Latest Trends in the Field of Education

With the advent of salient technologies, the education field cannot remain idle as technological development, and the value of knowledge need to go hand in hand. Therefore, teachers, being at the forefront of the education field, need to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to ensure a successful teaching and learning process. Despite numerous studies examining teachers’ level of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK), there is limited research that investigates how teachers translate their TPACK in a blended learning classroom. Hence, this study investigates teachers’ self-assessment of their TPACK towards blended learning implementation in the primary English as Second Language (ESL) classroom and how their TPACK is congruent with their blended learning practice. The sample consisted of 144 Malaysian primary school teachers in the state of Negeri Sembilan. The instruments used were questionnaires and classroom observations. The findings indicated that teachers overall assessed themselves to have a high level of TPACK towards blended learning implementation. Concurrently, teachers’ high TPACK were congruent with their blended learning practice, suggesting that all participants exhibited various facets of TPACK in their blended learning classrooms. As a consequence, the findings highlight the importance of having adequate TPACK to achieve optimal use of blended learning in line with the current 21st-century learning.

A guide to both theory and practice of blended learning offering rigorous research, case studies, and methods for the assessment of educational effectiveness. Blended learning combines traditional in-person learning with technology-enabled education. Its pedagogical aim is to merge the scale, asynchrony, and flexibility of online learning with the benefits of the traditional classroom—content-rich instruction and the development of learning relationships. This book offers a guide to both theory and practice of blended learning, offering rigorous research, case studies, and methods for the assessment of educational effectiveness. The contributors to this volume adopt a range of approaches to blended learning and different models of implementation and offer guidelines for both researchers and instructors, considering such issues as research design and data collection. In these courses, instructors addressed problems they had noted in traditional classrooms, attempting to enhance student engagement, include more active learning strategies, approximate real-world problem solving, and reach non-majors. The volume offers a cross-section of approaches from one institution, Georgia Tech, to provide both depth and breadth. It examines the methodologies of implementation in a variety of courses, ranging from a first-year composition class that incorporated the video game Assassin's Creed II to a research methods class for psychology and computer science students. Blended Learning will be an essential resource for educators, researchers, administrators, and policy makers. Contributors Joe Bankoff, Paula Braun, Mark Braunstein, Marion L. Brittain, Timothy G. Buchman, Rebecca E. Burnett, Aldo A. Ferri, Bonnie Ferri, Andy Frazee, Mohammed M. Ghassemi, Ashok K. Goel, Alyson B. Goodman, Joyelle Harris, Cheryl Hiddleson, David Joyner, Robert S. Kadel, Kenneth J. Knoespel, Joe Le Doux, Amanda G. Madden, Lauren Margulieux, Olga Menagarishvili, Shamim Nemati, Vjollca Sadiraj, Donald Webster

In the pre‐pandemic world learning was most often onsite, in‐person and co‐located. This was turned upside down during the pandemic where online suddenly became the ‘new normal’. To continue learning in a pandemic world, learning providers and institutions were required to rethink and reconfigure learning to more online and ‘pandemic‐friendly’ formats. In the aftermath of emergency teaching and learning, providers, developers and teachers are now looking ahead to contemplate its impact on the educational landscape. Here, the large‐scale, wide‐spread development and delivery of online, blended and hybrid learning formats might demarcate a turning point for education. However, hybridity, hybrid learning environments and hybrid learning carry with them particular conceptualisations, characteristics and frameworks we need to bear in mind when thinking about lifelong learning in a post‐pandemic world. This article is an effort to provide an operationalisation of theories for hybrid lifelong learning through asking: How can we understand the concepts of hybrids, hybridization and hybridity in order to take advantage of the potentials and opportunities these concepts hold when it comes to lifelong learning? And how can we apply this understanding to describe hybrid lifelong learning in ways that sets it apart from emergency teaching and learning as well as other similar formats such as online learning or parallel teaching? Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Hybrid learning environments is a central topic in the field, but it is not clear how we should think about this term. Hybrid learning has grown substantially in importance. Yet the field is still under‐theorised. Hybrid learning environments are challenging and under‐researched. The dissolution of dichotomies central in hybrid learning makes it more complex and less predictable. What this paper adds Theoretical groundwork is provided to circumvent the “common sense” understanding of hybridity in hybrid learning. Synthesises insights from a body of recent research on hybrid education and hybrid learning, reflecting the complexity added by the notion of hybridity to learning, learning environments and lifelong learning. A novel conception of hybridity that foregrounds the complexity, entanglement and dissolution of dichotomies as well as a more integrated and holistic theorisation of the assumptions and premises that underpin hybrid learning, based on existing theories and research. Implications for practice and/or policy More theoretically grounded accounts of hybridity, hybrid learning and hybrid learning environments provide richer explanations of these terms, and would benefit the field. The paper's theoretical perspective prompts some rethinking of how design for hybrid learning occurs, what it consists of and how it may be improved. Teachers who want to foster hybrid learning environments and hybrid lifelong learning should be aware of using an integrated theoretical approach when analysing or designing for situations where learning is hybridised. Researchers need to be more explicit about the theories that underpin their studies of hybrid education, hybrid learning and hybrid learning environments.

The integration of Sustainable Development Goals in educational systems is a key issue for a sustainable future. India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 presents the transformative approach to education that focuses on educational practices aligned with a global sustainability agenda. This paper critically examines the role of NEP 2020 in furthering SDGs through its impact on educational policy, governance, and pedagogical innovation. The research focuses on three main dimensions: (1) Policy reforms that support inclusivity, equity, and lifelong learning; (2) Governance frameworks that foster decentralization, community engagement, and collaborative leadership; and (3) Pedagogical innovations, such as technology integration and competency-based education, to make the learning experience more meaningful and foster sustainable development. The study, which presents an analysis of these reforms, shows how NEP 2020 can provide a strong framework for changing the educational outcomes and responding to global challenges. The paper maintains that NEP 2020 not only reshapes India's educational landscape but also becomes an excellent model for aligning the national education systems with the SDGs. The findings highlight that these policies have the potential to drive sustainable societal changes in society through education.

In this article, patterns of polarization were empirically analyzed in relation to the field of lifelong education by applying the calculation formula suggested by Kim et al. (2020) that can be used to measure degrees of educational polarization. More specifically, this article analyzed patterns of polarization focusing on educational participation and outcomes. Educational participation was analyzed by examining the amount of participation time (average weekly hours), and educational outcomes were analyzed by exploring lifelong learning attainment, lifelong learning competencies, and changes in social awareness, For the analyses, this article used the results of a survey conducted on 2,200 adult males and females between the ages of 25 and 65. Specifically, the differences in the averages of educational participation and outcomes were first analyzed according to the subjects' parents’ monthly income and own income levels. Next, polarization index values for ‘increases in gaps between groups’ and ‘decreases in mobility’ were calculated considering the subjects' parents’ income and own income levels. Based on this, the degree of polarization was explored. An overall degree of polarization was confirmed in both educational participation and outcomes, though there were some differences by sub-components. In particular, it was found that the degree of polarization was stronger in educational outcomes than in educational participation, when analyzed according to own income levels rather than parents’ income levels.

This study aims to provide an overview and analyze blended learning-based learning to improve the quality of learning at MAN 1 Sragen after the pandemic by using a qualitative-case study as paradigm. This is because blended learning is a form of learning innovation that combines several activities to make learning more flexible and efficient. Research data was collected through interviews, observations and documents which were then analyzed narratively through a process of data condensation, data presentation and conclusions. Interviews were conducted with the principal, vice principal of curriculum, teachers and students. The research results show that the implementation of blended learning-based learning at MAN 1 Sragen goes through four main processes, namely planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating. At the planning level, the school prepares curriculum guidelines that accommodate blended learning. In the organizing process, the school arranges human resources along with the main tasks and functions that must be carried out referring to the indicators of success to be achieved. In the learning evaluation process, the school carries out routine quantitative and qualitative reviews. The quality of blended learning-based learning is carried out by paying attention to three quality processes, namely input, output and outcome. Apart from that, blended learning based learning at MAN 1 Sragen also refers to several principles such as conformity with community needs, interest from school components in the integration of technology in learning, implementation of effectiveness and efficiency and implementation of productive learning that is able to produce good learning. quality. Blended learning-based learning makes the learning process more active, increases student independence and is able to strengthen students' learning experiences.

The challenges of innovating teaching and learning to meet the current demands of 21st-century lifelong learning is the ultimate goal of Education 4.0. Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR) being characterized as the era of massive development of smart machines, the enormous convergence of information technology, and remarkable platforms for communication and collaboration, becomes one of the significant drivers of Education 4.0. IR 4.0 brings education to raising the bar. Hence, Education 4.0 becomes mandatory to be implemented and integrated into the curriculum. The successful implementation of this integration rests upon the hands of the teachers being considered as the curriculum implementers. Hence, this study aims to explore the understanding of the teachers on education 4.0 and their practices in terms of integrating the concept with the senior high school ABM curriculum. Using a case study, the research was conducted among eight participants in a multi-level private school in the southern part of Manila and found out that the teacher’s understanding of education 4.0 was based on two major concepts which include; (a) integration of technology into teaching through blended learning, and (b) preparing students to become lifelong learners through integrating transversal competencies and 21st-century learning skills in the curriculum. With the teachers’ use of the learning management system, blended learning which integrates the transversal competencies in the curriculum and the development of 21st-century skills became possible. The practices of the teachers in integrating technology through blended learning in teaching, ensuring the development of the 21st-century skills, and transversal competencies to ensure the implementation of teaching and learning within the concept of education 4.0 are discussed in detail.

Irrespective of the high popularity of blended learning (BL) applications in higher education centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students perceive certain challenges as depriving them of its effective usage for educational purposes. Using a qualitative study approach, this study aimed to find out the challenges students face using the BL approach during and after the era of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures institutions put in place to help students' BL best practices. Ten participants from the Ghana Communication Technology University took part in a semi-structured interview session to ascertain the students' BL practices in higher education centers. Although the study's outcome revealed some potential benefits derived from the BL approach, poor internet connectivity, poor student-lecturer engagement, the high cost of internet data charges, poor power supply, and a dearth of proper orientation programs amongst students were the challenges identified.The study has emphasized that implementing effective BL in teaching and learning leads to increased student satisfaction, student-instructor interaction, student-centered learning and collaboration, and student engagement. Hence, recommendations are made to ensure students achieve effective BL in schools.

Freedom from Choice

COMPUTERS: AS DIGITAL FACILITIES FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND AS TOOLS FOR ENHANCED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The present study aims at exploring the strategies for managing innovation in technical education by using blended learning philosophy and practices with special reference to Politeknik Brunei. Based on literature review and desk research, the study found out salient characteristics, explored constraining factors, elicited strategies of Politeknik Brunei, and suggested some options and a framework for innovations management and development of effective blended teaching and learning. The limiting factors identified are the unwillingness of the top-level management, lack of structural support, dearth of readiness of the stakeholders, the gap between teacher's expectations and changed students characteristics, and blended teaching myopia on the way of effective application of blended learning strategies. Notable suggestions for strategic development are developing wide-angle vision and self-renewal processes, analyzing the environment for needs determination. Clarity of purpose and tasks, technological adaptability, data-driven decision making, prompt feedback, flipped classroom, and development of learning clusters are other dimensions that may go a long way toward innovating teaching-learning and the overall development of an academic institution. Finally, the study suggested important guidelines for applying the strategies and proposed framework for quality blended learning and managing innovations in technical education.

The landscape of management education in India is undergoing a transformative shift, catalysed by the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This research paper explores the implications of the NEP 2020 on the structure, curriculum, and pedagogy of management education in India. The NEP envisions a holistic, multidisciplinary, and skill-oriented approach to education, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive overhaul of existing educational frameworks to align with global trends and societal needs. By analysing key aspects of the policy, such as the promotion of critical thinking, innovation, and the integration of technology, this paper highlights the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for management institutes in India. The paper also delves into the need for a shift from traditional teaching methodologies to more dynamic, experiential learning environments that nurture entrepreneurial spirit, leadership skills, and ethical decision-making. Through a detailed analysis, this research aims to provide actionable insights into how management education can be reimagined in India to meet the demands of the 21st century.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 brings a paradigm shift in India’s education system, promoting equity, flexibility, inclusivity and lifelong learning. In this regard, the study rewires tribal education in the Rayagada district of Odisha and makes an empirical inquiry on secondary, adult and lifelong learning scenarios as opportunities & challenges. Rayagada, which has a high concentration of Scheduled Tribe populations, still struggles with educational challenges like low enrolment and retention at the secondary level, language barriers, socioeconomic constraints, limited infrastructure and poor access to adult education programmes. Hence, it draws insights from policy analysis and secondary data available in the existing literature to delve deeper into how NEP 2020 presents fresh opportunities through multilingual education as well as flexible curricular designs, vocational integration, digital education initiatives and closer integration of adult and continuing education. These provisions have potential in supporting continuity of education, pathways to skill development and a pathway towards lifelong learning for tribal youth and adults. On the other hand, it identifies key factors that act as obstacles for implementation; they include digital divide issues, lack of trained and culturally responsive teachers, weak institutional support for adult learning processes in many situations, and contextual hurdles based on poverty, migration and social exclusion. The Indian government is seemingly not fully applying a process that, if adhered to, could fill the gap between policy and implementation, which remains in tribal-dominated areas like Rayagada. Rethinking tribal education, they argue, involves context-sensitive approaches that link secondary schooling to a great adult education and lifelong learning pathways. NEP 2020 should put the spotlight on community participation, instruction in local languages and messing with institutional coordination to flesh out meaningful goals of education. This paper furthers the discussion on educational equity by framing tribal education within a paradigm of holistic lifelong learning.

- The quality of Islamic Religious Education teaching is influenced by the understanding of Islamic teachings in everyday life and its application. For this reason, this research aims to analyze the influence of teachers' basic teaching skills and students' religious practices on Islamic Religious Education learning outcomes at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri 2 Surabaya City. Islamic Religious Education plays an important role in shaping the student’s character and morals so that the quality of Islamic Religious Education teaching becomes a determining factor in achieving the goals of religious education. The factors studied include teachers' basic teaching abilities, religious practices, and student independence. This research used a quantitative approach with 100 students from class VII. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires and regression analysis which was used to assess the influence of independent variables on Islamic Religious Education learning outcomes. Research shows that the teachers' basic teaching skills, religious practices, and student independence partially and simultaneously have a positive effect on Islamic Religious Education learning outcomes. These results show that teachers' basic teaching skills, which include the ability to convey material, mastery of teaching methods, and the ability to adapt to students' needs, have a positive impact on students' understanding of religious teachings. Students' religious practices include religious activities such as prayer, reading the Quran, and other religious practices. The intrinsic attitude value which will lead to independence in learning and teaching religious teachings personally in everyday life makes a positive contribution to the learning outcomes of Islamic religious education.

In the process of digital transformation of professional education, the leading role belongs to the development of the theory and practice of blended learning, which combines classroom work and e-learning in the online and offl ine formats. Searching for eff ective tools for the implementation of blended learning is an urgent task of the methodologists of professional education. The purpose of this study is to identify and justify the didactic opportunities of using blended learning as a mechanism for the digital transformation of professional education. A survey of 143 students showed their general positive attitude to active and interactive teaching methods, various digital technologies used in the classroom and ways of organizing independent work. A survey of 55 teachers showed an insuffi ciently high level of their motivation to use blended learning due to the need for a signifi cant revision of the methods of teaching academic subjects, and ways to transform them into the online and offl ine formats. The main obstacle to the eff ective implementation of blended learning is the lack of digital and methodological competence of teachers. In this regard, systematic work is required to arm teachers with tools of modern digital technologies and innovative educational techniques implemented in the process of blended learning. Particular attention in the organization of blended learning should be given to a Flipped Classroom model, which sigmifi cantly improves the quality of the educational process.