Children from southern and northern Brazil have a basic knowledge of plants, which they observe during their everyday life. Children ages between 3 to 10 years old (kindergarten & primary school), but the majority of them in the age group of 4-5 (total 145) were asked to draw what they think is a plant (total sample=332). Afterwards, a equal number of boys and girls randomly chosen were interviewed individually (mix ability) to list plants they said they knew and where they had seen them. Then they were asked to give exemplars of the local plants which they had seen. These data from the exploratory study show that pupils are in touch with their environment and recognize plants that are part of it. The everyday experiences of these children in school and out of school, at home and in leisure activities with family and friends, contribute to their knowledge about plants and such knowledge is complemented in the preschool and primary school classes by appropriate teaching. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Scientific literacy has been increasingly considered a major goal of science education. While textbooks remain the most widespread tools for pursuing this goal within classrooms, they have been slow to adapt to the most recent epistemological paradigms, often still conveying distorted views of science and technology. Accordingly, we present herein a theoretical framework specifically intended to highlight the potential of textbooks to promote students’ scientific literacy. It is additionally argued that, often, the misconceptions conveyed by textbooks represent obstacles to the acquisition of a fair image of science and, therefore, to the acquisition of scientific literacy. Finally, a textbook analysis is suggested.

This exploratory study is concerned about the extent to which a sample of 163 pre-school, primary and secondary Brazilian school teachers, expressed their opinion on how neuroscience might help their teaching and pupils´ learning. Evaluation instruments for Brazilian pupils were analysed. Two questionnaires were completed by the teachers. Results of a quantitative analysis indicated that in general teachers believe that neuroscience may contribute to the teaching and learning of their subject matter. An outline for an elective neuroscience and education course is presented. Educational implications are discussed.

Analysis of principles knowledge representation in information systems led to the necessity of improving the structuring knowledge. It is caused by the development of software component and new possibilities of information technologies. The article combines methodological aspects of structuring knowledge and effective usage of information resources which are designed for the scientific and methodological study of practical recommendations in Digital learning implementation. It is shown at the paper that one of the most important problems, which face the processing of knowledge or construction systems, is knowledge representation. The main idea of the paper is increasing the efficiency at the university learning process on the basis of a possible applications and rational structuring knowledge. The proposed concept of using information resources of Digital Learning is based on the idea of using the principles of abstraction, encapsulation, modularity, hierarchy, typing, concurrency preservation and implementation in such stages of this process as algorithmic support of knowledge structuring and structured transfer of knowledge to students. The topic of the article is unique as we try to see Digital learning in multidisciplinary aspects: education, mathematics, statistics. The article combines a theoretical approach to structuring knowledge that is based on the integrated usage of fuzzy semantic network, theory of predicates, Boolean functions, theory of complexity of network structures and practical aspects and ways of construction Digital Learning Systems at the University.

The purpose of this study is to examine the opinions of middle school mathematics teachers on the integration of mathematics course and social issues. For this purpose, qualitative research method was used in this study. As for determining the participants of the research, criterion sampling among purposeful sampling methods was used. Being a middle school mathematics teacher as an occupation was considered as a criterion for determining the participants. The participants of the research consist of 13 middle school mathematics teachers in Turkey. So as to collect the research data, the semi-structured interview form created by the researchers was used. The data analysis was performed according to the content analysis, and Nvivo 10 program was used for the analysis. As a result of this study, the themes of the situation and methods of the integration of mathematics course and social issues, the attainment of democratic values in mathematics course and the ways of its attainment, gaining awareness of social justice and equality in mathematics course and the ways of its gaining, the activities performed by teachers for social issues in mathematics course and the teachers’ suggestions for the integration of mathematics course and social issues were reached and the results were discussed within this frame.

In this research, the purpose is to investigate the practice of teacher candidate procedure and engage in a discourse on the teacher candidates’ views on the practice. The qualitative method has been used in order to analyze teacher candidates’ views on the subject. The subjects of the study comprise 57 teacher candidates currently working in Bayburt. Semi-structured interview forms consisting of questions about the way the teacher candidate education is implemented and questions that refer to their thoughts about the practice were used as data gathering instrument. In this research, content analysis technique has been used for the analysis of the data collected through the interviews. The codes reached through the answers from the informants and their frequencies have been given. The codes with high frequencies have been supported with excerpts from teacher candidates. As a result of the study, it has been found out that most of these teachers who were involved in teacher candidate training consider it ‘a waste of time'. With flexibilities allowed and without proper planning, the practice of the procedure is found to have prevented achievement of the goal. Furthermore, the practice of contract adjunct teaching has also brought about some contradictions.

This study focuses on the evaluation of academic conferences and ways of improving them. The study includes a case study of one university in Israel. Sixty two academic faculty members from varied departments completed a questionnaire, including 61.7% women and 38.3% men. The research participants were asked a single open question: "What do you think could be improved at conferences?" In addition, age, seniority, and the number of times the respondents had initiated or served as a partner in initiating a conference were also examined. The main findings are as follows: Age predicts seniority. Seniority has a positive effect on the number of times the respondent organized or was a partner in organizing a conference. Seniority has a negative effect on time, i.e., the more senior the faculty member the more he or she would like conferences to be short and to the point. Moreover, the amount of initiatives to organize a conference or to be a partner in establishing a conference has a negative effect on interaction, i.e., the more initiating the faculty member the less he or she is interested in interpersonal interactions at conferences. The wish to space out sessions and lectures has a positive effect on the need to improve the quality of the lectures.

The study aims to promote relevant and effective environmental education (EE) through extracurricular clubs. For this, we studied the state of play of environmental activities (EA) carried out by 48 environmental clubs belonging to urban and rural areas of the Regional Academy of Education Fez-Meknes, Morocco. These extracurricular environmental clubs remain so far without formal environmental education programs. In this study, we identified the bulk of programs offered by extracurricular environment clubs, including types of scheduled activities and percentages of achievement and student beneficiaries in urban and rural settings. In addition, we have identified the main barriers to achieving certain environmental activities. The significant correlations detected between some of the variables studied allowed us to better explain the achievements and the weaknesses of these clubs. Finally, we have made recommendations to promote relevant and effective extracurricular environmental education.

Achieving educational goals is based on the skills and competence of teachers; therefore, professional development of teachers is important to policy and decision-makers. Worldwide, the percentage of teachers who leave the profession within their first years of teaching is high therefore, professional support is essential to ease on their integration. Previous research indicates a positive and significant correlation between teachers' self-efficacy and their attitudes toward the teaching profession. Our study included three hypotheses: 1) teachers' pedagogical applications serve as mediators for the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and their attitudes toward the profession; 2) participating in a professional development school (PDS) training program interacts with teachers' self-efficacy in predicting their attitudes toward the profession; and, 3) participation in a PDS training program will positively affect the two variables. A close and open-ended questionnaire was replied by 300 novice teachers, some of whom participated in the PDS program and others who did not. Findings indicate that the relationship between teachers' sense of self-efficacy and their attitudes towards the teaching profession was partially mediated by: applying constructivist pedagogical practices; matching to differences between learners; collaboration between fellow teachers; accountability; planning and teaching management; and academy-community relationships. Participation in a PDS program was not found as a moderator variable for this relationship, but novice teachers who participated in this program had a significant higher sense of self-efficacy and more positive attitudes towards the teaching profession. Findings are important for designing novice teacher training programs with an emphasis on the implementation of specific pedagogical practices.

This study aims to determine the impact of the ECIRR(Elicit, Confront, Identify, Resolve, Reinforce) learning model on students' mathematical reasoning abilities in terms of student motivation. The research method used was a quasy-experimental method with a post-test only control design research design. The population of this study was all students in five classes XII Private School. The Samples were taken at class XII AP-2 and XII MM-1 as the experimental class, and class XII AP-1 and XII MM-2 as the control class. The data analysis technique used is hypothesis testing using ANAVA 2 paths. Based on the research results obtained that (a) There is an influence of the ECIRR (Elicit, Confront, Identify, Resolve, Reinforce) learning model on mathematical reasoning abilities. (b) There is an influence of student learning motivation on mathematical reasoning abilities. (c) There is no interaction between the treatment of learning models and categories of students' learning motivation towards mathematical reasoning abilities. So as a whole it can be concluded that the ECIRR (Elicit, Confront, Identify, Resolve, Reinforce) learning model influences the ability of mathematical reasoning and can increase students' learning motivation.

The development of information technology rapidly has an impact on the changing paradigm of education. On the other hand, education holds an important responsibility to create students who have a good and strong character. This research aims to: 1) describe the concept and framework of interactive multimedia courseware; 2) test the feasibility of interactive multimedia courseware by experts and practitioners; 3) test student responses to the use of interactive multimedia courseware. This research and development involved experts, teachers, and students. The data were collected using expert validation sheets, teacher questionnaires, and student questionnaires. They were then analyzed using the descriptive statistics analysis based on mean and percentage. This research yielded interactive multimedia courseware called IMONEC (Interactive Multimedia courseware integrated with Bandura’s Observational learning model and National historical Event to strengthen students' Character) that integrates three important components: the principles of interactive multimedia learning; Bandura's observational learning model; and the noble values and messages of national historical events to strengthen students' characters. The framework of the interactive multimedia courseware consists of the title, user instruction, home, core competency and basic competency, concept map of material, learning material, and quizzes. The results of the expert validation, teacher questionnaire, and student questionnaire showed that the interactive multimedia courseware is feasible for use in learning and effective in strengthening students’ characters.

School system has not proven successful in educating gifted students. Artistically gifted students are a group of students requiring special education approach. The aim of this paper was to explore the extent to which classroom teachers and students as future teachers are able to identify artistically gifted students. The study involved a total of 160 respondents, among which 80 classroom teachers and 80 students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Teacher Education in Split. The results showed statistically significant differences in the identification of artistically gifted students between groups of teachers and groups of students, future teachers. The results showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the assessment of several factors of giftedness of students in the surveyed teachers compared to students of Teacher Education. A statistically significant difference is present in Factor 1 (Art Abilities) where p (0.00) <0.05, and in Factor 3 (Motivation in Artistic Expression) where p (0.00) <0.05 and in Factor 4 (Use of Fine Arts) where p (0.04) <0.05. A statistically significant difference between students and teachers is not present in Factor 2 (Art Interests) where p (0.78)> 0.05. Furthermore, the results showed that teachers and students of Teacher Education share the opinion that gifted students will have a high level of learning, possess a large number of artistic ideas and show interest in figurative and abstract forms of artwork.

In the present study, perceptions of Turkish school administrators and teachers towards Syrian refugee children were examined through metaphors. 71 school administrators and 242 teachers from 27 different provinces of Turkey participated in the study. As a result of the study, the metaphors produced by school administrators were grouped into four categories: “child with cultural adaptation and belonging problems”, “fragile and needy child”, “child who is no different from other children” and “problematic child”. The metaphors produced by teachers were grouped into six categories: “child with cultural adaptation and belonging problems”, “child who is no different from other children”, “fragile and needy child”, “problematic child”, “child who can reveal her/his potential with interest” and “compatible child”. Participants' perceptions of refugee children were not related to gender but there was a significant relationship between professional seniority and the number of refugee children at school. Although school administrators and teachers have positive perceptions about refugee children, their negative perceptions are largely due to the lack of professional experience and the high number of students at school. Providing vocational support to teachers and administrators, planning the number of students in schools, and providing resources to schools will improve positive perceptions about refugee children.

In educational research, audio-video recordings allow observing a lesson repeatedly. The collected data needs to be transcribed for analysis. Although methodologies for transcribing video-recorded lessons are established, there is lack of transcription methodologies for certain types of lessons, such as in arts education or the teaching to create new products. In our research project, we examine the teaching–learning of songs in class. Because of the absence of suitable transcription methodologies, we developed a new systematic approach. This paper presents the Lesson Activities Map (LAMap), which consists of symbols and icons representing graphically the constitutive elements of a domain-specific lesson. As a result, the LAMap provides a visualisation of the lesson content – in this context the song – and of how a teacher works on parts and the whole. The graphic representation supports the lesson analysis from different perspectives. The LAMap methodology and applications are valuable for transcribing other subject-specific lessons.

In several shows prepared for children and adults in the media, the representation of “individuals with special needs” can ensure that other members of the society empathize with disability and the characteristics of disabled people, and make it easier that prejudices are replaced by social acceptance through gaining information. Finding a place frequently used in children’s literature, children’s reality satisfies the curiosity and experience-gaining demands of children about the cases they encounter for the first time using various examples, and helps them internalize the information and experience they gain. Children’s shows and cartoons have an effective power in influencing the viewpoint of children as target group for disabled people within the framework of “children’s reality” by means of the representation of children with special needs who are socially disadvantaged. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and examine in terms of various factors the social representation style of main characters with Down Syndrome represented in “My Brother Ozi” and “Punky” cartoons broadcasted on local children television channels and internet sites where cartoons for children can be found. 51 episodes of both cartoons (26 and 25) were viewed in the framework of the study and findings were analyzed using “document analysis” method which is a qualitative research method.

This research seeks to evaluate the degree of inclusion of the gender perspective and the promotion of education in and for equality in the historical narratives of students in Chilean Secondary Education (n = 105). The study focuses on the analysis of the discursive-narrative mechanisms employed by the students and, in particular, of their representations of gender relations. To this end, the place given to men and women in past and present societies is analysed in the narratives generated by the students (n = 780). A mixed methodology is applied, combining quantitative (descriptive and inferential) and qualitative analyses of the manifest content. The results obtained report the persistence of stereotypical, exclusionary and androcentric perspectives, evidenced in hegemonic gender attributions and in the maintenance of the sex/gender system. These data confirm the need to implement specific teacher training programmes aimed at the acquisition of critical competences and the effective inclusion of the gender perspective in history education.

This paper explores misconceptions and errors (M/Es) of eighth-grade students in Nepal with a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control and experimental groups. The treatment was implemented with teaching episodes based on different remedial strategies of addressing students' M/Es. Students of control groups were taught under conventional teaching-learning method, whereas experimental groups were treated with a guided method to treat with misconceptions and errors. The effectiveness of treatment was tested at the end of the intervention. The results showed that the new guided treatment approach was found to be significant to address students' M/Es. Consequently, the students of experimental groups made significant progress in dealing with M/Es in mathematical problem-solving at conceptual, procedural, and application levels.

A large number of articles in the field of science education reflect on scientific literacy as the main goal of science education (SE), although often with varying viewpoints. Nevertheless, researchers have begun to highlight subject-specific teaching practices that are expected to specifically enhance science subject teaching, including biology. The main aim of this theoretical article is to come on consensus and to conceptualise the term biological literacy (BL) more clearly and to present a theoretical concept of BL, composed on the basis of systematically analysed articles. This theoretical concept includes two dimensions of BL: (1) cognitive (cognitive skills, conceptual understanding, biological inquiry) and (2) affective dimension, based on systematic literature review (SLR). This theoretical concept also includes in addition four dimensions of BL: (3) sustainability; (4) interdisciplinarity, (5) career awareness and (6) nature of biology (NOB), based on literature review (LR) of recent decades, that was conducted to write theoretical overview of this research.

The primary purpose of this article is to analyze how the origin of the Cold War is represented in Turkish history textbooks for general secondary school education for the twelfth grade. The author examined three history textbooks, which are only approved by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) for teaching the course of Contemporary Turkish and World History. This research applied content analysis, including narratives and visual interpretation of the origins of the Cold War, and also the events regarding the emergence of Soviet Bloc and Western Bloc in high school history textbooks in Turkey. Findings indicate that treatments of the origin of the Cold War in Turkish history textbooks are remarkably similar in many ways. The traditional approach of the origin of the Cold War, which depicts the Soviet Union as an aggressive power whose primary purpose was to expand Communism to the world, constitutes the dominant narrative in Turkish history textbooks. The representation of the United States is very positive. All textbooks underline that the United States played a crucial role in solving many problems in many different parts of the world to prevent the expansion of Communism.

Assessment is a topic that continues to be developed in science education research. Assessment evaluates not only students' cognitive abilities but also their thinking skills. Therefore, in this study, an assessment that could measure students' chemical literacy was developed. Chemical literacy is a thinking skill that students must develop as part of their chemistry learning. The goal of this study was to assess item' quality, as well as student’ chemical literacy on the concept of chemical rate. The Rasch model was employed to analyze the data in this study. The results of this study depict that the developed assessment had sufficient reliability and validity to be used to assess students' chemical literacy. Furthermore, the analysis of the students’ responses to the items revealed that many students did not understand or were unaware of the context presented. These findings suggest that students' chemical literacy in the material for the reaction rate is still lacking and needs to be improved. As a result, the teacher's role in assisting students in improving their chemical literacy through chemistry learning is critical.