Archives for Research
Identifying the Educational Needs of Children from the Rural Area of Cluj County
The present study explores the educational needs and challenges of students from the rural area of Cluj County, focusing on middle school students. This research employed a quantitative approach, encompassing a sample of 459 students ranging in age from 11 to 14 years. The survey concentrated on evaluating the present circumstances of the students with regard to educational provisions, their motivation to attend school, and their challenges in their educational process.
The findings indicate a paucity of sports facilities in educational establishments, as well as a scarcity of educational spaces such as libraries or reading rooms. Furthermore, there is a dearth of extracurricular activities, and they expressed a relatively low level of motivation, underlining that their motivation to attend classes is primarily influenced by their colleagues, rather than by the educational process itself. Simultaneously, they highlighted numerous challenges they face in receiving a qualitative education, owing to the scarcity of educational activities.
The primary conclusions of the study concentrate on several points, including the modernisation of educational facilities, such as classrooms, bathrooms, and gyms. Additionally, the study emphasises the necessity of updating textbooks and adopting digital teaching methods to reduce disparities in education between urban and rural areas.
Teaching to Think: Exploring How University Teachers Develop Students’ Critical Thinking
The present study explores university teachers’ understanding and experiences in developing critical thinking among students in higher education. To investigate how educators perceive and encourage critical thinking in the classroom, a qualitative phenomenological research approach was employed. Fourteen higher education teachers, lecturers, and university professors from different cities and disciplines at the tertiary level were selected for this purposive sample. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to achieve a more nuanced understanding of how they conceptualise and practice challenging the critical thinking concept. Data were transcribed and subject to a thematic analysis aimed at identifying patterns/themes. The results showed that the majority of teachers had a good understanding of the concept of critical thinking and were well aware of its significance in fostering intellectual development, improving problem-solving ability, and encouraging independent learning. Collaborators described using class discussions, question-and-answer sessions, cases, and reflective activities to strengthen students' analysis and evaluation skills. Despite this will and intention, teachers pointed out contextual-institutional obstacles that do not always consistently foster critical thinking. In general, the research highlights how important teachers are and can be (or, on the other hand, are not) in the development of critical thinking skills through GE and calls for continual provision of support and training by HE institutions to enhance this crucial skill.
Enhancing Clinical Education in Physiotherapy: Students’ Perceptions of Effective Teaching and Learning Opportunities – Prospective Cross-Sectional Study
The study examined final-year physiotherapy students’ perceptions of effective teaching and learning opportunities and the roles and attributes of clinical teachers during clinical education. Conducted at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, the study used a culturally adapted, structured questionnaire based on validated instruments. Students identified demonstrations, feedback, and discussion as the most valued teaching and learning opportunities. Clinical teachers were mainly seen as knowledge providers, feedback givers, and role models. Key personal attributes included communication skills and approachability. The findings underscore the importance of standardised training for clinical teachers to promote consistency and enhance the quality of clinical education.
Carol Ann Tomlinson, “The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners.” Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2014.
Carol Ann Tomlinson’s The Differentiated Classroom is a foundational work in the field of inclusive pedagogy and instructional design. It advocates for responsive teaching that accommodates students’ diverse needs, interests, readiness levels, and learning profiles. Grounded in constructivist theories of learning, the book promotes active, student-centred classrooms where instructional planning is dynamic, purposeful, and structured around equitable access to content and success. Tomlinson challenges educators to move beyond rigid, one-size-fits-all approaches and embrace flexible grouping, choice, and multiple modes of assessment and instruction to reach every learner.
Exploring Asia in the Bibliography of Dissertations in the Field of Cultural Studies at a Master’s Programme in Romania
Cultural Studies, an interdisciplinary field, has various bibliographic sources belonging to authors from different cultural backgrounds, creating a favourable environment for aligning Romanian higher education to an intercultural approach. Being marked by European or American theories, the presence of Asian bibliography in Cultural Studies from Romania, although not excluded, might be questioned. The article presents an interdisciplinary exploratory study in Cultural Studies and Education focused on analysing the bibliography of dissertations from a master's programme in Cultural Studies at a Romanian university. A sample of 31 dissertations between the years 2022-2024 was analysed. The research aim was to provide preliminary data about Asia’s presence in the bibliographies by exploring data on authors with names of perceived Asian origin, regardless of their nationality or citizenship. Using a mixed methodology and applying assumptions assisted by technology, the study gathered preliminary data about the names’ numerical and territorial distribution. The final results reflected a numerical underuse of perceived Asian names with a decreasing curve in most of the data from 2022 to 2024. Despite an overall higher territorial diversity in names’ places of origin, the average number per dissertation was low. Due to the challenges encountered, the results could only be approximated.
Gamification as a Curriculum Strategy: Effects on Mathematics Performance and Anxiety in Relation to Intelligence Types
This study examines the correlation between the performance of primary school students following a gamification-based mathematics curriculum and their levels of anxiety during mathematics lessons, considering individual differences in intelligence types. The theoretical framework highlights the most important empirical studies that analyse the extent to which gamified interventions reduce anxiety. In addition, it emphasises the methodology for structuring a curricular educational programme centred on gamification as a complex educational strategy to promote specific values, attitudes, and behaviours. The quasi-experimental design involved a control and an experimental group, both of which were each subjected to a one-month curricular educational programme. Specifically, the experimental group's programme assumes solving didactic tasks related to the curricular content exclusively through gamification. Furthermore, the effect of gamification on school anxiety, moderated by the levels of logico-mathematical and intrapersonal intelligence, was also studied. The results of study indicated that statistically significant correlation existed between school-level efficiency and students' anxiety but the levels of intelligence did not moderate this correlation.
Overall, the study highlighted that a school environment focused on the specific advantages of using gamification has direct effects through modelling an efficient learning environment, increasing the ability to understand mathematical phenomena, and decreasing anxiety regarding assessment situations in mathematics (operationalised by the McKenzie, Multiple Intelligences Inventory), without being statistically significantly moderated by logical-mathematical or intrapersonal intelligence levels.
The Journey of Academic Resilience: Lived Experiences of Overcoming Academic Challenges by International Master’s Students in Chinese Universities
Previous studies have documented the globalised educational challenges faced by international students; little has been written about the resilience pathways of master's students beyond Western contexts, such as China. This qualitative study fills this gap by addressing the experiences of 16 international master's students in China through semi-structured interviews. By employing Masten's (2001) process model of resilience, this study revealed that international master's students face challenges linked to language and instructional approach. In turn, these students were able to create resilience pathways, including a creative application of hybrid learning, which regained and adapted home and host academic cultures in novel ways, and self-regulation to tackle academic challenges. This qualitative research offers a new contribution by identifying "self-regulation" as a primary resilience pathway and recognising the salient role of cultural hybridity within these pathways. This study highlighted the implications of the findings for stakeholders to ensure that institutional support is culturally and temporally focused, whereby students experience academic persistence and success.
Students’ Personality Traits as Predictor of Career Choice among Undergraduates in Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti
This study explored how personality traits shape the career choices of undergraduate students at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti. Using a descriptive survey design, the research examined this relationship within a real-world academic environment without altering any variables. The target population included students across various faculties and academic levels, from which a sample of 300 was carefully selected through stratified random sampling to ensure broad representation. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire—the Students’ Personality Traits and Career Choice Questionnaire (SPTCCQ) which featured sections on demographic details, the Big Five personality traits (based on McCrae & Costa, 1992), and career decision-making indicators drawn from standardised scales. Content validity was confirmed through expert review by professionals in Educational Psychology and Guidance and Counselling, and a reliability test conducted with 30 students from a similar institution produced a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84, indicating strong internal consistency. The questionnaires were distributed during non-lecture periods with the help of trained assistants to encourage participation. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression, with a 0.05 level of significance guiding interpretation. Findings showed that ‘openness to experience’ emerged as the most prominent personality trait and the strongest predictor of students’ career choices. Students predominantly favoured careers in Medicine/Health Sciences and Business/Management, with personal interest, potential earnings, and job opportunities being the most decisive influences. Peer influence was found to be the least significant. Based on these findings, the study recommends incorporating personality profiling into university career counselling services to help students make well-informed career decisions aligned with their individual traits.
Access to Education as a Human Security Requisite in the Context of Ukrainian Refugees Inclusion in Romania
At the beginning of 2022, Romania faced an impressive wave of refugees from Ukraine, following the Russian invasion on the 24th of February. The extraordinary mobilisation of the civil society and authorities to receive war refugees from Ukraine – mostly women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities – led to a rapid change in the migration and asylum policy in Romania and in the European Union.
By means of statistical data and legislative documents as well as content analysis of semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews with Ukrainian refugees, Romanian citizens from the business environment, academia, the public sector and NGOs, as a non-representative sample, the paper addressed the research question whether education influences human security in the context of the inclusion in Romania of Ukrainian war refugees.
The present mixed methods study revealed that, despite the lack of a legal framework and linguistic barriers, the access of Ukrainian children, war refugees to Romanian schools and kindergartens was ensured, as part of human security.
The Ukrainian refugee crisis enhanced the collaboration between the Romanian public and private sectors and civil society, which calls for a greater future involvement of the civil society, alongside competent authorities, in immigration policies.
Discerning Myths from Methods: University Faculty’s Understanding of Learning Science and Metacognition on Pedagogy
This study assessed the pedagogical knowledge and metacognitive awareness of pedagogy of faculty (N = 107) at a large state university in the United States. The purpose was to ascertain whether faculty could distinguish effective learning practices from ineffective ones, as determined by empirical research in learning science. Faculty responded to items regarding the efficacy of effective practices and others shown by research to be neuromyths or misconceptions. Faculty across all colleges correctly identified most of the effective practices but also endorsed myths/misconceptions, ultimately showing limited pedagogical knowledge. Tenured faculty showed stronger pedagogical knowledge than newer faculty. Faculty were also assessed on their confidence in their knowledge of pedagogical practices. Respondents demonstrated poor metacognitive awareness as there was no relationship between confidence in pedagogical knowledge and actual pedagogical knowledge. Surprisingly, education faculty scored no better in pedagogical knowledge than faculty of any other college and also showed low metacognitive awareness. Results indicate that universities preparing doctoral students for faculty positions should ensure candidates are exposed to accurate information regarding learning science. The implications for colleges of education are more dire in that they may be failing to prepare candidates in the most essential aspects of the field.