Education & Pedagogy

The demand for distance education has been increasing over the years, and this has gained momentum especially in the post-pandemic period. This development has caused a debate among the academicians as to whether distance education mode serves the real purpose of education as In-person learning does. Even though the method of schooling is not a consideration in most firms' hiring decisions, the level of employability skills and competency are critical to landing a job in any sector. The primary goal of this study was to determine whether the mode of education caused a substantial difference in the competency and employability skills of the graduates/students. For this purpose, a sample of 350 In-person learning course students and 112 distance education students from Karnataka, India, was used in the study. Employability skills were measured using standard instrument with 10 dimensions and competency levels were measured using standard SLC Self-Evaluation Measurement with eight dimensions. This study found that the education method significantly impacts students' competency and employability skills. Further, it demonstrates that distance education students have a higher competency level than In-person learning students. Conversely, students with In-person learning showed a higher level of employability skills. Distance education, however, is lacking in developing employability skills for various reasons. Nevertheless, using the right ed-Tech tools and software in distance education could boost effectiveness and keep the learners engaged and motivated.

The special education teaching program in Turkey was united under a single roof with the decision taken by the Council of Higher Education in 2016. With this decision, the programs for teachers of the hearing impaired, the mentally disabled, the visually impaired and the gifted/special talented were organized as a new and single undergraduate program under the name of "Special Education Teaching." This research aimed to enhance the teaching practice process within the new special education program. For this purpose, the study was designed as action research. The research was conducted in a special education department in a province with a medium-sized population in Central Anatolia. The research participants included 19 faculty members, 24 undergraduate students, 12 special education teachers, one Ministry of National Education official, and one Directorate of National Education official. Semi-structured interviews, participant information forms, video recordings, documents, and a researcher diary were used for data collection. The data obtained from the research were analyzed using a systematic analysis approach. As a result of the research, arrangements were made in the new special education teacher training program in the areas needed in the teacher training process. Steps such as reorganizing the evaluation criteria and creating guidelines to determine the responsibilities of stakeholders are among these arrangements. With the COVID-19 pandemic, activities were carried out for material design and use in distance education and transfer of theoretical knowledge to the online teaching practice environment.

Under the Saudi Vision 2030, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for educating Saudi Arabia's youth and preparing them for future employment. The recent expansion of higher education institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia both in terms of quantity and quality demonstrates the government's belief that higher education is critical to the country's transition from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The Ministry has overhauled curricula and raised education standards across the country. A key aspect of Vision 2030's success is the country's ability to enhance human capital and reduce the skills gap between higher education graduates and labour force demands. While Saudi citizens have benefited from government employment initiatives, educational institutions must similarly respond by adapting and ensuring their students are equipped with the skills needed to fulfill market demands. The purpose of this paper is to present the status of higher education in Saudi Arabia and discuss prospective opportunities within the Saudi higher education sector to tackle the skills gap and raise employment prospects of its graduates. This work discusses the expansion and growth of higher education in Saudi Arabia. Factors impacting Saudi Arabian higher education are presented, followed by a discussion of current Saudi government initiatives. Despite the positive initiatives currently witnessed in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of a national skills-gap remains a concern. This skills gap, its occurrence, and causes are investigated, and solutions for bridging the gap are provided.

English language education in developing countries like Malaysia has often been cited as a valuable asset and instrumental in improving the lives of its citizens. While providing quality education in rural Malaysia has always been a challenge, little is known of the status of English language education in rural schools. The recent information provided by the United Nations Human Development Index website shows Malaysia's rural population is about 23% of the total population of 32 million. Thus, this paper examines published peer-reviewed research articles concerning English education in rural schools to determine the current status, and future needs of rural English education. This review not only highlights the dearth of research in this area but also examines how the current reform initiated for English language education in Malaysia affects rural schools. The findings also reveal that persistent issues such as lack of interest and need to use English among rural students, poor infrastructure and limited resources in schools, and lack of parental support in assisting school work at home remain as major challenges for improvement in English education. The findings also show that published school-based research was generally random studies carried out by independent researchers. Thus, none of the studies in this review reported any planned and coordinated intervention programmes by the Ministry of Education to improve rural English education. While more research is needed, supporting and encouraging critical analysis of current educational practices and policies is vital for ensuring better development and improvement for English education in rural schools.

Purpose: This study examines students' perspectives towards the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT), during this sudden shift to remote online education due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. The aim is to identify the predictors of learning outcomes and understand if they are here to exist as the new normal. Design/methodology/approach: The independent variable motivation, managing emotion, and acceptability of ICT, are examined as potential determinants of perceived learning outcomes in remote online education. An aggregate of 220 responses from the students of management graduates in higher education were collected to examine the predictors of learning outcomes using regression model in SPSS software. In addition, ANOVA technique was used to compare and assess managing emotion, motivation, and ICT acceptability of male and female students in remote online education. Findings: Results indicate that motivation, managing emotion and acceptability of ICT are significant predictors, which affect students' perceived learning outcomes. Furthermore, the study reveals that managing emotions and motivation levels of female students are higher than male students in remote online education. Practical implications: Research identifies the antecedents of student learning outcomes in management education. These findings may be useful for educators and management to understand the factors influencing students' learning outcomes and to develop various modules to make remote online learning effective. Originality/value: This research contributes significantly in investigating the antecedents of students learning outcome and provide insights regarding student's perspective towards sudden shift to remote online education due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.

The women's education ban in Afghanistan is a vital issue for people in the country and also a challenging issue for the Islamic world. The researcher used critical discourse analysis to analyse the mediated discourses in the Islamic world regarding the women's education ban in Afghanistan. An online search was applied by using key terms and headings such as "girls deprived from education in Afghanistan"; "women education ban in Afghanistan"; "women education bans by the Taliban in Afghanistan"; and "the ongoing discourses in the Islamic world regarding the women education ban in Afghanistan". A total of 62 articles were recorded, and after the exclusion of duplicated and irrelevant articles, 20 news articles were selected, reviewed, coded, and analysed. The Foucauldian viewpoint was adopted to consider the relationship between discourse and power, and the three-dimensional model of Fairclough (1993) was applied to guide the critical discourse analysis. Based on the results from the analysis, almost all countries, organisations, and key leaders in the Islamic world called education a fundamental right for all human beings, including women. They condemned the women's education ban by the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban ignored the reactions of the Islamic world and focused on their destructive decision to deprive women of education in Afghanistan. The results indicate that just condemning the Taliban's decision on women's education is not enough, and the Islamic world needs to take practical actions to secure equal rights to education and work for women in Afghanistan.

Purpose: Government's role and sex education are vital in promoting inclusivity and sexual health. To understand the impact that the legislation has had on sex education, it is necessary to evaluate it at the different training levels. Design/methodology/approach: The method used is a critical review aimed at comparing educational and state legislation and its impact on Sex Education in Spain and the United Kingdom. Findings: In most countries the compulsory contents in the curriculum are oriented to sexually transmitted infections and contraception. Nonetheless, this approach is deemed inadequate and restrictive, failing to cope with the challenges posed by globalization, including the increased spread of sexual infection. Legislative constraints hinder the comprehensive implementation of public health education strategies and social justice concerning sexuality. Research limitations/implications: Scope may miss legislative nuances and regional differences. Practical implications: Findings emphasize comprehensive sex education to tackle modern challenges and to urge policy makers to incorporate these insights. Social implications: Enhanced sex education laws foster health equity that will contribute to reducing violence and improving positive attitudes and behaviours. Originality/value: Insufficient analysis exists on the effects of ministry measures in sex education, connecting health, well-being and sustainability. This underscores the urgency of researching the legislative, educational and societal consequences, enabling interventions to address negative sexual attitudes and behaviours, including gender violence, biases against sexual diversity, emotional challenges, sexual freedom and health problems, based on respect for Human Sexual Rights.

We present a review of higher education and education policy literature to understand better higher education institutions (HEIs) that serve sub-Saharan women in engineering. Our sub-Saharan women in engineering (SSAWE) literature-informed conceptual tool consists of five components to facilitate scholarly discussion about equity in higher education systems and facilitate interregional comparisons. The five components to study the educational experiences of women in engineering in this region include (1) a sociopolitical and historical national context for higher education policy, (2) critical discourse analysis of gender-based affirmative action policies, (3) enrollment and graduation data for female engineering students, (4) a longitudinal assessment of the employability of the engineering major, and (5) a qualitative campus climate survey of each country's flagship university. Our article introduces a conceptual investigation of the social, historical, and employment trends contextualizing engineering higher education in this region of Africa. We draw from existing literature about conceptual models predominantly used in higher education efforts toward undergraduate student success. When describing each SSAWE component, we include empirical and theoretical work that substantiates the need for each component and the benefits of the proposed methodology. More broadly speaking, this paper discusses how research employing the SSAWE framework could benefit key stakeholders who engage in policymaking. We suggest that sub-Saharan African universities should prioritize a regional comparative approach when designing support programs for underrepresented students in engineering. SSAWE will also generate more South-South comparisons that advance culturally situated analyses, contributing to higher education institutions' advancement and the minoritized populations they serve.

Purpose: Recently, a confluence of factors has focused elementary school leaders on early education. One factor is that nearly 60 percent of all public elementary schools in the U.S. today have a Pre-K program in the building. Yet, prior research reveals that leaders are often not prepared to effectively lead early education programs. This study assesses the current state of early education leadership preparation among UCEA-affiliated programs. Method: Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, our study draws on survey data from 232 principal preparation faculty members at UCEA-affiliated programs, follow-up interviews with 20 purposively sampled survey respondents, and content analysis of 113 program web pages. Findings: We found that preparation programs currently afford little attention to early education leadership coursework and content, despite faculty expressing it as an important goal. Only four percent of faculty from the survey reported that their program required a course focused on child development and/or early education--a finding corroborated by the website analysis. Last, our interviews reveal reasons for the limited engagement with early education leadership, including time constraints, limited faculty experience, and licensure and accreditation requirements. Implications: Policymakers aiming to improve early education leadership may revise principal certification requirements that could prompt revisions in principal preparation programs. Principal preparation programs, similarly, could revise their programming to intentionally expose principal candidates to key topics in early education leadership. A bi-directional and concerted reform effort is likely needed to meaningfully advance change in this area.

Although co-teaching is increasingly recognized as a valuable approach in inclusive education, comprehensive studies that examine the impact of targeted professional development on enhancing teachers' capabilities in this area are lacking. The limited research on this topic fails to provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of such training programs and their potential benefits for special education and general education teachers. Addressing this issue, this study investigates the effectiveness of a proposed professional development training program designed to elevate co-teaching and collaboration skills among in-service teachers. A one-group quasi-experimental design was used, and a convenience sampling of 32 female teachers, comprising 16 special education and 16 general education teachers, participated in the program consisting of 14 intensive sessions. Pre- and post-intervention assessments, comprising a co-teaching test and a collaboration skills scale, were administered. Results demonstrate significant benefits of the training program, with participants showcasing improved performance in the co-teaching post-test and collaboration scale. Special education teachers notably outperformed their general education counterparts in co-teaching skills. However, the analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences between teachers of students with learning disabilities and teachers of general education regarding their performance on the collaboration skills scale. The study concludes with recommendations and future research directions, offering insights to further advance co-teaching practices and collaboration skills among educators.

This study examines an in-depth and systematic review of the effect of education on macroeconomic variables in Ethiopia, taking into account the effect of education systems on the skill gap and unemployment of graduates. Education economies in the literature show the effect of education on economic growth, as well as the effects of education on learner skill and knowledge, as well as unemployment and underemployment. The inclusion of human capital in the growth accounting claimed that people with more education typically have high skills and open the gate of employment, which in turn provides higher production capacity and growth. The capacity and skills that students acquire while in school is a critical factor in the school-to-work transition and increasing productivity. Moreover, the education system is vital to determining the capability of learners and economic development. Meanwhile, Ethiopia did not realize the learning promise due to the increasing crisis of learning systems and its effect on educated unemployment. The incidence of skill gaps and unemployment among the educated undermines economic growth, which widens income inequality and poverty. Furthermore, low enrolment in vocational courses, poor method of delivery, low input availability and accessibility, low-skilled teachers, and poor school-industry linkage were the main contributors to the skill gap, resulting in undesirable outcomes for education. In addition, the new educational development roadmap of Ethiopia did not review the relevant parts of the education system. Therefore, the ministry of education should revisit the new educational development roadmap in line with the learning outcome.

In the field of modern education, the meteoric rise in distance learning in higher education has brought unprecedented convenience and accessibility. Yet, beneath the surface of this educational revolution lies the issues of academic stress and burnout among students, particularly distance education students. Therefore, this study examined academic stress and burnout among distance education students at the University of Education, Winneba, Cape Coast Study Center. A quantitative approach was adopted in this study, employing a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. In total, 231 students were selected for this study. The Academic Stress Inventory and Academic Burnout Inventory were adapted as the data collection instruments for this study. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Two-way MANOVA) were used to analyse the data. This study revealed that distance education students had moderate levels of academic stress and burnout. Additionally, there were no significant gender differences in academic stress and burnout. Conversely, the study discovered significant differences in academic stress, personal burnout, and studies-related burnout based on programme of study. In addition, it was revealed that the interaction effect of gender and programme of study had no significant influence on distance education students' academic stress and burnout. Consequently, it was recommended that educational institutions should consider creating support programmes tailored specifically for distance education students. These programmes can offer guidance on stress management techniques, time management skills, and resources to help students cope with the demands of their programme.

This paper aims to investigate whether online private supplementary education, also known as shadow education, can alleviate educational inequality and what types of mechanisms can help alleviate it. We investigate this using an online learning platform dataset (3,603 anonymous students from China) with additional data from multiple sources and employ geospatial analyses to measure students' socioeconomic, regional and rural/urban inequalities. We find that taking part in online education narrows the performance gap in mathematics between privileged and unprivileged students in terms of school status and regional disparity in China. Theoretically, two micro-level mechanisms explain the alleviating differences: (1) equal access mechanism: students from lower city tiers and low-status schools show greater score improvement when having equal access to online education; (2) equal quality mechanism: students from rural regions improve their in-class rankings more substantially if they receive equal quality online education with the same tutoring and learning environment alongside urban students. This study comprehensively looks at the different effects of two mechanisms of online education--equal access and equal quality--for alleviating various types of inequality. Thus we speak to both educational inequality and digital inequality theory, finding that equal access to online education is not enough for rural students, as they also need access to classes of equal educational quality with their urban counterparts.

Background/purpose: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) interdisciplinary education in schools may spark students' interest in learning the subjects and further help develop human capital and a STEM-educated workforce. However, many teachers are yet to be prepared to integrate STEM education into the school curriculum. Considering the significance of teachers' perspectives on STEM education, this study aimed to determine the correlation between primary school mathematics teachers' attitudes and beliefs about STEM education. Materials/methods: Using simple random sampling, forty-nine primary school mathematics teachers were selected to participate in this quantitative research utilizing a questionnaire with a fivepoint Likert scale. The study objectives were addressed using descriptive analysis. Further, the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to conduct Pearson's correlation and simple linear regression analyses. Results: The study found that primary school mathematics teachers had moderate attitudes and beliefs toward STEM education. Additionally, a significant correlation existed between primary school mathematics teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards STEM education. A simple linear regression test confirmed that teachers' beliefs in STEM education influenced their attitudes towards STEM education with a value of adjusted R2 = .860. Furthermore, the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) test results showed that participation in STEM Professional Development (PD) is a significant factor in mathematics teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards STEM education. Conclusion: There is a need to provide quality and sustainable professional development programs to support teachers' knowledge in integrating STEM education in primary school curriculum.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the approach to learning in education has transitioned from traditional to online (distance learning). It is undeniable that distance education has become a new approach to learning. In the past decade, many institutions have offered distance learning approaches. However, the effectiveness of distance education is still doubted and questioned due to the lack of direct physical contact between teachers/lecturers and students. This research aims to examine the impact of artificial intelligence and student engagement in enhancing the effectiveness of distance education and to test whether student engagement strengthens the impact of artificial intelligence usage in improving the effectiveness of distance education. In this study, criteria for respondents were established, namely students who use AI and have undergone online learning for at least one semester, and the research involved 281 participants as the research sample. The collected data was then analyzed using SmartPLS v.4 by running bootstrapping and the PLS algorithm. The results of the study prove that the impact of artificial intelligence and student engagement can enhance the effectiveness of distance education, and student engagement also plays a role in strengthening the impact of artificial intelligence usage in improving the effectiveness of distance education, with p-values < 0.10, < 0.05, and < 0.05, respectively. This study highlights the importance of synergy between AI technology and student engagement, thus providing insights for educators and policymakers to optimize distance education strategies to improve the effectiveness of distance education.