US china education review 2015 9a

US-China Education Review A Volume 5, Number 9, September 2015 (Serial Number 52) David Publishing David Publishing Company www.davidpublisher.com Publication Information: US-China Education Review A (Earlier title: US-China Education Review, ISSN 1548-6613) is published monthly in hard copy (ISSN 2161-623X) by David Publishing Company located at 1840 Industrial Drive, Suite 160, Libertyville, IL 60048, USA Aims and Scope: US-China Education Review A, a monthly professional academic journal, covers all sorts of education-practice researches on Higher Education, Higher Educational Management, Educational Psychology, Teacher Education, Curriculum and Teaching, Educational Technology, Educational Economics and Management, Educational Theory and Principle, Educational Policy and Administration, Sociology of Education, Educational Methodology, Comparative Education, Vocational and Technical Education, Special Education, Educational Philosophy, Elementary Education, Science Education, 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Company 1840 Industrial Drive, Suite 160, Libertyville, IL 60048, USA Tel: 1-323-984-7526, 323-410-1082 Fax: 1-323-984-7374, 323-908-0457 E-mail: order@davidpublishing.org D DAVID PUBLISHING David Publishing Company www.davidpublisher.com CiteFactor, USA SJournal Index Scientific Indexing Services New Jour Pubicon Science Sherpa Romeo Scholarsteer WorldCat Infobase Index Free Libs Pubget CrossRef US-China Education Review A Volume 5, Number 9, September 2015 (Serial Number 52) Contents Language Education The Outcomes of Learning a Foreign Language: Cases of Rural Primary Schools in Botswana 573 Eureka Mokibelo Online Education The Paradox of Online Education: Images, Perceptions, and Interests 591 Ali Kamali, Ladan Kianmehr Evidence-Based Online Course Development Practices Using Three Years of Incoming Student Data 602 Robert G Crosby III, Dirk Davis, Riste Simnjanovski Early Childhood Education Enhancing Literacy Concepts: Digital Natives and Cultural Tools 610 Marguerita Magennis Curriculum and Teaching Motivated Strategies for Learning and Cognitive Styles Among a Sample of UAE High School Students 623 Abdalla El-Mneizel, Adnan Atoum Knowledge and Practices in Teaching Socio-scientific Issues Among Malaysian Primary School Science Teachers Nooraida Yakob, Hashimah Mohd Yunus, Chan Yi May 634 US-China Education Review A, September 2015, Vol 5, No 9, 573-590 doi:10.17265/2161-623X/2015.09.001 D DAVID PUBLISHING The Outcomes of Learning a Foreign Language: Cases of Rural Primary Schools in Botswana Eureka Mokibelo University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana This paper examines the outcomes of learning a foreign language on the learners in rural primary schools of Botswana The task is carried out through scrutinising learners’ writings from English language lessons This paper is part of a larger study that studied the implementation of Botswana language-in-education policy in ethnically and linguistically complex classrooms The trend from literature review indicates that ethnic minority learners have a problem in coping with English as a foreign language The study adopted the qualitative approach and used classroom observations, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews to collect data The sampled learners’ artefacts were from schools where at initial school entry, learners speak different home languages, which are not necessarily school languages The findings of the study indicate that learners find it difficult to acquire proficiency in English as a foreign language, leading to poor performance Poor comprehension, lack of understanding, and lack of acquisition impact negatively on the students’ general academic performance The study concludes that it is necessary to reflect on the teaching and learning methods that suit learners who speak home languages that are different from the school languages The study recommends that teachers be trained to use pedagogical approaches suitable to handle ethnically and linguistically complex classrooms Keywords: foreign language, teaching methods, ethnic minorities, learners’ artefacts Introduction Learning English as a foreign language is viewed as a problem in many countries It appears that English acts as a barrier to transmitting knowledge and ideas in the classrooms For example, Benson (2004) argued that the poorest and most marginalised are acutely aware that access to education through English medium is limited Hu and Alsagoff (2010, p 372) further argued that the use of English as an instructional language in many programmes has interfered with learning of valuable skills and knowledge The majority of English medium programmes are burdened with intractable difficulties and incapacitating constraints (Hu, 2007) Many ethnic minority pupils reach the end of compulsory schooling without attaining full proficiency in English (Deuchar, 2006) The few studies cited above indicate that English poses serious challenges in the classroom, and Botswana is not an exception This paper examines the outcomes of learning English as a foreign language using learners’ writings and responses in both oral and written communication in English in three rural primary schools The main reason is to examine the effect of the language-in-education policy and its implications on the learners The policy demands that at Standard 2, the medium of instruction should be English, despite the fact that in some Eureka Mokibelo, Ph.D candidate, senior lecturer, Communication and Study Skills Unit, University of Botswana.    THE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 574 situations, learners are still struggling with the national language that was introduced at Standard Therefore, the learners struggle with the structure of the two languages and the content, which can be cumbersome for both the learners and the teachers The paper could influence the review of the teaching of English and the pedagogy used especially in teaching ethnic minority learners Again, the discussion provides insights into the extent to which the policy is realistic in some regions of Botswana Language Ecology of Botswana Various researchers provide different numbers of languages spoken in Botswana For instance, Nyati-Saleshando (2011), quoting Batibo (2005), said that there are 28 languages; Molosiwa (2005, p 16) pointed out that there are more than 25 languages The reason for such uncertainties is that research has not yet established the exact number of languages in Botswana due to the blurred distinction between a language and a dialect Nyati-Ramahobo (2000) stated that some scholars estimated that 80% of Botswana population speak Setswana as a lingua franca while the Population and Housing Census Report 2001 (Republic of Botswana, 2001) put the figure at 78% At independence, there was no clear language-in-education policy in schools English dominated in the teaching and learning process while Setswana was used at lower levels of primary (Mokgwathi, 2011, p 6) Setswana was the medium of instruction from Standard up to Standard 4, while transition to English varied according to the language competence of the teacher (Molosiwa, 2005) Although English was the language of instruction after Standard 4, teachers were allowed to code-switch between Setswana and English to aid students’ grasp of information (National Commission on Education (NCE), 1977) It was not uncommon to find Setswana being used as a medium of instruction in Standard (Republic of Botswana, 1993) In at least one instance where Setswana was not a home language for the majority of learners, that is the North-East, the mother tongue, Ikalanga, was used in teaching and learning (Molosiwa, 2005; Mokgwathi, 2011) The 1977 NCE, appointed by the Botswana government to conduct a review of Botswana’s education system, promoted the status of Setswana and condemned the use of English from Standard The commission argued that Standard was too early to introduce learners to English Further, it argued that the use of English at lower primary promoted low literacy in Setswana language which was needed for national identity and the development of national culture The commission felt that Setswana must be given priority in the education system (Republic of Botswana, 1993) The commission further suggested that the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLEs) be changed to correspond with the use of Setswana at lower primary, so that the examination would be set in Setswana (Republic of Botswana, 1977) There was a change in the language-in-education policy to formalise the use of Setswana at lower primary The commission recommended that a national test in Setswana should be administered after Standard (NCE, 1977) The recommendation above was also reinforced by the exclusion of the Setswana grade from the aggregate scores qualifying the candidates for secondary school selection, suggesting that even if they scored a failing grade in Setswana they could still be admitted to secondary school The commission was silent on the role of other languages spoken by learners In a multilingual country, such as Botswana, this omission creates inequalities and learning barriers for non-Setswana speakers To match the global demands and align its education system with the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All goals, in 1993, the government set up another commission to review the entire educational system This commission came up with a report known as the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE),   THE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 575 1993 This commission’s mandate was to undertake a comprehensive review of the education system and to develop a system that would enable the country to better meet the demands of the challenges of the 21st century (Republic of Botswana, 1994, p 1) The commission felt that the language policy in use denied the child mastery of the main language tool needed for better achievement in primary school, academic achievement, and world of work It was believed that their lack of fluency and competence in English was due to the late introduction of English The RNPE 1993 report recommended that “English be used as the medium of instruction from Standard as soon as practicable” (Republic of Botswana, 1994) However, it should be pointed out that all the phases that the language-in-education policy has gone through seem neither to have improved proficiency in English nor raised the status of Setswana and use as a unifying factor Instead, the shifts have managed to widen the gaps that exist between the major and minority language groups of Botswana (Chebanne, 2002) According to Nyati-Ramahobo (2004), the changes have inflicted some differences of opinions amongst ethnic groups with regard to the recognition of specific cultures and languages Theoretical Framework This paper uses the Input Hypothesis Theory by Krashen (1985) as its theoretical framework The input hypothesis is part of the theory of second language acquisition which has other components, such as the acquisition learning hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the affective filter hypothesis, and the reading hypothesis The input hypothesis was advanced in 1985, and states that learners acquire language in one way only: when learners are exposed to input in written or oral form that is comprehensible to them Learners acquire language when they are exposed to input at i + 1, where i is the current state or stage of language proficiency Learners use their existing acquired linguistic competence together with their general knowledge of the world to make sense of the messages they receive in language just beyond where they currently are (i + 1) Given comprehensible input at i + 1, acquisition will take place effortlessly and involuntarily Input Hypothesis Theory has implications for teachers It means that their instruction in the classrooms should be full of rich input, both spoken and written, and that the instruction should be roughly tuned at the appropriate level for the learners in class Also, the theory suggests that language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drills Therefore, it is critical for learners to receive input from their teachers and classmates Further, the theory suggests that the teacher must provide new material that builds on the learners’ prior knowledge According to Krashen (1985), the best methods are those that supply comprehensible input in low anxiety situations containing messages that students really want to hear These methods not force early production on second language but allow students to produce language when they are ready, recognising that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input and not from forcing and correcting production Furthermore, the theory suggests that teacher talk in the classroom meets the requirements of comprehensible input and perhaps the students’ participation in a classroom conducive for learning Krashen (1985) suggested that students’ participation could be enhanced through small group setting that allows for more comprehensible input through interaction; more opportunity for oral practice and repetition of content; feedback and correction that are non-judgemental and immediate; and new learners negotiate meaning Therefore, the input hypothesis demands more effort on the teacher to apply teaching and learning styles that suit the learners and provide input in various forms and shapes   THE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 576 for the learners to acquire second language Education in Botswana There have been a number of educational institutions that offer preschool education Preschools are privately owned in Botswana and English is the medium of instruction in most if not all of them especially in urban and semi-urban areas Preschool training has been inaccessible to children from poor families and rural areas, and about 90% of eligible poor children not access preschool education However, in Ghanzi District, through Bokamoso Trust, children in rural areas receive early education as a foundation to formal learning and other transitions in life in mother tongue Through the Bokamoso Early Childhood Educational Programme, vulnerable children have been reached This access to early childhood learning education for children in remote settlements, urban slums, and disadvantaged groups of people has been made possible through the training of preschool teachers (Kuru Family of Organisations, 2010) Learners are taught in their mother tongue by teachers who speak their mother tongue However, in 2013, the Government of Botswana piloted preschool education in about 200 primary schools to prepare learners for primary education How effective these schools are is yet to be seen because it is still a new project Education in primary schools of Botswana takes seven years The government insists that all eligible children should be enrolled in primary education to access education The number of primary schools was increased from 250 to 770 to meet this goal This was done in line with the Millennium Development Goal No which fosters universal primary education Botswana has achieved universal access to primary education, which provides a strong basis for the higher goal of 10 years of basic primary education From 1995 to 2000, the estimated net enrolment rate for children aged 7-13 was consistently above 95%, peaking at 100% in 1999 and 2000 (Republic of Botswana, 2004) The medium of instruction in primary schools has always been Setswana in the initial stages of learning since 1966 to 1977, while English was used from Standard from 1977 to 1994 However, currently English is used as a medium from Standard This is an issue of concern for this paper that it could be started prematurely and therefore disadvantages learners Progression to junior secondary school level is no longer based on learners passing their PSLEs; some learners are admitted with a Grade D which is regarded as the lowest in primary school grading system Therefore, progression from one level of study to another has improved, in 2002, 98.2% of all Standard learners progressed to junior certificate level Junior certificate takes three years and then learners write their examinations If they pass their junior certificate, they may proceed to senior secondary education Some learners may choose to work if they wish, because they would have completed their universal primary education Unfortunately, most learners in rural primary school not reach junior certificate, because they would have dropped out of primary school level and those who managed to complete Standard decide to stay home English is partly a contributory factor (Hays, 2002) Students who pass junior certificate are admitted to senior secondary school, which is a pre-requisite for tertiary education The medium of instruction continues to be English except is Setswana which is taught as a compulsory subject for all citizens At senior secondary level, learners are expected to pass English with a good grade to be admitted into tertiary especially at university Though the stages of education are all important for all Botswana learners, some learners not manage to complete the educational stages due to languages of instruction, especially English and Setswana Hence, they remain missing in most aspects of Botswana society   THE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 577 Literature Review There is consensus in the literature from various countries of the world that learning a second language is full of challenges Washburn (2008) gave a detailed account of English language learning students in the class he was invited to Washburn gave the students an experimental activity in Chinese to stimulate their thinking and to improve communication across language barriers The students tried to learn to read numbers in Chinese, using Level textbook for Chinese children The task they were given was cognitively undemanding None of the students understood much of the content The students reported that they were confused, frustrated, feeling lost, stupid or dumb, and being overwhelmed Some reported that they were bored or tuned out of the lesson Some students reported that they were left out, felt out of place, excluded, and alone Washburn (2008) reminded the students that the way they felt is the same way students who learn English as a second language or a foreign language feel The most important thing is for the teachers to develop empathy and a willingness to try various strategies to help students in the English classroom because they feel isolated and alienated if they not comprehend Teachers should not expect miraculous results from learners, especially if the learners have different home languages and have limited exposure to the school languages Reddy (2014) argued that it is essential for a language teacher to understand the different theories involved in the process of teaching and learning to make teaching of English effective According to Reddy (2014, p 1), this understanding forms the basis for a teacher to select a proper approach, methods, and technique that would be useful to her/his learners English as a foreign language cannot function as a second language It has been uniformly imposed as a second language all over Botswana If such occurs, learners could encounter problems and find the lessons complicated, uninspiring, unenjoyable, restrictive, and ineffective (Kasule & McDonald, 2006) Reddy (2014) asserted that if teachers are to aim at good standards in English, it is high time that the Government of India takes a strong decision to formulate and implement appropriate policies that promote students’ learning of English Suntharesan (2014) conducted a study on the role of mother tongue in teaching English as a second language to Tamil students in Sri Lanka Suntharesan (2014) found out that mother tongue in English as a second language classes has been found to be productive, motivating, promoting learners’ language proficiency, and enabling learners to attain the ability of using the language in real life situations for communicative purposes Carless (2008) argued that mother tongue may serve social and cognitive functions, because students working in groups not have to speak English all the time and the use of mother tongue relates to learner identity Suntheresan (2014, p 2) pointed out that learners feel frustrated and tend to believe that their identity is jeopardised if their mother tongue is made to degenerate It is only through the mother tongue that advanced concepts can be interpreted Rabbidge and Chapell (2014) conducted a study to explore non-native English speaker teachers’ classroom language use in South Korean elementary schools Against what the policy stipulates, Korean teachers of English continue to use Korean in the English classrooms They argued that the prohibition of Korean language to assist in the teaching of English is equivalent to banning a learner’s particular identity Rabbidge and Chapell (2014) pointed out that the knowledge brought to the classroom by the learners in the form of prior language knowledge needs to be exploited in the classroom using first language (see also Dewey, 1916) According to Rabbidge and Chapell (2014), first language knowledge complements second language knowledge (see also Cummins, 2000)   MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES 627 The Cognitive Styles Scale The scale was developed by Abu-Moghli, Khalaf, Halabi, and Wardam (2005) in Arabic language The scale consisted of 24 items divided into two domains, field-independent (15 items) and field-dependent (nine items) The original scale established content validity and internal consistency reliability through Cronbach’s alpha value (0.89) For the purpose of the present study, the researchers conducted content validity by presenting the scale to 10 faculty members at Sharjah University faculty members for evaluation Based on their remarks, minor changes were made to the language of the scale Also, Cronbach’s alpha values as indicators of internal consistency for the filed-independent domain was 0.83 and file-dependent domain was 0.60 The previous validity and reliability values were good indicators of the readiness of the scale to be used in the present study A 5-point Likert type responses that ranged from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” (with values of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1) were used The values for the negative items were reversed The total scores for the filed-independent domain ranged from 15-75 and for the field-dependent domain ranged from 9-45 Procedures After the sample was determined, the researchers visited the target schools and chose the classes with the school administrations Both questionnaires were administered to students after explaining the objectives of the study and the researchers’ assurances of the secrecy of the information they were about to submit Design Methodology The study employed a survey descriptive type of methodology that includes the following variables: (a) Independent variables: gender (male and female), academic stream (science and arts), and grade (10th, 11th, and 12th); (b) Dependent variables: scores on the Cognitive Styles Scale and the Motivated Learning Strategies Scale Results and Discussion To answer the first research question “What are the motivated learning strategies used by UAE high school students?”, means, standard deviations, and rank for the motivated learning strategies scores were calculated, as shown in Table Table Means, Standard Deviations, Level, and Rank for the Motivated Learning Strategies Domains Scores Motivated strategy Mean SD Level Rank Self-efficacy 3.05 0.83 Average Task values 3.36 0.78 Average Test anxiety 3.19 0.62 Average Self-regulation 2.80 0.78 Average Results of Table showed that all means for the four domains ranked as average scores of motivated learning strategies The task values domain ranked first followed by test anxiety, self-efficacy, and self-regulation in order It must be mentioned that test anxiety mean is a negative score and it reflects a state of motivated anxiety, but it remains around the average and it is close to the medium score 628 MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES The previous results indicated average scores of motivated learning strategies among UAE students, which reflected a need for further improvements in employing more serious motivated strategies in classes and during interactions between students and their teachers This also will help make learning easy and make the task by learner enjoyable and interesting which will affect students’ achievement and learning outcomes as indicated by Gibson (1986) and Hatcher (2000) Also, it must be noted that the best motivated learning strategy was the task value with a mean of 3.36 (67.2%) This reflects the UAE focus on values of the nature of the learning materials, persistence to performing, and attention to learning process Also, more attention should be given to the self-regulation strategy which had the lowest mean of 2.80 (56%) The self-regulation strategy is usually associated with higher level of thinking, such as meta-cognitive thinking which requires specific training To answer the second question “Are there statistical differences in motivated learning strategies due to variation in student’s gender, academic stream, and grades?”, means, standard deviations, and t-values for the motivated learning strategies domains based on gender were calculated, as shown in Table Table Means, Standard Deviations, and T-Values for the Motivated Learning Strategies Domains Based on Gender Domain Gender Male Female Freq 324 471 Mean 2.99 3.09 SD 0.78 0.88 Task values Male Female 324 471 3.38 3.34 Test anxiety Male Female 324 473 Self-regulation Male Female 324 473 Self-efficacy t p 1.69 0.09 0.84 0.71 0.60 0.55 3.27 3.11 0.59 0.64 3.65 0.001 2.73 2.86 0.75 0.80 2.27 0.024 Results in Table showed significant statistical differences (t = 3.65; p = 0.001) between males and females in scores of the test anxiety domain in favor of females (domain has negative values) Also, a statistically significant difference (t = 2.27; p = 0.024) was found for the self-regulation domain in favor of females also No statistical differences were found between males and females for the self-efficacy domain (t = 1.69; p = 0.09) and the task values domain scores (t = 0.60; p = 0.55) Females were less anxious about exams than males due to better motivation and higher involvements in learning activities than male students This result is also consistent with many results that showed females’ achievement was higher than that of males (Abdelhamid, 1999) Females were also better in self-regulation strategy than males, which is consistent with previous findings Females normally employ better strategies for learning than male students and they tend to take the learning processes more serious than males often In regard to the differences in motivated learning strategies between different academic steams, means, standard deviations, and t-values were calculated, as shown in Table Results of Table showed a significant difference between science and arts academic streams on all four domains of the motivated learning strategies (t = 2.63, 2.31, 2.16, and 2.58 in order; p = 0.009, 0.021, 0.032, and 0.010 in order) Examining the mean values for each domain, it appeared that these significant differences were in favor of the science stream MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES 629 These results indicate that science stream students take their learning processes more seriously and they seem to be less anxious because they use practical methods of studying Furner et al (2005) showed that scientific majors have higher expectations, internal control, and attribution, and have better beliefs of their abilities Table Means, Standard Deviations, and T-Values for the Motivated Learning Strategies Domains Based on Academic Stream Domain Self-efficacy Task values Test anxiety Self-regulation Academic stream Freq Mean SD Science 468 3.11 0.84 Arts 302 2.95 0.86 Science 468 3.41 0.76 Arts 302 3.28 0.76 Science 470 3.13 0.59 Arts 302 3.23 0.68 Science 470 2.86 0.76 Arts 320 2.71 0.82 t p 2.63 0.009 2.31 0.021 2.16 0.032 2.58 0.010 In regard to the differences in motivated learning strategies domains based on student’s grade, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted, as shown in Table Table One-Way ANOVA Results for the Effect of Grade on Motivated Learning Strategies Domains Domain Source Between groups Self-efficacy Within groups Total Between groups Task values 1.70 MS 555.51 766 0.72 5,553.21 768 - 1.44 0.722 766 0.586 Total 450.38 768 - 1.805 f p 1.18 0.31 1.23 0.29 2.31 0.10 2.39 0.09 0.852 448.92 0.902 Within groups 299.97 766 0.391 Total 301.77 768 - 2.93 Between groups Self-regulation Df Within groups Between groups Test anxiety SS 1.47 Within groups 469.74 766 0.61 Total 472.68 768 - Results of Table showed that there were statistically significant differences in domains of motivated learning strategies based on grade of students (f = 1.18, 1.23, 2.31, and 2.39; p = 0.31, 0.29, 0.10, and 0.09 in order) These results show that students’ motivated strategies for learning are constant across grades of students (10th, 11th, and 12th) and suggest that more training is needed on such strategies during high school stage To answer the third question “What are the cognitive styles used by UAE high school students?”, means, standard deviation, and rank of cognitive styles among UAE students were calculated, as shown in Table 630 MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES Table Means, Standard Deviations, Level, and Rank for the Cognitive Styles Scores Domain Mean SD Level Rank Field-independent 3.97 0.55 High Field-dependent 2.66 0.61 Average Based on the statistical norm used on the results of question one, results of Table showed that students ranked high on the field-independent domain with a mean of 3.97 and ranked average in the field-dependent domain with a mean of 2.66 The previous findings showed that UAE students have a tendency to be more field-independent than filed-dependent Filed-independent students seem to work well with others and like to participate in group discussion This result is consistent with Witkin et al (1977), who stated that field-independent learners tend to rely on information provided by the outer world since UAE students are more open to internationalization values and open systems of learning than most countries in the Middle-East This result is also consistent with the results of Paul et al (1994), who found the UAE students to prefer styles that deal with issues of physical or applied nature rather that abstract nature However, these findings are not consistent with those of Altun and Cakan (2006), which indicated that more than a half of the participants were field-dependent and 36.9% of the participants were field-independent To answer the fourth question “Are there statistical differences in cognitive styles due to variation in student’s gender, academic stream, and grades?”, means, standard deviations, and t-values for the cognitive styles domains based on gender were calculated, as shown in Table Table Means, Standard Deviations, and T-Values for the Cognitive Styles Domains Based on Gender Domain Field-independent Field-dependent Gender Freq Mean SD Male 322 3.82 0.58 Female 471 4.12 0.53 Male 322 2.80 0.61 Female 471 2.54 0.62 t p 7.66 0.001 6.00 0.001 Results in Table showed statistically significant differences (t = 7.65; p = 0.001) between males and females in scores of the field-independent in favor of females Also, a statistically significant difference (t = 6.00; p = 0.001) was found for the field-dependent in favor of males Results above clearly showed that female students are more field-independent and less filed-dependent than male students Females are well known for their tendency to be independent of the field and ability to work with groups and go through extended discussions Also, female students have more tendency to rely less on the teacher in the classroom and rely on themselves more than male students (Cassidy, 2004) In regard to the differences in cognitive styles between different academic streams, means, standard deviations, and t-values were calculated, as shown in Table Results of Table showed significant differences in field-independent cognitive styles based on students’ stream (t = 4.21; p = 0.001) in favor of science major students, and in field-dependent cognitive style based on students’ stream (t = 4.66; p = 0.001) in favor of arts major students MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES 631 Table Means, Standard Deviations, and T-Values for the Cognitive Styles Based on Academic Stream Domain Field-independent Field-dependent Academic stream Freq Mean SD Science 470 4.08 0.52 Arts 300 3.90 0.61 Science 470 2.55 0.60 Arts 300 2.77 0.65 t p 4.21 0.001 4.66 0.001 The finding in the field-independent cognitive style is consistent with scientific stream students’ characteristics, which they are known for their dedication, self-dependent, attend tasks on time, and enjoy their efforts on various tasks more than arts stream students Also, arts students were better at field-dependent cognitive style since they are well known for their dependence on teachers and classmates, work individually, and use their thinking skills on solving art issues In regard to the differences in cognitive styles between different grade level students, one-way ANOVA was conducted, as shown in Table Table One-Way ANOVA Results for the Effect of Grade on Cognitive Styles Domain Source Between groups Field-independent Within groups Total Between groups Field-dependent SS Df MS 2.06 1.03 243.48 766 0.38 245.54 768 - 3.90 1.95 Within groups 299.20 766 0.39 Total 303.10 768 - f p 3.24 0.040 4.99 0.007 Results of Table showed that there was a statistically significant difference in field-independent cognitive style based on student’s grade (f = 3.24; p = 0.040), and a statistically difference in field-dependent cognitive style based on student’s grade (f = 4.99; p = 0.007) Post-hoc comparisons were calculated to determine the direction of statistical differences based on student’s grade In the field-independent style, a significant difference (p = 0.05) was found between 10th grade students and the 12th grade students in favor of the 10th grade Also, in the field-dependent style, a significant difference (p = 0.05) was found between 10th and 11th grade students in favor of the 11th grade The previous difference resulted in field-dependent is consistent with previous research since they are more mature, however, the difference in the field-independent cognitive style is not consistent with the previous literature where the 12th grade students are expected to be better than 10th grade students This could be explained in light of the pressure students face during their last year toward graduation and ministry final examination that usually causes a lot of stress and social pressure (Bagana, Racu, & Lupu, 2011) Conclusion Based on the previous results that UAE students possess a moderate level of motivated learning strategies, we conclude that students must be trained on such learning strategies through different means of learning processes in the classrooms, specially strategies, such as self-regulation which is considered one of the 632 MOTIVATED STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVE STYLES meta-cognitive skills that required extensive training since early stages of schools These strategies cannot be developed without changes to the curricula and class activities Also, more attention should be given to students in the arts stream majors since they were lower in motivated learning strategies in general Results of the cognitive styles revealed a high level of field-independent style among students in general However, males and arts stream students did not as well in field-independent compared to females and science majors which suggests more attention to males and arts stream students to insure the development of independent cognitive styles Differences between students in field-independent based on different classes were inconsistent since 10th grade students were better than 12th grade students which suggests other external values affecting the 12th grade students and further investigation Recommendations Based on the above discussions and conclusions, the following recommendations could be made: Conducting workshops for students in order to train them on motivated learning strategies; Giving more attention to developing field-independent cognitive style for arts major students and males in general; Investigating the inconsistent findings in field-independent between 10th and 12th grade students; Conducting a study that links both the motivated learning strategies for learning and the cognitive styles to achievement for the UAE students; Giving special attention to self-regulation motivated learning strategy through meta-cognitive training programs in schools References Abdelhamid, A (1999) The effect of motivation components and learning strategies on achievement and their relations to gender and grade Journal of Education (Zagaziq University), 21(1), 11-18 Abiator, A (2001) Learning styles modalities Retrieved from http://ww.berghuis.com.nz/Abiator/isismenu.html Abu-Moghli, F A., Khalaf, I A., Halabi, J O., & Wardam, L A (2005) Jordanian baccalaureate nursing student’s perception of their Learning styles International Nursing Review, 52, 39-45 Ahmad, I (2005) Motivated learning strategies and its relation to intelligence, learning environment, and gender among high school students in Egypt Journal of 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Gainesville, F.L.: Center for Applications of Psychological Types Matos, L., Lens, W., & Vansteenkiste, M (2007) Achievement goals, learning strategies and language achievement among Peruvian high school students Psychologica Belgica, 47(1), 51-70 Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/pb-47-1-51 Pajares, F (2001) Toward a positive psychology of academic motivation Journal of Educational Research, 95(1), 27-35 Paul, S., Bojanczyk, M., & Lanphear, J H (1994) Learning preferences of medical students Medical Education, 28, 180-186 Pearson, E., & Cary, A (1995) Learner strategies and learner interviews ELT Journal, 42(3), 173-178 Rao, N., & Sachs, J (1999) Confirmatory factor analysis of the Chinese version of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59, 1016-1029 Shih, C., & Gamon, J (2001) Web based learning: Relationships among students motivation, attitudes, learning styles, and achievement Journal of Agricultural Education, 42(4), 12-20 Usava, G., & Gibson, M (1986) Motivational strategies for curriculum development Virginia: EDRS Witkin, H., Moore, C., Goodenough, D., & Cox, P (1977) Field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles and their educational implications Review of Educational Research, 47(1), 1-64 Woolhouse, M., & Blaire, T (2003) Learning styles and retention and achievement on a two-year A-level programme in a further education college Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27(3), 257-269 US-China Education Review A, September 2015, Vol 5, No 9, 634-640 doi:10.17265/2161-623X/2015.09.006 D DAVID PUBLISHING Knowledge and Practices in Teaching Socio-scientific Issues Among Malaysian Primary School Science Teachers* Nooraida Yakob, Hashimah Mohd Yunus, Chan Yi May Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia This research explored primary school science teachers’ knowledge and practices in addressing socio-scientific issues (SSIs) for teaching science Using SSIs-based Instruction Questionnaire (SSIQ), teachers’ knowledge and practices on the meaning, approaches, interests, goals, and content knowledge of SSIs were studied This instrument has been validated by two experts from a university The reliability of this instrument is 0.974 There were 867 primary school science teachers from seven states in Malaysia participated in this study The participants’ responses were analyzed by conducting quartile and correlation analysis The results indicated that the teachers had an average level of knowledge and practices on SSIs There is a strong positive correlation between their knowledge and practices Therefore, there is a strong need for science teachers to enhance their knowledge and increase their practices to address SSIs in schools since these issues are pertinent in the 21st century Keywords: primary school science education, socio-scientific issues (SSIs), science teacher education Introduction Teaching science using socio-scientific issues (SSIs) supports the development of students’ content knowledge, promotes students’ interest and motivation to learn science, encourages higher-order thinking skills, and fosters students’ decision-making skills (Tal & Kedmi, 2006) Instead of solely memorizing and recalling of scientific definitions and facts, students identify the controversial SSIs, critically analyze the issues, search and gather information, incorporate their scientific knowledge, communicate and exchange ideas with their peers, make judgments, and generate possible solutions to address the problems (Dolan, Nichols, & Zeidler, 2009; Lee, Abd-El-Khalick, & Choi, 2006) In addition, SSIs also help to increase students’ engagement in classroom, improve their attitude towards learning science, and maintain their interest in science for their future studies and career (Ekborg & Ottander, 2010; Lindahl et al., 2010) After all, extending teaching and learning from the science classroom to society classroom requires teachers to adopt the 21st century science pedagogy using SSIs-based instruction in teaching science Literature indicates that teacher is one of the important factors that influence the students’ performance in a science classroom (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009) Hence, the main goal of this research is to learn about primary school science teachers’ knowledge in addressing controversial SSIs, and also their practices to teach about science using SSIs-based instruction in an elementary science classroom * Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme under Grant 203/PGURU/6711287 Nooraida Yakob, Ph.D., lecturer, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hashimah Mohd Yunus, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia Chan Yi May, M.Ed., secondary school teacher, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 635 Background of the Study Various scholars criticized Science-Technology-Society curriculum for typically stressing on the impacts of science and technology on society and ignoring the debates and argumentations over relevant SSIs (Tal & Kedmi, 2006) As a consequence, it was then the introduction of SSIs in school science education Unlike the Science-Technology-Society framework which only emphasizes on the interrelationship between science, technology, and society, the SSIs framework provides a broader framework that subsumes all science, technology, and society education has offered (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009) Besides emphasizing on students’ scientific understandings, dealing with SSIs in school science provides teachers with pedagogical strategies that consider both the moral and social development of students SSIs are able to relate the learning of science to students’ real-life experiences, allow them to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts, and provide them a real meaning of learning (Aligaen & Mangao, 2012) Studies show that teacher characteristics, practices, knowledge, and experiences have positive relationship with students’ performance and achievement (Darling-Hammond, 1999; Goe & Stickler, 2008; Supovitz & Turner, 2000) In order for teachers to teach SSI, teachers are at least expected to have knowledge in SSIs and able to practice it Thus, understand about the meaning of SSIs, note the approaches of the controversial issues, recognize the interests of introducing real-world issues in the learning process, know the goals of SSIs-based instruction, and aware of the current issues that are being discussed (Bartholomew, Osborne, & Ratcliffe, 2004; Kara, 2012; Lee et al., 2006), teachers can be expected to deliver scientific knowledge effectively and meaningfully to each student if they are able to introduce SSIs in science classes (Dolan et al., 2009) The above studies indicate that teacher’s knowledge is of great importance to determine the effectiveness of a teacher in a science classroom (Ekborg, Ideland, & Malmberg, 2009; Bartholomew et al., 2004) From the literature, it was found that there are five main components that bring out the knowledge and practice of a teacher in teaching science using SSIs They are: (a) the meaning of SSIs; (b) the approaches of the real world issues; (c) the interests of using the issues in the teaching and learning process; (d) the goals of integrating SSIs in a science classroom; and (e) the content knowledge of SSIs (Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, & Howes, 2005; Facione, 2010; Zeidler & Nichols, 2009; Çavas, Holbrook, Kask, & Rannikmae, 2013) Sadler, Amirshokoohi, Kazempour, and Allspaw’s (2006) research found that there is a teacher who rejects the idea that ethics play a role in science and opposes to teach any ethical or social issues in a science classroom According to this participant, science is about learning “facts” and not about ethics Clearly, different teachers have different interpretations of the meaning of science Besides the meaning of science, teachers also have different interpretations of the meaning of SSIs For instance, some teachers view SSIs as the results of human misuse of science and technology (Lee et al., 2006) On the other hand, some teachers define SSIs as issues that are “a natural consequence of the nature of science” (Kara, 2012, p 115) It brings out the questions of how teachers interpret and practice the meaning of science and SSIs Ekborg and Ottander (2010) found that teachers talked about the importance of applying scientific knowledge and have the ideas of connecting school science to the real world, but it seems like that they are not clear about it, and they are unable to provide any examples This is closely related to the knowledge of teachers about the concept of SSIs in teaching science   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 636 A number of studies have found that many teachers consider SSIs are important in science education because the lines between society and science can hardly be separated (Ekborg & Ottander, 2010; Kara, 2012; Lee et al., 2006) However, literature indicates that there are some teachers who comment that they are unfamiliar and unprepared to manage arguments or debates over controversial issues during science lessons (Sadler et al., 2006) Besides that, they also argue that conducting discussion, argument, or debate during science lessons is time-consuming (Simonneaux, 2007) Indeed, there are also many teachers who hold strong beliefs that their most important goal and responsibility is to teach facts and certainties (Simonneaux, 2007) They are interested in the ability of their students to reproduce the scientific facts rather than the ability to construct the idea about science (Bartholomew et al., 2004; Lindahl et al., 2010) Previous studies indicate that some teachers perceive that they are not ready and not have the sufficient content knowledge and expertise to handle the multidisciplinary issues (Kara, 2012; Lee et al., 2006) This is because in order to address the controversial issues in science classes, it requires teachers to have a broad range of knowledge, such as economics, politics, ethics, technology, health, and environment (Ekborg et al., 2009) In addition, teachers indicate that these issues can cause conceptual difficulties to teachers and students (Hestness, McGinnis, Riedinger, & Marbach-Ad, 2011) Teachers believe that students can be easily distracted if they are dealing with complex argumentations over controversial issues (Zeidler et al., 2005) These imply that teachers lacked knowledge in SSIs As a result, it is difficult for them to practice discussions and argumentations over SSIs in reality The purpose of this study is to examine the knowledge and practices of primary school science teachers in teaching science using SSIs Thus, this study specificaly would like to learn about their knowledge and practices of the meaning, approaches, interests, goals, and content knowledge of SSIs The study was conducted based on the following objectives: Determine the knowledge and practices of primary school science teachers in teaching science using SSIs; Examine the correlation between teachers’ knowledge and practices in teaching science using SSIs Methodology This study employed a survey design via stratified sampling There were 1,360 primary school science teachers who were involved in this study from various states in Malaysia, namely, Sabah, Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu, Kelantan, and Johor Out of 1,360 teachers of science, 867 (63.8% response rate/rate of return) of them participated in the study Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2011) mentioned that the best response rate is 50% of the total sample If the response rate is more than 50%, that finding can increase the confidence level for the survey and was representative of the population in general A SSIs-based Instruction Questionnaire (SSIQ) was used in this study There are 42 questions in this instrument with five sections: (a) the meaning of SSIs; (b) approaches of SSIs in teaching and learning science; (c) the importance of using SSIs in science classes; (d) the goals of integrating SSIs into school science; and (e) the content knowledge of SSIs A 5-point Likert scale was used in this study: “Strongly agree”, “Agree”, “Slightly agree”, “Disagree”, and “Strongly disagree” Table shows the reliability value for each construct Data were analyzed by using quartile with the scales of “High”, “Average”, and “Low” knowledge and practices Pearson’s correlation coefficient was also used to measure the strength of correlation between the knowledge and practice in SSIs   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 637 Table Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients According to Constructs in the Questionnaire Construct Meaning Approach Interest Goal Content knowledge Reliability Cronbach’s alpha Practice 0.902 0.942 0.959 0.945 0.872 0.974 Knowledge 0.746 0.898 0.923 0.912 0.848 0.947 Item 10 12 42 Findings and Discussion Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices Three levels of categories are used, i.e., “Low”, “Medium”, and “High” Mean value for all SSI constructs for knowledge is 172.62 ± 15.80 Therefore, the categorised level is based on the quartile value, i.e., mean value ± standard deviation (see Table 2) Table Scale of the Level of Knowledge Quartile value Level Explaination Below 156.82 Low Extensive knowledge (know about all the five sections) 156.83-188.41 Medium Moderate knowledge (know about three to four sections) Above 188.42 High Limited knowledge (know about one to two sections) Findings showed that 86 (11.1%) teachers have a low level of SSI knowledge, which means that they have limited knowledge on the issues and only know about one to two sections of SSIs While 573 (73.7%) teachers have a medium level of SSI knowledge, which implies that they are considered to have a moderate level of knowledge on the issues Instead of knowing all the five sections about SSIs, teachers in this group only know about three to four sections of SSIs However, 119 (15.3%) teachers have a high level knowledge on SSIs, which means that they have extensive knowledge on the controversial issues and know about all five sections about SSIs (see Table 3) Table Teachers’ Level of Knowledge Knowledge level on SSIs Low level Medium level High level Total N 86 573 119 778 Percent (%) 11.1 73.7 15.3 100 In terms of teachers’ practices, teachers who have a mean value greater than 171.77 are classified in a high level of practice on SSIs They have regular implementation and practice all the five sections about SSIs frequently For teachers with a moderate level of practice in addressing SSIs, the range of the mean value is from 130.85 to 171.77 Teachers who have moderate practices are those who practice three to four sections of SSIs sporadically Further, for the mean value which is less than 130.85, the teachers are placed in low level of   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 638 practice in integrating SSIs in science classrooms They have limited practices in dealing with the real-world issues to teach about science (see Table 4) Table Scale of the Level of Practice Quartile value Level Explaination Below 171.77 Low Regular practices (practice all the five sections frequently) 130.85-171.76 Medium Moderate practices (practice three to four sections sporadically) Above 130.86 High Limited practices (little or practice only one to two sections) Findings show that 126 (14.5%) teachers have a low level of practice in working with SSIs, 612 (70.65%) teachers have a moderate level of practice in addressing the real-world controversial issues, and 129 (14.95%) teachers have a high level of practice in using SSIs to teach about science (see Table 5) Table Teachers’ Level of Practice Level Low Average High Total N 126 612 129 867 Percent (%) 14.5 70.6 14.9 100.0 The majority of the teachers in this study have an average level of knowledge on the issues and an average level of practice in addressing the controversial issues in their science classrooms As the results shown, they not have a deep knowledge and understanding on the meaning of SSIs Besides that, the respondents note that they not have a strong knowledge on the content of the complex SSIs, and not practice the multidisciplinary issues frequently Among the five sections about SSIs, they only know about three to four sections and practice three to four sections about the issues sporadically Similar to the teachers in the other studies (Ekborg & Ottander, 2010; Lee et al., 2006), the participants are not clear about the meaning, approaches, interests, goals, and content knowledge of SSIs and have moderate practices in handling the real-world issues to teach about science The participants in this study perceive themselves as lacking of extensive content knowledge on the multidisciplinary issues, and express less practice in integrating the interesting contents of the issues into their science classes Correlation Between Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices Pertaining to the relationship between teachers’ knowledge and practices in addressing SSIs for teaching science, a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient is computed to learn regarding the strength of correlation between the two variables The results show that there is a significant correlation between teachers’ knowledge and practices in the population (r(867) = 0.62; p < 0.05) Overall, there is a positive, high correlation between teachers’ knowledge and practices A stronger knowledge, which teachers have on SSIs, is correlated with a higher rate of practices in addressing the real-life issues in science classrooms (see Table 6) Meanwhile, due to the complex and controversial nature of SSIs, many teachers in the previous studies show low confidence in their ability (Lee et al., 2006; Sadler et al., 2006; Simonneaux, 2007) and tend to avoid   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 639 addressing the issues in class (Hestness et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2006; Sadler et al., 2006) even though they have the knowledge and perceive the issues to be important and worthwhile Also, they express many constraints that hinder them from addressing the issues in classrooms (Aligaen & Mangao, 2012; Hestness et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2006; Saunders & Rennie, 2013) With reference to the prior studies, many of the researchers perceive that there is a disconnection between teachers’ knowledge on SSIs and their practices in addressing the issues (Hestness et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2006; Sadler et al., 2006) In contrast, in this research, the result shows that there is a significant, positive correlation between teachers’ knowledge and practices They reflect what they know into practices in real classroom situations Table Correlations Knowledge Practice Pearson correlation Sig (2-tailed) N Pearson correlation Sig (2-tailed) N Knowledge 867 0.615* 0.000 867 Practice 0.615* 0.000 867 867 Note * Significant at the 0.05 level Conclusion It is suggested by many educational researchers that integrating real-life SSIs is essential in today’s science education (Aligaen & Mangao, 2012; Zeidler et al., 2005) According to the researchers, learning that occurs within real-world, social context is able to prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed in the 21st century Thus, there is a need for teachers to teach school science using the real-world issues Furthermore, teaching primary school science using SSIs is important to make young learners familiar with science, and to retain their knowledge and interest in science by connecting the learning to their real-life experiences (Dolan et al., 2009) Towards the aim of creating an interactive and meaningful learning environment, teachers need to have an extensive knowledge on SSIs and practice the issues frequently (Zeidler et al., 2009) Knowing and practicing, meaning, approaches, interests, goals, and content of SSIs are crucial in order to handle the issues effectively References Aligaen, J C., & Mangao, D D (2012) Climate change integrated education: A model for lifelong learning system Paper presented at The International Conference on Educating the Future We Want: A Green Southeast Asia Retrieved from http://www.apn-gcr.org/resources/archive/files/eb93169ba7a38fbdd95329ba7ba075ad.pdf Bartholomew, H., Osborne, J., & Ratcliffe, M (2004) Teaching students “ideas-about-science”: Five dimensions of effective practice Science Education, 88(5), 655-682 Çavas, B., Holbrook, J., Kask, K., & Rannikmae, M (2013) Development of an instrument to determine science teachers’ implementation of inquiry based science education in their classrooms International Online Journal of Primary Education, 2(2), 9-22 Retrieved from http://www.iojpe.org Darling-Hammond, L (1999) Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence Seattle, W.A.: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington Dolan, T J., Nichols, B H., & Zeidler, D L (2009) Using socioscientific issues in primary classrooms Journal of Elementary Science Education, 21(3), 1-12   KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES 640 Ekborg, M., & Ottander, C (2010) Working with socio-scientific issues Students’ and teachers’ experiences Paper presented at The XIV Symposium of the International Organization for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE) Retrieved from http://dspace.mah.se/handle/2043/13094 Ekborg, M., Ideland, M., & Malmberg, C (2009) Science for life—A conceptual framework for construction and analysis of socio-scientific cases Nordic Studies in Science Education, 5(1), 35-46 Facione, P A (2010) Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts Millbrae, C.A.: Insight Assessment, Measured Reasons and The California Academic Press Retrieved from http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/ data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1922502/ Critical-Thinking-What-it-is-and-why-it-counts.pdf Gay, L R., Mills, G E., & Airasian, P (2011) Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications (10th ed.) 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