Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science

School Belonging, Safety, and Equity

Albulene Grajcevci, Arif Shala — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This study examines whether widely documented links between students’ perceptions of safety, equity, and belonging and their academic performance, commonly found in Western contexts, also hold in Kosovo. Drawing on data from 703 fifth-grade students across 30 classrooms, it compares public and private schools and explores how classroom climate relates to achievement. Public school students reported higher levels of safety, equity, discipline, and connectedness than their peers in private schools, whose grades appeared substantially inflated and clustered at the top. In contrast, public schools displayed a broader and more differentiated distribution of achievement.
Teacher practices emerged as a key factor: students performed better when teachers were perceived as placing less emphasis on performance goals, indicating that supportive, mastery-oriented classroom environments foster stronger learning outcomes. Multilevel analyses further showed that GPA and CoreGPA were shaped by distinct predictors, with connectedness and discipline playing different roles. Gender differences also appeared: among girls, equity and teacher performance goals were positively associated with achievement, whereas boys’ outcomes were more strongly linked to connectedness.
Overall, the findings highlight the importance of reducing performance-goal pressure, strengthening student-teacher relationships, and ensuring equitable environments and transparent grading practices to help narrow achievement gaps.

Breaking Down Barriers

Thi-Ngoc-Trinh Nguyen, Hanh Dinh, Thi-Thi Vu — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Even though integrated science education (ISE) has been advocated globally for decades to enhance students’ scientific literacy, developing countries with their own contextual conditions still face ongoing struggles in transitioning from subject specialization to integration. To ensure educational efficiency, specifically by reducing disciplinary fragmentation and optimizing resource use, understanding teachers’ attitudes, along with diverse contextual factors, plays a pivotal role in the ISE movement. This quantitative study examines the attitudes of Vietnamese science teachers at various school levels, emphasizing differences in their attitudes across contextual variables, which informs strategies to enhance ISE promotion. The questionnaire-based methodology was employed to collect 203 responses, and the data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Our findings proved that (1) science teachers favored ISE despite the obstacles and anxiety of an educational reform; (2) traditional assumptions of contextual variables such as gender, years of teaching experience, and educational qualifications do not statistically differ in teachers’ attitudes; (3) the quality of professional development might relate to teachers’ perceived difficulty, anxiety, and self-efficacy towards ISE. Therefore, a sustainable, high-quality provision of professional development is essential to help teachers achieve ISE instructional objectives, alongside more practical solutions.

Development of the Four-Tier Diagnostic Test to Identify Student Misconceptions in the Static Fluids Chapter

Himawan Putranta, Fahdah Afifah — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Misconceptions about static fluid concepts in physics are common among students, making it essential for teachers to identify and address them. This research aims to develop and evaluate the quality of a four-tier diagnostic test instrument and identify student misconceptions in the static fluid chapter. The sample for this research comprised 91 grade 11 students from the State Madrasah Aliyah in Bantul, Indonesia, selected using a purposive sampling technique. The findings of this research indicate that the four-tier diagnostic test instrument is suitable for identifying student misconceptions. The test validation results showed 17 valid test items and 1 invalid test item. This diagnostic test is reliable, with a person reliability coefficient of 0.73, an item reliability coefficient of 0.96, and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.72. The test items include two very difficult, seven difficult, and nine moderate items. The discrimination power of the 17 test items is good, except for one, which is poor. This instrument also found that the most common student misconceptions were in the hydrostatic pressure sub-chapter (71% of students) and in surface tension (66% of students).

Utilizing ICT-Based Learning Resources to Enhance Creativity and Innovation for Pre-Service Students of Vocational Education

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In today’s vocational education, preparing prospective vocational teachers requires developing innovative, creative thinking that strengthens pedagogical competence and classroom management. These abilities help address the complexity of modern vocational classes and support a positive, engaging learning environment. This study examines how prospective vocational teachers manage ICT-based learning resources to encourage creativity and innovation in their professional practice. A quantitative approach was applied with 178 participants, evenly assigned to a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group used ICT-based learning tools, including interactive multimedia and various digital technologies. Results showed that participants who effectively used ICT resources achieved higher levels of creative and innovative thinking. The experimental group’s N-Gain score reached 0.756, compared with only 0.049 in the control group. This significant difference strongly suggests that appropriate use and management of ICT learning resources can help future vocational teachers create more productive classroom conditions and strengthen their entrepreneurial abilities. The notable learning gains also demonstrate that ICT-based multimedia improves instructional effectiveness compared with traditional methods. Overall, the findings clearly highlight that future TVET educators who master digital learning resources will be better prepared for teaching demands and the challenges of contemporary TVET.

Boosting Creative Thinking and Entrepreneurial Attitude in Manado High School Students

Alessandro Manarisip, Sri Handayani, Eli Rohaeti, Siti Marwati — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Scrum is a framework that supports the development of various student skills, yet its application in chemistry learning within the Manado local cultural context remains rare. This study aimed to examine the effect of the scrum method, combined with ethnochemistry, on students' creative thinking skills and entrepreneurial attitudes in green chemistry. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control-group design, the study involved 110 senior high school students in Manado, divided into an experimental group (55 students) using Scrum with ethnochemistry and a control group (55 students) using conventional learning. Data were analyzed using MANOVA and paired sample t-tests. Results showed that the experimental group experienced significant improvements in creative thinking skills and entrepreneurial attitudes compared to the control group. However, the method's complexity posed challenges that affected its overall implementation. Despite these challenges, the Scrum method within the ethnochemistry context proved to have a positive influence on students' skills. Therefore, this method is recommended for broader application in schools to enhance students' creative and entrepreneurial competencies.

Exploring the Effects of Explicit Science Process Skill Instructions on Primary School Pre-service Science Teachers Nature of Science Conception

Gidele Gito, Solomn Sorsa, Samuel Assefa , Deribe Workineh — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Informed Nature of Science (NOS) conception is among the professional competencies of science teachers. As a result, extensive research is being conducted on the development of NOS conceptions among pre-service science teachers (PSSTs). However, it remains a significant challenge, particularly because NOS is a meta-concept that necessitates higher-order cognitive skills. In this study, we explored the influence of explicit Science Process Skill (SPS) instruction on the PSST's NOS conception using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with experimental and control groups. SPS is instructed using the four-component instructional design (4C/ID) model. Findings indicated that PSSTs had a less informed conception of NOS, its various themes, and laws vs. theories and methodologies in scientific investigation. Observation and inference, the tentativeness of scientific theories/knowledge, the existence of creativity and imagination in science, and scientific methodology were significant themes of NOS.

On the other hand, laws vs. theories and society and cultural influence on science themes do not show significant improvements. This study demonstrated that explicit SPS instruction is a better framework for developing specific themes of NOS conception. However, it also highlighted the limitations of a single method in altering entire themes, emphasizing the need for an appropriate method for each theme.

Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Anxiety Levels of Pre-service Science Teachers

Burcu Akbay, Özlem Karakoç Topal, Ayberk Bostan Sarıoğlan — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

The study aimed to assess levels of "artificial intelligence literacy" (AIL) and "artificial intelligence anxiety" (AIA) among pre-service teachers and to examine their relationship. The study used an explanatory sequential design, a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 136 pre-service teachers using the "Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale" and "Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale" through convenience sampling. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine pre-service teachers using criterion sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA and correlation analyses, while qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. The results indicated that pre-service teachers' AIL levels did not differ significantly by GPA, AI knowledge level, or emotional state towards AI. However, they varied significantly by skill level with technological tools.

Additionally, AIA levels did not differ significantly by skill level in using technological tools or AI knowledge level. However, they varied considerably based on GPA and emotional state variables. Correlation results revealed no significant relationship between AI levels and AIA levels. The qualitative data from interviews supported the quantitative results, indicating no relationship between AIL and AIA levels. As a suggestion, training can be provided to increase pre-service teachers' awareness of AI.