAD Module

The main strength of Home Science STAD module (teacher edition) is, it helps
facilitate and streamline the teaching and learning process. Because the module
has been equipped with teaching materials such as group division, activities,
quizzes, evaluation forms and recognition. The presence of the module is very
helpful for teachers. As for the student, it can be observed that student edition
module can attract them to learn with the presence of pictures and colourful
pages. Learning by using Home Science STAD module able to stimulate students'
interest to participate in group activities actively. Since the group was
heterogeneous, nobody was left behind. Members of the group helping each other
to gain high individual marks because it contributes to the group marks for them
to get recognition. One of the disadvantage of module is that teachers need to
prepare in advance the teaching materials before they can conduct a cooperative
learning class. Otherwise, the teaching and learning process will be disrupted.
9. Limitations
Due to time constraints for this project, only two classes in two schools were used
in the study. The findings from the study can be generate to similar school that
offer Home Science Education courses. More schools need to be included in the
study. Further, experimental study procedure can be improved if the students be
punctual during the data collection process.
10. Acknowledgments
This project is sponsored by Universiti Putra Malaysia grants for the GP-
IPS/2017/9564800 project.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 225-245, July 2020
The Effects of Children’s Friendship Training on

Social Skills and Quality of Play among Children
with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Horng Shen Ellipse Goh, Samsilah Roslan*, Ezza Mad Baguri & Sing Yee Ong
University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8559-9339
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1795-1606
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5878-9003
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5741-6213
Siaw Yan Li
University of Malaya, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2815-4867
Abstract. Among the challenges faced by children with Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD) involves developing social skills and building quality
friendship through social activities, interactions and playing games. The
purpose of this study was to find out the effect of Children’s Friendship
Training (CFT) on social skills among children with ASD. Utilising the
quasi-experimental design of one-group-pretest-posttest study, this
research was conducted on 40 children aged 7 to 12 years in the Klang
Valley, Malaysia. The intervention lasted for 12 weeks and involved both
the children with ASD and their parents. Data was collected twice for pre-
test and post-test scores using two sets of questionnaires, Social Skills
Rating Scale (SSRS) and Quality of Play Questionnaire (QPQ). Descriptive
and inferential statistical tools were used to analyse the data. The findings
indicated that there were significant increase in the social skills of
children with ASD after the intervention, based on both the teachers’
(t(30) = -6.298, p = .000) and parents’, (t(30) = -8.266, p = .000) evaluations.
All the three subscales of Quality of Play also showed significant
differences after the intervention, with significant decrease in conflict,
(t(30) = 3.949, p = .000) and disengagement (M = 5.52, SD = 1.93), (t(30) =
3.474, p = .002), and significant increase in engagement, (t(30) = -4.892, p
= .000). In conclusion, CFT effects were significant in enhancing social
skills and quality of play among children with ASD. As social skills are
very much related to social acceptance and ultimately self-concept and
self-esteem, the potentials of CFT in overcoming social skill issues among
children with or without learning disabilities should be explored further.
Keywords: Children’s Friendship Training (CFT); Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD); social skills; quality of play; problem behavior

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1. Introduction
Autism is getting more attention and concern (White et al., 2010) in Malaysia since
the 20-century (Amar, 2008). Researches, prevention, and intervention programs
had been carried out and developed (Alallawi et al., 2020; Morelli et al., 2015;
Weiss & Harris, 2001). This is due to the prominent concerns towards the social
and communication skills in ASD children (Petrina et al., 2014; Scheeren et al.,
2020). Children with ASD viewed the concept of friendship differently from the
way other children perceive it. The understanding of the friendship of children
with ASD tended to focus more on companionship rather than intimacy or
affection. The ratings of perceived friendship quality also showed a huge
difference in how children with ASD rated their friendship in comparison to other
children. Children with ASD seemed to rate low on their best friendships based
on dimensions such as companionship, helpfulness, security, and closeness
(Calder et al., 2013).
Besides, children with ASD benefit greatly from having one or two best friends. It
helps them to handle life events better (Yamada et al., 2020). A study showed
friendship correlated positively with self-esteem and negatively with anxiety or
depressive symptoms. However, 50% of adolescents with ASD did not have a
friend hence they did not experience the benefits (Schohl et al., 2014). Children
without ASD may develop a friendship that is already present in the first two
years of life. That is why infants and toddlers exhibit behaviours that show
preferences towards some playmates and not others (Chang et al., 2016). On the
other hand, children with ASD face difficulties in building friendships (Skafle et
al., 2020). In the early years, they tend to isolate themselves and do not try to
interact or play with others. This becomes a problem in later years because they
do not develop the ability to read social cues and find it challenging to recognize
social faux pas (Baron-Cohen, S., O’Riordan, M., Stone, V., Jones, R. & Plaisted,
1999). Children with ASD have a lower rate of prosocial behaviour compared with
typically developing children (Dunfield et al., 2019). They also facing problem in
social interaction (Mazza et al., 2017) which decreases their communication skill
and social engagement in building friendship.
Many intervention and social skills training programs were designed to enhance
the general acquisition of discrete social skills. Unfortunately, there is a lack of
intervention programs that focus on promoting the social competency of autistic
children (Bellini & Akullian, 2007). Previous studies limited their focus on skills
deficit model rather than social intervention on building child’s social strengths
(Varley et et.al., 2019). Even though there was evidence in improving social
competence but there was limitation on significant finding among children aged
below 15 years old. Besides that, other interventions did not specifically address
important key variables such as the internal validity, inter-rater agreement, and
treatment reliability of the study (Fombonne, 2009). With regards to children with
ASD, some of the main domains affected by ASD include social, behavioural, and
language developments. The severity of ASD symptoms differs from one person
to another. However, impairment in social skills is the key feature of ASD, and
children with ASD often display what is normally interpreted as limited
functionalities in terms of language and intelligence (Tse et al., 2007). One of the

227
biggest impairments in ASD is poor social interaction skills and it does not fade
away during childhood or adolescence. Those high functioning ASD children may
portray extreme characteristics of the disability during adolescence (White et al.,
2010).
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is present with several behavioural

problems. According to Crone and Mehta (2016) , some of the most common
behaviour problems exhibited by children with ASD are tantrums (76%),
aggression (56%), stereotyped behaviours (14%), and self-injury (11%). Another
big challenge for children with ASD is to be involved in quality social play, which
is an important milestone in social development (Ray-Kaeser, et al., 2017; Salter et
al., 2016). Children normally develop their creativity through play and this helps
them improve their imagination, physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills
(Clark, 2016; Pop, Pintea, Vanderborght, & David, 2014). It is, however, a
challenge for children with ASD to engage in a symbolic or pretend play because
they are not equipped with the skills it requires. Compared to others, children
with ASD only take part in a play that is not as elaborate or as diverse as it would
be for those without ASD (Pop, Pintea, Vanderborght & David, 2014).
Although using the language for social communication is a struggle for

individuals with high functioning ASD, they often perform well in terms of the
structural and content aspect of language. However, they tend to ignore the needs
of their partner in conversation and seem to not be sensitive to the listeners'
interest. When in conversation they often fail to provide their partners with new
or relevant information. Apart from that, they also tend to use unusual prosodic
features and language that are too formal and are out of context. These tendencies
cause misinterpretation of social cues which result in an exchange of inaccurate
messages through communication (Kent-Walsh et al., 2015).
It is also observed that children with ASD lack social skills that restrict them from
communicating effectively (Demopoulos et al., 2016). This hampers their ability
to construct bonds with those around them causing them to struggle in
developing or maintaining meaningful relationships. Social pragmatics,
regulation, expression, and understanding of emotions are all challenging tasks
for children with ASD. Their shortfalls in these areas often result in rejection from
peers causing them to experience isolation (Locke et al., 2014). In the course of
their development, individuals are usually required to acquire a certain degree of
peer etiquette to create and maintain a friendship (Frankel et al., 2010). Flavell
and Miller (1998) mentioned communication and social skills as the most
important assignments in our life and they do not necessarily improve with
mental age. Unfortunately, most of the ASD children are struggling to generate
and sustain a positive interaction among peers (Frankel et al., 2010) even for high
functioning ASD children (Bauminger et al., 2003; Bauminger et al., 2004). The
impairment caused by poor social skills may become more prominent over time
along with the demands of the school-aged period (White et al., 2007).

228
Therefore, this study aims to study the effects of the Children’s Friendship
Training (CFT) in enhancing the social skills and quality of play in children with
ASD between 7 to 12 years old. The research questions included:
1) Is Children’s Friendship Training effective in enhancing the social skills of
children with ASD between 7 to 12 years old?
2) Is Children’s Friendship Training effective in reducing the problem behaviour
of children with ASD between 7 to 12 years old?
3) Is Children’s Friendship Training effective in enhancing the quality of play of
children with ASD between 7 to 12 years old?
Past researches indicated that placing high functioning ASD children in a
mainstream class will enhance the complexity of their play and reduce the
possibility of having activities alone (Adams et al., 2017; Frankel et al., 2010;
Sigman & Ruskin, 1999). However, without additional treatment, it shows no
improvement in their social interaction frequency even though the ASD child
studied together with mainstream students (Frankel et al., 2010; McConnell, 2002;
Skafle et al., 2020; White et al., 2007). There are many social skills intervention
programs available and often applied in clinical practice nowadays, but not all of
them are evidence-based interventions (Mandelberg et al., 2014). The empirical
evidence regarding the effectiveness of these social skill intervention programs
for children with ASD is still insufficient (Dekker et al., 2014; Kazemi &
Abolghasemi, 2019). In addition to that, there is also a very limited number of
social skills interventions involving parents and teachers (Dekker et al., 2014).
A review of the literature has also shown that there is insufficient research to
determine the most effective method for social skills building (Adams et al., 2017;
White et al., 2007). There is also a limited number of researches that used group-
based social skills training approaches for children with ASD. A review of past
social skill interventions indicated that several methodological issues were not
scientifically addressed. These include internal validity, inter-rater agreement,
and treatment reliability (Fombonne, 2009). In general, research has found that
better social skills tend to contribute to positive peer interaction. This positive peer
interaction will then provide children with an opportunity to learn positive
behaviour through peer modelling. This will in turn help children to gain positive
support and acceptance from their peers and friends. Unfortunately, studies also
showed that the majority of children lack the social and academic skills needed
when they enter kindergarten (Montroy et al., 2014).
Several studies reported on social skills interventions for children with ASD such
as social skill training (SST). Schools and clinical practices are known to have
placed great emphasis on specific group-based SST as a part of their treatment.
One study, utilizing the randomized controlled trial method was conducted on
120 participants with ASD aged between 10-12 years and with an intelligent
quotient level of above 80. The participants were randomly assigned to three
conditions; SST, SST with parent and teacher involvement, and care-as-usual. This
training spanning across 15 weekly sessions helped children with ASD to develop
skills such as making eye contact, starting a conversation, and cooperation. In

229
conclusion, the research highlighted the need to carry out more studies on the
effectiveness of this kind of training or intervention (Dekker et al., 2014).
In addition to this, Mandelberg and his colleagues had run research to examine
the long-term outcomes of the Children's Friendship Training (CFT) effectiveness
on children with ASD who had gone through CFT one to five years earlier. The
results proved that the ASD children who participated in the previous CFT
program showed some noticeable changes. They indicated significantly more
playdates, less play conflict among peers and friends, a significant improvement
in parent-reported social skills and problem behaviours, and revealed a slightly
significant decrease in loneliness when compared to when they first joined the
CFT program ( Frankel, et al., 2014).
Frankel and his colleagues continued their research on the effects of Children’s
Friendship Training. They also designed the Program for the Education and
Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) treatment which adapted the core
features of CFT. PEES focused on adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(Laugeson et al., 2012). Besides, there was another study conducted using PEERS
on young adults with ASD. The results indicated that there was an overall
improvement in social skills reported by the caregivers in the treatment group.
Specifically, it was found that the participants showed an increase in cooperative
social behaviour with peers and caregivers, social assertiveness, and self-control
after receiving the treatment. It also significantly decrease in social anxiety (Hill
et al., 2017). Furthermore, there was a significant improvement reported in their
overall social responsiveness. This study suggested they may go through positive
development (Gantman et al., 2012) in the ability to make sense and predict other
people’s behaviour (Hale & Tager-Flusberg, 2005).
Another study to evaluate the effects of the 14-weeks PEERS program on social
skills and social anxiety for 58 adolescents with high functioning ASD also
provided interesting results. The results indicated that the experimental treatment
group showed evidence of PEERS efficacy in which the participants showed
gained knowledge of PEERS concepts and friendship skills. The experimental
treatment group also showed an increase in hosted and invited get-togethers. It is
interesting to note that a significant increase in hosted get-togethers was found in
the original PEERS study, but they did not find a significant increase in invited
get-togethers (Schohl et al., 2014). Reichow et al. (2012) conducted a study
involving a meta-analysis on the randomized control trials of social skills among
people with ASD. The study found that there was some evidence showing the
social skills groups improved in overall social competence and friendship quality.
However, the findings indicated that there was no difference between the
treatment and control groups about emotional recognition. Nevertheless,
Reichow et al. (2012) suggested that more research on ASD children social skills
is necessary, especially data of their improvement in their quality of life after
intervention programs.
CFT has also applied the concept of Behaviour Analytic Theory of Autism in order
to reduce problem behaviours. One of the common misunderstandings on the

230
children with Autism was their problem behaviours were unchangeable as they
were born with it. However, Behaviour Analytic Theorist believe that it is possible
to reduce children’s problem behaviours if they were positioned in appropriate
environments (Lovaas et al., 1989). Moreover, Behaviour Analytic Theorist argued
that problem behaviour of the children with Autism might be due to behaviour
deficits, but not central deficits. If the therapists are able to enlist parents as part
of the treatment and resolve these behaviour deficits, it will eventually lead to a
broad improvement (Lovaas et al., 1973). Thus, CFT aimed to create the suitable
environments for the children with Autism to resolve their behaviour deficits,
which ultimately reduce their problem behaviours.
Another major theory that underlies CFT is Piaget’s theory of cognitive

development, specifically in promoting children’s quality of play. As mentioned
previously, children need to go through different cognitive development stages
to grow, and human has the inborn drives to develop their cognition by
exploration and mastery of the environment and the development of self-
confidence (Cook & Cook, 2009; Woolfolk, 2015). Assimilation and
accommodation, two central concepts of Piaget’s Theory, were significant in
promoting quality of play. In the preoperational period, the children will start to
use pretend play, such as taking the roles of parents, in their learning process.
Through the pretend play, they learn new information (assimilation) and adjust
the knowledge scheme through interaction (accommodation). By offering the
platform of CFT as a safe place for exploration and mastery of the skills, the
children would able to enhance their quality of play which is significant for their
cognitive development.
In short, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, Behaviour Analytic Theory

of Autism and Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, were the main theories
underpinning this study which is focusing on social skill, problem behaviour and
quality of play (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Theoretical Framework of this Study
3. Method
3.1 Design
This research utilizes the quasi-experimental method of one-group pretest-
posttest design. One-group pretest-posttest design is adopted as it has
widespread usage in applied field settings and can help enhance the internal
validity of the study. The participants went through a 12-weeks continuous CFT
(intervention programs). Each session took one hour and thirty minutes. CFT
focuses on a few targeted skills such as social connection formation with the aid
of parents, trading information with peers, peer entry into a group of children
already at play, play dates, and conflict evasion and deliberation. These skills are
taught using behavioural rehearsal intervention as one of the methods (Laugeson
et al., 2007).

232
Figure 2: Research Design of the Study
3.2 Procedure
The CFT program involved three stages. In the first stage, a therapist who was
experienced in teaching children with special needs conducted the CFT activities
with the ASD children according to the CFT module. At the same time, the
parent(s) of the ASD children were engaged in a separate parent group where
they went through several activities to help them follow through with the
program at home. In the second stage, parents provided additional scaffolding for
their child. Parents were informed and briefed by other therapists on the
appropriate ways to guide their child to practice the given homework at home.
This was to ensure the children practice the learned specific social skills and had
appropriate guidance and encouragement from the parents. This stage is the most
crucial, as the children with ASD might have difficulties in making friends on their
own. Hence, proper guidance from the parents was very important as they
planned, set up, and arranged the playdates, or took their children to the

233
playground to practice the learned skills. They were continuously reminded of

the importance of unconditional positive regard and encouragement. In the final
stage, the children would practice the learned social skills on their own in real-life
settings such as at home, schools, and others.
Specifically, the children's sessions consisted of briefings on session rules, and

activities structured along themes. Themes included appropriate places and times
to make friends, two-way conversations, "slipping in", levels of disclosure and
appropriate ways to react when turned down. Also, themes such as rules of good
sport, rules of the good sport for ending games and rules of a good host. Besides
that, the sessions also included themes to help them with social situations such as
making fun of the tease, "unjust" adult accusations, rules of good winners and
ways to stay out of the fight. The final session was the graduation party.
There were four sections in the children's session; homework review, didactic, real
play, and homework assignment. At the beginning of the session, children were
required to talk on the progress of their given homework. Then, the lesson of the
day would be taught to the children using the Socratic Method. The concept of the
Socratic Method involved allowing the children to provide the rules for a situation
so that it appeared as if they were the ones making the rules. The researcher used
the Socratic Method to make the children's learning more active and livelier and
to encourage them to learn from each other. This would allow the children to feel
more competent as they suggested the rules themselves. The children were then
required to practice the learned knowledge and skills in roleplays with other
participants. Reinforcements such as stars and tokens as well as punishment
methods (timeouts) were applied throughout the session as forms of behavioural
modification (Nevin & Grace, 2000). In addition, homework assignments were
given at the end of the sessions. Parents' were given handouts to outline the
activities of every session. In the first parents' CFT session, goals were set and
introduced to the parents to ensure everyone had a clear vision of the expected
direction to achieve. Limitations of the intervention were also briefed to ensure
that parents do not have unrealistic expectations of the outcomes of the program.
In the second CFT session, parents were required to practice their active listening
skills. There were discussions on how to listen to their child's sharing of the
activities done during the day and the children's phone conversations with their
peers if there were any. The objective was to assist parents on how to encourage
their children to have two-way conversations. In the third session, parents were
required to help gather resources for their children to make friends. The aim was
to assist their children in accomplishing their assignments related to improving
their social skills in making friends. The fourth and fifth sessions were "slipping
in" where parents learned how children make new acquaintances. They were then
required to practice the "slipping in" skills with their children.
“Inside games” was the topic of the sixth session where parents were asked to
identify appropriate and inappropriate toys or indoor games for their children to
play in a group. Parents were also expected to assist their children to search for
potential best friends. In the seventh session, the playdates topic was introduced

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to parents. They were required to discuss and come to an agreement on a suitable

time for their children to make phone calls to the parent of the child who was
going to be invited over for the playdates. In the eighth session, parents practiced
with their children on effective ways to resist being teased by peers. This included
turning the tease into something fun and humorous. The ninth session was a
continuity of the eighth session where parents practiced with the children the
appropriate ways to respond to adult injustice accusations. In the tenth session,
parents learned about the gender differences in play and friendship patterns to
adjust to the children's expectations of what might happen. This was followed by
learning about ways to help their children to avoid and reduce physical fights
with others in the eleventh session. The last session was a graduation party where
parents learned about the follow-up assignments after the intervention ended.
They were reminded to ensure their children to keep practicing all the learned
skills and tasks in CFT.
In the final stage, the children in this group will practice the social skills learned
while encountering social challenges in the real life setting like a house, school,
and others. It is postulated that at this stage, the social skills, problem behaviour,
and quality of play of the children with ASD will be influenced by the CFT
program (Figure 3).
Figure 3: CFT Program Procedures
3.3 Sampling
Criterion sampling was used to recruit the participants for this research. It was chosen
to optimize the evaluation of the treatment’s effectiveness on this particular

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population (Palys, 2008; Patton, 1990). The 40 participants from the Klang Valley area
fulfilled all four inclusion criteria to participate in this research, namely; the age of 7
to 12 years old, high functioning ASD children, able to communicate verbally in
English, and acquired the concepts of losing and winning in social games. The number
of sample size for this study was recruited based on the sample size justified by Murza
et al. (2014) in which they recruited 25 participants specifically diagnosed with high-
functioning ASD adults. In this study, the researchers run a treatment to investigate
the efficacy of the ACT & Check Strategy intervention to improve inference generation
when reading, metacognitive ability, social inference ability, and general reading
comprehension in adults with high-functioning ASD (Murza et al., 2014).
In addition, the current study also refers to the sample size of other similar studies,
such as the research conducted by Probst & Glen (2011) in Germany where they have
recruited 23 participants who had been diagnosed with ASD. The research was aimed
at examining the effectiveness of TEACCH-based interventions studies for children
with ASD as well as their parents (Probst & Glen, 2011). Another similar research
conducted was by Gantman et al. (2012). The researchers recruited around 17 children
diagnosed with ASD to test the effectiveness of a caregiver-assisted social skills
intervention known as PEERS for high-functioning adults with ASD (Gantman et al.,
2012). In this study, the participants were divided into two separate classes. Later they
were further divided into four groups. The first treatment was carried out at a
secondary school in Selangor and the other 3 treatment groups were carried out at
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Throughout the sessions, 9 participants withdrew
as they were unable to commit to several of the 12 sessions program.
3.4 Instruments
This study used the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) and the Quality of Play
Questionnaire (QPQ) to measure social skills and quality of play. Both questionnaires
were translated into Bahasa Malaysia and back-translated into English. The translated
questionnaires were then validated by three professional lecturers at Universiti Putra
Malaysia.
The SSRS questionnaire was developed by Gresham & Elliot (1990) and consisted of
52-items in parent's form and 51-items in the teacher's form. Items in SSRS
questionnaire were rated as “Never”, “Sometimes”, and “Very often”. There are
several subscales in this instrument and they are Cooperation, Assertion,
Responsibility, Empathy, Self-control (subscales for Social Skills), and (Externalizing
and Internalizing) subscales for Problem Behaviour (Frankel et al., 2010). It was
reported that the authors developed SSRS using the content from literature searches
and items selection by clinicians, parents, and other education professionals. The
results showed a correlation of .75 between the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social
Competence and School Adjustment and the try-out version of the SSRS Teacher Form
(DiPerna et al., 2005; Gresham & Elliot, 1990). Based on the result of the pilot test, the
Social Skills scale reliability coefficients were .844 for the parent’s form, and .837 for
the teacher’s form while the reliability coefficients for Problem Behaviour were .747
for the parent’s form and .702 for the teacher’s form.
The Quality of Play Questionnaire-Parent (QPQ) was developed by Frankel and Mintz
(2008). This questionnaire consists of 19 items to measure the frequency and children’s
quality of play during their last play dates. It had three factor-based scales to measure
the children's quality of play. These were conflict, engage, and disengage scales. The

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items were on a 4-point Likert-scale, ranging from "Not at all" (0), "Just a little" (1),
"Pretty much" (2), and "Very much" (3). There were two open-ended items; item 18
and item 19. Item 18 required the parents to recall and report the frequency of their
children being invited to play at another child's house as the only guest in the last
month. Item 19 required the parents to recall and report the frequency of their children
inviting another child to their house as the only guest to play in the last month
(Frankel et al., 2010). The result of the test indicated a reliability coefficient of .842 for
the Conflict factor-based scale, .658 for the Engage factor-based scale, and .736 for the
Disengage factor-based scale.
3.5 Data analysis

Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to conclude the findings on the
effectiveness of CFT in enhancing social skills, quality of play, and reducing
misbehaviours among children with ASD based on parents’ and teachers’
evaluations. In order to determine if there were significant increase in the variables
studied after the intervention, paired sample t-tests were used the as data involved
pairs of observations (pre-test and post-test) (Pham & Jimenez, 2012).
4. Result
The 31 participants were between 7 to 12 years in age (Table 1) with 27 males
(87.1%) and 4 females (12.9%).
Table 1: Frequency and Percentage of Respondents by Age

Age Frequency Percent
7 8 25.8
8 9 29.0
9 5 16.1
10 3 9.7
11 3 9.7
12 3 9.7
Total 31 100.0
The results from the paired sample t-test of social skills from the parents’
evaluation (Table 2) revealed there was a significant increase in the mean scores
of social skills from 32.45 in pre-test (SD = 10.45) to 52.45 (SD = 12.04) in post-test
after CFT based on the parents’ evaluation, (t(30) = -8.266, p = .000). Calculation
of effect size using Cohen’s d indicated a very large effect size (d = 1.485). These
results indicated, based on parents’ evaluation, CFT did significantly improve the
social skills of the 7 to 12-year-old children with ASD.
Table 2: Paired Sample Test of Social Skills (Pretest and Posttest) from the Teachers’
Evaluation
Variable Mean SD t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Social Skill (Pre-test) 32.45 10.45 - 30 .000
Social Skill (Post-test) 52.45 12.04 -8.266
Apart from the parents’ evaluation on the children’s social skills, teachers were
also required to respond to both the pre-test and post-test. The results of the

237
paired sample t-test of social skills from the teacher’s evaluation (Table 3) also
portrayed a similar pattern with a significant increase (t(30) = -6.298, p = .000) in
the scores of social skills of pre-test (M = 29.71, SD = 8.98) compared to post-test
(M = 41.55, SD = 11.47). The effect size, Cohen’s d, again indicated a very large
effect size (d = 1.131).
Table 3: Paired Sample Test of Social Skills (Pre-test and Post-test) from the Teachers’
Evaluation
Social Skill (Pre-test) 29.71 8.98 - 30 .000
Social Skill (Post-test) 41.55 11.47 -6.298
Besides social skills, this study also measured the changes in problem behaviours
among the respondents (Table 4). The parents reported a significant decrease in
problem behaviours of their children after going through CFT with a mean score
of 5.55 (SD = 4.97) in the post-test, compared to 11.97 (SD = 3.49) in the pre-test,
(t(30) = 8.689, p = .000). Cohen’s d indicated a large effect size (d = 1.561).
Table 4: Paired Sample Test of Problem Behaviour (Pre-test and Post-test) from the
Parents’ Evaluation
Problem Behaviour (Pre-test) 11.97 3.49 - 30 .000
Problem Behaviour (Post-test) 5.55 4.97 8.689
As shown in Table 5, the mean score of problem behaviours from the teachers’
evaluation had similar trends. The initial pre-test mean of problem behaviour
from the teachers’ evaluation was 8.53 (SD = 4.38). However, after the 12 sessions
of CFT, there is a significant decrease of problem behaviour with the post-test
mean score from teachers’ evaluation of 5.00 (SD = 4.63), (t(30) = 4.023, p = .000).
The effect size calculated using Cohen’s d indicated a medium effect size (d = .723).
Table 5: Paired Sample Test of Problem Behaviour (Pre-test and Post-test) from the
Teachers’ Evaluation
Problem Behaviour (Pre-test) 8.53 4.38 - 30 .000
Problem Behaviour (Post-test) 5.00 4.63 4.023

This study also compared the respondents’ quality of play before and after the
intervention using only the parents’ evaluations (Table 6). Quality of play had
three subscales; conflict, engaged and disengaged. The parents’ evaluation results
showed a significant decrease in the mean tests of conflict after the intervention
(M = 2.74, SD = 2.87) compared to before (M = 5.61, SD = 2.74), (t(30) = 3.949, p
= .000). There was also a significant reduction in the subscale of disengaged after
the intervention, (M = 4.19, SD = 2.10) compared to before (M = 5.52, SD = 1.93),
(t(30) = 3.474, p = .002). In addition, there was a significant increase in the subscale

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of engaged with the post-test mean score of 6.03 (SD = 2.21), compared to the pre-
test mean of 4.29 (SD = 2.16), (t(30) = -4.892, p = .000).
Table 6: Paired Sample Test of Social Skills (Pre-test and Post-test) from the Teachers’
Evaluation
Variable Mean SD t df Sig. (2 – tailed)
Conflict (Pre-test) 5.61 3.57 3.949 30 .000
Conflict (Post-test) 2.74 2.87
Engaged (Pre-test) 4.29 2.16 -4.892 30 .000
Engaged (Post–test) 6.03 2.21
Disengaged (Pre-test) 5.52 1.93 3.474 30 .000
Disengaged (Post-test) 4.19 2.10
5. Discussion
CFT was already explored by researchers outside of Malaysia as an intervention in
friendship formation, but it has not been tried specifically for children with ASD in
Malaysia. This study aimed to depict the suitability of using CFT for children with
ASD in Malaysia by comparing the pre-test and post-test scores in social skills, quality
of play, and problem behavior. The outcome measures were done by the teachers and
parents of the children who participated in this study. The findings presented by the
parents indicated some evidence that the social skills of children with ASD were
significantly enhanced after they completed CFT. The findings from the teachers'
report were consistent with the findings from the parents' report which concurred
that there was a significant improvement in the social skills of children with ASD.
The CFT examined in the present study was associated with moderate increase in the
frequency of hosted play obtained from the parents’ evaluation results and reduced
frequency in the time spent on electronic technology products such as I-pad, phone,
computer, and television. This is consistent with the findings by Frankel et al. (2010)
and Mandelberg, Laugeson, et al. (2014). One of the reasons for the improvement in
ASD children's social skills in this study was because they learned about the
appropriate places and times to make friends during the CFT program. According to
Dekker et al. (2014), Matson and Wilkins (2009) and White et al. (2007), part of the
reasons why most of the ASD children failed to make friends was due to the deficiency
of certain knowledge and concepts of making friends. After the children had acquired
enough knowledge on making friends, it was also found that they learned and kept
practicing on how to have a two-way conversation with others in the second CFT
session onwards. This is very interesting to note as most children with ASD show
social communication impairment since toddlers. Hence, two-way communication
was very significant for children with ASD to develop friendship, since social
communication was one of the core struggle areas of ASD children (Dekker et al.,
2014; Hansen et al., 2017).
One of the many reasons that make CFT program stood out from other social skill
intervention program is the "slipping in" activity. The ASD children learned and
practiced the appropriate steps in asking permission from their peers to participate
during peer group play. This is an effective activity in helping ASD children to
improve their social skills in making new friends through better play quality. Their
old habit of "living in their own world" will potentially decrease which then leads to
a better adjustment in life (Frankel & Myatt, 2003).

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Another challenge faced by children with ASD is how to manage unfair adult
accusations. This is a common situation in school as children with ASD continuously
face difficulties in social skills and expressing themselves. This situation normally led
to bigger issues for these children as they struggle with language and expressing their
feelings, which then leads to the increase in their problem behaviors (Losh et al., 2012).
Problem behaviors including aggressive and social withdrawal are believed to
discourage interaction between children with ASD and other children (Major et al.,
2017; Sullivan et al., 2019). In this study, the results indicated that there was a
significant decrease in problem behavior among children with ASD which could
perhaps be attributed to the skills acquired to properly manage their relationships
with others, especially in tricky situations such as facing unfair adult accusations. This
result is consistent with previous studies that showed similar decrease in the conflict
with play dates, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and increase in self-
control and self-esteem (Frankel et al., 2007; Frankel et al., 2010).
Based on the parents' evaluation in this current study, the children participants
showed higher self-control and improved assertiveness. This is again consistent with
results from past research which also indicated that children who received CFT
treatment acquired lower scores in children’s conflict and disengaged scale compared
to children in the delayed treatment group (Frankel et al., 2010). One of the
contributions to this finding was the content in the CFT sessions. Children in this
study learned to set rules during the first session of the treatment to minimize the
frequency of their problem behavior. Aligned with that, time-out and delayed
playtime were used as punishment during the treatment process to reduce the
problem behavior of children with ASD. On the other hand, reinforcements such as
star and token system were applied in the treatment process to increase their
motivation and appropriate behavior (Athens & Vollmer, 2010; Payne & Dozier, 2013;
Querim et al., 2013). This helped indirectly to reduce the problem behaviors (Van
Camp et al., 2000).
During the eighth session of the CFT, the children learned how to react towards peer
teasing without causing tension and conflict. Children with ASD are already
struggling with social skills that normally leads to an increase in the difficulties to
make friends. They tend to have low self-esteem and will easily lose interest to
socialize after being teased as they would compare themselves to their more capable
peers (Neff, 2011). According to Williams et al. (2019) ASD students were self-aware
of their difference and experienced challenges in being with the peer. However,
parents in this study learned strategies to support and help their children when they
were being teased. Parents' support and involvement were able to help the children
to gain self-esteem needed to handle social teasing.
In addition, children in this study learned and practiced ways to stay out or avoid
physical fights. This turned out to be one of the best solutions. They were also taught
to identify the appropriate time and method to help their peers and friends who
required help by reporting to other children or adults nearby to prevent them from
getting into more trouble. Among other important things learned by the children in
this study were the rules of good sports during and when ending a game, rules of
good hosts, and rules of good winners that helped to improve their quality of play
with peers. They learned and practiced on having sportsmanship and allowing others
to have fun too during games and activities. They also learned to cooperate and work

240
as a team and to suggest change of game when they were bored in an appropriate and
more acceptable manner. Lastly, they also learned to acknowledge and praise other
peers' behaviors during the rules of good sports session. This session was important
as it built the children’s confidence in making friends through games and activities.
In previous studies, this has enabled them to create more satisfactory and continuing
relationships with their playmates (Frankel & Myatt, 2003). The findings on the
children’s achievement in the session on rules of good hosts and rules of good winners
was supported by the findings from Lopes et al. (2013) and R. E. Adams et al. (2011).
The children in the study learned about the importance and ways to become good
hosts to serve, respect, and tolerate their guests.
6. Limitation
There are few limitations in this study. There will be no consistent types and
number of group activities provided to the control group of this study as the
participants came from different centres or schools. Besides that, this research was
carried out in English with further explanation in Mandarin and Malay if needed.
7. Suggestion
There are three suggestions in implementing CFT. Firstly, a video recording of
the first few homework carried out by the participants at home is recommended
to be played at the end of the sessions. This will provide the parents with a clearer
picture on how to carry out the tasks given as homework. Secondly, the researcher
can provide clear guidance to the parents using a real case study to maximize the
results gained from the homework given. Lastly, the parents should be informed
beforehand to prepare the friend list so that they were more prepared with the
homework. For further study, it is proposed that this intervention is extended to
children with other learning disabilities. Researchers should also consider having
a larger sample during the recruitment as the long duration involved, and the
additional homework given to parents and children might cause several
participants to drop out mid-way. Thirdly, as CFT is a parent inclusive
intervention program, it is suggested that parental experience in CFT be explored
in more depth. CFT can also be introduced to government and private special
needs schools in Malaysia. To deliver CFT effectively for children with ASD;
teachers need to be trained to conduct CFT, the schools need to ensure children
with ASD meet the requirement as stated in CFT through screening sessions, and
parents’ cooperation and commitment should be ascertained beforehand to
ensure the success of the program.
8. Conclusion
The findings indicated that CFT was significantly impactful in enhancing social
skills of 7 to 12-year-old children with ASD. Both parents and teachers reported
significant increase in the level of social skills among children with ASD who
participated in CFT. It can be concluded that CFT has a high potential to be
adopted as an intervention programme for high functioning ASD children in
Malaysia. It is empirically proven that CFT is a program that can be a benchmark
in Malaysia as one of the mediums in helping children with ASD towards a better
future. CFT also serves as one of the tools to empower parents in assisting
children with ASD in enhancing their social competence. The features of children
with ASD who lack social ability should not be a barrier for them in making new

241
friends and maintaining friendships in the future. Therefore, the effort in helping
them should be continuously implemented in this country.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 246-262, July 2020
Impact of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

Module Based on the Cognitive Apprenticeship
Model (CAM) on Student’s Performance
Noorashikim Noor Ibrahim

Institute of Teacher Education, Kota Bharu Campus, Kelantan, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2703-9840
Ahmad Fauzi Mohd Ayub and Aida Suraya Md. Yunus

Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4313-2922
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8742-4855
Abstract. This study intended to examine the difference in students'

performances in terms of measurement and geometry between urban and
rural schools. This research used a quasi-experimental design. This study
involved a total of 63 students from urban school and 51 students from the
rural school. This study conducted a pre-test, post-test, and post-delayed
test to measure the students’ performance. The treatment group utilized
the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) based Module framed Cognitive
Apprenticeship Model (CAM). The analysis of covariance showed that
there is a significant difference between the post-test and post-delayed
tests for the urban school. This finding revealed that the HOTS approach
in teaching mathematics was more effective than the conventional
teaching approach for students in an urban school. However, the result of
rural schools showed that there is no significant difference in both
tests. This result revealed that teachers and students from rural schools
need more time to familiarize and practice the use of the HOTS approach.
Hence, continuously using this approach in teaching and learning in the
future should be recommended.
Keywords: Higher-order thinking skills; academic performance;

measurement and geometry; experimental study; rural and urban area
1. Introduction
A few years ago, international studies of students, the International Student
Assessment Program, and the Developments in International Mathematics and
Science Research (TIMSS) seemed to compare the quality of education systems
directly across different countries (Mullis, Martin, Kennedy & Sainsbury, 2009).
These programs assess a wide range of cognitive skills in mathematics and
science. In primary schools, analytical performance refers to the outcome of the

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mathematics test. In 2015, Malaysian students had better results in TIMSS, with
the highest increase of 25 points among 18 nations that have exhibited
improvements in mathematics (Aziz, 2016). Despite Malaysia being now in mid-
table in the list of participating countries, it still aimed to get a score of 500 points
in TIMSS 2019 (Bernama, 2016). Researchers conducted studies on analytical
performance across the globe. The factors that influence the analytical
performance among grade 8 Malaysian students were the lack of higher-order
thinking skills (HOTS) (Nor’ ain & Mohan, 2015; Uwaezuoke & Ekwueme, 2015)
and unfamiliarity with open-ended questions (Ministry of Education Malaysia,
2014). Hence, educators must expend their effort to promote HOTS among
students and achieve the government’s desire for a world-class education. In
Malaysia, explaining and practicing in mathematics dominated about 58% of the
teaching and learning process; the rest goes for reviewing homework, re-teaching,
taking tests, and participating in activities that are not related to the lesson content
(Zabit, 2010). Mullis, Martin, and Foy (2008) claimed that Malaysian mathematics
teachers gave more attention to the product of thinking and less emphasis on the
outcomes of the learning.
Moreover, the traditional method of teaching mathematics still exists and will
continue to occur in Malaysian classrooms (Zanzali, Abdullah, Ismail, Nordin &
Surif, 2011). Research showed that teacher-centered teaching using textbooks and
an emphasis on procedural understanding in mathematics was related to
student’s achievement in mathematics (Zanzali et al., 2011). Thus, the raised
concern calls for more effective techniques and alternative teaching and learning
approaches in infusing HOTS in mathematics content.
The Malaysian education system has undergone a rapid change along with
changes in lifestyle towards the 21st century. Education in Malaysia has changed
three times in terms of the curriculum, which are before 1982, namely the KLSR
[Old Primary School Curriculum], then the KBSR [New Primary School
Curriculum], and KSSR [Standard Based Curriculum for Primary Schools]. KSSR
was designed and launched in 2011 to fulfill the needs of the students in facing
the 21st century. The focus in KSSR for the teaching and learning process is to help
students understand the mathematics knowledge deeply so that they can apply
the concepts, values, and means of mathematics in the actual world (Ministry of
Education Malaysia, 2011). KSSR emphasis more on HOTS. Thus, teachers were
accountable for creating opportunities that deal with HOTS. Since the HOTS
approach is entirely new in the curriculum and education system, hence it is a
great challenge to the teachers.
2.1 Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

HOTS is one of the essential skills in the 21st century. In which the world
acknowledged as accelerative skills in this changing era. Individuals not only
need to have an education but also be able to think creatively and make the right
decisions. (Huang, 2011). According to Richland and Simms (2015), it means that
education in the 21st century should highlight students’ skills for HOTS, transfer,
and flexible reasoning over memorizing facts. According to Bloom (1956), there

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are six skill groups in the cognitive domain. The first three levels in Bloom's
taxonomy are knowledge, understanding, and application. This first level is
considered a lower level of thinking skills (LOTS). Bloom thought the next three
levels; analysis, synthesis and, evaluation as a higher level of thinking skills
(HOTS) (Chang & Mao, 1999; Pappas et al., 2012; Yahya et al., 2012). Later, these
three levels were changed to analyze, evaluate, and create in Bloom's revised
taxonomy.
2.2 HOTS in Urban and Rural Schools

According to a report released by TIMSS, school location has a significant impact
on student achievement. Facilities such as libraries, media centers, and other
facilities influence student learning (Mullis, Martin, Foy, and Arora, 2012). From
the result of TIMSS 2015, students in urban schools achieved 470 points, whereas
students in rural schools obtained 442 points in mathematics. Even though there
is an increment of positions in both locations from TIMSS 2011, the scores are still
considered moderate in achievement. The Department of Statistics Malaysia
(2010) defines urban areas as gazetted areas, saturated districts bordering it, and
a combination of the two. It has features such as; there is a population of at least
10,000 and less than 60 percent of the population aged 15 years and above are
engaged in non-agricultural activities. The Department of Statistics Malaysia
(2010) defines the rural areas as gazetted and non-gazetted regions with a
population of fewer than 10,000 people. Rural schools experienced quality in
school facilities such as internet and ICT infrastructures, lack of adequate
instructional supplies (e.g., well-equipped libraries, laboratories and media
center) and appropriate facilities for students (e.g., free textbooks) (Othman &
Muijs, 2013). However, urban schools have advantages in the facilities provided,
educational resources, and appropriate infrastructures.
According to the Ministry of Education (2014), in the UPSR [Primary School

Assessment Test], the gap between urban and rural students was almost 4 %
higher for urban schools. Researchers have conducted studies on the effect
location towards mathematics learning around the world. Jayagandhi (2018)
conducted a study to observe the continuous and comprehensive evaluation of
HOTS in science among 150 students in Madurai district. The result revealed that
students from urban schools performed better HOTS than rural students. Urban
schools provided better knowledge and facilities that can increase the motivation
of students towards learning. Wae, Mercuriani, and Paidi (2017) carried out a
survey to describe the ability of HOTS students for biology in Ende district. The
result showed that students from urban schools gained higher in the average score
of knowledge compared to students from a rural school. It showed that with
excellent infrastructure, availability of learning resources, transportation, good
teaching quality, and a conducive learning environment could improve the
knowledge of students in the urban school. Abdullah, Mokhtar, Halim, Ali, Tahir,
and Kohar (2017) have conducted a study to determine the level of knowledge
and practice of HOTS among mathematics teachers in the Terengganu district.
The findings indicated that mathematics teachers who taught in rural schools
gained higher expertise and used several strategies in applying HOTS. It happens
because the environment in rural schools is more comfortable with smaller class

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sizes. Firdaus (2017) carried out a study to determine whether there is a difference
in mathematical literacy among students who received problem-based learning
and direct instruction in different areas of schools. The sample involved was fifth-
grade students in Bandung.
The results showed that there is no significant difference between learning

approaches and the location of the schools. However, there is an increase in the
mathematical literacy of students who received problem-based learning and those
students who received direct instruction in both urban and rural schools. Hence,
the researcher recommended that the teacher should emphasize the teaching
model with HOTS that had an impact on a student’s mathematical literacy and
HOTS. Hua and Ping (2017) conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of
application information system-based in enhancing student’s HOTS. They
applied a mixed-methods approach in this research. The sample involved was
only the standard five students and the teachers in Selangor. The result showed
that there was a significant improvement in the use of information system-based
in enhancing student’s HOTS. Several factors that influenced the students were
student’s attitude, teacher’s attraction, school facilities, and computer approach.
Hence the use of information system-based in enhancing student's understanding
of HOTS was suggested.
According to the TIMSS 2015 report, the average score for Malaysian students in
the Measurement and Geometry is low compared to other content domains such
as Number and Algebra. It showed that Malaysian students only have basic
knowledge of Measurement and Geometry. Furthermore, analysis of the students’
quality of answers in UPSR 2012, 2013 and 2014, (Ministry of Education, 2014)
found that students were not proficient in the conversion of the unit, naming a
three-dimensional shape, calculating area, and perimeter. They also failed to
understand the problem-solving issues, transforming the information given in the
questions to mathematics sentences (Malaysia Examination Syndicate, 2014).
Hence, teachers must find ways to engage students in learning measurement and
geometry and acquire HOTS. We can conclude that teachers need to diversify
teaching methods to enhance HOTS among students in school.
2.3 Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM)

Apprenticeship is a process through which a more experienced person assists a
less experienced one by way of demonstration, support, and examples (Dennen &
Burner, 2008). It was a natural way to learn. Collins, Brown, and Newman (1989)
proposed an alternative model of instruction called CAM that goes back to an
apprenticeship but incorporates elements of schooling. CAM is a model of
learning based on situated learning theory (Brown, Collin & Dugnid, 1989; Renick,
Levine & Zeitz, 1991). CAM is a model of instruction that makes thinking visible
to help students (Collins, Brown & Holum, 1991; Collins, 2006; Dennen, 2008).
Several studies suggested that by combining the learning strategies such as
constructivism with CAM could increase students’ understanding of the concept
of the subject matter. (García-Cabrero, Hoover, Lajoie, Andrade-Santoyo,
Quevedo-Rodríguez & Wong, 2018; Putica & Trivic, 2016; Saadati, Tarmizi &
Ayub, 2015; Kuo et al., 2012; ). Thus, this would support the students’ HOTS.

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2.4 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

In this study, the theoretical framework used was an adaptation from Dunkin and
Biddle (1974), of classroom teaching study. The model distinguishes four variables
as presage (teachers’ experiences, characteristics, and beliefs about mathematics,
teaching, and learning), context (students’ experiences, school and community
contexts, and classroom contexts), process (actual teaching and learning behaviors
that take place inside the classroom) and product (immediate and lasting student
effect). These variables are then connected to form the conceptual framework.
Prior HOTS based module Effect on Retention

Knowledge CAM Approach Knowledge
Performance in Performance in Performance in

Phase 1 the topic of the topic of
the topic of
o Modelling Measurement Measurement
Measurement
o Coaching
and Geometry and Geometry and Geometry
o Scaffolding
Social Learning & ZPD
Learning Theories
Phase 2
Situated Learning
Constructivism
o Scaffolding
o Articulation
o Reflection
Phase 3
•
•
•
o Exploration
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the study
The conceptual framework is constructed based on the ADDIE model, and this
model is used to develop a module, which has the characteristics of higher-order
thinking skills. The researcher developed a module framed on the CAM that
consists of three phases. The learning theories are embedded in the process of
teaching and learning within these phases. The main ideas involved in the
conceptual framework are Constructivism, Social Learning and ZPD, and
Situated Learning.
3. Objectives
This study aims to investigate the difference in students' performances by using
HOTS modules for the topics of measurement and geometry between urban and
rural schools. Specifically, the study based on the next research objectives:
1. To determine the difference in the students’ performance test scores (post-
test) between the treatment and control groups while controlling the pre-test
scores at the urban area in the topic of measurement and geometry.
scores in the rural area in the topic of measurement and geometry.
delayed test) between the treatment and control groups while controlling the
pre-test scores at the urban area in the topic of measurement and geometry.

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delayed test) between the treatment and control groups while controlling the
pre-test scores in the rural area in the topic of measurement and geometry.
The following research questions:

1. Is there a difference in the students’ performance test scores (post-test)
between the treatment and control groups while controlling the pre-test scores
at the urban area in the topic of measurement and geometry?
2. Is there a difference in the students’ performance test scores (post-test)
between the treatment and control groups while controlling the pre-test scores
in the rural area in the topic of measurement and geometry?
3. Is there a difference in the students’ performance test scores (post-delayed
scores at the urban area in the topic of measurement and geometry?
4. Is there a difference in the students’ performance test scores (post-delayed
scores in the rural area in the topic of measurement and geometry?
The research hypotheses are as follows.

H01 There is no significant difference in the means of the students’ performance
test scores (post-test) between treatment and control groups while
controlling pre-test scores in urban areas in the topic of Measurement and
Geometry.
test scores (post-test) between treatment and control groups while
controlling pre-test scores in rural areas in the topic of Measurement and
Geometry.
test scores (post-delayed test) between treatment and control groups while
controlling pre-test scores in urban areas in the topic of Measurement and
Geometry.
test scores (post-delayed test) between treatment and control groups while
controlling pre-test scores in rural areas in the topic of Measurement and
Geometry.
4. Methodology
Various experimental conditions happen in education, which requires the
researcher to use intact groups. As it is the accessibility of the member, or as the
environment prevents artificial group formation (Klassen, Creswell, Clark, Smith
& Meissner, 2012). This study utilized a quasi-experimental research design: the
treatment group and the control group designated year five students. Assigning
students randomly to both groups will disrupt classroom learning (Miller, Smith &
Pugatch, 2020). This study implemented a pretest-posttest control group design to
evaluate the effectiveness of treatment to the respondents (Ni, Jong, Dison, Thomas,
Yunus & Suliman, 2020). Two national schools were selected, and this type of school
was the most common in the district of Kota Bharu. This research used manual
lottery. Each school was assigned a number—the researcher drawn two numbers.
Two schools, each in urban and rural areas, were selected in this study. The

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researcher then numbered classes involved in each school chosen and drawn two
numbers that represent classes from each school. Subsequently, the researcher
numbered the selected classes to determine groups for treatment and control.
Finally, the researcher drew two numbers to represent the experimental groups.
A total of 69 students participated in an urban school, while a total of 63 students
participated in a rural school.
4.1 Instrumentation
In this study, the researcher administered three tests (pre-test, post-test, and post-
delayed test) to measure the students' performances during the treatment. The
reliability of the tests was 0.78 for the pre-test, 0.79 for the post-test, and 0.71 for
the post-delayed test. The test paper on the topics of measurement and geometry
consisted of 12 subjective questions—the test questions based on higher-order
thinking skills and short-answer items. A group of expert panels determined the
reliability and validity of the existing. As for the module validity, the evaluation
activity had gone through four types of assessment that involved expert review,
development try-out, pilot-test, and field trial (Gagne, Wager, Golas, Keller &
Russell, 2005). In this study, three expert reviews validated the modules, two
from the Institute of Teachers Education and one officer (School Improvement
Specialist Coaches plus, SISC+) from the District Education Office. The panels
gave a very constructive comment. The modules were updated based on the
feedback given before conducting the pilot test. Based on the input, the instruction
was improved. The actual study implemented the final version of the module.
4.2 Research Procedures

A pre-test was conducted on all groups to obtain the fundamental difference
between the treatment and control groups. The purpose of the pre-test was to
determine whether or not the means of both groups were significantly different
and to provide baseline values regarding the variables measured. Therefore, the
covariate in the analysis used the pre-test. The treatment group utilized the HOTS-
based Module, whereas the control group utilized the conventional teaching
approach. The post-test measured the students’ performance after they used the
HOTS-based Module in 12 weeks. The researcher then conducted a post-delayed
test after the 14th week of the intervention. The researcher used the term delayed
effect to refer to the impact of treatment observed after some time. In the context
of the study, the delayed effect meant remembering and utilizing what students
have learned about HOTS during the treatment sessions. The teacher provided no
additional treatment or feedback after the post-test and before the post-delayed
test. In the instructional processes, different teachers handled the treatment and
control groups. The school administrators have assigned teachers to a particular
class since the beginning of school. Figure 2 presents the experimental procedure
of this study. The teacher gave a short briefing to the students regarding the
instructional intervention at the beginning of the course. After the researcher
conducted the pre-tests on both groups, the teacher started adopting the HOTS
approach for the treatment group and the conventional teaching approach for the
control group.

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Developing and
designing a HOTS
module for the HOTS
experimental approach
group
Post-
Pre-test Post-test delayed
Developing pre- test
test, post-test, and Conventional
post-delayed test approach
Figure 2: Representation of the research experiment
5. Results and Analysis

This section will discuss the findings referring to the research objectives of the
study and the evaluation of the HOTS-based Module in the field trial.
Table 1 presents the mean and standard deviation of the performance test for both
groups in an urban school. The performance score of the control group was higher
in the post-test (M =20.97, SD = 4.882) compared with that of the treatment group
(M = 12.87, SD = 4.884). Whereas, the treatment group was higher in the post-
delayed test (M =15.32, SD = 4.077) compared with that of the control group (M =
14.19, SD = 4.700).
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of post-test and post-delayed test scores in urban

schools
Tests Group of students Mean Std. Deviation N
post-test Treatment 12.87 4.884 31
Control 20.97 4.882 32
post-delayed test Treatment 15.32 4.077 31
Control 14.19 4.700 32
Table 2 presents the mean and standard deviation of the performance test for both
groups in a rural school. The performance score of the control group was higher
in the post-test (M =13.26, SD = 4.731) compared with that of the treatment group
(M = 12.43, SD = 2.775). Again, the control group was higher in the post-delayed
test (M =10.87, SD = 5.354) compared with that of the treatment group (M = 10.14,
SD = 3.649).
Table 2: Descriptive statistics of Post-test and Post-delayed test scores in rural schools
Tests Group of students Mean Std. Deviation N
post-test Treatment 12.43 2.755 28
Control 13.26 4.731 23
post-delayed test Treatment 10.14 3.649 28
Control 10.87 5.354 23
Levene’s test was employed to examine the equality of variances in an urban

school. The result revealed that Levene’s test for post-test [F (1,61) = .454, p = .503
> .05] was not significant; hence, the assumption of homogeneity of variance was

254
not violated. Whereas, the result of Levene’s test for post-delayed test [F (1,61) =
1.767, p = .189 > .05] was not significant; hence, the assumption of homogeneity
of variance was also not violated.
Table 3: Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variances of Post-test and post-delayed test
Scores in urban schools
Tests F df1 df2 Sig.
post-test .454 1 61 .503
post-delayed test 1.767 1 61 .189
Levene’s test was employed to examine the equality of variances in the rural
school. The result revealed that Levene’s test for post-test [F (1,49) =2 .813, p = .100
> .05] was not significant; hence, the assumption of homogeneity of variance was
not violated. Whereas, the result of Levene’s test for post-delayed test [F (1,49) =
.375, p = .543 > .05] was not significant; hence, the assumption of homogeneity of
variance was also not violated.
Table 4: Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variances of Post-test and post-delayed test
Scores in rural schools
Tests F df1 df2 Sig.
post-test 2.813 1 49 .100
post-delayed test .375 1 49 .543
Table 5 shows that after adjusting the mean scores of the pre-tests, there was a
significant difference in the mean post-test scores between the treatment and
control groups [F (1,60) = 26.733, p = .000 < .05]. This study shows that students
in the control group scored significantly better compared with those in the
treatment group. Again, there was a significant difference between the two
intervention groups in the post-delayed test scores in the performance test [F
(1,60) = 4.877, p = .031 < .05]. This result revealed that students in the treatment
group indicated significantly better performance scores compared with those in
the control group.
Table 5: Tests of Between-Subject Effects of Post-test and post-delayed test Scores in

Urban Schools
Tests Source Type III df Mean F Sig. Partial Eta
Sum of Squares Squared
Squares
post-test GROUP 533.414 1 533.414 26.733 .000 .308
post-delayed test GROUP 83.390 1 83.390 4.877 .031 .075
Table 6 shows that after adjusting the mean scores of the pre-tests for a rural
school, there was no significant difference in the mean post-test scores between
the treatment and control groups [F (1,48) = 3.248, p = .078 > .05]. Thus, H02 was
accepted. The result implied that students in both groups did not differ in the
post-test. Again, there was no significant difference between the two intervention
groups in the post-delayed test scores in the performance test [F (1,48) = 2.360, p
= .129 > .05]. This result revealed that students exposed to both approaches did
not differ in their post-delayed test.

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Table 6: Tests of Between-Subject Effects of Post-test and Post-delayed test Scores in

Rural Schools
Tests Source Type III df Mean F Sig. Partial
Sum of Squares Eta
Squares Squared
post-test GROUP 31.634 1 31.634 3.248 .078 .063
post-delayed test GROUP 42.285 1 42.285 2.360 .129 .031
To evaluate the HOTS-based Module, the researcher produced objective-by-items

graphs base on the pre-test and post-test items. Figures 4 and 5 illustrated the
result of the students who used HOTS-based Module during the intervention.
Figures 3 and 4, the graph suggested that there is an increment in performance
score between pre-test and post-test among urban students, as well as students in
the rural school. Figure 3 indicated that the performance of students in urban
school achieved seven goals out of twelve goals in the pre-test. After the
intervention, the students manage to achieve ten goals out of twelve goals in the
post-test. Students have not yet reached two goals after the treatment period.
Figure 4 indicated that the performance of students in rural schools made four
goals out of twelve goals in the pre-test. After the intervention, the students can
make six goals out of twelve goals in the post-test. There were six goals not yet
achieved after the treatment period.
100
mean percentage
90
80
performance
70
60
50
40 pre test
30
20 post test
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Objectives
Figure 3: Pre-test and Post-test Showing Student's performance in Urban School for
Field Trial
100
Mean percentage
90
(Performance)
80
70
60
50
40 pre test
30
20 post test
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Objectives
Figure 4: Pre-test and Post-test Showing Student's performance in Rural School for
Field Trial
6. Discussion
Kuhs and Ball (1986) stated that teachers need to emphasize student achievement
when teaching mathematics. Hence, one of the objectives of utilizing the HOTS
approach was to improve learning performance. This study compared the use of
the HOTS approach and the use of the conventional teaching approach between

256
urban and rural schools. The result of the post-test revealed that students in the
control group in urban school had significantly better performance scores
compared with those in the treatment group. Whereas, the result showed that
students in the treatment group in urban school had substantially better
performance scores compared with those in the control group in the post-delayed
test. The findings indicated that students’ learning could facilitate within
embedded activities in social contexts by exploring and applying CAM through
HOTS-based Module (Averill, Drake & Harvey, 2013; Brown, Collins & Duguid,
1989). Assisting students by coaching and modeling in the way that expert
planned, revised, and evaluated measurement and geometry problems and
solutions were useful for students in the treatment group. Phase I included some
activities based on coaching-modeling-scaffolding; however, this study did not
report the exact changes. This result was also in line with Hendriks (2001) and
Stockhausen and Zimitat (2002) that claimed CAM accommodated elementary
schools’ students’ cognitive skills and reasoning capability. These skills are
essential in promoting HOTS.
In contrast, the result of the post-test and the post-delayed test of the students
from rural schools showed that there was no significant difference in the mean
scores of the measurement and geometry performance. The result of the finding
was in agreement with the study, both national and international (Ibrahim, Ayub,
Yunus, Mahmud & Bakar, 2019; Uwaezuoke & Ekwueme, 2015; Nepal, 2017).
However, this result was not consistent with the results of previous studies (Owi,
Azhar, Mazlini & Ang, 2017; Yee, Md Yunos, Othman, Hassan, Tee & Mohamad,
2015; Saido et al., 2015) that indicated differences in performance score after using
HOTS module. Two interpretations could explain this inconsistent result; the first
interpretation is that the teaching approach using HOTS based Module is still new
in Malaysia, especially for those students in a rural area. The conventional
teaching approach is familiar and comfortable to conduct or follow for both
teachers and students (Ayub, Mokhtar, Luan & Tarmizi, 2010). According to
Hagerty, Smith & Goodwin, (2010), there are difficulties in converting from
traditional teaching to the new teaching approach. The second interpretation is
that more time needs to be given to teachers and students in rural area schools to
be familiar and practice using HOTS. Teaching and learning using HOTS based
Module that stressed on student-centered method tend to feel uncomfortable
when being tried first.
Students in rural schools are not only unfamiliar with new contexts, but they have
difficulty adapting new understandings to prior knowledge. Students also faced
mathematical problems in the form of sentences (Vurayai, 2020). Time can
overcome the problem, and this approach needs lots of commitments from the
teacher (Hodge & Kemp, 2006). Thus, a non-significance difference in
mathematics performance for both groups of students might be explained by the
limited time in adapting the HOTS approach.
This finding might also cause by several factors, such as family, excellent facilities
and resources, and qualified teachers. The majority of the parents in urban areas
are more educated than those in rural areas. The family upbringing was an
essential factor in determining the students' academic performance (Aziz, 2016).

257
The expectations of an educated family from their children's education are very
high. Some experts believed that family expectations were the most influential
factors of the students' decisions to pursue their learning (Davis-Kean, 2005;
Benner, Boyle & Sadler, 2016). A well-educated family with high income could
manage to send their children to tuition classes to exhibit better achievement.
Urban students could also afford to buy other books for their references. Hence,
students in urban areas have access to more resources to improve their
performance at school. Also, teachers play an essential role in enabling students
to exhibit excellent performance. School administers assigned the most
experienced and qualified teachers to urban schools, whereas new and less-
experienced teachers to rural schools.
According to Owolabi (1990), highly educated teachers prefer to serve in urban

schools rather than in rural schools. The teacher in the treatment group in urban
school felt that the HOTS approach could improve her knowledge and experience
in developing her students' performance. She, therefore, continues to implement
it even after the intervention. Previous studies stated that urban teachers had done
a lot of coaching in preparing their students for examinations, thus encouraging
the spirit of competition and rivalry. However, this may be lacking in rural
students (Obe, 1984; Kemjika, 1989). The experienced and qualified teachers were
capable of handling tasks provided in HOTS-based Module, which were
increased by complexity and diversity, hence require students to use their
conceptual knowledge to solve HOTS problems. Experienced and competent
teachers will indirectly increase students' confidence in their learning (Nguyen &
Pham, 2018).
The use of HOTS-based Module framed CAM, which highly stressed on

constructivism, could increase students’ HOTS (Matanluk, Mohammad, Kiflee &
Imbug, 2013). They claimed that; through the choosy experience, students
construct their knowledge to create a conceptual understanding which forms the
basis of their learning. According to DeWolf, Bassok, and Holyoak (2015), it is
significant to foster a sense of mathematics beyond teaching algorithmic
procedures. Students with a high level of conceptual understanding were capable
of solving problems in various forms and different settings (Che Ghazali &
Zakaria, 2011). This study showed that students in urban schools do better than
those in a rural school in terms of location. Besides, a report by Ibrahim (2019)
showed that students in the urban school had made fewer errors compared to
those in the rural school. Students in urban schools have a very significant
advantage whereby the environment helps them to enriches their academic
knowledge, especially HOTS. The best opportunities, such as access to many
resources equipped with urban students, which are not accessible to rural
students. In other words, learning in an urban environment is advantageous to
urban students, and it enriches their academic knowledge and HOTS.
7. Limitation and Recommendation

The researcher considered every attempt to remove errors in the aspects of design
and analysis, hence considered a few limitations in this study. This study focuses
on the effect of HOTS-based module learning instruction to promote HOTS by

258
using the problem of measurement and geometry as an exemplar. In the topic of

measurement, the researcher only covered four subtopics (length, mass and
volume, shape and space, and angle. Investigating HOTS using other issues will
have a different result. The study is limited to Year five students in a primary
school in Kelantan. In this case, perhaps different results will be expected with
students from other years and locations, varied in subject streams and
backgrounds. Finally, the duration of this study is limited to a period of 12 weeks.
A longer-term of instruction may provide a different result. The results showed
that the HOTS-based module framed CAM has effectively help primary school
students in both locations to enhance higher-order thinking skills in Measurement
and Geometry. However, due to the time constraint and complexity, the HOTS-
based Module frame CAM had covered only four subtopics of Measurement and
Geometry. Thus, the researcher recommended the use of the same framework
bounded in this study, the scope and treatment of the HOTS-based Module
framed CAM could be drawn-out to include:
a. different subtopic and topics in both primary and secondary Mathematics
b. performances, problem-solving skills, conceptual and procedural
knowledge by gender, and other capabilities.
c. learners with different mathematical abilities and learning style
d. different in research methodology
8. Conclusion
In conclusion, this study shows that despite the changes in mathematics education
in schools today, there are still many students who cannot understand different
parts of mathematics skillfully. Thus, it is rational for mathematics teachers to
make a significant improvement in their teaching approaches. Therefore, the
implementation of the HOTS approach should start at the primary school level.
Teachers need to prudently approach the transformation at an early age so that
students would have both the ability and support required to be competent in
mathematics. Teachers and students also need to have positive beliefs in learning
this new approach to improve their performance. Students with strong positive
feelings will have an increased ability to learn mathematics and enhance their
analytical performance (Bakar, 2019). The researcher recommended rural teachers
are to diversify their teaching strategies and methods. Teachers would create a
more efficient plan in teaching and learning using the HOTS approach. The HOTS
approach is active learning proposed in the 21st-century learning; thus, the
students who used the HOTS approach was able to grasp more strategies in
problem-solving skills, concepts, and information in improving their decision-
making skills.
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 263-279, July 2020
The Impact of the Lack of ICT Resources on

Teaching and Learning in Selected South African
Primary Schools
Paul Nwati Munje and Thuthukile Jita

University of the Free State, South Africa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-9704
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1173-5251
Abstract. The impact of Information and Communication Technology

(ICT) on teaching and learning globally necessitates its integration in the
classroom. Integration in individual school contexts, however, remains a
challenge, despite ICT integration being a policy prerogative in many
countries. This qualitative paper aims to understand how the lack of ICT
resources affects the way learners learn and perform. Semi-structured
interviews were utilized to gather data from six educators in three South
African primary schools. The interviews were transcribed manually and
coded. A thematic mode of analysis was used during the data analysis
process. Findings show that, for multiple reasons, schools do not use
ICT tools in teaching and learning, as expected, and, in some cases,
underutilize existing resources, with implications for teaching and
learning. We suggest that the South African Department of Basic
Education (DBE) considers individual school contexts when allocating
ICT resources, to ameliorate existing challenges. Reinforcing existing
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms will facilitate the identification
of contextual challenges and the provision of assistance where
necessary. Most importantly, schools should be encouraged to form
partnerships with communities to ensure the safety of ICT resources.
These measures have the potential to ensure that all learners enjoy
opportunities introduced in the classroom through the DBE’s ICT-
integration program, thus guaranteeing quality education for all.
Keywords: disadvantaged communities; ICT integration; information

and communication technology; teaching and learning
1. Introduction
The dynamics associated with the integration of information and
communication technology (ICT) in classrooms around the world have resulted
in divergent views on how to approach this phenomenon from a school
perspective. There needs to be a clear understanding of how well schools
succeed in integrating ICT in teaching and learning. One of these approaches to

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ICT integration advocates consideration of the school context. This is because

some of the challenges that schools encounter in their effort to integrate
technology in teaching and learning are context-specific, thus needing context-
friendly solutions. Rabah (2015, p. 24) emphasized that “it would be
inappropriate to view ICT-based education without taking into consideration
the school’s context, setting, and environment,” as these factors have serious and
varied implications.
In exploring ICT integration in teaching and learning in Hong Kong, Yuen, Law,
and Wong (2003) identified possible contextual challenges. These include value
systems; innovation processes in place; the nature of teacher commitment and
support; and teacher professional development. Also, Karunaratne, Peiris, and
Hansson (2018) noted that a lack of resources is a potential negative contextual
factor hindering ICT usage in some classrooms. Khan (2020) contended that
using ICT in teaching and learning has the potential to improve learner
achievement, especially in areas with low socioeconomic status, with learner
achievement more likely below expectations. This creates a need for empirical
studies to provide a national picture of the impact the lack of ICT resources has
on teaching and learning, especially in areas with low socioeconomic status. This
paper thus focuses on exploring how the lack of ICT resources impacts on
teaching and learning in selected South African primary schools.
1.1 Research context

To obtain a better diagnosis of the state of ICT integration in classrooms across
the country, it is important to understand the “events, activities, contents, and
interpersonal processes taking place in the context that ICT is used” (Lim, 2002,
p. 411). The Department of Education (DBE) categorizes the schools selected for
this study as quintile 1 (no-fee) schools. These schools receive similar
government support and host learners from the same community. This
classification is a result of the National Norms and Standards for School Funding
(NNSSF) policy, aimed at ensuring equity and redressing imbalances of the
apartheid era in all spheres, including education (DBE, 2011). It is important to
note that the Department of Education in South Africa existed until 2009 when it
was split into the Department of Higher Education and the Department of Basic
Education. Owing to the challenges that work against endeavors to achieve
equity, schools in disadvantaged communities continue to lag in terms of school
resources, including ICT. Mirzajani, Mahmud, Ayub, and Wong (2016) argued
that in such circumstances, teachers are likely to be discouraged to integrate ICT
in the classroom. As a case in point, some of the selected schools for this study
either did not have ICT resources for varied reasons or were underutilizing
existing resources. This paper pursues the following questions:
• What is the relevance of ICT resources on teaching and learning in
primary schools?
• What impact does the lack of ICT resources have on teaching and
learning in primary schools?

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1.2 ICT integration in South Africa: a retrospect

For close to two decades, South Africa has consistently galvanized efforts and
resources towards achieving a paperless classroom, to provide learners with
better and limitless learning opportunities, including engaged learning
environments. This is because ICT has the potential to contribute to improving
learner abilities to learn across disciplines and fields. As such, South Africa’s ICT
mission is included in the country’s National Development Plan 2030 (Mjwara,
2017). In 2003, the Department of Education (DoE), cognizant of ICT’s
advantages for learners, for the first time committed itself to ensure that every
learner in South Africa has access to ICT resources and is technologically literate
by 2013 (DoE, 2003, p. 17). This commitment provided the basis for multiple
engagements to achieve ICT integration across South Africa.
The Gauteng Provincial education department, for example, endorsed and

embraced the ICT-integration initiative with passion, aiming to make learning
simpler and more enjoyable for all learners through the provision of ICT tools
(Odendaal, 2017). This commitment was exhibited against the backdrop that
introducing technology in the classroom has the potential to change the
negativity associated with the South African education system, including the
discouraging performance by learners in the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Rabana & Martin, 2017). This is
because technology in a Mathematics classroom, e.g., bears advantages. These
include its ability to grab attention, motivate (Zakaria & Khalid, 2016), and
provide authentic learning environments, such as where learners can engage in
web-based inquiry (Le Thi, 2020; Yang & Baldwin, 2020). In the same vein,
Denoon-Stevens and Ramaila (2018) argued that the availability of ICT facilities,
especially in disadvantaged communities, has the potential to develop social
capital and empower individuals and the community at large, a thought shared
by Ismail, Jogezai, and Baloch (2020). However, attaining that potential seems
elusive, considering that schools such as those included in this study are
continuously deprived of ICT resources, considered by the Minister of Basic
Education as further compromising the education of learners (Maromo, 2020;
Mbuza, 2020).
The 2013–2025 e-Education strategy of the DBE is another milestone that serves
as a roadmap for achieving the country’s ICT-integration plan (DBE, 2014). The
implementation strategy of this plan had specific roles and responsibilities for
relevant stakeholders, including provincial education departments (DBE, 2014).
In reporting on the progress of this plan, the DBE in February 2018 pointed out
that it had successfully connected 16,102 schools nationally with basic ICT
resources, of which 1,951 were in the Western Cape province (Parliament of the
Republic of South Africa, 2018).
Figures provided by the DBE indicate that the integration plans are progressing
well; and the Western Cape is ranked the fourth province in terms of South
Africa’s ICT penetration. Irrespective of the encouraging figures, the question
that should be asked is whether the majority of primary school learners in
socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape of South
Africa are benefitting fully from this government initiative. Available ICT

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resources in the classroom are either non-utilized or underutilized, with

negative implications for teaching and learning. The DBE admitted that its ICT-
integration efforts nationally are poor due to a shortage of funds (Parliament of
the Republic of South Africa, 2018). Garg, Shukla, and Kendall (2015) agreed that
cost can potentially affect the implementation of any ICT-integration plan. This
explains why nearly 11,858 primary schools lacked computer laboratories, and
up to 9,313 had no Internet connectivity across South Africa by July 2018
(Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, 2018). These figures indicate that
despite efforts made by the DBE to integrate technology in classrooms, many
children are yet to benefit fully for various reasons. This justifies our decision to
focus on understanding the impact that the lack of ICT resources has on teaching
and learning.
Despite the desire to see that ICT emerges as a “game-changer” in the South
African education system, the pace of integration in some school contexts is
slower than expected. In an attempt to fast-track and monitor its
ICT-implementation plan in schools across the country, the DBE introduced
what it calls Operation Phakisa [phakisa means hurry up in Sesotho] (Kwet,
2017). Operation Phakisa is a philosophy that ensures speedy identification of
existing challenges for the provision of relevant solutions to ameliorate the
situation (Kwet, 2017). Regardless, ICT is yet to have a tangible effect in some
under-resourced schools in various parts of the country (Chisango & Lesame,
2017). For example, Pholotho and Mtsweni (2016) pointed out that poor service
delivery was one of the reasons why some schools in the Limpopo province of
South Africa were still to benefit adequately from the government’s
ICT-integration initiative. Using studies such as Pholotho and Mtsweni (2016) as
a catalyst, this paper seeks to understand the impact that the lack of ICT
resources has on teaching and learning in primary school classrooms.
1.3 Challenges associated with ICT integration in South Africa

Challenges experienced by some schools in the process of ICT integration have
included intermittent Internet connectivity and the lack of appropriate
administrative support (Wilson-Strydom, Thomson, & Hodgkinson-Williams,
2005), with varying implications for the classroom. Besides, inadequate technical
support to maintain ICT equipment remains a huge challenge in South African
primary schools (Papaioannou & Charalambous, 2011; Pholotho & Mtsweni,
2016; Wilson-Strydom et al., 2005). These challenges are considered by Ismail et
al. (2020) as common in developing countries. In this regard, Mirzajani et al.
(2016) argued that challenges related to insufficient technical support in terms of
ICT integration in the classroom are not unique to South African schools. In their
view, these challenges are common but resolvable when schools and the
administration work together closely to identify and resolve existing challenges
and provide relevant pieces of advice. This approach has the potential to ensure
stable Internet connectivity and to avoid underutilization of computer facilities
(Pholotho & Mtsweni, 2016), thus ensuring continuous usage of technological
resources in classrooms. Unstable Internet connectivity is an ongoing challenge
that extends beyond the boundaries of South Africa (Arrieta, 2020; Habibi,
Razak, Yusop, Mukminin, & Yaqin, 2020).

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Contextual challenges have the potential to dampen the zeal of educators to use
ICT in teaching and learning (see Bingimlas, 2009), and to ultimately stifle the
realization of the DBE’s ICT-integration objectives countrywide. If these
contextual realities are not addressed timeously, South Africa’s ICT-integration
agenda will remain a dream. Padayachee (2017) argued that, due to existing
contextual challenges, ICT integration in some South African schools remains
low and contributes to some educators questioning the usefulness of the
Department’s e-Education policy (DoE, 2004). Therefore, there is a need for the
DBE to place more emphasis on regularly auditing the technological wellbeing
of individual schools to ascertain their experiences regarding ICT integration. In
doing so, the DBE can understand what kind of assistance to render to facilitate
the implementation process. Without such measures, the good intentions of the
DBE towards ICT integration in all schools would not materialize on time due to
contextual realities that restrict the ability of educators to integrate ICT in
classroom spaces. This paper focused on understanding the impact of the lack of
ICT resources in teaching and learning in selected South African primary
schools.
2. Methods
This qualitative paper reports on how the lack of ICT resources impacts on
learners’ ability to learn and perform. This case study (Yin, 2018) focused on
three primary schools within South Africa, located in communities with low
socioeconomic status. Data gathering involved six educators who responded to
semi-structured interviews on ICT-related matters. Two Grade 7 educators were
chosen from each school, using the purposeful sampling technique (Patton,
2005). Principals assisted in identifying the relevant educators to participate in
the study since they knew which educators would be able to provide the
required information. However, considering that principals are in a position of
authority and prospective educator participants may have felt obligated to
participate, an intention to participate form was supplied to the selected
educators to indicate their willingness to participate voluntarily. This was done
to ensure transparency (Aluwihare-Samaranayake, 2012) and to avoid abuse of
power by the principals. Some of the selected educators had been teaching at the
schools for up to ten years and therefore possessed a wealth of knowledge
concerning the challenges faced by the schools, especially concerning
ICT-related matters. They were also knowledgeable about the circumstances
prevailing at school and how these affect learners’ learning abilities. The
participants were asked questions that required them to elaborate on the
usefulness of ICT in teaching and learning, and the implications of the lack
thereof. Participants, through interaction, demonstrated their awareness of how
existing challenges affected learners’ abilities to learn and perform as expected.
An audio recorder was used to record the interviews, with the permission of
participants. Interviews lasted between 30 to 45 minutes. Although participants
responded to semi-structured interviews, follow-up questions were asked for
clarity purposes. The data were double-checked to ensure validity and reliability
(Merriam, 2009). Manual coding was used because, throughout the research
process, the researchers developed an understanding of the nature of the data,

268
making transcription easier (Williams & Moser, 2019). Also, emerging patterns
and meanings could be easier identified (Joffe, 2012). After manual transcription
and coding, data were merged and coded into major themes (Flick, 2018) using
the thematic mode of analysis. The thematic mode of analysis was chosen
because of its flexibility (Terry, Hayfield, Clarke, & Braun, 2017). Additionally,
its analysis process allows for the testing and reporting of coding reliability
(Terry et al., 2017, p. 19). The themes emerging from the thematic analysis
process include (1) the relevance of ICT in teaching and learning and (2) the
impact that the lack of ICT resources has on teaching and learning.
The Western Cape Education Department permitted the study to be conducted

in the province (reference number 20120222-0089). The authors ensured that
participation was voluntary, with assistance from the principals. Participants
signed written informed consent forms to make participation official, voluntary,
and to protect them from harm (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). For confidentiality
purposes, the participating schools are codenamed A, B, and C. The educator
participants are designated as A1 and A2 for School A, B1 and B2 for School B,
and C1 and C2 for School C.
3. Delimitation of the study

The study focused on the impact that the lack of ICT resources has on teaching
and learning in three primary schools within a community of low-socioeconomic
status in South Africa. The study targeted Grade 7 classrooms in each of the
schools. Grade 7 was chosen because it is an exit level in primary schools in the
South African education system, where learners are expected to possess certain
competencies before proceeding to high school. Since the study was limited to
Grade 7, two Grade 7 educators from each of the three schools participated in
the study. Participants were identified with the assistance of the principals of
each school to possess a wealth of knowledge regarding the challenges faced by
their respective schools, especially in the domain of technology usage in the
classroom. Based on the limited sample of participating educators because the
focus was on Grade 7 classrooms, conclusions made can apply only to the
context under study and not to the whole of South Africa. Therefore, more
studies of this nature using a large sample size are encouraged to produce more
findings that can complement those emerging from this study. This will provide
a holistic picture of ICT usage in South African primary school classrooms.
4. Findings and discussion

Undoubtedly, ICT is relevant in teaching and learning environments, the lack
thereof thus impacting negatively on how learners learn and perform
academically. However, the lack of or underutilization of ICT resources cannot
be used as a measuring rod for learner academic performance. Nevertheless, its
impact on learner motivation and increased aspirations to learn cannot be
ignored (Denoon-Stevens & Ramaila, 2018; Hilton, 2018; Jimenez, 2020; Santos,
Ramos, Escola, & Reis, 2019). Genlott and Grönlund (2016, p. 69) noted that
“[w]hile technology in itself does not lead to improvement of student results, it
may well be used to reinforce pedagogic factors that have been shown to have
[a] positive impact”. This is because, irrespective of the importance of ICT, its

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impact in individual schools is likely to vary for different reasons, including

uniqueness in the kind of resources required to ensure learner academic
performance. Still, this variable need does not in any way dispute the fact that
learners’ inability to access ICT resources in the selected schools has had
negative implications for their educational aspirations and performance. Two
main themes emerged from the findings: (1) the relevance of ICT in teaching and
learning, and (2) the impact that the lack of ICT resources has on teaching and
learning.
4.1. The relevance of ICT in teaching and learning

The participants agreed that ICT resources have the potential to change the way
teaching and learning were taking place, how learners perceived education,
learned, and performed. It emerged that, even in those schools without ICT
resources, the relevant participants hypothetically appreciated its relevance in
teaching and learning spaces. They particularly highlighted its potential to
motivate learners and positively influence their performance (see Denoon-
Stevens & Ramaila, 2018; Hilton, 2018; Khan, 2020; Santos et al., 2019). This
aligns with Participant A1’s view that the absence of ICT resources deprives
learners at School A of opportunities to learn. The participant emphasized that
computers enhance the training of young minds in varied ways. This includes
assisting them to do homework and other school projects; hence, its availability
is a necessity and not a luxury. According to this participant, the absence of ICT
resources has negative repercussions on learners’ abilities to learn and perform.
The views of Participant A1 are re-echoed by Le Thi (2020), who contended that
ICT resources enable learners to engage in individual research, hence enhancing
self-study. Participant A2 corroborated the importance of ICT in teaching and
learning, judging from its absence in School A. The participant noted that the
lack of computers at the school has negative implications for learner
development, considering that their ability to use the Internet for research was
limited. In the participant’s view, its availability has the potential to enhance
learner motivation towards learning.
Furthermore, Padayachee (2017) argued that a lack of ICT resources can

potentially hamper the kind of education learners receive, with implications for
their performance. Based on research conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, Hodgson,
and Khumalo (2016) argued that the availability of computers positively
influences the way learners learn. Additionally, Hilton (2018) analyzed the
importance of computers in the classroom and concluded in corroboration with
Pohjolainen, Nykänen, Venho, and Kangas (2018) that ICT in the classroom has
positive effects on learners’ learning. Computers assist learners’ research
assignments and school projects and can potentially change the way they see
and learn critical subjects like Mathematics (see Hegedus & Moreno-Armella,
2020). This is pertinent because Mathematics learning is one of the problem areas
in many South African primary schools (Bezuidenhout, Henning, Fitzpatrick, &
Ragpot, 2019; Rabana & Martin, 2017), a phenomenon considered by Juta and
Van Wyk (2020) as multifaceted.

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Participant A1, however, clarified that the DBE had provided the school with
computers, but due to theft, these were no longer available. This resulted in
learners thus being deprived of opportunities to use the computers in their
learning endeavors (see Mbuza, 2019, 2020; Mdlongwa, 2012; Pijoos, 2020;
Ramorola, 2018; Sedibe, 2011). In reality, the learners were deprived of the
opportunity to explore and enjoy the benefits computers introduce into a
learning environment. These narratives reiterate how contextual challenges
prevent learners from accessing ICT resources and, ultimately, frustrating
educators’ zeal to assist learners to achieve the kind of education they desire (see
Aziz, 2020; Bingimlas, 2009).
Besides, Participant A2 compared resourced and under-resourced schools in the

province in terms of teaching using ICT tools. The participant’s point of
departure was that access to the Internet gives learners at resourced schools an
edge over those in under-resourced schools. In the view of this participant, the
lack of ICT resources in the under-resourced schools exacerbates existing
challenges contributing to learners’ poor performance when compared to those
in resourced schools. According to this participant, the availability of computers
can potentially increase learners’ passion for learning. In corroboration,
Participant B1 opined that the lack of computer laboratories is an acute problem
in township schools, which are known for their disadvantageousness.
Participant BI emphasized that these circumstances make it difficult for learners
in these localities to conveniently use Internet facilities to research material for
examinations, projects, and homework, with negative implications on their
performance.
The discourses of Participants A2 and B1 indicate that ICT has the potential to
motivate learners to learn and change their perceptions of education as a whole
– an advantage seldom embraced by many learners in under-resourced schools.
When ICT resources are available and integrated effectively in teaching in the
classroom, learning becomes enjoyable, as learners become motivated, interested
and more attached to what they do (see Hilton, 2018; Hines & Lynch, 2019) and,
in some cases, more responsible in the way they learn (see Hardman, 2019).
The positive attitudes of both educators and learners towards the impact of ICT
resources in teaching and learning make it apt to argue that having a computer
laboratory that continuously functions has the potential to increase learner
educational aspirations, motivation and the desire to learn (see Denoon-Stevens
& Ramaila, 2018; Hilton, 2018; Santos et al., 2019). Unfortunately, the lack of ICT
resources and other related factors cripples the zeal of using technology in the
classroom in the selected schools. Similarly, Comi, Argentin, Gui, Origo, and
Pagani (2017) noted that the level of learner motivation and a potentially
positive change in perceptions towards learning depends on teachers’ ability to
integrate ICT in classroom spaces. Such effectiveness, in the view of Steiner and
Mendelovitch (2017, p. 1259), occurs when educators use ICT resources to
promote higher-order thinking through the usage of the necessary applications
appropriate for teaching specific subjects, such as Science. For Hegedus and
Moreno-Armella (2020), the introduction of new software and hardware

271
technologies presents an added advantage in teaching and learning in specific

subjects, including Mathematics. This reiterates the important role ICT plays in a
teaching and learning environment.
4.2 The impact the lack of ICT resources has on teaching and learning.
Participants were outspoken that the existing challenges at their schools
impeded the usage of technology in the classroom, with negative repercussions
for learners. The participants argued that such challenges hamper learners’
aspirations to learn and their desire to become what they value in life. Hodgson
and Khumalo (2016), in corroboration with Le Thi (2020), contended that, apart
from doing assignments, learners with access to ICT resources are opportune to
do research that will familiarize them with their future careers. Participants
identified theft, insufficient funds to purchase data or repair broken computers,
and inadequate technical and administrative support as those factors inhibiting
ICT usage, thus negatively affecting the carrying out of teaching and learning.
Participant A1 unequivocally pointed out that theft was the major reason why
their school had no computer laboratory, despite the DBE having provided them
with such as required by policy. As such, learners were deprived of these
resources in the classroom, not due to the Department’s inability to provide
them, but due to theft. However, participants were also quick to shift the blame
onto the Department. This is because, unfortunately, the DBE expected each
school to pay for its security, an expectation rather burdensome for schools in
socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Participant A1 noted that for
multiple reasons, schools in disadvantaged communities, such as School A, are
unlikely to meet the expectations of the DBE because challenges such as porous
security expose their resources to thieves. This participant explained that 65
computers were stolen from their school. Since the school survived on a tight
budget from the government, its ability to repair broken computers or to replace
stolen ones was restricted, thus depriving learners of crucial educational
opportunities.
Participant A1’s argument indicates that the DBE’s approach, requiring schools
to pay for their security, was practically unfair and unrealistic considering that
they operate with limited funds and are located in high-risk areas with frequent
break-ins. In the participant’s view, the consequences were felt more by the
learners, who were deprived of the advantages that ICT resources introduce into
the classroom. Several other reports exist across the country concerning
computer theft, highlighting that, in certain South African contexts, schools with
ICT resources face ongoing security challenges, with negative implications for
ICT integration (see African News Agency, 2019; Mbuza, 2019, 2020; Mdlongwa,
2012; Ngqakamba, 2020; Sedibe, 2011). This challenge is, however, not limited to
South Africa. Researchers such as Hussein, Abayo, and Mugambi (2019) and
Mutisya and Mwania (2017), from a Kenyan perspective, established a link
between insecurity and ICT integration, impacting negatively on teaching and
learning. Consequently, Ramorola (2017) emphasized the importance of
providing physical protection to schools with computer facilities, a suggestive
move that can assist the government in achieving its goal of quality education
for all.

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It is interesting to note, though, that because many socioeconomically

disadvantaged areas in South Africa are notorious for criminal behavior (see
Bhorat, Lilenstein, Monnakgotla, & Thornton, 2017), insurance companies are
unwilling to insure the property of schools located in such areas. In this regard,
Participant A1 stated that insurance companies were unwilling to partner with
their school because they are located in a high-risk area, making it impossible for
them to receive any compensation when robbed of ICT resources.
This account indicates the extent to which criminal activities deprive learners of
the quality education for all anticipated by the DBE’s policies, including the
ICT-integration project. Based on existing reports that relate to computer theft,
participants were of the view that the DBE should consider the physical
circumstances of individual schools and, in some contexts, provide security for
schools with computers. Recent vandalization and theft of computer equipment
across the country depict how many South African learners are deprived of
opportunities to use ICT in the classroom (Maromo, 2020; Mbuza, 2020;
Richardson, 2020). This observation is relevant because, in some situations, the
Department has replaced stolen computers, but security challenges have
prevented such schools from putting these new computers to good use, for fear
of a repeat of theft and vandalism. A case in point is a school that experienced 12
burglaries in four years (Ground Up, 2017). Although the DBE had replaced the
school’s stolen computers in 2015, by 2017 they were not in use yet due to
security concerns (Ground Up, 2017). This case reiterates the impact a lack of
security has on ICT resources and the implications it has on teaching and
learning (see Karunaratne et al., 2018). The prevailing circumstances at the
school restrict their use of ICT resources for teaching and learning, despite these
resources being available.
When referring to the physical circumstances of schools and security issues,

participants were outspoken that the DBE should play a major role in assisting
schools to repair broken computers or provide special budgetary allocations for
the schools to do repairs themselves. In their view, this could assist in ensuring
that the available ICT resources are put to good use in the classroom for the
benefit of the learners. Participants also thought that it could be viable if the DBE
assisted schools in the process of securing reliable insurance companies for
school property, especially for ICT facilities. The participants contended that the
greater the risk faced because of ICT resources, the higher the probability of
depriving affected learners of the opportunity to benefit from the ICT-rollout
plan of the DBE. Similarly, Hodgson and Khumalo (2016) argued that when
learners lack access to ICT resources, they are deprived of enjoying the benefits
that technology introduces in the classroom. This view is worth noting because
the impact of the lack of ICT resources explored in this study is not unique to the
schools concerned, but seemingly an ongoing South African problem. The non-
utilization of ICT resources in the classroom has negative implications for
learners’ educational aspirations. There have been several reports over the years
indicating the vulnerability of ICT resources in South African schools (see
African News Agency, 2019; Ground Up, 2017; Maromo, 2020; Mbuza, 2019;
Mdlongwa, 2012; News24, 2019; Sedibe, 2011). This reiterates the argument that

273
the impact that the lack of ICT resources has on teaching and learning may
continue to linger for much longer unless the impending challenges, including
that of security, are tackled holistically. This claim is based on the nationwide
vandalization and theft of ICT resources in schools across South Africa
exacerbated by the national lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 (Maromo,
2020; Mbuza, 2020; Ngqakamba, 2020). This is not to say, however, that the
Department is unaware of the problem or not finding ways to resolve it (see
Parliamentary Monitoring Group, 2019).
However, theft and a lack of ICT resources are not the only challenges hindering
the use of ICT resources in the classroom. For example, a computer laboratory
was available at School C at the time of this research, but the computers were
not in working order. As such, educators were unable to use them to assist
learners in their learning endeavors. Participant C1 related that these computers
broke down frequently and could not be repaired quickly, thereby restricting
learners from engaging in online research (see Le Thi, 2020; Papaioannou &
Charalambous, 2011; Wilson-Strydom et al., 2005). In a practical sense, even
though ICT resources were available in the school’s computer laboratory, they
were not meeting the educational needs of the learners, because the school
lacked funds to purchase data and repair the broken computers. This aligns with
Hodgson’s (2012) view that, out of approximately 20 computers available at a
poor school in the outskirts of Durban, none was in working condition, a
situation that caused frustration for the computer teacher.
A further complication in some contexts is that, if schools are mandated to

purchase data and/or do repairs themselves, it is unlikely for the ICT resources
to be used regularly in teaching and learning spaces (see Karunaratne et al.,
2018; Opoku, Badu, & Alupo, 2016). Due to budgetary limitations, School C
resorted to the option of using unskilled technicians to do repairs – thereby
aggravating the frequency of computer breakdowns and further restricting
learners from having regular access to the technology. According to Participant
C2, complaints that emanated from School C in terms of ICT resources were
mainly related to learners’ inability to utilize the computer laboratory for
months on end due to technical challenges. Efforts by school authorities to
salvage the situation did not yield the expected results because the computer
technicians recruited to repair the broken computers failed to deliver, thus
depriving learners of opportunities to learn using technology.
The lack of technical, financial and administrative support for schools with ICT
resources seems to be an ongoing challenge, with negative implications for
teaching and learning (see Bingimlas, 2009; Johnson, Jacovina, Russell, & Soto,
2016; Mirzajani et al., 2016; Papaioannou & Charalambous, 2011; Wilson-
Strydom et al., 2005). This explains Ashiono’s (2018, p. 248) report that when
technical support is lacking, computers will not be maintained and the chances
of ICT tools to fail during teaching and learning will thus be increased. Such
occurrences obstruct learners from enjoying the benefits ICT tools introduce in
the classroom.

274
5. Conclusion
The paper explored the impact of the lack of ICT resources in classrooms in
selected South African primary schools. The intention was to understand the
impact the lack of ICT resources has on teaching and learning. The findings
indicate the relevance of ICT resources in the classroom and the negative
implications of the lack thereof. The lack of ICT resources frustrates the hopes
and aspirations of learners and prevents them from enjoying the benefits
associated with the introduction of ICT tools into the classroom. The prevailing
circumstances in the selected schools indicate that the DBE needs to review its
ICT-integration plans and policies concerning how it identifies and attends to
challenges faced by individual schools across the country. We, therefore,
recommend that the DBE should revamp its monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms to identify and resolve challenges related to ICT availability and
usage in individual school contexts timeously. Our perception is that such an
approach will contribute to ensuring that existing resources do not remain
unused or underutilized, or become stolen due to security concerns. Such
occurrences would mean a major setback in the DBE’s endeavors to ensure that
all children receive a quality education, in an era where technology is
increasingly becoming a teaching and learning mode of choice. Since the DBE
may not have enough capability to assist all schools across the country in all
dimensions, we also recommend that schools collaborate, through partnerships
with communities, to ensure safer schools. The nationwide vandalism and theft
of ICT equipment in schools during the lockdown caused by COVID-19 are due
to porous security in schools with technological resources, thus validating the
need for measures such as those suggested. More research on ICT-related
challenges around the country is needed to provide a holistic picture of the
problem to provide more data for government action going forward.
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280

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 280-297, July 2020
The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence

(EI) and the Malaysian University English Test
(MUET) Performance among Technical Students
Nor Lailatul Azilah Hamdzah, Indra Devi Subramaniam

and Nadiah Zainal Abidin
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5723-1569
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9631-7031
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2771-2636
Ruslan Hassan
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2775-1050
Abstract. Past research has proven that emotional intelligence, the ability
to justify one’s emotion is integral in higher education, especially in
teaching and learning of English Language. The main objectives of this
study are to examine i) the relationship between emotional intelligence
(EI) and MUET performance among undergraduate students in the
technical university, ii) the correlation between emotional intelligence
and MUET performance among 250 respondents from engineering and
information and communication technology (ICT) courses and iii) can the
level of emotional intelligence (EI) among undergraduate students in a
technical university predict the students’ performance in MUET? The
cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data from 250
respondents. The respondents were given the EQI questionnaire which
had been constructed to collect the respondents’ EI, which covers these
aspects; self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, self-motivation and
social skills subskills. The results have highlighted that EI has a significant
correlation with the students’ MUET performance and can predict the
students’ MUET performance. Also, besides that, the findings show that
there is a significant difference between the students’ course and their EI
level, thus implicating its dominant on education. Thus, from this study,
as emotional intelligence plays important roles in determining the
students’ English language performance, emotional intelligence skills
should be embedded in designing the English course. For future research,
it is also recommended to discover the relationship of emotional
intelligence traits and other language skills such as listening, speaking,
reading and writing.
Keywords: emotional intelligence; Malaysian University English Test

(MUET); Tapia’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQI)

281
1. Introduction
Mayer and Salovey (1993), as claimed by Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2004) have
defined the emotional intelligence as “the capacity to reason about emotions and
of emotions to enhance thinking”. Goleman (1995) stated that in determining
one’s triumph, the intellectual quotient (IQ) contributes only 20% while emotional
intelligence governs the rest. Gibbs (2 October 1995) in Time article found that
there is a significant correlation on how EI and IQ affect one another and lead to
one’s achievement. It has been discovered that the factor of failure among top
executives in the U.S and Europe is the “classic emotional failings”.
A dearth of past literature reveals on the significant role of emotional intelligence

in determining academic success (Hassan, Sulaiman, and Ishak, 2009; Adeyemo,
2007; Marquez, Martin and Brackett, 2006). The inclusion of emotional intelligence
gained prominence after its introduction in second language learning since the
1970s. Moreover, engineering education also claimed that the undergraduate
engineers required a mastery of various skills which would enable them to fulfil
their workplace requirements. Emotional intelligence skills include a set of skills
which covers the skills of self-regulation, self-awareness, motivation, social skills
and empathy. Emotional intelligence has contributed to learning abilities among
the learners, communication skills and intercultural perspective. To address these
issues, the study is aimed to analyse the relationship between emotional
intelligence (EI) and MUET performance among undergraduate students in the
technical university, to determine the correlation between emotional intelligence
and MUET performance and to measure whether the level of emotional
intelligence (EI) among undergraduate students in a technical university can
predict the students’ performance in MUET.
Problem Statement
Since 1999, The Malaysian Ministry of Education has introduced a Malaysian
University English Test to prepare students to master an appropriate level of
proficiency in the English Language. MUET, which is conducted by The Malaysia
Examination Council consists of a listening test, a speaking test, a reading test and
a writing test (Lee, 2004). This test is compulsory for the candidates who intend to
pursue their study in tertiary institutions. The scores are divided into six bands,
from the highly proficient user (Band 6) to the very limited user (Band 1).
Previously, MUET examination had been conducted twice a year, but, due to its
demand, it has been conducted for three times a year which is in March, in July
and in November.
Former Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin

Hussein reported that deteriorating in English proficiency must be given a focus,
as a majority of the students who enrolled in universities have low proficiency
level (The Star, 27 January 2007). Based on the data provided by the Department
of Academic Management (2016) in the technical university, there were more than
500 students who had sat MUET more than two times. The Malaysian Higher
Education Blueprint 2015-2025 known as MEB (HE) has stressed on the
importance of English proficiency among undergraduates to raise their
competitiveness. In 2015, to deal with English Language issues among the

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undergraduates’ students in higher education, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak
has announced the new rules to enter the tertiary level. As the prerequisite
entrance to public universities, the students for art and social science studies need
to get Band 2 and they also must score Band 3 as a graduation requirement.
Previously, art and social science studies need to have only Band 1 as the entrance
requirement. The students from Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) must score Band 3 for entrance requirement and Band 4 for
graduation requirement. Also, besides that, Law and Medical students must score
Band 4 as the prerequisite entrance and Band 5 for the graduation requirement.
This has caused issues to the public higher institution in selecting the students in
some fields (Bernama, 17 October 2014).
Emotional intelligence (EI) has been reported to have positive impacts on English
Language proficiency among ESL learners. Emotional intelligence is a capability
to reason one’s emotion (Mayer and Salovey, 1993). Furthermore, Huseyin Oz et
al. (2015) have suggested that emotional intelligence skills and ESL have a
reciprocal connection. Many studies have proven that those who have emotional
intelligence skills have a higher tendency to improve English Language as EI skills
assist them in understanding the language better. Previous research has
confirmed the interconnection between emotional intelligence and ESL learning.
In additions, many types of researches have been completed to study the
correlation between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. For
example, in a study conducted by Petrides et al. (2004), it has been discovered that
EI skills are compelling in assisting the students who score low IQ in facing the
obstacles and stress in the academic endeavour. Petrides et al. (2004) also reported
that students with low IQ and with high traits of EI could manage their stress and
have better social interaction hence indicating an improvement in their studies.
Sakinah and Nooreen (2013) have investigated the correlation between emotional
intelligence and MUET achievement among matriculation students, but there is
no research that has been done to technical students. As compared to other
studies, this research is focused on the relationship between emotional
intelligence and the MUET performance among the technical students in a
technical university.
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions

Hence, the data from this study is intended to supply sufficient information via
the explorations on the roles of EI in boosting and enhancing MUET performance
among undergraduate students. Bar-On (2007) has highlighted that EI can be
instilled, taught and learned. Subsequently, EI skills can be included in the
educational policy and they can be integrated into the syllabus. As a result, the
students’ English performance will be enhanced and improved. Moreover, this
study would help the university, the top management and the curriculum
developer to structure and embed EI in pedagogical aspects.
The findings will provide a comprehensive understanding of emotional

intelligence roles in improving the students’ MUET performance among
undergraduate students in the technical university. This can be expressed in the
following research questions; Is there any significant correlation between the level

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of emotional intelligence (EI) among the undergraduate students in the technical

university and the MUET performance? Can the level of Emotional Intelligence
(EI) among undergraduate students in Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
predict the students’ overall performance in MUET?
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Emotions have played crucial roles in individuals. The contributions of emotional
intelligence in individuals have been highlighted by many parties such as
psychologists, educators and researchers. Several studies have been carried out to
study the concepts of emotional intelligence skills in individuals. Numerous
studies and publications have addressed the concepts and definitions of
emotional intelligence. Hen (2020) has pointed out that high emotional
intelligence affects well-being, emotional self-efficacy and academic performance,
as mentioned by Hen and Sharabi (2014).
Initially, Hassan et al. (2009) have mentioned that the word “emotion” was
created from the Latin word “emovere” that has been defined as moving,
happiness and hesitation (Mohd Azhar Abdul Hamid, 2006). Mayer et al. (2004)
have mentioned that emotions “…occurs when there are certain biological,
certainly experiential, and certain cognitive states which all occur
simultaneously”. There are emotions, which are more biologically oriented, and
then there are complex emotions that are saturated with thoughts and cognition”
(Geetu Orme, 2001). As mentioned by Geetu Orme, (2001), David Caruso, the co-
designer of the Multifactor Emotional Intelligent Scale (MEIS) has described
emotional intelligence as the capability to use the emotions intelligently to solve
the problems and to live the life successfully. Geetu Orme (2001) has also derived
emotional intelligence as the capability to alter the emotions, understand the
emotions and act accordingly based on common sense. To conclude, feelings and
emotions are used brilliantly in thinking, deciding and taking the proper action in
one’s life. Moreover, individuals have to be aware of their feelings and emotions
to avoid other hitch and conflicts. In this study, Goleman Emotional Intelligence
Model (1995) and Noriah (2004) are adapted which are self-awareness, self-
regulation, social skills, motivation and empathy. These skills are categorized into
five competencies which have been constructed into thirty items questionnaire.
Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

As referred by Lee (2004), the prospective students sit for the MUET exam as the
mandatory requirement to enrol in public universities in Malaysia. Previously, in
2000, the English Language grade in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) was
referred to classify the students’ language proficiency accordingly for university
admission. Then, Souba and Kee (2011) posit on the use of MUET results to gauge
students’ proficiency levels. Besides, it has also been stressed as an admission
requirement and as a placement test for many academic programmes. In contrast,
this occurs more administrative issues in categorizing the students’ proficiency
(Chan and Wong, 2004).

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Many researchers and practitioners have suggested implementing a standardised

assessment which could be used to evaluate the students’ proficiency level.
According to Lee (2004), MUET has been introduced in 1999 to cater to the issue
of English classes that have not been prepared for pre-university students. Then,
MUET has been fully implemented in 2000. MUET has been administered by The
Malaysian Examination Council to decrease the gap in the use of English
Language among students at secondary and tertiary level (Chan and Wong, 2004).
Concomitantly, according to the National Education Policy, the MUET syllabus is
shaped to enhance the students’ language proficiency at the pre-university level
and to assist the students to master the language excellently at a higher level.
English Language Proficiency among Undergraduate Students

In the engineering field, Venkatraman and Prema (2007) stated that the use of the
English Language in the academic and professional lives of engineering students
is very crucial. As such, Pendergrass et al. (2001) have claimed that, as the medium
of instruction in science and math course, the English Language plays a vital part
in enhancing the engineering students’ performance, neither oral nor written
communication. Since English is the principal international language of science,
the academic performance of engineering and science students is influenced by
their English Language proficiency (Pritchard and Nasr, 2004). It is because the
professional reference texts for engineering and science students are mostly
written in the English Language. This is supported by Joesba and Ardeo (2005)
that claimed that as the English Language is considered as the international
language, engineering students have to master the language effectively since all
the reference sources such as books, research papers, handbooks, journal are
written in the English Language.
Rea-Dicksin and Scott (2007) summarized that the English Language is critically
important in engineering education to ease the interaction between the cultures.
Besides, it has also been emphasised that the English Language is currently the
communication requirement in the field of science and technology. The failure of
the Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English Language (MBMMBI)
have led to the abolition of the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics
in English (PPSMI) in Malaysia in 2012 (Moses and Malani, 2019). Moses and
Malani (2019) have agreed that to uphold the government’s aspiration to drive
Malaysia as a developed nation, Malaysians have to master the English language.
Furthermore, Ashairi, Mohamed and Melor (2017) also stated that the students
could improve their English proficiency when learning science and mathematics
in the English Language.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) and English Language Performance

Many researches have been done to examine the influence of emotional
intelligence skills towards the learning of English Language. In a study done by
Sedigheh and Ghasem (2011), it has been proven that there has been a dependable
and significant relationship between EI and English language proficiency. The
study was conducted to examine the correlation between EI skills and English
language proficiency among Iranian high school students. Next, Huseyin Oz et al.
(2015) have summarised that higher emotional intelligence could help ESL
learners in language performance. They have also interpreted that individuals

285
with emotional intelligence skills could understand the language better than
others. They have declared that when individuals learn the English Language,
their emotional intelligence skills would be improved. Saud (2019) has also found
that in learning English Language, emotional intelligence is a crucial factor in
determining the students’ performance.
Zuhen (2016) has explained that language learning involves intrapersonal and
interpersonal communication and interaction, that emphasise the emotional
intelligence traits. Then, Goleman (1998), a well-known psychologist in the
emotional intelligence field, has also indicated that emotional intelligence
contributes to individual achievement. A study about the effects of emotional
intelligence on academic performance has been done among 200 American
students in Texas. In this study, Stottlemayer (2002) has revealed that academic
achievement could be predicted by the respondents’ EI level. Moreover, Rossiters
(2003) has reported that individual differences, for instance, intelligence, aptitude,
personality, motivation, attitude and anxiety influence second and foreign-
language performance. Downey, Mountstephen, Lloyd, Hansen and Sough (2008)
discovered that emotional intelligence skills influence the students’ motivation,
decision making strategy and planning. Consequently, this would affect students’
academic achievement. Besides that, different studies have evaluated the
relationship between EI and second language success, for example, Parisa (2013),
Reza (2009) and Sedigheh and Ghasem (2011).
On the contrary, few studies have reported the insignificant correlation between
emotional intelligence and language learning. For example, there was no
correlation recorded between the EI traits and vocabulary learning among Iranian
EFL learners at the intermediate level (Nesari, Karimi & Filinezhad, 2011). Other
than that, in a study done by Petrides and Furnham (2004), there was a negative
correlation between emotional intelligence skills and foreign language anxiety.
3. Research Methodology
Participants and procedure
The methodology applied in this study comprises quantitative research that
involves 250 respondents from two different fields and from six faculties in a
technical university which include Faculty of Information Technology (FTMK),
and five Faculties of Engineering. The respondents from an ICT course had
represented The Faculty of Information Technology. Next, the data were also
collected from the respondents from five different engineering faculties in the
technical university to get the representatives from the engineering students.
The cross-sectional survey design was implemented in this study as the data was
collected at one of time, and this design would give benefit to the researcher as it
measures the current attitudes or practices. In this study, the cross-sectional
survey design was used to examine the relationship between emotional
intelligence skills among the undergraduate students in the technical university
and the students’ MUET performance. Thus, the current status of the students’
emotional intelligence level could be identified.

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Other than that, the quantitative data was meant to investigate the relationships
between the level of emotional intelligence and other variables; MUET
performance, and programme. This study was designed by following the
Goleman – Noriah EI Theory (2004), so the emotional intelligence domains used
in this research are based on the EI domains that were constructed by Noriah
(2004). The domains ascertained in emotional intelligence skills that have been
used in this research are empathy, social skills, self-regulation, self-awareness,
and motivation.
The target respondents were only those undergraduate students who have taken
MUET examination because MUET performance is the dependent variable
measured in this study. The population of this research consisted of 100 female
students and 150 male students that represented the six faculties in a technical
university. As a result, this study involved 250 respondents as the accessible
population. The purpose of choosing the respondents from the Faculty of
Information Technology (ICT) and Faculty of Engineering in the technical
university is because these faculties focus on the niche area of the technical
university as the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN).
As the technical university has five Faculties of Engineering, thus, the respondents
from the engineering students were chosen equally from each Faculty of
Engineering. Generally, 60% of the technical university undergraduates are male
while the female students comprise 40% of the general population.
Instrumentation
This study adopted a set of a questionnaire from Tapia’s Emotional Quotient
Inventory (EQI) to acquire the quantitative data. The original set of the
questionnaire consists of 41 items, though, this study has chosen only 30 items
that are suitable with the context of the technical students. The instrument was
designed by taking into account the consideration of six main elements which are
demographic data, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social skills, and
motivation. This instrument has also been constructed based on Goleman’s
framework on emotional intelligence (1990).
This instrument has two sections according to the self-report based. The
demographic data collected for this study are gender, age, race, faculty, year of
study and the students’ MUET performance. In this section, the questionnaires
used open-ended and close-ended questions. Thirty items have been constructed
for the second part of the questionnaire. All items were constructed based on the
subskills of emotional intelligence, self-awareness (items no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), self-
regulation (items no. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), empathy (items no. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18),
social skills (items no. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24) and motivation (items no. 25, 26, 27,
28, 29, 30). The respondents were instructed to rate the positive items on a five-
point Likert scale ranging from ‘never like me’, ‘occasionally like me’, ‘sometimes
like me’, ‘frequently like me’ to ‘always like me’.
The Cronbach’s Alpha in Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software has
been used to evaluate the reliability of the instruments. The output recorded a

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very high 0.946 for all 30 items for the overall internal consistency value. Thus, it
can be concluded that the instruments have high reliability.
Data Collection and Analysis

Only one primary tool is used to collect information for the purpose of this study
which is the questionnaire. Only survey method is used because the emotional
intelligence instrument is adequate to investigate the impact of types of
programmes on the levels of emotional intelligence among the undergraduate
students in the technical university, to analyse the correlation between the level
of emotional intelligence (EI) among the undergraduate students and their MUET
performance and to examine whether the level of emotional intelligence (EI)
among undergraduate students in a technical university can predict the students’
performance in MUET.
The questionnaire, which is a form containing a set of questions and addressed to

a statistically significant number of subjects as a way of gathering information for
a survey is considered the best way of obtaining data especially for a large scale
survey such as this one. The questionnaires were distributed to 250 respondents.
4. Results and Discussion

The analysis of the quantitative data presents the following aspects: - i. the
significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence (EI) according to the
students’ programmes in the technical university. ii. the correlation between the
level of emotional intelligence (EI) among undergraduate students in the technical
university and their MUET performance. iii. Can the level of emotional
intelligence (EI) among the undergraduate students predict their MUET
performance?
The impact of types of programmes on the levels of emotional intelligence

among the undergraduate students in the technical university
The findings obtained from the analyses of the data are given in the tables:
Table 1: The level of emotional intelligence among respondents

Group Statistics
Course N Mean Std. Std. t- Sig.
Deviation Error Value
Mean
Emotional Engineering 125 2.4720 .43748 .03913 - 0.00
Intelligence 20.285
ICT 125 3.6200 .45712 .04089
An independent sample t-test was conducted to compare the level of emotional

intelligence scores for the respondents from the engineering course and ICT
courses. The analysis was done to answer research question 1 which is: -
RQ (1): Is there any significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence (EI)
according to the students’ programmes in the technical university?

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H0: There is no significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence (EQ)

according to the students’ programmes at the technical university
H1.There is a significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence (EQ)
according to the students’ programmes at the technical university.
The findings show that there is a significant difference in the level of emotional
intelligence for engineering course and ICT courses, t (250) = -20.285, p-value =
0.00. The level of emotional intelligence among ICT students (mean = 3.62, s.d. =
0.46) is significantly different from the level of emotional intelligence among
engineering students (mean = 2.47, s.d. = 0.44). in other words, students from the
ICT courses have a higher level of emotional intelligence as compared to students
from the engineering course. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.
Similarly, Sanchez-Ruiz et al. (2013) have elucidated that, as compared to other

majors, the psychology students were recorded a higher score of EI skills.
Concurrently, Sanchez-Ruiz et al. (2013) have also discovered that students from
the electrical engineering and computer science course scored a lower level of
emotional intelligence in comparison to students from the field of business and
management. Further, other researchers have also advocated that respondents
from the vocational and technical areas reveal lower scores on EI traits in
comparison to those in the field of social science (Caste Jon et al., 2008; Sanchez –
Ruiz et al., 2013). Zuhen (2016) has suggested that the undergraduates who use
ICT and media tools in ESL would be able to be attentive to their emotions than
others. The findings of this study have highlighted that ICT and media tools assist
the students in learning English (Zuhen, 2016). As affirmed by Petrides et al.
(2016), Sanchez-Ruiz, Perez-Gonzalez and Petrides (2010), technical students
indicate a lower score in terms of the emotionality score in comparison to students
of arts. It can be concluded that emotional intelligence level among the students
from a different type of courses and programmes are different. Thus, emotional
intelligence skills must be integrated into designing the syllabus for the course,
depending on the types of the course and programme.
The correlation between the level of emotional intelligence (EI) among the
undergraduate students and their MUET performance
Next, to determine the correlation between the level of emotional intelligence (EI)
among the undergraduate students in the technical university and their MUET
performance, a Pearson Correlation was used. The result of the finding is
portrayed in Table 2. The Pearson Correlation is conducted to justify the research
question 2 which is: -
RQ (2): Is there any significant correlation between the level of emotional
intelligence (EI) among the undergraduate students in the technical university
and their MUET performance?
H0: There is no significant correlation between the level of emotional intelligence
(EQ) among the undergraduate students in the technical university and their
MUET performance.
H1.There is a significant correlation between the level of emotional intelligence
(EQ) among the undergraduate students in the technical university and their
MUET performance.

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Table 2: The relationship between EI Level and the students’ MUET performance
Group Statistics
EI MUET
Level Performance
Emotional Pearson 1 .706**
Intelligence Correlation
Sig. (2- .000
tailed)
N 250 250
Pearson .706 ** 1
Correlation
Sig. (2- .000
tailed)
N 250 250
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
The data in Table 2 shows that there is a very strong positive correlation (r = 0.706,
p < 0.05) between the EI level and MUET performance. Thus, the null hypothesis
is rejected. This data has described the hypothesis, H1: There is a significant
correlation between the level of emotional intelligence (EI) among the
undergraduate students in the technical university and their MUET performance.
By squaring the correlation and then multiplying by 100, it indicates that the EI
level shares 49.8% of its variability with the students’ MUET performance. It can
be summed that the EI performance helps to increase the students MUET
performance in a large percentage (49.8%).
Table 3: The relationship between EI subskills and the students’ MUET performance
MUET Performance
Self_Awareness Pearson Correlation .656**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 250
Self_Regulation Pearson Correlation .659**
N 250
Empathy Pearson Correlation .654**
N 250
Social_Skills Pearson Correlation .607**
N 250
Motivation Pearson Correlation .606**
N 250
MUET Performance Pearson Correlation 1
Sig. (2-tailed)
N 250
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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According to Table 3, the data reveals that there is a strong positive relationship
(r = 0.656, p < 0.05) between the self-awareness and the students’ MUET
performance. After squaring the correlation and then multiplying by 100, it shows
that self-awareness shares 43% of its variability with the students’ MUET
performance. In other words, it shows that self-awareness skill can help to
increase the students MUET performance in a large percentage (43%). For another
subskill, for instance, self-regulation, there is a strong positive relationship (r =
0.659, p < 0.05) between self-regulation and the students’ MUET performance.
Self-regulation shares about 43.4% of its variability with the students MUET
performance. To sum, it helps the students MUET performance by 43.4%. Then,
there are also strong positive relationship between self-motivation (r = 0.606, p <
0.05), Empathy (r = 0.654, p < 0.05) and students’ MUET performance. These
findings show that self-motivation helps the students MUET performance of
36.7%, and empathy shares 42.7% of its variability with the students’ MUET
performance. Same goes with social skills that share 36.8% of its variability with
the students MUET performance (r = 0.607, p < 0.05). For motivation, it also
recorded a weak positive relationship as well (r = 0.083, p < 0.05) with the
students’ MUET performance. Maturity shares 0.68% of its variability with the
students’ MUET performance. It can be said that maturity level only contributes
0.68% for the students’ MUET performance. Finally, spirituality also showed the
same finding with other subskills as it recorded a strong positive relationship (r =
0.606, p < 0.05) with the students’ MUET performance. By squaring the correlation
and then multiplying by 100, it indicates that it shares only 36.7% of its variability
with MUET performance. It helps the students to improve their MUET
performance in about 36.7%. It can be concluded that all subskills have shown a
very positive relationship with MUET performance.
This finding in this research is consistent with research conducted by Khalil

(2012), who has investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL Learners’
emotional intelligence and their performance in TOEFL. TOEFL is an English
placement test, which is similar to MUET in terms of purpose. In this research,
Khalil (2012) indicates a significant and positive relationship between EI and
TOEFL scores. The findings illuminate the fact that emotional intelligence has its
impact on students’ performance in English tests that measure their language
proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. In research done by
Sakinah and Nooreen (2013), it has been proven that there was a significant
relationship between the students’ MUET achievements and emotional
intelligence. The study had been conducted to examine the correlation between
MUET achievement and emotional intelligence skills among matriculation
students in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Seyed et al. (2014) have investigated the
relationship between emotional intelligence and language achievement among
university students in Iran. The finding appears to support the previous literature
as there was a significant relationship between EI and language achievement score
of the participants. Hasanzadeh and Shahmohamadi (2011) emphasised that
students were more expressive and independent, have a high tendency to master
the language successfully. Alavinia and Mollahossein (2012) stated that emotional
intelligence skills are relevant in learning the language as compared to other
subjects.

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Can the level of emotional intelligence (EI) among the undergraduate students
predict their MUET performance?
Next, to study the relationship between those variables which are the level of
emotional intelligence and the students’ performance in MUET, the simple
regression analysis was conducted. This simple regression analysis is run to
explain the research question 3 which is:-
RQ (3): Can the level of emotional intelligence (EI) among undergraduate students
in the technical university predict the students’ overall performance in MUET?
Table 4: Model Summary

Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of
Square the Estimate
1 .706a .498 .496 .51170
Predictors: (Constant), Emotional Intelligence
This value in Table 4 indicates that 49.8% of the variances in the students’ MUET
performance can be predicted from the variable of the students’ level of emotional
intelligence. Thus, it can be said that the level of emotional intelligence among the
undergraduate students in the technical university reliably predicts the students’
MUET performance. It has been proven that emotional intelligence contributes to
the students’ MUET performance.
Table 5: Description of Regression

ANOVAa
Model Sum of df Mean F Sig.
Squares Square
1 Regression 82.946 1 82.946 245.833 .000b
Residual 83.678 248 .337
Total 166.624 249
a. Dependent Variable: MUET Performance
b. Predictors: (Constant), Emotional Intelligence
Based on Table 5, the p-value is 0.000, which is lower than alpha level, p < 0.05. It
shows that the level of emotional intelligence among undergraduate students can
be used significantly to predict the students’ MUET performance. Furthermore,
the description of the simple regression analysis is shown in Table 6 to provide
justification for the result.
Table 6: Description of simple regression

Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) .315 .160 1.974 .049
1 MUET .801 .051 .706 15.679 .000
Performance

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From Table 6, there is an explanation and interpretation that can be reflected to

relate the dependent variable and the independent variable. The finding shows
that this coefficient level of emotional intelligence among the undergraduate
students is 0.801. Thus, for every unit in the level of the emotional intelligence
among the undergraduate students’ score, it is expected to get a 0.801-point
increases in the students’ MUET performance. This is statistically significant at t
= 15.68 (Sig. = .049 < 0.05).
Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis has been conducted to investigate

whether the level of each subskill of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) among
undergraduate students can predict the students’ performance in MUET? This
analysis is hoped to give a further explanation about the contribution of each
subskill of EQ towards the students’ MUET performance.
Table 7: Model Summary

Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of
Square the Estimate
1 .722a .522 .512 .57134
a. Predictors: (Constant), Empathy, Social Skills, Self-Regulation, Self-awareness,
Motivation
b. Dependent Variable: Emotional Intelligence
This value in Table 7 proves that 52.2% of the variances in the students’ MUET
performance can be predicted from the variable of each subskill of emotional
intelligence. It can be summarized that the subskills of emotional intelligence
which are motivation, empathy, self-regulation, self-awareness, and social skills
can predict the students’ MUET performance.
Table 8: Description of Multiple Regression

ANOVAa
Model Sum of df Mean F Sig.
Squares Square
1 86.974 5 17.395 53.287 .000b 86.974
79.650 244 .326 79.650
166.624 249 166.624
b. Predictors: (Constant), motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills,
empathy
According to Table 8, the p-value is 0.000, which is lower than alpha level, p <
0.05. It justifies that the subskills of emotional intelligence which are motivation,
self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy can be used significantly to
predict the students’ MUET performance. The details of the interpretation are
stated in table 9.

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Table 9: Description of Multiple Regression

Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Beta
Error
(Constant) .062 .021 2.937 .004
1 Self_Awareness .200 .008 .259 24.753 .000
Self_Regulation .193 .007 .236 27.050 .000
Empathy .214 .011 .240 18.791 .000
Social_Skills .196 .007 .241 27.397 .000
Motivation .174 .010 .132 17.669 .000
According to Table 9, there are several justifications and interpretation can be

made based on the analysis of the multiple regression. The analysis can be
deducted relating dependent variables and independent variables and as stated
below:
This coefficient unit for the level of empathy is 0.21. Hence, for every unit in the
level of empathy score, it is expected to a 0.21 point increase the students’ MUET
performance. This is statically significant at t = 18.79 (Sig. 0.000 < 0.05). While for
the social skills subskill, the coefficient for social skills is 0.19. Hence, for every
unit in the social skills subskill score, it is expected to get a 0.19 increase to the
students’ MUET performance. This is statically significant at t = 27.4 (Sig. 0.000 <
0.05). Next, for self-regulation, it shows that the coefficient for it is 0.19. So, the
students’ MUET performance will increase by 0.19 point for every unit of self-
regulation subskill score. This is statically significant at t = 27.05 (Sig. 0.000 < 0.05).
Furthermore, the coefficient unit for self-awareness is 0.2 and it is still expected to
give an increase of 0.2 points in the students’ MUET performance for every unit
in the self-awareness score. This is statically significant at t = 24.75 (Sig. 0.000 <
0.05). While for motivation, the coefficient for it is 0.17. Due to this finding, for
every unit of motivation subskill score, it is expected to get an increase of 0.17
point in the students’ MUET performance. This is statically significant at t = 17.67
(Sig. 0.000 < 0.05).
The results confirm the findings of Sakinah and Nooreen (2013) that stated that
there was a positive relationship between emotional intelligence skills and the
students’ MUET performance. In their study, it validated that the positive
relationship between MUET achievements and EQ subskills indicated that an
increase in emotional intelligence could increase MUET accomplishments. Thus,
it has been proven that emotional intelligence skills contribute to the achievement
of the MUET performance. Hassan et al. (2012) hypothesised that there was a
relationship between emotional intelligence and vocabulary knowledge. He
reported that female students with high emotional intelligence level showed high
vocabulary knowledge. He stated that EQ is a good predictor in vocabulary
knowledge among ESL students. Thus, emotional intelligence skills have their
roles in predicting the students’ achievement in MUET as vocabulary knowledge
is also tested in reading and speaking paper.

294
Next, Parisa (2012) discovered that adapting emotional intelligence in classroom

instruction had a positive effect on the students’ level of writing performance. She
stated that Aki (2006) has highlighted that the nature of language learning
requires the learners and instructor to use interpersonal communication and also
psychology. Thus, it is very crucial to have the EQ skills in language learning,
such as the ability to recognise, comprehend and manage emotions. In reading,
Parisa (2012) added that the readers’ emotional sensitivity is developed to
embrace the characters in the reading process. As a result, language learning can
be more successful if emotional intelligence skills are instilled in the learning
process. Then, the role of emotional intelligence on English learning as a second
language was investigated by Maryam (2012). She pointed out that emotional
intelligence and its dimensions predict the students’ achievement in language
learning. Thus, it can be summarised that emotional intelligence skills can predict
the students’ performance in second language learning.
Thus, all those obtained values have explained the direction of the relationship
between the dependent variables and independent variables, either it decreases
or increases. From the data inferred from the analysis, it can be summarized that
the students’ MUET performance will increase and become better when the level
of emotional intelligence is higher. Every subskill of emotional intelligence has
played its roles in determining the students’ MUET performance. Again, based on
the finding, the students’ MUET performance will be improved and become better
when each subskill level is improved and better as well.
5. Conclusions
This study has illustrated several significant findings regarding both the
independent and dependent variables. This study also provided results for all the
research questions. Generally, there is no significant difference in the level of
emotional intelligence (EI) according to the students’ programmes in the technical
university. It has been found that there is a significant correlation between the
level of emotional intelligence (EI) among the undergraduates in the technical
university. The main implication derived from this study relates to the roles of
emotional intelligence skills in English Language learning and the students’
English performance. The shreds of evidence from this research suggest that
emotional intelligence plays an important role in determining the students’
language performance. Besides, the study has pointed out that students’ MUET
performance can be improved if the students have a higher level of emotional
intelligence. Since emotional intelligence affects English Language performance,
the integration of emotional intelligence skills should be implemented in every
English course offered in the technical university. The findings also suggest on the
need for the involvement of the stakeholders be it the management, faculties,
lecturers and students in enhancing MUET performance, including the
integration and implementation of the elements of emotional intelligence in the
teaching and learning of English language. Nor Lailatul Azilah, Syed Najmuddin
and Ruslan (2016) also proposed that EI can be instilled, taught and learned. As
pontificated by Hen (2020), many kinds of research have proven the significance
of emotional intelligence to career development, academic achievement and life
satisfaction. Hence, this study suggests that English lecturers could benefit from

295
emotional intelligence training programmes that offer the opportunity to develop

knowledge and skills of emotional intelligence in English Language class. For
future research, it is suggested to conduct a study on the relationship between
emotional intelligence traits and language skills such as listening, speaking,
reading and writing among the technical students.
6. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Centre of Languages and Human
Development, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Research Group C-
Act – PET for supporting this research. This research was supported by a Special
Grant for Language Teachers from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
(KHASDG/2019/PBPI/Q00041).
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Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 298-319, July 2020
Blended Learning Approach to Mathematics

Education Modules: An Analysis of Pre-Service
Teachers’ Perceptions
Ifunanya Julie Adaobi Ubah, Erica D. Spangenberg and Viren Ramdhany

University of Johannesburg, South Africa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-7532
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3073-9239
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0828-1196
Abstract. Changes in the higher education institutions curriculum for

South African schools have ushered in a blended learning approach to
support the education process and to meet the needs of students. This
change revolves around a blend of the use of online learning and
traditional approaches to improve on pre-service mathematics teachers’
knowledge and academic performance. This paper explored pre-service
mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the need for using a blended
learning approach to mathematics education modules in other to
ascertain if they will want to use b-learning in their future teaching career.
This research involved a mixed-method using convenient purposive
sampling to sample 42 pre-service mathematics teachers enrolled for a
mathematics methodology module in a selected South African higher
education institution. Responses to the questionnaire were used to
conduct a descriptive analysis of each question. Qualitative data analysis
from a semi-structured interview was analyzed thematically. The main
finding revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers were optimistic
that blended learning improved their performance, and have therefore
expressed their readiness to adopt it in their future teaching career.
However, pre-service teachers still need training and support to engage
meaningfully in this approach to learning.
Keywords: Blended learning; mathematics education modules; online

learning; pre-service teachers’ perception; traditional face-to-face method
1. Introduction
South African students’ poor performance in mathematics being of great concern
and is considered as a national crisis both in the educational and private sectors
(Abramovitz, Berezina, Bereman & Shvartsman, 2012; Ndlovu & Mostert, 2018;
SACMEQ, 2012; Ubah & Bansilal, 2018). Specifically, Ubah and Bansilal (2018)
observed that prospective mathematics teachers’ mathematical knowledge of
teaching mathematics was quite poor among South African students. A solution

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to this critical challenge revolves around the use of digital technology in the
teaching and learning process (Stols, Ferreira, Perser, Olivier, Merwe, De Villiers
& Venter, 2015). According to Subramanian, Thangarasu and Subramanian (2018),
teaching and learning of mathematics using digital technology can make the
teaching process more effective. The South African, Department of Basic
Education (DBE), offers a new perspective and a good environment for the
reorganization of the educational system (Fluck, 2018). This was to make progress
at the same speed as inclusive educational principles as well as to aid in training
proficient teachers. To accomplish this objective, the NHE through higher
education institutions (HEIs) were required to apply digital technology in the
training of pre-service teachers (Bennison & Goos, 2010) for productive teaching
outcomes in South African schools (Green, Adendorff, & Bongekile, 2014).
According to Borba, Askar, Engelbrecht, Gadanidis, Linares and Aguilar (2016),
the use of digital technology in mathematics instruction is less significant in many
developing countries including South Africa. The inclusion of Technical
Mathematics as a subject in the Grade 12 South African curriculum is a good
development for technology-based instruction (DBE, 2018). Certainly, the
inclusion of technical mathematics into the curriculum does not guarantee the
efficient use of digital technology for teaching and learning.
The research report of Stols, Ferreira, Pelser, Olivier, Van der Merwe, De Villiers
and Venter (2015) has shown that many South African teachers failed to use the
internet resources in their instructional processes even with the availability of
internet facilities. Ngambi, Brown, Bozalek, Gachago and Wood (2016), as well as
Kaptelinin and Nardi (2018), noted that teaching and learning of mathematics
could be more enjoyable, interesting, and accessible to a diverse number of
learners with the integration of digital technology. In addition, South Africa’s
HEIs have recorded digital progress in the area of pedagogical practices with
respect to the use of digital technology for the past twenty years (Mahesh, 2017).
From this discussion, it is obvious that research in South African HEIs struggled
to make stride of reform in the world of digital technology. Hence, the need to
encourage pre-service teacher education to take advantage of this technological
revolution to make strides in the advancement of mathematics education in South
Africa, to train teachers who are digitally literate enough, and to refresh the
process of teaching and learning of mathematics in this digital age. Given these
scenarios, well-structured research is required to explore pre-service mathematics
teachers’ perceptions of the need for using blended learning (digital technology)
to mathematics education modules for improved academic performance in other
to ascertain if they will want to use b-learning in their future teaching career.
Research Question
This research addressed the following questions.
(1) What were pre-service mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs’) perceptions of the
need for using a b-learning approach in mathematics education modules?
(2) To what extent did PSMTs’ perceptions determine their willingness to use
b-learning in their future teaching career?

300
The availability of digital technology in and around the classroom and the
development of pedagogy through technology integration led to the introduction
of b-learning approaches in the educational proocess (Hong & Samimy, 2010;
Schechter, Kazakoff, Bundschuh, Prescott & Macaruso, 2017). According to
Sharma (2010), b-learning has been in practice for more than 20 years in developed
countries, and contrarily to what people may think in the South African context.
Several researchers (Christenson, Horn & Staker, 2013; Kintu, Zhu & Kagambe,
2017; Tayebinik & Puteh, 2012) defined b-learning as a mixture of pedagogical
approaches that are rooted in online learning. B-learning offers complementary
learning experiences in a digital environment, for effective and efficient use of
traditional face-to-face learning methods in classroom instruction (Johnson &
Haria, 2015; McGee & Reis, 2012; Means, Toyama, Murphy & Bakia, 2013; O’Byrne
& Pytash, 2015).
With respect to varied definitions of b-learning raised by various researchers, this

research defined b-learning as a combination of the online and face-to-face
traditional methods of teaching and learning that accommodates different pre-
service teachers’ capabilities to learn at the ideal speed for oneself. Kekana and
Corke (2015) observed that the 2015/2016 academic session in South African
higher education institutions recorded a growth of b-learning in teaching,
learning, and research. This development was as a result of the emergency of
confusion and anxiety in HEIs during an undergraduate-led protest movement in
South Africa (Allison, 2015).
In the United Kingdom, Tolley and MacKenzie (2015) observed that HEIs should
offer suitable methods of teaching and learning support for teacher education. In
South Africa, Bojuwoye, Moletsane, Stofile, Moola and Sylvester (2014) observed
that supplementary support to face-to-face teaching methods addressed barriers
to learning while Quinn and Aarao (2020) observed that a mixture of face-to-face
learning activities with online learning improved academic performance. Siyepu
(2018) observed that using Khan Academy to supplement traditional classroom
interactions, prompted students to seek diverse solutions to problems during the
classroom instructional process. Contrarily, Krishnan’s (2016) study revealed that
pre-service teachers' preference for the face-to-face traditional learning approach
was because of the convenient and interactive way of learning mathematics with
their peers. In addition, Ashby, Sadera and McNary (2011) revealed that college
students that registered a b-learning mode algebra course did not perform better
than the students that learned the same algebra course in a face-to-face mode.
However, the mere introduction of b-learning to the educational process is

inadequate for proper technology integration rather it is the willingness to use it
in future careers (Sinay & Nahornick 2016). In view of this, Cloete (2014)
recommended that pre-service teachers’ should learn their modules using a b-
learning approach to equip them for an effective teaching career. The literature
revealed various benefits of b-learning, the most prevalent advantage is flexibility
(Medina, 2018) while students' ability to learn at their own pace, collaboration
among peers, and improved academic performance were reported as advantages

301
of b-learning (Shand & Glassett Farrelly, 2017). However, literature also revealed
some weaknesses of b-learning, the most prevalent weakness is the poor technical
and organizational structure (Kaur, 2013; Mozelius & Rydell, 2017).
Fewer research studies focused on pre-service mathematics teachers’ perception

of the need for using a b-learning approach in their mathematics education
modules. Thiyagu's (2011) survey research findings revealed that there was no
significant difference in B.Ed. trainee’s perception of the need for using a b-
learning approach. In addition, Krishnan (2016) research revealed that students
preferred the face-to-face learning approach than the b-learning approach.
According to Varthis and Anderson (2018), students reported positive perceptions
of using b-learning. Moreover, Umoh and Akpan's (2014) research findings
revealed that there is a significant positive effect on students’ perception of
blended learning tools. Singh, (2015) observed that b-learning creates an
opportunity for teachers to improve on their professional development as well as
creating opportunities for them to see the need and value of b-learning in
mathematics instruction.
Yilmaz and Malone's (2020) quantitative research on preservice teachers’

perceptions in the b-learning science education methods course in Turkey,
revealed a positive perception. Rifai and Sugiman (2018) research revealed that
the participants had a positive influence on mobile b-learning using smartphones.
Thomas, Doyle and Skamp (2019) research revealed that students had a high level
of engagement with online learning through flipped classroom than over
traditional face-to-face lectures. Graham and Spring (2017) revealed that 42.1% of
all b-learning research concentrated on behavior and reasoning while 25.4% of
research concentrated on student perceptions. An indication of limited empirical
research on students’ perceptions of the use of b-learning in higher education
institutions modules.
In view of this, pre-service teachers need to use and also explore the benefits and
weaknesses of the b-learning approach in their professional development to
enable them to use b-learning in their future teaching career (O’Byrne & Pytash,
2015). Hence preservice teachers should employ a b-learning approach in their
professional development to appreciate the merits and deficiencies of such an
instructional design for proper use in their future teaching career.
3. Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework is explicitly the researchers’ entry point into research.
Students understanding of how to obtain, develop, and perceive information in a
b-learning environment was by examining theories of learning related to the b-
learning approach. However, there was no particular theory that addressed
students’ perception of the b-learning approach (Picciano, 2017). However, the
constructivist theory, which Jerome Bruner is one of the founding fathers formed
the basis of this research (Nnachi, 2009). The constructivist theory is basically
based on a scientific study about how students learn (Nnachi, 2009). Various
teaching approaches were derived from constructivist theory, based on the
fundamental assumption that a learner actively seeks novel facts, and is actively

302
engaged in the process of assimilation and utilization of knowledge (Stoblein,

2009). Varthis and Anderson (2018) encouraged social constructivism as a useful
theoretical framework for a blended learning approach.
Social constructivism strongly influenced by Vygotsky’s (1978) based on

information and communication for the creation of knowledge is significant in
this research. Vygotsky asserts that in social constructivism interactions, teachers
help the learner to get to his or her own understanding of the content in an active
manner. According to Zaretskii, (2009) the teacher is the facilitator of learning and
is in charge of establishing a conducive learning environment to make sure that
all students are actively participating in the learning process. However, extended
engagement through computers offers students with more prospects for the
enhancement of their critical thinking skills. This development will enable the
students to improve on their higher-order cognitive skills and acquire more
meaningful learning experiences than what is possible in a traditional face-to-face
teaching and learning approach.
4. Research Methodology
Research Design
A mixed-method design was used to identify pre-service mathematics teachers’
perceptions of the need for using a b-learning approach in their mathematics
education modules. The mixed-methods design was chosen as most suitable for
this research because of its great potentials to strengthen the rigor as well as enrich
the analysis and research findings (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2011).
Data collection
Two instruments were used for data collection; first was a structured self-
designed questionnaire and the second, a semi-structured interview. The
questionnaire comprised of two sections; Section A consist of five yes/no
responses to the questions, while Section B consisted 25 questions on a 5-point
Likert scale with five possible responses ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree) used to measure pre-service mathematics teachers’ perceptions
of the need for using blended learning in mathematics education modules for
improved academic performance in other to ascertain if they will want to use b-
learning in their future teaching career. The authors did not follow a formalized
list of questions to develop questions for the semi-structured interviews. The
questions were asked in relation to pre-service teachers’ views on the use of a b-
learning approach in mathematics education modules. Two post-doc fellows in
the mathematics education discipline and academic mentors ascertained the
content validity of the instruments. They checked on the content relevance to the
research and appropriateness of each question. Moreover, the psychometric
property was tested using the Cronbach alpha technique which resulted in a
coefficient of 0.88.
Selecting Participants
This exploratory research involved 42 pre-service mathematics teachers,
purposively sampled from graduating pre-service mathematics teachers who
enrolled for a mathematics education methodology module forming part of their

303
Bachelor in Education (B.Ed.) degree at a South African Higher Education

Institution. This research used a convenient purposive sampling approach to
sample participants with the purpose of selecting information-rich cases whose
study would answer the question under research (Ratcliff, 2016). The internet and
computers were available to the participants in the selected HEI lecture halls. The
instructional approach for the module was a b-learning design. Based on
participants' responses to the questionnaire administered, three pre-service
teachers: Tom, Willy and Sammy were conveniently sampled for semi-structured
interviews to highlight their views on the use of a b-learning approach in
mathematics education modules. The interviews were audio-recorded and then
transcribed in a verbatim manner by the first author. In order to ensure reliability,
the transcripts were checked by the second and third authors against the original
recordings. To ensure, credibility, member checking was adopted where
participants were given the transcripts to check and correct errors that might have
occurred during transcriptions (Korstjens & Moser, 2017). Likewise,
dependability was ensured through a good recording of the interviews.
Data analysis
Analysis of data entailed the separation of the information gathered into smaller
units to enable the researcher to answer the research questions (Sauro, 2015).
Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics of frequency count
using the software package, SPSS version 26 as illustrated in Tables 1 & 2, and
Figures 1 & 2. The semi-structured interview data were organized and analyzed
using thematic analysis, in order to get an overview of what it revealed. The data,
however, did not contain sufficient general demographic information over time
such as age, race, academic performance, and home language to conduct
meaningful bivariate and multivariate analyses.
Ethical considerations
Permission to carry out research and an ethical clearance certificate was issued to
the researchers by the HEI research office. The participants signed a consent form.
The objective of the study was explained at the beginning of the research and the
participants were aware that participation was voluntary. However, all the
students that registered for the module were participants of the research. They
were assured anonymity in the use of their questionnaire responses and the semi-
structured interview data.
5. Research Results
Overall summary to responses of the questionnaire items
In reporting the results, Table 1 showed responses of participants to ‘Section A’
part of the questionnaire, while Table 2 showed the responses of participants’
perceptions of the need for using a b-learning approach to mathematics education
modules for improved academic performance in other to ascertain if they will
want to use b-learning in their future teaching career.

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Table 1: Responses to ‘Section A ‘part of the questionnaire

Frequency of Frequency of
Item
Yes Responses No Responses
Do you have a computer at home? 32 10
Do you have the internet at home? 22 20
Are you computer literate? 42 0
Did you acquire any skills in the use

34 8
of technology in learning?
Do you prefer using blended learning

38 4
in your mathematics modules?
The 42 participants that took part in this research had access to computers and the
internet in the classroom. Thirty-two out of 42 participants indicated that they had
computers at home, while 22 out of 42 participants had the internet at home (see
Table 1). The table revealed a greater challenge to the use of digital technology in
learning. However, all the students were computer literate while 34 participants
acquired some technological skills. 38 participants responded that they preferred
using a b-learning for their mathematics education modules, an indication of great
excitement about the introduction of new technology in the learning mathematics.
See Figure 1 for the graphical representation.
Figure 1: Graphical responses to ‘Section A’ part of the questionnaire
Figure 1, is the graphical representation of the result in Table 1. The graph showed
that more than half of the participants preferred the b-learning approach. Table 2
showed the participants' responses to ‘section B’ part of the questionnaire. It is
important to understand that ‘𝑁’ used in Table 2 stands for the number of
questions in that section.

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Table 1: Relevance of objectives of teaching subjects at the university

Strongly Strongly
N Questions Disagree Undecided Agree
disagree agree
1 I asked more questions in a b- 28
0 3 4 7
learning approach
2 B-learning provides opportunity
0 2 2 9 29
for collaboration among peers
3 My ability to access information
online was developed by the 0 2 2 7 31
use of a b-learning approach
4 I have the opportunity to
ponder on what I’ve learned 0 1 3 15 23
through a b-learning approach
5 B-learning improved my
1 3 1 6 31
academic performance
6 Generally, b-learning leads to a
0 1 3 7 31
perfect grasp of the modules
7 Using b-learning in my studies
could help me get a good
1 1 3 7 30
degree at the end of my
program
8 I will want to use b-learning in
0 1 2 3 36
my future teaching career
9 Personal technology gadgets
(e.g. android phone) aid me in 1 1 2 7 31
b-learning
10 Facebook, Twitter aid me in b-
2 2 3 11 24
learning environment
11 A social bookmarking site like
3 3 4 6 26
digg.com aids in b- learning
12 Through b-learning, I enjoy the
convenience of not coming to 0 0 6 1 35
campus often for lectures.
13 B-learning approach results in
improved time management 0 1 3 11 27
skills
14 Am motivated to succeed in
my academics through a b- 2 1 3 9 27
learning approach
15 Resources for b-learning were
being provided by my 0 0 8 1 33
university
16 The technology component of b-
learning approach has positive
effects on the quality of
interaction with other pre- 1 1 4 7 29
service teachers when compared
with face-to-face traditional
method
17 The module content was too
difficult to learn using b- 28 9 2 2 1
learning

306
Strongly Strongly
N Questions Disagree Undecided Agree
disagree agree
18 I am satisfied with using b-
learning because it helps to 0 0 4 3 35
improve on my zeal to study
19 Am flexible in accessing the
course content online at all 1 0 1 8 32
times
20 I desire b-learning that has the
same mixture of face-to-face and 21 2 2 8 9
online content
21 I adopt a b-learning approach
mostly held in a face-to-face
23 9 2 4 4
form with a small amount of
online format
22 I prefer a blend that has wide
use of the internet, but with
4 3 1 2 32
limited face-to-face class
discussion
23 I prefer entirely online with no
31 1 0 10 0
face-to-face blend
24 I do not like the use of the web,
I rather prefer entirely face-to- 30 9 0 1 2
face lecturing room instruction
25 I do not have an interest in
34 4 1 1 2
blended learning.
Table 2, showed that 34 and 4 of the participants strongly disagree and agree
respectively with the question “I do not have interest in b-learning (question 25).
Moreover, participants’ response to question 22 (I prefer a blend that has wide use
of the internet but with limited face-to-face class discussion) showed 34
participants’ acceptance of a b-learning approach. This finding concurs with the
response to question 5 in Section ‘A’; where most participants agreed that they
prefer b-learning in their mathematics education modules.
Figure 2: Graphical representation of participants’ responses to ‘Section B’ part of the

questionnaire

307
Figure 2 is the graphical representation of Table 2. The graph shows that all the
positive questions revealed a tall bar chart for responses Agree and strongly agree.
This is an indication that the b-learning approach improves on students’ learning
outcomes, opportunities to collaborate, flexibility in learning, and a better
understanding of mathematics education modules; hence more than 36
participants’ responded positively to question 8; that they will want to use b-
learning in their future teaching career.
Results of participants’ responses to semi-structured interview questions

Qualitative data analysis of the semi-structured interview questions was analyzed
thematically. The objective of this research leads the researchers to permit the data
to justify itself (Aspers & Corte, 2019). The extract from the semi-structured
interview of three pre-service mathematics teachers; Tom, Willy and Sammy were
shown below. Box 1 to Box 3 were dialogues between the first author (A) and Tom.
Box 4 to Box 5 were dialogues between the first author (A) and Willy while Box 6
to Box 7 were dialogues between the first author (A) and Sammy.
Box 1: Dialogue between the first participant (Tom) and the author (A)
A: Hello Tom, do you think that the blended learning approach is good for
learning your modules?
Tom: Yes, because in a b-learning approach the students were engaged. We
can learn through videos, do your assignment, and can even record the lesson
and study at home with lecture notes made in the classroom. It gives us the
opportunity to use different methods to learn a particular topic and is very
interesting.
From Box 1, Tom was probed about the suitability of a b-learning approach in
learning mathematics education modules. Tom’s preference for the b-learning
approach in learning his modules is based on the fact that such an approach
considered different learning styles and is interesting. Tom fully obliged that b-
learning be implemented in teaching and learning of mathematics. His reasons
were revealed in the following extract:
Box 2: Dialogue between Tom and the author

A: Why did you prefer b-learning?
Tom: Before I struggled to understand my mathematics modules but now I
can comfortably study using my lecture notes and online tutorials and my
marks have increased.
A: Good. Do you get adequate support from the lecturers and peers?
Tom: Not much as I expected from my lecturers but I collaborate with my
peers often.
Box 2, showed that Tom preferred a b-learning approach because he could now
get good grades in his modules. Tom's preference for a b-learning approach could
be attributed to his collaboration among his peers.

308
Box 3: Dialogue between Tom and the author

A: As a prospective mathematics teacher, do you feel you will want to use a b-
learning approach in your future teaching career?
Tom: Yes, and I will employ a b-learning approach so that mathematics will
be fun and not fear.
A: What challenge(s) do you encounter when using a b-learning approach in
your mathematics modules?
Tom: Finance, poor vision, and technical challenge.
A: What frustrations do you think you will encounter using a b-learning
approach in your future teaching career?
Tom: None for now until I start my career but I will use all available resources
to at least introduce b-learning since most learners use android phones.
A: Ok, what advice do you have for mathematics teachers teaching in schools?
Tom: My advice is that they should embrace the b-learning approach in
mathematics instruction because it’s an efficient teaching approach.
The extract in Box 3, showed that Tom’s present satisfactory academic

performance should be attributed to a b-learning approach. Tom recommends the
use of b-learning for all mathematics teachers to create fun not fear in the cause of
learning mathematics in schools. He identified finance and technical challenge as
a weakness to his effective use of b-learning. Tom could not identify any challenge
in his future teaching career but strongly believe he will use a b-learning approach
as long as the learners have their android cell phones. Tom advised teachers to
employ a b-learning approach because it is an efficient teaching and learning
approach.
Another pre-service mathematics teacher ‘Willy’ indicated in the questionnaire

that he enjoyed using b-learning in his mathematics education modules. This
assertion was revealed in the interview extract below.
Box 4: Dialogue between second interviewee (Willy) and the first author (A)
A: Do you think that the b-learning approach is good for learning mathematics
modules?
Willy: Yes, the b-learning approach is very good for learning mathematics
education modules because each student learns at his/her own time and pace.
It makes learning very interesting and easy. I can now do my assignments
perfectly well and I get good grades.
A: Good. Do you get adequate support from the lecturers and peers in
studying your modules through b-learning?
Willy: Yes, Lecturer X use to assist me when am having difficulty in uploading
the assignments. I sometimes learn together with my friends at school.
The extract in Box 4, clearly showed that Willy is comfortable with learning
mathematics modules using a b-learning approach. Willy is of the opinion that b-
learning should be used in all mathematics instruction because it makes learning
easy and interesting. He seemed to be comfortable with the support he gets from
his lecturer and his peers with respect to any difficulty he might experience in the
process of learning through a blended approach. Willy emphatically stated that

309
the b-learning approach is the reason why his grades improved. The author
probed further on his intention to use b-learning in his teaching career.
Box 5: Dialogue between Willy and the researcher

A: Willy, as a prospective mathematics teacher that you are, do you feel you
will want to use a b-learning approach in your future teaching career?
Willy: Sure. I will use b-learning after graduation when I start my teaching
career.
A: What challenges did you encounter when using a b-learning approach in
your modules?
Willy: The only challenge I encounter is how to organize my studies.
A: What difficulties do you envisage by using a b-learning approach in your
future teaching career?
Willy: I need proper training on how to design my lessons through b-learning.
However, I will use a b-learning approach to teaching mathematics to the
learners.
A: Ok. What advice do you have for mathematics teachers?
Willy: I will advise them to use a b-learning approach in teaching and learning
of mathematics because it will improve on learners’ performance and interest.
From the extract in Box 5 above, Willy stated that his lessons as a practicing
teacher will be interesting and easy for his learners to learn because he will use a
b-learning approach. He advocated for training on b-learning design. Willy stated
that his challenges will be on the lesson organization. Finally, he advised
mathematics teachers to use a b-learning approach because it will improve
learners’ performance and interest in mathematics.
The third interviewee is ‘Sammy’. His responses to the questionnaire showed a
preference for the face-to-face traditional methods than the b-learning approach.
The interview extract is as follows:
Box 6: Dialogue between Sammy and the author

A: Hello Sammy, from your experience, do you think that the b-learning
approach is good for learning mathematics education modules?
Sammy: I do not think so, because I like seeing the teacher teach me one and
one then online teaching
A: Have you ever tried online tutorials?
Sammy: Yes, I have watched a tutorial on YouTube once but I did not
understand the lesson better. I prefer the traditional method of instruction.
A: What is your challenge with online tutorial lessons?
Sammy: (He laughed). The tutors are too fast and the English they are using is
hard to understand. If it is in our local language, it could make sense to me.
A: Okay, but do you think b-learning should replace face-to-face traditional
method?
Sammy: Not at all, because the traditional method is better than b-learning. I
learn mathematics better using the traditional face-to-face method. Unlike
online, face-to-face, we ask questions when the lesson is going on. We have
direct access to the lecturer, who sometimes uses our local language to explain
some facts, so the traditional method is good.

310
From the interview extract in Box 6, Sammy stated that b-learning is not good for
learning because there is no physical contact with the lecturer at all times, unlike
the strict face-to-face traditional method. Sammy said that an online tutorial, the
tutors are fast and the language of instruction is hard and did not make sense to
him. Moreover, Sammy stated that with the traditional approach, the lecturer
could use local language for clarity. The author probed him further.
Box 7: Dialogue between Sammy and the researcher

A: As a prospective mathematics teacher, if you find yourself in a school that
learners use a b-learning approach in learning and all resources were readily
available, what do you do?
Sammy: Ok, if it is compulsory, then I will use it but use more of the traditional
method in my teaching than online.
A: Well done Sammy. Finally, what advice do you have for mathematics
teachers?
Sammy: mmm, my advice to them is that they should encourage their learners
to study well. I advise the teachers to learn the best way to design their b-
learning lessons so that the lesson will be interesting and improves on their
learners’ achievement.
Sammy’s interview extract in Box 7, showed that he can employ b-learning in his
future career if it is mandatory but insist he will use more of traditional-face-to-
face than an online component in his teaching. Sammy advised practicing
mathematics teachers, to use b-learning because it is no longer an option but a
necessity for learners to improve their performance in mathematics.
6. Discussion
The results obtained from the research findings align with the purpose of the
research. The major findings showed that pre-service mathematics teachers
perceived that using the b-learning approach has positive impacts on their
learning outcomes and hence, should be an effective tool for teaching mathematics
in their future teaching career. The B-learning approach improves on students’
learning outcomes, opportunities to collaborate, flexibility in learning, and a
better understanding of mathematics education modules. The quantitative data
also revealed that 38 out of 42 participants preferred using b-learning in
mathematics modules. This assertion concurs with Bojuwoye, Moletsane, Stofile,
Moola and Sylvester (2014), who found that the learning support services through
b-learning improved academic performance. B-learning is a supplementary
instructional approach that is interesting, improved performance, and most
effective in teaching and learning Malm, Bryngfors and Morner (2011). Contrarily,
Krishnan (2016) revealed that pre-service teachers preferred learning mathematics
through traditional face-to-face learning methods, because of its interactive
nature.
In addition, 34 out of the 42 participants acquired the technical skills required for
the b-learning approach. An indication that many pre-service mathematics
teachers possess the skills needed for a b-learning approach hence could be a
reason for the preference of a b-learning approach. This finding is in line with

311
Rizki and Priatna’s (2019) assertion that modern technology in teaching and
learning requires the acquisition of technical skills. However, the challenges
perceived by the participants is on access to computers and internets at home.
This assertion concurs with studies of Hong and Samimy (2010) and Schechter,
Kazakoff, Bundschuh, Prescott and Macaruso (2017), who revealed that the use of
b-learning in the educational context emerged when we started accessing
technology in and around the classroom.
The qualitative data revealed that the participants perceived the b-learning
approach is good for effective mathematics instruction and should be used in their
future teaching careers. This finding is consistent with Siyepu (2018), who used
Khan Academy to supplement traditional classroom interactions, and showed
that virtual learning stimulated pre-service teachers to make inquiries which lead
to clarifications, efficiency in classroom discussions, and improved performance.
Moreover, Sammy indicated that collaboration among his peers attributed to his
improved academic performance through b-learning. This assertion concurs with
Shand and Glassett Farrelly (2017) which stated that students’ improved academic
performance could be attributed to their collaboration among peers.
However, any variance in the participants’ response to the use of the b-learning
approach could be due to the online language of instruction as observed by
Sammy during the interview. This observation calls for the need to introduce and
use artificial intelligence in learning mathematics. Artificial intelligence will help
to produce artificial tutors that could answer such questions required by Sammy
during the online tutorials. This finding concurs with Yang and Zhang (2019) who
observed that physically personified robots may bestow virtual interactions,
promote psychomotor, affective, and cognitive learning outcomes as well as
attainment of greater learning outcomes similar to those of human teaching.
7. Conclusion
This research explored the perceptions of 42 pre-service mathematics teachers of
the need for using a b-learning approach to mathematics education modules for
improved performance in other to ascertain if they will want to use b-learning in
their future teaching career. The main finding of this research has shown that pre-
service teachers are optimistic that b-learning is useful to them, and have therefore
expressed their readiness to adopt it in their future teaching career. Above all, this
research produced mathematics teachers that are ready to embrace digital
technology and to make a difference in their future teaching careers and
professional learning communities. As the research sample was limited to one
HEI, caution should be applied to generalizations drawn from this research. Pre-
service mathematics teachers should be adequately trained to take their place in
the world by being inherent driven by digital technology. However, this research
recommended that pre-service teachers need training and support to engage
meaningfully in this b-learning approach to learning which research has shown.
In this research, pre-service teachers demonstrated a deeper understanding of
content and displayed higher-order thinking skills required for their future
teaching career. In conclusion, one can say that using b-learning fits more

312
comfortably with today’s teachers who are familiar with digital technology used
in communication, finding solutions to question, and also used for play.
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Appendix A
A RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE ON PRESERVICE MATHEMATICS

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE NEED FOR USING BLENDED
LEARNING IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION MODULES
Dear Participant,
This is an educational research questionnaire purposefully designed to identify
preservice mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the need for using a blended
learning approach in mathematics education modules to make optimal use of
technology through blended learning approaches for a future teaching career.
Blended learning involved the practice of using both online and face-to-face
traditional learning approaches. In a blended-learning course, traditional face-to-
face teaching and learning will be supplemented by online learning experiences,
and students would learn about the same topics online as they do in a traditional
class setting Please respond honestly to the questionnaire items. Accept our
highest assurance that the information you provide will be treated confidentially.
SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION
Pick the correct response and mark “X” in the chosen box.
1. Do you have a computer at home? Yes No
2. Do you have the internet at home? Yes No
3. Are you computer literate? Yes No
4. Did you acquire any skills in the use use of technology in learning?
Yes No
5. Do you prefer using blended learning in your mathematics modules?
Yes No

317
SECTION B: PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE NEED FOR

USING BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH IN LEARNING
MATHEMATICS EDUCATION MODULES
Please mark ‘X’ in the appropriate place of your choice below. The keys are as
follows:
SA [5] Strongly Agree
Ag [4] Agree
U [3] Undecided
D [2] Disagree
SD [1] Strongly Disagree
S/N Questions Strongly Agree Undeci Disagre Strongly

agree ded e disagree
1 I asked more
questions in a b-
learning approach
2 B-learning provides
an opportunity for
collaboration among
peers
3 My ability to access
information online
was developed by the
use of a b-learning
approach
4 I have the
opportunity to
ponder on what I’ve
learned through the
b-learning approach
5 B-learning improved
my academic
performance
6 Generally, b-learning
leads to a perfect
grasp of the modules
7 Using b-learning in
my studies could help
me get a good degree
at the end of my
program
8 I will want to use b-
learning in my future
teaching career
9 Personal technology
gadgets (e.g. android
phone, mp3 player)
aid me in b-learning

318
10 Facebook, Twitter aid

me in b-learning
environment
11 A social bookmarking
site like digg.com
aids in b- learning
12 Through b-learning, I
enjoy the convenience
of not coming to
campus often for
lectures.
13 B-learning approach
results in improved
time management
skills
14 Am motivated to
succeed in my
academics through a
b-learning approach
15 Resources for b-
learning were being
provided by my
university
16 The technology
component of b-
learning approach
has positive effects on
the quality of
interaction with other
pre-service teachers
when compared with
face-to-face
traditional method
17 The module content
was too difficult to
learn using b-learning
18 I am satisfied with
using b-learning
because it helps to
improve on my zeal
to study
19 Am flexible in
accessing the course
content online at all
times
20 I desire b-learning
that has the same
mixture of face-to-

319
face and online

content
21 I adopt a b-learning
approach mostly held
in a face-to-face form
with a small amount
of online format
22 I prefer a blend that
has wide use of the
internet, but with
limited face-to-face
class discussion
23 I prefer entirely
online with no face-
to-face blend
24 I do not like the use of
the web, I rather
prefer entirely face-
to-face lecturing
room instruction
25 I do not have an
interest in blended
learning.

320

Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 320-341, July 2020
Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical

Content Knowledge Model for teaching Market
Dynamics
Ijeoma C. Ogbonnaya, Andile Mji,

Olivia N. Mafa-Theledi and Beatrice Ngulube
Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9308-1625
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3077-9209
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8971-4525
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5631-9094
Abstract. The teaching and learning of Market Dynamics (MD) seems to

be a challenging topic for teachers and learners. This research aimed to
develop an Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (ET-TSPCK) Model to improve the teaching of MD.
Mavhungas’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK)
model was adapted as the base model to identify Economics Topic
Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ETSPCK) components for
teaching MD. Using a descriptive case study design, a purposeful sample
of two economics teachers of the 10th and 11th grades were used for the
research. While lesson observations were used as data collection method,
data were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis technique, namely
thematic analysis. Economics teachers’ topic specific knowledge usable
for teaching MD were identified and the model “Economics Teachers’
Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ET-TSPCK) model” was
developed. In addition, it was found that there exists an inter-
relationship among the ETSPCK components. However, the relationship
between the teaching strategies and the components of Curriculum
knowledge were not connected and fully developed in the participating
teachers. The model provides insights into the implementation of the
Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) with reference to the
teaching of MD hence, suggesting ways in which the teaching of the
topic could be improved.
Keywords: economics topic specific pedagogical content knowledge;

economics teachers; market dynamics; model
1. Introduction
In many developing countries such as South Africa, the teaching and learning of
Market Dynamics (MD) seems to be a challenging topic. From South African

321
perspective, learners face challenges in understanding MD. Evidence from the

last 2015 test of economics literacy held in South Africa on learners’
understanding of basic economics concepts showed that learners struggle with
most basic economics concepts contained in the Test of Understanding
Economics in South Africa (TUESA) (Fourie & Krugell, 2015). Learners were
tested on MD concepts such as demand, supply and elasticity in MD and the
TUESA results showed that learners performed least with 46.38 per cent score in
microeconomics (Fourie & Krugell, 2015).
Consequently, the Diagnostic report for Matric exam question analysis showed
that learners have not performed well on questions related to MD in
Microeconomics Paper-2 over the years (DBE, 2020). (Matric exam is the final
and exit examination for the 12th Grades). For example, the analysis of matric
exam questions for 2019 reported: “Candidates performed poorly on questions
related to microeconomics… the supply curve is not covered explicitly in the
content but rather the demand curve” (DBE, 2020. P. 95). Microeconomics
questions in South African matric exams are based on MD. While the poor
learners’ understanding of MD could be attributed, at least in part, to teachers’
poor Topic Specific Knowledge of MD teaching, the gap that appears to exist in
the South African context was the absence of a seemingly valid model for
teaching MD to South African learners.
Research evidence from other countries also showed that learners lack
conceptual understanding of Market Dynamics concepts (Ayers, 2015; Aguiló,
Sard & Tugores, 2016) and often considered the topic dry and overly
mathematical (Ayer, 2015).
Indeed, research on economics teachers’ use of TSPCK models for teaching

specific economics topics is still an emerging field. A number of PCK studies in
economics education have focused mainly on pre-service teachers’ PCK
development (Ayers, 2016; Kuhn, Alonzo & Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, 2016;
Kruger, 2018 and Ng & Chan, 2014), instead of looking into how to improve the
teaching and learning of specific topics using TSPCK models.
In the science education domain, a considerable amount of research have been

conducted (Aydin, Friedrichsen, Boz & Hanuscin, 2014; Mavhunga & Rollnick,
2016) on teachers’ use of TSPCK models to improve the teaching of specific
topics. The findings from these researches showed that the use of TSPCK models
for teaching specific science topics facilitated both teachers and learners’
understanding of those challenging topics and contributed to teachers’
professional development (Akinyemi, 2016; De Jager, 2015; Rollinick &
Mavhunga, 2016). However, despite the rich research findings in the science
education domain on the effectiveness of TSPCK models for teaching specific
topics, no such research has been conducted to understand the effectiveness of
TSPCK models for teaching MD.

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1.1. Market Dynamics

Market Dynamics (MD) is the interaction between the forces of demand and
supply and the prices they generate. Malyshkin (2016) describes MD as “The dis-
balance of Supply and Demand that is typically considered as the driving force
of the markets”. From school perspective, MD is one of the fundamental
economics topics consisting of the basic economics concepts that play an
important role in understanding other economics concepts. The topic cuts across
a range of topics in the social science subject domains and falls in the second
term of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) - economics
for the Further Education and Training (FET) bands, Grades 10 to 12 levels. A
cursory check shows that MD occupies topical positions in school economics
curriculum in most volumes and most of its concepts fill much of the economics
topics in the FET bands.
MD concepts such as demand, supply, price etc., are expressed in different

forms. They can be visualised in the form of graphs or represented in symbols.
For example, the concept of demand could be presented as a demand function,
Qd = f (P, Y, Ps, A, etc.) and that of supply as a supply function; Qs = f (P, P1, P2,
G, etc). MD also consists of the Demand and Supply (DD-SS) model that gives a
clearer understanding of the market structures. Without the fundamental
understanding of the model, it is almost impossible to understand the complex
world of economic theory. The DD-SS model is one of the economic reasoning
tools that enable economics learners to “think like economist” (Mankiw, 2015;
Zuidhof, 2014). Indeed, teachers’ understanding of MD is important for
learners’ performance hence, a need of an economics model to improve MD
teaching.
1.2. TSPCK Models

TSPCK models are discussed in order to establish reasons for ET-TSPCK model
for MD teaching and to enable a detailed analysis of economics teachers’ topic
specific knowledge to be carried out. Shortly after Shulman (1986) ground-
breaking PCK model of teachers’ knowledge base for teaching, the PCK model
was re-conceptualized in its’ topic specific forms by different researchers (e.g.
Grossman, 1990; Cochran, DeRuiter & King, 1993; Magnusson, Krajcik & Borko,
1999; Veal & Makinster, 1999; Carlsen, 1999; Gess-Newsome’s, 1999), thus
making TSPCK models a unique construct from PCK model.
Veal and Makinster (1999) developed two PCK taxonomy models where
knowledge is arranged in different levels. The first PCK taxonomy shows circles
of different PCK level that overlap one another and ordered thus: General PCK,
Domain-specific PCK and Topic–specific PCK. Veal and Makinster refer to
Topic-Specific PCK as a specific knowledge necessary to teach a topic in a
domain. Veal and Makinstar (1999) later modified the first taxonomy by
presenting it in a pyramid form thus forming a “hierarchical structure of PCK
and its attributes”. Both models speak specifically to teachers’ knowledge of the
content of a specific topic in the domain and provide insight into the importance
of topic-specific PCK. The models also noted that “the most specific and novel
level of the general taxonomy (of PCK) is topic specific PCK” (p. 9). However, in

323
Veal and Makinstar (1999) newly modified model, there seems to be no

interaction between the components of the model. Each component stands on its
own base on the pyramid. Consequently, the modified model failed to show the
transformative aspect of the content knowledge.
Magnusson, Krajcik and Borko (1999) model was known for its transformative
knowledge and was developed from an integrative view. The model is made up
of five components: Knowledge of assessment, Knowledge and beliefs about
science curriculum, orientation to teaching science, knowledge of students’
understanding of science and knowledge of instructional strategies. Knowledge
of instructional strategies includes knowledge of topic specific strategies and
knowledge of subject specific strategies. However, a closer look at the model
shows that all other components interact with ‘orientation to science teaching’
only but there seems to be no interaction among each of the components. In
particular, the integrative view did not penetrate the knowledge of topic specific
strategies. One of the gaps this present study intends to close in Magnusson et
al. (1999) model is to bring to the fore content knowledge, which seems to be
hidden in Magnusson et al. (1999) model.
Park and Oliver (2008)’s PCK model known as Hexagon Model extended
Magnusson et al. (1999) models’ components by adding self-efficacy as another
PCK component. The model consists of eleven components with so many sub-
components. Among the components is knowledge of instructional strategies for
teaching science, which has topic specific strategies and subject specific
strategies as sub-component. The problem with the model is that it failed to
clarify the boundary of PCK from other categories of teachers’ knowledge. For
example, self-efficacy may not necessary be considered as a knowledge
component per se rather as one’s personal character and how it in-relate with
topic specific strategies is not well specified.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the existing models are not deemed fit to be
used as base models after considering their limitations. We were therefore led to
choose a model that has the basic components closer to what is needed to
develop our new model.
1.3. Theoretical Framework

Among the TSPCK models developed by different researchers, of special
importance is Mavhunga (2012) TSPCK model (See Figure 1) noted for its most
contributions to Topic Specific studies. Mavhunga (2012) TSPCK model
recognized that specific knowledge is needed for transforming the content
knowledge in a particular topic into teachable form using pedagogical
reasoning. The model was also noted for its’ transferability principles, that is,
that although the principle of TSPCK can be transferred across topics, Topic
Specific Knowledge in a particular topic is not transferable from one topic to
another (Mavhunga, 2012; Rollnick & Mavhunga 2013). This implies that the
principles of topic specific could be applied for any topic in any field of study.

324
Mavhunga (2012) model is made up of the five basic components that could
serve as the bases for our new model development. These are: Learners’ Prior
Knowledge (LPK), Curricular Saliency (CS), Content Knowledge (CK),
Knowledge of Representations (KoR) and Teaching Strategies (TS). Mavhunga
(2012) defined these components as follow; LPK are common and widely
researched teachers’ knowledge of learners’ conceptions, preconceptions and
misconceptions and learners’ pre-existing knowledge. CK involves teachers’
understanding of what makes a topic easy or difficult to teach or learn. Teaching
strategies involves using effective instructional strategies for particular
misconceptions, and for known areas of difficulty to learn. Curricular saliency is
the ability to analyse and organize a topic for purposes of planning for teaching,
while representations are various ways of representing subject matter with
examples, illustrations, analogies, simulations, diagrams, tables, and models.
Figure 1: Mavhunga (2012) model
Despite Mavhungas’ (2012) model contributions to Topic Specific studies, the

model is not without limitations. Firstly, Mavhungas’ model is developed from
the science domain perspective. Although the principles of Topic Specific model
of Mavhunga can be applied to the teaching of specific topics in economics, the
findings from Mavhunga’s model cannot be applied to economics topics.
Consequently, the model failed to illustrate the sub-components to each
component as in other empirical TSPCK studies where Topic Specific PCK could
be assessed through observation of its sub-components. Our model included
sub-components for ease of use to enable a detail analysis of economics teachers’
Topic Specific Knowledge to be undertaken. While Mavhungas’ interest lies in
constructing a tool that measures the quality of Topic Specific PCK of chemistry
pre-service teachers at a topic level, our model focuses on how to improve the
teaching and learning of specific economics topics like MD through a practice-
based Topic-Specific PCK model. It is important to note that the object of
analysis of our model is to capture how teachers demonstrate and use the specific
knowledge they bring into play when teaching specific topics in the classroom
settings and not to measure the quality of Topic Specific as Mavhunga (2012)
model focuses on. Another concern with Mavhunga (2012) model is that

325
although the model recognizes the specific knowledge needed for transforming
the content knowledge in a particular topic, the model is not well supported
with pedagogical reasoning and actions to display the transformed knowledge.
This means that Mavhungas’ model did not provide room for showcasing
teachers’ teaching practices. Thus, we sought to develop a practice-based
Economics Topic-Specific PCK model that will afford teachers the opportunity to
engage in pedagogical reasoning and action.
1.4. Research Question

The research question that guided this study was:
Can Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ET-
TSPCK) Model be developed for Market Dynamics?
2. Methodology
2.1. Research Design
This study adopted a descriptive, qualitative case study to examine economics
teachers’ use of TS-PCK in teaching MD with the purpose of proposing an
Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific PCK model. The case study approach was
chosen to gain an in-depth understanding of how the two participant teachers
demonstrated their use of TSPCK in teaching MD thus, presenting a description
of each case within the context (Rahman, 2017).
2.2. Participants
Two economics teachers were purposively selected from two different schools in
Tshwane North District, South Africa. They were selected based on two criteria:
The teachers possess at least 5 years of teaching experience in economics at
secondary school level and that the teachers have obtained a tertiary education
qualification for teaching economics. The teachers teach the 10th and 11th
Grades. The Grade 10 teacher had 9 years teaching experience while the Grade
11 teacher had 13 years teaching experience. This criterion is important because
our focus is to model experienced teachers’ teachings with the assumption that
the teachers have already developed TSPCK in teaching MD over the years of
teaching. Both teachers hold Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a
Postgraduate in Education Certificate (PGCE) in economics. The two teachers
were females, not intentionally chosen but chosen according to the set criteria.
2.3. Instruments
Lesson observations were used for data collection. Lesson observations were
used in order to gain in-depth insight into the situation being observed
(Creswell et. al, 2016) and to examine the key Topic Specific pedagogical skills
and knowledge demonstrated by the teachers on MD. The lessons were
observed with an observation protocols. The observation protocols have two
parts. The first part was adapted from Sibuyi (2012) and is made up of the five
TSPCK components: Content Knowledge, Curriculum Knowledge, Learners’
Prior Knowledge, Teaching Strategies and Knowledge of Representations. These
components were used to identify specific elements manifested by the teachers
during MD teaching. (See Appendix 1) for more information about the
components. The second part of the observation protocol was adapted from
Romylos (2018) and contains elements; aims and objectives of MD, learners’

326
involvements during the lesson periods, specific teaching strategies used by the
teacher while teaching MD, content presented by the teachers, time limit of the
lesson, specific classroom activities, and introduction. Although these elements
were captured with the video camera, it was easier to immediately tick what was
observed.
2.4. Data Collection and Procedure

The lesson observation for this study began with researchers’ initial visits to the
teachers’ classrooms to be familiarized with the teacher, learners and the
classroom setting. In other words, the researchers’ first-two visits to the
classrooms come prior to the start of teaching MD. This was done as noted by
Noguera (2018) that the presence of an observer in the classroom tend to
influence the nature of lesson presentation thus making it untypical of the
teachers’ usual style of teaching. In the first two visits to the classrooms in all
the grades, the researchers did not record the lessons observed. This implies that
the topics treated during these first visits fall outside the topic “Market
Dynamics”. During actual observation, the two economics teachers were
observed in their different classroom during normal teaching periods. Four
different lessons were observed for both Grade 10 and Grade 11. In all the
lessons observed, the researchers sat at the back of the classroom to avoid
disrupting the lesson. The researchers also ensured that they got into the
classroom before the learners in each lesson period.
All lessons observed were video recorded.Video recording was deemed fit in
order to examine the structure of the teaching and learning of MD from the two
participant teachers. After the recordings, the videotapes were replayed and the
actions of the teachers were watched using the observation protocols. The
observation protocols help to examine the key Topic Specific PCK elements
manifested by the teachers during the teaching process.
2.5. Data Analysis

The analysis of the video recording followed the following process as described
by Creswell et al, (2015):
(1) ‘Open coding’ is the initial coding process that helped the researchers to
retrieve quickly all data and text that show commonalities in order to group
them in thematic ideas so that each theme can be examined together and
different cases compared where necessary.
(2) ‘Axial coding’ is the second stage of the coding process which entailed
putting data in new ways, making explicit connections between categories and
searching for relationships and patterns.
(3) ‘Selective’ coding which involved the process of selecting and identifying the
core category and making contrast and comparisons relating to other categories.
(4) Making sense of the data, which involved interpreting and presentation of
the data and abstracting the findings from the categories.
During the analysis, the researchers paid particular attention to areas where
Topic Specific PCK elements of those teachers were manifested. In order words,
the analyses of the video recordings were critically done using the five Topic
Specific PCK components. This helped the researchers to identify frequency of

327
themes as data were coded under emerging themes. Common themes were
grouped into categories, and sub-components were identified from the main
TSPCK components. These sub-components together with the components made
up the components of our new proposed ET-TSPCK model integrated into the
existing Mavhungas’ Topic Specific PCK components. We describe the sub-
components that emerged from different themes.
Topic Specific-Content Knowledge (TS-CK) for Market Dynamics teaching

Topic Specific-Content Knowledge (TS-CK) of economics teachers was grouped
under the theme: Knowledge of economics topic ‘Market Dynamics’, and the
following sub-components emerged Horizon Content Knowledge, Specialized
Content Knowledge and Common Content Knowledge. These sub-components
indicate that economics teachers not only have the subject matter knowledge for
MD but could as well use the knowledge to solve learners’ problems while
learning MD.
Topic Specific Knowledge of Teaching Strategies (TSK-TS) for Market Dynamics

teaching
With respect to Topic Specific Knowledge of Teaching Strategies (TSK-TS), two
sub-components emerged Practical Knowledge of MD and Theoretical Knowledge of
MD from the theme: Knowledge of instructional strategies. Under teachers’
practical knowledge of MD teaching however, our analysis indicated that the
lecture methods were predominantly used, as learners seem not to understand the
topic when other methods are used.
Topic Specific Knowledge of Representations for Market Dynamics teaching

Economics teachers’ Topic Specific Knowledge of Representation was grouped
under the theme: Pedagogical Knowledge. Two knowledge sub-components
emerged Knowledge of analogies, and Knowledge of activities. Our analysis shows
that all the teachers were able to use analogies to illustrate MD concepts but
failed to represent MD concepts with activities.
Topic Specific curriculum Knowledge for Market Dynamics teaching

Economics teachers’ Topic Specific Curriculum knowledge for MD teaching was
grouped under the theme: Knowledge of learning objectives and knowledge
integration. Our analysis revealed two knowledge components; Vertical and
Horizontal curriculum knowledge. The analysis showed that both teachers knew
how sub-topics were distributed in the curriculum (Vertical) and the integration
of one sub-topic to the other in the entire curriculum (Horizontal).
Topic Specific Knowledge of ‘Learner Prior Knowledge’ for Market Dynamics

teaching
Economics teachers’ Topic Specific Knowledge of ‘Learner Prior Knowledge’
was examined under the theme: Knowledge of relating new knowledge to
existing knowledge. The analysis indicated two knowledge components: learners’
misconceptions/pre-conceptions and learners’ difficult concepts in previous grades. Our
analysis shows that the teachers were not able to easily detect challenges and
difficulties learners face in understanding some aspects of the topics learnt in
previous grades.

328
Topic Specific Beliefs for Market Dynamics teaching

Teachers’ beliefs were not among the TSPCK components identified according to
the framework adopted for this research. However, during lesson observations,
we observed that the belief factor was significant and had influence on teachers’
teaching of MD. Although teachers’ beliefs might not be an observable factor, it
was evident that the participant teachers placed much value not only on the
affective side of their teaching by being humorous, accepting learners as they
are, creating a relaxing environment, providing positive feedback and spreading
joy, but also by the comments the make during the course of their teaching.
From our analysis, we categorize teachers’ beliefs under the theme Teachers’
Philosophy about Market Dynamics Teaching, which resulted to the following
sub-components: career-related beliefs, self-related beliefs, curriculum-related beliefs,
and learner-related beliefs. Our analysis revealed that teachers’ beliefs in relation to
career-related beliefs showed that the teaching of MD motivates economics
teachers’ interest of their choice of teaching as career. This was evident by the
Grade 10 teachers’ comment: “…I never regretted chosen being an economics
teacher…I like the fact that I impact knowledge…” Likewise, the Grade 11 teacher
also commented: “…I always have joy when I see you learners becoming great
economists and economics teachers in future just as I am …” The teachers believe that
their careers as teachers are unique in impacting new knowledge to the young
learners. Our analysis also showed in terms of self-related beliefs, that teachers’
self-efficacy lead to determination and persistency in the teaching of MD. The
Grade 10 teacher commented; “…I will leave no stone unturned until you
understand this topic…”, while the Grade 11 teacher also commented; “…I know
myself, I am a go-getter, I will put in my best to ensure that none of you learners fell this
subject even in your Matric exams…” These teachers’ comments indeed show their
self-efficacy beliefs towards the teaching of MD. In terms of curriculum beliefs,
our analysis indicated that the teachers believe that the school curriculum have
not achieved much in relation to curriculum specifications and depth of
coverage of basic MD concepts for each grade level. This was evident by the
teachers’ comments about the school curriculum. According to the Grade 10
teacher, “…your curriculum is too broad to cover in a single term as specified…but I
will do my best” In addition, the Grade 11 teacher commented; “…MD sub-topics
are too broad from the 10th Grade to the 12th Grade, some of the sub-topics could be learnt
in your first year in higher institution…” With respect to learners-related beliefs,
our analysis indicated that the teachers see their learners as motivating factors
that contributed to their successes in teaching MD despite the challenges
learners face in understanding MD. This was shown on the teachers’ comments.
The Grade 10 teacher commented; “…you guys make me proud. Despite how
challenging this topic seems to be, I see the zeal in you…” while the Grade 11 teacher
also made a similar statement; “…yeah, the topic is not an easy one, but I like your
determination…” These teachers’ comments were analysed based on their beliefs
and our findings indicated that they have implications to the teaching of MD.

329
3. Findings
The findings of this study lies on the development of the new model. The model
is developed from ETSPCK components and sub-components that emerged from
the different themes.
The ET-TSPCK model

The development of the model begins by stating the model assumptions. The
first assumption is that the participated economics teachers are experienced with
at least 5 years of teaching economics in secondary school. For this reason, we
assume the economics teachers have already developed specific knowledge for
teaching Market Dynamics but this knowledge were not identified. The second
assumption is that economics teachers’ Knowledge informs and is informed by
Topic Specific PCK. By this, we mean that since Topic Specific PCK is specific to
a particular topic, through pedagogical reasoning, the transferability principles
of topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) that holds across topics applies for this model and
on the topic of Market Dynamics provided that the teachers have the
prerequisite content knowledge (Rollnick & Mavhunga, 2016). The third
assumption is that for economics teachers to teach MD, they need specific
knowledge. This implies that the teacher must possess a specific knowledge
located in each sub-component of the model needed for teaching MD.
ET-TSPCK model is developed from an integrative view similar to other PCK

models (Grossman, 1990; Magnusson et. al, 1999). Integrated models according
to Kauchak and Eggen (2012) are teaching models that provide structures that
guide learners to learn from “organized [bodies] of knowledge…a combination
of facts, concepts, generalizations, principles and rules, integrated with one
another”. Mavhunga (2012) TSPCK components are integrated into ETSPCK
components for MD teaching. The integrative perspective was chosen to gain
insight into the elements that make up teachers’ specific knowledge and to gain
understanding of the interaction between the components. The integrative
approach was also chosen to enable teachers incorporate different knowledge
with different approaches of teaching specific topics into a broader frame that is
practically useful.
Using Mavhunga (2012) TSPCK components as the bases in the model

development, top-down approach was employed to all the data. Top-down
approach is a method use in developing a model by using the big picture and all
its components as a basis for decision making whereby the base components
become the driving force for the end goal (Ogunlayi & Britton, 2017; Weißleder
& Lackner, 2013). The model was applied to data from the themes that emerged;
Knowledge of economics topic-MD, Knowledge of instructional strategies,
Pedagogical knowledge, Knowledge of learning objectives and knowledge of
integration, Knowledge of relating new knowledge to existing knowledge and
Teachers’ philosophy about MD teaching. These themes were derived from
different categories to form the basic framework for the model (Top-down). From
these emerged themes, we established different sub-components from the main
components.

330
Our model is then broken down into different domains and sub-domains. The
breaking down of domains into more finely defined sub-categories is for the
sake of the lessons observed and in order for teachers to reflect on the sort of
knowledge required for teaching (Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2008). The two specific
knowledge domains are: Economics Topic Specific (ETS) knowledge and
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). While ETS knowledge gave rise to five
knowledge components: Curriculum Knowledge (CmK), Content knowledge
(CK), Knowledge of Representations (KoR), Learners’ Prior knowledge (LPK),
Knowledge of teaching strategies (KTS) and teachers’ beliefs (TB) as the sixth
component (Top-down), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) consists of
knowledge components that are related to economics content in terms of
teaching and learning. These components are: Knowledge of the Context,
Knowledge of learners, Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge. The
two-knowledge domain ETS and PCK further gave rise to different sub-
domains. These sub-domains are:
(i) Knowledge of Economics (E), which includes connections between
economics as a subject with other, related topics/subject in the domain
(Horizontal and Vertical content knowledge) and the knowledge of didactic
principles for teaching economics topics. We describe knowledge of Market
Dynamics as what and in what way the economics teachers know the topic they
teach (e.g. basic Market Dynamics concepts, principles, laws, assumptions) and
their meanings.
(ii) Knowledge of Topic Specific (TS) includes, knowledge of teaching ‘Market
Dynamics’ because it is a specific topic.
(iii) Knowledge of Pedagogy (P) consists of knowledge of different ways of
representing specific concepts in a topic. This encompasses teaching strategies
and techniques for teaching specific economics topics using activities, analogies,
examples etc., and ways of dealing with the limitations that might arise while
using them.
(iv) Content Knowledge (CK) is knowledge of the subject and its organizing
structure (Shulman 1986). Shulman argued that teachers’ knowledge of the
subject for teaching should go beyond just knowing the facts and concepts but
understanding the organizing principles and structures. In that regard,
economics teachers’ content knowledge is specific knowledge of Market
Dynamics’ content and its organizing structure as practiced in a classroom.
These knowledge domain and sub-domain constituted the ETSPCK knowledge
that a teacher must have.
ET-TSPCK model is built on ETSPCK components with their sub-components

and their inter-relationships are well defined. Content Knowledge consists of
Horizon content knowledge, Specialized Content knowledge and Common
Content Knowledge. Teaching strategies consists of Practical Knowledge of MD
and Theoretical Knowledge of MD. Representation comprises of Analogies and
Activities. Curriculum Knowledge has the following sub-components:
Horizontal and Vertical Curriculum while Learner Prior Knowledge consists of
Learners’ misconceptions/pre-conceptions and Learners’ difficult concepts in
previous grades. Teacher beliefs comprise of Career-related beliefs, Self-related
beliefs, Learner-related Beliefs and Curriculum-related beliefs.

331
When these knowledge components and its sub-components are put together
into different domain and sub-domain, the resultant model is an Economics
Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ET-TSPCK) model
(Figure 2) for Market Dynamics teaching.
Figure 2: Economics Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ET-

TSPCK) Model
4. Discussion
The discussion of our ET-TSPCK model is based on the inter-relationships and
interplay among the components. The inter-relationships are discussed to
understand how the components interact among themselves within the model.
According to Peng (2013) and Veal & MaKinster (1999), establishing the inter-
relationship among PCK components is an indication that the development of
one component will lead to the development of the other components. ET-
TSPCK is a holistic model comprising two major domains; the Economic Topic
Specific (ETS) domain and the Pedagogical Content knowledge (PCK) domain.
We begin our discussion on the ETS domain located at the right side of the
model. All components are well-integrated and working together to form the
model.
On the right side of the model are the ETSPCK components placed in a frame of
context with a dotted line implying that they are context-specific thus, they were
observed under the natural classroom settings representing teachers’ practices.
Our analysis showed that economics teachers had limited knowledge of
Learners’ Prior Knowledge (LPK) which consists of learners’
misconceptions/pre-conceptions and learners’ difficult concepts in previous
grades. It seems as though learners have previously developed naïve
preconceptions of some basic MD concepts that makes it difficult for them to
understand the topic. Unfortunately, this has implications for the teachers.

332
Teachers find it challenging to identify MD concepts that are challenging to

learners from previous grades. Teachers therefore need to help learners come to
terms with their pre-conceptions before new knowledge can be built as pre-
conceptions lead to misconceptions when in conflict with economics reasoning.
Our analysis shows that the interplay between the sub-components of LPK and
Content Knowledge are not mutually connected. This finding echoed Goffe
(2013) findings who identified initial misconceptions of micro concepts among
students in macro principles classes caused by learners’ weak prior knowledge
of basic macro-economic concepts.
In terms of Content Knowledge, our analysis indicated that economics teachers

use Horizon Content Knowledge (HCK), Specialized Content Knowledge (SCK)
and Common Content Knowledge (CCK) to teach Market Dynamics. With
respect to HCK, this finding implies that economics teachers understand how
topic-specific are related to other topics in previous grades. In other words,
economics teachers had the knowledge needed for teaching MD in a continuous
way. Our model shows that the inter-relationship that exists among HCK, LPK
and CmK appears to be reciprocal. This inter-relationship was evident as
teachers were able to connect to topics in other grades curriculum. Teachers
were also able to understand learners’ misconceptions and difficulties from
other grades levels. This finding corresponds to Ayers (2016) who found that
economics teachers used HCK to make connections to content in other grades.
Regarding SCK, our analysis shows that economics teachers possess a

specialised kind of knowledge that pertains exclusively to the ambit of MD
teaching, which is not found in other economics topics. The model shows that
the interplay among SCK, Knowledge of Representations and teaching strategies
are related. This finding explains the ability of economics teachers to put into
practice, the explanation of MD concepts in a much easier way in which they
conceptualized them. With a specialized knowledge, economics teachers were
able to identify the right teaching strategy and the correct form of representation
suitable to explain a particular concept of MD. This finding is in line with the
findings from Aguilar-González, Muñoz-Catalán and Carrillo (2019) who found
a connection between a primary school teachers’ conception of mathematics and
specialized content knowledge.
Our analysis indicated that economics teachers possess Common Content

Knowledge (CCK) for teaching MD. CCK for economics teachers means
knowledge of MD and skills that are not really unique to teaching MD. Our
findings show that economics teachers have the general knowledge of basic MD
concepts that look ‘common’ per se to learners. These common concepts most
times however, erroneously explain economic phenomena. As such, when
learners fail to understand the economic meanings of those concepts, it
negatively influences their understanding of MD. The model shows that the
interplay among CCK, LPK and Curriculum Knowledge is well connected. Our
finding is in line with Hurrell (2013) who argued that teachers ought to have
basic Common Content knowledge of concepts in a subject in order to teach
better.

333
Another finding from our analysis revealed that teachers use Vertical and
Horizontal knowledge of curriculum to teach MD. Horizon curriculum
knowledge for MD teaching is the ability of economics teachers to connect what
learners have learnt in lower grades to what they are about to learn. Vertical
curriculum knowledge on the other hand means that the Economics teachers
had knowledge of what has been taught previously in MD topics and what will
be taught in the future within the same topic. Our model shows that the inter-
relationship between teachers’ curriculum knowledge components and teachers
Content knowledge components is related. Vertical and Horizontal curriculum
knowledge integration is supported by Alghazo (2015) who argues that
integration of curriculum not only makes learning more relevant and provides
learners with a learning environment but that it also promotes learning of basic
concepts available for use in context. Economics teachers showed good
knowledge of representations in the form of analogies. Analogies gave
economics learners insight into concepts that are being represented with
something similar. Our finding is similar to that of Cruz-Hastenreiter (2015),
who argues that the students gained insight with analogies and it helped to
highlight learners’ misconceptions. Our findings also concur with that of
Ogbonnaya et al, (2020) who found that economics teachers demonstrated good
use of Topic Specific PCK with the use of analogies in teaching MD. There is
strong link between analogies and curriculum knowledge in the model. The link
is not a surprised as CAPS economics specified some analogies that could be
used to illustrate the meaning of some MD concepts. However, on the use of
activities, there was no link between the use of activities and curriculum
knowledge. The finding was evident as teachers struggle to find adequate
activities to represent MD concepts. Economics teachers have criticized the
CAPS curriculum for providing inadequate activities that could easily be used to
explain difficult concepts in MD. Our model however shows a direct link instead
of a revised link between teachers’ Knowledge of representations and
Curriculum, perhaps because the use of activities were not sufficiently put in
use. This finding is contrary to Khandves’ (2016) who found the use of activities
as interactive teaching that promote active learning, heighten attention and
motivation.
Our analysis indicated that economics teachers demonstrated good use of

teaching strategies in the form of Practical and Theoretical knowledge to teach
MD. This implies that the teachers have good understanding of the theories
behind MD and put them in practical use. However, the finding that teachers
predominantly make use of lecture methods implies that even though economics
teachers’ have developed teaching strategies and put them into use, the teaching
strategies may either not have been fully developed or may not have been put to
use in a rational way. The teachers should explore alternative methods of
teaching MD. This finding is not a surprise as teachers most often do not check
the type of teaching strategy stipulated in the curriculum rather teachers claim
that learners do not understand the topic when using other methods of teaching
other than the lecture method. Our model shows that the interplay among the
components of teaching strategies, the components of Curriculum knowledge

334
and content knowledge are not well connected. This finding is contrary to
Aguilar-González, Muñoz-Catalán and Carrillo (2018) whose teachers’ practical
knowledge of Mathematics was demonstrated in a procedural ordered and
precise way using different teaching methods when teaching mathematics.
On the left side of our model is the PCK domain. A close look at the model
shows that Content Knowledge appears on both side of the model. This implies
that adequate content knowledge of MD is a necessary condition for MD
teaching. Our analysis showed that largely, economics teachers use their Topic
Specific knowledge in relation to their Content Knowledge to solve learners’
problems in MD. This was shown by the use of a single line instead of a double
arrow as in Mavhungas’ (2012) model (Figure 1). The single line in our model
shows a direct relationship between Content Knowledge of economics teachers
and their topic Specific Knowledge of MD. The direct relationship exists because
the teachers demonstrated sufficient use of Topic Specific PCK in content when
teaching Market Dynamics. Similarly, with respect to teachers’ beliefs, our
model shows that economics teachers’ beliefs are the over-arching components
that seem to control the decisions made by the teachers while teaching Market
Dynamics. For example, teachers’ self-determination (self-related beliefs) pushes
them to put more effort in teaching in order for learners to understand. This is
shown with reverse double arrows in opposite directions showing a reciprocal
relationship linking teachers’ beliefs to content knowledge while Lines instead of
arrows as used in Mavhungas’ model link teachers’ beliefs to other knowledge
components; Knowledge of context, knowledge of learners and pedagogical
knowledge. Teachers’ belief in our model reveals teachers’ personal purposes for
teaching, their values and understanding about the topic. The interplay among
teachers’ beliefs with its sub-components and the main components (content
knowledge, curriculum, learner prior knowledge, representations and teaching
strategies) with their sub-components are well connected. Knowledge of
students in our adopted model is replaced with knowledge of learners because
the teachers focus is on the learners.
The faint double arrow as supposed a thick single arrow in Mavhungas’ model that
runs from Pedagogical Knowledge to TSPCK showed that although a
relationship exists between them, the relationship is weak and reciprocal. It
could also be that economics teachers’ pedagogical knowledge depends largely
on the teachers’ beliefs or on the nature of the topic. Perhaps, that explains the
reason the teachers prefer the use of teacher centred-lecture method in teaching
Market Dynamics. This argument is in agreement with Friedrichsen, Kathryn
and Teuscher, (2010) who states, “if the teachers believe that students learn best
through listening, then the teacher will likely choose lectures as the most
appropriate strategy”. However, the choice of the best teaching strategy between
teacher-centred and learner-centred instructional practices remains a
controversial argument. According to Watts and Walstad (2010), no instructional
practice has been proven more effective than others have when teaching
economics topics. The thick double arrows that connect teachers’ knowledge of
learners to TSPCK show that there exists a strong relationship between them.
This is because economics teachers’ knowledge of learners is a function of their

335
knowledge about learners’ learning difficulties, the conceptions, pre-conceptions

and misconceptions about the topic.
Furthermore, while Mavhungas’ model did not indicate any relationship to

exist between TSPCK and knowledge of the context, our new model shows that
a direct relationship exists between them because teachers’ use of Topic Specific
PCK is observed through lessons delivered in the classroom context. Finally, a
direct relationship exists between the main components, Topic Specific PCK and
other knowledge domains shown with the longer red arrow.
The interplay among our ETSPCK components and its’ sub-components seem
contrary to the literature assertions by Peng (2013) & Veal and MaKinster (1999)
that the development of one component will lead to the development of the
other components. In our model, though we assumed that all the teachers have
developed Topic Specific PCK however, efficient use of one component does not
guarantee efficient use of the other components. Our findings about the
interplay among the components fall in line with Park and Oliver (2008) claim
that “Lack of coherence among the components would be problematic within an
individual’s developing PCK and increased knowledge of a single component
may not be sufficient to stimulate change in practice”.
Understanding the complexity of the inter-relationships and the interplay

among the components and the sub-components of our model is useful in
facilitating the teaching of not only Market Dynamics but also other specific
topics in economics.
5. Conclusion
This research focused mainly on developing an economics model for teaching
MD, thus ET-TSPCK model was developed. The model was developed from an
integrative view and described the inter-relationships that existed among the
components. Based on the developed model, this research has contributed to
economics education literature on Topic Specific models for MD teaching and
the teaching of other topic economics specific using the transferability principles.
The development of ET-TSPCK model is new and has filled the gap of absence
of a seemingly valid model for economics teachers to reflect on in order to
improve the teaching of MD. ET-TSPCK model is recommended for both Pre-
service teachers and in-service economics teachers on the teaching of MD. The
findings of this study are recommended as reference to the Department of Basic
education in their curriculum development. Further research could be
conducted on the nature of teachers’ TSPCK for teaching MD with reference to
the results of this study.
Acknowledgement
The National Research Foundation (NRF) supported this research.

336
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Appendix 1
Lesson Observation Protocols
Lesson Observation Protocol 1

TSPCK element to be Evident when the teacher…. Observed practice
observed displayed
1. learner prior 1. Exhibits deep and thorough
knowledge conceptual understanding of
identified aspects of Market
Dynamics.
2. Identifies critical Economics
components within the topic that
are fundamental for understanding
and applying the concepts in
Market Dynamics.
3. Displays skills for solving problems
in the area of Market Dynamics.
4. Addresses learners’ misconceptions
5. Displays expectations of possible
difficulties learners may face
during learning and address such.
6. Discusses learners’ ways of
thinking about a concept.
7. 7. Taps into learners’ prior
knowledge to clarify expected
difficulties
2. curricular saliency 1. Observe if teacher displays
horizontal and vertical connections
of curriculum.
2. knowledge of curriculum activities,
projects and programs
3. Ordering of topics in the
curriculum-does he/she adheres
strictly to the order of topics in the
curriculum or makes adjustments
4. Identifies/recognises relationships
between concepts, state goals and
curriculum goal/objectives, how
often does she refer to textbook as a
guide to curriculum etc.

340
2. content 1. How does she/he define or

knowledge construct MD concepts?
2. Does he/she identify and lay
emphasis on the more important
objectives, what needs to/needs
not to be assessed
3. Does he/she assess end results or
the process of the teaching?
4. Does the teacher method of
assessment match the topic treated
5. Body language: does she identify
confusion or agreements from
learners’ faces, through nodding of
heads etc.
6. Demonstrates specialized, common
and horizon content knowledge of
Market Dynamics.
7. Applying Economics content to
everyday lives relating content to
current news/events.
8. Demonstrates multidisciplinary
and interdisciplinary knowledge
3. knowledge of 1. Integrates representations into
representations teaching
2. Uses examples, analogies, graphs to
represent and show important facts
3. Uses real life examples to
demonstrate important points
4. Uses appropriate activities in
Instruction
4. Teaching 1. Uses most effective teaching

strategies. strategies that march the topic
2. Uses alternative strategies where
necessary
3. The teacher makes an instructional
decision that alters the flow of the
classroom by asking a question or
directing learners to perform a
particular task.
4. Uses real-life examples and
analogies in instruction
5. Utilises different instructional
strategies in presentations
Adapted from Sibuyi (2012)

341
Lesson Observation Protocol 2
Extremely
Extremely
High
high
Low
Fair
low
1. Aims and objectives
2. Introduction of topic
3. Presentation of the lesson
4. Specific teaching strategies
5. Time limit of the lesson
6. Content presented
7. Teaching atmosphere
8. Specific classroom activities
9. Teacher talk time
10. Resources used
11. Subject expertise
12. Challenges learners to think critically

13. Responds appropriately to learners’
questions
14. Verbal communication: clarity of
speech, tone and pace
15. Non-verbal communication
skills: body language,
movements, and gestures
16. Humor
17. Learner attention and participation
Adapted from Romylos (2018).

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IJLTER.

Society for Research and Knowledge Management

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

Aims and Objectives

The main objective of this journal is to provide a platform for educators,

Indexing and Abstracting

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

We are very happy to publish this issue of the International Journal of

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational

We are grateful to the editor-in-chief, members of the Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is composed of renowned people from across the

We will endeavour to ensure the reputation and quality of this journal

Editors of the July 2020 Issue

Digital Literacy Development Trends in the Professional Environment ....................................................................... 55

Blended Learning Approach to Mathematics Education Modules: An Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

Perceptions of Foundation Phase Teachers on

Abstract. The bleak picture of South Africa’s poor learner performance in

Keywords: instructional leadership; leadership; literacy; reading; writing

* Corresponding author: Bernadictus Plaatjies, Email: plaatjiesbo@ufs.ac.za

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

required right from the beginning of school education, through to employment

South African learners’ performance in international tests paints an equally bleak

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Mestry (2017) claimed that many principals lack an extensive understanding of

This is particularly evident in the South African context, characterised as it is by

3. Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

leadership expert Phillip Hallinger (2005). The main domains of instructional

4. The School Principal as Leader of Instruction

4.1 Overview of literacy skills to be taught in the CAPS curriculum

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Requirements related to writing for Grade 1 learners include handwriting

4.2 Principals’ commitment to literacy instruction and understanding of the

Scholars agree on the importance and value of sound curriculum knowledge by

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

4.3 Knowledge and understanding of subject content, instruction and

4.4 Assisting teachers through classroom supervision of instruction

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

4.5 Professional development to improve literacy instruction

The qualitative approach was deemed appropriate, as I wanted to make sense of

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

adhering to what Gasson (2004, p. 93) proposed: “… findings should represent, as

7. The Role of the Researcher

8. Presentation of the Findings

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Theme 2: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Theme 2: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

principal as uninvolved in supporting teachers in the teaching and learning of

Theme 2: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

“Our principal was a former language teacher. He is very much aware of

Theme 2: Perceptions on the principal’s knowledge of literacy assessment requirements

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Quarterly subject meetings appeared to be a popular way to address literacy

9. Discussion and Analysis of the Findings Across Cases

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

The lack of sufficient curriculum and instructional knowledge amongst principals

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

©2020 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.