2016 Wjeis

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL
AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES

IN THE WORLD
June 2016
Volume 6 Special Issue 1

7th International Congress on New Trends in Education
ICONTE
ISSN: 2146-7463
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JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES
IN THE WORLD
June 2016, Volume: 6 Special Issue 1 ISSN: 2146-7463
Contact Addresses
Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya, Gazi Üniversitesi, Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi,

Eğitim Bilimleri Bölümü
06500 Teknikokullar Ankara/Türkiye
E. Mail: [email protected] Phone: +903122028230 Fax: +903122228483
Prof. Dr. Uğur Demiray, Anadolu Üniversitesi, İletişim Bilimleri Fakültesi,

Yunusemre Kampüsü, 26470 Eskişehir/Türkiye
E. Mail: [email protected] Phone: +905422322167
Sponsors
Abstracting & Indexing
Journal of Educational and Instructional Studies in the World (WJEIS) is currently indexed, abstracted and listed
starting with the first issue in:
Editors
Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya, Gazi University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Ugur Demiray, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Hismanoglu, Usak University, Turkey
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Associate Editors
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ilknur Istifci, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assist. Prof. Dr. Huseyin Kafes, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Caner, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Editorial Board
Prof. Dr. Abdul Hakim Juri, University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Prof. Dr. Ali H. Raddaoui, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Prof. Dr. Antonis Lionarakis, Hellenic Open University, Greece
Prof. Dr. Augustyn Bańka, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland
Prof. Dr. Boriss Misnevs, Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Latvia
Prof. Dr. Emine Demiray, Anadolu University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Ezendu Ariwa, University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Feyzi Ulug, TODAIE, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Francis Glasgow, Guyana University, South America
Prof. Dr. Jim Flood, Open University, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Jozef Gašparík, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia
Prof. Dr. Gonca Telli Yamamoto, Okan University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. K. M. Gupta, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, India
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kesim, Anadolu University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Sisman, Osman Gazi University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Modafar Ati, Abu Dhabi University, United Arab Emirates
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abolgasem Artemimi, Zawia Engineering College, Libya
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ziad Hamdan, Modern Education House, Syria
Prof. Dr. Mufit Komleksiz, Cyprus International University,TRNC
Prof. Dr. Nedim Gurses, Anadolu University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Paul Kawachi, Bejing Normal University, China
Prof. Dr. Ramesh C. Sharma, Indira Gandhi National Open University, India
Prof. Dr. Recep Demirci, Gazi University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Rozhan M. Idrus, School of Distance Education, University Sains, Malaysia
Prof. Dr. Santosh Panda, Indira Gandhi National Open University, India
Prof. Dr. Sharif H. Guseynov, Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Latvia
Prof. Dr. Tamar Lominadze, Georgian Technical University, Georgia
Prof. Dr. Tayyip Duman, Gazi University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Tony Townsend, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Ugur Demiray, Anadolu University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Valentina Dagiene, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. Yildiz Ozerhan, Gazi University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Yoav Yair,The Open University of Israel, Israel
Prof. Dr. Yuksel Kavak, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya, Gazi University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahadir Eristi, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emine Kolac, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ilknur Istifci, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irfan Yurdabakan, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Hismanoglu, Usak University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natalija Lepkova, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ozgen Korkmaz, Mevlana University, Turkey
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shivakumar Deene, Karnataka State Open University, India
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Steve Wheeler, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suzan Duygu Eristi, Anadolu University, Turkey
Assist. Prof. Dr. Burak Inner, Kocaeli University, Turkey
Assist. Prof. Dr. Huseyin Kafes, Akdeniz University, Turkey
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Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Caner, Akdeniz University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Dr. Katherine Sinitsa, International Research and Training Center, Ukrania
Assist. Prof. Dr. Roxana Criu, Cuza University, Romania
Assist. Prof. Dr. Zdena Lustigova, Charles University, Czech Republic
Dr. Hisham Mobaideen, Mu'tah University, Jordan
Dr. Simon Stobart, University of Teesside, United Kingdom
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Dear WJEIS Readers,
WJEIS appears on your screen now as Volume 6, Special Issue 1. In this issue it publishes 18 articles.
Colleagues that are in editorial board worked hard to determine the articles of this issue. There are also some
articles that were presented in International Congress on New Trends in Education- ICONTE 2016. Articles are
evaluated by the referees that are either in editorial board or outside the board.
Although WJEIS is a new journal, it has been welcomed with interest. A lot of journals from various universities
are in the evaluation process. We would like to thank cordially our colleagues who work hard in editorial board
to evaluate the articles, writers who contribute to our journal and all readers.
st
1 June 2016
Best regards
Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya

Prof. Dr. Ugur Demiray
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Hismanoglu
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Contact Addresses………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..i
Abstracting & Indexing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….i
Editors, Associate Editors, Editorial Board…………………….…………………………………………………………………………….…ii
From Editors…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………iv
CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….v
01. OPEN AND DISTANCE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS STUDY……………………………..1
Abdulkadir Karadeniz, Soner Sözler- TURKEY
02. MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING…………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinem Bezircilioğlu- TURKEY
03. TEACHING LONDON POETRY AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE……………………………………………………………………….13

Assist. Prof. Dr. Tzu Yu Allison Lin- TURKEY
04. USING SOCIAL NETWORK AS AN EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT TOOLS

A CASE STUDY OF USING WHATSAPP IN PRINCESS NOURAH UNIVERSITY…………………………………………………….18
Dua’ Abdalltef Nassar- KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
05. IN PURSUIT OF A NEW TEACHER IDENTIFICATION: WHAT MAKES TEACHER MORE DEDICATED………………22
Dr. Eyüp Şahin, Prof. Dr. Esergül Balcı, Emin Uslu, İsmail Hakan Yanık- TURKEY
06. INDIVIDUALISATION OF TEACHING IN THE PROCESS OF DESCRIPTIVE ASSESSMENT……………………………….28

Dr. Marija Jovanovic, Dr. Vesna Minic- SERBIA
07. STEM EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD IN TURKEY…………………………………………………………………………..…38

Res. Assist. Şebnem Soylu- TURKEY
08. NEW TRENDS OF TRAINING IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOFIA………………..48

Assist. Prof. Dr. Stefan Velikov, Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandrina Vodenicharova, Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Nikolay Popov- BULGARIA
09. EDUCATION OF PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROM ON DISEASE SELF- MANAGEMENT……………………54

Assist. Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Traykovska- Dimitrova, Assist. Prof. Dr. Todor Dimitrov, Dr. Andrey Kehayov,
Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Zlatanova- Velikov- BULGARIA
10. SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE ORGANIZATION

AND QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THE FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH- SOFIA…………………………………………………61
Assist. Prof. Dr. Aleksandrina Vodenicharova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antoniya Yanakieva
Assist. Prof. Dr. R. Goranova- Spasova, Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Zlatanova- Velikov- BULGARIA
11. OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………..70

OF MEDICAL SPECIALISTS IN BULGARIA
Assist. Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Mihaylova, Dr. Andrey Kehayov, Assist. Prof. Dr. Stefan Velikov- BULGARIA
12. SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE STUDIED COURSES

IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ECONOMICS……………………………………………………………………………………………77
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Petrova-Gotova, Prof. Dr. Tihomira Zlatanova,
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Yaneva, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Popov, Dr. Andrey Kehayov- BULGARIA
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13. CONTINUING EDUCATION ON BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN MEDICIAL UNIVERSITY- SOFIA………………………………………………………....83
Assist. Prof. Dr. Radka Goranova- Spasova, Assist. Prof. Dr. A. Vodenicharova, Dr. Andrey Kehayov,
Prof. Dr. Tihomira Zlatanova- BULGARIA
14. QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROCESS THROUGH THE EYES OF STUDENTS…………………………………………..………93

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Yaneva, Prof. Dr. Tihomira Zlatanova, Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Petrova-Gotova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Popov, Assist. Maria Lazarova- BULGARIA
15. DETERMINING THE ATTITUDES TOWARDS RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

OF TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS ATTENDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF HIGH SCHOOLS …………………………………...103
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Çelikler, Prof. Dr. Ayhan Yılmaz, Zeynep Aksan- TURKEY
16. EEG ATTENTION AND MEDITATION RESPONSES OF STUDENTS

ON DIFFERENT PRESENTATION SLIDE COLORS……………………………………………………………………………………………114
Hakan Aydogan, Selma Demirtas Aydogan- TURKEY
17. A META ANALYSIS: THE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS OF NURSING AND OTHER BACHELOR STUDENTS……120
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Filiz Kantek, Handan Kartal- TURKEY
18. A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO PROMOTE SELF- DIRECTED LEARNING………………………………………………………..128

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Temmen, Dennis-Pascal Friederici- GERMANY
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June 2016, Volume: 6 Special Issue 1 Article: 01 ISSN: 2146-7463
OPEN AND DISTANCE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS STUDY
Abdulkadir Karadeniz
Anadolu University
TURKEY
[email protected]
Soner Sözler
Bülent Ecevit University
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
This paper presents results of a content analysis of articles in the field of Distance English Language Teaching. In
order to be able to reach the results, we examined the articles published between 2002 and 2012 in 4 different
Journals which have high impact factor. This research uses a content analysis method, which is one of the
qualitative research methods, with an aim of finding the topics of the articles, their samplings, their
methodological dimensions and analyzing their results and showing their trends. During the research process
key words such as English Language Teaching, Distance English Language Teaching, and Distance Foreign
Language Teaching were used. After the research process, 30 articles were reached. Then the obtained articles
were examined in detail and a coding procedure was also applied. As a next step, it was decided to use 15 of
them for the analysis. The selected articles were analyzed using three variables which are research titles,
sampling and research diversity. Results indicated that the most common titles used in the articles published
between 2002 and 2012 were teaching methods and implemented technologies. This is followed by affective
dimension and perception. As sampling diversity mostly teachers and university level students were
participated in the studies. The last variable results showed that the articles examined have much more
qualitative studies than quantitative ones. Especially they have experimental studies. It is thought that this
paper will be beneficial in terms of shedding light on prospective studies. A content analysis with different
variables and journals will make it easier to draw a framework about studies carried out in this field.
Keywords: Content Analysis, Language teaching, distance learning.
INTRODUCTION
Up to the date various different approaches in education systems have been drawn on. One of these
approaches is open and distance education. Basically, open and distance education is referred (Keegan, 1996)
as a system in which the teacher and the learner are located in different locations and it includes all teaching
methodologies that are used in different learning levels, school and classroom management, planning,
guidance and the organization of these matters (Holmberg, 1989). Accordingly, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright
and Zvacek (2012) defined open and distance education as a learning process in which learners are at a
distance of their peers and learning resources in terms of time and/or place , and in which the interaction
among learners and learning resources is carried out thanks to distance communication systems. Similarly,
according to Moore and Kearsley (2005), distance learning, is a process which is conducted with different
Communication Technologies and which is planned and programmed intentionally in normal circumstances
with events in different places of learning and teaching. Open and distance education takes away the time and
place obstacle. The limitation of being in the same place at the same time in conventional education has
expanded with the help of open and distance education. Open and distance education enables more
alternatives such as synchronous, asynchronous and self‐paced to answer different needs (Simonson vd, 2012).
This situation has occurred in many different areas and so many education platforms have diversified with
open and distance education approaches. One of these education platforms is foreign language education.
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Distance Foreign language teaching is one of the most controversial topics. Therefore, foreign language
teaching with open and distance learning approach has been the interest of many researchers. Foreign
language teaching in different periods of open and distance learning ( distance education with letter, distance
learning with electronic communication tools, faculty of open education), which has been a controversial
approach for over 100 years, has been one of the most handled topics (Aydın, 2011; Holmberg, 1989; İşman,
2008; Keegan, 1996; Moore and Kearsley, 2005; Simonson et al, 2012). Trajanovic, Domazet ve Misic‐İlic (2007)
reached a conclusion that shows positive affects of open and distance foreign language teaching on learners.
Same study concluded that an open and distance foreign language teaching which is effective, efficient and
attractive can contribute to the learners’ language development and in the schools that have inadequate
foreign language teachers or limited resources should apply this method with the aim of giving equal chance to
their learners. In addition, it may also be helpful in teaching uncommon languages (Adıyaman, 2002).
Johnstone (2007) has emphasized that interaction in language learning is important and has stated that with
distance learning approach the association and cooperation can be achieved.
Knowing the researches in open and distance foreign language teaching will help the researchers and new
studies with updating the current information. The systematical research and evaluation of previous studies
save time and prevent the lost of resources. This research method has been called as content analysis in
scientific papers.
Content analysis is a technique used to characterize and compare documents, interviews or cast recording of
interviews. The purpose of content analysis is to define the contents of the participants’ views. In this way,
content analysis makes the researcher familiar with the data collected and makes it easier to use the data for
further analysis (Altunışık, Coşkun, Bayraktaroğlu ve Yıldırım, 2010, p.322). Content analysis, used for
composing descriptive information about a topic, ensures regular information for educators or content experts
who want to deal with the topic analyzed (Büyüköztürk, Kılıç Çakmak, Akgün, Karadeniz ve Demirel, 2012,
p.241). Accordingly, content studies that are field based are seen as necessary. Especially the analyses that are
up‐to‐date will be an effective instrument in providing resource and showing the direction to the prospective
researchers.
Literature made in the field of open and distance education are examined and content analysis studies that
analyze sampling categories, title analyses and research methods of the studies (Lee, Driscoll ve Nelson, 2004;
Zawacki‐Richter, Bäcker ve Vogt, 2009; Ritzhaupt, Stewart, Smith and Barron, 2010) have been achieved.
Moreover, articles that show the results of language teaching studies have also been achieved (Johnstone,
2006; Johnstone, 2008; Uzunboylu and Özçınar, 2009). Likewise, there are studies analyzing foreign language
teaching with open and distance teaching approach in the literature. Madyarov (2008) states that in his study
he has investigated the studies that focus on open and distance foreign language teaching and he expresses
that these studies concentrate on themes such as technological diversity, the importance of open and distance
education in language learning, open and distance education in different cultures, online courses, content‐
based, task‐based and distance language courses for specific purposes. White (2006) explains in his study,
named Distance Foreign Language Learning, that there has been a significant rise in the number of studies
carried out in this field for the last 30 years. He also emphasizes that this rise will go on in the same direction
and predicts that with the usage of new technologies there will be studies with higher efficiency level in the
field. In order to be able to provide the continuity of the content analysis studies, an up‐to‐date content
analysis study which investigates the topics and research methods of the open and distance foreign language
teaching studies is needed. This situation brings up the importance of this current study.
Purpose of the study

The aim of this current study is to show the trends, samplings, research methods, contents focused and results
of the studies carried out between the years 2000 and 2012 in the field of open and distance foreign language
teaching.
To that end, the content analysis of journals with high impact factor in the field of open and distance education
has been carried out. The journals analyzed are Educational Technology Research and Development (ETR&D),
British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET), Distance education (DE) and The International Review of
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Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL). During the content analysis process, open and distance
foreign language teaching was the topic used for the analysis and the answer for the following research
questions was addressed:
(1) what is the distribution of the titles?
(2) what is the distribution of the sampling?
(3) what is the distribution of the research methods?
In the articles published between 2000 and 2012.
METHOD
Research Method
Content analysis needs a deep analysis of data collected and it also makes it possible to explore the themes and
dimensions that are not clear (Creswell, 2008 ). Hence, this study employed a qualitative content analysis as
research method to reach its aim.
Journal and Article Selection Process

In this study, 4 journals with high impact factor published in the field of open and distance education have been
utilized. These journals are Educational Technology Research and Development (ETR&D), British Journal of
Educational Technology (BJET), Distance education (DE) and The International Review of Research in Open and
Distributed Learning (IRRODL). Keywords like open and distance foreign language teaching, foreign language
teaching, foreign language were used for literature review and 30 articles were reached. In the following phase
of the study, the researchers evaluated the articles in terms of open and distance foreign language teaching
theme and 15 articles were decided to be used in the content analysis. Table 1 shows the distribution of the
articles according to journals and publication years. See appendix 1 for further information about the articles.
Table 1: The distribution of the articles
Journals f %
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
ETR&D 1 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 1 6,67
BJET ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 1 ‐ 1 ‐ 1 ‐ 3 20
DE ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 1 1 1 ‐ 1 ‐ 1 2 7 46,67
IRRODL ‐ ‐ ‐ 1 ‐ ‐ 1 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 2 ‐ 4 26,67
Total 1 ‐ ‐ 1 ‐ 1 2 2 ‐ 2 ‐ 4 2 15 ~100
Coding Procedure and Data Analysis

Documents were analyzed to collect data in this study. Studies starting with open coding to label the data can
also be called as document analysis.In the next step, these codes are gathered under different categories and
these categories form the themes (Creswell, 2011).
During the research process, each researcher coded the titles, research methods and the samplings of the
articles under different categories. Then, these categories were compared to each other and contradictions
were eliminated. At the end of this stage, technology, teaching methodology, affective dimension, perception,
teacher competency and motivation were formed as categories of titles used in the articles. The sampling
categories of the articles are documents, primary school learners, teachers, undergraduate students, course
participants and course trainers. Finally, research methods categories formed in this study are non‐
experimental and semi‐experimental studies of quantitative method and case study, document analysis of
qualitative method.
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FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
This section presents the distribution of the articles according to the categories formed in the coding
procedure.
Findings of the Research Titles

Table 2: The distribution of research titles
ETR&D BJET DE IRRODL
Title Categories
2000
2007
2009
2011
2005
2006
2007
2009
2011
2012
2003
2006
2011
Technology X X X XX X
Teaching
X X XX X X X X X X X
methodology
Affective
X X X
Dimension
Perception X X X
Teacher
X X
Competency
Motivation X
Under teaching methodology category it can be seen that the articles heavily focused on synchronous,
asynchronous teaching, web‐based/assisted teaching, computer based/assisted teaching and e‐learning,
respectively. Technology is another category that the articles concentrate on. Under this category learning
management system, teaching software and social networks have occurred as codes. Other titles that were
used in the articles are learner attitude, learner perception and teacher competency. One interesting finding of
the study is only 1 article deals with learner motivation.
Findings Of The Samplings

Table 3: The distribution of the samplings
Sampling
Categories
2000
2007
2009
2011
2005
2006
2007
2009
2011
2012
2003
2006
2011
Documents X X X
Primary Learners X
Teachers X X X
Undergraduate
X X X X X X X
Students
Course
X X X
Participants
Course Trainers X
Most of the articles use undergraduate students and teachers as samplings of their studies. On the other hand,
only 1 study used primary school learners as its sampling.It has also been achieved that some studies focusing
on open courses use course participants and course teachers as samplings.
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Findings Of The Research Methods

Table 4: The distribution of research methods
Research
Methods 2000
2007
2009
2011
2005
2006
2007
2009
2012
2003
2006
2011
2011
Non‐
Qualitati Quantitative
experimental X X X
Semi‐
X X X XX X X X
experimental
Document
X X X
Analysis
Case Study X
ve
It can be seen in table 4 that the most frequently used research model in the articles published between 2000
and 2012 is experimental study. 3 of the studies are descriptive studies while only 1 of them is a case study.
Table 4 also shows that BJET is the article that publishes experimental studies mostly. However, it is possible to
say that in DE the distribution rate of qualitative and quantitative studies is closer to each other.
RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study analyzed 15 articles published in ETR&D, BJET, DE and IRRODL between the years 2000 and 2012 in
the field of open and distance foreign language teaching. In addition, research titles, samplings and research
models of the studies were used as samplings in the analysis process.
Most frequently used research titles are teaching methodology and technology. These categories are followed
by affective dimension and perception categories. These results are in the same line with the studies of
Madyarov (2008) and White (2006).
Another sampling used in this study is diversity of the samplings in the studies carried out in open and distance
foreign language teaching field between 2000 and 2012.In this context, undergraduate students and teachers
are the most frequent samplings participated in the studies.This point concludes that these researches are
mostly executed in conventional face to face contexts.Yet, open and distance education is not a learning
approach that only supports face to face education.With it’s support for life long learning and as more and
more learners prefer open and distance foreign language learning as their learning alternative (Johnstone,
2007; Trajanovic, Domazet ve Misic‐İlic, 2007) , it will be more beneficial for further studies to rise sampling
diversity and age range of the participants.
It is clear that quantitative studies are the most frequent studies in the articles selected. Especially,
experimental studies are more common than others. The studies are generally supported with quantitative
data analysis techniques. For further researches, to be able to do deeper analysis of the studies, using
qualitative data analysis techniques and designing a mixed‐method research model is suggested.
It is thought that this study will be useful for understanding the current situation of the open and distance
foreign language teaching studies and shedding light on further studies. In case of doing similar researches with
different samplings and different journals publishing open and distance foreign language teaching articles, it
will be easier to draw a layout of the field.
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REFERENCES
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Holmberg, B. (1989). Theory and Practice of Distance Education. London: Routledge.
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Appendix 1: List of Journals and Articles used in the study

Educational Technology Research and Development (ETR&D)
Koolstra, C. M., Beentjes, J. W. J. (2000). Children’s Vocabulary in a Foreign Language through Watching
Subtitled Television Programs at Home. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47 (1), 51‐60. doi:
10.1007/BF02299476
British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET)

Cavus, N., İbrahim, D. (2009). m‐Learning: An Experiment in Using SMS to Support Learning New English
Words. Biritish Journal of Educational Technology, 40 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467‐8535.2007.00801.x
Chen, C. M., Lee. T. H. (2011). Emotion recognition and communication for reducing second‐language speaking
anxiety in a web‐based one‐to‐one synchronous learning environment. Biritish Journal of Educational
Technology, 42 (3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467‐8535.2009.01035.x
Liu, G. Z., Chen. A. S.W. (2007). A taxonomy of Internet‐based technologies integrated in language curricula.
Biritish Journal of Educational Technology, 38 (5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467‐8535.2007.00728.x
Distance education (DE)

Andrade, M. S., Bunker E. L. (2009). A model for self‐regulated distance language learning. Distance Education,
30(1).
Furnborough, C. (2012). Making the Most of Others: Autonomous Interdependence in Adult Beginner Distance
Language Learners. Distance Education, 33 (1), 99‐116. doi: 10.1080/01587919.2012.667962
Hurd, S. (2006). Towards a Better Understanding of the Dynamic Role of the Distance Language Learner:
Learner Perceptions of Personality, Motivation, Roles, and Approaches. Distance Education, 27 (3), 303‐329.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587910600940406
Manca, S., Delfino, M. (2007). Learners’ Representation of their Affective Domain through Figurative Language
in a Web‐Based Learning Environment. Distance Education, 28(1).
Murphy, L.M., Shelley, M.A., White, C.J., Baumann, U. (2011): Tutor and Student Perceptions of What Makes an
Effective Distance Language Teacher, Distance Education, 32 (3). 397‐419.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2011.610290
Ros i Sole, C., Truman, M. (2005). Feedback in distance learning programmes in

languages: attitudes to linguistic faults and implications for the learning process. Distance Education, 26(3).
The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL)

Ariza, E. N., Hancock, S. (2003). Second Language Acquisition Theories as a Framework for Creating Distance
Learning Courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4 (2).
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/142/710
Cunningham, U. (2011). Liminality and Disinhibition in Online Language Learning. International Review of
Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12 (5), 27‐39.
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/950/1858
Shelley, M., White, C.,Baumann, U., Murphy, L. (2006). ‘It’s a Unique Role!’ Perspectives on Tutor Attributes
and Expertise in Distance Language Teaching. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning,
7(2).http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/297/610
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Zamorshchikova, L., Egorova. & Popova, M. ( 2011). Internet Technology‐Based Projects in Learning and
Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Yakutsk State University. International Review of Research in Open
and Distance Learning, 12 (4). http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/845
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MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinem Bezircilioğlu

İzmir Institute of Technology
School of Foreign Languages
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
The practicality and popularity of mobile devices have given them one of the leading roles in language teaching
as in the other fields of everyday life. Learners have an access to knowledge no matter where they are and
what they are doing. Considering the fact that our age is based on multi-tasking, we can understand the reason
for the wide usage of mobile devices among our learners. This study investigates the attitudes of prep school
students and the teachers towards the use of mobile devices in learning English. Sixty learners at İzmir Institute
of Technology Summer School participated in this study. Data were gathered by an open-ended questionnaire.
This study was done to suggest an alternative to teaching English traditionally at foundation courses in order to
trigger the motivation of the learners. The results of the study reveal that learners use mobile devices,
especially mobile phones, to learn new vocabulary items and for translation. The teachers are mainly against
the use of mobile devices in the lesson if they are used for games and social media. The article aims to indicate
that the integration of mobile devices into teaching makes learning process more productive and motivating
both for learners and teachers.
Keywords: Mobile-assisted language learning, motivation, mobile devices.
INTRODUCTION
Mobile assisted language learning (MALL), in broad terms, is the integration of mobile devices into language
learning process. MALL is not easy to define in one way as it has been one of the most sophisticated fields,
which is growing at an accelerating rate. Another factor which should be taken into account is that in today’s
world language learning cannot be restricted to the walls of the classroom with limited hours. Actually, that
must be the situation if we are trying to establish learner autonomy in our classes. The continuity of language
learning is easier since knowledge is accessible through the internet.
When we enter the classroom, we see the students with their best friends sitting hand in hand; mobile phones
or tablets. Nowadays, students are consulting their mobile devices more than their teachers. If they cannot find
what they are looking for on the screens, then they ask for their teachers’ help. The practicality, mobility, and
the accessibility of the mobile devices inevitably create this situation. Huang et al. (as cited in Viberg and
Grönlund, 2012, p.1) point out the advantages of mobile technologies such as “flexibility, low cost, small size,
and user-friendliness”. Especially, in language learning, students are exposed to the language they are learning,
which is English in this case, every time in their daily life. While they are playing computer games, using the
social media, following the instructions in a manual, doing their homework, etc., students are not surrounded
with the walls of the classrooms. Thornton and Houser (2005, p.218), in their study, explain that “in many
educational institutions around the world, the amount of class time is very limited.” In the light of this, they
conducted a study in order to investigate the students’ attitudes towards the mobile device usage. They believe
that because of the limited class time, language learners cannot get involved most of the activities required by
the process of language learning. For such a purpose, the use of mobile devices is an alternative to enable
students to be exposed to educational activities. The results of their study show that students have a positive
attitude towards the use of mobile devices. In addition, students support the use of mobile devices to be
informed about their classes. The educational materials designed for the mobile devices are also welcomed by
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the students joined the study. The investigation supports the idea that mobile devices are practical tools in
language learning when we think that the class time is not enough for the students to be exposed to the
required educational activities ranging from communicative tasks to reading texts. When the learning still goes
on outside the classroom, the process becomes more meaningful for the student as well. As Vavoula suggests
when students’ everyday activities and the learning process are integrated, it becomes easier for them to
achieve their goals (as cited in Geng, 2012).
Considering the flexible nature of MALL, we can see that learners get more free and autonomous in their
learning process. Kukulska-Hulme and Traxler (as cited in Song, 2010, p.3) point out that “learning is becoming
more personal, yet at the same time more connected to the surroundings and with more potential for
connected, collaborative activity.” When the student is in collaboration with others, the learning process
becomes more meaningful. “Among the most noted affordances for MALL is ubiquitous access to learning
anytime at any place that the user has reception” (Nah, et. al., as cited in Jalalifarahani and Ghovehnodoushan,
2011, p.527). The idea of learning English anytime, anywhere with the use of mobile devices can motivate the
students due to the fact that they feel that they have the responsibility of their own learning process, which
makes them feel that they have the authority over the process. Thornton and Houser (as cited in Jalalifarahani
and Ghovehnodoushan, 2011) conducted a study focusing on using mobile phones to teach English at a
Japanese university. In this study, they sent mini-lessons to students via email three times a day. After period of
time, students were compared to the group having the same lessons through the Web and on paper. According
to the results, students having the lessons by SMS had higher scores compared to Web and paper group.
Furthermore, the attitudes of the SMS students were positive believing it to be a beneficial teaching method.
Another study conducted at Griffith University in Australia indicates that the use of text messaging related to
classes has positive effects on students (Horstmanshof as cited in Geng, 2012). This study was about creating
an alternative way for the communication between the lecturers and the freshmen. Apart from educational
activities through mobile devices, the needs for communication can be the subject of the studies. This is quite
reasonable as it is easy and practical to use mobile devices to be connected with the community you live in. In
addition, the feeling of belonging to somewhere in the group makes the individual happier and secure. This
also helps instructors establish a bridge between the students and him/her, which makes the learning/teaching
process more productive and relaxing.
One of the most common reasons for the use of mobile devices in learning a language is to learn the meanings
of the new words students see in a text. If their mobile devices, mostly mobile phones are in their hands, they
prefer to use them with the function of dictionaries instead of using a printed dictionary. As well as an easy
access to the usage and meaning of new words, the knowledge about the grammatical structures is provided
with small taps on the screen. However, all these do not mean that mobile devices can function as the main
source of the learning process. They play a significant role in students’ practice and revision process, which is
required for the retention of the items they learnt. Spoon-feeding the students in the traditional classroom
atmosphere does not provide students with the language skills they need.
Considering these, I surveyed a group of students at the foundation program at the university so as to learn
their attitudes towards the use of mobile devices in learning English.
METHOD
In the present study, 60 students at İzmir Institute of Technology School of Foreign Languages Summer School
were selected. Their English proficiency level was A2. Data were gathered by an open-ended questionnaire.
FINDINGS
According to the results of the questionnaire, 98,3% of the students use the mobile devices for English. One of
the students answers this question as not having a smart phone. They use mobile technology especially to learn
the meanings of the new words. Dictionary applications are the most popular ones students use during the
lesson. For the new vocabulary items and translation, 87,7 % of the students consult their mobile devices
instead of asking their teachers. The questionnaire indicates that 33,33% of the students sometimes use English
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when using mobile phones while 21,6% claim that they never use English. The percentage of the students
saying that they always use English is 26,67% and 18,33% say often to the question. The questionnaire points
out that 76,66% of the students use mobile phone to learn English after school whereas 18,33% of the students
claim that they do not use their mobile phones for English learning purposes. 3,33% of the students sometimes
use their mobile phones to study English after school. The answers to the question about which purposes they
use their mobile phones after class hours show that 39,6% of the students use them to improve their English
while 60,3% use them for other purposes such as music, social media and playing games.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
As it is observed, the findings of this study show that students use mobile devices in vocabulary learning and
translation. Instead of consulting their teachers during the class hour, they use their mobile devices as a
dictionary serving as a translator for the sentences or structures in English.
The questionnaire shows that the majority of the students use their mobile devices for social purposes such as
music, social media, and game after class hours compared to purposes to improve their English. This can
indicate that the teaching materials to be used after class hours can be adapted for mobile devices and be
shared with the students in order to attract them for educational purposes. Vocabulary exercises in a game-
based context can be developed to make the learning process more efficient and student-centered.
Future research should examine the efficacy of teaching materials for the new vocabulary items adapted for
mobile assisted language learning in comparison with the printed materials used in the classroom. It can be
inferred that the materials adapted for the mobile devices to be used both during and after class hours have a
more positive effect on the learning process compared to the use of printed materials.
As a final note on the limitations of the study, a further research related to the attitudes of the learners in
learning vocabulary through mobile phones can be conducted at a larger scale to get a deeper insight.
REFERENCES
Geng, G. (2012). Investigating the Use of Text Messages in Mobile Learning. Active Learning in Higher
Education. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from alh.sagepub.com at İzmir Institute of Technology.
Huang, Y.-M., Huang, Y.-M., Huang, S.-H., Lin, Y.-T. (2012). A ubiquitous English vocabulary learning system:
Evidence of active/passive attitudes vs. usefulness/ease-of-use. Computers and Education, 58, 273-282.
Jalalifarahani, M. & Ghovehnodoushan, M. (2011). MALL and Vocabulary Learning in Elementary Students.
Retrieved May 19, 2016 from www.ipedr.com/vol26/105-ICLLL%202011-L10184.pdf.
Song, H. (Ed.). (2010). Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and The Future of Education:
Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow. New York: Hershey.
Thornton, P. & Houser, C. (2002). M-learning in transit. In: P. Lewis (eds.). The Changing Face of CALL Lisse. The
Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger. 229-243.
Thornton, P. & Houser, C. (2003). Using mobile web and video phones in English language teaching: Projects
with Japanese college students. In: B. Morrison, C. Green, and G. Motteram (eds.). Directions in CALL:
Experience, Experiments & Evaluation. Hong Kong: English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
207-224.
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Thornton, P. and Houser, C. (2005), Using mobile phones in English education in Japan. Journal of Computer
Assisted Learning. Retrieved May, 19, 2016, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/j.1365-
2729.2005.00129.x 21: 217–228.
Viberg, O. & Grönlund, A. (n.d.). Mobile Assisted Language Learning: A Literature Review. Retrieved May 19,
2016, from http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-955/papers/paper_8.pdf.
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TEACHING LONDON POETRY AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE
Assist. Prof. Dr. Tzu Yu Allison Lin

Gaziantep University
Faculty of Education
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
This research aims to answer this question: how can students learn, identify, and appreciate London poetry? In
the process of teaching, can cultural exchange happen? Does it give birth to a new cultural identity through
English teaching and learning, focusing on the skills of reading and writing? Through narrating the self, students
can express themselves in writing, to identify their own life experiences in London poems in which they read in
the class. Through literacy practices in the class, students can understand not only the meaning of the texts.
Rather, they develop a sort of interest in British culture through reading London poetry. After identifying with
narrating subjects in the poems, my students explore cultural differences between Turkish and British ones.
Through comparing both cultures, my students synthesise these two, in order to develop a new cultural
identity of their own.
Keywords: London, Poetry, Cultural Exchange, Cultural Identity.
INTRODUCTION
London poetry represents writings about London, in a literary form such as a poem. As the capital of Britain and
‘the flower of cities all’ (Ford 3), London is, indeed, a city of rich literary power, which comes to ‘inspire in the
poet a sense of the sublime’ (Ford 2). With full literary energy and power, poets through different historical
periods and backgrounds come to write about London, celebrating the ‘quality of awesome’ and this ‘loftiness
of thought and feelings in literature’ (Baldick 321). The results, as the reader can see, are ‘terrifying impressive’
(Baldick 321) when it comes to associate and to appreciate London impressions – London’s cityscape and
landscape.
And yet, for my students in the Department of Foreign Language Education, Gaziantep University, most of
them (both Turkish and International students) have never been to London. The city itself, for my students, is
only a name in English books. Now, in the class, they need to read, to understand, and to be able to make
comments on poems which are about London. How can it be possible?
Nevertheless, most of my students do not have English problems, particularly in terms of reading and writing.
The most important thing, for them, is to understand the English way of expression British culture, in the
context of teaching and learning in the class, in Turkey. I, more than once, tell my students that for learning
poetry, one must try to read the poem out loud, in order to listen to the sound and to feel the meaning of a
poem. A poem is not a novel. It does not have too many descriptions and details of a scene, an emotion, or a
thought. That is why it is not suitable to be read quietly, in order to pass a long silent time. When reading it out
loud, through the changing of rhymes, images, and sounds of a poem, the reader can somehow feel the words
better. When the reader does have feelings to a poem, he or she can apply personal approaches to the
interpretation and the understanding of a poem, as the poetic language comes from the poet’s / the speaker’s
personal life experiences.
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TENNYSON AND EMPATHY
London poetry certainly represents a certain kinds of British culture – in terms of British ways of living, thinking,
seeing the city itself and the world. For my students, this is their first time to read anything, particularly poems,
about London. In that case, I did not choose something too difficult or too complicated for them, in terms of
the vocabulary and the meaning of a poem. Some poems look so simple, so clear on the surface, as pure as
water – as water is tasteless, does not smell – one cannot talk about something so simple as water – those
poems are just like ‘pure poetry’, which are something make us ‘cry, not to lecture’ (Woolf 242). And yet, they
do have deep meanings and emotions, as Alfred Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam.
Comparing to Tennyson’s Cleopatra’s Needle, my students feel more for In Memoriam, because it is a poem
which expresses much more personal emotions. Let’s read these two poems first.
Cleopatra’s Needle
Here, I that stood in On beside the flow

Of sacred Nile, three thousand years ago! –
A Pharaoh, kingliest of his kingly race,
First shaped, and carved, and set me in my place.
A Caesar of a punier dynasty
Thence haled me toward the Mediterranean sea,
Whence your own citizens, for their own renown,
Through strange seas drew me to your monster town.
I have seen the four great empires disappear.
I was when London was not. I am here (Ford 387).
from In Memoriam
VII
Dark house, by which once more I stand
Here in the long unlovely street,
Doors, where my heart was used to beat
So quickly, waiting for a hand,
A hand that can be clasped no more –

Behold me, for I cannot sleep,
And like a guilty thing I creep
At earliest morning to the door.
He is not here; but far away

The noise of life begins again,
And ghastly through the drizzling rain
On the bald street breaks the blank day (Ford 383).
Interestingly, nearly all my students who studied these two poems, had more feelings toward the one from In
Memoriam. The ‘I’ in Cleopatra’s Needle seems to be a more powerful figure, since the Needle is still in the
Embankment in London, by the River Thames. It was created by a Pharaoh, who is the king of the kings, to be a
symbol of the power of the empire. Even so, the Needle has been moved from one place to another, through
the flow of time and tide, it still survives when ‘four great empires’ did not. At least the Needle is proud to say
that – ‘I was when London was not. / I am here’.
Even there are similar Egyptian sites and treasures in Istanbul, still, my students feel difficult to identify with
the powerful images of human civilization which Cleopatra’s Needle in London is representing, which is more
than four thousand years old. The grand history of power struggle seems to be hard to imagine, when
comparing to an emotion of a personal scale. The main emotion of the part (VII) from Tennyson’s In Memoriam
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is grief – as the friend is gone, the house becomes ‘dark’, the street becomes ‘long’ and ‘unlovely’. The heart
‘used to beat so quickly’, used to be excited, because the speaker’s friend used to welcome him, with the hand
of his friendship. Now, the friend is gone, he cannot sleep, as the house does not feel the same. Only the
London street is alive, but it does not bring any pleasure, because it just means ‘noise’, and the tears of the
speaker in ‘the drizzling rain’, because he does not know how the face another empty day, without his friend.
ARNOLD, THE POOR, AND THE SPIRITUAL POWER
The spirit of a poet has an image of the burning flame, as E B Browning sees in the French writer George Sand,
in a way which ‘a poet-fire’ is the ‘burnest’ ‘large flame’ (Browning 1083), making the heart of the poet beating
‘purer’, ‘higher’ (Browning 1083). The burning flame symbolises the poet’s passion and desire for poetry. And
yet, in one’s ordinary everyday life, a burning fire could cause physical and psychological pain. Some students in
the class have the experience of being burnt. Even they do not experience it, their family members may have it.
Or, they have seen in the hospital, the Syrian children cried and screamed and died, because those children
could not take the pain – the burning pain which even the strongest painkiller cannot work.
Although from a different religious background, my students have no difficulty to understand the situation of
the poor, as they see in their daily lives. The homeless and the poor working class in Matthew Arnold’s ‘West
London’ and ‘East London’ come to depict the ‘common human fate’ (Ford 409), which requires a generous
humanity to understand. Here are the two poems:
West London
Crouched on the pavement, close by Belgrave Square,

A tramp I saw, ill, moody, and tongue-tied.
A babe was in her arms, and at her side
A girl; their clothes were rags, their feet were bare.
Some labouring men, whose work lay somewhere there,

Passed opposite; she touched her girl, hied
Across, and begged, and came back satisfied.
The rich she had let pass with frozen stare.
Thought I: “Above her state this spirit towers;

She will not ask of aliens, but of friends,
Of sharers in a common human fate.
She turns from that cold succour, which attends

The unknown little from the unknowing great,
And points us to a better time than ours.” (Ford 409).
East London
’Twas August, and the fierce sun overhead

Smote on the squalid streets of Bethnal Green,
And the pale weaver, through his windows seen
In Spitalfields, looked thrice dispirited;
I met a preacher there I knew, and said:

“Ill and o’verworked, how fare you in this scene?”
“Bravely!” said he; “for I of late have been
Much cheered with thoughts of Christ, the living bread.”
O human soul! as long as thou canst so

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Set up a mark of everlasting light,

Above the howling senses’ ebb and flow,
To cheer thee, and to right thee if thou roam,

Not with lost toil thou labourest through the night!
Thou mak’st the heaven thou hop’st indeed thy home (Ford 410).
In Arnold’s two London poems, East London and West London, my students can easily identify themselves with
the poor homeless woman (who does not belong to any kinds of social class) and the poor working-class ‘pale
weaver’ (Ford 410), as they can see in their daily life, going to or coming back from school. The tramp’s and the
pale weaver’s pain comes from another kind of suffering, although it is different from the kind of a burning
pain. Both of them, although one in East London, the other is in the West, are ‘ill’ (Ford 409, 410). The poor
woman is ill and moody, because she does not have a home. She and her children do not have enough food
and clothes. That is why she is ‘moody’ and ‘tongue-tied’ (Ford 409). The pale weaver, on the other hand, is ill,
because of he is ‘o’erworked’ (Ford 410). Too long working hours, and yet, it is still not enough for his and his
family’s survival.
The poet somehow reminds the reader, that only ‘human soul’ (Ford 410) can save us. Our soul can ‘[s]et up a
mark of everlasting light’ (Ford 410), which can reach beyond all seductions, all ‘howling senses’ ebb and flow’
(Ford 410) – all coming and going of human desires, feelings, and illusions. Our soul can lift us to a state, which
reminds us that we all share ‘a common human fate’ (Ford 409) – we were born, we grow, through aging, and
we die. Although the future of the homeless poor woman in West London is unknown, the poet sincerely hopes
that whenever she turns or asks to someone, it will be a turn ‘to a better time than ours’ (Ford 409).
CITYSCAPE AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
In William Wordsworth’s Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, the reader can see the way
in which the poet depicts the view of the city with a sincere appreciation of its beauty:
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty;
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
In the city of London, in the early morning, the glory of the Sun comes to make an atmosphere of ‘dreamy
tranquillity’ (Pater 3). For the poet, London has its majestic power, for its stunning view. London is ‘beautiful’,
‘silent’. In the poet’s eyes, the city is ‘so touching in its majesty’, with its ‘ships, towers, domes, theatres, and
temples’, in a way which the poet’s soul is in a deep feeling of calmness.
The poet’s inner self, his soul, comes to identify with London, seeing the city as a representation of the essence
of a majestic grace (nature, the Sun) and a cultural power (in different architectural forms), which touches and
moves the poet’s soul. The city of London here, is a great inspiration, which reinforces the poet’s subjectivity,
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his individual consciousness, and his self-fulfilment. Among my students, very few of them, say, two out of
seventy, had visited London. Even so, from another cultural, as Turkish, as my students are, can identify
themselves with the poet’s appreciation to the city’s greatness – for London is not only the financial and
political capital of England – it is, ultimately, the cultural capital and the home of creativity of the country. My
students’ feeling of being able to identify with another culture, such as the poet’s ‘English discourse’ (Easthope
57), seeing the value and the significance of a different culture, is indeed, showing love and understanding in a
sense of humanity. For me, I see this capacity of identifying with another culture as a way of expressing the
strength of the self, the assurance of the self, in the grand existence of humanity.
CONCLUSION
To teach London poetry to English majors in Turkey has its own significant cultural meanings. The sense of
Englishness, in the poems, comes as a Spring breeze, inspiring my students to think, to see, and to feel in
another way. Nevertheless, through cultural identification, this Englishness somehow transforms, from so-
called ‘another’ culture to mingle with my students’ Turkish minds, giving birth to a new cultural identity, which
goes beyond the dialectic of ‘English’ or ‘Turkish’.
The cultural transformation in my London poetry class is a complex subjective process. It goes from a cultural
community, to another one, comes back with a sense of self-realization, ‘self-transformation’ (Connor 217),
and self-recognition. It gives the creative power to the renewal of life and emotion. Moreover, it gives a
creative passion and desire, after the inner calmness and peace. With that, my students are much more able to
see, to understand, even to enjoy their own condition of life.
REFERENCES
Baldick, C(2008).. Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Pres.
Browning, E. B.(2006) ‘To George Sand: A Recognition’. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 2.
Eds. Stephen Greenblatt and M. H. Abrams. New York: W. W. Norton.
Connor, S.(2003). ‘What can Cultural Studies do’? Interrogating Cultural Studies: Theory, Politics and Practice.
Ed. Paul Bowman. London: Pluto.
Easthope, A.(1999). Englishness and National Culture. London: Routledge.
Ford, M.( 2012.), ed. ‘Introduction’. London: A History in Verse. Cambridge: MA, Harvard University Pres.
Pater, W.(1998). The Renaissance. Oxford: Oxford University Pres.
Woolf, V.(2003). The Common Reader II. Ed. Andrew McNeillie. London: Vintage.
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USING SOCIAL NETWORK AS AN EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT TOOLS

A CASE STUDY OF USING WHATSAPP IN PRINCESS NOURAH UNIVERSITY
Dua’ Abdalltef Nassar

Princess Nourah Bint Abdellrahman University
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Nowadays, Social network has explosive growth around the world and especially among adults. This
encourages educators to use these technologies as learning tools, and encourage student to participate in
online classroom. Students use it to communicate with other colleagues, and share news, courses resources,
and ideas. This paper was conducted in fall of 2015 at the college of computer and information system of
Princess Nourah Bint Abdullrahman University. The study uses the WhatsApp as a tool to enhance the review
courses for 100 students distributed in four sections. The results show that student encouraged to review the
course, save studying time, and get higher score than others.
Keywords: Social Network, WhatsApp, E‐learning.
INTRODUCTION
Over the last years, the higher education has evolved the technology to get an effective learning. Students
were labeled as digital natives, who spent their time using technologies like cell phones, computers, and other
tool from digital ages. (Prensky, 2001) From this point, a great emphasis must be placed in using technologies
within learning process (Dunn, 2013), and increase the interaction and engagements level between instructors
and students. (Laird and Kuh, 2005; Blaschke, Porto & Kurtz, 2010; Jungo, Heiberger & Loken, 2011)
Social media is one of the technologies, which rises within education in or out classrooms. (Pearson, 2010;
Seaman & Tinti‐Kane, 2013) There were over 80% of faculty who are using social media with at least one
account (Person, 2010), and 41% of them use it as a teaching tools. (Seaman and Tinti‐Kane, 2013). The
emergence of social networks encourage students to be active in learning and research, giving them the
opportunity to develop collaboration and communicating skills, and creating a learning environment to be self‐
directed learners. It forced the instructors to think in a different way for teaching, share ideas and resources
with students, and give students feedback about their work.
WhatsApp is one of an instant messaging application used for smart phones. It is superior alternative to SMS
messaging. WhatsApp founded to be beneficial way for learning. It increases student participation in face‐to‐
face and distant contexts between students and other students, and instructors (Makoe, 2010; Bere, 2013;
Johnson et al., 2015).
This study addressed two main questions about the using social network in the higher education and its
effectiveness on the learning process. The use of technology in higher education encourage student to learn
and provide an exciting learning environment (Pitler, Hubbell & Kuhn, 2012).
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METHOD
The research study was designed to address two main questions:

 Can the social Network be used as a tool to enhance and support the learning process?
 How social network effect the learning process?
This research adopted the qualitative method which used incorporated with use a case study methodology.
The case site used in this study is one of the public Saudi universities, named Princess Nourah Bint
Abdellrahman. The study done on the department of information system for IS333D course titled Multi‐tier
application development. Four sections of students were involved in the study as an experimental group. The
average number was about 25 students in each section.
Before the end of the fall 2015 semester, a review process starts with students using a WhatsApp application.
WhatsApp was chosen because of the publicity of it between students in Saudi Arabia especially at the exams
period. To start the review, a coordinator was chosen for every section to build a group contains all the
students. The review process took about 10 days. Some chapters were divided into two parts and the others
taken as a whole. Every day within the review process, three questions were sent to the four groups (for each
section) at 8:00 Pm. The student starts answering questions in different way, using computer, hand writing, or
using the WhatsApp chat box. For the first two ways students photo the answers and sent it to me. An
evaluation for the answer started when the first answer received. The evaluation depends on sending the
correct answers for the questions beside the time needed, the first received is the winner. After reviewing
duration completed, the winner group in every section was announced for all.
At the end, different questions were asked for all students in four sections, the coordinator asked questions
and collect the answers:
 Did you benefit from the review process? If yes specify how?
 Do you think you need along time to study IS333D course before the exam?
 What is the percentage of your course understanding?
 Do you like this way to review your courses?
FINDINGS
The experimental group (100 undergraduate students) used WhatsApp to review IS33D course. 90% of them
answered four questions asked when the review process completed. For the first question; did you benefit
from the review process? If yes specify how?; different answers were received all of them talking about their
benefits. Some answers were chosen. They said:
“Really, I reviewed the course very well, I’m happy to do it before the exam time. It is the first time I did it
early”
Student 1
“I learned a lot of things how to take advantage of my time, and what is the mean of time to put the
answers….study hard, answer very fast then you are the winner”
Student 2
“I learned how to think, and answer faster than before… this happen when you study hard before you start”
Student 3
The second question was Do you think you need along time to study IS333D course before the exam?, all
students said no. One of the comments came with the following:
“ you made this course as drinking a cup of coffee….very easy to study in the exam day “
Student 4
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For the third question, which was about the percentage of the course understanding, the average for students
was 87%. The final question was if the students prefer this way or not? The answers at most were preferred
this way and some student comments were as follows:
“what’s a lovely way we realy like it…. Its encourage us to study hard, collaborate with each other to get the
right answer on time”
Student 5
“Using WhatsApp for review attracts most of us, it is a valuable tool to use in learning “
Student 6
“We hope all teachers use the same way to review ….we learn a lot”
Student 7
“I like using WhatsApp, please use it all the time…. It make the learning process fun ”
Student 8
Two questions were considered in conducting this case study research:

 Question 1: can we use the social Network as a tool to enhance and support the learning process?
 Question 2: How social network affect the learning process?
Regarding using social networks as a tool to enhance and support the learning process (Fusch, 2011; Blaschke,
2014), the findings and students final exam results confirmed that it is one of the best and important ways to
be used. Researcher presented that social media have many benefit and affect the learning process which is
approved in our study (Blaschke , 2014) .The benefits are:
 Increased the communication and collaboration skills between students (when they work as groups).
(Barhoumi & Rossi, 2013; Blaschke , 2014)
 Student learned how to make a time management and get result in a shortest way.
 Using social media increased student’s motivation and encouraged them to study hard (Pitler, Hubbell &
Kuhn, 2012), reviewed in early time, and get a higher scores in the exam.
 It enhanced the interaction between students and instructors (Gleason, 2012; Blaschke , 2014).
The use of WhatsApp, provides students enhance the education process. It has a positive reflection on the
students, which support them to share information and collaborate with each other.
REFERENCES
Barhoumi, C. & Rossi, PG. (2013). The effectiveness of the instruction oriented hypertext systems compared to
direct instruction in e‐learning environment. Contemporary Educational Technology, 4(4), 281‐308.
Bere, A. (2013). Using mobile instant messaging to leverage learner participation and transform pedagogy at a
South African University of Technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(4), 544‐561.
Blaschke, L. M. (2014). Using social media to engage and develop the online learner in self‐determined
learning. Research in Learning Technology, 22.
Blaschke, L. M., Porto, S., & Kurtz, G. (2010, October). Assessing the added value of web 2.0 tools for e‐learning:
The MDE experience. InProceedings of the European Distance and E-Learning network (EDEN) Research
Workshop.
Dunn, L. (2013). Teaching in higher education: can social media enhance the learning experience?.
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Fusch, D. (2011) Social Media and Student Learning: Moving the needle on engagement in Academic
Impressions, pp. 15.
Junco, R., Heiberger, G., & Loken, E. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and
grades. Journal of computer assisted learning,27(2), 119‐132.
Laird, T. F. N., & Kuh, G. D. (2005). Student experiences with information technology and their relationship to
other aspects of student engagement.Research in Higher Education, 46(2), 211‐233.
Makoe, M. (2010). Exploring the use of MXit: a cell‐phone social network to facilitate learning in distance
education. Open Learning, 25(3), 251‐257.
Pearson Social Media in Higher Education Survey. (2010) Pearson PRWeb, [online] Available
at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/05/prweb3960844.htm
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the horizon,9(5), 1‐6.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. ASCD.
Seaman, J., & Tinti‐Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. UK: Pearson Learning Systems.
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IN PURSUIT OF A NEW TEACHER IDENTIFICATION:

WHAT MAKES TEACHER MORE DEDICATED
Dr. Eyüp Şahin

Işıklar High School
Bursa -TURKEY
[email protected]
Prof. Dr. Esergül Balcı

9 Eylül University
İzmir- TURKEY
esegulbalcı@gnail.com
Emin Uslu
TurAF NCO College
İzmir- TURKEY
[email protected]
İsmail Hakan Yanık

Işıklar High School
Bursa -TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
The psychological sides of organizations are attracting more attention as time goes by. In organizations such as
schools, where human relationships are very important and fundamental the terms like image and
identification is becoming ever more important. The positive perception of schools’ organizational image
affects the way teachers perceive themselves. This will also make it possible for teachers to display extra
performance for the benefit of organization as well.
This research is carried out to examine high school teachers’ perception of organizational image and
organizational identification to determine the relationship between those variables. According to results, there
is a moderate relationship between organizational image and organizational identification (r=.40, p<.001). The
relationship between organizational image and organizational identification is studied with scatter plot and
displayed. The mean values are ( X =3.62) for organizational image and ( X =3.69) for identification. These
findings are supported by the body of literature.
Keywords: Organizational image, teacher identification, extra performance.
INTRODUCTION
Organizational image is about how the environment perceive the organization (Gioia, 2000). There are two
important factors in deciding organizational image. First one is about the organizational members’ beliefs on
what outsiders think about the organization (Dutton & Dukerich, 1994) and the second one is about what the
top management thinks about the attractiveness of the organization from the outside (Whetten & Mackey,
2002).
Members assess the attractiveness of the organizational image and build their own perception of
organizational image. This image perception is especially important for developing a conception about who
they are in reality and for preserving the self-continuity of this reality. Members can successfully identify
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themselves with the organizations when there is a good match between their identity and the perceived
organizational image (Dutton & Dukerich, 1991).
Organizational image may either affect the members positively or negatively. If members interpret the external
organizational image as unfavorable, they may experience negative outcomes such as stress and depression
which may well lead to destructive competition among members or decreasing effort for the organizational
tasks. Besides, members may feel disengagement for their organizations or may leave the organization
permanently when this negative organizational image perception endures for long (Dutton & Dukerich, 1994;
Meyer and Allen, 1997; Haslam, Postmes & Ellemers, 2003).
Organizational Identification
Organizational identification is described as the matching of organizational targets with member targets
(Ashforth & Mael, 1989). When compared with the perception of being an organization member, identification
is more about how important the organization is for the members (Ashfort, Harrrison & Corley, 2008). Besides,
organizational identification is a cognitive integration of organization and the member in which member
perceive itself as wrapped with the destiny of organization (Ashfort & Mael, 1989). When there is a strong
identification, member self-description happens in consistency with members’ organizational description
(Dutton, Dukerich & Harquail, 1994).
Identification is significantly important for organizations since it motivates members to display extra
performance which contributes to organizational effectiveness (Tyler & Smith, 1999). Like other organizations,
organizational identification is a way of achieving job satisfaction and self-esteem in schools. Moreover,
teachers who are satisfied with their schools can display optimum performance with high quality voluntary
actions (van Dick & Wagner, 2002). According to Van Dick, Wagner, Stellmacher & Christ (2004), organizational
identification should be taken into consideration in order to explain extra performance in schools. Therefore,
improving the identification level of teachers with their schools should be prioritized in educational
organizations. Administrators should encourage team work and group activities which – naturally – boosts
organizational identification.
Organizational identification has essential functions in individual, group and organization levels. For example
while organizational identity is positively related with organizational citizenship and job satisfaction, it is
negatively related with job leaving (Pratt, 1998; van Knippenberg, 2000; Wan-Huggins, Riordan & Griffeth,
1998). Whatsmore, there is a body of research about organizational identifications decisive role on faithfulness,
productivitiy, obeying organizational rules, openness to communication and reaction to change (Haslam,
Postmes & Ellemers, 2003; Abrams, Ando & Hinkle, 1998; Tyler & Blader, 2003; van Dick & Wagner, 2001).
METHOD
Samples and Procedure

Correlational and comparative quantitative models are used in this research. Since there is no questionnaire
studied on this topic in Turkish, the questionnaire was adapted to Turkish by the researcher. Linguistic
equivalence were done and tested with the help of some academicians. The universe of the research is chosen
as the teachers from the central districts of Bursa. The questionnaire was conducted in 2012 and 2013.
Different samples and working groups were used for different stages of the research. 1245 questionnaires were
delivered to the teachers chosen by using the cluster sampling method as the sample of the research. Table 1
and Table 2 give detailed information about the descriptive statistics of teachers.
Table 1: The Comparison of Population and Sample of the Research

Population Sample %
School 57 27 47,4
Teacher 5417 623 11,50
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Table 2: Related Information about the Teachers Answering The Questionnaire

Variables The number of Teachers (N) %
Sex
Male 311 49,9
Female 312 50,1
Length of Service
5 years or less 73 11,7
6 – 10 years 97 15,6
10 – 15 years 145 23,3
16 years or more 308 49,4
School Type
State 553 88,8
Private 70 11,2
Educational Background
Institute of education 13 2,1
Associate degree 10 1,6
BA 474 76,1
MA 122 19,6
PhD 4 0,6
Explanatory factor analysis is done to examine the construct validity for the organizational image and
organizational identification questionnaires. For the organizational image questionnaire, KMO value is
calculated as .89 and is found significant according to Bartlett Sphericity Test (x² =727.61, p < .01). Table 3
shows the characteristics of nine items which is forming ‘Organizational Image Questionnaire’.
Table 3: Factor Loadings of Organizational Image Questionnaire

Item EFA CFA (λi) T
Image 01 .90 .90 11.36
Image 02 .90 .87 10.67
Image 05 .88 .87 10.70
Image 07 .85 .80 9.46
Image 06 .82 .79 9.22
Image 04 .77 .75 8.64
Image 09 .73 .64 7.00
Image 03 .70 .69 7.59
Image 08 .62 .53 5.44
For the organizational identification questionnaire, KMO value is calculated as .89 and is found significant
according to Bartlett Sphericity Test (x²= 222.79, p < .01). Table 4 shows the characteristics of nine items which
is forming ‘Organizational Identification Questionnaire’.
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Table 4: Factor Loadings of Organizational Identification Questionnaire

Item EFA CFA (λi) T
Identification 04 .82 .77 8.31
FINDINGS AND RESULTS
In order to understand the relationship between organizational image and organizational identification,
correlational analysis is performed. Correlational relationship is presented in Figure 1. Findings indicate that
there is a medium relationship between organizational image and organizational identification. The
relationship between organizational image and organizational identification doesn’t vary significantly in terms
of age, sex or the learning background of the teachers.
Fig0ure 1: Correlation Between Organizational Image and Organizational Identification
There is a body of research suggesting medium relationship between organizational image and organizational
identification. According to Fuller, Marler, Hester, Frey & Relyea (2010), The relationship is even stronger in
people who deprive of self-esteem. Dutton & Dukerich (1991) points out that school image boosts self esteem
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in teachers. When school administrators focus on the powerful sides of the organization, teacher attitudes are
affected positively (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Leonardelli, Picket & Brewer, 2010).
CONCLUSION
The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between organizational image and organizational
identification. Research findings have shown that there is a significant relationship between organizational
image and organizational identification. Organizational identification motivates the organizational members to
perform extra performance and it is also significantly related to job satisfaction, organizational citizenship and
organizational commitment. Since schools are the kind of organizations where success and effectiveness largely
based on human relations, administrators should seek ways to organizational image and organizational
identification.
REFERENCES
Abrams, D., Ando, K., & Hinkle, S. (1998). Psychological attachment to the group: Cross-cultural differences in
organizational identification and subjective norms as predictors of workers’ turnover intentions. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1027–1039.
Ashforth, B. E., Harrison, S. H. & Corley, K. G. (2008). Identification in organizations: An examination of four
fundamental questions. Journal of Management. 34 (3), 325-374.
Ashforth, B. E. & Mael, F. (1989). Social Identity Theory and the Organization. The Academy of Management
Review, 14 (1), 20-39.
Dutton, J. E. & Dukerich, J. M. (1991). Keeping an eye on the mirror: image and identity in organizational
adaptation. The Academy of Management Journal, 34 (3), 517-554.
Dutton, J. E., Dukerich, J. M., & Harquail, C. V. (1994). Organizational images and member identification.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 39 (2), 239-263.
Fuller, J.B., Marler, L., Hester, K., Frey, L. & Relyea, C. (2006) Construed external image and organizational
identification: A test of the moderating influence of need for self-esteem. The Journal of Social Psychology,
146(6), 701-716.
Gioia, D. A. Schultz, M. & Corley, K. G. (2000). Organizational identity, image, and adaptive instability. The
Academy of Management Review, 25 (1), 63-81.
Haslam, S. A., Postmes, T., & Ellemers, N. (2003). More than a metaphor: organizational identity makes
organizational life possible. British Journal of Management, 14, 357–369.
Leonardelli, G. J., Pickett C. L. & Brewer, M. B. (2010). Optimal distinctiveness theory: A framework for social
identity, social cognition, and intergroup relations. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 43.
Meyer, J. P. & N. J. Allen (1997). Commitment in the workplace. CA: Sage, Thousand Oaks.
Pratt, M. G. (1998). To be or not to be? Central questions in organizational identification. D. A. Whetten, & P. C.
Godfrey (Eds.), Identity in organizations: Building theory through conversations (171–207). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Tyler, T. R. & Smith, H. J. (1999). Justice, social identity, and group processes. Tyler, T. R., Kramer, R. M. & John,
O. P. (Eds) The Psychology of the Social Self. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 223–264.
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Tyler, T. R., & Blader, S. L. (2003). Cooperation in groups: Procedural justice, social identity and behavioral
engagement. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Van Dick, R. & Wagner, U. (2002). Social identification among school teachers: Dimensions, foci, and correlates.
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11 (2), 129-149.
Van Dick, R., & Wagner, U. (2001). Stress and strain in teaching: A structural equation approach. British Journal
of Educational Psychology, 71, 243–259.
Van Dick, R., Wagner, U. Stellmacher, J., & Christ, O. (2004). The utility of a broader conceptualization
organizational identification: Which aspect really matter? Journal of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology, 77, 171-191.
Wan-Huggins, V. N., Riordan, C. M., & Griffeth, R. W. (1998). The development and longitudinal test of a model
of organizational identification. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 727–749.
Van Knippenberg, D. (2000). Work motivation and performance: a social identity perspective. Applied
Psychology: An International Review, 49, 357–371.
Whetten, D.A. & Mackey, A. (2002). A social actor conception of organizational identity and its implications for
the study of organizational reputation. Business and Society, 41(4), 393-414.
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INDIVIDUALISATION OF TEACHING IN THE PROCESS OF DESCRIPTIVE ASSESSMENT
Dr. Marija Jovanovic

Nis University
Faculty of Philosophy
SERBIA
[email protected]
Dr. Vesna Minic

Kosovska Mitrovica University
Faculty of Teacher Education Leposavic
SERBIA
[email protected]
Abstract
One of the basic principles of modern teaching is the principle of individualization. Its appreciation implies that
all learning activities and stages of the teaching process are based on individual characteristics of students.
Considering that the assessment is one of the most important stages of the teaching process, individualization
in this field is the premise to ensuring quality of modern teaching. For this reason, this paper will deal with the
theoretical and empirical study of the individualization students assessment process through the use of
descriptive assessment. We picked a sample of class teachers who have used descriptive assessment in the
current school year, and we explored their attitudes regarding the importance of individualization when using
descriptive assessment and we also investigated the level of use of individual approach when this type of
assessment is used. The survey results show that teachers have positive attitudes with regard to the
importance of individualization, and they are also using it during descriptive assessment. However, the results
accross the entire sample show that there are differences between the level of use and the level of
understanding of the importance of individualization in the process of descriptive assessment of students,
which opens the need to establish the causes of this phenomenon and possible ways to improve it.
Keywords: Modern teaching, individualization, descriptive assessment, teachers, students.
INTRODUCTION
Modern pedagogical theory and practise are oriented towards providing the conditions for quality and efficient
educational practice which create optimal resources for the development of various aspects of student's
personality and encourage his active participation in the activities that are socially acceptable, adequatelly
validated and creative. The requirement for this task to be achieved is continuous improvement of all the
segments of educational and teaching practise, as well as of the grading process since it is one of their most
important components.
Exceptional value and significance which descriptive grading has in modern education and especially on its
elementary level are the basic reasons for this didactic theory, phenomenon and process to be the research
theme of this doctoral thesis.
Individualization of assessment implies individual approach to every student, as well as the assessment of every
aspect of their development. In such an environment“... when while interpreting curriculum,teachers rely on
the actual students' abilities, and, in accordance with the differences they observe, they adapt the
requirements based on the existing abilities of students; therefore, students are evaluated individually, in order
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to encourage every student to progress and advance as much as possible“ (Gojkov, 2003: 110). Therefore,
teachers' job is not easy at all, and in order to individually approach every child, teachers need to be motivated
to be devoted and to individually approach every student.Although the individual approach is based on the
individual characteristics of the child, still, the main criterion isthe consideration of defined outcomes, through
the prism of an individual student. This means that the maximum should be requested from each student, both
in terms of the amount of knowledge and in terms of effort and achieved overall progress.
When a student is assessed, it is necessary to identify what level the student is at, what is their prior
knowledge, abilities, in order to know what the student can achieve and then track the progress and effort.
With this approach, students may be assessed differently for the same answers and all that based on the
commitment and effort that they have invested in achieving a given result. In addition to the commitment and
effort, it is important to take into consideration other individual objective and subjective characteristics that
affect the achievements. Spatial, material and technical conditions the student lives and studies in, work habits,
etc. should also be taken into account. This way, the individual approach to assessment provides students with
a high level of motivation to invest maximum efforts and progress at their own pace.
In order to be able to use individual assessment, teachers need to have certain pedagogical and psychological
knowledge necessary to meet with each student individually, which requires additional engagement of
teachers. From this need arises the biggest obstacle to individual assessment in teaching.
We can see that individual assessment is used very rarely or not used at all, but the new trends impose it as a
requirement that the teachers must meet. One of the possible ways which can most efficiently individualize the
assessment is the use of descriptive assessment.
When applying individual teaching as well as individual assessment, the biggest enemy is the principle of “cost-
effectiveness“. “The teacher uses and records assessment procedures that will minimize the time and effort to
check and acquire rational judgments about students’ progress” (Gojkov, 2003: 112).
This means that the main problem is the lack of time, lack of motivation for individualization, as well as too
many records that must be kept of each student separately. Students are assessed through tests that are
intended for everybody, equal for everybody, where the emphasis is on the result and not on the process that
led to that result. Assessment should occur during the learning process rather than after it. Therefore, the
assessment process should be innovated. Changes in education have led to the assessment to be seen as a way
of shaping the learning process, as a step forward in learning, in the direction of the development of students
as autonomous and independent personalities. Nowadays, assessment should precede the process of planning
and programming of teaching, because, in order to have plans one must first know how the students will be
assessed (Aleksendrić and Mitrovic, 2011).
Assessment as a part of the teaching process nowadays is of great importance for the development of the
curriculum. In order for individual assessment to be conducted, it is necessary to master effective techniques.
Descriptive assessment allows all techniques, but the grade itself is expressed descriptively. Whether the
teacher will apply verbal examination, written assignments or something else, depends on the curriculum, but
also on the age of students. When teachers use the assignments, they can choose assignments of multiple
levels of complexity based on students' abilities, but in that case, teachers must be well acquainted with
children's potentials and capabilities in order to develop such tasks.Nowadays, there are many textbooks that
could help individual teaching to continue to be effective. It is important to give the student the opportunity to
do self-assessment, as well as to assess other students. Learning environment is also important. “Interweaving
and interrelation of learning contexts and assessment contexts indicates that individualized approach to
students accomplishes its essence only when the student learns and studies what makes sense for him; when
he has the opportunity to use the previous and current knowledge in the construction of new meanings; when
they have the opportunity to negotiate the meanings and when the assessment manner complies with the
objectives of students’ learning. Such understanding of learning and assessment suggests that during the
creation of individualized approaches to teaching and evaluation of students, social and personal context must
be taken into account, both for teachers and pupils” (Ibid, 2011: 83).
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When students are asked only to repeat what they had learned, it then means that students did not actively
participate in the assessment process, because they are not required to think, they are rather only required to
memorize the presented facts whose accuracy is being checked. This only assesses the memory of students and
this type of assessment is not in line with the principle of individualization in teaching. It is of utmost
importance that the teacher together with students plans the assessment process, because this will help the
teacher to learn what, how and why students want to learn. At the same time, this will allow the teacher to
become closer to students, gain their confidence and teacher’s task is to ensure that students study because
they want to and not just for the assessment purposes.
Teachers must never use grades as a form of coercion or punishment, because that can negatively affect the
development of children’s personality. When a student does not know something or does not do the task
properly, teachers should not use punishment or humiliation; it is very necessary to help the students
understand their mistakes and correct them. All this ensures that students do not fear the assessment, that
assessment does not create anxiety in them and does not cause stress, but rather to be an indicator of how
much they have progressed. Teachers must always first point out the positive things in the child’s development
and help where the student failed. Because failure is not only failure of the child, but also of the teacher. In
order for the assessment not to be focused only on grades, constant monitoring of students through teaching
and learning is encouraged, mainly through the use of various forms of teaching and assessment. When using
only one form of testing of what the student has learned, there is some limitation to this, because it is a well-
known fact that some students have stage fright when tested verbally and are more comfortable with written
tests. If a teacher uses group work, work in pairs, problem teaching, demonstration, as well as other types and
methods of teaching, this will help him to get to know the students better. If teaching is reduced to the
traditional teaching of teachers, which does not allow the individuality of students to be perceived, the only
technique that can help the teacher is observation of students. Observation is one of the ways of getting to
know students, but that should not be the only one. Students should be allowed to express themselves as well.
The important thing is to teach students that grade indeed is an indicator of what they have achieved, how
hard they tried, how much they have progressed compared to the previous assessment, and grades are also
there to direct them to more improvements, and to show them that they can always be better. In order to
build such attitudes in children, it is necessary that assessments are always objective.
During the individual assessment it is necessary to be driven by goals, outcomes and standards that apply to
every student, and what results the student will have will depend on the set of all elements that make one
student an individual.
Descriptive assessment and individualization

Law on the Basics of the Education System (2009) required that the assessment of the first graders is done
descriptively. Descriptive grades are a part of pedagogical documentation and records the teacher must keep in
order to monitor and record the progress of students. They have to provide precise and accurate information
on the activities and achievement of every student. In order to ensure adequate training of teachers, the
Project “Descriptive assessment with the goal of monitoring the development and progress of students” was
done at the country level. During this project, teachers have mastered: goals and elements of descriptive
assessment; levels of achievement that can be an aid to the formulation of descriptive grades; efficient ways of
reporting student achievements to students and parents; effective ways of keeping pedagogical documentation
and records of descriptive assessments (www.ceo.edu.rs).
Descriptive assessment is developed to alleviate the deficiencies of numerical assessment. It is also referred to
as descriptive or analytical assessment since it requires further explanation and description of student
achievements. It is also called qualitative assessment, because it evaluates the quality of knowledge and
abilities of students. This type of assessment obliges teachers to elaborate on their observations about the
results students achieved and to continuously monitor the development of students during the school
year.Kačapor et al (2005) define descriptive assessment as the assessment which values individual components
of student's personality. Descriptive assessment evaluates the following: the quality of knowledge;
understanding of the facts and the possibility of practical application of acquired knowledge; students'
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attitudes towards studying; work habits; skills and aptitudes; objective student’s abilities; intellectual,
emotional, social, moral component of personal development. This assessment requires analytical monitoring
of the development of students. “Descriptive or analytical assessment is the assessment expressed with words
by breaking down the course into parts. One or more indicators of success are linked to each of its parts.
Descriptive grade is a set of statements about the achievements in each of the components of the course/
subject being assessed” (Gojkov, 2003:151).
This type of assessment is faced with problems in practice, because of the form in which it presents students’
results. It is necessary to create a form based on which teachers will summarize the observations about
students on the basis of continuous monitoring. Even when there is a form, teachers are faced with difficulties
when they need to explain the parents how much their child has advanced.Therefore, education and teaching
needthe concept of levels of achievement, based on which to assessstudent’s achievements. These would be
basic, intermediate and advanced levels.
Teachers today find this even more difficult when working with children with special needs during regular
classes, because of the need to apply individual education programs for children with special needs. This is not
only the case with children with developmental disorders, but also with talented, gifted children. One of the
ways to avoid such problems when assessing would be to combine descriptive with numerical grading, and to
use more than one type of assessment in order to avoid issues.
The fact that descriptive assessment is being used in many countries shows the importance of its usage. When
talking about our neighbouring countries, descriptive assessment has been conducted in Croatia from the first
to the fourth grade of primary school since the ‘80’s. In RepublikaSrpska and Montenegro, descriptive
assessment is used in the first grade of primary school, while in Slovenia descriptive assessment is used in the
first three grades of primary school, and later it is combined with numerical assessment. Descriptive
assessment is being well implemented in Canada where the descriptive grade is always an indicator of
expected achievement and is always given in a positive form. Besides words, the assessment uses the letters
that have their meanings expressed in words. Descriptive assessment is conducted in Germany as well, at the
beginning of schooling, for a period of 2 to 4 years, while in the higher grades it is combined with numerical
appraisement. In the USA, during the first three years of schooling children are evaluated descriptively, while
later, numbers and points are used. What is assessed is the progress, work, dedication, personal development
of students. In England, at the end of the school year, students write detailed reports which represent a
combination of descriptive and numerical assessment. In Russia, descriptive assessment is combined with
numerical assessment and ranking. In Denmark and Sweden descriptive assessment is used during the first
seven school years, while in the eighth grade thirteen-level scale gets introduced in Denmark, and a five-level
scale in Sweden (Kapranova, 2005).
Requirements that must be met with this method of assessment are the following: the information provided
with the descriptive grade must be clear, and said in a way that is understandable to students, parents and
other teachers; descriptive grades should specify what the student has achieved and to demonstrate that in a
positive manner; it is necessary to relate descriptive grades to the defined outcomes and standards of
education and teaching; teachers should use verbal descriptive grading (Havelka et al., 2003). Verbal
descriptive assessment implies constant and clear feedback to the student about his achievements. Teachers
need to inform students about descriptive grades verbally or in writing, since it is necessary for students to be
familiar with the outcomes in education in order to motivate themselves for further commitment and effort.
When summarized, descriptive assessment is a verbal or written report on the progress of students, success
achieved and next steps in the learning process; it can be summarized in a single summarystatement about the
student's level of performance and quality of achievement. This summary statement can be expressed
symbolically with a symbol or number; descriptive grade does not cease to be descriptive if in addition to the
information expressed with words, numbers are also included as test results, or if numerical assessment of
scope and quality of knowledge is used(ibid).
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Benefits of descriptive assessment for individualized approach to students

Descriptive assessment is more informative than other forms of assessment. While numerical score tells us
about the overall situation and the success of students, descriptive assessment, on the other hand, shows us an
analysis expressed with words and tells us about the flow of students' development. Numerical assessment is
quantitative, while descriptive is qualitative. This does not mean that we have to use just one type of
assessment; the best option would be a combination of a few of them. Numerical grade may have a descriptive
addition such as “excellent”, or, “very good”, but it also may be supplemented in the form of explanation of
student’s achievements expressed with words. Negru (2004) believes that assessment must never be “...a way
of controlling the amount of information/ knowledge memorized by the students, but it should rather be one
of the criteria used for curricular reorientation, for the use of new methods to work and learn. What is
emphasized is the qualitative evaluation of the descriptive traits. Therefore, the shift is done from evaluation of
memorized knowledge to evaluation of acquired knowledge. A good example could be the assessment
expressed with grades from 1 to 5, which is a blind evaluation, insufficient, because it does not communicate
anything precise about the level of knowledge expected of students, nor the actual solutions to be used in
order to implement certain tasks (ibid, 112). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct descriptive assessment,
which evaluates all aspects of students' development.
Descriptive assessment has its advantages for an individualized approach to students. It not only tells us how
much knowledge a student has acquired, but also how that knowledge was adopted, how much effort was
made, how much the student is really interested in this knowledge, what are the students’ interests, at what
level the student is, as well as whether students are motivated internally or externally, and a number of other
data on the development of students. Descriptive assessment is applied in our country only in the first grade of
primary school, but due to its advantages it can also be applied even in other grades in combination with other
types of assessment.
Descriptive grades should not be given at the end of the school year only, but they should rather be used
during the entire school year. This requires additional work by teachers, as well as the in-depth analysis of
students. Descriptive grades do not need to give us overall information of students’ achievements, but rather
segmental information for each course and area within that course. When teachers want to use descriptive
assessment approach, they must be familiar with students’ prior knowledge and existing interests, and they
also need to know what to continue to work with the student individually and how to do it. If teachers see that
students use the wrong strategy in learning, teachers will help students to study using better techniques.
Assessment comes after everything is organised and when adequate relationship between teachers and
students is built, and only the good quality organization of teaching process will allow students to achieve what
is necessary, to achieve required educational goals. Descriptive grades provide the student preciselywith the
opportunity to be approached in a different way, they help monitor students’ development and further direct
them to a higher level. Descriptive grades are not only a quick summary of the results, but also a summary of
what has been achieved through the effort, work, commitment, willingly and joyfully, and not through suffering
and coercion. Therefore, it is essential that this type of assessment is used in the later grades as well, because it
helps students to be seen as individuals, and not just as someone who memorizes the curriculum to be
assessed. Some of the descriptive assessment rules are as follows: take notes of classes; take notes and
comments of each student and their personal traits; record guidelines for future work with the student; take
notes immediately after detecting something; respect individual differences and indications of the student's
abilities. Information that must be found in the documentation at the end of the semester is the following:
information on the achievements of students, information about students’ talent in specific areas, teaching
material that should be given more attention, the level of progress (what level of knowledge and skills was the
baseline and what is the latest result), students’ features, motivation to study, and the need for some special
pedagogical and psychological measures (Havelka et al., 2003).
It bears noting that descriptive grade is not intended to assess students as good or bad, but to assess how
much students tried, what knowledge they acquired, how motivated they were to study, what segments of
curriculum students were successful in and how they were progressing, and how to further encourage students
to develop and advance. In accordance with the contemporary status in education, descriptive assessment
must be conducted in accordance with standards prescribed by the Ministry of Education, and these standards
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must be incorporated into the curriculum. Based on this, the teacher organizes and carries out the work and
descriptive assessment, but this should not ignore the autonomy of teachers. Standards are essential because
they guide teachers, but it is teachers’ responsibility to implemented them in practice, and that can vary from
teacher to teacher, as well as from school to school.
Methodological framework of the research

The subject of this research are the teachers’ opinions about individualization in the process of descriptive
assessment, that is, the differences in the implementation and understanding of importance of
individualization during descriptive assessment.
The aim of this research is to examine the attitudes of primary school teachers and establish whether there are
differences in opinion among them concerning the possibilities to use individualization process during the
descriptive assessment of students.
The sample was pre-chosen and contained 150 teachers who were using descriptive assessment at the time of
the research, which made the sample highly valid.
Research results - Analysis and interpretation

Research on the attitudes and opinions of primary school teachers showed that there is a statistically
significant difference in the attitudes of teachers with regard to attending the seminar/ training on
individualization.
Table: 1: Comparison of the arithmetic means of the research results

Subsamples AS SD t df p
seminar/training on Yes 82.64 5.52 2.06* 150 0.04
individualization
Important No 80.12 8.6
seminar/training on Yes 81.52 7.52 -0.3 150 0.77

individualization No 80.52 7.75
Implementation
**. Statistically significant difference on the level of .01
*. Statistically significant difference on the level of .05
T test has helped us determine that there is a statistically significant difference in results at the 0.05
level.Teachers who attended the seminar/ training on individualization achieved AS = 82.64; SD = 5:52; and
teachers who did not attend the seminar / training on individualization achieved AS = 80.12; SD = 8.60 (Table
1). On the basis of arithmetic means and standard deviations, we conclude that more positive attitudes were
expressed by teachers who attended the seminar/ training on individualization. This result shows that
education on individualization topic had a positive effect on the attitudes of teachers and their willingness to
use descriptive assessment.
Table 2: Kruskal-Wallis distribution normality test of scale for implementation and importance of the
subsamples
Scale Subsamples Mean Kruskal- df p
Wallis
test
Individual number of 23 students maximum 78.23
teaching students from 24 to 26 70.32
implementation in the class students
from 27 to 29students 67.64. 1.52 3 0.68
over 30 students 75.46

Individual number of 23 students maximum 70.14
teaching students from 24 to 26 68.97
importance in the class students 1.36 3 0.72
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from 27 to 29 students 72.92

over 30 students 80.45
Individual Descriptive Never 58.45
teaching assessment is
implementation better than Sometimes 77.66 5.91* 2 0.05
numerical
assessment Always 76.35
Individual Descriptive Never 59.43

teaching assessment is
importance better than 6.85* 2 0.03
Sometimes 75.45
numerical
assessment
Always 93.85
Individual Combination of Never 43.97

teaching descriptive and 13.81** 2 0.00
importance numerical Sometimes 69.39
Individual Combination of Never 47.77

teaching descriptive and 10.16** 2 0.01
implementation numerical Sometimes 69.96
**. Statistically significant difference on the level of .01

*. Statistically significant difference on the level of .05
The study found that positive attitude on whether descriptive assessment is better than numerical assessment
affects the perception of individualization and its application during descriptive assessment. Kruskal-Wallis test
showed that there was statistically significant difference at the .05 level, with the subsamples “never”,
“always”, “sometimes”, which were actually the offered answers to the question if descriptive assessment is
better than numerical assessment. On the scale showing the importance of descriptive assessment,
interviewees who answered “never” achieved the result of 59.43, interviewees who answered ”sometimes”,
achieved the result of 75.45, while the interviewees who answered “always” were at 93.85 (Table 2). We
conclude that the most positive attitudes had the interviewees who believe that descriptive assessment is
sometimes or always better than numerical. In order to individualize teaching, and consequently the
assessment of students, teachers must understand the importance of descriptive assessment. Descriptive
assessment contributes to the implementation of individualized teaching, the same as the individualization of
teaching contributes to descriptive assessment. However, this does not mean that numerical assessment is not
adequate for individualized teaching.
It turned out that the teachers who believe that descriptive assessment is better than numerical assessment
are better at individualizing their teaching process and better understand its importance for individualized
assessment. This shows that individualization of teaching has more sense if the assessment is done using
description, that is, descriptive assessment.
A statistically significant difference was found in the attitudes of class teachers on the importance of the use of
individualized teaching with regard to the attitude on a combination of descriptive and numerical assessment.
On the scale showing implementation, interviewees who answered “never” reached a mean of 44.77,
interviewees who answered “sometimes” 69.96, and interviewees who answered “always” reached 85.84. On
the scale showing importance, interviewees who answered “never” reached a mean of 43.97, interviewees
who answered “sometimes”, 68.39, while interviewees who answered “always” reached 88.24 (Table 2).
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We conclude that the best attitudes had the interviewees who believe that descriptive assessment should
always be combined with numerical assessment. Assessment, as a process that accompanies the entire
teaching process, and as the final process of making conclusions on the progress and development of the child
can be individualized through individualization of teaching. If teaching process was not individualized, it would
be difficult to conduct individual assessment because the structure of the teaching process does not
correspond to this type of assessment. We can conclude that teachers find it easier to individualize the
teaching process and assessment, and to organize the teaching process focusing on students individually if they
use a combination of descriptive and numerical assessment, and that they find it important to always or
sometimes combine these two types of assessment. By combining different types of assessment, the
assessment can be considered objective, but it is important that teachers are equally good at both types of
assessment. It is important to note that the study found no statistically significant difference in the opinions of
teachers concerning the implementation and importance of individualized teaching from the point of their age
and years of service. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in the opinions of teachers
concerning the implementation and importance of individualized teaching from the point of the number of
students in the class.
Concluding remarks
This paper deals with individualization in the process of descriptive assessment of pupils. The individualization
of descriptive assessment requires: respect for pupils` individual differences, continuous observation and
recording of pupils` development, individualization of lessons, cooperation and professional development of
teachers. Firstly, we theorize about a system which includes all elements necessary for the application of
individualization in the process of descriptive assessment. Then we explore whether opinions of class teachers
differ concerning the application and importance in descriptive assessment on the basis of certainvariables.
This research included 150 class teachers from the territory of the City of Niš who differ who were using
descriptive assessment at the time of the research, which made the sample highly valid,on the basis of the
following criteria: age, years of service, the number of pupils in their class, education about descriptive
assessment, opinions about the quality of descriptive assessment and the possible combination of descriptive
and numerical assessment. We startedfrom the general hypothesis that these differences influence the opinion
of teachersconcerning the application and importance of individualization in descriptive assessment. We also
wanted to know if the importance of individualization is greater than its application, if the results of the overall
sample correlate and if the teachers were on the positive level in the application and importance of
individualization in the process of descriptive assessment.
The results have shown that the teachers are on the positive level in the applicationand importance of
individualization in the process of descriptive assessment. The results inthe application correlate with the
results of the importance of individualization in descriptive assessment. However, it has been discovered that
there are more negative results of theimportance in comparison with the results of the application. It has also
been discovered that the variables like age, years of service, the number of pupils in a class do not influence
the results shown on the scale, while the other variables function only on some scales. It shows that teachers
generally have the same opinion, and that it may be necessary to try to find some other variables that would
influence different opinions of teachers. However, in the overall sample, distribution of the results deviates
from the norm, which shows that some differences in the application and importance of individualization in the
process of descriptive assessment of pupils do exist.
During the theoretical and empirical review of the problem of individualization of teaching in the process of
descriptive assessment, we came and to the following results:
1) Descriptive assessment that is used in Serbia in the first grade of primary school is seen as a means of
individualization of assessment of students’ achievements.
2) The use of descriptive assessment in Serbia differs significantly from the use of this form of assessment in
the region and the world in general.
3) The most significant factor of individualization during the descriptive assessment process is actually the
teacher because the success of implementation of individualization depends on the teacher’s competence,
motivation and good will.
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4) Empirical evidence shows the importance and role of adequate education in order for individual approach in
the assessment process to be successful.
5) Although the teachers have developed an attitude concerning the role and importance of descriptive
assessment for and in the process of individualization, it is still undeniable that most teachers believe that the
combination of descriptive and numerical assessment will help achieve better and higher level of
individualization.
6) During the teaching process, teachers usually individualize their teaching by combining descriptive and
numerical assessment.
WJEIS’s Note: The paper is the result of research within the project: „Sustainability of identity of Serbs and
ethnic minorities in the border municipalities of East and Southeast Serbia“ (ОI 179013), carried out at the
University of Nis - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technological Development of Republic of Serbia and the project " Kosovo and Metohija between national
identity and European integration "(III 47023), funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological
Development of Republic of Serbia.
REFERENCES
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Pedagoško – andragoški dnevi 2011, Udejanjanje naĉela individualizacije v vzgojno-izobraţevalni praksi: ali smo
na pravi poti?. Ljubljana: Filozofski fakultet; Odsek za pedagogiju i andragogiju. pp. 81-86.
Bakovljev, M. (1992). Didaktika. Beograd: Naučna knjiga.
Gojkov, G. (2003). Dokimologija - priručnik. Vršac: Viša škola za obrazovanje vaspitača.
Havelka, N. (2000). Učenik i nastavnik u obrazovnom procesu. Beograd: Zavod za udţbenikei nastavna sredstva.
Havelka, N., Hebib, E. i Baucal, A. (2003). Ocenjivanje za razvoj učenika - priručnik za nastavnike. Beograd:
Ministarstvo Prosvete i sporta Republike Srbije.
Hebib, E. i Matović, N. (2011). Uloga školskog pedagoga u primeni individualizovanog pristupa nastavi.
Pedagoško – andragoški dnevi 2011, Udejanjanje naĉela individualizacije v vzgojno-izobraţevalni praksi: ali smo
na pravi poti. Ljubljana: Filozofski fakultet; Odsek za pedagogiju i andragogiju. pp. 38-42.
Капанова, В.А.(2004). Сравнительная педагогика. Минск : Новое знание.
Negru, A. (2004). Zašto jedan nov model evaluacije. Pedagoška stvarnost, god. 50, br. 1-2,pp. 111-117.
Rodić, R. (2003). Novi pogledi na evaluaciju i ocenjivanje učenika u osnovnoj školi. Norma, 9, br. 2-3, pp. 223-
227.
Sakač, M. (2008). Neki psihološki činioci školskog postignuća. Norma, god. 13, br. 3, pp. 29-36.
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god. 65, br. 4, pp. 575-581.
Tomlinson, A. C. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. ASCD.
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Vilotijević, M. i Vilotijević, N. (2007). Inovacije u nastavi. Beograd: Školska knjiga.
Vlahović, B. (2001). Putevi inovacija u obrazovanju - traţenje novog obrazovanja. Beograd: Stručna knjiga;
Eduka.
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STEM EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD IN TURKEY
Res. Assist. Şebnem Soylu

Middle East Technical University
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
After a decade of intense focus on developing literacy skills in early childhood programs, today the attention is
shifting to the significance of teaching mathematics, technology and science in the early years. The need for
emphasizing science, mathematics, technology and engineering subjects in school settings to enhance 21th
century skillsof individuals, starting with early childhood by using a developmentally appropriate approach is
declared by a great number of research. Even though the significance of early introduction to STEM subjects is
being discussed recently by many researchers, serious initiative for national regulations, curriculum
development, teacher preparation, and setting standards is still lacking for Turkey. This paper aims to provide
an initial glimpse of the state of the STEM education in early childhood in the world and the current state of
STEM education in early childhood level in Turkey. The paper will conclude with suggestions regarding to
integrating STEM in early childhood education, especially for Turkey.
Keywords: STEM education, STEM in early childhood, Turkey.
INTRODUCTION
After a decade of intense focus on developing literacy skills in early childhood programs, today the attention is
shifting to the significance of teaching mathematics, technology and science in the early years (Moomaw,
2013). The need for emphasizing science, mathematics, technology and engineering subjects in school settings
to enhance 21th century skills (such as, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, and collaboration) of individuals,
starting with early childhood by using a developmentally appropriate approach is declared by a great number
of research (Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008, Moomaw & Davis, 2010, NASE, 2010, Akgündüz et al.,
2015, Katz, 2010, Linderman, Jabot & Berkley, 2013, NRC, 2011, Raju & Clayson, 2010). The notion of STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is aroused based on this need, the need of
raising citizens who can contribute to nations’ economic and cultural competency, in the new information era
that we are living. STEM is an acronym that refers to the education‐related programs in the disciplines of
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is first aroused by US National Science Foundation
(NSF) (Kumtepe & Kumtepe, 2013). STEM education is an approach that aims to teach these disciplines as an
integrated whole, and it covers the whole process from early childhood to higher education (Bybee, 2010).
While some educators regard STEM as implication of any of the STEM disciplines individually, they should
rather be integrated as a whole and the power of STEM should come from integration of science and math
skills into an engineering or problem solving process that entails utilization of developmentally appropriate
technologies (Merrill & Daughery, 2010, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008). Even though the significance of
early introduction to STEM subjects is being discussed recently by many researchers, serious initiative for
national regulations, curriculum development, teacher preparation, and setting standards is still lacking
(Akgündüz et al., 2015).
This paper aims to provide an initial glimpse of the significance of STEM education in general and the
importance of introducing STEM disciplines at early childhood level. The state of the STEM education in early
childhood in the world and the main issues for applying STEM in early childhood will be elaborated. Afterwards,
the current state of STEM education in Turkey, will be mentioned and the necessity of enhancing the practices
of STEM education in Turkey for early childhood settings will be discussed. The paper will conclude with
suggestions regarding to the steps to be taken for integrating STEM education early childhood education,
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especially for Turkey considering the international studies regarding the practices of STEM education in the
early years.
STEM Education and Its Significance

In recent years, STEM education has become a focus of interest in the United States. There are several reasons
behind that phenomena. In 2009, National Center for Education Statistics reported that U.S. students trail their
peers in many developed countries especially in science and mathematics. In addition, it is reported that
content knowledge and skills for STEM disciplines, such as processing information to make societal decisions, is
increasingly required in jobs at all levels from all over the world for the next 20 years. Also, STEM education has
been linked to scientific leadership in the future world and to prospective economic growth (National Research
Council, 2011). STEM education target economic advancement, nurture creative leaders who accommodate
the information age. In addition to these aims, STEM education highlights the equity in education. Hence, STEM
education should be equally delivered for all, regardless of their socio economic status, or gender (Beede et.
al., 2011). STEM education also focuses on a learner centered education. While dealing with STEM subjects,
students engage in real life issues and use questioning, problem solving, collaboration, and hands‐on activities
to figure out the solution. Teachers facilitate classroom by guiding students through planning projects and
solving problems in STEM education. Students who are STEM proficient seek answers for complex real life
questions, explore global problems, through applying their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
knowledge (Bybee, 2010).
It is obvious that STEM education is a crucial tool by providing opportunities to transforming inert content
knowledge into practice (STEM Smart Brief, 2013). The new era expects individuals to be productive, and that
necessitates engineering abilities to use content knowledge for creating new solutions. STEM especially
emphasize technology and engineering, intend to promote an interdisciplinary viewpoint starting by early
childhood, and enable to transform knowledge into products to solve daily life problems, therefore it has a
significant role for the information age (Akgündüz et al., 2015). STEM education has a crucial role for education
not only by supporting scientific and technological development, but also contributing to the sustainability of
innovativeness (Clark & Button, 2011). Individuals in information age should have certain knowledge and skills
on science and technology, besides knowing how to use the knowledge has further significance. They should
also have abilities such as engaging in inquiry, logical reasoning, and working collaboratively to use their inert
knowledge to productively (Agustine, 2005). Therefore today’s children should not only focus on pursuing
careers on science and technology, they should also become citizens who can think critically, solve problems
creatively, and pursue an innovative approach regardless of their professions. The sooner students engage in
the real‐world application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics content the better they
master such kind of abilities (Boston Children’s Museum, 2013). For this reason, STEM education should better
begin in early years (Moomaw & Davis, 2010, Katz, 2010, Forman, 2010, Moomaw, 2013, Sanders, 2009 ).
STEM EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Children are innately curious and eager to explore the world around them and avid to solve problems with
using trial and error method. They are active learners and creative inquirers just like science people (Katz,
2010). Thus, it is significant to offer resources and opportunities for them to explore, investigate and develop
their inborn abilities. However, traditional formal science education can stifle their interest and can affect their
attitudes towards learning science negatively (OECD, 2006). Research shows that supporting children to gain
first hand experiences trough formal and informal science activities in early childhood will have a positive
effect on their future academic science performance and skills that are necessary for scientific thinking such as
observation, investigation, inference, interest and curiosity, also their attitudes towards science will be affected
positively (Eshach & Fred, 2005). STEM education targets to raise students envisioning and developing
solutions to challenges that interest them, applying their mathematic and scientific content knowledge in the
context of technological designing and problem solving through using problem based learning and authentic
scientific inquiry (Sanders, 2009). There are four basic goals that are appropriate for early childhood education
in terms of the aims of the STEM program which are knowledge/understanding, skills, dispositions, and feelings
(Moomaw, 2013). It is mistakenly assumed that preschool children lack the basic intellectual abilities such as to
make sense of experience, to analyze, hypothesize, predict (Katz,2010). On the contrary, children are likely to
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gain all four of the listed learning goals that are necessary for STEM education when they engage in in‐depth
investigations of phenomena around them with hands on experiences (Linderman, Jabot & Berkley, 2013).
Hence, an appropriate preschool curriculum should encourage and motivate children to learn and improve
basic academic abilities in the service of their intellectual pursuits which embodies the whole range of
knowledge, understanding, skills, and dispositions that are related to STEM goals (Katz, 2010). Therefore
applying STEM education in early childhood appropriately would be beneficial to nurture children’s inborn
scientific abilities and curiosity, in addition it will foster their prospective academic abilities in science and
mathematics by integrating technology and engineering skills to these areas.
In addition to necessity of an appropriate curriculum, there are many other factors affecting implementation of
STEM education in early childhood, such as teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards STEM disciplines and
their experiences related to STEM fields, governments’ development strategies and priorities, and
collaborations among stakeholders. According to the current literature, the most significant challenges to
applying STEM learning in early childhood around world can be explored in three main topics: Policies,
curriculum /instruction, and teacher education.
Policies: Even though the long lasting contributions of early STEM education to children’s schooling and
professional development is evident, research indicates that early childhood is the most neglected education
area for both funding and research, and until 2013, early childhood education was not included to strategic
plans about STEM education, or not given importance as much as elementary or high school education
worldwide (Kumtepe & Kumtepe, 2013). In 2013, Barack Obama stated the significance of implementing STEM
th
education in early years on the 150 Anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences by declaring: “We want
to make sure that we are exciting young people around math and science and technology and computer
science. We don’t want our kids just to be consumers of the amazing things that science generates; we want
them to be producers as well.” (NSTC, 2013). Consequently, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC),
released 5 year strategic plan for federal STEM education, and stated that the STEM education should begin
from preschool, thereby early childhood become a target group for STEM education in USA.
In 2007 European Commission, declared the need for qualified science education for students from all
educational levels, to enhance the capacity for innovative development and signified the requirement of
developing an influential action plan (Rocard et. al., 2007). Although the report highlight the importance of
early implementation of science education, there isn’t any suggestions aimed early childhood educators or
early childhood education policies. The United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and Finland also acknowledge STEM
education as a priority for their national education system (Aydagül & Terzioğlu, 2014), yet investigating their
education programs, early childhood education still receives minor concern in these countries. That situation
signifies the salient need for political attempts to support STEM education in early childhood.The policies in
Turkey regarding to STEM education will be discussed in the further pages.
Curriculum and Instruction: STEM learning is a hot topic nowadays, and as mentioned before, early
introduction of these subjects has a tremendous significance for children’s future academic performance, and
scientific thinking skills. Enhancing children’s intellectual capabilities by providing them opportunities of
questioning, exploring, analyzing, and understanding is quite significant for teaching STEM in early childhood
education. Research indicate that appropriate mathematics education in early years have a positive effect in
later mathematics learning and narrow achievement gaps (Duncan et. al, 2007, Clements, Sarama, Spiter &
Wolfe, 2011, Geary, 2013). Furthermore literature emphasize the positive impact and importance of science
education in early years, and the significance of including science education to early childhood education
(Eshach, 2006, Samarapungavan, Mantzicopoulos& Patrick, 2008, Bell & Clair, 2015). Children who achieve
developmentally appropriate mathematics and science education in early childhood, will outperform in their
future academic life (NASE, 2010). Even though there is a great amount of study conducted related to the
significance of mathematics education, number sense and numerical literacy in early childhood, research on
science education in preschool and kindergarten is fewer (Moomaw, 2013). Moreover, comparing to the
number of research focusing on mathematics and science education in early childhood, research related to
teaching technology and engineering skills in early childhood is even more lacking, and it also requires in depth
studies (Bagiati, Yoon, Evangelou & Ngambeki, 2010). STEM education not only integrates all of these
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disciplines and but also includes connections to each other. Thereby learning in each area reinforces the other
(Linderman, Jabot & Berkley, 2013). Such integration is supported by professional teaching organizations such
as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), in the position statement on
developmentally appropriate practice, NAEYC advises that early childhood teachers should pay attention to
integrate these disciplines to promote children’s learning within and across the disciplines while planning the
curriculum experiences (Copple and Bredekamp 2009). Therefore it is necessary to develop appropriate
curricula to support the enhancement of these areas. Approaches that promote hands on experience, learning
by doing, and active involvement, such as project based learning and play based learning would be a suitable
way to implement STEM education in early childhood. Katz (2010) suggests that while teaching scientific
subject with academic instruction assign children in a passive and receptive role, project approach will foster
children to be active participants who take responsibility in determination of the questions to search, how to
collect the data, how to represent and to report the findings. Play based curriculum is also acknowledged to be
an essential factor for effective science and mathematics learning in early childhood (Bowman, 1999,
Osborne& Brady, 2001, Ginsburg, 2006). Using play or project based learning as a tool for implementing STEM
subjects in early childhood would be beneficial, yet the curriculum must be well planned, and children should
have the role to ask questions, investigate, think about possible solutions, take the initiative and try the
solution that they select and analyze the outcomes. In order to achieve this kind of implementation, children
should be familiar with scientific teaching process, otherwise it will be pointless to endeavor to pursue that
attempt. In fact, some researchers asserts that direct instruction is also a necessary tool for enhancing STEM
skills in early childhood especially for younger children who are not familiar with scientific thinking process, and
not mature enough to take initiative (Clements, 2013, Diamond, Justice, Siegler & Synder, 2013, Sarama &
Celements, 2009 ).
Regardless of the approaches used, it is essential to allocate adequate effort for instructing all STEM areas (not
only science and mathematics) in the early childhood learning. National Research Council assert that children
have their mindset about physical, biological, and social facts before entering school. With using appropriate
teaching methods, education can build on the already existing knowledge and abilities of children (NRC, 2012).
Besides, the current research indicate that more effort is necessary to apply all the STEM areas in early
childhood to nurture STEM smart generations (Rockland et. al, 2010). Therefore, developing age appropriate
curriculum and instruction tools that integrate all STEM areas with real life problems, allocating enough time
for exploration, provide hands on experiences for children and enhance their inborn capacities of creative
thinking is a crucial necessity to promote STEM education in early childhood settings.
Teacher Education: Teachers play a crucial role in ensuring effective STEM learning in early childhood, since
they need to plan developmentally appropriate, play based, hands on and meaningful integrated activities to
introduce STEM areas in the classroom. For this reason, they need to be well prepared, and have profound
knowledge about the subject areas as well as ability to mesh the knowledge with experience (Whitebook &
Ryan, 2011). Children who are stimulated by attractive, meaningful, and discerning activities in early years will
become immersed in scientific inquiry in their later life. In addition, they will develop the desire to explore,
experiment and learn throughout life (Gelman & Brennenman, 2004, Genç‐ Kumtepe, Kaya & Kumtepe, 2009).
Hence, early childhood teachers should develop abilities of teaching STEM topics and stimulating children’s
thinking.
Although STEM is an acronym for four disciplines, early childhood teachers are most engaged with science and
mathematics. Nevertheless, many early childhood teachers fail to capitalize on the science opportunities that
are embedded throughout the day (Moomaw, 2013). Research depicts that early childhood teachers’ attitude
towards mathematics and science, and their knowledge of scientific concepts is a key indicator of
implementing related activities with a qualified manner (Faulkner‐Schneider, 2005). Despite the key role of
teachers on children’s STEM learning, recent reports portray that teacher preparation systems are insufficient,
and that young children’s educators do not receive the adequate training in STEM fields that they need to
support children’s achievement (Whitebook & Ryan, 2011, Bornfreund, 2011). Early childhood teachers do not
trust themselves as capable of teaching mathematics, even though they appreciate mathematics as a crucial
component of the early childhood curriculum. Teachers indicate that they feel uncomfortable with
mathematics, and their math anxiety is generally affiliated with their own elementary school experiences
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(Philipp, 2007). Furthermore, Hedhes and Collin (2005) states that early childhood teachers’ content
knowledge and experiences related to science is an essential indicator of applying science activities frequently
and accurately in the classroom. However, early childhood teachers generally have poor subject knowledge in
science and unaware of the impact of this lack of knowledge on their ability and willingness to provide
appropriate opportunities for learning science for their students (Garbett, 2003).
It is evident that the early childhood teachers do not have adequate content knowledge about STEM areas and
they do not know how to promote children’s learning in these areas and that has a significant effect on their
attitudes towards creating opportunities for bringing these subjects to classroom (Chalufour, 2010). These
results depicts that early childhood teachers need more support to develop their content knowledge on STEM
areas and they need pre‐service and in service trainings to learn how to implement STEM subjects in classroom
with an integrated and developmentally appropriate approach in order to nurture children’s learning.
STEM EDUATION IN TURKEY
The developing technology and economy requires individuals who can think analytically and have skills to solve
problems creatively. STEM education plays a key role to promote sustainable development for countries.
Policy makers, economists, and educators realized the severity of the situation. Discussions related to the
significance of STEM education in Turkey has been accelerated recently. In this age of innovation, countries
who have global economic powers such as the United States, Germany, United Kingdom and China transform
their education systems in accordance with the technological developments in order to be able to develop their
th
economic powers and stay competitive (Fensham, 2008). According to PISA 2012 report Turkey was the 44
th
among 65 countries and 31 among 34 OECD countries (Anıl, Özkan & Demir, 2015) . In addition, according to
th
the TIMMS 2011 report, Turkey was below the average both for mathematics and science proficiency of 4 and
th
8 graders (Oral & Mcgivney, 2013). Since Turkey’s innovation productivity falls behind the other economically
developed countries, making reforms in teaching STEM disciplines is especially essential (Corlu, Capraro &
Capraro, 2014). These reforms should target all levels of the education units, starting from early childhood to
higher education (Akgündüz et. al., 2015). Many research depicts the necessity for a well‐developed STEM
education for Turkey, and signify the role of teacher education, and governmental policies for this purpose
(Özden, 2007, Corlu,Capraro & Capraro, 2014, Akgündüz et al., 2015, Corlu, 2012).
STEM in Turkish Early Childhood Education

The 2013 early childhood education program signifies child based, play centered learning with using
developmentally appropriate approaches and integrated curriculum, which are stated before as necessary tools
for implementing STEM in early childhood. In addition, there should be mathematics and science learning
centers in the classrooms, even though engineering and technology learning centers are not listed in the
program, teachers have the flexibility to add different learning center or integrating learning centers with using
various materials. Despite the fact that importance is given to science and mathematics education in the
program, teachers’ capabilities of arranging appropriate learning centers to promote those skills, and content
knowledge related to STEM fields should be examined by researchers. The 2013 early childhood education
program also signifies the partnerships among school and society. Providing extracurricular activities for
children is also suggested by the program. One of the best ways to provide extracurricular scientific
experiences for children is establishing science centers and science museums (Moomaw, 2013). Kayseri
Provincial Directorate for National Education, started a STEM project in 2014 to promote the implication of
STEM disciplines in various education levels, they initiate 35 projects yet there was only two projects targeting
early childhood education. In 2012, Science and Experiment Center is put in service in Eskişehir (there is also a
space house inside) to provide scientific experiences for children aged between 7‐ 12, also in 2013 Feza Gürsey
Science and Ankara Children Museum and Science Center is put in service in Ankara however there isn’t any
activities targeting early childhood years supports STEM learning for children in these museums. Even the
enthusiasm of these initiatives worth admire, it is not enough solely. It is seen that projects and initiatives for
STEM education in early childhood is lacking in Turkey.
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DISCUSSION AND SUGGESTIONS
Considering the demands of the new information era, ensuring every child to receive a qualified STEM
education starting from early childhood would be a logical investment for a country which intend to enhance
its capability of sustainable development. As mentioned before, there is a large amount of research point out
the significance of enhancing practices of STEM education starting with the early childhood. Unfortunately the
studies regarding to the STEM education in Turkey do not signify the key role of early childhood institutions in
terms of enhancing children’s scientific thinking skills and their attitudes towards scientific disciplines.
Children are inherently curious and eager to learn. Education should be designed to promote these innate
motivations of children. Keeping them exploring and ensuring their prospective success should be the prior aim
of the full array of early childhood stakeholders. Educators, policy makers, initiators, businesses should
cooperate to create a smooth continuum of STEM education for early childhood field, in order to raise citizens
who are capable of critical and analytical thinking and using their knowledge to solve daily life problems to be
able to compete with other countries in the 21th century. That can be ensured by integrating these fields with
each other, constructing connections with children’s daily life, utilizing age appropriate approaches, supporting
pre‐service and in‐service training of teachers in STEM areas, building quality network among academicians,
teachers, policy makers, companies, and community.
In order to achieve the goal of being capable of competing with developed countries both economically and
culturally, children should be raised with an approach to nurture the skills that are necessary for creativity,
problem solving and critical thinking. Since STEM education has the potential to enhance these skills, teachers,
educators, scientists, engineers, government, and entrepreneurs should work in collaboration and support
early introduction of STEM disciplines with an appropriate approach. Steps that should be taken may include:
STEM education for early childhood in Turkey should be coordinated with the developed countries such as
United States and United Kingdom. Partnerships and projects should be established with these countries. Early
childhood teachers should receive quality education to enhance their content knowledge on STEM subjects.
Early childhood education departments in universities should offer courses related to STEM fields both for
undergraduate and graduate level. Also, in service trainings should be provided in regular basis to enhance
content knowledge of teachers about STEM disciplines and promote teaching practices of STEM disciplines in
an integrated manner with a developmentally appropriate approach. Universities, schools, government,
businesses, and community should work in collaboration to enhance STEM learning of early childhood children.
Pilot STEM schools can be established for investigating the opportunities, and elucidate the phenomena. By
that way a research based STEM curricula can be developed which use learning trajectories that build upon
children’s needs, abilities, and knowledge. For providing informal learning experiences science museums or
science centers should be established in every city by government or by private companies. By that way STEM
education should be given all children regardless of their gender or socioeconomic status.
Achieving these goals will require a serious commitment, coordination, and effort, but it will yield tremendous
outcomes such as raising citizens capable of 21th century skills.
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NEW TRENDS OF TRAINING IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

IN MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOFIA
Assist. Prof. Dr. Stefan Velikov

Medical University
Faculty of Public Health
Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandrina Vodenicharova

Medical University
Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Popov

Medical University
Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
The information technologies are the fastest developing science area in the world. This and the increase of the
information in medicine determine the need of qualitative ICT training of medical professionals. Boom of
information in medical science and practice poses to the health professionals high demands on their
competence in the field of information technology.
The article presents the results of the student’s survey conducted in Medical College of Sofia on the needs of
education in „Application of IT in healthcare practices”.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the need for quality and adequate ICT education in medical schools to
ensure the competence of health professionals.
The survey results show that the ICT training in Medical College of Sofia has to change in the direction of
increasing the hours of practices hours and separate the electronic data capture and information systems in
medicine in additional discipline.
Keywords: ICT training, ICT in healthcare, health professionals training,
INTRODUCTION
Information Technology and Information Industry is one of the most dynamic areas in the world. This is one
area where there is a close connection between science and practice, between innovation and business. The
rapid development of information technologies and their application in medicine and everyday life makes it
necessary for quality and appropriate training in informatics, especially from the medical universities. The
information boom in medical science and practice poses to the health professionals high demands on their
competence in the field of information technology.
The use of information technology in modern health care at all levels of medical help required knowledge to
work with them to meet patients' needs for quality and high qualified service by medical professionals.
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Furthermore the collection of clinical data is expensive and time-consuming. Currently, only minimal data are
encoded routinely. Any analysis requiring new data elements consumes significant resources to develop a
sampling plan for the data, to develop data-collection instruments, to train the data abstracters, to collect the
data, and to analyze the data.
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)the part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) recognize that the process of standardizing and automating representation of medical information is
essential for increasing the efficiency of their programs.( Campbell, 1994)
Precisely why among the studied until now disciplines, the training of students in medical universities to work
with these modern technologies is needed.
The aim of the studies in information technology rather to nurture habits and skills in the use of methods and
means of provided by information and communication technologies than to acquire knowledge in informatics.
The effective implementation of this requires training related to ICT, a lifelong continuous training (Zlatanova
et al., 2015), e-learning (Petkov et al., 2013; Vodenicharova et al., 2015), distance learning (Popov et al., 2015)
and use of information technology is in daily exercise.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the need for quality and adequate ICT education in Medical College
Sofia, necessary for classified and competent training of graduate health professionals.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A questionnaire survey is made in March and April 2016. Total 130 interviewed students from the Medical
College - Sofia, are presented in Table 1 by scientific specialty.
Table 1: Student distribution by scientific specialty

Medical laboratory Radio laboratory Rehabilitation
Indicator / specialty
assistant assistant therapist
Surveyed students 55 30 45
Respondents students submit their views on:

 need for new knowledge and skills for work associated with the advent of new information technologies in
medical practice;
 capabilities in the uptake of such knowledge and skills.
The electronic survey is implemented by using an electronic system for data capture REDCAP, integrated into
the intranet network of the Medical University of Sofia. The use of this system significantly reduces the
probability of error, wrong input and can provide faster and more reliable collection of information and
possibility of its multiple and multipurpose use. As a tool, it can realize substantial economies compared with
the collection of data on paper (Bart, 2013).
The questionnaire can be opened at web address:

https://redcap.mu-sofia.bg/surveys/?s=FJWNMD74JF
RESULTS
To be competitive all health professionals need basic knowledge of the nature, the need, the application and
types of information technology used in healthcare. From a survey conducted among students found that
80.4% of respondents identified as necessary acquisition of knowledge in information technology during their
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education at the Medical College - Sofia and only 8.4% answered that they are not need such knowledge for
their future work in health / Figure 1 /
Figure 1: The need of IT knowledge
This is a confirmation of inner conviction of surveyed students that training in information technology is
necessary, but at the same time is interesting the question of knowledge that they wish to receive. The
preferences of students in terms of learning material are presented in [Table 2]. Overall, in the opinion of
students the lower need of basic IT training, suggesting that it is well represented in the lecture course.
Analysis of the relationship between the studied specialty and content, shows that we have a significant
correlation p = 0,023 and χ2 = 14,675 at df = 6. Medical laboratory assistant are 51.33% of student marked
‘Data capturing and analizing’ and 47,06% of students marked ‘Information systems in Healthcare’ as un
important education content, while Rehabilitation therapist are 21,62% of students marked ‘Data capturing
and analizing’ and 23,53% of students marked ‘Information systems in Healthcare’ as un important education
content. Evident that specialty Medical laboratory assistant, where we are dealing with data and information
systems has a greater interest in such learning content and less on basic competence in IT, while specialty
Rehabilitation therapist, where work with less data and information systems students focus on basic
knowledge of IT.
Overall, this puts the matter to teachers in information technology to change the learning content complies
with the individual needs of each specialty.
Table 2: Importance of educational content in the field of IT for work as health professionals
Medical laboratory Radio laboratory Rehabilitation
Total
Educational content assistant(55) assistent(30) therapist (45)
Num % Num % Num % Num %
Base IT knowleges 23 17,69% 5 21,74% 3 13,04% 15 65,22%
Application ot IT in
38 29,23% 15 41,67% 7 19,44% 14 38,89%
Healthcare
Information systems in
32 24,62% 16 47,06% 10 29,41% 8 23,53%
Healthcare
Data capturing and
37 28,46% 19 51,35% 10 27,03% 8 21,62%
analizing
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Simultaneously with the question of educational content must be investigated and the views of students on the
form of training. To the question "Which forms of teaching define as significant for the quality of education?",
The largest share is determined response "Practical exercises" - 71.24%, followed by "Lectures" - 38.24% and
"Seminar exercises" - 24.45%. / Figure 3 /. The percentage of answers is more than 100% because respondents
gave more than one answer.
Figure 2: Teaching forms significance for the quality of education
From this research it is clear that for the students practical and seminars are important for the quality of
education. Nearly ¾ of the students believe that the practical classes are essential. This may be determined by
the fact that college education is rather practical than theoretical nature.
Figure 3: Assessment of training forms
In a survey conducted among students we looked for the answer to the question: "Where there are
weaknesses in the teaching forms in your IT study?". As shown in Figure 3 results demonstrate a number of
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problems in the system of teaching. As least overlapping are evaluated practical training / laboratory and
seminars / (45.2%). If we add to this critical assessment of both forms of training (28.4%) and the respondents
"Can not decide" (7.9%), have to conclude a serious reconsideration of IT teaching in Medical College - Sofia.
The results show that in the opinion of students feel deficiency in practical training and confirmed the opinion
of the importance of practical exercises. This in turn may be a prerequisite to explore the possibilities of
integrating the teaching of IT in the education of students in special subjects across the curriculum with an
emphasis on practical application in the relevant scientific field.
Changes in the learning process should be directed to those forms that create conditions for higher quality of
teaching and easier learning from student of studied material with a view to their future realization as health
professionals.
The modern medicine, with its pace of development is unthinkable without the introduction of the new
information technologies in medical science, education, medical practice and health care management. To that
the efforts of engineers, programmers, mathematicians, economists, and system analysts are harnessed, and
their skills need to be adapted with close medical knowledge and skills. These professionals must have a
thorough knowledge about the specifics of medical problems expressed in the design, creation, development,
improvement and maintenance of medical information systems, medical technical devices and medical
software. It is essential and healthcare professionals be able to use all the possibilities of informatics - to
master the methodology for obtaining, processing of information to find form, means and language of
communication to describe information problems and tasks in the narrow professional field and participate in
solving them.
CONCLUSIONS
From the presented results we can deduce the following conclusions:
The changes in the health care system emphasize the need for implementation of the latest information
technology in medical science, education, medical practice and health care management.
The ongoing training of Information technologies does not meet the needs of students educated at the Medical
College - Sofia. A thorough re-evaluation of educational content with greater overlap of information technology
is needed.
Changes can be made in the following areas:

 Increasing the hours of exercises;
 Introducing a supplementary discipline compulsory, elective or optional, which presented in more detail
information systems in health care and electronic data processing;
 Change of curricula, in order to add to the specialized topics related to the application of ICT according
specialty.
So the changes would improve both the current work and future employability of the students educated in
Medical College - Sofia
Acknowledgement: The presented material was realized in cooperation with and within performance of the
project "Developing an information environment for electronic data collection in conducting epidemiological
studies and organize records of socially significant diseases by accession MU- Sofia to the consortium RedCAP"
in competition "BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RESEARCH IN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY- SOFIA 2015", sponsored
by a Council of Medical Science at the Medical University – Sofia.
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REFERENCES
Bart T.,(2013), Comparison of Electronic Data Capture with Paper Data Collection – Is There Really an
Advantage?,. Business Briefing, Pharmatech.
Campbell K.E., Das A.K. & Musen M.A., (1994), A Logical Foundation for Representation of Clinical Data, Journal
of the American Medical Informatics Association ,1(3), p.218-232,
Petkov V., Velikov St., Zlatanova-Velikova R., (2013), E-Learning chalanges and perspectives in Medical Colledge
of Sofia – Part 1, Health and Science, no 4, ISSN 1314-3360, pp.36-39 /in bulgarian/
Popov N., Shtereva-Nikolova N. & Lyubomirova K., (2015) Implementation the project of distance learning in
faculty of public health, International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, January 2015,
Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 11, pp. 83-88, www.ijonte.org.
Vodenicharova Al., Zlatanova T., Alexandrova M. & Zlatanova – Velikova R., (2015) Role of E-learning in the
Faculty of public health - Sofia, International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications,
January 2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 13, pp. 98-103, www.ijonte.org.
Vodenicharov Ts. (2014), There is no alternative to professional health management, Medical meridians,
magazine for strategic health management, 2 /in Bulgarian/.
Zlatanova T., Zlatanova – Velikova R. & Vodenicharova Al., (2015) Continuing medical education in Bulgaria –
organization and attitudes, International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, January
2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 15, pp. 112-119, www.ijonte.org.
Zlatanova – Velikova R., Velikov St. & Vodenicharova Al., (2015). The electronic test in continuous medical
education. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article:
17, pp. 131-137, www.ijonte.org.
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EDUCATION OF PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROM

ON DISEASE SELF- MANAGEMENT
Assist. Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Traykovska- Dimitrova

Medical University - Sofia
BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Prof. Dr. Todor Dimitrov

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Dr. Andrey Kehayov

Southeast European Medical Forum
Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Zlatanova- Velikov

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Metabolic syndrome is a complex of interrelated risk factors for development of cardiovascular diseases and
type 2 diabetes – two of the most common chronic non-communicable diseases today. This makes the
metabolic syndrome a socially significant problem for society. The education of patients with metabolic
syndrome is an indispensable element in the complex therapeutic approach and social behavior.
This article examines and analyzes the opinion of patients with metabolic syndrome on their need for
education on disease self-management. The respondents were 978 patients over the period from 01.02.2015
to 31.03.2016 in Sofia – hospitals and medical centers. The analysis includes their opinion on the need for
information about disease self-management and the methods of its receipt, the need to control the level of
body fat, the frequency of this control, the need for measuring and monitoring the blood pressure and blood
sugar levels. The education of patients with metabolic syndrome and their families on coping with the disease
is an important moment in practical social behavior. It provides good quality of life and is a major factor in
preventing complications of the metabolic syndrome in the context of secondary prevention.
Keywords: Self-management, metabolic syndrome, education.
INTRODUCTION
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of cardiovascular risk factors, including mainly obesity of central type,
hypertension, dyslipidemia and impaired glucose regulation - prediabetes and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is
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associated with a two times higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 5-10 years and with a
five times higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The training of patients with metabolic syndrome is an absolutely indispensable element in the complex
therapeutic approach and social behaviour. Patients should know how to control in their daily lives this disease,
so that they normally live with it.
The purpose of this article is to examine and analyse the opinion of patients with metabolic syndrome on their
need of training for self-control of the disease.
For achieving the so stated objective the following tasks were implemented:
1. Study of the opinion of patients with metabolic syndrome on the need for information about self-control
of the disease in the following aspects:
 way of obtaining the information;
 sufficiency and quality of the information received;
 application of the acquired knowledge to develop a healthy lifestyle.
2. Study of the opinion of patients about the need to control risk factors for the development of their disease
and the frequency of these controls.
3. Formulation of conclusions and recommendations for optimizing training in patients with metabolic
syndrome for self-management of the disease.
METHODOLOGY
For acquiring information an individual anonymous questionnaire was used. Respondents were 978 patients
over a period from 01.02.2015 to 31.03.2016 in Sofia and Kardzhali - hospitals and medical centres. In the study
a wide range of descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used. Quantitative analyses were made with
a statistical package of applied programs - SPSS 17.0. For tabular and graphical processing and presentation the
products of MICROSOFT OFFICE were used.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the conducted study 978 patients were covered diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Of these, 36.8% were
men and 63,2 % were women. The greatest proportion of respondents patients (42,9%) were aged between 45
and 64 years, followed by those in the age group 21-44 years (30,1%) and in the third place (25,8%) are the
patients aged over 65.
Our study found that the majority of respondents - 73% are unaware of the existence of training centres for
patients with metabolic syndrome. These data correlate with the answer to the question "Have you attended
training courses for patients with metabolic syndrome?" - 77.9% (762 patients) have not passed training
courses for control of the disease.
The training provides a better quality of life and is a major factor in preventing complications of metabolic
syndrome (within the secondary prevention). Therefore, we turned our attention to the respondents who have
visited training centres. The results of the study showed that 57,2 % of the respondents did not receive the
information they needed for self-control of the disease, and 28.2% received this information partly (Figure 1).
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5,5%
I cannot decide
28,2%
Partly
57,2%
No
9,1%
Yes
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Figure 1: Did you receive the information you needed for self-control of your disease?
Almost half of the respondents (48.9%) evaluated the effectiveness of the training courses as very good and
excellent (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Evaluation of the effectiveness of the training passed by the respondents
Training of patients with metabolic syndrome and their families to cope with the disease is an important
moment also in the practical social behaviour. The acquisition of new knowledge and skills associated with the
disease, the increase of the health knowledge, the creation of lasting habits that ensure a healthy lifestyle
should lead to improving the quality of life of patients and to a better metabolic status, which underpins the
prevention of disabling complications.
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Our study confirmed the positive role of the good cooperation between patient, medical and social specialists
"in a team" to achieve a healthy lifestyle of the respondents. The offered information from medical specialists
assisted in varying degrees 66.5% of the respondents to develop a healthy lifestyle (Figure 3).
18,9%
47,6%
33,5%
Yes No Partly
Figure 3: Did the information obtained from health specialists help you to develop a healthy lifestyle?
Engagement of GPs is to carry out training of patients with metabolic syndrome, even at the moment of
diagnosing the disease. In the treatment plan of these patients a specific diet treatment is necessary, consulted
with a nutritionist, physical therapy and consultation with a number of other medical specialists if there are
complications and co-morbidities.
The conducted study found that 47,9 % of the respondents had complications of metabolic syndrome
registered by a specialist and 63,2% have other diseases.
In most cases, the training of the GP represents professional instructions and providing information materials.
GPs from the primary care network do not have in their work schedule regulated time for training of patients
with metabolic syndrome and at every meeting with the patient they need to devote time to his training.
These models of training are not effective enough; sometimes the information is presented insufficiently with
lack of individual approach.
Important to the success of the training is the adequate communication with the patient, the active
cooperation between the medical specialist and the trainee, and the inclusion in the training process of
members of the family who will support the implementation of self-control and the efforts to change lifestyle.
Building an adequate model of coping behaviour in the patient is a guarantee for favourable impact on the
metabolic syndrome and delay of the complications and disability
Analysis of the control of risk factors

The components of metabolic syndrome are:
 dyslipidemia;
 hypertension;
 obesity;
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 hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance;

 abnormal glucose homeostasis (NGT, increased fasting glycaemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus);
 defects in haemorheology (increased fibrinogen), fibrinolysis (increased concentration of PAІ-1) and
chronic inflammation (CRP).
Metabolic syndrome is not always seen in its complete form. The listed components of metabolic syndrome are
independent risk factors and lead to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and
cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, early detection and control of metabolic syndrome may have an impact not
only on the prevention of diabetes but also of cardiovascular diseases.
The risk factors most often recognized as key to defining the diagnosis metabolic syndrome are atherogenic
dyslipidemia (elevated serum levels of triglycerides, elevated apolypoprotein B, low HDL cholesterol and high
LDL cholesterol), increased blood pressure and increased plasma concentrations of glucose. In most cases of
metabolic syndrome central type obesity and insulin resistance are found.
In the study carried out by us we tried to find if the patients were familiar with the need to control the level of
fat in the body, the frequency of this control, the need for measuring and monitoring the blood pressure and
blood sugar levels.
The study results show that 36.9% of the respondents monitor the fat levels in their body through laboratory
tests, and 63.8% are unaware of the frequency of this control.
In Table 1 and Table 2 the results of the carried out study showing the distribution of the respondents
according to their latest tests of HDL - cholesterol levels respectively in men and women are presented.
Table 1: Distribution of the respondents - men according to their recent laboratory tests of HDL – cholesterol
HDL – cholesterol for men Number of respondents Proportion in %
HDL – cholesterol under 1,0 mmol/l 294 81,7
HDL – cholesterol over 1,0 mmol/l 66 18,3
Total men 360 100,0
The results show that 81,7% of the respondents were men with HDL-cholesterol below 1,0 mmol/l, which is
one of the criteria for the presence of the metabolic syndrome. In women, 60,2 % of the respondents were
with HDL-cholesterol below 1,3 mmol/l indicative of metabolic syndrome in them.
Upon reading the last results with respect to fasting glucose it was found that 71,5% of the respondents were
with fasting glucose more than 5,6 mmol/l - two thirds of the patients have this factor included in the criteria
for metabolic syndrome.
Table 2:. Distribution of the respondents women according to their recent laboratory tests of HDL – cholesterol
HDL – cholesterol for women Number of respondents Proportion in %
HDL – cholesterol under 1,3 mmol/l 372 60,2
HDL – cholesterol over 1,3 mmol/l 246 39,8
Total women 618 100
In terms of triglycerides the results of the study show that 79,9 percent of the respondents were with
triglycerides over 1,7 mmol/l, ie these patients have this factor included in the criteria for metabolic syndrome
(figure 4).
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20,1%
79,9%
Triglycerides over 1,7 mmol/l Triglycerides below 1,7 mmol/l
Figure 4: Distribution of the respondents according to their recent laboratory tests of triglycerides
Other criteria for assessing the presence of the metabolic syndrome is the presence of high blood pressure
values ≥135/85 mmHg. In this regard, we asked the patients what their usual blood pressure was. The results
show that 72,9 % of the respondents were with AN≥135/85 mmHg, once a week the blood pressure being
measured by 37,5% of respondents, while 34,7% measured it only when visiting the GP or a specialist (Table 3).
Table 3: Distribution of the respondents according to the frequency of blood pressure measurements
Frequency of blood pressure
Number of respondents Share in %
measurements
Every day 108 10,9
Twice a day 18 1,8
Several times a week 94 9,6
Once a week 366 37,5
Only when visiting the GP / specialist 339 34,7
Do not measure it 54 5,5
Total 978 100,0
The next question of the study found that 24,8 % of the patients were trained to properly measure their blood
pressure, but three-quarters of respondents (75,2%) could not measure it properly. This result emphasizes the
need to train the patients in the necessary preliminary preparation before measurement and the method of
conducting the test.
Factors that affect the blood pressure in healthy individuals can be divided into two groups:
 Endogenous - age, sex, race, body mass, heredity, etc.
 Exogenous: most often these are factors influencing in short intervals - stress, nutrition, physical activity,
vibration, noise, climatic conditions, geographical features, etc.
At the exogenous factors a change in the environment or lifestyle is possible and right here is the focus of the
efforts of people for change and prophylactic influence in high risk groups or in the entire population. In this
respect it is necessary to focus the efforts of medical specialists in the process of training patients with
metabolic syndrome for disease self-control.
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CONCLUSION
From the so presented results the following conclusions can be made:

1. Almost three quarters (73%) of the respondents are unaware of the existence of training centres for
patients with metabolic syndrome, and 77,9% have not passed training courses for control of the disease.
2. The given information by medical professionals has helped entirely only 18,9% of the respondents to
develop a healthy lifestyle.
3. Almost two-thirds of the patients are not aware of the need to control the level of fat in the body, the
frequency of this control, the need for measuring and monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
4. Targeted training of the patients with metabolic syndrome by a team of specialists is necessary for self-
management of the disease.
REFERENCES
Baykova D (2010), Functional Foods. National training campaign for healthy nutrition: "Nutrition and chronic
diseases", October, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Vizeva M., Vizev Kr., Vodenicharova A. & Petkov V. (2013), Medical and social aspects of health care in adult
patients with type 2 diabetes, Health and Science Magazine, issue 2, pp 12-15.
Vizeva M. & Vizev Kr. (2011), Diabetes and premature aging, Twenty-eight scientific and technological session,
Contact, Interdisciplinary idea into action, pp. 168-177.
Meigs JB, Wilson PW, Fox CS, Vasan RS, Nathan DM, Sullivan LM & D’Agostino RB (2006), Body mass index, 18.
Metabolic syndrome and risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 91, pp.
2906–2912.
Vizev K., Vizeva M. & Alexandrova M. (2010), Lifestyle and Social interaction and lifestyle of persons with
-st
Metabolic syndrome, 31 Balkan Medical Week, October, Athens, Greece.
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SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE ORGANIZATION

AND QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THE FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH-SOFIA
Assist. Prof. Dr. Aleksandrina Vodenicharova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antoniya Yanakieva

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Prof. Dr. R. Goranova- Spasova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Zlatanova-Velikov

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Healthcare management is not only science and practice, but also a separate, independent profession.
Nowadays there are opportunities for autonomous professional career and development in the field of
healthcare management. It is becoming necessary for the health management function to become from “just
passing through” activity to a more specific activity of certain type of professionals, who have to fully devote
themselves to the complex, unconventional and unusual management of the health care organization. Bulgaria
has established conditions for university education of healthcare managers – in the Faculties of Public Health.
The purpose of this article is to examine and analyze the opinion of master students in the Faculty of Public
Health at Medical University-Sofia in terms of the satisfaction with their education, organization and learning
process quality. The respondents were 189 master students in Public Health and Healthcare Management
during the period 01.06.-30.06.2015 The analysis includes their degree of satisfaction with the education, as
the results show that 93,2% of the students have a positive assessment, while over 75% of the respondents
believe that their training in healthcare management is adequate to the “EU average”. The analysis also
included the respondents’ proposals for improvement of their education.
Keywords: satisfaction, education, organization, quality, healthcare management
INTRODUCTION
Health management has broadly penetrated the managerial practice of the developed European countries and
in recent decades it was outlined and established as individual autonomous function and professional career.
In Bulgaria implementation and regulation of professional health management were delayed and hindered
because of the effective regulations.
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Pending issue in this area is the mechanism of selection and creation of managerial teams in our healthcare
institutions. The competitive principle has been regulated for taking up some managerial titles, yet we didn’t
manage to overcome the formal bureaucratic way of running the competitions. Additionally, there is no
mandatory requirement for holding the educational degree of health management master being a prerequisite
for participation in these competitions.
These weaknesses are somewhat coped with the introduction of academic studies in the health management
area held by the faculties for public health.
The objective of this article is to research and analyse master students’ opinion of the major “Public health and
health management” in the Faculty of Public Health, Medical University – Sofia concerning their satisfaction
from the studies, organization and quality of learning process.
In order to achieve the defined objective we performed the following tasks:
1. Research of the satisfaction degree of the master students from their studies in the Faculty of Public
Health.
2. Research of students’ awareness in the following aspects:
 What would be the subjects they will learn during their studies in the master’s programme of Health
management;
 The educational objectives of each subject;
 The criteria according to which they will be assessed in the end of the semester.
3. Establishing respondents’ opinion concerning the applicability in their practice of the acquired knowledge
and skills during their studies in the Faculty of Public Health.
4. Analysis of the suggestions of the inquired master students for improving their studies in Public health and
health management.
METHODOLOGY
In order to accumulate the information we used individual anonymous inquiry card. We inquired 189 master
students in public health and health management in the period of 01.06.-30.06.2015 in the Faculty of Public
Health – Sofia. To this end we used numerous descriptive and analytical statistical methods. The quantitative
analyses were performed with the statistical package of applied programmes - SPSS 17.0. In view of the tabular
and graphic processing and presentation we used the products of MICROSOFT OFFICE.
Among the inquired students 53(28%) were men and 136 (72%) women, and 83 (43,9%) were from the capital
city, while the other 106 (56,1%) were from the towns. The majority (37%) of the respondents were aged 31 to
40, followed by those (28%) in the age group to 30 years, and the third ranking were the inquired students
aged 41 to 50 years (27%).
We researched the opinion of master students in “Public health and health management” in the Faculty of
Public Health, Medical University – Sofia concerning their satisfaction from studies, organization and quality of
the learning process.
Their assessment of the satisfaction degree from their studies in the Faculty of public health according to the
ranking from minus 5 /-5/ to plus 5 /+5/ is presented at figure 1.
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Figure 1: Assessment of students in view of their satisfaction degree from their studies in the Faculty of Public
Health
Based on the presented data we could conclude that almost one-third (34,4%) of the inquired gave the highest
score for their satisfaction degree from the studies in the Faculty of Public Health. Positive grade (over 1) was
assigned by 93,2% of the students. The prevailing number of the inquired (66,1%) ranked their preparation
level in the Faculty of Public Health in the Medical University – Sofia first compared to the students from the
other Faculties of Public Health in Bulgaria. (Figure 2.)
Figure 2: Ranking of the Faculty of Public Health to the Medical University – Sofia in view of the preparation
level based on students’ opinion
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Over 75% of the inquired students were of the opinion that their health management preparation is adequate
to the “EU average” and those of the opposite opinion were 9,5% among them. (Figure 3.)
Figure 3: Do you believe that your studies are adequate to the EU average?
In order to clarify students’ notion concerning the studied subjects during their studies in the master’s
programme of Health management, the educational objectives of each subject and the criteria according to
which they would be assessed in the end of the semester we asked the following three questions in our
research.
According to the results, the majority of the inquired students (84,1%) are aware to various degrees of the
subjects to be studied during their tuition in the master’s programme for Health management. (Figure 4.)
Figure 4: Do you have clear idea of the subjects you will study during your tuition in the master’s programme
for Health management?
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Once they were asked whether they are aware of the educational objectives of new subject at the time they
start studying it, what would they actually study and when they would be tutored, the majority of the inquired
students (77,8%) gave positive answer /or rather positive/ this question, but the share of those that gave
negative answer /no and rather no/ was not negligible - 17,5%. (Figure 5.)
Figure 5: At the time of starting new subject, are you aware of its educational objectives, what you would
actually study and when it would be tutored?
Those aware of the criteria according to which they would be assessed in the end of the semester are 82,5%
/156/ of the students, and the other 17,5% /33/ were not aware of that. (Figure 6.).
The majority of the inquired students (75,3%) were of the opinion that the lectures being tutored supplement
and clarify the subject and provide additional guidelines for preparation, and 9 people (4,8%) were of the
opinion that lectures do not supplement academic literature, just reiterate it. The opinion that they
supplement and clarify the academic literature but do not help from practical point of view was shared by 14
students (7,4%), and 27 (14,3%) could not say. (Table 1.)
Figure 6: Are you aware of the criteria according to which you will be assessed in the end of the semester
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Table 1: Students’ opinion on the lectures they visit

Answers Number Relative share in %
They complement and clarify the academic literature and
139 73,5
provide additional guidelines for the preparation
They do not complement the academic literature, just
9 4,8
reiterate it
They complement and clarify the academic literature but are
14 7,4
not helpful from academic point of view
The differences between the various lecturers are so huge
27 14,3
that it is impossible to answer
Total 189 100,0
Concerning the seminars visited by the students, the majority of them (43,9%) are of the opinion that thanks to
considering practice cases they help in creating real notion of their future profession, followed by those (28,6%)
according to whom seminars are coordinated with the lectures but they create fully theoretical knowledge.
Only 10 (5,3%) of the students are of the opinion that seminars have no connection to lectures whatsoever
thus creating additional confusion and 42 (22,2%) – cannot say (Table 2.).
Table 2. Students’ opinion on the seminars they visit

Answers Number Relative share in %
They have no relation to lectures whatsoever thus creating
10 5,3
additional confusion
They are coordinated with the lectures but create fully
54 28,6
theoretical knowledge
They review practice cases thus creating real notion of their
83 43,9
future profession
The differences between the various lecturers are so huge that
42 22,2
it is impossible to answer
Total 189 100,0
The next question from the inquiry establishes students’ opinion on the degree to which their health
management studies in the Faculty of Public Health Medical University-Sofia is sufficient to get realization as
good health managers. (Figure 7.)
Figure 7: Students’ opinion on the degree to which their health management studies in the Faculty of Public
Health to the Medical University – Sofia is sufficient so that they get realization as a good health manager
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According to the results, the majority of the inquired students 74,1% /140/ are of the opinion that the health
management studies in the Faculty of Public Health – Sofia is sufficient so that they could achieve realization as
good health managers, and the opposite opinion is shared by 12,1% /23/, while 13,8% /26/ cannot say.
Table 3: Dependency between motivation for professional realization and students’ opinion on that the study
degree is sufficient to achieve realization as good health managers
Are you motivated for professional realization in the Total
managerial area of the healthcare system
I am fully I am sufficiently I am not I cannot
motivated motivated motivated say
Num 28 9 0 0 37
Yes
Do you think that your % 14,8% 4,8% 0,0% 0,0% 19,6%
health management Rather Num 48 51 4 0 103
studies in the Faculty of yes % 25,4% 27,0% 2,1% 0,0% 54,5%
Public Health Medical Num 3 5 0 0 8
No
university – Sofia are % 1,6% 2,6% 0,0% 0,0% 4,2%
sufficient to achieve Rather Num 3 9 1 2 15
realization as a good no % 1,6% 4,8% 0,5% 1,1% 7,9%
health manager? I cannot Num 5 18 1 2 26
say % 2,6% 9,5% 0,5% 1,1% 13,8%
Num 87 92 6 4 189
Total
% 46,0% 48,7% 3,2% 2,1% 100,0%
We searched for correlative dependency between the motivation for professional realization in the managerial
area of the healthcare system and students’ opinion to the degree to which their health management studies
in the Faculty of Public Health Medical University – Sofia are sufficient to achieve realization as good health
managers. The χ² Pearson test showed that there is statistically significant relation between the two studied
indicators - χ 2 = 29,319, р < 0,001. This shows that the students who are motivated towards professional
realization in the managerial area of the healthcare system are of the opinion that their health management
studies in the Faculty of Public Health Medical University-Sofia are sufficient to achieve realization as good
health managers. The data are presented in Table 3.
In order to establish whether the knowledge and skills acquired during the studies in the Faculty of Public
Health are applicable in practice, we asked the next question of the inquiry. The results presented in figure 8
show that around one-third (34,9%) of the inquired were of the opinion that knowledge and skills acquired
during their studies in the Faculty of Public health are fully applicable in their practice, and more than half
(57,7%) of them believe they are somewhat applicable. (Figure 8.)
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Figure 8: Students’ opinion concerning the applicability in practice of the knowledge and skills acquired during
their studies in the Faculty of Public Health
In order to establish what it takes to achieve better studies of students in the master’s programme for health
management we asked question in the inquiry and the results are presented in table 4. The basic suggestion
that is outstanding among the others for improving studies is the need for students to discuss cases of real
practice (77,2%).
Table 4: Suggestions for improving master students’ studies in Public health and health management
Suggestions Number Relative share in %
Discussion on cases from real practice 146 77,2
Personal contact with the lecturer 31 16,4
Making up groups for teamwork of students from the course
34 18
when solving the assigned tasks
Project participation during studies 21 11,1
*The amount of per cent exceeds 100%, since the inquired game more than one answer
CONCLUSION
Based on the presented results we could make the following conclusions:

1. Positive assessment (above 1) on their satisfaction degree from their studies in the Faculty of Public Health
provided 93,2% of the students and the majority of the inquired (66,1%) ranked their preparation level in
the Faculty of Public Health in the Medical University – Sofia first compared to the students from the other
Faculties of Public Health in Bulgaria.
2. The majority of the inquired students (75,3%) were of the opinion that the lectures being tutored
supplement and clarify the subject and provide additional guidelines for preparation, and 43,9% were of
the opinion seminars they visit review practice cases thus creating real notion of their future profession.
3. The majority of the inquired students 74,1% are of the opinion that the health management studies in the
Faculty of Public Health – Sofia is sufficient so that they could achieve realization as good health managers,
and 92,6% are of the opinion that knowledge and skills acquired during their studies in the Faculty of
Public Health are fully applicable in their practice to various degrees.
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4. Almost all inquired students (97,4%) gave positive assessment of the lecturing level in the Faculty for
Public Health, and in order to improve their studies, the students pointed the need of discussing cases
from real practice (77,2%).
The Faculty of Public Health achieves its main mission – creating the new generation of health managers in
Bulgaria that are necessary for the successful organizational change of the national healthcare system and its
effective management.
At the same time, the Faculty of Public Health should create new type of intellectual product: educational
system for people that would like to turn into entrepreneurs and investors in healthcare
REFERENCES
Balkanska, P (2010), Is there deficit of leaders in healthcare – is it surmountable?, Medical management, 2, pp.
39-44 /in Bulgarian/.
January 2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 13, pp. 98-103, www.ijonte.org.
Vodenicharov Ts. (2014), There is no alternative to professional health management, Medical meridians,
magazine for strategic health management, 2 /in Bulgarian/.
2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 15, pp. 112-119, www.ijonte.org.
17, pp. 131-137, www.ijonte.org.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OF MEDICAL SPECIALISTS IN BULGARIA
Assist. Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Mihaylova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Dr. Andrey Kehayov

Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Prof. Dr. Stefan Velikov

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Training of medical professionals through continuous education is essential for ensuring the required quality of
medical services, improving their efficiency and opportunity for professional development, while satisfying the
needs and wishes of patients.
The article examines and analyzes the opinion of medical specialists – physicians and health care professionals
about their available opportunities for training and professional development in the workplace. A survey
involving 135 physicians and 140 health care professionals working in hospitals was carried out during the
period 20.07.2014-20.10.2014. It was analyzed their opinion on the time allowed for education and adaptation
to the workplace, the need for additional training and qualification, and the career and growth prospects in the
unit they work in. Studied was also the opinion of respondents regarding the need of periodic verification of
the knowledge and skills of medical specialists, and the need of evaluation of the level of implementation of
their work.
Keywords: Education, professional career, medical specialists.
INTRODUCTION
Improvement of qualification of medical specialists thanks to continuous education and training is the main
prerequisite for ensuring the necessary quality of the medical activities, improvement of their effectiveness and
opportunity for career growth.
The assurance of suitable terms and conditions for post-graduation qualification makes it possible to harness
the achievements of modern medicine as well as work in optimal psycho-climate. This is the guarantee for
considering professionalism of behalf of the management team of the researched hospitals.
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The objective of this article is to research and analyse the opinion of medical specialists – doctors and
healthcare professionals concerning the opportunities they were provided with for training and professional
development at workplace. In order to achieve the outlined objective, we performed the following tasks:
1. Research of the opinion of medical specialists on the time spent for tuition and adaptation to workplace.
2. Research of doctors and healthcare professionals’ needs of additional training and qualification.
3. Establishment of their perspective for professional career and development within their division.
4. Research of the opinion of respondents on the need of regular checks of their knowledge and skills and
assessment of the level of work performance.
METHODOLOGY
In order to accumulate information we used anonymous inquiry card. We inquired 135 doctors and 140
healthcare professionals that work in healthcare institutions for hospital cares in the city of Sofia in the period
of 20.07.2014-20.10.2014. In view of this elaboration we used broad range of descriptive and analytical
statistical methods. The quantitative analyses were performed with the statistical package of applied
programmes - SPSS 17.0. In view of tabular and graphic processing and presentation we used the products of
MICROSOFT OFFICE.
The performed research covered 135 doctors whose average age was 45,469,85 within the range of 25-78-
year-olds, who work in four Sofia hospitals - MBAL V city hospital, MBAL Tokuda, Hospital of the Ministry of
Interior and UMBAL Aleksandrovska Hospital, in wards for two types of treatment – intensive and conservative,
of whom 81(60%) were men and 54 (40%) were women. The research participants were 140 healthcare
professionals and all of them were women whose average age was 44,4610,28 in the diapason of 23-64-year-
old, who work in the same healthcare institutions.
Every medical specialist needs different period of time to adapt to the new workplace. There are many factors
to this and some of them could be the following: previous experience (is there any and the way in which it will
impact the employee at his or her workplace), how fast he/she grasps things, colleagues’ attitude, who trains
them and how he/she trains them, stress level etc. Our research established that the majority of the inquired
doctors (93,3%) and 87% of the healthcare professionals are of the opinion they were provided with enough
time for training and adaptation to the new workplace, while 6,7% of the doctors and 13% of the healthcare
professionals are of the opinion it is not enough.
The comparative analysis of the four hospitals shows that the highest relative share of the positive answer to
the question “Do you think you were provided with enough time for training and adaptation to the new
workplace?“ were attributed to the inquired healthcare professionals of MBAL V city hospital (96,6%), and the
lowest to MBAL Tokuda (70%). (Table 1.)
Table 1: Comparative analysis of the answers to the question “Do you think you were provided with sufficient
time for training and adaptation to the new workplace?“ among the different hospitals
Hospital of
MBAL V city MBAL UMBAL
Answers Frequency the Ministry
hospital Tokuda Aleksandrovska
of Interior
Number 28 21 32 39
Yes, sufficient
Relative share in % 96,6 70,0 94,1 86,7
Number 1 9 2 6
Insufficient
Number 29 30 34 45
Total
* two of the inquired didn’t give any answers
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Asked on the need of additional training and qualification more than half of the inquiry participants (53% of the
doctors and 56% of the healthcare professionals) are of the opinion they need additional training and
qualification and 26% of the doctors and 22% of the healthcare professionals are of the opinion they do not
need it.
Figure 1: Distribution of respondents in view of their opinion on the need of additional training and
qualification
The comparative analysis of the four hospitals shows that the greatest need of additional training and
qualification is attributable to the inquired healthcare professionals in MBAL Tokuda (76,7%), and the most
prepared ones – from MBAL V city hospital. (Table 2.)
Table 2: Comparative analysis of the healthcare specialists’ answers to the question “Do you think you need
additional training and qualification?” between the different hospitals
Hospital of
of Interior
Number 12 23 21 22
Yes
Number 9 5 4 13
I am not sure
Number 9 2 9 11
No
In view of the next question of the inquiry around two-thirds (64,6%) of the doctors and somewhat above half
(53,6%) of the healthcare professionals are of the opinion that there is perspective for professional career and
growth in the division where they work, around 35,6% of the doctors and 46,4% of the healthcare professionals
shared the opposite opinion concerning this issue. (Figure 2.)
The comparative research of the our hospitals concerning the issue “Is there perspective for professional
career and growth in the division where you work?“ shows that the significantly higher per cent is of those that
answered with “Yes” are the doctor-participants in the research from the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior
(78,1%) and UMBAL Aleksandrovska (77,1%) compared to MBAL V city hospital (42,4%). Significantly highest
relative share (80%) is attributable to those that believe there is no perspective for professional career and
growth in the division where they work are the inquired healthcare professionals of MBAL V city hospital, and
the highest per cent of positive opinion about this issue is attributable to nurses of the Hospital of the Ministry
of Interior – 58,8%.
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Figure 2: Distribution of the respondents in view of the answers to the question “Is there perspective for
professional career and growth in the division where you work?“
This result is evidence for the fact that in the healthcare institutions there is ambitious, innovative and
democratic management style in place. The managers provide the personnel with the opportunity to enrich
their knowledge on regular basis, which inevitably results in improving the quality of the offered healthcare
services and provides the personnel with incentives for artistic and initiative approach.
The assurance of suitable terms and conditions for post-graduation qualification makes it possible to harness
the achievements of modern medicine as well as work in optimal psycho-climate. This is the guarantee for
considering professionalism of behalf of the management team of the researched hospitals.
While being after the common objective – patient’s well-being and organization’s prosperity, they satisfy
personnel’s wish for identifying oneself with the organization and showing imitativeness and autonomy thanks
to the acquired new competencies.
In order to establish the opinion of the inquired concerning the need of regular check of knowledge and skills of
the medical specialists and assessment of the work performance level we asked them the next inquiry
question. According to the results, the opinion of 93,3% of the doctors and 78,6% of the healthcare
professionals is that they need such check, and 6,7% and 21,4% correspondingly are of the opposite opinion.
The comparative presentation of the inquiry results in the case of doctors concerning the issue “According to
you, do you need regular check of knowledge and skills of medical specialists and assessment of the work
performance level?” shows that with significantly higher per cent of the answer “Yes” we reported the Hospital
of Ministry of Interior compared to MBAL V city hospital, and in view of “No” it was MBAL V city hospital
compared to the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior (Table 3.)
Table 3: Comparative analysis of the doctors’ answers to the question “According to you, do you need regular
check of knowledge and skills of medical specialists and assessment of the work performance level?“ of the
different hospitals
Hospital of
of Interior
Number 28 31 32 35
Yes
Number 6 2 0 1
No
Relative share in % 17,6 6,1 0 2,8
Number 34 33 32 36
Total
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The comparative presentation of the results from the inquiry of healthcare professionals in view of this issue
shows that with the significant highest per cent of the answer “Yes” is the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior
(88,2%), and with “No” - MBAL V city hospital (36,7%). (Table 4.)
Table 4: Comparative analysis of answers to the question “According to you, do you need regular check of
knowledge and skills of medical specialists and assessment of the work performance level?“ for the different
hospitals
Hospital of
of Interior
Number 19 26 30 35
Yes
Number 11 4 4 11
No
Asked on the way they assess their performance, the majority of the respondents (73% of the doctors and
74,8% of the healthcare professionals) are of the opinion that their performance satisfies the requirements and
almost one-fourth (24,6% of the doctors and 24,5% of the healthcare professionals) answered with
“Exceptionally good”. (Figure 3.)
Figure 3: Frequency distribution of the answers to the question “How do you assess your performance?”
The comparative analysis of the inquired doctors concerning the answers to the question "How do you assess
your performance?" shows that with statistically significant higher per cent of the answer “Exceptionally good”
are the research participants from UMBAL Aleksandrovska /36,1%/ compared to MBAL V city hospital /15,2%/.
The inquired experts from the researched hospitals do not differ in statistically significant manner in view of
the other answers to this question. (Table 5.)
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Table 5: Comparative analysis of doctors’ answers to the question “How do you assess your performance?“
among the different hospitals
Hospital of
MBAL V
MBAL the UMBAL
Answers Frequency city
Tokuda Ministry of Aleksandrovska
hospital
Interior
Exceeding Number 1 1 1 0
requirements Relative share in % 3,0 3,0 3,1 0
Number 5 8 7 13
Exceptionally good
Satisfies the Number 27 24 24 23
requirements Relative share in % 81,8 72,7 75,0 63,9
Number 33 33 32 36
Total
The comparative analysis of the inquired healthcare professionals in view of the answers to the question “How
do you assess your performance?” shows that the highest per cent (93,3%) with the ones that satisfy the
requirements according to the provided answer is attributable to MBAL V city hospital, and the majority
“Exceptionally good” are believed to be the ones from MBAL Tokuda (36,7%). (Table 6.)
Table 6: Comparative analysis of the answers of healthcare professionals to the question “How do you assess
your performance” of the different hospitals
Hospital of
MBAL V
MBAL the UMBAL
Answers Frequency city
Tokuda Ministry of Aleksandrovska
hospital
Interior
Exceeding Number 0 0 0 1
requirements Relative share in % 0 0 0 2,2
Number 2 11 10 11
Exceptionally good
Satisfies the Number 28 19 24 33
requirements Relative share in % 93,3 63,3 70,6 73,3
Number 30 30 34 45
Total
* no answer was provided by one inquired
The analysis of the results from the answers to the question “Do you have opportunity for innovativeness and
autonomy?“ show that 60,4% of the doctors and 59,1% of the healthcare professionals have such an
opportunity, and negative answers were given by the other 39,6% of the doctors and 40,9% of the healthcare
professionals. The comparative review of the results from the researched hospitals on this issue shows that the
significantly highest per cent (68,8%) of the “Yes” answer is attributable to the inquired medical specialists of
the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and of “No” – MBAL Tokuda and UMBAL Aleksandrovska 46,7%.
CONCLUSION
Based on the presented results we could make the following conclusions:

1. The majority of the respondents (93,3% of the doctors and 87% of the healthcare professionals) are of the
opinion they were provided with enough time for training and adaptation to the new workplace.
2. Around two-thirds (64,6%) of the doctors that participated in the research are of the opinion there is
perspective for professional career and growth in the division where they work, and somewhat above half
(53,6%) of the healthcare professionals are of the opinion that there is no perspective for professional
career and growth.
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3. The need of regular check of knowledge and skills of the medical specialists and the assessment of their
work performance level is necessary according to 93,3% of the doctors and 78,6% of the healthcare
specialists.
4. The provision of opportunity for individuality and autonomy, being an element of medical specialists’
motivation is available in the case of 60,4% of doctors and 59,1% of the healthcare specialists.
REFERENCES
Kehayov, A. (2007). Some aspects of building healthcare capacity in the Republic of Bulgaria in the
circumstances of European Community membership, Health management, 7, 2, pp. 7-10. (in Bulgarian).
Vodenicharova Al., Zlatanova T., Alexandrova M. & Zlatanova – Velikova R., (2015). Role of E-learning in the
January 2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 13, pp. 98-103, www.ijonte.org
Zahov, V (2009). Training and career development – priority area of human resource management. –
Healthcare policy and management, 1, 3, pp. 35 43. (in Bulgarian).
Zlatanova T., Zlatanova – Velikova R. & Vodenicharova Al., (2015). Continuing medical education in Bulgaria –
2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 15, pp. 112-119, www.ijonte.org
17, pp. 131-137, www.ijonte.org
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SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE STUDIED COURSES

IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ECONOMICS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Petrova-Gotova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Prof. Dr. Tihomira Zlatanova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Yaneva

BULGARIA
[email protected]

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Dr. Andrey Kehayov

Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Education is becoming more and more economic determinant of broad public importance. Bulgarian education
should be based on European values and at the same time to build their own model, preserving its national
specificity mastering ways of acquiring information, knowledge, skills, values and attitudes.
“Health Economics”, „Introduction to economic knowledge“ and “Health informatics” are main compulsory
courses studied by specialties “Public Health and Health Management” and “Management of Healthcare” in
the Faculty of Public Health at Medical University of Sofia.
The article presents the results of a survey among students concerning their opinion about the usefulness of
the knowledge and skills acquired by the discipline and how they are applicable to their professional
realization. Also the recommendations given by the students are taken into consideration for improving
learning process.
Keywords: Students, studying, satisfaction.
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INTRODUCTION
The modern processes of globalization in economics and education raise the current issue about quality of
education. The interrelation of economies and societies, the uprising development of information technologies,
the movement of capital that is freer definitely binds the prosperity of each country and individual with
knowledge, technologies and learning capacity.
One of the basic challenges created by globalization is related to restructuring the economy for improving
productivity and competitiveness. The maintenance of high educational and qualification potential of labour
resources is important production growth factor. This is the Bulgarian case in the circumstances of its EU
membership. The high quality of workforce is defined in the European Employment Strategy being the main
factor for improving labour output and business competitiveness. The new economic realities highlight the
qualitative improvement of the educational and training system, the higher education in particular (Gilpin R.,
2003; Vodenicharova Al., 2015).
The process of acquiring particular educational and professional preparation could be defined as mechanism
for turning the labour resource into production factor. I.e. the quality of labour resources depends on
knowledge and skills, education and professional qualification and the efforts made for their acquisition. The
basic factor for improving labour output and incomes of workers and employees are the investments in
creating human capital. The time and funds invested for acquiring higher education are investments in human
capital.
Education is turning into ever increasing economic determinant of great public significance. Bulgarian
education should be developed onto European values and at the same time it should construct its own model
while keeping its national identity and assimilating the ways for acquiring information, knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes (Zlatanova T., 2015).
One of the most complicated issues in all countries is about the ways of funding healthcare to achieve highest
public and individual benefit. Each healthcare system operates within the resources it has. The majority of
healthcare institutions work in the circumstances of continuous shortage of funding that necessitates précising
their costs and setting policies for the optimization of their disbursement. In this meaning the subjects “Health
economics”, “Introduction in economic knowledge”, “Financial management in healthcare” and “Health
informatics” whose action perimeter is aimed at analysing and managing financial cash flows, and the decisions
are related to finding capitals and using them, play ever more important role and become more and more
pressing. These are basic mandatory disciplines studied by the speciality “Public health and health
management” and “Management of Healthcare” in the Faculty of Public Health to the Medical University -
Sofia.
Education has economic influence not only on labour markets, but also direct impact on the production process
being the source of new technologies. In the 21st century – the century of information technologies when life is
full of numerous transformations in all social areas, the requirements for realization of human capital naturally
undergo changes. The capacities for critical thinking, teamwork ability, resources management are areas in
which many stakeholders are interested as requirement for successful socialization. In the new situation it is
important for the students to see the applicability of what they study. Educational system should be
transformed and upgraded, highlight shifts from what the lecturer teaches to what and how the student learns
(Peeva K., 2013; www. ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/f1198_en.pdf , 2007).
The purpose of this article is analysing the results of the inquiry among the students in public health concerning
their opinion on the benefit of the acquired knowledge and skills during the studied subjects in the Department
of Health Economics and the degree of their applicability for their professional realization. Additionally, we
considered the recommendations provided by the students of both specialities on improving the learning
process.
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METHODOLOGY
In order to collect primary information we inquired 100 students-bachelors in anonymous manner from the
specialities “Public health and health management” and “Management of health cares” in the Faculty of Public
Health to the Medical University – Sofia in January and February 2016. The quantitative analyses were
performed with the statistical package of applicable programmes – SPSS, and the interpretation manner
reflects the theoretical material adapted to the programme package.
On the grounds of in-depth comprehensive analysis of the opinion expressed by the students of public health
on the quality and their satisfaction from their studies we got the following results:
The average age of the inquired students was 30.52, 42% were full-time students and 58% - part-time. 61%
were sophomores and 31% - freshmen. The distribution of students in view of their majors was the following:
22%
Public health and health

management
Management of
Healthcare
78%
Figure 1: Separation of students according to specialties
Figure 2 shows that the most of the students (80%) had visited between 80-100% of the lectures held in the
Department for Health Economics (Figure 2), and around 95% said they were satisfied with the tutoring quality
concerning the studied subjects.
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Figure 2: Percentage of students visiting lectures by courses studied in the Department of Health Economics
We consider students’ opinion is an important component for the comprehensive assessment of education and
essential human resource for the operations of the healthcare system. In this conection we asked them what
they liked about learning the abovementioned subjects and what could be improved according to them. Most
of the students were satisfied with the practical direction of subjects and the fact that learning includes
materials from various areas, namely from the area of the general economic science and its implementation in
healthcare, hospital management, financial management in healthcare, information systems in healthcare etc.
This way they will be prepared as specialists for broad range of realizations and this will help them adapt in
easier and faster manner to the changing social, economic and health environment and to the development of
market economy and labour market.
Another reason because of which the inquired students like learning the subjects led by Health Economics
Department for the well-structured and tutored in understandable manner material. Half of the inquired were
of the opinion that individual work assigned by the lecturers is sufficient, with high relative share of those that
hesitated and could not say (30%). Nevertheless 18% of the students believed that more individual work had to
be assigned and greater activity was to be required from the students (Figure 3). In view of improving the
learning process they recommended arranging more practical classes to assimilate the material easily.
Number 40 36
35
30
25
20 15 15 15
15 full-time students
8
10 6 part-time students
3
5 1
0
yes no can't decide more
individual
work
Figure 3: Opinion of students regarding the amount of individual work
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The necessity continuous learning throughout the semester for getting good grades is evidenced by the results
on the next figure. A part of 90% of the students were on the opinion that it was not enough to study only
before the exam.
60,0
% 60,0
50,0
40,0
30,0
30,0
20,0
6,0
10,0 2,0
1,0
,0
yes rather yes rather no no can't decide
Figure 4: Percentage of students thinking that for having better marks is not enough to learn just before exam
The great interest on behalf of the students is also manifested by the fact that more than half of all students
would like to get additional knowledge, in addition to the material included in the curriculum of the studied
subject – mainly as additional literature concerning the studied issues that would promote their better
professional achievements in the future. As you could see, acquiring additional knowledge is the wish of most
part-time students, which is probably due to the fact that most of them work and they need these skills and
knowledge in their daily life.
12
can't decide 9
5
no 6
6
rather no 9
part-time students
16
rather yes fill-time students
9
19
yes 8
0 5 10 15 20
Number
Figure 5: Relative share of students seeking to obtain additional knowledge in studied subjects
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CONCLUSION
In modern Bulgaria the assurance of quality education for the health managers at all levels is a key factor for
the development and effective operations of the healthcare system, for achieving high level of healthcare for
our population. That is why European criteria for quality education should be implemented to ensure the
process of adequate assessment with follow-up assurance, maintenance and improvement of quality in higher
degrees of education for public health and health management (Iliev Ts., 2009).
In order to get effective higher educational system we should synchronize the market needs for labour
resources and the higher educational system development, i.e. synchronization of curricula with the labour
market needs. This way we will prepare employees in conformity with the need of improving competitiveness
of European economy.
Seen the results from the performed inquiry we concluded that in general students are satisfied with the
subjects being studied in the Department for Health Economics since they acquire important knowledge and
skills that result directly in optimizing healthcare management. This in turn promotes their development as
health politicians, managers and specialists of high managerial competencies and knowledge mainly related to
market principles of healthcare functioning; the modern methods of industry structures’ management;
regulations that provide for the relations between the components of the healthcare system; coping with the
conflicts present within the industry etc.
REFERENCES
Gilpin R., (2003), Global political economy, „Damian Ykov“, S., pp. 446.
Iliev Ts., (2009), The Higher education in Bulgaria and economic determinants of the XXI century, „Dialog“, 2.
Peeva K., (2013), Quality of medical education /student expectations and estimates/, publ. house „Тhracian
University“, Stara Zagora, http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/docs/2015/monitor2015-bulgaria_bg.pdf.
ЕC (2007), Studies on reforms in higher education,

http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/f1198_en.pdf.
January 2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 13ISSN 1309-6249, Publish at www.ijonte.org, pp. 98-103.
2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 15 ISSN 1309-6249,Publish at www.ijonte.org, pp. 112-119.
17. Publish at www.ijonte.org, 131-137.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION ON BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION FOR HEALTHCARE

PROFESSIONALS IN MEDICIAL UNIVERSITY- SOFIA
Assist. Prof. Dr. Radka Goranova- Spasova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Prof. Dr. A. Vodenicharova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Dr. Andrey Kehayov

Sofia- BULGARIA
[email protected]

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Continuing education of health care professionals is essential for good clinical practice. Because of the
accelerated development of medical science and technologies, physicians, nurses and other health
professionals must maintain and improve their knowledge and skills throughout their careers. There is a large
volume of evidence on health benefits of breastfeeding for mother’s and child’s health, but global
recommendations of WHO and UNICEF in reference to infant and young child nutrition are not implemented
and breastfeeding rates in Bulgaria remain low. Traditional practices for our country are early cessation of
exclusive breastfeeding, early introduction of water, juices, formula and solid foods. The World Health
Organization (WHO) and UNICEF in numerous documents emphasize the need for well-trained health
professionals to lead the movement of breastfeeding promotion. The following study explores health care
professionals’ attitudes towards continuing education on best breastfeeding practices and proposes a training
course for continuing education.
Keywords: Breastfeeding promotion, continuing education, health professionals.
INTRODUCTION
Exclusive breastfeeding has great protective role in relation to infant mortality and severe morbidity in
developing countries. In developed countries and countries in transition, the importance of breastfeeding in
relation to public health is often underestimated (Freeman, van't Hof & Haschke, 2000).
Benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding may be considered in several directions: 1/ infant health outcomes;
2/ maternal health outcomes; 3/ economic and environmental outcomes of breastfeeding.
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Health benefits of breastfeeding for the infant are reduced risk of atopic dermatitis, asthma, otitis media,
gastroenteritis, diarrhea, severe lower respiratory tract infections, obesity, type 1 diabetes (if never breastfed),
type 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
(Horta & Victora, 2013; Ip et al., 2007). Breastfeeding reduces the risk of high blood pressure and high serum
cholesterol in adulthood (Horta & Victora, 2013; Ip et al., 2007).
Table 1: Health benefits of breastfeeding for the infant (Ip et al., 2007)
Condition % less in breastfed
Acute otitis media (exclusive breastfed 3-6 mos.) 50%
Atopic dermatitis (exclusive breastfed 3 mos.) 42%
Gastro-intestinal infection (infants breastfeeding) 64%
Lower respiratory tract diseases 72%
Asthma (in young children) – no family history, family history 27%, 40%
Obesity 4, 7, 24%
Type I diabetes 19, 27%
Type 2 diabetes 39%
Childhood leukemia 15, 19%
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 36%
Necrotizing enterocolitis 4-82%
Health outcomes for breastfeeding women include less postpartum bleeding and more rapid uterine
involution, increased child spacing, more rapid return to prepregnancy weight (Kac, Benicio, Velasquez-
Melendez, Valente & Struchiner, 2004), reduced risk of postpartum depression (Dennis & McQueen, 2009),
lower risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer (Ip et al., 2007; Marcus et al., 1999; Stuebe, Willett, Xue & Michels,
2009) and ovarian cancer (Danforth et al., 2007; Rosenblatt & Thomas, 1993), reduced risk of hip fractures after
menopause (Schnatz, Barker, Marakovits & O’Sullivan, 2010).
Table 2: Health benefits of breastfeeding for the mother (Ip et al., 2007)
Condition % less in
breastfeeding
Maternal Type II Diabetes (reduction in risk per year of lactation) 4, 12%
Postpartum depression association
Breast cancer (reduction per year of lactation) 4.3, 28%
Ovarian cancer 21%
Benefits of breastfeeding for the family and community include decreased absence from the workplace due to
decreased family illness, lower expenditures for food and health care, reduced use of fuels, pharmaceuticals,
plastic and waste related to dairy industry.
In accordance with the evidence of breastfeeding outcomes, The World Health Organization (WHO) and
UNICEF jointly developed the Global Strategy of Infant and Young Child Feeding (WHO, 2003), in which
document they postulated three global recommendations in reference to breastfeeding practices: 1/ early
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initiation of breastfeeding (within the first hour after delivery); 2/ exclusive breastfeeding for the first six
months of life; 3/ continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond (WHO, 2001).
In order to make recommendations apply universally, the WHO identifies several priority areas, which include
training of medical professionals on breastfeeding. In accordance with the principles of the Global Strategy of
Infant and Young Child Feeding, health care professionals must have basic knowledge to carry out
breastfeeding promotion and support.
Knowledge of healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding is considered the most important factor that
determines supporting attitude (Bernaix L., 2000; Register, Eren, Lowdermilk, Hammond & Tully, 2000).
Numerous quantitative studies on the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals have been conducted
and they found differences between researched professional groups (Brodribb, Fallon, Jackson & Hegney,
2009). A survey conducted in Australia found deficient in knowledge of midwives. Their knowledge of
immunological role of breast milk, techniques to maintain lactation and the diagnosis and treatment of abscess
of the breast during lactation, proved to be unsatisfactory (Cantrill, Creedy & Cooke, 2003).
Barriers to health professionals to support breastfeeding are also subject of research. These include lack of
training (Brodribb, Jackson, Fallon & Hegney, 2007; Smale, Renfrew, Marshall & Spiby, 2006), lack of personal
experience in breastfeeding (Brodribb, Jackson, Fallon & Hegney, 2007), unsufficient professional experience
and lack of time.
Healthcare professionals, thanks to their professional authority in the society can play a key role in mother’s
decision-making to breastfeed exclusively or use infant formula. Instead of supporting breastfeeding, health
professionals cannot establish best nutritional practices, because of lack of appropriate knowledge and skills. In
Bulgaria functions National Association "Support for Breastfeeding," which annually carries out continuing
education courses to medical professionals for breastfeeding counselors.
Issues related to infant nutrition are discussed fragmentally in core curriculum of physicians, nurses, midwives
and other healthcare professionals in our country. In other countries breastfeeding training for health
professionals has been described as "inadequate" and "fragmented" (Smale, Renfrew, Marshall & Spiby, 2006).
The importance of such training is great because it is proven to improve knowledge and attitudes towards
breastfeeding (Cattaneo & Buzzetti, 2001; Ingram, Rosser & Jackson, 2005).
Training methods involve practices based on Breastfeeding Management Course, launched by WHO and
UNICEF in 1993 in support of Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), multimedia programs (Kronborg, Vaeth,
Olsen & Harder, 2008) and self learning. In 2009, WHO and UNICEF revised, updated and expanded the 18-
hours Breastfeeding Management Course to 20 hours, of which at least 4.5 hours should be dedicated to
clinical practice (WHO & UNICEF, 2009). Practical oriented training improves attitudes of health professionals
towards breastfeeding (Ekstrom, Widstrom & Nissen, 2005).
According to a study in small rural hospital in Canada, a training session for 1.5 hours, held on nursing staff,
resulted in a significant increase of exclusive breastfeeding and the effectiveness of BFHI. The aim of the
training was to increase levels of exclusive breastfeeding, create positive attitude among medical personnel
and therefore improve cooperation with the BFHI. After seven months the assessment revealed that exclusive
breastfeeding increased by 23% (from 31% to 54%) and fewer nurses have offered to mothers supplement of
infant formula (45% vs. 87% before training) (Martens, 2000). Another survey was conducted to baccalaureate
nursing students at a major university in Hong Kong. It examined the effectiveness of a breastfeeding
educational intervention. The studied group of 111 people received 10 hours of didactic instruction and eight
week perinatal clinical rotation, while the control group of 162 student did not receive additional training. In
the studied group was observed better understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies.
The authors concluded that strategies to promote breastfeeding are often overlooked in curricula on
professional level (Dodgson & Tarrant, 2007).
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AIM AND METHOD
The aim of this study is to assess training of health professionals on breastfeeding promotion, to examine their
demand for additional and continuing education on this issue and to propose a model of a thematic course to
improve knowledge and attitude of health professionals towards breastfeeding.
A descriptive survey design was used. The study was conducted in maternal hospitals in Sofia and in Medical
University of Sofia between April and October 2013. A self-made questionnaire was developed. Midwives,
primary care nurses, pediatric nurses and midwifery and nursing students in clinical practice who interact with
women antenatally, during childbirth or in the immediate postnatal period were invited to participate. A total
of 165 questionnaires were returned.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Demographic characteristics of medical professionals who participated in the survey are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents (N= 165)

Characteristic Nurse Midwife
(N=105) (N= 60)
Percentage Percentage
Age (years)
<25 8,6 5,5
26- 30 5,4 4,2
31-35 9,1 7,9
36-40 14,6 9,7
>41 26,2 8,5
Gender
Woman 62 36,4
Man 0,6 0
Professional experience
Practicing healthcare professionals 51,5 26,1
Graduating students 12,1 10,3
Personal breastfeeding experience
Without any 38,7 61,2
<6 months 30,1 18,5
>6 months 31,2 20,3
Main sources of information on breastfeeding

Personal experience with breastfeeding was associated with a greater confidence of health professionals in
their knowledge (DiGirolamo, Grummer-Strawn & Fein, 2003). Many of the respondents cited personal
experience as the best source of information on breastfeeding (Fig.1). Only one respondent (intern midwife)
use breastfeeding consultant as source of information.
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Figure 1: “Which sources of information on breastfeeding do you use?”
79.4% of the respondents indicate agreement with the statement that training on breastfeeding is necessary in
the core curriculum, 15.2% remain neutral (Fig.2). Considerable proportion of intern nurses and intern
2
midwives agree strongly and agree with the statement and the dependence is statistically significant (χ =
10,949, р= 0,012).
60
51,5
50
40
30 27,9
20 15,2
10
3,6
0,6
0
Strong agreement Agreement Neutral Disagreement Strong
disagreement
Figure 2: “Do you agree that training on breastfeeding is necessary in the core curriculum?”
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1,20%
13,30%
85,50%
Yes No Missing in the system
Figure 3: “Have you attended any training on breastfeeding?”
Fast development of all areas of science and practice makes continuing education a fundamental necessity for
any health program or service that wants to maintain high professional standards (Velikov & Ivanov, 2012;
Zlatanova – Velikova, Velikov & Vodenicharova, 2015). This applies to issues of breastfeeding promotion as
well. No matter how routine the process breastfeeding looks, many authors found that it is a learned behavior
and women need practical support and guidance to maintain lactation. Only 13,3% of respondents have
participated in additional training on breastfeeding mainly in health institutions in which they work (Fig. 3) and
66,1% would like to participate in a course for continuing education (Fig. 4). Highest percentage of respondents
midwives are willing to participate in continuing education course on this topic (82,5%). Most of the
participants prefer skill based workshop with a mentor (36,4%) versus self- study training with provided
materials (24,2%) and internet- based training (14.5%) (Fig. 5).
120,00%
100,00%
80,00%
60,00%
40,00%
20,00%
0,00%
Nurse Midwife Nurse student Midwife student
Yes No
Figure 4: “Would you like to attend training on breastfeeding promotion? “
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Preferred forms of additional education are: individual training, internet- based training, skill based workshop.
Respondents are invited to express their preference for a form of additional training, but no one indicates
other.
0%
24,20%
36,40%
14,50%
Self study training pack Internet-based training Skill based workshop Other
Figure 5: “What kind of training on breastfeeding do you prefer?”
Global recommendations on breastfeeding and the results of our own study of health professionals’ knowledge
and attitudes regarding these recommendations, give reason to develop one-day thematic course for
continuing education of nurses, midwives and other health professionals in Public Health Faculties in the
country.
Training course development and implementation

The thematic course that we developped focuses on actual global recommendations in relation with the
protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding, that are aimed to improve public health, particularly
maternal and child health. We believe that complementing knowledge on this topic contributes to
development of a better attitude and commitment of health professionals in breastfeeding promotion and
contributes to professional improvement of medical personnel in accordance with European directives.
1. Target audience
The training is aimed at midwives, nurses and other health professionals who want improve and update
their knowledge on global recommendations regarding breastfeeding.
2. Aim of the course and course objectives
The purpose of the thematic course is to improve health professionals’ knowledge and attitudes towards
breastfeeding. Professional objectives set out in the course are:
1) Health professionals to be aware of the benefits of breastfeeding for maternal and child’s health;
2) Best practices on breastfeeding to be presented in accordance with national and international
recommendations;
3) Scientific evidence on benefits of exclusive and continued breastfeeding to be presented;
4) The role of public support for breastfeeding to be disscused.
3. Time and place organization
Course is held in the form of workshop of 6 academic hours within a business day. Participation in the
workshop may take up to 10 students from specialties "Nurse" and "Midwife and other healthcare
professionals interested in the topic.
3. Lecture topics
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1) Composition of breast milk;

2) Health benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding for the child and the mother;
3) Economic and environmental benefits of breastfeeding;
4) Contraindications for breastfeeding;
5) Recommendations regarding breastfeeding (global recommendations of WHO and UNICEF, directives of EU
on breastfeeding promotion, National action plan “Food and nutrition” 2011-2016);
6) Role of social support groups for breastfeeding.
CONCLUSION
Global recommendations of WHO and UNICEF in reference to infant and young child nutrition are not
implemented and breastfeeding rates in Bulgaria remain low. Traditional practices for our country are early
cessation of exclusive breastfeeding, early introduction of water, juices, formula and solid foods. Although still
neglected as a resource of public health, the role of breastfeeding for the improvement of child’s and maternal
health is scientifically proven. One of the steps in the document of WHO/UNICEF „Ten Steps to Successful
Breastfeeding“ from the BFHI is: Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement breastfeeding policy.
It is of great importance both updating core curriculum and the establishment of courses for continuing
education to improve the competence of already practicing health professionals.
REFERENCES
Bernaix L. W. (2000, August). Nurses' attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral intentions toward support of
breastfeeding mothers. J Hum Lact 16, 201-209.
Brodribb W. E., Jackson C., Fallon A. B. & Hegney D. (2007, April). Breastfeeding and the responsibilities of GPs:
a qualitative study of general practice registrars. Aust Fam Physician 36, 283-285.
Brodribb W. E., Jackson C., Fallon A. B. & Hegney D. (2007, July 20). Gender and personal breastfeeding
experience of rural GP registrars in Australia--a qualitative study of their effect on breastfeeding attitudes and
knowledge. Rural Remote Health 7, 737.
Brodribb W. E., Fallon A. B., Jackson C. & Hegney D. (2009, January-February). Breastfeeding knowledge - the
experiences of Australian general practice registrars. Aust Fam Physician 38, 26-29.
Cantrill R. M., Creedy D. K. & Cooke M. (2003, December). An Australian study of midwives'breast-feeding
knowledge. Midwifery. 19(4):310-7.
Cattaneo A. & Buzzetti R.(2001, December 8). Effect on rates of breast feeding of training for the baby friendly
hospital initiative. BMJ 323, 1358-1362.
Danforth K. N., Tworoger S. S., Hecht J. L., Rosner B. A., Colditz G. A. & Hankinson S.E. (2007, April 21).
Breastfeeding and risk of ovarian cancer in two prospective cohorts. Cancer Causes Control 18, 517-523.
Dennis C. L. & McQueen K. (2009, April). The relationship between infant-feeding outcomes and postpartum
depression: a qualitative systematic review. Pediatrics 123, e736-751.
DiGirolamo A.M., Grummer-Strawn L. M. & Fein S. B. (2003, June). Do perceived attitudes of physicians and
hospital staff affect breastfeeding decisions? Birth 30, 94-100.
Dodgson J. E. & Tarrant M. (2007, January 25). Outcomes of a breastfeeding educational intervention for
baccalaureate nursing students. Nurse Educ Today. 27 (8): 856- 67.
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Ekstrom A., Widstrom A. M. & Nissen E. (2005, December). Process-oriented training in breastfeeding alters
attitudes to breastfeeding in health professionals. Scand J Public Health 33, 424-431.
Freeman V., van't Hof M. & Haschke F. (2000, February). Patterns of milk and food intake in infants from birth
to age 36 months: the Euro-growth study. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 31 Suppl 1, S76-85.
Horta B. L. & Victora C.G. (2013). Long-term effetcs of breastfeeding: a systematic review. Geneva: WHO.
Ingram J., Rosser J. & Jackson D. (2005, April). Breastfeeding peer supporters and a community support group:
evaluating their effectiveness. Matern Child Nutr 1, 111-118.
Ip S., Chung M., Raman G., Chew P., Magula N., DeVine D., Trikalinos T. & Lau J. (2007, April). Breastfeeding and
Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries. Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) 153, 1-186.
Kac G., Benicio M.H., Velasquez-Melendez G., Valente J.G. & Struchiner C.J. (2004, March). Breastfeeding and
postpartum weight retention in a cohort of Brazilian women. Am J Clin Nutr 79, 487-493.
Kronborg H., Vaeth M., Olsen J. & Harder I. (2008, June). Health visitors and breastfeeding support: influence of
knowledge and self-efficacy. Eur J Public Health 18, 283-288.
Marcus P. M., Baird D. D., Millikan R. C., Moorman P. G., Qaqish B. & Newman B. (1999, August). Adolescent
reproductive events and subsequent breast cancer risk. Am J Public Health 89, 1244-1247.
Martens P. S. (2000, November). Does breastfeeding education affect nursing staff beliefs, exclusive
breastfeeding rates and BFHI compliance? The experience of a small rural Canadian hospital, J Hum Lact, 16(4);
309- 318.
Register N., Eren M., Lowdermilk D., Hammond R. & Tully M. R. (2000, August). Knowledge and attitudes of
pediatric office nursing staff about breastfeeding. J Hum Lact 16, 210-215.
Rosenblatt K. A. & Thomas D. B. (1993, April). Lactation and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. The WHO
Collaborative Study of Neoplasia and Steroid Contraceptives. Int J Epidemiol 22, 192-197.
Schnatz P. F., Barker K. G., Marakovits K. A. & O’Sullivan D. M. (2010, November- December). Effects of age at
first pregnancy and breast-feeding on the development of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Menopause;17(6):1161-6.
Smale M., Renfrew M. J., Marshall J. L. & Spiby H. (2006, April). Turning policy into practice: more difficult than
it seems. The case of breastfeeding education. Matern Child Nutr 2, 103-113.
Stuebe A. M., Willett W. C., Xue F. & Michels K. B. (2009, August). Lactation and incidence of premenopausal
breast cancer: a longitudinal study. Arch Intern Med 169, 1364-1371.
Velikov St. & Ivanov L. (2012). Role and place of continuous training in contemporary education, Journal of
International Scientific Publication: Economy & Business, Volume 6, Part 3, Publish at
http:/www.science.journals.eu, 376-381.
WHO (2001). The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Report of an expert Consultation. Geneva,
Switzerland.
WHO (2003). Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Geneva: WHO.
WHO & UNICEF (2009). Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: Revised, Updated and Expanded for Integrated Care.
Geneva, Switzerland.
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17. Publish at www.ijonte.org, 131-137.
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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROCESS THROUGH THE EYES OF STUDENTS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Yaneva

BULGARIA
[email protected]

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tsvetelina Petrova-Gotova

BULGARIA
[email protected]

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Assist. Maria Lazarova

BULGARIA
[email protected]
Abstract
Improving the quality of higher education is essential for establishment and formation of a new generation of
health managers who are able to cope with the challenges of modernizing society.
The study aims to investigate the views of students on the quality of education in subjects taught in the
Department of Health Economics.
Material and Methods: The study includes 100 students from the Faculty of Public Health at the Medical
University - Sofia of Bachelor degree on specialties "Public Health and Health Management" and "Management
of health care."
An anonymous questionnaire method containing 19 closed and open questions is applied. Allegations suggest a
few answers that are analyzed and compared. In this communication we present only a part of the study.
The evaluation of the answers to questionnaires shows the positive attitude of the higher proportion of
students regarding the quality of education in the concerned disciplines.
Keywords: Quality, learning process, students from the Faculty of Public Health, Department of Health
Economics.
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INTRODUCTION
“Improvement of education quality is the command of time“ (Popov, 2006). What are the specialists to be
trained and educated, to what degree they would be capable of satisfying the new requirements and
challenges is not just a matter of personal responsibility and capabilities, but it is priority and strategy of the
government related to the development of the entire society and people’s well-being.
The European Union keeps at high esteem the educational system and training and is after the ambitious goal
of turning into “the most dynamic and competitive economy that is knowledge-based and is capable of
maintaining economic growth with more and better workplaces, as well as better social cohesion” according to
the Lisbon Strategy. In order to achieve this objective from the beginning of the new century is the consent we
arrived to on the need of significant refurbishment of European systems for education and training.
The strategy that was passed in 2000 during the Lisbon meeting on the EU economic growth raised new
requirements towards the member-states, one of them being about “innovations and knowledge turning into
Europe’s beating heart” (Economic Development Centre - EDC, 2005: 13). This way we will prepare personnel in
conformity with the need for improving competitiveness of the European economy. The abovementioned
priority found its significant development in Strategy “EU 2020”.
In addition to the higher education system in general, the knowledge economy defines certain requirements
towards the subjects of higher education. The need of updating the patterns and quality of tutoring and
learning in the area of higher education defines certain requirements towards the lecturers. The global changes
in European and global economic space require from the lecturers to be more than just lecturers that define
the terms, conditions and methods of training. Instead, they are supposed to introduce more progressively the
teamwork training pattern where students learn and work together and the lecturer plays the role of
consultant.
Reforms in the system of the Bulgarian higher education take place in the political context of the reforms going
on in the European community for higher education. European criteria are being introduced for modernizing
higher education in order to ensure the quality of the offered studies. The Ministry of education and science in
turn developed several documents related to the tasks of Bulgaria in terms of the strategy “Europe 2020” and
the development of the higher education system. The basic programme in this view is the “Programme for
development of education, science and youth policies in the Republic of Bulgaria (2009 – 2013)”. The
programme is directly bound with the understanding of the need of creating economy in the country that is
knowledge-based and contains five strategic priority directions, one of them being: Achievement of European
quality of education. This direction contains 18 different measures for improving quality and current nature of
the educational system in our country. In the area of higher education we have two European programmes
being administered by the Ministry of Education and Science – axis 3 of Operational programme “Human
resources development” and “Erasmus”.
In 2010 we created for the first time in our country rating system of institutions of higher education under
operational programme “Human resources development” with which suitable environment was created for
activating the processes related to achieving the strategic objective – modernization of higher education with
the creation of prerequisites for real competition between institutions of higher education. This system was
created by numerous experts of the Ministry of Education and Science, users of educational services,
personnel, various specialists of the broadest range, from nongovernment organizations. The national strategic
objectives and priorities in line with the European ones provide the guidelines for elaborating and updating the
academic plans and curricula. The expected effect from the undertaken reforms is related to: improved quality
of education while placing institutions of higher education in real competitive environment at national as well
as international level; incentives for the professional motivation of the academic personnel; improvement of
the funding model of the institutions of higher education; improvement of capacities for utilizing funding from
the European Structural Funds. It is well-known that in the most developed countries worldwide education and
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science have always been in the centre of attention of governments and they remain strategic priority. These
have been the subject of constant search and investments of high return.
Success and quality of learning activity

“Quality management in its capacity of philosophy, technology and adequate manner of managing recourse
turns into string concept of focusing one’s attention on the continuous development and improvement of
particular organization. Quality is dynamic matter that functions in the conditions of continuous challenges and
has the ability to undergo development and changes all the time” (Chaneva, 2008). The personality of lecturer,
his/her scientific, methodological and pedagogic preparation, psychological sustainability and suitability are
decisive for the lecturing quality. He/she holds in his/her hands the successful development of students.
Lecturer’s task is not only to “share” the scientific facts he/she knows with his/her trainees. He/she should
attract them, recruit them for the scientific work. He or she should direct his/her efforts towards the formation
of flexible thinking, development of skills for individual acquisition and application of knowledge, development
of capacities for adaptation to the rapidly changing conditions of the environment. The success of the learning
activity depends on numerous factors, both objective and subjective referring to trainees and trainer. The right
choice of training and education for the particular profession that is in line with the personal features, needs
and capacities, largely guarantees the educational success. Nevertheless this does not exclude the opportunity,
interest and positive attitude to arise during the very process of the learning activity. Great role in such cases is
played by lecturers. Gyurova (1998) in the Art of loving adults defines the lecturer as “basic mechanism,
motivating factor”.
The role of individual-subjective factor significantly increased. Throughout the learning process it is already
necessary for the student to be equal-footed active party, moving force in his or her own development and
education. This is to be achieved significantly with the presence of positive motivation towards learning and
the readiness to participate in the learning process via his/her active own learning activity. Popov (2006) in the
“Student as subject of learning” notes that attitude towards learning, in addition to conscious, has some
unconscious components. It is directly related to the readiness for activity, with interest and affiliations. The
essence of the learning process is bilateral. Both parties, the participants in education – the lecturer with
his/her style, methods and tutoring contents and the students with their way of learning and capacities are the
prerequisite for the result of the learning process. Studies are based on the “attitude towards it, whose
psychologic expressions are the activity motives... This is the first and structure-forming component of the
complex and dynamic system – assimilation of the learning material”, according to L. Desev (1993) in
“Psychology of learning process”.
In order to accelerate its economic progress, every country needs institutions that guarantee and multiply this
process. This is especially the case when it comes to the institutions in charge of creating and enriching
knowledge being the most important production resource of the present epoch. This is in effect for the higher
education system. The changes in educational system result in changes of the professional-qualification
structure of human resources. The maintenance of high educational and qualification potential of labour
resources is important growth factor for the production. The improved quality of the products being
manufactured is function of using labour resources of better education and qualification. Basic factor for
increasing labour output and incomes of workers/employees is the investment in creating human capital.
Accumulation of knowledge and skills during the educational-qualification and professional process creates
human capital. Time and funds invested for acquiring better education are investments in human capital
(Frantz, 1996).
Studies in the area of public health should be focused on clearly defined competitive advantages. We should
focus on market direction of education. In modern times the opportunities for cooperation between the
institutions of higher education and the business are versatile – holding scientific researches of applied
character, continued training of employees, joint elaboration of curricula, provision of prerequisites for
effective practical learning etc.
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Faculty of Public Health to the Medical University in Sofia

Education is powerful factor for preparing specialists that will work in all areas of life, including in the area of
public health. In this area responsibility for the public operations is even greater, because the work of each and
every specialist is related to keeping patient’s health, treating the patient, maintaining livelihood of population
and health promotion. It is well-known that education in the healthcare area has its traditions and indisputable
achievements. The Faculty of Public Health has been operating for already 20 years to the Medical University in
Sofia, which achieves great success in the area of educating healthcare specialists, public health specialists and
health management specialists (Popov, 2006).
The Faculty of Public Health is among the four faculties in the structure of the Medical University, Sofia – the
oldest and most reputable academic organization in the field of medicine and healthcare in the Republic of
Bulgaria. It was founded with the support of the Stability and Growth Pact and in partnership with leading
institutions in the countries of the European Union and the WHO in 2001 with Decree of the Council of
th
Ministers №160 dated the 20 of June with the transformation of the Faculty “Nurse education” that was
created in 1995. During the preparatory period dating back to the beginning of the 90-ies of the XX century,
teams for technical assistance from the EU actively participated, projects were implemented under the PHARE
programme related to changes in the semi-higher medical education of the majors nurse, obstetrician etc. and
creation of higher education for managerial personnel. Globally, these processes cooperate for the preparation
and implementation of the reform in the healthcare system in the Republic of Bulgaria, and in particular in the
system for preparing new type of medical professionals that would approach the general European
requirements and standards in conformity with the particular parameters: - educational degree, competency,
qualification and professionalism in the area of public health. All these are determined among the main
priorities of the faculty of Public Health (Aleksandrova, 2007).
In the healthcare system of our country the Faculty of Public Health and the particular departments undertake
tasks of great public-social significance of priority significance in the circumstances of the healthcare reform
and in healthcare, and broadly speaking for the rearrangement of public and social life. The mission of the
Faculty of Public Health is enriched and versatile at present. It includes: “Firstly – creation and development of
modern healthcare policy that is evidence-based. Secondly – creation and development of healthcare business
oriented towards health needs of population. Thirdly – health management that is to turn into powerful
instrument for the implementation of modern health policy. The Faculty of Public Health needs: 1) Accelerated
leadership development. 2) Creation of inspired entrepreneurs with flair for innovations and other quality level
of healthcare governance in its capacity of self-organizing system“, according to Vodenicharov (2016, January)
in magazine “Health policy and management”, №1.
The Faculties of Public Health are new reality, new concept and practice in the activity of the medical
universities. They signalled the cardinal change in medical science and education. We keep continuously
expanding the opportunities for specialists in the area of public health and health management. They
participate in networks and programmes at national and international level for exchange of experience and
knowledge on current healthcare issues, for integration of efforts aimed at sustainable development of
healthcare systems and improvement of public health. The development of the knowledge base that is
necessary for the scientific research and activities, as well as good professional qualification in public health, in
the new century require width and depth of problems. One of the most important prerequisites for European
public health is the academic and professional appearance of new specialists (Petrova-Gotova, 2011).
According to S. Popova (2004) in “Social-ethical dimensions of health management”, “public health is perceived
as the structures and processes with which the health of population is being studies, maintained and promoted
with the organizational efforts made by society”. Public health, according to the same author, has “key role in
the realization of the perspective idea of sustainable development of medicine”. The benefit from public health
could be seen in the future and at present.
Public health is among the professional directions where lowest unemployment rate was registered. Almost all
students that got education in this direction managed to achieve good realization. The problem about the
quality of education in the area of public health and healthcare is pending in the context of the reforms going
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on in the healthcare area. The new realities and needs in the circumstances of the healthcare reform
necessitate the achievement of quality that is adequate to the continuously increasing requirements on behalf
of consumers towards these specialists.
Relevance of studies in “Health economics”

“Health economics” is one of the basic mandatory subjects in the Faculty of Public Health to the Medical
University – Sofia. The need for higher medical and paramedical experts to study health economics is expressed
in the following theses:
1. With the implementation of market mechanisms in the public-economic life of Bulgaria total economisation
is achieved. The use of adequate terminology, as well as certain knowledge in economics make it possible to
the knowledgeable person to participate more actively in the public and economic life.
2. In the circumstances of shortage of material resources and financial means and the calling for economies
and effectiveness that come from all sides, making each and every managerial decision at all healthcare levels
requires in-depth economic analysis and well-reasoned economic decisions.
3. The healthcare development as complex uniform system is not possible without the preparation of strategic
and operational plans that are being elaborated, executed, controlled and assessed according to uniform
technologies. These technologies should be known and used by the medical and paramedical experts. In the
circumstances of social-market economy the elaboration and implementation of effective plans by the
healthcare entities is essential because of the strong competition and the danger of financial resource and poor
management.
4. The processes of implementing uniform strategy for reform in healthcare accompanied by the accreditation
of the healthcare institution, attestation of personnel, binding remuneration with the attestation results, also
require economically directed reasoning (Gladilov & Delcheva, 2009).
Purpuse
The purpose of this research is about studying students’ opinion on the quality of learning process in view of
the subjects being tutored in the Department of Health Economics.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We implemented anonymous inquiry method that contained 19 closed and open questions related to the
process and quality of tutoring in the subjects “Health economics”, “Introduction in economic knowledge”,
“Financial management in healthcare” and “Medical statistics and informatics”. A total of 100 inquired
students participated, of whom: 79 of the major “Public health and health management” and 21 of the major
“Healthcare management”. The statements suggest several answers that were analysed and juxtaposed. In this
announcement we present only part of the whole research. The stages of the performed research correspond
to the assigned tasks: theoretical research of literature sources; collection of factual material from the Faculty
of Public Health in the city of Sofia, and its primary and statistical processing; analysis of the collected material;
summarizing the results and conclusions.
The Higher Education Act in Bulgaria regulates the regular research of students’ opinion being the adequate
mechanism for ensuring quality education in the institutions of higher education. The anonymous group inquiry
that was performed in the academic2015-2016 is part of the systematic research of students’ opinion
concerning the quality of learning process. The detailed data analysis (answers to individual statements)
provide evidence on students’ attitude towards quality of learning process in the subjects being studied in the
Department of Health Economics.
The inquiry card starts with questions thanks to which several demographic data were collected about the
respondents, in view of their gender and age. The gender distribution is the following: in absolute amount and
relative share 12 men and 88 women. The age distribution is the following: the youngest inquired students
were 19-year-old, while the oldest ones were 47. The average age of the students that participated in the
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research was 31. In view of the learning pattern - 41 of the respondents were full-time students and 59 were
part-time. An important part of the performed inquiry research is the analysis of the various aspects of
learning process reviewed through students’ eyes.
Analysis of students’ opinion concerning the learning process

Almost all students, or a total of 96, were of the opinion that while studying the particular subject the lecturer
introduced them to the objectives, contents, literature sources, the learning manner, examinations and grade
formation. One of them disagreed with the statement and one could not tell, according to figure 1. Two
respondents didn’t provide an answer.
Figure 1: While studying the subject the lecturer introduced us to the objectives, contents, literature sources,
study manner, examinations and grade formation related to the subject
The relations between the students and lecturers have great potential for the following:
- increasing students’ motivation;
- discovering talents;
- promoting good students;
- promoting every student in finding the field of his/her specific interest;
- deepening the interest in a specific area of the scientific field.
Figure 2: Lectures and exercises were well-organized
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Figure 2 reflects students’ opinion related to good organization of lectures and exercises. 68% of the students
provided fully positive answer, 26% answered with “rather yes” and 5% gave negative answers. Usually
students are the ones to decide what they “need” and what interests them. If during the studies their high
interest is maintained, they are regular attendees, take active participation in discussions, ask questions.
The majority of the students are satisfied with the learning quality under the studied subjects. Even though the
fully satisfied students – 76 of the respondents are times more than those according to whom there is more to
require when it comes to the quality, we should look for the reasons to further increase the learning quality
(figure 3). The essential factor to the learning quality is the lecturer. He/she should be aware of the work
specifics in the learning division, he/she should be capable of organizing, managing and controlling the studies,
according to the Rules for learning organization in the Medical University. The lecturer him/herself should have
good personal qualities and professional moral which he/she is to suitably tutor. It is essential for the lecturer
to have good pedagogic skills and approach when holding current control of the assimilated knowledge and
skills.
Figure 3:I n general I am satisfied with the quality of the tutored subject
Figure 4: The assessment methods are in conformity with the subject contents
The problem related to control and assessment of knowledge, skills and habits is tightly related to improving
the learning quality. On the grounds of results from the control procedures, corrections could be made in the
activity of lecturer and student, make further pedagogic decisions. In recent years the object of docimology
was curricula and learning methods, as well as the comprehensive activity of lecturers, in order to improve
their quality. 91% of the inquired students were of the opinion that the assessment methods correspond to
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the subject contents tutored in the Department of Health Economics, and only two of them were of the
opposite opinion.
Figure 5: The lecturers motivated the students to study and work actively for their preparation
An issue of great significance is the establishment and improvement of students’ motivation for high learning
results. Many factors contribute for this, among which we could mention – follow-up of students’ satisfaction
from studies, achievement of high effectiveness of their pedagogic interaction, incentives for students to
master knowledge and practical skills. In order to get detailed assessment of learning process quality was
necessary to note the satisfaction level from the following statement: “Lecturers motivated students to study
and work actively for their preparation”. The answers once again showed that the majority of students (or a
total of 82%) were satisfied with the assimilated knowledge, 8 stated negative attitude and 4 could not tell.
Figure 6: While studying the subject I got significant knowledge and skills that would be of use during my
professional realization
The important question is related to the further realization of students that study the majors “Public health and
health management” and “Healthcare management”. The prerequisite is to maintain and expand students’
interest in the particular profession they study. We should point out the knowledge and skills that are
necessary for its successful practicing, they will get while studying the particular subject. In this light the fully
positive answers were provided by 55% of the respondents, “rather yes” was provided by 27%. The students
with negative attitude according to which while studying the subjects they got significant knowledge and skills
that would be of great use during their professional realization were only 5%, and 6% could not say.
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CONCLUSION
The conclusions we could make on the grounds of this presentation are that students’ attitude towards studies
is decisive for their success, emotional wellbeing, and peace of mind. Students are critical towards the
educational work and lecturers. They provided various recommendations. Nevertheless, it is worth saying that
they do not perceive themselves as active subject of studies, as active participant in the learning process and
they look for the reasons behind some misfortunes outside themselves. In order to enhance the interest in
learning activity and students’ initiative during the learning process it is suitable to envision attractive tutoring
methods and active inclusion of students in the learning process thanks to discussions, solving cases,
conversations devoted to various topics, business games etc.
The positive attitude is prerequisite for positive learning results. Attitude towards studies is related to the
comprehensive personality of the individual, with his/her comprehensive attitude towards reality, towards
oneself. It is related to his/her value system, interests and inclinations. The attitude towards studies, in
addition to conscious character, has some unconscious components. It is directly related to readiness for
actions, interests and likes.
The analysis of data from the held research provides the opportunity for elaborating recommendations aimed
at optimizing the learning process in the Faculty of Public Health, improving the quality of professional
preparation and satisfaction from the chosen profession of specialists in the public health area.
Despite the achievements in innovative work of some medical universities, students’ studies in them are
performed in the established manner and tutoring methods. Introduction of new methods and learning
technologies with proven quality and effectiveness in numerous medical universities, is stock for improving the
learning quality in Bulgaria. The successful implementation of innovative didactic technologies is related to
numerous hardships but overcoming them is challenge for every person that devotes his or her efforts to the
profession of lecturer to health professionals.
REFERENCES
Aleksandrova, M. (2007). Modern trends in studies of nurses, Sofia.
Economic Development Centre, 2005. Challenges of Lisbon strategy. Priorities for Bulgaria. Brussels: 13;
http://www.ced.bg/uploads/publication/lisabon.2005.final.pdf
Chakarova, L. & N. Petrova.(2010). Check and assessment of students’ knowledge. Docimology. V: Medical
pedagogy. Manual for students from the Faculties of Public Health, under the scientific guidance and edition of
T. Popov, publishing house EX-PRESS-Gabrovo 151-159.
Chaneva, G. (2008). Quality of nurse cares being the priority, Sofia.
Desev, L. (1993), Psychology of learning process , Publishing house SU – TsIUU, Sofia, p.72.
Frantz, V. (1996), Labour market. Sofia,p. 107.
Gladilov, St. & E. Delcheva.(2009). Health economics, Princeps, Sofia, p.18.
Gyurova, V.(1998). Andragogy, The art of loving adults, publishing house “Universal Drumev”, Sofia, p.16.
Pedagogics. Second part. Theory of learning. Didactics, manual for students of the Faculty of Public Health,
Medical University – Sofia, under the edition of T. N. Popov, (2005) “Typography”, Sofia.
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Petrova-Gotova, Ts. M., Competitiveness of higher education in public health, Collection of reports – Eighth
international scientific-practical conference “Tutoring, studying and quality in higher education - 2011 ”, 17-18
June 2011, Sofia, ISBN 978-954-9432-43-5(CD), pp. 204-211.
Popov, T.(2006), The student being the studies’ subject, publishing house “Vezni”, Sofia, p.7.
Popov, T., Chakarova L., Balkanska P., Yaneva R., Gatev St., Georgiev N. & Dimitrov T.. (2011). Studies of
bachelors in “Healthcare management” in the context of new European educational requirements, in collection
of reports “60 years of Department “Social medicine” Medical University - Plovdiv”, Medical University -
Plovdiv, pp. 25-30.
Popova, S.(2004) Social-ethical dimensions of health management, publishing house “PublishSaiSet –

Eco”,Sofia, p.15, pp.79-80.
Vodenicharov, Ts. (2016). Health policy – coordination of multi-sectoral policy, “Health policy and
management”, №1, pp. 2-3.
Vodenicharova Al., T.Zlatanova, M. Alexandrova, R.Zlatanova – Velikova, Role Of E-Learning In The Faculty Of
Public Health Sofia, International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, January 2015
Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 13 ISSN 1309-6249, Publish at www.ijonte.org, pp. 98-103.
Zlatanova T. Z.,R. Z. Zlatanova – Velikova, Al. Tz. Vodenicharova, Continuing Medical Education In Bulgaria -
Organization And Attitudes, International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, January
2015 Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Article: 15 ISSN 1309-6249, Publish at www.ijonte.org, pp. 112-119.
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DETERMINING THE ATTITUDES TOWARDS RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

OF TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS ATTENDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF HIGH SCHOOLS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Çelikler

Ondokuz Mayıs University
Samsun- TURKEY
[email protected]
Prof. Dr. Ayhan Yılmaz

Hacettepe University
Ankara- TURKEY
[email protected]
Zeynep Aksan
Ondokuz Mayıs University
Samsun- TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes towards renewable energy sources of students from
different schools in a province in Northern Turkey. To this end, a 37-item renewable energy attitude scale
developed by Çelikler and Aksan (2016) was administered to a total of 257 twelfth grade students attending
various high schools, including a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School (n=59), an Anatolian Medical
Vocational School (n=52), an Anatolian High School (n=74) and a Science High School (n=72). Study data were
analyzed using the SPSS statistical package software. Based on the study results and an evaluation of the
different types of high schools, it was determined that the attitudes towards renewable energy sources were
significantly different and more positive among science high school students. The study results also indicated
that although the participating students generally had a positive attitude towards renewable energy sources
and the power plants that utilize them, their knowledge on renewable energy sources was lacking in various
respects. This lack of knowledge, in turn, was found to cause various unfounded concerns among the students
regarding these energy sources.
Keywords: Renewable energy source, attitude, high school student, science education.
INTRODUCTION
The global demand for energy is gradually rising due to the rapid increase in world population and the
improving living standards in developing countries. Nowadays, a significant proportion, roughly 65%, of the
global energy demand is met through fossil fuels, owing to their accessibility and ease of use (Veziroğlu &
Şahin, 2008). However, due to the fact that a significant proportion of the world energy production depends
on fossil fuels, as well as the fact that fossil fuels are unsustainable, result in significant external dependence
for energy, and engender various environmental problems, have lead to increase in the interest and demand
for renewable energy sources (Güler, 2006). Renewable energy sources are environmentally-friendly sources
that are renewed by nature’s own cycles, and which do not result in environmental pollution. They include
solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydraulic energy, hydrogen energy, sea-based energies, and
biomass energy (Güneş, 1999; Oktit, 2000).
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Preventing the deterioration of the environment at a global scale is only possible through changes in social and
technological behaviors of individuals (McLaughlin, 2008). According to Agenda 21, it is through education that
people acquire the environmental and ethical awareness, values, attitudes, skills and behaviors which are
essential for sustainable development (UNCED, 1992). The World Conservation Union stated describes the
need to change the behaviors of individuals regarding sustainable life-styles through education programs
(IUCN, 1991). The United Nations, on the other hand, describes education as a prerequisite for achieving
sustainable development, as well as a necessary instrument for promoting good management, judicious
decision-making, and democracy (UN, 2005). Education enables the fostering of values, attitudes, decisions and
skills that are essential for sustainable growth (Summers et al. 2000).
A review of the studies in the literature on renewable energy reveals that a number of studies have been
conducted to determine the environmental knowledge and attitude of middle school teachers (Liarakou,
2009); the attitudes of university students (Karatepe et al., 2012); and teacher candidates’ attitudes (Bilen, Özel
& Sürücü, 2013) and level of awareness (Çelikler & Kara, 2012; Çelikler, 2013) regarding the environment. In
addition to these studies, there are also studies on the perception, knowledge and attitudes of high school
students (Zyadin et al., 2012); the thoughts of high school students (Kılınç¸ Stanisstreet & Boyes, 2009); and
their opinions (Çelikler & Aksan, 2015).
In order to leave a more livable world for future generations, it is vitally important to raise knowledgeable and
conscious individuals who are aware of the importance of renewable energy sources. In this context, the
present study aimed to determine the attitudes regarding renewable energy sources of 12th grade students
attending different high schools in a northern province of Turkey. We believe that this study attempting to
determine the attitudes of high school students towards renewable energy sources is significant in that it will
make an important contribution, and provide greater depth, to the literature on this age group, for which there
is currently only a limited number of studies.
METHODS
The study was conducted with 257 high school students in 12th grade attending four different high schools,
including a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School (N=59), an Anatolian Medical Vocational High
School (N=52), an Anatolia High School (N=74), and a Science High School (N=72). The study was conducted
using the cross-sectional study design, which involves the collection of data within a single and short period of
time (Christensen, Johnson & Turner, 2015), and by utilising the scanning method, which is a preferred
approach for determining the attitudes, actions, opinions and beliefs of individuals (Christensen, Johnson &
Turner, 2015). Study data were collected using the 37-item renewable energy attitude scale developed by
Çelikler and Aksan (2016). The renewable energy source attitude scale consists of seven dimensions, which are
“Effects on the Environment” (eight items), “Effects on the Living Creatures” (three items), “Energy Sources and
their Area of Use” (nine items), “Education” (six items), “Economy” (five items), “Security” (four items) and
“Media” (two items). The internal consistency coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.753.
Study data were analysed in terms of percentages (%) and frequency (f). The one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and Tukey HSD test were used to determined whether the students’ attitude scores towards
renewable energy sources differed depending on the school they attended.
RESULTS
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Effects on the
Environment” factor of the renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 1.
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Table 1: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Effects on the
Environment” Factor of the Renewable Energy Source Attitude Scale
Strongly Strongly
Disagree Undecided Agree
Type of High Disagree Agree
Items
School
f % f % f % f % f %
VTAHS 0 0 5 8,5 10 16,9 26 44,1 18 30,5
AMVHS 1 1,9 10 19,2 8 15,4 20 38,5 13 25,0

Renewable energy sources are
environmentally friendly.
AHS 0 0 3 4,1 11 14,9 21 28,4 39 52,7
SHS 0 0 0 0 6 8,3 18 25,0 48 66,7
VTAHS 0 0 1 1,7 23 39,0 21 35,6 14 23,7
AMVHS 2 3,8 3 5,8 17 32,7 19 36,5 11 21,2

The use of renewable energy
sources will reduce global warming.
AHS 0 0 7 9,5 9 12,2 42 56,8 16 21,6
SHS 1 1,4 1 1,4 6 8,3 29 40,3 35 48,6
VTAHS 13 22,0 19 32,2 10 16,9 7 11,9 10 16,9
The use of renewable energy AMVHS 12 23,1 17 32,7 14 26,9 5 9,6 4 7,7
sources will not reduce
environmental pollution. AHS 27 36,5 22 29,7 9 12,2 10 13,5 6 8,1
SHS 33 45,8 21 29,2 2 2,8 3 4,2 13 18,1
VTAHS 9 15,3 19 32,2 7 11,9 12 20,3 12 20,3
sources will not reduce the
greenhouse effect. AHS 28 37,8 22 29,7 5 6,8 6 8,1 13 17,6
SHS 48 66,7 15 20,8 0 0 2 2,8 7 9,7
VTAHS 22 37,3 21 35,6 9 15,3 6 10,2 1 1,7
Power plants that use renewable AMVHS 20 38,5 16 30,8 13 25,0 2 3,8 1 1,9
energy sources have harmful
effects on the environment. AHS 42 56,8 14 18,9 8 10,8 4 5,4 6 8,1
SHS 55 76,4 9 12,5 3 4,2 5 6,9 0 0
The use of renewable energy

sources will not reduce air VTAHS 21 35,6 22 37,3 4 6,8 6 10,2 6 10,2
pollution.
AMVHS 15 28,8 23 44,2 7 13,5 5 9,6 2 3,8
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AHS 34 45,9 17 23,0 4 5,4 8 10,8 11 14,9
SHS 50 69,4 12 16,7 3 4,2 4 5,6 3 4,2
VTAHS 16 27,1 19 32,2 16 27,1 6 10,2 2 3,4
sources will reduce the depletion of
the ozone layer. AHS 34 45,9 22 29,7 11 14,9 2 2,7 5 6,8
SHS 37 51,4 27 37,5 2 2,8 2 2,8 4 5,6
VTAHS 14 23,7 16 27,1 15 25,4 6 10,2 8 13,6
sources will not reduce the
occurrence of acid rains. AHS 39 52,7 10 13,5 10 13,5 9 12,2 6 8,1
SHS 43 59,7 15 20,8 3 4,2 4 5,6 7 9,7
Vocational and Technical Anatolia High School (VTAHS), Anatolia Medical Vocational High School (AMVHS),
Anatolia High School (AHS) and Science High School (SHS)
An evaluation of Table 1 reveals that all of the students had generally positive attitudes towards the view that
renewable energy sources are environmentally-friendly, and that the use of renewable energy sources would
help reduce environmental pollution, acid rains, air pollution, global warming and the greenhouse effect. On
the other hand, students generally had a negative attitude towards the view that the use of renewable energy
sources would reduce the thinning of the ozone layer. In addition, the students did not believe that power
plants using renewable energy sources have harmful effects on the environment.
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Effects on the
Living Creatures” factor of the renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Percentage and Frequency distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Effects on the
Living Creatures” Factor of the Renewable Energy Source Attitude Scale
Strongly Strongly
Type of High Disagree Undecided Agree
Items Disagree Agree
School
f % f % f % f % f %
VTAHS 11 18,6 9 15,3 20 33,9 10 16,9 9 15,3
I am concerned about the negative
effects the use of renewable AMVHS 5 9,6 5 9,6 16 30,8 21 40,4 5 9,6
energy sources might have on the AHS 13 17,6 20 27,0 17 23,0 7 9,5 17 23,0
living creatures.
SHS 17 23,6 20 27,8 16 22,2 12 16,7 7 9,7
VTAHS 6 10,2 13 22,0 18 30,5 20 33,9 2 3,4
I am not knowledge about the
harmful effects that renewable AMVHS 4 7,7 11 21,2 19 36,5 11 21,2 7 13,5
energy sources might have on living AHS 7 9,5 31 41,9 17 23,0 13 17,6 6 8,1
creatures.
SHS 4 5,6 35 48,6 22 30,6 9 12,5 2 2,8
VTAHS 2 3,4 5 8,5 15 25,4 20 33,9 17 28,8
Power plants that use renewable AMVHS 1 1,9 5 9,6 14 26,9 14 26,9 18 34,6
energy sources do not have
harmful effects on living creatures. AHS 9 12,2 8 10,8 13 17,6 14 18,9 30 40,5
SHS 5 6,9 2 2,8 9 12,5 28 38,9 28 38,9
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Table 2 indicates that most of the students from the Anatolian Medical Vocational High School were concerned
about the harmful effects which renewable energy sources might have on living being, while students from the
Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, the Science High School and the Anatolian High School had no
such concerns. The large majority of the students did not believe that power plants using renewable energy
sources might have harmful effects on living beings. In addition, the majority of students in the Vocational and
Technical High School did not believe that renewable energy sources might potentially harm living beings, while
most students in the Science High School and Anatolian High School were of the opposite view. The majority of
the students at the Anatolian Medical Vocational High School, on the other hand, were undecided on this
subject.
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Energy Sources and
their Area of Use” factor of the renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Energy
Sources and their Area of Use” Factor of the Renewable Energy Source Attitude Scale
Strongly Strongly
Type of Disagree Undecided Agree
High School
f % f % f % f % f %
VTAHS 15 25,4 18 30,5 14 23,7 6 10,2 6 10,2
Energy should not be produced from AMVHS 18 34,6 20 38,5 8 15,4 4 7,7 2 3,8
waste. AHS 30 40,5 23 31,1 10 13,5 6 8,1 5 6,8
SHS 37 51,4 24 33,3 3 4,2 4 5,6 4 5,6
VTAHS 10 16,9 20 33,9 14 23,7 14 23,7 1 1,7
The use of renewable energy sources is AMVHS 9 16,9 12 33,9 22 23,7 8 23,7 1 1,7
increasing across the world. AHS 15 20,3 29 39,2 22 29,7 6 8,1 2 2,7
SHS 10 13,9 44 61,1 8 11,1 8 11,1 2 2,8
VTAHS 1 1,7 2 3,4 22 37,3 15 25,4 19 32,2
The use of renewable energy sources will AMVHS 1 1,9 4 7,7 9 17,3 24 46,2 14 26,9
help solve the world’s energy demand. AHS 2 2,7 3 4,1 9 12,2 32 43,2 28 37,8
SHS 0 0 3 4,2 6 8,3 22 30,6 41 56,9
VTAHS 0 0 0 0 8 13,6 14 23,7 37 62,7
The use of renewable energy sources AMVHS 0 0 0 0 4 7,7 20 38,5 28 53,8
should be promoted. AHS 1 1,4 4 5,4 4 5,4 19 25,7 46 62,2
SHS 0 0 0 0 1 1,4 13 18,1 58 80,6
VTAHS 20 33,9 34 57,6 4 6,8 1 1,7 0 0
Energy cannot be produced from energy AMVHS 25 48,1 23 44,2 4 7,7 0 0 0 0
resources such as the sun and water. AHS 40 54,1 30 40,5 1 1,4 3 4,1 0 0
SHS 48 66,7 24 33,3 0 0 0 0 0 0
VTAHS 1 1,7 4 6,8 21 35,6 27 45,8 6 10,2
Renewable energy sources are not being AMVHS 1 1,9 2 3,8 9 17,3 18 34,6 22 42,3
sufficiently utilized across the world. AHS 2 2,7 5 6,8 8 10,8 34 45,9 25 33,8
SHS 4 5,6 1 1,4 4 5,6 35 48,6 28 38,9
VTAHS 0 0 0 0 35 59,3 14 23,7 10 16,9
The energy produced by nuclear power AMVHS 6 11,5 2 3,8 23 44,2 11 21,2 10 19,2
plants is not a form of renewable energy. AHS 4 5,4 6 8,1 4 5,4 18 24,3 42 56,8
SHS 0 0 0 0 5 6,9 27 37,5 40 55,6
VTAHS 1 1,7 3 5,1 23 39,0 14 23,7 18 30,5
It is necessary to build power plants AMVHS 0 0 3 5,8 11 21,2 21 40,4 17 32,7
which use renewable energy sources. AHS 12 16,2 2 2,7 17 23,0 15 20,3 28 37,8
SHS 7 9,7 0 0 3 4,2 10 13,9 52 72,2
VTAHS 1 1,7 2 3,4 30 50,8 13 22,0 13 22,0
I support the use of hydrogen as a fuel in AMVHS 1 1,9 5 9,6 27 51,9 13 25,0 6 11,5
vehicles. AHS 2 2,7 1 1,4 27 36,5 17 23,0 27 36,5
SHS 4 5,6 3 4,2 12 16,7 24 33,3 29 40,3
Table 3 indicates that many students viewed the sun, water and waste as sources for energy production. The
large majority of students at the Anatolian High School and Science High School supported the use of hydrogen
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fuel in vehicles, while most students in the Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School and the Anatolian
Medical Vocational High School were undecided concerning the use of hydrogen fuel. Students generally
expressed the view that the global use of renewable energy sources is not increasing significantly, and that
renewable energy sources are not being sufficient utilised. They also expressed the views that using renewable
energy sources might help resolve the energy demand problems of the world; that there is a need to build
more renewable energy power plants; and that the use of renewable energy sources should be encouraged. It
was observed that the large majority of the students at the Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School and
the Anatolian Medical Vocational High School were undecided as to whether energy from nuclear power plants
constitute renewable energy.
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Education” factor
of the renewable energy source renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Education”
Factor of the Renewable Energy Source Attitude Scale
Type of High Strongly Strongly
School
f % f % f % f % f %
VTAHS 0 0 3 5,1 13 22,0 20 33,9 23 39,0
It is important to provide education in schools AMVHS 2 3,8 0 0 5 9,6 30 57,7 15 28,8
regarding renewable energy sources. AHS 3 4,1 4 5,4 6 8,1 28 37,8 33 44,6
SHS 5 6,9 0 0 2 2,8 22 30,6 43 59,7
VTAHS 3 5,1 6 10,2 19 32,2 21 35,6 10 16,9
I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about AMVHS 5 9,6 13 25,0 16 30,8 16 30,8 2 3,8
renewable energy sources. AHS 10 13,5 17 23,0 12 16,2 22 29,7 13 17,6
SHS 10 13,9 35 48,6 13 18,1 11 15,3 3 4,2
VTAHS 1 1,7 2 3,4 12 20,3 37 62,7 7 11,9
Society’s level of awareness regarding AMVHS 0 0 4 7,7 15 28,8 27 51,9 6 11,5
renewable energy sources should be increased. AHS 0 0 2 2,7 7 9,5 54 73,0 11 14,9
SHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 81,9 13 18,1
VTAHS 1 1,7 1 1,7 26 44,1 23 39,0 8 13,6
In general, people are not sufficiently
AMVHS 2 3,8 17 32,7 16 30,8 8 15,4 9 17,3
knowledgeable about renewable energy
AHS 8 10,8 4 5,4 17 23,0 34 45,9 11 14,9
sources.
SHS 0 0 3 4,2 13 18,1 36 50,0 20 27,8
VTAHS 8 13,6 4 6,8 13 22,0 19 32,2 15 25,4
In classes, more emphasis must be placed on AMVHS 0 0 2 3,8 12 23,1 27 51,9 11 21,2
the subject of renewable energy sources. AHS 3 4,1 4 5,4 13 17,6 35 47,3 19 25,7
SHS 1 1,4 2 2,8 13 18,1 24 33,3 32 44,4
VTAHS 0 0 3 5,1 14 23,7 17 28,8 25 42,4
I believe it is necessary to organize various
AMVHS 2 3,8 0 0 12 23,1 20 38,5 18 34,6
educational programs in schools regarding the
AHS 3 4,1 4 5,4 6 8,1 28 37,8 33 44,6
importance of renewable energy sources.
SHS 5 6,9 0 0 2 2,8 22 30,6 43 59,7
An evaluation of Table 4 reveals that most students were of the view that providing education of renewable
energy sources in schools in important; that there is a need to organise various educational projects in schools;
and that the subject of renewable energy sources should be covered to a greater extent in classes. The large
majority of the students in the Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, the Anatolian Medical
Vocational High School and the Anatolian High School described that they lacked adequate knowledge on
renewable energy sources, while most students in the Science High School considered themselves as being
sufficiently knowledgeable on this subject. The majority of the students attending the Vocational and Technical
Anatolian High School, the Science High School and the Anatolian High School described that people in society
generally lack adequate knowledge on renewable energy sources, while most students in the Anatolian Medical
Vocational High School were of the opposite view, believing that most people are knowledge on this subject.
Some of the students in the Vocational and Technical High School and the Anatolian Medical Vocational High
School were undecided on whether people are, in general, sufficiently informed about renewable energy
sources. In addition, the large majority of the students expressed the view that people need to be informed
about renewable energy sources, in order to raise their awareness on this subject.
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The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Economy” factor of
the renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 5.
Tablo 5: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Economy”
Factor of the Renewable Energy Sources Attitude Scale
Strongly Strongly
High School
f % f % f % f % f %
VTAHS 0 0 3 5,1 15 25,4 17 28,8 24 40,7
The use of renewable energy sources will AMVHS 1 1,9 1 1,9 10 19,2 24 46,2 16 30,8
contribute to the country’s economy. AHS 1 1,4 2 2,7 10 13,5 27 36,5 34 45,9
SHS 2 2,8 0 0 9 12,5 24 33,3 37 51,4
VTAHS 6 10,2 6 10,2 28 47,5 13 22,0 6 10,2
Energy produced from renewable energy AMVHS 4 7,7 9 17,3 24 46,2 8 15,4 7 13,5
sources is not cheap. AHS 7 9,5 18 24,3 28 37,8 7 9,5 14 18,9
SHS 7 9,7 19 26,4 21 29,2 11 15,3 14 19,4
VTAHS 4 6,8 2 3,4 16 27,1 14 23,7 23 39,0
It is important for energy produced from AMVHS 5 9,6 2 3,8 13 25,0 19 36,5 13 25,0
renewable energy sources to be cheap. AHS 2 2,7 12 16,2 14 18,9 21 28,4 25 33,8
SHS 14 19,4 6 8,3 14 19,4 12 16,7 26 36,1
The construction of power plants using VTAHS 5 8,5 13 22,0 27 45,8 11 18,6 3 5,1
renewable energy sources is not less AMVHS 4 7,7 9 17,3 19 36,5 15 28,8 5 9,6
costly than the construction of other AHS 15 20,3 11 14,9 20 27,0 16 21,6 12 16,2
types of power plants. SHS 13 18,1 6 8,3 14 19,4 16 22,2 23 31,9
VTAHS 24 40,7 15 25,4 15 25,4 4 6,8 1 1,7
The investments currently being made
AMVHS 17 32,7 28 53,8 7 13,5 0 0 0 0
for promoting the use of renewable
AHS 35 47,3 26 35,1 6 8,1 6 8,1 1 1,4
energy sources are not sufficient.
SHS 33 45,8 24 33,3 4 5,6 4 5,6 7 9,7
Table 5 indicates that most students were of the view that using renewable energy sources will contribute to
the national economy. With the exception of the students attending the Science High School, students were
generally undecided on whether energy from renewable energy sources is inexpensive. In addition, the
students were generally of the opinion that energy from renewable energy sources should be affordable, and
that the level of investments for the use of renewable energy sources are currently insufficient. Anatolian High
School and Science High School students described that the establishment of power plants using renewable
energy sources is less costly than other types of plants, while students from the Vocational and Technical
Anatolian High School and the Anatolian Medical Vocational High Schools were undecided on this subject.
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Safety” factor of
the renewable energy sources attitude scale are shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Safety” Factor
of the Renewable Energy Sources Attitude Scale
Type of Strongly Strongly
High School
f % f % f % f % f %
I would not like to see a power VTAHS 20 33,9 21 35,6 9 15,3 2 3,4 7 11,9
plant using renewable energy AMVHS 23 44,2 14 26,9 7 13,5 2 3,8 6 11,5
sources built in the location AHS 34 45,9 16 21,6 9 12,2 10 13,5 5 6,8
where I live. SHS 29 40,3 11 15,3 13 18,1 17 23,6 2 2,8
VTAHS 0 0 3 5,1 9 15,3 19 32,2 28 47,5
Power plants using renewable
AMVHS 0 0 0 0 11 21,2 19 36,5 22 42,3
energy sources are safer than
AHS 2 2,7 0 0 14 18,9 20 27,0 38 51,4
other types of power plants.
SHS 1 1,4 0 0 9 12,5 31 43,1 31 43,1
Power plants using renewable VTAHS 3 5,1 3 5,1 3 5,1 9 15,3 41 69,5
energy sources are less AMVHS 1 1,9 1 1,9 1 1,9 20 38,5 29 55,8
dangerous than other types of AHS 4 5,4 2 2,7 6 8,1 14 18,9 48 64,9
power plants. SHS 5 6,9 0 0 0 0 20 27,8 47 65,3
I believe that renewable energy VTAHS 28 47,5 12 20,3 14 23,7 2 3,4 3 5,1
power plants will not lead to AMVHS 13 25,0 19 36,5 13 25,0 2 3,8 5 9,6
problems that endanger the AHS 26 35,1 21 28,4 13 17,6 12 16,2 2 2,7
world. SHS 32 44,4 25 34,7 7 9,7 6 8,3 2 2,8
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An evaluation of Table 6 indicates that, in general, students do not want to see power plant using renewable
energy sources built in the vicinity of where they live. The students also considered power plants using
renewable energy sources as being safer than other power plants, and that these renewable energy source-
using power plants posed less of a threat to the environment than other types of power plants. In addition,
students expressed the view that power plants using renewable energy sources are unlikely to cause problems
that would threaten the world.
The percentage and frequency distribution of student responses to items belonging to the “Media” factor of
the renewable energy source attitude scale are shown in Table 7.
Table 7: Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Student Responses to Items Belonging to the “Media” Factor
of the Renewable Energy Source Attitude Scale
Strongly Strongly
High School
f % f % f % f % f %
It is important for the media to VTAHS 3 5,1 0 0 10 16,9 18 30,5 28 47,5
broadcast news and programs AMVHS 1 1,9 0 0 5 9,6 21 40,4 25 48,1
regarding renewable energy AHS 1 1,4 3 4,1 5 6,8 30 40,5 35 47,3
sources. SHS 0 0 1 1,4 1 1,4 32 44,4 38 52,8
VTAHS 0 0 1 1,7 12 20,3 24 40,7 22 37,3
There are not sufficient news and
AMVHS 0 0 2 3,8 7 13,5 30 57,7 13 25,0
programs on the media regarding
AHS 0 0 4 5,4 6 8,1 38 51,4 26 35,1
renewable energy sources.
SHS 2 2,8 1 1,4 3 4,2 28 38,9 38 52,8
Table 7 indicates that the students generally considered that the broadcasting/publishing of new and programs
on renewable energy sources is important, and that the number of news and programs currently in the media
on this subject is insufficient.
The results of the descriptive statistical analysis and one-way analysis of variance, performed in order to
determine whether the attitude scores towards renewable energy sources differed depending on the type of
high school the students attended, are shown in Table 8 and 9.
Table 8: Descriptive Statistical Analysis of the Attitude Scores According to the Type of High School the Students
Attended
Type of High School N X ss
Vocational and Technical Anatolia High School (VTAHS) 59 123,5763 7,81070
Anatolia Medical Vocational High School (AMVHS) 52 125,5000 7,74976
Anatolia High School (AHS) 74 128,1486 10,46414
Science High School (SHS) 72 136,9167 11,13395
Tablo 9: One-Way Analysis of Variance of the Attitude Scores According to the Type of High School the Students
Attended
Source of Variance Sum of Squares SD Mean Square F p
Inter-Group 6938.631 3 2312.877
Intra-Group 23396.272 253 92.475 25.011 0.000
Total 30334.903 256
p<.001
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Table 8 and 9 indicates that student attitudes towards renewable energy sources differed significantly
depending on the type of high school they attended [F (3. 253)= 25.011; p< .001]. The results of the Tukey HSD
test performed to determine the groups between which these differences existed is shown in Table 10.
Table 10: Tukey HSD Test Results According to the Type of High School the Students Attended
Groups Mean Difference Standard Error p
VTAHS - AMVHS -1,92373 1,82914 ,719
VTAHS - AHS -4,57238 1,67841 ,035*
VTAHS - SHS -13,34040 1,68872 ,000*
AMVHS - AHS -2,64865 1,74013 ,426
SHS- AMVHS -11,41667 1,75007 ,000*
SHS-AHS -8,76802 1,59187 ,000*
p<.001
An evaluation of Table 10 indicates that the significant difference between the student groups attending
different schools with regards to their attitude scores towards renewable energy sources was largely in favor of
the Science High School students. In addition, a significant difference was identified between the Vocational
and Technical Anatolian High School and the Anatolian High School groups in favor of the Anatolian High
School.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The study results demonstrated that the high school students have a generally positive attitude towards
renewable energy sources and power plants that use renewable energy sources. However, it was also observed
that the students still have some concerns about renewable energy sources, which we believe stems from a
lack of knowledge.
The study results indicated that most of the high school students were of the view that renewable energy
sources are environmentally-friendly, and that they will help reduce environmental problems such as acid rain,
air pollution, and the greenhouse effect. In addition, the students also expressed the view that power plants
using renewable energy sources are safer and less hazardous than other types of power plants, and that these
power plants will contribute to the national economy. It was noteworthy, however, that many of the students
also expressed the view that they would not want to see a renewable energy source-using power plant in the
vicinity of where they live. The students were aware that water, the sun and wastes are sources of renewable
energy. However, the students were undecided as to whether nuclear energy and hydrogen energy are
renewable, even though the former is clearly not renewable, while the latter is a renewable form of energy. In
addition, it was also observed that the students have a generally positive attitude towards power plants using
renewable energy sources. According to the study results, most students were of the view that providing
education of renewable energy sources in schools in important; that renewable energy sources should be
covered to a greater extent in classes; that there is a need to organise various educational projects in schools
on this subject; and that there should be efforts towards raising people’s awareness on renewable energy
sources. Furthermore, the students generally considered that the broadcasting/publishing of new and
programs on renewable energy sources is important, and that the number of news and programs currently in
the media on this subject is insufficient. These results demonstrate that high school students are aware of the
importance of the media in raising social awareness.
The study also showed that student attitudes towards renewable energy sources differed significantly
depending on the type of high school they attended [F (3, 253) = 25,011; p< .001]. This difference was generally in
favor of Science High School students; in other words, attitudes towards renewable energy sources were more
positive among students attending the Science High School. In addition, a significant difference was identified
between the Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School and the Anatolian High School groups in favor of
the Anatolian High School.
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The raising of conscious and knowledgeable individuals who are aware of the importance of environmentally-
friendly renewable energy sources is closely associated with the quality of the education on the environment
that is provided in schools. For this reason, it is possible to state that there is a need for greater inclusion of
renewable energy source-related subjects in educational programs at all levels, starting from pre-school, and
up to undergraduate programs. To ensure that such knowledge becomes lasting, environmental education
should be provided using student-centered methods and techniques, within the frame of the relevant classes.
However, education is a process that continues outside of schools, while the internet and media have a
significant impact on society. For this reason, we also believe that it is important to raise social awareness on
renewable energy sources through public service announcements, advertisements, and programs.
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EEG ATTENTION AND MEDITATION RESPONSES OF STUDENTS

ON DIFFERENT PRESENTATION SLIDE COLORS
Hakan Aydogan
Usak University
Department of Electricity and Energy
TURKEY
[email protected]
Selma Demirtas Aydogan

Usak University
Department of Accounting and Taxation
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
In this study, five presentations have been created and each of them has been included one presentation slide
in which the same context with the different font colors and background colors. Black-White, Black-Red, White-
Black, Yellow-Black, Yellow-Red as the first for the background color and the second for the font color
respectively. Thirty-five students have been divided into five groups of seven each randomly. While the
addressed presentation slide has been showed to the students of each group, attention and meditation levels
of the measured EEG of the students have been recorded, investigated and evaluated. The best average
attention level has been found in yellow background color and black font color in the presentation slide.
Keywords: EEG, attention, meditation, presentation, color.
INTRODUCTION
Multimedia presentations have important role on education and learning process in the course classrooms.
Type, size and color of font and background color must be reviewed for effective projected slides and many
multimedia presentation developers use inappropriate colors in first time and then the presentations may not
be comprehended nor read easily (Vetter, Ward, & Shapiro, 1995). Twelve tips on effective PowerPoint
presentations have been advised (Holzl, 1997). Colors have important role on presentation of information and
can increase learning efficiency in visual presentations (Kumi, Conway, Limayem, & Goyal, 2013). Colors have
psychological, attitudes and emotions effects on people and the effects can be measured in the nervous system
(Kumi et al., 2013; Vetter et al., 1995). An electroencephalography (EEG) is a recording technique which records
electrical activities of neurons in the brain and has relationships with emotions (Xiaowei et al., 2011).
(Mihajlovic, Grundlehner, Vullers, & Penders, 2015) have evaluated EEG, EEG signal processing, EEG artifacts and
wearable EEG devices.
In the literature , human attention towards different colors has been identified using EEG (Bekdash, Asirvadam,
Kamel, & Hutapea, 2015) and driving fatigue detection has been investigated on the attention and meditation of
EEG (He, Liu, Wan, & Hu, 2014). An assessment has been studied for PowerPoint presentation structure in
undergraduate courses (Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008), effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in
lectures has been studied (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003), effectiveness on presentation graphics for students’
experience in the classroom has been investigated (Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2006), it has been determined
attitudes of preservice teachers on PowerPoint presentation (Yalman & Kutluca, 2013) and it has been
investigated that color affects learning outcomes (Kumi et al., 2013).
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In this study, students’ EEG attention and meditation responses on different presentation slide colors have been
investigated and evaluated.
METHOD
Participants
Thirty-five students (M=21, SD=3.03), 27-male and 8-female have participated voluntarily from the Department
of Electricity and Energy and the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Usak University. None of these
participants has presented about any visual disorders.
Materials
Five presentation have been created and each of them has been included one presentation slide in which the
same context with the different font colors and background colors. Black-White, Black-Red, White-Black,
Yellow-Black, Yellow-Red as the first for the background color and the second for the font color respectively.
The context in the slides has been chose a part from the Academic Rules and Regulations at Usak University. In
this study, Helvetica font type, 24-point for headings and 18-point for the body text have been used as
discussed in (Vetter et al., 1995) in the projected slides. The thumb of the slides shows in the Figure1.
Figure 1: The thumb of the slides
“MindWave Mobile” from Neurosky Inc. has been used to record EEG signals of the students. This device uses
Bluetooth wireless module to send also attention and meditation levels of the measured EEG at the left
prefrontal Fp1 point in 1 Hz frequency to smart devices (He et al., 2014).
Procedures
The participants have been divided into five groups of seven each randomly. The addressed presentation slide
has been showed to each group. The groups and the addressed presentation slides are shown in the Table 1.
Table 1: The groups vs the addressed presentation slides

Group No. The Addressed Slide
1 Black background – White Font
2 Black background – Red Font
3 White background – Black Font
4 Yellow background – Black Font
5 Yellow background – Red Font
The flowchart of the procedure in that Recording the EEG attention and meditation levels of the students while
showing the addressed presentation slide is shown if the Figure 2.
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Figure 2: The flowchart of the procedure
As shown in the Figure 2, the first 20 seconds have been assigned to the relaxation of the students to get much
stable EEG signals. The addressed presentation slides have been showed the students during the last 40
seconds. Since relaxation and attention decreasing after reading context in the slides, the first 10 seconds and
the last 10 seconds of the recordings have been deleted. Average attention and meditation levels of the
students of each group have been calculated.
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FINDINGS
Average attention and meditation levels of each group have been drawn in the Figure 3.
(a) (b)
Figure 3: Average attention (a) and meditation (b) levels of each group
As seen in the Figure 3a the addressed presentation slides have been started to show for the students of each
group at the 20. second. The average attention levels have been increased with same slope in time delays
approximately. After the 30. seconds, the average attention levels have been decreased. As seen in the Figure
3b, the comparing with the sum of average attention of each group, the 4. group has been taken much points
than the others. In the 25-30 seconds, it has been seen that the average meditation levels have been
decreased.
The comparison of the average attention and meditation levels of 4. group and 5. group have been drawn in
the Figure 4.
(a) (b)
Figure 4: Average attention (a) and meditation (b) levels of each group
As seen in the Figure 4a, the average attention of the 4. group has been measured more than the 5. group. As
seen in the Figure 4b, the comparing with the sum of average meditation of the 4. and 5. groups, the 5. group
has been taken much point than the 4. group.
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The comparison of the average attention and meditation levels of 1. group and 3. group have been drawn in
the Figure 5.
(a) (b)
Figure 5: Average attention (a) and meditation (b) levels of 1. group and 3. group
As seen in the Figure 5a, the average attention levels of the 1. and 3. groups have been increased after the
presentation slides and then the average attention levels of the 3. group has been decreased immediately in 5
seconds. As seen in the Figure 5b, comparing with the sum of average meditation levels of the 1. and 3. groups,
the 1. group has been taken much point than the 3. group.
CONCLUSION
Using the materials and the method mentioned of this study, the following has been concluded.
1. The average attention level of the students has been increased for 10 seconds on the showing addressed
presentation slides and then decreased. The reason of the decreasing in the attentions can be due to be
completed to read the addressed presentation slides by students.
2. The best average attention level has been found in yellow background color and black font color.
3. On yellow background, black and red font colors have same slope but black font helps to obtain more
attention and red font helps to obtain more meditation.
4. Black background– white font presentation slide is more effective than white background – black font
presentation slides in terms of attention and meditation of the students.
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A META ANALYSIS:
THE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS OF NURSING AND OTHER BACHELOR STUDENTS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Filiz Kantek

Akdeniz University
TURKEY
[email protected]
Handan Kartal
Akdeniz University
TURKEY
[email protected]
Abstract
This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis on the problem solving skills of nursing students and
students from several other departments. The study was designed as a meta analysis. Studies on problem
solving skills were accessed through databases such as Turkish Medical Index, Google Academic, YOK (The
Council of Higher Education) Dissertation Database, Pubmed, EBSCO Host and Web of Science. The keywords
for the review were determined as "problem solving", "student nurse", "nursing", “student”, “university”and
"Turkey" in both Turkish and English. As a result, it was noted that 31 studies complied with the inclusion
criteria. The studies were analyzed with CMA. The study sample included 3019 nursing students and 4754
students from other departments, 7773 students in total. The studies were tested for heterogeneity and it was
found that all were heterogenous studies. In accordance with the random model, the mean scores were found
to be 92,02 (95%CL 88,47-95,57]) for nursing students and 93,54 (95%CL [88,87-98,21]) for other students. The
variance between departments wasn't found to be statistically significant (QB=0,257, p>0,05). The study results
suggested that problem solving skills of university students in Turkey, regardless of their departments, was
found similar.
Keywords: Problem Solving, Nursing, University, Student, Meta Analysis, Education, Turkey.
INTRODUCTION
Problem solving skills basically help to overcome the challenges one has to tackle to attain a desired outcome
by integrating personal skills and environmental conditions (Başaran, 2005). These skills essentially require
creative and critical thinking skills to accomplish a certain task (Kanbay, Aslan and Işık, 2013, Kelleci, Gölbaşı
and Doğan, 2011). They also urge to benefit from solution oriented methods and to initiate efficient and useful
tools and attitudes (Schreglmann and Doğruluk, 2012, Durmaz, Kaçar and Can, 2007). Individuals with elevated
problem solving skills are commonly assumed to be innovative, critical, creative, and flexible individuals
pioneering change and development (Günüşen and Üstün, 2011).
Problem solving skills are indeed an innate ability and they can only be developed through education and
experience (Yıldırım, Karakurt and Hacıhasanoğlu, 2014). Therefore, enhancing problem solving skills should be
among the major targets of modern educational institutions (Akpınar, 2015). Students often fail to conceive the
significance of developing problem solving skills due to the fact that these institutions aren’t modeled on
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educational policies and strategies to improve problem solving skills, and that teaching staff sometimes don’t
wholeheartedly embrace these policies and strategies (Koç, Koyuncu and Sağlam, 2015).
Problem solving skills are considered to be most important qualifications for a nurse so as to provide a quality
care and improve their professional skills (McEwen and Brown 2002, Çiçek and Albayrak, 2004). Nursing
students should be taught at school how to acquire and effectively use these skills to accomplish a quality care
in their professional practice (Koç et. al., 2015, Kelleci et. al., 2011). Recent studies have shown that nursing
students had problem solving skills at moderate levels, which certainly needed elaboration (Yıldırım, 2014,
Yüksel, 2013, Başar 2011, Yılmaz, Karaca and Yılmaz, 2009, Özyazıcıoğlu, Aydınoğlu and Aytekin, 2009 Altun,
2003, Yurttaş and Yetkin, 2003).
The study question in our research was “where does the lack of problem solving skills among nurses stem from,
curriculum design and teaching practice in universities in general or only in nursing departments in particular?”.
In other words, “Are the problem solving skills of nursing students equally developed in comparison with
students in other bachelor programs?”. This study, therefore, was designed to compare the levels of problem
solving skills of nursing students and students from other bachelor programs with a Meta analysis.
METHOD
Search Strategy
The literature review was conducted with a thorough search of published articles, and graduate studies in
national and international electronic databases which were Turkish Medical Index, Google Academic, YOK (The
Council of Higher Education) Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Database, Pubmed, EBSCO Host, and Web of
Science. The analysis basically included such keywords as “problem solving (problem çözme)”, “university
(üniversite)”, “student (öğrenci)”, “nurse (hemşire)”, and “Turkey (Türkiye)” in both English and Turkish. No
time limitation was set for this study and the analysis included all publications up to March 2016 when this
particular study was conducted.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

There were a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria to select studies suitable for the Meta analysis
according to which all abstracts were reviewed. The inclusion criteria required that (a) the study be conducted
in Turkey (b) the study sample include undergraduate nursing students and students from other departments,
(c) the study data be eligible for a quantitave analysis, (d) the problem solving skill levels of students be
analyzed, and (e) the study data be adequate to enable researchers to conduct further statistical analysis. On
the other hand, the studies were excluded from the analysis if (a) they had been published in languages other
than Turkish or English, (b) the full text couldn’t be accessible, and (c) the study tools weren’t suitable for a
psychometric analysis.
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The flow chart of the inclusion process was given in Figure 1. The results of the preliminary analysis indicated
that 186 published articles and graduate studies might be eligible for this study. However, it was eventually
found that 50 studies weren’t fully accessible and 45 results were duplicates. In addition, 39 studies were
excluded because they didn’t include a student sample while 18 studies weren’t carried out with
undergraduate students. It was further noted that 1 study didn’t have adequate data. Consequently, 31 studies
were found eligible for further meta analysis which was completed by two researchers individually. The
interrater agreement on the inclusion criteria was reported to be 100%.
Quality of Primary Studies

The study quality depends on the inclusion criteria, encoding meta analysis data, and reliability requirements of
these studies. The reliability of the encoded data was assured with a comparative analysis of the results from
two researchers, which indicated a 100% interrater agreement.
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Encoding the Data

A data encoding form was used to collect study data, which was developed by the researchers in accordance
with the recent studies in literature (Dinçer, 2014, Kış, 2013). The data encoding form included data about
study characteristics (method, sample, study tools, publication type, etc.) and the researchers encoded the
title, the author, publication date, publication type, sample size, publication language, and problem solving
characteristics (sample size, mean score of problem solving skills, and standard deviation) for each study. The
reliability of data encoding was tested with a comparative analysis of the results derived from both
researchers. The moderator variable was the classification of students as nursing students and other students.
Data Analysis
The study data were analyzed with the Comprehensive Meta–Analysis software (CMA) and the data were
encoded with Microsoft Office Excel for meta analysis. The study data were were assessed with average scores.
2
The heterogeneity of the effect size was tested with Q and I tests and the publication bias was evaluated with
Orwin’s Fail-safe N and Tau coefficients. Since the significance level of the studies included in the analysis was
0.05, the significance level of the statistical analyses in this analysis was also determined to be 0.05.
FINDINGS
Table 1: Characteristics of Studies Included in the Meta Analysis

n %
Publication Years 2003 1 3.23
2007 3 9.68
2008 1 3.23
2009 5 16.12
2010 3 9.68
2011 6 19.35
2012 2 6.45
2013 3 9.68
2014 4 12.90
2015 3 9.68
Publication Type Article 21 67.75
Dissertation 10 32.25
Publication Language Turkish 28 90.32
English 3 9.68
Measurement tool Problem Solving Inventory 30 96.77
Problem Solving Skills Scale 1 3.23
The total number of participants in all 31 studies in the meta analysis was 7773, 3019 nursing students and
4754 students from other departments. The studies were conducted between 2003-2015, 6 studies were
conducted in 2011 (19,35%), 21 studies were published articles (67,75%), and 28 studies were published in
Turkish (90,32%). It was further noted that the Problem Solving Inventory, developed by Heppner and Peterson
(1982), was used in almost all studies (96.77%) (Table 1).
Table 2: Homogeneity Tests

2 2
Q df x p I
Nursing 790.004 16 26.296 0.000 97.975
Other 1534.979 20 31.410 0.000 98.697
Total 2337.655 37 49.802 0.000 98.417
Table 2 presents the homogeneity test results of studies included in meta analysis. Q value of the studies was
found to be 2337,655, which suggested that these studies indicated heterogeneity when compared to chi-
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square results with a significance level of 95%. As a result, the effect sizes of these studies were assessed in
accordance with the random effects model.
Table 3: Average Scores and Values According to the Fixed Model

k* N Point SE V % 95 CI Z P
estimate
Nursing 17 3019 92.44 0.08 0.00 92.28-92.60 1118.810 0.000
Other 21 4754 91.46 0.26 0.07 90.99-91.97 346.827 0.000
* Some work has been studied in both groups.
The average scores of students according to the fixed model were given in Table 3. The average scores were
reported to be 92,44 (95%CL [92,28-92,60]) for nursing students and 91,46 (95%CL [90,99-91,97]) for other
students with a significance level of 95%.
The publication bias was evaluated with Orwin’s Fail-Safe N and Tau-kare coefficients. Orwin’s Fail-Safe N
illustrates the number of studies that might be needed in a meta analysis (Dinçer, 2014, Kış, 2013). The number
of publications needed for this meta analysis was reported to be 4188. It was also found that the tau-square
2
coefficient (r ) was 0,0441 and p value was 0,804 in our analysis. A Tau-square coefficient approximate to 1 and
a two tailed p value > 0.05 indicate an unbiased publication (Dinçer 2014). Accordingly, the results of our
analysis confirmed that the studies in the meta analysis were unbiased publications.
Table 4: Average Scores and Values According to the Random Model

k n Point SE V % 95 CI QBetween p
estimate
Nursing 17 3019 92.02 1.81 3.28 88.47-95.57 0.257 0.612
Other 21 4754 93.54 2.38 5.68 88.87-98.21
* Some work has been studied in both groups.
As shown in Table 4, the average score of nursing students was 92,02 (95%CL 88,47-95,57]) and the average
score of students from other departments was found to be 93,54 (95%CL [88,87-98,21]). It was additionally
stated that department variable between-study variance wasn’t statistically significant (QB=0,257, p>0,05).
DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
This study aimed to investigate the levels of problem solving skills of nursing students and students from other
bachelor programs with a meta analysis. The study results suggested that the studies included in the analysis
were heterogeneous and unbiased. It was also pointed out that the levels of problem solving skills of nursing
students didn’t significantly differ from those of other students. In other words, students in both groups had
similar problem solving skill levels. The levels of problem solving skills of nursing students and midwifery
students have already been compared in several other studies and it has been equally asserted that there
wasn’t a statistically significant difference between the average scores of problem solving skills (Uçar, 2013,
Kantek et. al.,2010, Kazu and Ersözlü 2008, Durmaz, 2007). Altunçekiç, Yaman and Koray (2005) also conducted
a study with students from different departments in an education faculty and found no difference in average
scores in terms of the department variable. Saracaloğlu, Yenice and Karasakaloğlu (2009) similarly analyzed the
problem solving skills of students in education faculties in two different universities and reported no particular
difference. In contrast, Bilgin (2010) found that department variable caused a significant difference in the
average scores of problem solving skills of university students. Although the results of our study complied with
the results of previous studies, it was also noteworthy that the levels of problem solving skills of students in
both groups were almost identical. However, it can be reasonably expected that the levels of problem solving
skills of nursing students should be different from those of students in other departments as their curriculum,
their study fields, their study environments and backgrounds, and even their university entrance qualifications
show a stark difference from each other.
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In light of study results, it can be recommended to conduct further studies to shed a light on the factors that
might influence the development of problem solving skills of undergraduate students.
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Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü İlköğretim Anabilim Dalı Sınıf Öğretmenliği Bilim Dalı, İzmir.
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çözme becerileri ve depresyon düzeylerinin incelenmesi. Atatürk Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Yüksekokulu Dergisi, 12
(4), 1-10.
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çözme becerileri ile ilişkisi. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, 12(6), 689-698.
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becerilerinin karşılaştırılması. Atatürk Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Yüksekokulu Dergisi, 6 (1), 1–6.
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Hacettepe Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Dergisi, 37–49.
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A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO PROMOTE SELF- DIRECTED LEARNING
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Temmen

Paderborn University
Paderborn - Germany
[email protected]
Dennis-Pascal Friederici
Paderborn University
Paderborn - Germany
[email protected]
Abstract
A holistic methodology for promoting self-directed learning is being developed in the learning center for
electrical engineering at the Paderborn University (Germany). This concept will provide building blocks for
learning, individual growth and collaborative development. To motivate learning, a strong focus is on self-
determination, the percipience of competence and social embeddedness, which requires encouragement to
work in small groups and personal guidance. The concept will be holistic in nature; it will supporting a balance
across the students health, work, social contacts and attitude of mind (Life-Leadership®) by additionally
developing extra-curricular skills and considering common learning strategies.
Keywords: Learning centre, self-determination, teaching technology, learning culture.
INTRODUCTION
The Bologna Declaration of 1999 had the goal to establish a European Higher Education Area for what the
participating countries obligated themselves to follow-up complementary higher education reforms.
Particularly since not all aims have been properly implemented and critical voices raised among employees and
students, a discussion about the quality of the changed higher education system was initiated in Germany
(Schuster, Hees, & Jeschke, 2010).
One response to improve the study conditions is the implementation of learning centres. The realisation of
such is exquisitely manifold. The range stretches from new multi-storey buildings, even with a prayer room and
showers (Grebner, Lamparter, & Papakonstantinou, 2010), over the expansion of libraries (Götz, 2010) and the
establishment of cooperative structures (fusion of the offers of different institutions) (Stang, 2010) to (small)
single rooms, whereby the interior design is increasingly important (Stang, 2013). The present learning centre
of electrical engineering is a single room providing 36 working places (six hexagonal arranged tables with power
supply). It is further equipped with two white-boards, one cabinet with 40 lockable compartments, some green
plants and one smartboard. Besides the furnishing, a strong focus is on the encouragement to work in small
groups and on personal guidance, since social embeddedness leads to learning motivation (Johannes, Einsle,
Fankhänel, & Schulz, 2015).
METHOD
The holistic methodological concept combines varied methods, aspects and findings of learning processes, job
requirements and life counselling. It should be understood as a system of building blocks, where the students
have the choice to work for a certain need or interest. The concept creates breeding ground for learning
motivation (individualisation, percipience of competence, social embeddedness, expectation of the module-
effectiveness, feeling of success) (Caspary & Stern, 2010) (Johannes, Einsle, Fankhänel, & Schulz, 2015) (Riedl &
Schelten, 2013), and it promotes self-directed learning. The latter is a form of learning where the students
monitor, regulate and evaluate in a self-determined manner the learning progress. Here, if necessary, the
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students may apply for support (Konrad & Traub, 2011). A further fundamental idea is that the students feel
comfortable and enjoy the learning in the centre, as the sensation of pleasure releases messenger substances,
which enhance the ability to memorise (Caspary & Stern, 2010). In the following, the key components of the
concept are sententiously described.
®
Life-Leadership
®
The Life-Leadership is a concept that helps to balance between the four areas of life (simplified): attitude of
mind, health, social contacts and work. It contains time-management (structuring everyday life) and self-
management (issues of personal interests and visions), and it further invites to accept the dependence on the
environment (people and their requirements) as well as to transform a filled life to a fulfilled one. A major issue
here is to formulate proper aims for each area of life, following such, and to accept full responsibility for one´s
own situation (Seiwert, 2001). Therefore, variegated practical techniques are given.
Boost of competencies
Competencies are capabilities, features or attitudes enabling to master requirements in complex situations
(Maurer, 2006). A distinction is made between professional competence, self-competence, social competence
and methodological competence. The last three are the afore mentioned extra-curricular skills. They are also
named as key qualifications for personality development (Arnold & Müller, 2006). In this context, professional
competence means the ability to handle mathematics and electrical engineering. Self-competence denotes
personal abilities like clarifying and assessing development opportunities, requirements and restrictions of the
family, work and public life, creating schemes of life, as well as forming of well-thought-out ideals (Nickolaus,
2012). Social competence means the willingness and capability to live and to shape relationships (team
integration, cooperation, conflict handling, empathy, criticism, good manners, networking). Finally,
methodological competence includes the abilities and the understanding to use general working methods and
techniques (information and project management, creativity techniques, presentation, negotiating skills)
(Maurer, 2006). The present concept invigorates them all.
Learning strategies
Learning strategies (LS) are methods to plan, execute, monitor and, if necessary, to adapt learning behaviour
(Metzger, 2010). In the literature, learning processes are very often classified into three levels, whereat the
descriptions differ from each other. One possible distinction consists between cognitive LS, metacognitive LS
and resource based LS. Cognitive LS concern procedures of repeating, elaboration (linking of existing
knowledge and new information) and organisation (structuring of new information). Metacognitive LS focus on
the supervision of one´s own learning process (self-monitoring, -regulation and -evaluation). Resource based LS
use the internal and external resources and imply the provision of personal learning conditions (concentration,
effort, time-management, workplace design, group work, handling of disruptions etc.) (Bastian, 2012) (Wild &
Möller, 2015). Here, variegated practical techniques are given, too.
FINDINGS
The holistic methodological concept lives on the use of the individually applicable opportunities, called the
building blocks. Not all of them are explained in detail, but a brief overview is given here. Table 1 shows
®
established and potential building blocks and their attributive boost of competencies and Life-Leadership . The
first column lists the building blocks, whereby a distinction is made between the established (upper) and the
potential (lower) ones. Any further column refers to the three extra-curricular skills and the professional
competence. Each array in the table briefly describes how the specific building block sustains each specific
®
competence. The Life-Leadership involved is illustrated with colours. Blue refers to the attitude of mind, green
to health, orange to social contacts and yellow to the study achievement. Quite frequently the elements of the
®
Life-Leadership are not singly assignable. Hence, entire table sections are marked with colour if the chosen
element fits best. Additional small coloured ovals are used in case of further matches of an element. Taking in
initial view of Table 1, the study achievement mostly goes along with the methodological and professional
competence, social contacts with social competence, and the attitude of mind with self-competence. In
contrast, the element “health” mainly refers to one single (potential) building block, which indicates that some
appropriate building blocks are still missing.
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Established building blocks

Although it might appear as a matter of course, the working space is an essential building block since it
provides a place to study under favourable conducive learning conditions. For the students of electrical
engineering, the learning centre is free accessible offering the possibility to socialise not only with professional
content but with people also. When handling (smart-) boards (methodological competence), students become
more self-confident by expressing their own points of view (self-competence), by improving their ability to
talk/explain (social competence), and by improving their understanding and faculties while teaching
(professional competence). This would certainly contribute to presentation skills.
First semester tutorials take place every day during the semester. Receiving support from the tutors, the
students meet in self-determined manner to understand specific mathematical or technical matters
(professional competence). Each participant may put forward ambiguities. This individualisation takes a major
role, since it is one of the requirements for motivation (self-competence) (Caspary & Stern, 2010). In addition a
green oval is added to the relevant blue coloured array in Table 1, since motivation has anti-stress effects.
Depending on the arrangement of the tutorials, the students work individually or in groups (social
competence), or they explain/calculate issues in front of the audience (methodological competence). As part of
the tutorials, a training course for tutors in engineering is offered in each semester. This training course is
about the role as a tutor, adult learning, activating methods, planning of tutorials, cooperative guidance and
the principle of minimal support. In addition, the tutors may aim for their own topics or interests.
Moreover, the seminar “instruction to scientific work” is offered in the learning centre. It concerns scientific
fundamentals (terms, methods, quality criteria), planning (framework, work management), handling literature
(research, selection, administration), scientific work out (structure, form, stile), presentation (preparation,
performance), and the creation of scientific poster. The seminar combines pure instructional phases with
interruptions in order to actively involve students in the construction of the imparted knowledge (Nofen &
Temmen, 2015). This is effected by diverse exercises in individual- or group work. Here, the attitude of mind
(compare the blue array in the third row of Table 1) may be strengthened inasmuch as the students identify
themselves with science. At the end of the lecture, the students are requested to submit eight pages of term
paper (Walther & Temmen, 2013). Here also, the students are encouraged to make use of individual guidance.
Table 1: Building Blocks and their Attributive Boost of Competencies and Life-Leadership® (coloured)
Established Building Self Social Methodological Professional
Blocks Competence Competence Competence Competence
Working space Free accessible Allocation of
venue various
equipment
First semester tutorials Learning motivation Group work Solution steps Exercises
Seminar: Instruction to Introspection, Group work, Scientific Research,
scientific work identification with presentations methods, quoting,
science time scientific writing
management,
PQ4R
On-site support Straightforwardness Openmindness Solution finding Improved
strategies understanding
Individual guidance Self-Critisism As applicable Learning As applicable
strategies
Work in small groups Learning motivation Mutual support, Group Easier
conflict organisation understanding
handling,
learning culture
Smart- and whiteboards Self-confident Eloquence Use of the Boards Improved
for discussions / expression of one´s understanding
presentations own points of view when teaching
Individual work Self-dependance Tranquillity Planning Independent
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strategies elaboration
Training course for tutors Self-Management, Group work, Activating Didactic
self-actualisation role perception methods, planning,
principle of adult learning
minimal
support,feedback
Potential Building Blocks
Various workshops <manifold> <manifold> <manifold> <manifold>
Quality Talk Encouragement to Eloquence, Line of argument, As applicable
speak openly (with respect and negotiating skills
professors) appreciation
Educational animations Focussing Subsequent Methodological Technical
discussion content content
Laptops on loan Improved self- Mutual support Use of technical Deeper
esteem by mutual where needed software (SW) understanding,
support handling of the
software
Elements of Strengthening of Additional Relaxation
suggestopedia one´s own being general education techniques
Physical exercise at the Self-assurance Team building Isometric training,
learning place activities various exercises
Working space Water tank, Bundling
apples
Attitude of mind: Health: Social contacts: Work / achievement (studies):
Potential building blocks

One idea to expand the offer in the learning centre is the implementation of quality talks. A quality talk is
understood to be a meeting of an interest group (students) with one selected professor for informal talk about
suggested topics which follow the main interests of the students. This could solve possible problems and
improve mutual appreciation (social competence and contacts). In this context, for some students the
encouragement to speak openly might be a chance to overcome their fear of speaking, thereby to get more
self-confidence, as a result of which they could change their attitude of mind. For comparison see to this the
tn
array in Table 1: orange filling with a small blue oval. The first quality talk will take place at June 30 , 2016.
A further potential building block are laptops on loan. Possibly unspectacular, but promoting self-directed
learning. Equipped with the necessary and relevant engineering software (freeware and commercial), the
students will be able to learn the software programs auto didactically (methodological competence), they will
have the chance to share mutual support (self- and social competence and contacts), and they obtain a deeper
understanding of the subject matter (professional competence).
In addition, educational animations are being developed in the field of expertise cognitive systems engineering.
These animations (3D) focus on dedicated issues, where students encounter significant problems of
understanding. Besides open publications, these animations will be used in the learning centre. As a further
measure, the animations could be combined with elements of suggestopedia. The suggestopedia is a holistic
learning method coordinating the use of body and mind. It takes into account aspects of biology, neural-
psychology and pedagogy and implies relaxation techniques, (baroque) music and games while learning. (It was
established by Dr. Georgii Lazarov, physician and psychiatrist in the 60´s) (Frisch, 1988). In this context it is
important to overcome suggestive barriers (Edelmann, 2000). Influencing the attitude of mind (see the blue
arrays in Table 1), the elements of suggestopedia create a balance with regard to the subsequently study
achievements. The effects (learning outcomes) will become apparent.
Based on the exchange with the students, various workshops are thinkable. Aside from personal conversations,
questionnaires will be used to evaluate further interests and improve critics. Physical exercises at the learning
place could be a feasible improvement. The green colour indicates that the main focus is on health. As surplus,
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IN THE WORLD
physical activities lead to enhanced cognitive functioning (better learning success) (Gómez-Pinilla, So, &
Kesslak, 1998).
Finally, the working space asserts itself again as an essential building block since the learning centre shall
bundle the subject-specific building blocks of all fields of expertise in the department of electrical engineering
that deal with student´s problems of understanding.
This paper describes a holistic approach to promote self-directed learning. It takes learning motivation, LS,
important competencies, wellbeing, balancing of life and fun into consideration. Self-directed learning mainly
goes along with the self-determination of the students. This is given on three different levels: on the structure
of the holistic methodological concept (possible selections), on the active contribution in each building block,
and on the contributed generation of new building blocks. Thus, the holistic methodological concept is flexible
and expandable.
Like a newly planted little young tree, where it is uncertain how it grows, it will be shown if this concept yields
an open-minded learning culture. In return, the identification of appropriate indicators is necessary.
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JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL

AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES

Volume 6 Special Issue 1

Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya, Gazi Üniversitesi, Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi,

Prof. Dr. Uğur Demiray, Anadolu Üniversitesi, İletişim Bilimleri Fakültesi,

Abstracting & Indexing

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD i

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD ii

Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Caner, Akdeniz University, Turkey

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD iii

Dear WJEIS Readers,

Prof. Dr. Zeki Kaya

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD iv

02. MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING…………………………………………………………………………………………………9

03. TEACHING LONDON POETRY AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE……………………………………………………………………….13

04. USING SOCIAL NETWORK AS AN EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT TOOLS

06. INDIVIDUALISATION OF TEACHING IN THE PROCESS OF DESCRIPTIVE ASSESSMENT……………………………….28

07. STEM EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD IN TURKEY…………………………………………………………………………..…38

08. NEW TRENDS OF TRAINING IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOFIA………………..48

09. EDUCATION OF PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROM ON DISEASE SELF- MANAGEMENT……………………54

10. SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE ORGANIZATION

11. OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………..70

12. SATISFACTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE STUDIED COURSES

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD v

13. CONTINUING EDUCATION ON BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION

14. QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROCESS THROUGH THE EYES OF STUDENTS…………………………………………..………93

15. DETERMINING THE ATTITUDES TOWARDS RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

16. EEG ATTENTION AND MEDITATION RESPONSES OF STUDENTS

18. A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO PROMOTE SELF- DIRECTED LEARNING………………………………………………………..128

COPYRIGHT @ JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD vi

OPEN AND DISTANCE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS STUDY

Keywords: Content Analysis, Language teaching, distance learning.

Purpose of the study

Journal and Article Selection Process

Table 1: The distribution of the articles

Coding Procedure and Data Analysis

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Findings of the Research Titles

Findings Of The Samplings

Findings Of The Research Methods

RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

Aydın, C. H. (2011). Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenme. Ankara: Pegem Akademi.

Holmberg, B. (1989). Theory and Practice of Distance Education. London: Routledge.

Keegan, D. (1996). Foundations of Distance Education. London: Routledge.

Appendix 1: List of Journals and Articles used in the study

British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET)

Distance education (DE)

Ros i Sole, C., Truman, M. (2005). Feedback in distance learning programmes in

The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL)

MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinem Bezircilioğlu

Keywords: Mobile-assisted language learning, motivation, mobile devices.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

TEACHING LONDON POETRY AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Assist. Prof. Dr. Tzu Yu Allison Lin

Keywords: London, Poetry, Cultural Exchange, Cultural Identity.

TENNYSON AND EMPATHY

Here, I that stood in On beside the flow

A hand that can be clasped no more –