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1 – 10 of 577The study’s objective was to ascertain the connection between secondary school students' test anxiety, academic self-concept, motivation and academic performance in mathematics…
Abstract
Purpose
The study’s objective was to ascertain the connection between secondary school students' test anxiety, academic self-concept, motivation and academic performance in mathematics. The difference between the academic performances of male and female secondary school students who exhibit high and low test anxiety, academic self-concept and motivation levels in mathematics.
Design/methodology/approach
Four hypotheses and four research questions were adopted. The design is a correlation. 42,299 mathematics students in senior school year two (SS2) made up the research population. A sample of 1,650 students was selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. The main instruments used were the Mathematics Test Anxiety Questionnaire (MTAQ), Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire (ASQ) and Academic Motivation Questionnaire (AMQ) and students’ math scores. These instruments were validated by three experts and the reliability coefficients of 0.69, 0.68 and 0.68 were obtained for MTAQ, ASQ and AMQ, respectively, using Cronbach alpha. Pearson product moment correlation was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The study’s results showed a correlation between secondary school students' academic performance in mathematics and test anxiety, academic self-concept and motivation. There was a significant difference between secondary school male and female students' test anxiety; there was a significant difference between secondary school male and female students' self-concept and academic performance in mathematics, and there was a significant difference between secondary school male and female students' motivation and academic performance in mathematics.
Originality/value
The major contribution of this study is to investigate the connection between test anxiety, academic self-concept motivation and students’ mathematics performance. There is a difference between psychological variables, gender and mathematics performance.
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The study utilized the consumption value theory to explore the motivational factors that define and differentiate the users and nonusers of fashion rental services
Abstract
Purpose
The study utilized the consumption value theory to explore the motivational factors that define and differentiate the users and nonusers of fashion rental services
Design/methodology/approach
A focus group was conducted to generate an initial list of measurement items. These items were refined through a pretest and then used in a self-administered online questionnaire to collect data from a total of 300 users and 300 nonusers. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis to identify the factors that define users and nonusers. A MANOVA was then conducted to explore the differences in the identified factors between users and nonusers.
Findings
Using factor analysis, nine factors were extracted across the five consumption values (functional, social, emotional, conditional and epistemic). MANOVA revealed a significant difference between users and nonusers across all factors. Further analyses suggested that the most differentiating factors are two emotional value factors and one social value factor.
Originality
Despite existing studies of fashion rental services, it is debatable whether the phenomenon is fully understood since previous studies primarily focus on consumers who engage in fashion renting services – there is a lack of focus on nonusers. This study provides unique contributions by exploring the phenomenon from both the user's and the nonuser's perspective.
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Zhiqin Lu, Peng Li, Qinghai Li and Heng Zhang
This paper according to the logic of the “digital access divide--digital capability divide--digital outcome divide” aims to systematically discuss the impact of the digital divide…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper according to the logic of the “digital access divide--digital capability divide--digital outcome divide” aims to systematically discuss the impact of the digital divide on individual happiness in China, accounting for the variations that exist across different groups, as well as the corresponding mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents cross-sectional analyses of the relationship between the digital divide and individual happiness in China. The analyses are based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2017, which academic institutions run on the Chinese Mainland. This database contains information on respondents' Internet access, skills and consequences of use, which can measure the digital divide of Chinese individuals at three levels.
Findings
First, individual happiness declined when they experienced the digital access divide in China. For the digital capability divide, the lower the usage skills, the more individual happiness declined. When analyzing the digital outcome divide, the greater the negative consequences, the more individual happiness declined. Second, the impacts of digital access, capability and outcome divide vary according to age, gender, education degrees, hukou, region and sub-dimensions. Third, the digital access and capability divide reduce individuals' happiness by lowering their self-rated social and economic status, whereas the digital outcome divide reduce individual happiness by lowering their fairness perception and social trust.
Originality/value
The authors believe that this is the first study to examine the impact and its variations among different groups of the three-level digital divide on individual happiness, as well as its mechanisms.
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Phebe Hassana Obaka, Seyi Julian Adelegan and Leonard Shaibu
The level of deterioration of educational facilities, such as leaking classroom roofs, inadequate good seats, obsolete offices, broken shutters and doors, outdated school…
Abstract
Purpose
The level of deterioration of educational facilities, such as leaking classroom roofs, inadequate good seats, obsolete offices, broken shutters and doors, outdated school buildings, power plants and office equipment like ICT media, laboratories, offices and workshops, despite the involvement of Alumni association in the maintenance of educational facilities for the effective actualization of school objectives was a worrisome nightmare in Kogi state. This, therefore, prompted the researchers to explore the Alumni’s participation in plant maintenance for effective implementation of the universal basic education (UBE) programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state. The purpose of this study was guided by the research question which stated that to what extent does the Alumni Association participate in plant maintenance for effective implementation of the UBE programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state?
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research approach using a descriptive survey was adopted for the study. The sample was drawn using a proportionate stratified sampling technique comprising 387 participants which consisted of 191 (49%) urban junior secondary school principals and 196 (51%) rural principals in selected UBE junior secondary schools. Alumni’s Participation in Plant Maintenance Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. The data were analysed with the aid of mean and standard deviation for the research question and z-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance and the value of z-crit. of 1.96 was used to determine the rejection or otherwise of the hypotheses.
Findings
The descriptive analysis revealed that the average mean set of 2.64 pointed to the fact that the respondents averagely agreed that there was a high extent to which Alumni participate in plant maintenance in urban than rural areas for effective implementation of the UBE programme in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state. This indicates that Alumni contribute to the management of UBE schools in Kogi state, especially in the areas of funding, infrastructural facilities, discipline, politics and quality control. This finding also shows that the contributions of the alumni to educational institutions are still unclear if they have made contributions to education in some areas and none in other areas making their relevance to plant maintenance unclear.
Research limitations/implications
In terms of practical implications, the study has contributed to knowledge in that it is the first of this form of a study carried out in Kogi state, and as such the findings of the research will make contributions to the physique of information on plant maintenance for the profitable implementation of the UBE programme in Kogi state. Besides, the degree of plant preservation for the implementation of the UBE programme among applicable stakeholders in Kogi state is nevertheless at a low extent.
Originality/value
Researchers have conducted studies that show how non-state Alumni members contribute to the administration of education across different states. Some of these studies revealed that Alumni members have assisted schools in the provision of teaching and learning materials at the senior secondary or tertiary education level. There are no sufficient studies to show how these Alumni members have contributed to the implementation of the free education programme, especially in public junior secondary schools in Kogi state and this is the gap this study intends to fill.
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Lifu Li and Kyeong Kang
E-entrepreneurship is developed based on digital platforms, having specific technical opportunities, such as the interactive ecosystem, fast payment method and online store…
Abstract
Purpose
E-entrepreneurship is developed based on digital platforms, having specific technical opportunities, such as the interactive ecosystem, fast payment method and online store function, without strict requirements for online entrepreneurs. Considering China’s e-entrepreneurship environment and cultural background, this paper aims to analyse individuals’ e-entrepreneurship motivation based on the capability–opportunity–motivation–behaviour (COM-B) behaviour changing theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Through testing 602 samples based on the partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling, the factors from the opportunity and capability units positively affect individuals’ e-entrepreneurship motivation. Meanwhile, because of the economic and social environmental differences between China’s urban and rural regions, this study promotes the multi-group analysis based on individuals’ regional backgrounds.
Findings
First, as opportunity factors, technical and policy opportunities have significantly positive relationships with individuals’ e-entrepreneurship motivation. Second, entrepreneurial and cultural capabilities are essential for Chinese entrepreneurs while making an entrepreneurial decision. Third, because of the e-entrepreneurial environment difference and educational system gap, entrepreneurial capability exerts a greater influence on the e-entrepreneurship motivation for Chinese individuals from urban regions, and cultural capability exerts a higher impact on the e-entrepreneurship motivation for Chinese individuals from rural regions.
Originality/value
Whilst the phenomenon of e-entrepreneurship is emerging as a popular entrepreneurship area of study, little research has systematically explored individuals’ e-entrepreneurial motivation and analysed influencing factors from macro and minor aspects. According to the COM-B behaviour changing theory, this paper discovers influencing factors from environmental opportunity and personal capability units, and it is helpful to present individuals’ attitudes to the platform-based business model.
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The goal of this article is two-fold. The first is to contribute new insights to inform education policies for addressing the underlying educational inequalities and injustices…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this article is two-fold. The first is to contribute new insights to inform education policies for addressing the underlying educational inequalities and injustices that are caused by lack of epistemic access in the context of Fiji higher education. The second is to explore how the Grounded Theory Methodology can be applied to longitudinal language testing research that seeks to reverse epistemic injustices and educational inequalities in Fiji and other comparable multilingual countries.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore how the Grounded Theory Methodology can be applied to longitudinal language testing research that seeks to reverse epistemic injustices and educational inequalities in Fiji and other comparable multilingual countries. The study was conducted at a university in Fiji where 120 students were sampled at the beginning of the first year and at the end of their first year of university programme. The same cohort was tracked throughout the project, out of which 30 students were interviewed at the end of the first year.
Findings
The four indicators include: (1) lack of teaching and learning resources, (2) language barriers, (3) problems with the medium of instruction and (4) shortage of experienced teachers.
Originality/value
Although widely acknowledged in previous studies from elsewhere, the indicators of educational inequalities identified in this study are worth reporting on due to the unique socio-cultural and linguistic context of Fiji.
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Dale C. Spencer, Rosemary Ricciardelli and Taryn Hepburn
The purpose of this article is to examine the expectations, challenges and tensions officers describe while engaged with public schools to demonstrate that officers engage with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the expectations, challenges and tensions officers describe while engaged with public schools to demonstrate that officers engage with students in public schools in a conscious, goal-oriented process to establish and maintain useful relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection involved 104 semi-structured interviews (including follow up interviews) and 31 focus groups, conducted between 2014 and 2018 with police officers working in rural areas of a province in Atlantic Canada.
Findings
Utilizing the concept of social capital, we analyze practices of investments alongside the understanding of rurality as socially interconnected and the rural school as a particular site of interconnectedness for police officers. We demonstrate how, while accumulating social capital, officers face role tension and fundamental barriers when trying to integrate into rural school communities.
Originality/value
By demonstrating the specificities of building social capital in schools and community environments in a rural setting, we contribute to understandings regarding the unique opportunities and challenges faced by police in rural schools in integrating effectively into schools and responding to youth-specific problems.
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Funda Baş Bütüner, Aysem Berrin Cakmakli, Ahmet Can Karakadilar and Esra Deniz
This article explores the impacts of the changing land-use on urban heat island (UHI) in an urban transformation zone in Ankara (Türkiye). Identifying a characteristic rural…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores the impacts of the changing land-use on urban heat island (UHI) in an urban transformation zone in Ankara (Türkiye). Identifying a characteristic rural landscape until the 1950s, the study area experienced a drastic land-use change by razing the fertile landscape of the city and replacing it with a sealed surface. Development of the squatter houses after the 1960s and, subsequently, the implementation of a new housing morphology have introduced new sceneries, scales and surface conditions that make the study area a noteworthy case to analyze.
Design/methodology/approach
Regarding the drastic spatio-temporal change of the study area, this research assesses the impacts of the changing land-use on UHI based on three periods. Using 1957, 1991 and 2021 aerial imaginaries and maps, it analyzes the temperature alteration caused by the changing land-use. To do so, different surface types, green patterns and built-up areas have been modeled using Ankara climatic data and transferred to ENVI-Met to calculate the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) values.
Findings
The calculation has been developed over a transect covering an area of 40 m × 170 m, which includes diversity in terms of architecture, landscape and open space elements. To encourage future design strategies, the research findings deliberate into three extents that discuss the lacking climate knowledge in the ongoing urban transformation projects: impervious surface ratio and regional albedo variation, changing aspect ratio and temperature variation at the pedestrian level.
Originality/value
Urban transformation projects, being countrywide operations in Türkiye, need to cover climate-informed design strategies. Herein, the article underlines the critical position of design decisions in forming a climate-informed urban environment. Dwelling on a typical model of housing transformation in Türkiye, the research could trigger climate-informed urban development strategies in the country.
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This paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' employability skills and give insights into preparation for future crises that may…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' employability skills and give insights into preparation for future crises that may happen.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing an interpretative phenomenological approach with the frame of social cognitive theory, the current study examined the changes in environmental, behavioral and personal elements of human functioning for employability skills being affected by the conditions during the pandemic.
Findings
Findings based on ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with students at universities in Vietnam highlighted that the global pandemic performed as both challenge and an opportunity for employability skills development, yet the extent to which the students can benefit from the new studying conditions attributed to each individual's initiatives in taking advantages of resources and acting against difficulties.
Originality/value
Whether the pandemic became a hindrance or a motivation for students' employability skills to develop and whether students effectively utilized an agency to overcome challenges and improved their skills after the pandemic have not yet been investigated. This study added to the body of literature regarding self-regulated learners by demonstrating agency in the learning process as well as how to manage careers and improve employability skills by making use of resources in disconnected settings.
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John Coker Ayimah, John Kuada and Edward Kwame Ayimey
This paper reports results of an investigation into semi-urban Ghanaian university youths' attitude to digitized financial services (DFSs) and the determinants of their adoption…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reports results of an investigation into semi-urban Ghanaian university youths' attitude to digitized financial services (DFSs) and the determinants of their adoption decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative cross-sectional research approach was used. Three hundred and seventy-five (375) university students were randomly selected from a semi-urban town in Ghana to test the applicability of technology acceptance model (TAM) within such a context. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess stated hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate a high penetration of digital financial services among the students, which confirms the applicability of TAM for such studies. The results further suggest that DFS provides a pathway to financial inclusion and can stimulate small enterprise development and job creation in Ghana's semi-urban communities.
Originality/value
Hitherto, little academic attention has been given to digitization of financial services in semi-urban African towns. The study contributes to filling this research gap.
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