Educational Technology

Developing an effective research proposal is a challenging task for the researchers. Research proposal is a detailed description of a proposed study, designed to investigate a given problem. Research Proposal writing is an important node in the pursuit of a graduate, Master, M. Phil or PhD degree throughout the world. This article highlight the need, importance and preferred style of research proposal as most researchers do not fully comprehend the mechanics of writing a research proposal and its importance for the subsequent research.

This study investigated the impact of Teacher Trainee Sponsorship Scheme on improving teacher supply in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data from the District Education Office and the District Assembly. The sample included 228 teachers selected from 45 primary and Junior High Schools. The study revealed that majority of sponsored teachers are native of Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District or share common border with the district. Most sponsored teachers in the deprived areas have some rural background. The scheme is faced with the problem of non-payment of regular and realistic allowances to the teacher trainees. The study revealed that sponsored teachers in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District have high expectations for conditions and facilities in the schools and communities. When the conditions and facilities are favourable, the teachers feel satisfied.

This study investigated skills acquisition in Chemistry education for youth empowerment. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population of the study was made up of two thousand, one hundred and nine (2,109) senior secondary (III) Chemistry students in the 14 Government owed secondary schools in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The two hundred (200) senior secondary (111) Chemistry students used as sample were obtained from five schools with fairly equipped science laboratories that could sustain most of the practical prescribed in the senior secondary school chemistry curriculum. Purposive sampling was used to select the schools as well as one intact class in which all the students offer chemistry in each school. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire of thirty-five (35) items divided in three sections (a , b and c) which elicited information on the extent of use, availability, usability and the influence of the innovative teaching methods that enhance skills acquisition in Chemistry. It also elicited information on the skills acquired by the Chemistry students. The instrument was validated by 2 experts in science education (one biology and Chemistry options), as well as an expert in test and measurement.. A reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained using a test-retest method to obtain data and Pearson Product Moment correlation statistics.. In order to make decisions, a mean reference of 2.5 on a Modified 4 points Likert Scale was used. The result showed that students learnt better and acquired scientific skills when the teaching methods allowed active participation and interaction with the learning materials (hands on Activities). The result also revealed that students were able to acquire acquisitive and communicative skills. Sequel to the findings, the study recommended that the teaching-learning interaction in chemistry should be activity-oriented for the development of skills useful for enhancing productivity.

The purpose of this study is to survey the perception of teachers towards headmistress’ leadership dan recognize the level of motivation among teachers in that particular school. This study is modelled in qantitative and descriptive manner which involves 20 randomly chosen teachers in a primary school in Batu Pahat district under a headmistress leadership. Questionaire is used as an instrument to identify the work structure in women leadership, leader’s compassion and teachers’ level of motivation. In this study, descriptive analysis namely mode, min and percentage is used to in study outcomes. The study outcome that on the whole, teachers’ perception towards headmistress leadership in primary school in the district of Batu Pahat is positive ans satisfactory. The min score for all respondents for all items in the questionnaire is 4.07. The value shows basically these respondents have positive and constructive perception towards leadership of a headmistress. Nevertheless, there is a significant association between teachers’ motivation level and perception towards leadership of a headmistress. This verifies that the higher the teachers’ perception towards leadership of a headmistress, the more elevated their level of motivation. This study supports the outcome pertaining general assumption that the leadership style of a headmistress indeed influences teachers’ working motivation level.

This study assessed knowledge commonly shared by postgraduate students in Obafemi Awolowo University. The study also investigated factors that influence postgraduate students’ knowledge sharing. The study was a descriptive survey design which involved the design of questionnaire which was validated by means of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of (0.70). The questionnaires were administered on (503) postgraduate students. The findings revealed that knowledge in the areas of individual studies was the most commonly shared knowledge among the majority (92.8%). The study further revealed that of the three identified factors (individual, institution and technology factors) influencing knowledge sharing among the postgraduate students, only individual factor (? = .085, p < 0.05) was shown to significantly influence students’ knowledge sharing bahaviours. The study suggests further research in such areas as: the construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving and computer-supported collaborative learning among postgraduate student in Nigeria.

Traditionally, educators have perceived television as not particularly beneficial to literacy development. Concerns were fueled by findings suggesting that with the introduction of television people spend less time reading books and reading scores decline. However, as the society is striving to make adjustments to the decline in literacy skills and new ways of learning and teaching are being explored, educators are becoming interested in exploring the educational potential of television and video for teaching basic literacy skills such as reading, writing, and math. The interest in television as an educational medium has increased for several reasons. The research literature suggests that the content of television can have four broad types of effects on children. They include behavior, attitudes, beliefs and values, knowledge, and cognitive skills. Many children's television series are educational, ranging from dedicated learning programs to those that indirectly teach the viewers. Some series are written to have a specific moral behind every episode, often explained at the end by the character that learned the lesson. Some television programs are designed with primarily educational purposes in mind, although they might rely heavily on entertainment to communicate their educational messages. In children's programming, edutainment becomes fun and interesting for the child but can still be educational.

This study investigates the learning strategies of students for the reading comprehension courses in a semi-distance educational system in Iran called Payam-e-Noor University with over 500,000 students in different branches all over the country. By using qualitative data, i.e. interview, this study intends to examine the viewpoints of students regarding how the reading comprehension tests in Payam-e-Noor University can influence the way they learn. The results indicate that the washback effect works quickly in bringing about changes in learning strategies of students.

Over the past decades, studies of language skills have showed the importance of reading comprehension ability among EFL learners. This study aimed at determining the relationship of brain quadrants with reading comprehension skill among Iranian EFL students. The study was based on Herrmann’s Whole Brain Model. 110 University students studying TEFL at Islamic Azad University of Mashhad were randomly selected for the purpose of this study. Herrmann's Whole Brain Dominance questionnaire and a standard TOEFL reading comprehension test were used in the study in order to measure students' brain quadrant preference and reading comprehension ability. The results of statistical analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between brain quadrants and reading comprehension ability. The study concluded that students, who were D quadrant preference, performed significantly better (P < .05) than the other learners on reading comprehension test.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the role of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and its effect on international students’ sociocultural adjustment in the context of pursuing education in higher learning institutions in Malaysia; specifically in Universiti Utara Malaysia. The data used for this study derived from the questionnaire survey conducted randomly among the international students in Northern University of Malaysia who came from 27 different nationalities. A total number of 397 valid responses were successfully obtained. The descriptive analysis, reliability analysis and correlation analysis were undertaken in this study. Strategy CQ (Metacognitive), Drive CQ (Motivation) and Action CQ (Behavioural) were found to be negatively related to sociocultural adjustment. Only one of the dimensions for CQ; Knowledge CQ (Cognitive), was found to influence sociocultural adjustment. Finally, limitations of the study and direction for future of the studies are discussed.

The study titled “A study on acquisition of primary education as a catalyst for value re-orientation and national development in Rivers state, Nigeria” was undertaken to among other things determine the nature of contributions made by primary education towards value orientation and national development. 2,277 primary school graduates were sampled. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting them. A self researcher made questionnaire known as “Response of Primary School graduates towards value re-orientation and national development (RPSGTVOND)” and it was made up of 21 items. Professors of primary education and educational evaluation validated the instrument. Test retest method was used to establish the reliability level of the instrument to be 0.68 at 0.05 level of significance. Regression ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Two hypotheses were generated namely: (1) there is no significant relationship between primary education and value re-orientation (2) the relationship between acquisition of primary education and national development is not significant. The study establishes that there is a significant relationship between the acquisition of primary education and value re-orientation whereas the relationship between the acquisition of primary education and national development is not significant. Based on the findings, the study recommends that: teacher trainee institutions like the universities of education need to train student teachers to be equipped with skills such as storytelling, counseling etc. known as useful approaches for the teaching and learning of values in the Nigerian society and there is the need for the government to enlighten all stake holders in primary education through the mass and social media to take the business of primary education serious so that it can sufficiently contribute towards national development.