Educational Research Review最新文献

In the era of globalization, the role of teachers is evolving to encompass global competence, prompting the need for teacher training programs dedicated to enhancing and expanding this competence. To comprehend the effect of current training initiatives on teachers’ global competence and guide future design, a research synthesis was undertaken through meta-analysis. This comprehensive meta-analysis, incorporating 105 effect sizes from 37 independent studies, unveiled a moderate to large effect (g = 0.46) of training programs on teachers’ global competence. Notably, we found that the training effects varied across different domains of global competence, with a more pronounced impact on the development of teachers’ knowledge and skills compared to their attitudes. Our findings also indicated some differences and similarities between in-service and pre-service training programs. For in-service teachers, specific attributes of training programs (i.e., delivery by districts and support for ICT) were found to have more significant positive effects. For pre-service teachers, training with a professional guide and solid knowledge building (e.g., courses and workshops) was found to be more effective in fostering their global competence, indicating that establishing a knowledge base should not be undervalued for pre-service teachers. This meta-analysis proposes that teacher training programs can be improved by incorporating “stage-appropriate” learning experiences that enhance teachers’ global competence.

Many institutions provide financial incentives for higher education students contingent on their performance, hoping to increase their motivation and achievement. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of performance-based financial incentives on higher education students using causal evidence. A total of 18 randomized controlled trials involving 20,286 students were included. Performance-based financial incentives increased the number of college credits earned, marginally improved student grade point averages, and improved exam scores when targeted at a single subject. No evidence was found for differential effects on student populations by gender or first-generation college status. Neither the incentive amount nor a focus on low-income students influenced the incentive effectiveness in improving student grade point averages or credits earned. Tentative evidence suggests that incentive designs in which the number of reward recipients is limited are more beneficial to students from the upper median level of high school grade point average. Hence, the study implies that it is more beneficial to provide lower-amount incentives attainable by a larger number of students than to provide higher-amount incentives attainable only by a small number of students. The results of this meta-analysis are of interest for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in higher education involved in designing financial incentive schemes for higher education students – providing a substantial step toward evidence-based practice.

Interdisciplinary teaching and learning (ITL), also termed cross-curricular teaching and learning, and curricular integration, is a prevailing trend among K-12 educational practitioners and policymakers. However, with the exclusion of specific disciplinary combinations such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), the empirical scholarship on ITL in K-12 settings is unsystematic, leading to difficulties in knowledge integration. In this article, we take stock of the existing empirical literature on ITL at the K-12 level within the humanities, arts, and social sciences, examining how educational scholars have understood and implemented ITL in peer-reviewed research articles. We show how existing scholarship on ITL includes a broad range of definitions and conceptual framings of interdisciplinarity; discuss the portrayal of the process for designing and implementing ITL curricular units; and categorize the scholarly objectives of ITL research. We conclude by offering recommendations to guide the future development of this burgeoning field of study.

Despite increasing evidence calculating the extent of COVID learning loss, few researchers have attempted to collect and examine the evidence through meta-analysis. To fill this gap, our meta-analysis seeks to explore the existing research regarding the effects of COVID on learning in reading and mathematics. Our findings illustrate that the learning loss was real and significant compared to previous school years. Applying our rigorous inclusion criteria informed by best evidence synthesis methodology, we identified 30 eligible studies. On average, meta-regression results showed that students lost 0.21 (p = .006) standard deviations of learning during the pandemic school closures. Moderator analysis further showed none of the group comparisons (i.e., subject, grade levels, country and test-type) are statistically significant. In the final section of this article, we provide recommendations for educational policymakers to address this challenge.

Educational Escape Rooms (EER) as a new teaching tool gained significant attention in the research discourse – especially the last two years. So far, research focused on the practicality, feasibility or description of the development. To provide a more comprehensive understanding to mechanisms within this instructional approach, it is valuable to examine it through the lens of established and well-researched theories and approaches of teaching and learning. Therefore, we identified which theoretical foundations were used in research on Escape Rooms as learning tools and took a look at the extent to which and where they are represented. For this purpose, a systematic review was conducted, which resulted in the identification of 24 articles containing a total of nine theoretical foundations. It is presented how these approaches are applied in EERs and how they are interrelated. Furthermore, we developed six patterns that illustrate the integration of the found theories into the articles. The integration of these theoretical approaches ranges from general statements on theoretical grounding in EERs without connection to didactic considerations to theoretical grounding with empirical validation. Result of the systematic review is that the theoretical foundation in current research on EERs is weak. Therefore, it is argued that future research should focus more on the interweaving of theory, didactic instructions, and practice to gain a better understanding of mechanisms behind successful learning environments with EERs.

This mixed-research synthesis examined the short and long-term effects of out-of-school learning (OSL) activities on student achievement and factors affecting these practices. Initially, two meta-analytic reviews examined the short and long-term effects of OSL practices on student achievement under a random-effects model. Then, a thematic synthesis of primary qualitative studies explored the pedagogical factors affecting OSL practices. Finally, results from both phases were integrated through a cross-study synthesis. The study found that OSL significantly improves student achievement, g = 1.062, 95% CI [0.930, 1.194], and achievement retention, g = 1.033, 95% CI [0.759, 1.307]. However, there were considerable within and between-study heterogeneities. The moderator variables of country, discipline area, intervention length, and grade levels significantly contributed to effect size variability in one or both meta-analyses. The thematic synthesis revealed many pedagogical factors and implications that needed consideration when planning for, implementing, and finalizing OSL. Interventions matching the implications drawn from the primary qualitative studies had statistically significant effects on student outcomes in many cases. The study concluded by discussing major findings, conclusions, and implications for future research, teachers, and policymakers.

We recently published a paper in this journal (de Jong et al., 2023) that presented an overview of the literature on learning in science domains through direct instruction and guided inquiry-based learning. This paper was, in part, a response to Zhang et al. (2022) who argued that the evidence firmly supported the superiority of direct instruction over inquiry learning. Sweller et al. (2024) recently replied by repeating this claim and also argued that we had ignored evidence against our position, questioned our analysis of the evidence, and claimed that direct instruction (unlike inquiry learning) is grounded in a strong theory. In this rebuttal we start by reemphasizing the conclusion from our previous paper: adequate instruction always involves different strategies, which should be thoughtfully selected based on contextual factors. Next, we demonstrate that inquiry-based learning is firmly rooted in both cognitive and socio-cultural theories of learning and conclude from recent literature that Sweller et al.‘s belief that direct instruction is overall more effective than inquiry learning is not supported by the data from empirical studies.

Educational reform through the scaling of evidence-based practices has been extremely difficult to achieve in practice. This scoping review examines the extent to which Implementation Science (IS) has been used to investigate the scaling of interventions in school settings and what has or could potentially be learnt from these investigations.

Scopus, ProQuest, and EBSCO databases were searched for studies that involved scaling of an intervention in a school setting and made reference to IS. A wide range of methodologies (observational, quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods) in publications including journals articles, book chapters and reports was included. Extracted data were grouped and analysed under Nilsen's IS classification system of determinant frameworks, evaluation frameworks, process models, classic theories and implementation theories. Inductive analysis of recurring themes in the literature was performed.

The use of IS in the study of scaling interventions in school settings is in its early stages, with just 101 studies identified. Of those studies, there has been little systematic and considered use of IS in the scaling of interventions in schools. Twenty-eight factors considered important in the scaling of interventions in school settings were identified but only four in five papers nominated an IS framework, model or theory as a guiding principle for assessing implementation. Only two out of three studies reported an implementation outcome (66%) and, of those studies that did, one in three reported a single implementation outcome (33%). There was also a lack of consistency in terminology, variability in the application of IS tools, and limited longitudinal investigation. The large number of IS conceptual tools (n = 47) employed, combined with variability in application revealed that a fragmented approach to the use of IS currently exists in educational implementation research.

We argue that using a limited number of IS conceptual frameworks (preferably over at least a two-year period) would enhance the study of scaling interventions in schools. A reduced range of IS tools and consistent terminology to conceptualise and discuss implementation would enable a solid research base to be established.

To move beyond fidelity measurement, the following areas need to be examined and reported: (1) the range of contexts in which the intervention is being implemented; (2) the barriers and facilitators studied; (3) multiple implementation outcomes; and (4) the intervention outcomes.

Sense of belonging in higher education contributes to students' wellbeing and academic attainment. However, there is ambiguity about the definition and measurement of sense of belonging in higher education, and it is unclear how these definitions and measures are used in diverse student populations in terms of ethnicity and generation status in higher education. In this systematic review we investigated how students' sense of belonging in higher education is defined and measured and how this differs in studies addressing students' ethnicity or generation status in higher education. 89 quantitative, 55 qualitative, and 6 mixed method articles published between 2000 and 2021 were included, critically analyzed through an integrative approach, and their quality was appraised. Results revealed (a) a large variety in underlying concepts used to define of sense of belonging in higher education, including additional concepts from qualitative studies, (b) 52 separate used measures, and (c) misalignment between definitions and measures in quantitative studies. There was a substantial difference in cited definitions and used measures between studies that did and did not address students' ethnicity or generation status in higher education. Furthermore, from the findings it is implied to be explicit about the HE context in which sense of belonging is studied or focused on, alongside the deliberate inclusion of students’ representative intersecting identities.