Teacher Learning and Quality STEM: Challenges and Initiatives:

A decade on, the situation portrayed in the influential report of a deteriorating US science and technology ecosystem has, if anything, worsened.

In East Asian countries, shadow education has long existed as an alternative form of education alongside public schooling to enhance academic achievement. This system of shadow education includes personalized preparation for high school and university entrance exams via home-based individual tutoring (gawoe), group learning (hakwon), and online learning. Shadow education is a supplementary “learning space”—in the sense proposed by Davies and Aurini (2006)—that permeates the K-12 education of students in East Asian countries. When examining students' academic success and learning culture, the meaning, value, and impact of shadow education should be discussed. Theorizing Shadow Education and Academic Success in East Asia: Understanding the Meaning, Value, and Use of Shadow Education by East Asian Students by Kim and Jung presents the first international study introducing Western scholars to the contribution of shadow education to the world-class academic achievements of East Asian students on international tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Furthermore, the theoretical approach and empirical data used in this book provide a comprehensive framework to help readers understand the role of shadow education, offering insights into the academic success of East Asian students through ethnographic and qualitative research methods. This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 establishes a new theoretical ground of shadow education through the lens of transboundary learning culture and East Asian students' nomadic identities, revisiting the dominant discourse on shadow education and uncovering its defining characteristics. It explores how shadow education is applied to facilitate the academic success of East Asian students through an analysis of empirical data. This part induces a shift in the perception of the power and influence of shadow education, which has previously been portrayed negatively in the works of both Eastern and Western educational scholars. Part 2 documents case studies of shadow education in five East Asian countries—South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore—written by scholars specializing in each country, exploring how shadow education is embedded within learning cultures that enhance students' academic achievement. This book forms the first academic effort in which leading scholars from each country introduce the learning culture associated with shadow education in relation to the academic achievement and self-development of elementary, middle, and high school students in the East Asian context. Part 3 highlights three negative impacts of shadow education on students' educational growth and future success: (1) shadow education widens the learning gap between slow and fast learners, (2) its hidden curriculum negatively influences students, and (3) it reproduces inequality based on meritocracy and social class. The authors extend general issues of educational inequality and learning gaps in public education to practices of shadow education, calling on educational scholars in various fields—such as curriculum studies, sociology of education, educational anthropology, and educational policy—to discuss solutions and policy implementation necessary to address the three issues. The authors reinvent Western definitions of East Asian learning culture and methods using postmodern concepts such as “de-truth,” “students as nomads,” and “learning culture beyond borders.” This book is, therefore, an ethnographic anthology on the academic success of East Asian students facilitated by shadow education. By examining postcolonial cases, the book effectively explains the diversity and important aspects of East Asian students' learning methods and cultures for academic success using ethnographic and qualitative research (Kim et al. 2020). A limitation of this book is its somewhat narrow perspective that focuses only on East Asia. Therefore, it would be beneficial to include a broader comparative perspective that encompasses other regions, such as Southeast Asia or South Asia, where private education is also widespread. This could help strengthen the argument that private education is a global phenomenon with diverse regional manifestations. This book, which positions shadow education as a cultural and social practice, provides a new framework for understanding how education operates outside formal education systems. The focus on East Asian students' experiences and perceptions offers valuable insights into how educational practices are shaped by cultural and social expectations. This book can serve as a valuable resource for understanding shadow education as an alternative learning space facilitating the academic success of East Asian students, a topic that has not been seriously discussed or theorized in Western educational scholarship. Thus, this anthology could help Western scholars determine the factors underlying the superior academic achievements of East Asian students in tests such as PISA and TIMSS. Broadly speaking, the postcolonial research presented in this book can effectively shift the anthropological research focus from Western-centered student learning and academic development to more diverse, non-Western, and multicultural contexts. This study was supported by the KU Research Professor Program of Konkuk University.

We are very pleased to write this introductory paper to the special issue of ZDM that provides readers with a glimpse of mathematics education in Korea. In July 2012 (7th–15th), the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-12) takes place at COEX in the center of Seoul, Korea. The ICME is the most important congress in the mathematics education community. It is held once every 4 years under the auspices of the International Commission of Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). The impetus for having this special issue during ICME-12 arose from the scarcity of literature on Korean mathematics education despite Korean students’ high achievement on international comparison studies. Korean students have consistently performed well in recent international assessments of mathematics achievement such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the International Mathematics Olympiad. In addition, a recent study titled Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century (MT21) compared prospective teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning in six participant countries, reporting that Korean prospective secondary mathematics teachers were better prepared than those in other countries (Schmidt et al., 2007; Schmidt, Blomeke, Tatto, 2011). Despite such outstanding performances of Korean students and prospective teachers, very little literature is available on factors that contribute toward it. In addition relatively little is also written about mathematics education in Korea. Many scholars, particularly in the West, are curious about Korea’s excellence in teacher quality and student achievement (e.g. Akiba, LeTendre, & Scribner, 2007; Kang & Hong, 2008). There are, however, a relatively small set of systematic studies that examine various aspects of Korean mathematics education substantively and carefully (Kwon, Park, & Park, 2011). Further, some studies on Asian education have even mistakenly assumed that mathematics education in Korea is almost the same as that in other East Asian countries (e.g., Leung, 2011). Considering teaching and learning as cultural practices (e.g., Alexander, 2000; Fernandez & Yoshida, 2004; Ma, 1999; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999), this could mislead readers to ignore the uniqueness of mathematics education in Korea. As a historical–cultural construct, educational practice of mathematics is situated in a specific cultural context of South Korean society, where there are a range of unique cognitive and normative assumptions around the functions and purposes of education, the kinds of knowledge pursued in school and society, the roles taken by teachers and students. Thus, this special issue not only overviews major aspects of Korean mathematics education, it also addresses the historical and cultural foundations of Korean mathematics education in order to foster an understanding of its practices. This issue, a thematic collection of studies, consists of nine papers that present and discuss emerging issues and challenges of Korean mathematics education with respect to various aspects of mathematics education such as curriculum, teaching practices, student learning, textbooks, assessment, and teacher education. It makes an important contribution by Korean mathematics educators to the international community. O. N. Kwon (&) S. J. Cho Department of Mathematics Education, College of Education, Seoul National University, Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-748, Korea e-mail: onkwon@snu.ac.kr

The aim of this article is to present a systematic, holistic evaluation of the South African education system, using international benchmarks as the yardstick. A theoretical model for the evaluation of a national education project is constructed. This consists of three dimensions, namely: a quantitative dimension, a qualitative dimension, and an equality dimension. International databases and the existing international taxonomies of national education systems are then used to evaluate the South African education system, along the three dimensions of the model. It is found that the weakest links are the facts that primary and secondary education enrolment ratios are not followed through to the higher education level; that input, particularly financial input, does not render a commensurate return in terms of the quality of teaching and learning, and learning outcomes; that the administrative component of the system and teacher input appear to be the two weak links in the system in this regard; and that stark inequalities exist in the education system. In conclusion, some recommendations for the improvement of practice and for further research are made. Keywords : educational quality; equal educational opportunities; International Association of Educational Achievement (IEA) studies; international classifications of national education systems; Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies; Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES) study; South African education system; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) studies

A number of East Asian education systems (e.g. Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Shanghai, Singapore and Taiwan) have gained international prominence over the years, due to their rapid climbs to top positions in international tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). For example, Hong Kong was placed 17th in PIRLS reading literacy, and Singapore ranked 15th in 2001, but within 5 years, they garnered 2nd and 4th places in 2006, respectively. In the 2015 PISA results, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Japan and Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangzhou (B-S-J-G), China, were top achievers (OECD, Report on PISA 2015: results in focus. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016).

Large-scale international assessment studies such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) or Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provide researchers and policy makers the opportunity to conduct secondary analyses to answer questions related to educational outcomes and compare the impact of certain inputs on student outcomes across countries. These comparisons are made under the assumption that the questionnaire items translated to different languages are understood in the same way by its participants. Presenting a case from Turkey, this paper shows that equivalency of questionnaire items is not always achieved. The case explores demographic information related to teacher preparation and the sample is drawn from eighth grade science and mathematics teachers participated in TIMSS 2007, 2011, and 2015 in Turkey. Descriptive analysis of data collected from these teachers and comparisons across subjects and years show that teachers may have misunderstood a question regarding their major, thus limiting potential claims related to teacher preparation in Turkey. Researchers and policy analyst who use secondary data collected by international assessment studies should be aware of such comparability issues in adapted items prior to conducting any secondary analyses.

Background:In the same year 2015, PISA (The Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) are coming up to us together.PISA and TIMSS, which clock is more accurate to indicate national S&T (science & technology) competitiveness?Material and methods:Number of S & T journal articles (per million people) is used as a measure to represent the national S&T competitiveness. Average IQ of the population, research and development (R&D) expenditure (% of GDP) and number of R&D researchers and technicians which affect the national competitiveness in S&T were also investigated.Results:the study shows that PISA science scores would more significantly predict competence in S & T than TIMSS. Moreover, the study also shows a strong link between competence in S & T and IQ, R&D expenditure (% of GDP) or number of R&D researchers and technicians.Conclusions:The findings from this paper indicate that higher quality of human capital and more R&D inputs are the two magic weapons to national competence in S&T, especially higher quality of human capital.

This paper aims to highlight whether the data obtained by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) survey is utility for the improvement of assessment in Indonesia. With regard to the data got from related literature it is found that there are some utilizes that Indonesian can learn from other countries such as Singapore to improve its assessment system in education, especially with regard to Ujian National (National Examination) that until today still becomes a big issue. Accordingly, there are five positive information that can be utilized and can be used as the strating point to build up good assessment in education system in Indonesia. First, about the system of conducting Ujian National. In term of that the government should pay attention on the ability of the students overall, not only in urban area but also in rural area. Second, about the environment. Here, the government should create a fair circumstance in examination setting. Third, about culture. Fourth, about time management. With regard to this the government should pay attention on the students schedule for preparing Ujian National. Finally, about administration system. Relating to this government should pay attention on the administration system to avoid corruption of time, cheating and many other problems.

This article aims to characterize the large-scale assessments implemented in Latin America, of which Brazil is a participant, problematizing the quality that such assessment tools inflict on school education. This is a documentary research based on information available on the website of the National Institute of Studies and Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). The following assessments are described and analyzed: Comparative and Explanatory Regional Study (ERCE); Progress in Reading International Study (PIRLS); Program for International Student Assessment (PISA); and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). We conclude that the quality of school education is central to these assessments, generally translated into scores obtained by students’ performance on standardized tests, forming a notion of quality almost exclusively associated with the results of school learning, even though contextual questionnaires accompany these assessments. Furthermore, the characterization of large-scale assessment initiatives present in Latin America reveals the increasingly robust interest of international organizations in creating instruments capable of measuring student learning, enabling the comparison of the quality of school education between and within educational systems.

Poor mathematics performance was generally reported from international assessments such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) among Malaysian students. Malaysia is ranked 52nd and 48th in the assessments for 2012 and 2018 respectively, while Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and even Vietnam have consistently performed well and held the top spots among the 78 countries evaluated in the PISA. Although numerous new technologies have been introduced, developed and implemented for education, incorporation of IT capability (ITC) to teach and learn Mathematics where still lacking commonly. Additionally, learning Mathematics in the traditional teaching contents could not accomplish desired learning outcomes because of dry contents and dull teachers. Therefore, this study is to design an appropriate ITC framework for improving learning experience and academic achievement of learning Mathematics. This study has adopted the development model of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) and Mayer (2010)’s cognitive theory for multimedia instructional content design. This study developed a new Multimedia Probability and Statistics system (MMPASS) for a subject of Probability and Statistics. The developed topics were concepts of discrete random variables and probability distribution function which were puzzled by students from preliminary study. An experiment was conducted with both control and experimental groups. The developed MMPASS blended multiple influential multimedia elements in the learning contents. A quantitative method and proportional stratified sampling were used to collect data. The blended topics were used by the experimental group whilst the control group was solely learning using the existing learning contents. Questionnaires were distributed to both groups after the lessons. 66 students participated in this survey. The collected data was then analysed and an ITC model was formed. Results of this study show that Perceived System Quality, Perceived Information Content Quality and Perceived System Performance as independent variables significantly improved learning experience. The findings also reveal that the performances of the experimental group have a higher mean score (9.65/10.00) compared to the control group (8.03/10.00), indicating the use of MMPASS improved students’ learning performance in subjects that involve understanding of concepts. While there is a lack of established ITC framework and IT application for Mathematics education in Malaysia, this study has verified the use of ITC improving performance of learning Mathematics in Malaysia.

Indonesia is ranked 56th out of 65 participating countries in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) based on data 2015. According to PISA results, the average science score of Indonesian students is 403, where this number is categorized as low. This is because students are still in the process of understanding and have not yet fully recognized the location of their mistakes. Students can diagnose the location of their mistakes through self-diagnosis activities. Self-diagnosis activities require the active role of students during the learning process. One approach that can increase the active role of students is STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). However, research at this time is still rarely found self-diagnosis activities that are applied to the STEM approach. Therefore, this research has the aim to find out the increase in mastery of physical concepts and self-diagnosis of students on the STEM learning approach to the theory of poscal law class XI High School.This study uses a One-Group pretest-posttest design with a sample of 30 ini 11th grade highschool from one schools in Bandung. . Based on the findings, there is an increase in mastery of concepts [<g> = 0.51] from pre-test to post-test. In self-diagnosis activities identified that there are differences in scores [z = 1.75; p = 0.9599] student assessment results of researchers and self-scoring results. Deeper self-diagnosis triggers a series of implicit steps that encourage them to rearrange their cognition by correcting the mistakes they make when solving problems. So that learning activities using the STEM approach that involves self-diagnosis activities can improve students' mastery of concepts.

Teaching is the main duty of university and teachers are the key to improve the teaching quality.For the purpose of arousing teachers to pay more attention in teaching, three-teaching competition had been organized in recent years at SUN Yet-sen University.It has proved that teaching competition is a good way to improve teaching quality of medical education in our university.In this article, it was introduced how to organize three-teaching competition in our university and the effects in improving teaching quality of medical education. Key words: Medical education; Teaching competition; Teaching quality

The aims of this research study were to develop the instructional innovative lesson plan with the STEM Education method in chemistry subject on polymer issue for secondary students at the 12th grade level through the effectiveness criteria of 75/75, to compare between students’ learning achievements of their pretest and posttest techniques in cording to the STEM education in chemistry class for secondary students at the 12th grade level, 3) to assess students’ perceptions of their satisfaction to their learning activity management in cording to the STEM education in chemistry class for secondary students at the 12th grade level. The target group consisted of 42 secondary students at the 12th grade level from Borabu School under the Secondary Educational Service Area Office 26 in academic year 2/2016 with the purposive sampling technique was selected. Using a main instructional innovative lesson plan with the STEM education method in 12 hours was designed, the 30-item Learning Achievement Test ranged from 0.37 to 0.80 and 0.22 to 0.69 for discriminative discriminant (B) and as a whole was 0.85, validity; and the 15-item Science Satisfaction Model that it was a 5-scale rating scale option. Statistically significant for data analysis with percentage, standard deviation, and independent t-test were analyzed. The results of these findings have indicated that: students were evaluated to determine performance criteria with the efficiency of the processing performance and the performance results (E1/E2) of the STEM Education instructional method’s innovation lesson plans to management to the activity-based learning approach indicated that 78.47/76.51, which was higher than standardized criteria of 75/75. Students’ learning achievements of their pre-test and post-test assessing differences were also found evidence at the 0.01 level, significantly. Students’ responses of their learning activity management in cording to the STEM education, which the whole as the highest level, significantly. Article visualizations:

Teaching is a versatile and valued exercise that is geared towards bringing about achievement in students’ learning. In view of the importance of teaching, there is need for it to be effective and of good quality. Education in secondary school within South Africa is seen as an imperative sub-sector in the educational system that aids the growth of the economic system through transformation. Although, there are various transformational systems to improve teaching quality in education, it is generally believed that there is no common agreement on what transformation systems entail in secondary school education in developing nations. This study investigates the perceptions of teachers in the transformation of teaching quality education in secondary schools. Eight teachers were selected from four secondary schools in the East London Education District in South Africa. The respondents varied in gender, age, years of teaching experience, academic qualifications and professional qualifications. The study used semi-structured interviews to gather data. A thematic approach was used for data analysis while trustworthiness was adopted for the validity of the instrument. The findings revealed that some of the teachers were aware of the need for transformation to improve the secondary school education system in South Africa. However, it was noticed that there was no adequate training and monitoring on the use of infrastructure. In addition, the findings further indicated that some teachers have a negative perception toward any additional role in transforming and improving the quality of teaching. Furthermore, the findings also indicated that transformation in teaching should be the responsibility of the government and head of schools. In light of this, the study recommended that policy makers should increase the budget on secondary school education as well as monitor the process of implementation to achieve the desired goal. Moreover, there should be regular effective training and workshops for teachers in secondary schools to remind them of their roles and responsibilities in teaching.

International comparative studies such as the Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicate that Korean students have consistently performed well. In addition, a recent study titled Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century (MT21) compared prospective teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning in six participant countries, reporting that Korean prospective secondary mathematics teachers were better prepared than those in other countries. In this context, this study has examined the curricula for mathematics teacher education and teacher employment tests in order to investigate the social expectation for teacher professionalization in Korea, particularly focusing on teacher knowledge. The analysis shows that while elementary mathematics teacher education emphasizes pedagogical knowledge, the secondary mathematics education curricula are highly content knowledge oriented. However, the secondary mathematics teacher education includes various aspects of pedagogical content knowledge in its curricula and teacher employment test. This research also identifies the discourse concerning mathematics instruction for diversity and equity and the emphasis of reflective practice as the significant development of the current Korean teacher education.