International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction

Determining Factors Influencing Learners' Decisions to Develop their Professionals through Open and Distance Learning at the Learning Centres

Joyceline Semwenda — 2025-03-02

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative mode of education in Tanzania, especially among the adult working class who wish to advance their professionals without attending full-time classes. This quantitative study aims to determine the factors that influence learners to pursue professional development through ODL at learning centers. The study involved 576 continuing and graduated diploma learners from the Institute of Adult Education in Mbeya, Ruvuma, and Dar es Salaam. Data was collected from respondents using a closed questionnaire. Key descriptive statistics, including tables, frequencies, and percentages, were used to analyze and present the findings using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 23). The findings reveal that respondents’ socioeconomic status, age, gender, marital status, and region significantly influence their decision to study through the ODL mode. Taking into account the needs and preferences of learners regarding this mode of learning is crucial. This consideration will encourage more learners to use open and distance learning, which will increase enrollment and lower dropout rates

Sustainability Education and Critical Thinking in Outcomes-Based Teaching and Learning

Joseph Jintalan — 2025-03-02

Education and critical thinking are integral in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, its integration in the curriculum is seemingly reduced to content-based teaching which causes unclear and misaligned learning outcomes and pedagogy. Thus, this study aims to examine the extent of alignment to sustainability education (SE) and critical thinking (CT) in the General Education (GE) Outcomes-Based Teaching and Learning (OBTL). The study employed convergent parallel research design. Curriculum mapping method was employed to analyze the alignment of the course plans of three participating colleges and interviews were done to examine the teaching-learning beliefs held by the participants. Deductive content and thematic analysis were used to analyze the alignment of course components and teaching-learning beliefs of participants respectively. The findings of the study suggest that most of GE’s intended learning outcomes align with social and cultural concepts while environmental and economic concepts are underemphasized. In terms of critical thinking, most of the GE course components align with foundational and higher-level skills and less with complex and metacognitive skills. Notably, most of the sustainable development competencies are found to be underemphasized. While constructive alignment may be observed in some of the course plans, results suggest that a high number of teaching-learning activities and assessment tasks were not aligned with the intended learning outcomes. Thus, the nature and focus of the activities and assessments do not match the target skills and competencies of the learning outcomes. Seemingly, this misalignment is rooted in the participants’ belief about the aim of teaching and the function of content. While integration is observed to some extent, overall results suggest a need for improvement in constructively aligning course instructional design to sustainability education as well as to its paradigm. This study hopes to contribute to the development of an SE-CT-OBTL integrated framework and principles as policy guidelines.

Keywords: Critical thinking; curriculum mapping; outcomes-based education; sustainability education

Pagkakasupeg Framework on Bridging Indigenous Peoples Education to MATATAG Curriculum

John Vincent Bucal — 2025-03-02

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the MATATAG Curriculum’s strengths and features, which are a breakthrough to the Philippine Education System, and how its features can transcend to the Indigenous People's Education. Pagkakasupeg Framework was the product of this paper, bridging Indigenous Peoples Education and MATATAG Curriculum. The framework contains two key stages that highlight Indigenous Peoples’ inclusion in the design and development of an IP-fit curriculum, empowering them to preserve their culture while educating their young community members and providing them with a sense of belongingness. The proposed framework will make the curriculum truly relevant and responsive to the needs and context of the learners. It utilizes a pedagogy that is empowering and creative. Thus, this paper aspires to adhere to the principle that no student (regardless of race, gender, and ethnicity) should be left behind.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Indigenizing Learning at A Canadian Offshore School

Chad Adams — 2025-03-02

In 2015, British Columbia (BC) released a redesigned curriculum that mandated the authentic and meaningful Indigenization of all aspects of learning. The mandate applied to schools within the province of BC and to the international schools that make up the BC Offshore School Program. BC offshore teachers are often uncertain on how to meaningfully Indigenize learning within an international educational context. There is little research regarding the implementation of Indigenized curricula within transnational contexts. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Indigenized learning at a BC offshore school in Egypt. A critical sociocultural framework was used in exploring teachers’ perceptions of Indigenizing learning. The focus of this research included determining how teachers perceive Indigenized teaching and learning at a BC offshore school and the perceived factors that influence Indigenization. Semi-structured interview and focus group data of 16 elementary and secondary teachers were collected and analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. A theory emerged that teachers’ prior knowledge of Indigenous culture shapes perceptions and practices of Indigenized learning, which are then mediated by unique external factors that emerge in international schools (Adams, 2024). Based on these findings, recommendations were formulated to assist teachers in implementing meaningful Indigenized learning internationally.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Productivity Tools in Research Writing as Perceived by Young Researchers

Ponciano Puse Jr. — 2025-03-02

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) productivity tools has been one of the most useful tools in the modern days. Its significance to society, especially for academic purposes is an understatement. However, such technology has still been apprehended to be utilized especially in research. As such, the study assessed the awareness, acceptance, and utilization behavior among college and senior high school students in the use of common AI productivity tools relative to research writing. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model was adopted in this study to provide relevant information as well as correlate data towards information generated in this study as the basis for the development of a policy framework that can be further enhanced to maximize the potential of advanced technology. The data consolidated revealed that the level of acceptance as noted among the respondents is at a mean score of 5.0 equivalent to somewhat acceptable and the utilization behavior level is at 4.7 equivalent to somewhat utilizable. This result may be attributed to the risk of plagiarism and other intellectual property violations and concerns that AI poses in academic writing. Similarly, using the T-test and ANOVA test to determine if the acceptance and utilization level is influenced by sex, age, and education at an alpha level of 0.05, the statistics show that all of the mentioned variables do not influence the perception of acceptance and utilization among the respondents.

A Path to Self-Discovery: Empowering Learners through a Language Advising Program

Özgül Özönder — 2025-03-02

This study examines the impact of a Language Advising Program designed to enhance self-directed learning in foreign language acquisition at a state university in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. The research explores two main questions: (1) whether participants demonstrate a growing sense of awareness and control over their self-directed learning, and (2) their perceptions of the program’s effectiveness. A qualitative research design was employed, involving eight weeks of individual Zoom advising consultations during which participants engaged in various activities aimed at fostering self-directed learning, including a goal-setting pyramid, confidence-building diary, vision board and the wheel of language learning so on. Data were collected through thematic analysis of weekly advising consultations, motivation graphics and semi-structured interviews conducted at the end of the program. Findings indicate that participants showed a significant growth in their self-awareness and control over learning, with structured activities playing a central role in this development. Additionally, participants reported several positive perceptions of the program’s effectiveness, highlighting improvements in their motivation, learning strategies, and self-confidence. The results suggest that the program effectively supported participants' self-directed learning and could serve as a model for similar educational initiatives. This study hopes to contribute to the body of research on self-directed learning in language education and aims at emphasizing the potential of advising programs to enhance learner autonomy.

Keywords: Self-directed learning; language advising; learner autonomy; motivation; program effectiveness

Implementing 21st Century Skills through the Future Classroom Lab (FCL) Model: A Case Study of an Environmental Education and Climate Change Course

Semra Mirici — 2025-03-02

This study examines the impact of the Future Classroom Lab (FCL) model on the development of 21st-century skills within the context of an environmental education and climate change course. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study integrates both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative component utilizes a pre-test and post-test control group experimental design, while the qualitative aspect incorporates semi-structured interviews with students and the implementing teacher. The findings indicate significant improvements in students' communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, media literacy, and leadership skills. The results reveal that technology-supported and student-centered learning environments foster creativity, enhance digital literacy, and facilitate problem-solving abilities. The study further demonstrates that the FCL model effectively supports the integration of 21st-century skills into educational settings by promoting interactive, flexible, and technology-enhanced learning experiences. The research provides empirical evidence for the benefits of innovative classroom environments and offers recommendations for future implementations in educational contexts.

A Quasi-Experimental Study on Situated Learning and Project-Based Learning in Fifth-Grade Chinese: Effects on Reading Comprehension and Analytical Thinking

Xingxing Xiang — 2025-03-02

In the context of global educational reform emphasizing the cultivation of students' reading comprehension and analytical thinking abilities, this study addresses the research gap regarding the combined effect of situated learning and project-based learning on these skills, especially in the Chinese curriculum for fifth graders. Existing studies mainly focus on single instructional methods, and the combined impact remains unclear. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with 79 fifth-grade students randomly divided into an experimental group (receiving combined situated and project-based learning) and a control group (receiving traditional teaching). Among the research instruments were found to be the reading comprehension test paper and the analytical thinking assessment scale, and both reliability and validity were appropriately verified. Primary findings point out that (1) the experimental group achieved significantly higher test scores than their initial scores as well as higher average scores compared to the control group in the post-test. Due to the incorporation of the combined instructional approach, it can thus be concluded that the strategy worked successfully. The manuscript's major distinguishing point is to be novel in its investigation of the integrated teaching method conducted at the Chinese teaching context and its design as well as empirical evidence of the good effect it brings, whereas the limitations do exist and the further research should be foreseen.

Artificial Intelligence in English Language Teaching: A Systematic Analysis of Global Trends

Nermin Punar Özçelik — 2025-03-02

As technology develops, the studies to find out the potential integrations and implications of these technological developments in the field of English language teaching increase. Grounded on this growing interest, the identification of global trends in published research studies in reputable journals plays a critical role. It is believed that if researchers, practitioners, and educators are aware of the trends and potential gaps in the field, they could conduct more fruitful studies to implement artificial intelligence to teach and learn the English language. The present research, with a combination of systematic and descriptive bibliometric analysis, focuses on the studies indexed in the Web of Science Database with some keywords related to the topic under investigation. The created data pool for content analysis consisted of sixty-six studies, and the publication years, target population, and themes of the studies were identified. According to preliminary findings, out of 66 studies, 52 of them were published after 2023, and the top three countries were China, Iran, and the USA. The main research area of the studies is the use of AI for writing and speaking skills, with less focus on other language skills. The main findings of the studies are focused on the positive impacts of AI on language learning, especially writing and pronunciation, and the challenges faced in AI integration.

Challenges Facing Management of Operational Funds in Allocating Instructional and Support Needs of Secondary Schools.

Samwel Bukuku — 2025-03-02

This mixed study focused on exploring the challenges experienced by the School Management Team (SMT) in managing the received funds and examining challenges faced by schools in managing operational funds to allocate instructional and support services. The study employed a concurrent triangular design and involved 17 public secondary schools in Mbeya district, Tanzania. In exploring challenges experienced by the school management team in managing funds to allocate requirements, a sample size of 10 was involved to collect qualitative data by interviews. These data were analyzed by thematic analysis. In examining the challenges of fund management faced by schools in allocating requirements, a sample size of 255 respondents among teachers was involved to collect quantitative data by questionnaire surveys. These data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The study reveals that, in managing operational funds received from the government, schools face mismatches between planned and received funds, delays in the release of funds, which compels them to deviate from financial guidelines, to borrow and create debts to suppliers, and shortfalls in supply of teaching-learning materials. The study underscores the necessity for timely and adequate disbursement of funds, regular school mapping to ensure up-to-date school data used in disbursing funds, hiring school accountants, and adjustments in financial guidelines to ensure that they are real-time and responsive to school requirements.

Teachers' Opinions on the Effect of Music Education on Social Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Orkun Karakuş — 2025-03-05

This study, which examines the effect of music education on the skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is essential in terms of music education contributing to the social skills of children with ASD and improving their deficiencies, guiding teachers working in the field of autism, and providing resources for future research. This study is an action research conducted with an experimental approach. Data were obtained using the descriptive analysis method, one of the qualitative research techniques. The experimental group of the study consisted of 6 children between the ages of 7 and 12 diagnosed with ASD. Each child in the experimental group was given music lessons twice a week, each lasting 20-30 minutes for 12 weeks. Each lesson was recorded with a video. After the experimental process, the lesson videos from the recorded application videos for each child from the 1st, 6th, and 12th weeks were shown to 4 special education teachers and one music educator working in special education institutions. Then, these teachers obtained opinions about the student's development. The study results revealed positive developments in many areas, such as establishing relationships, managing emotions and behaviors, regulating emotions, making positive decisions, teacher communication, and other areas. The main recommendations within the scope of the study are providing music education to students with ASD in all special education institutions, using rhythm instruments and Orff instruments to reduce students' textural sensitivities, and having students with speech limitations singing children's songs.

Keywords: Music Education; Autism Spektrum Disorder; Social Skillsd

Investigation of Stress Levels of Parents of Children with Special Needs According to the Type of Needs

Sefa Sanem Polat — 2025-03-06

The study aims to ...