Suchergebnisse

This paper explores the perspectives of Flemish secondary school principals and coordinating principals on the government-proposed changes and uncovers their experiences with these changes in an in-depth manner. In a school system characterised by school freedom and free school choice, semi-structured interviews with 21 school leaders revealed the significance of school autonomy to create bottom-up solutions to the change-related problems. However, infrastructure, monetary resources, teacher, and parent reactions sometimes proved to be obstacles, jeopardised effective implementation, and affected the leaders' workload extensively. The results showed the critical roles played by the school principals to satisfy the change-related needs of the staff and motivate them for change. The findings collectively suggest the need for more attention devoted to 1) the human side of the change, 2) greater support provided throughout the process, and 3) a loose connection between politics and change-related decisions.

Despite the appreciated benefits and significant investment in technological integration, the integration of innovative teaching and learning technologies into higher education remains a major challenge. As such, this study sheds light on instructors' technological pedagogical knowledge for integration of Innovative Teaching and Learning Technologies (ITLTs), based on 192 academicians from selected Tanzanian universities. The four technologically related dimensions of the TPACK model were considered. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and ordinal regression analysis were performed to analyze the influence of technological pedagogical knowledge on the integration of ITLTs while controlling demographic factors. The results demonstrate that the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) dimension is a statistically significant factor associated with the use of ITLTs (ρ0.05). Amongst the control variables, age, ICTcompetence, and gender were found to be significant factors influencing the use of ITLTs. Thus, this study recommends tremendous organizational support be put towards relevant capacity building among instructors for enhancing the integration of ITLTs.

Learning spaces are constantly being redesigned to provide students with engaging and effective learning experiences. ePortfolios enable a strong connection between independent learning and continuous teacher scaffolding and feedback. Research shows ePortfolios can facilitate deeper integrative learning, equipping students to start their careers. While these are among the main goals of teaching political science, very little research has been done on the use of ePortfolios in this discipline. By analyzing the role of the ePortfolio in a political science course, from both the teacher's and the students' perspectives, this article aims to bridge that gap and examine whether ePortfolios contribute to the emergence of a hybrid learning space, at the intersection of online and offline, individual and collective. Data gathered through various qualitative research methods confirms to a large extent the initial expectations regarding the value of this tool in studying political science. Nevertheless, while ePortfolios have the potential to transform the educational experience, our research highlights the crucial role of the teacher and the importance of learning design in creating a stimulating learning experience with the help of technology. Based on our findings, we develop an instructional model for using ePortfolios in political science in conjunction with other assessment methods.

Based on the data of four periods of CLHLS (2008, 2011, 2014, 2018), the latent variable growth model (LGCM) was applied to 2344 older adults who completed four follow-up surveys, to study the trajectory of leisure activities and cognitive ability and explore the relationship between leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults. The results showed that: (1) leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults showed a non-linear downward trend; (2) leisure activities significantly and positively predicted the cognitive ability of older adults at every time point; (3) the initial level of leisure activity positively predicted the initial level of cognitive ability but negatively predicted the rate of cognitive decline; In addition, cognitive activities had a greater effect on cognitive ability than non-exercise physical activities; (4) the rate of decline of leisure activities also significantly and positively predicted the rate of decline of cognitive ability; (5) cross-lagged regression analysis further suggested the overall positive predictive effect of leisure activity on cognitive ability; (6) overall, education level had a significant contribution to cognitive ability, and the higher the education level, the slower the decline of cognitive ability; and (7) smoking could promote cognitive ability in older adults and no significant effect was found between alcohol drinking and cognitive ability. Accordingly, the government should encourage older adults to do more leisure activities, especially the cognitive activity, to effectively prevent cognitive decline.

In a constructivist world of teaching and learning, opportunities to acquire and develop the knowledge and practical skills necessary to design, establish, and deploy blended learning in vocational education and training (VET) programs delivery is a labour-market-driven. The paper examines VET educator's pleas about the need for the design, adoption and deployment of blended learning in VET programs delivery in Tanzania. A single case study design with an in-depth interview and focus group discussion was conducted with 15 VET educators in three VET colleges in both Morogoro and Dar es Salaam regions. Snowball and purposive sampling were used to obtain sample respondents. For the data analysis, content analysis was employed to condense data obtained from interviews and focus group discussion. It was found that continuous professional development, institutional arrangements, and support should be provided online to facilitate the design, adoption and use of blended learning in VET. We recommend that locally designed blended learning should be relevant to the environment of both students and teachers. In reality, the interplay between blended learning, imparting knowledge and practical skills remain the key focus of future research.