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The Effect of Psychological Capital on Academic Success of College Students Mediated Through Student Engagement
64-80Views:664Although psychological capital is theorized to enhance academic success of college students, there is a lack of sufficient empirical evidence supporting this claim. Given this gap, the present study was conducted to explore the role of psychological capital in academic success of college students, mediated through student engagement. Undergraduate and postgraduate diploma students (N=502) were selected using a convenience sampling technique. The participants completed self-reported questionnaires assessing their psychological capital, student engagement, and academic success. To determine the statistical significance of the prediction, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. PROCESS macro for SPSS was utilized for analyzing the mediation effect. Results obtained from the regression analyses revealed that psychological capital was positively and significantly related to both engagement and academic success. Notably, the mediation results also demonstrated that student engagement partially mediated the relationship between psychological capital and academic success. The results of the present study might contribute to the existing literature related to the importance of positive psychology in education by providing insight into the complicated relationship between psychological capital, student engagement, and academic success.
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International Academic Mobility as a Capacity Building Factor in Higher Education
82-91Views:344International academic mobility means the teaching or research activity of higher educational instructors or researchers, which spans a couple of days or a few months, during which individual professional growth, the establishment of international cooperation and networks, personal relations and friendships may develop. It is also considered to be a fundamental necessity for building capacity and an outstanding supremacy, even if a country’s academic resources are modest. Thus it is crucial to gain information about its current and actual state, quality, standards, struggles and the direction it is heading towards. As a part of a bigger research study, we wanted to know how international academic mobility, used for capacity building, changes over time, and whether country-specific features and patterns could be traced. In this present study we made an attempt to uncover the international activity based on the academic mobility of the full-time instructors at two Hungarian higher educational institutions. One of them is a large university that plays a leading role in internationalization. The other is a dynamically developing regional knowledge center. We examined the instructors of two faculties from the first, and everybody from the regional knowledge center, since it is smaller in size. Altogether 210 instructors responded to our 60 questions in the survey. The surveys were processed in the SPSS statistical analysis program. Concerning the examined discussions, categories and proposed topics, our research was built upon two previously carried out investigations – a Hungarian and a Norwegian one. We found that in Hungary in the given time period (2012-2014), the instructors with the strongest international activity were: 1. the men; 2. those who held higher academic positions; 3. those who were married or were in a relationship; and 4. who were from the field of social science.
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Family-School Partnerships in Improving Academic Performance of Grade 10 Learners in a Rural Public School
42-51Views:292Family-school partnerships address academic difficulties and ensure the performance of learners, thus, they are crucial for the improvement of learners. However, these collaborative partnerships can occasionally be hampered by problems including inadequate communication, and limited parental involvement. Research acknowledges the significance of these partnerships, but their successful implementation is hampered by a variety of institutional and socioeconomic barriers, which lessens their impact on learner academic performance. This study examined how essential forming family-school partnerships are for enhancing the academic performance of Grade 10 learners in a rural public school in Limpopo, South Africa. The study aimed to better learner performance and provide support strategies to foster improvement. An interpretivism paradigm was adopted, employing semi-structured individual interviews and document analysis. Purposefully selected participants included four academically underperforming learners, their parents, and two teachers. The study was grounded in Epstein’s model of school, family, and community partnership, advocating for parental collaboration with school personnel through six key guidelines, promoting mutual responsibility among stakeholders. Findings revealed that parents understood the value of family-school partnerships and their roles within these. However, challenges such as other obligations, transportation issues, and time constraints were identified as hindrances preventing them from fully supporting their children’s academic integrity.
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Curricular and Extracurricular Learning among Students with Resilience Potential. Social Inequalities in Higher Education
37-42Views:366Does resilience potential in higher education mature into success or does it remain merely a promise of success due to rising social inequality? We studied curricular and extracurricular learning of students with outstanding academic achievement who entered higher education despite their disadvantage of social background (= students with resilience potential). A student survey database compiled in the research project “Higher Education for Social Cohesion – Cooperative Research and Development in a Cross-border Area” (HERD) (HURO/0901/253/2.2.2.) in 2012 was analyzed. Students of three Eastern Hungarian higher education institutions were surveyed (N = 1205). Students with resilience potential were identified in the intersection of two groups of variables: social background and input academic achievement. We have conducted a cluster analysis, which has resulted in the identification of students with resilience potential and other researched groups: drifters (low social background and low input academic achievement), beneficiaries (high social background and high academic achievement) and indifferent prodigals (high social background and low academic achievement). To sum up our results, the students with resilience potential only use higher education to fulfill curricular requirements, and hit a ceiling, compared to the beneficiaries, when it comes to the student year mining, meaningful extracurricular activities. Thus social inequalities crawl through these invisible channels into higher education and beyond.
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The Statistical Analysis of the Academic Achievement of Young People Living in the Child Protection System
29-38Views:409In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on placing children in foster care. Our main research aims to explore the connections between the future orientation of disadvantaged young people living in residential care homes and foster families. In our pilot-study, we made it measurable by a comparative analysis of their study results. The sample consists of children raised in the child protection specialist and aftercare system of the Greek Catholic Child Protection Centre of Debrecen and Nyírség. The comparative analysis included 57 children and young people living in residential care homes and 57 children and young adults living in foster care. The members of both groups were born between 1993 and 2003, so are 15-25-year-olds. The comparative analysis was made on the basis of the available documents and study statistics between June 2019 and November 2019, to measure and compare the academic achievement of young people living in residential care homes and with foster parents. According to the statistical analysis, it was found that the academic achievement, based on year repetitions, show a more favourable picture of students living with foster parents. Depending on our results, a number of additional research questions arise.
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Examining challenges to Parental Involvement in Enhancing Academic Performance Among Grade 7 Learners/Students
Views:368Parental involvement is a critical determining factor of learners' academic success, particularly during transitional educational phases such as Grade 7. This study explores the factors challenging parental engagement in supporting their children's academic performance at this crucial stage in South Africa, Tshwane South District. Although extensive research has been conducted on parental involvement, there is limited studies focusing on the transitional phase of grade 7 within the South African context. Employing a qualitative approach, and purposively selected 11 participants (6 parents, 5 educators). Furthermore, data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. Findings indicate that socioeconomic constraints, limited parental education, communication gaps between schools and families, and parents' time constraints significantly hinder effective involvement. Additionally, cultural perceptions of parental roles in education and students' increasing need for autonomy in adolescence further complicate engagement efforts. The study also identifies systemic barriers, such as inadequate school initiatives to foster parent-teacher collaboration. Recommendations include capacity-building workshops for parents, and the development of inclusive communication strategies by schools. This paper highlights the need for a holistic, community-driven approach to overcoming barriers and fostering sustained parental involvement to enhance student achievement in Grade 7, offering insights that are particularly relevant within South African context.
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Pathway to academic well-being: The role of institutional social capital in the well-being of academics in five Central and Eastern European countries
85-98Views:6This study examined the relationship between institutional social capital and the emotional well-being of academics in Central and Eastern European higher education systems. Building on Pusztai’s conceptual framework, this study distinguishes between intragenerational social capital, referring to collegial cooperation and communicative exchange, and intergenerational social capital, referring to informal interaction with students beyond formal teaching. The analysis draws on survey data collected in 2023 from academics in five countries (Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine) (N ≈ 800). Institutional social capital is operationalised through indicators capturing the frequency and diversity of interactions, while emotional well-being is measured using Warr’s Affective Well-being Scale. The results show that intragenerational social capital is a significant positive predictor of well-being, whereas intergenerational social capital has no independent effect. The findings suggest that collegial relational embeddedness constitutes a relevant, albeit limited, resource for emotional well-being in academic work.
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Is it Worth Getting a Doctorate?
142-149Views:272PhD training is part of the global education competition. The number of doctoral students per 100,000 people is a feature that moves together with the scientific performance of a country. Thus, doctoral training is an important element of a country’s innovation, in which Hungary is lagging behind. We assume that the main reason for the limited amount of doctoral students in Hungary is the low level of individual demand for training which, in turn, is due to the fact that the academic career of doctoral students promises low earnings compared to the placement of university graduates in other spheres. The earnings test and life earnings analysis presented by the study support this assumption: the earnings of those entering academically qualified academic careers are significantly lower than those of graduates working in the corporate sector. Though there are limitations present which impede the generalizability of these results, it does call to attention important trends to be acknowledged in future research.
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The impact of preparatory classes on future student performance: Competency assessment experiences of Hungarian students in Covasna County
37–47Views:25This study examines the impact of the introduction of the preparatory class (reception class) in Romania as an early educational intervention within the framework of school readiness and educational inequality theories. The analysis focuses on Hungarian-speaking students in Covasna County, specifically on the first cohort of fourth-grade students who had previously attended this educational stage. The research is based on a quantitative, full-sample design, including all 1,054 fourth-grade students enrolled in Hungarian-language education. The dataset combines questionnaire data with results from the 2016–2017 national competence assessments, providing a comprehensive overview of academic performance in reading, mathematics, and natural sciences. The study investigates the relationship between participation in the preparatory year, socio-economic background, and academic achievement. The findings reveal a statistically significant association between parental educational attainment, labour market status and student performance. The results indicate that students from families with higher levels of education and more stable employment are significantly more likely to achieve above-average results. This suggests that while the institutional framework is inclusive, family background remains a decisive factor in how effectively children can capitalize on this preparatory period. Furthermore, participation is clearly associated with higher academic outcomes: students who completed the preparatory year are significantly more likely to achieve better results across all three assessed competence domains compared to those who did not. Overall, the preparatory class contributes to reducing the risk of school failure, supporting a smoother transition from preschool to primary education, and lowering early school leaving risks. It provides an extended preparatory period that helps children adapt more effectively to a performance-oriented learning environment. The study highlights the effectiveness of this universal reform while noting that, despite its mandatory nature, it cannot entirely neutralize the reproduction of social inequalities. In conclusion, the preparatory class represents a significant educational policy reform that improves student outcomes and promotes equity, particularly in minority-language and socio-economically disadvantaged contexts.
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Students with Special Needs and Their Parents – Informal Participation of a Parent in the Education of an Adult Child
44-51Views:297The article presents the issue of participation of adult students’ parents in their academic life. There are many examples in the literature of how important is the support of students’ with disabilities parents at the universites. This determines academic success. Disability (its depth, type, cause, limitations resulting from it) is a determining factor for independence, and consequently for the parent’s participation in the student’s academic life. The parent’s attitude towards their own child’s disability is also related to the parent’s participation in the study. The main questions of presented research is: how do students, parents and university staff see the participation of parents in their adult chilredn higher education? This study was qualitative in nature and the individual in-depth interviews were conducted in the course of the study. Two female students with disabilities and their mothers, as well as a member of staff from the one of Polish university’s disability office, were invited to participate in the study. The results show that students, parents and university’s staff can present different opinions about parental suport. The fact is that parental participation cannot be permanent. Each time this type of support should be considered on an individual basis, with particular regard to the welfare of the the student. The results of the survey are relevant to the university’s process of planning support for students with disabilities so as to work with parents with the students’ consent.
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Favouring Middle-and Upper-Class Students? The Structure and Process of Attending China’s Selective Universities
1-16Views:532Research suggests the increasing influence of family socioeconomic status, as measured by parents’ income and occupations, in access to Chinese higher education. Yet, the literature remains inconclusive about the extent to which the social background of rural and urban students is associated with academic and social performance at elite universities. We address this limitation by looking at the academic and social success of representative samples of first- and second-year students enrolled at four Chinese elite universities. Our aim is to understand the characteristics that students from both urban and rural environments bring with them and how those characteristics bear on academic and social performance in university. We found an overrepresentation of students from middle- and upper-class backgrounds in both urban and rural student groups. The fact that the process indicator of cultural capital has a direct association with social success suggests students from urban areas exhibit traits valued in the selective university environment.
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The performance of Hungarian minority students in PISA assessments (2003–2022)
1–16Views:43The analysis tries to describe the academic competencies of Hungarian minority students in the Carpathian Basin based on international PISA assessments. To this end, the author first addressed some methodological aspects of the PISA assessments and then presented some international data. Although the school competencies of Hungarian youth in Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, as revealed by PISA data, show a fluctuating picture over time, a few patterns clearly emerge. First, one can see that while in Transylvania it appears that Hungarian students perform better than the majority students, in Slovakia the opposite is true, and in Vojvodina the homogeneity of the school-system is evident, as there is no significant difference here between Hungarian minority and majority youth. Despite the small sample sizes, one can still gain some insight into learning in a non-native language: in Romania and Serbia, this generally results in a disadvantage, but Slovakia stands out as an exception in this regard as well: here, it appears that choosing the majority language carries neither an advantage nor a disadvantage in terms of academic competencies. When interpreting academic performance, however, it is essential to take various background factors into account, primarily family background. The analysis highlights that the index of the socio-economic background of majority and minority Hungarian youth shows significant differences. To measure the net effect of the test language a linear regression model was elaborated. Using this, the author argues that the test language exerts a significant effect in the areas of mathematics and sciences.
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The role of digital background factors in academic achievement. A comparative study of students from three countries based on the PISA 2022 database
115–128Views:80This study investigates the impact of students’ digital background factors on mathematical achievement using data from the 2022 PISA assessment. The analysis focuses on 15-year-old students from Austria, Estonia, and Hungary with particular attention given to the interplay between home financial conditions, ICT availability and usage, digital attitudes, and mathematics performance. Drawing on student questionnaire responses, we constructed composite indices and factor scores representing digital access, usage frequency, and digital competence at both home and school settings. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and linear regression models were applied to explore the relationships between digital background variables and students' mathematics proficiency scores. The results reveal that home financial status consistently predicts higher achievement across all three countries, whereas the frequency of school-based ICT use shows a negative correlation with performance. Conversely, home-based ICT usage and positive attitudes towards online platforms correlate with higher mathematics outcomes. The Estonian data challenge the initial hypothesis of a country-specific positive effect of ICT usage in schools, suggesting instead that the quality and context of digital integration matter more than frequency. The findings also highlight the importance of learning orientation and student motivation in shaping mathematics performance. Despite some methodological limitations – such as the cross-sectional nature of the data and reliance on self-reported measures – the study offers reliable insights into how digital background factors influence academic outcomes. The results underscore the need for more effective integration of ICT tools in classrooms, informed by students' learning habits and preferences.
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A dimension of well-being among talented students – An empirical study at the University of Debrecen
87–100Views:14Talent management in higher education remains a key issue, as university students are inherently talented when pursuing academic studies. Beyond this, many students engage in extracurricular activities, reflecting deeper personal motivations. This examines participants' future career orientation in a university Talent Management Program by examining their life goals. While many students lack clear aims during their studies, we hypothesize that talented students show stronger self-acceptance, autonomy, and a commitment to continuous development and growth. The Ryff-18 questionnaire assessed students’ psychological well-being across six dimensions: self-acceptance, quality of relationships, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. The research is part of a longitudinal study, launched in the 2016/2017 academic year and repeated in 2023/2024, allowing for generational comparison between Generation Z and Millennials. All Talent Program students were invited to participate. In 2016/2017, 359 of 489 students responded (73.41%), and in 2023/2024, 201 of 671 (16.69%). Students rated “living day by day” highly in both years, and acquiring new experiences was low. Despite this, results indicate that participants are generally goal-oriented and prioritize long-term aims over novelty-seeking. These findings highlight consistent traits among talented students across generations.
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Academic life in shade and light: Snapshots of well-being
172–174Views:8Bibliography of the reviewed book: Pusztai, G., & Kovács, K. (Eds.) (2026). Well-Being of Academic Staff in Rapidly Changing Higher Education. A Focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Peter Lang Verlang.
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Family-School Partnership in Supporting Level 4 Students at a Community Education and Training College
52-59Views:267Family-school partnership is essential for achieving quality school and academic performance to level 4 students at a Community Education and Training (CET) College. The partnership comprises the ability of families and schools to provide holistic support and guidance to students as they progress toward independence and becoming responsible community members themselves. However, this is not prevalent in the majority of CET centres, particularly those in low-income communities (Madzinga, 2021). This study explored the role of different stakeholders within the CET Colleges in enhancing family-school partnership and supporting level 4 students. The current study intends to assist schools/centres with strategies that could be used by the centres to involve families and communities to enhance the academic performance of students in the CET College. This study was underpinned by the interpretivism paradigm. Data was gathered using semi-structured individual interviews. Epstein's model of school, family, and community interaction served as the foundation for the study. The idea was deemed appropriate for this study because it promotes parental and family involvement through mutual collaboration among many stakeholders. The findings of this study show that families want to be involved in their children's education, but they don't have the time owing to various commitments.
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The role of higher education socialization in shaping students' future-oriented work ethic
111–118Views:8Research on higher education clearly indicates that the institutional environment, as well as the relationships formed with faculty and peers, not only influence academic achievement and the risk of dropout, but also have a significant long-term effect on students' life trajectories, future outlook, future orientation, and even their decisions to remain in a given geographic location (Pusztai, 2011; Bess & Dee, 2012; Sütő, 2021; Sütő, 2025; Demeter-Karászi, 2025). This suggests that higher education institutions do not operate merely as knowledge-transfer organizations, but also as socializing environments that shape students' relationship with work, achievement, and long-term goals. The theoretical framework of our research is therefore grounded in approaches that interpret future-oriented work ethic not exclusively as an individual psychological trait, but as a phenomenon embedded in social relationships and institutional contexts (Berger, 2001; Kuh & Umbach, 2004). Our research seeks to answer what associations can be identified between the characteristics of the social and institutional environment of higher education institutions — in particular, institutional culture, relationships with faculty and peers, and institutional trust — and students' future-oriented work ethic. Our empirical data are drawn from the 2023–2024 survey of the MTA–DE Public Education Development Research Program, a large-scale international database comprising 1,336 respondents. The results indicate that trust-based relationships with both faculty and peers, as well as the perception of a transparent and fair institutional atmosphere, are significantly associated with higher levels of future-oriented work ethic, with perceived supportive institutional culture emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.252; p < 0.001). It is particularly noteworthy that the effect of institutional and relational factors persisted even after controlling for social background variables. Our findings thereby corroborate the theoretical stance that future-oriented work ethic is not solely derived from individual attributes, but can be understood as an orientation shaped during higher education socialization through institutional and social environments. This is an especially important finding in light of the growing heterogeneity of the student body, as it suggests that a supportive institutional culture may contribute to strengthening the future orientation and long-term academic success of students from diverse social backgrounds.
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For the Sake of the Cause – Persistence of Romanian Higher Education Students in Finishing their Studies
22-30Views:384As a consequence of the expansion in higher education, the number of students has increased and the academic population has diversified but at the same time the university dropout has become a general problem since the last century (Trow, 2005; Kozma, 2010; Barro & Jong, 2013; Stanciu, 2014; Berei, 2018). In this paper, I proposed to analyze the persistence of students from 5 universities from Romania. We examine at institutional and individual level the perspective of their willingness to finish their studies. In partnership with the Center for Higher Education Research and Development - Hungary, named CHERD – H, from the University of Debrecen, was collected dates among students in 2012 (N=1323) and in 2014 - 2015 (N=323). Through a quantitative analysis, on a longitudinal perspective, I used SPSS statistical program to analyze data. The question of the research was: is there any difference between students` intentions to graduate on private and state institutions? Who is intending to finish and who is preparing to abandon his study? I concluded that students with unfavorable family background have nearly two times lower chance to enroll at state university and in private institutions students intention to enter into possesion of diploma was significant lower. With logistic regression I found also, that low financial status or low schooling of parents is not a significant obstacle on student academic path if they make every effort to participate in educational programs, submit assignments on time and are able to prepare for exams.
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The Development of the Number of Pupils in Secondary Institutions in Light of Political and School Structure Changes
70-81Views:317There are a number of factors around the world that influence the evolution of school structure such as historical, cultural tradition, nature of the economy, demographics, etc. After-primary school further education is a highlight of the Hungarian school system, as it also defines the entire school career and future of the pupils. The choice between the three types of training, the secondary school, vocational academic school and standard vocational school, is backed by different strategies spanning the entire school career of the students, the educational qualifications being the goal. While choosing high school leads to a degree, the choice of vocational school is one of the fastest and easiest ways of the acquisition of qualifications. However, vocational secondary school also offers a chance to study in higher education (Hermann, 2005) In our study, we look at the evolution of secondary school types in light of policy changes from the 1940s to the present day.
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Investigating the patterns of syntactic complexity predicting high-quality writing: a corpus-based study of the written text production at the B2+ English Language Exam at a Hungarian University
Views:172This pilot study explores the predictive role of syntactic complexity in assessing L2 writing proficiency, with a focus on its potential contribution to validating a high-stakes English language examination. Drawing on prior research that highlights the importance of syntactic complexity in writing evaluation, the study aims to identify specific syntactic measures that reliably distinguish between low-rated and high-rated L2 texts. The analysis is based on a corpus of written texts for the B2+ level for so-called 'Basic' English Language Examination (BLE) administered at a Hungarian university. Although labeled "Basic" the BLE represents a mandatory proficiency examination (B2+ level according to the CEFR) required for academic advancement. Rather than examining inter-rater reliability, the research centers on contribution to validation by investigating linguistic features associated with rated writing quality. Grades assigned by human raters were used solely to group texts and build the corpus for analysis. A total of 60 syntactic complexity indices were extracted using the Multidimensional Analysis Tagger (MAT) (Nini, 2019) and the Coh-Metrix 3.0 software package (Graesser, McNamara & Kulikowich, 2011). These indices include measures of clausal, phrasal, and overall structural complexity. The findings are expected to inform ongoing validation efforts for the BLE and contribute to more robust, evidence-based practices in L2 writing assessment by identifying linguistic patterns that correlate with writing proficiency.
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Teacher-Driven Strategies for Enhancing Parental Involvement in Rural Education
Views:244Parental involvement is widely acknowledged as a vital contributor to learners’ academic achievement and overall school success. While much is known about the benefits of parental engagement, particularly in urban and well-resourced settings, the dynamics and challenges in rural schools remain underexplored. This study addresses that gap by investigating how teachers perceive and implement strategies to enhance parental involvement in rural contexts. Specifically, the study aimed to answer the following question: (1) What are teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding parental involvement in rural schools? and (2) What teacher-driven strategies do they propose to improve collaboration with parents? This qualitative case study draws on Rotter’s Social Learning Theory to explain how behaviour is shaped by observation, reinforcement, and social interaction. The study was conducted at a rural high school in Mandlanzini Agri-village, KwaZulu-Natal, with ten purposively selected teachers as participants. Data were collected through a semi-structured online questionnaire and analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) coding process. The findings reveal a pressing need for structured, teacher-driven strategies that extend beyond standard parent-teacher meetings to include structured and culturally responsive interventions. The study highlights the practical value of teacher agency in facilitating parental involvement and offers context-specific insights that may guide future interventions in similar rural settings.
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Types of Fathers’ Home-based and School-based Involvement in a Hungarian Interview Study
95-103Views:313This study explores the ways that Hungarian fathers are involved, at home and at school, in their children’s
development and achievement. It also identifies the types of fathers that emerge based on this involvement.
According to the literature, paternal involvement at home and at school contributes to academic achievement,
similar to the involvement of mothers, but to a lesser extent and in different ways. The theoretical framework of
the research relies on the types of parental involvement as defined by Epstein. The research was qualitative,
based on 14 semi-structured interviews and the classification of fathers, resulting in three groups of similar size.
The first group comprised fathers who contributed to their child’s achievement at home, often by helping with
school-related activities, while not participating in school events. The second group included fathers who were
involved at home and at school alike. Finally, the third group consisted of four divorced fathers, three of whom
were involved both at home and at school, due to their particular situation. Overall, fathers’ school-based
involvement can be increased by the supportive attitude of wives, fathers’ greater confidence in themselves and
their abilities, and by informal events organized by schools (cooking or sports days), in which fathers are more
likely to participate. -
Secondary School Biology Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices of Formative Assessment in Tanzania
10-19Views:403Using formative assessment (FA) practices in teaching and learning is essential to understanding students’ learning and making informed decisions about students’ academic performance. This study examined secondary school biology teachers’ knowledge and practices of FA in Tanzania. Using a mixed-methods research approach and convergent mixed-methods research design, the study employed simple random and purposive sampling techniques to select the study area and teachers, respectively. A questionnaire and observation checklist used to collect data from 55 teachers in secondary schools. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 was used to compute descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that though teachers had theoretical knowledge of FA practices, they failed to implement them, particularly Socratic questioning, portfolios, and constructive feedback. This study concludes that teachers did not implement FA practices in the surveyed schools. Thus, there is a need of regular in-service training to develop teachers’ practical competences in FA practices to enhance classroom teaching and students’ learning in biology.
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Use of Electronic Resources in Teaching Religion in Higher Education: Best Practices from the SULSIT, Bulgaria
56-60Views:346This paper describes actually methodical attempts to use library electronic resources in academic education. Some opportunities for improving the teaching of religious cultural heritage and for diversify the methods of assessment of students in Bulgarian universities are commented. The text describes the personal experience of the authors with students of 3rd-4th grades from the State University of Library Studies and IT (SULSIT), Bulgaria. Among the “best practices” are tasks of performing on-line survey of digital resources of periodicals from the digital resources of the “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” National Library, of making content analysis of the database on a particular subject, of preparing bibliographic descriptions of the new discovered resources, of writing historical analyses, of generating thematic bibliographies on topics related to religion, using the resources of the electronic catalogs of regional public libraries in the country.
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The Use of Linguistic Features in Indonesian Students’ Texts at Hungarian Universities
131-141Views:290Students enrolled in a higher level of education may face challenges in producing assignments, including writing an essay. They need to present appropriate linguistic features in the text to demonstrate their writing quality. Comparing linguistic features during university study is one fundamental aspect of administering writing quality and showing student writing development. The topic presented in this study describes an initial statistical analysis and the frequency of linguistic features in the texts produced by Indonesian graduate students enrolled at Hungarian universities. This study proposed two research questions: 1) How frequently do pre-selected linguistic features appear in the texts of Indonesian graduate students? 2) How do these features appear in a paired T-test statistical analysis? Seven MSc and MA graduate students took part in the study to meet the goal. They are students at three different universities in Hungary, which all have a Social Science Faculty. During their second-year studies, fourteen essays with a minimum text length of 2000 words were collected. The findings revealed an increase in conjunctions, adjectives, abstract nouns, concrete nouns, noun phrases, expanded noun phrases, active verbs, verb phrases, and passive forms. Meanwhile, the frequency of linguistic features such as prepositions, definite articles, indefinite articles, noun clauses, adverbial clauses, and adjective clauses decreased. In addition, both the rise of nine linguistic features and the decrease of six features in the second semester are not statistically significant.