Kitwe College of Education

Items

• Design for Emotion: Can UK secondary school students be taught how to evoke an emotional response through product design?
  This paper investigates whether secondary school students can be taught to design products which evoke a particular emotion in the user. A discussion on emotion is presented. Six emotions are identified for use in the study. To the authors’ knowledge the concept of designing for emotion has not been researched or taught in the UK outside of higher education. Therefore, this study is the first to investigate designing for emotion within a secondary school environment and whilst the scale of this study is small, it provides some valuable insights for wider investigation. Eight male students aged 13-14 participated in the study. Pre and post questionnaires were completed and in addition, one semi-structured interview was conducted to enable both quantitative and qualitative data to be gathered. The findings are positive and suggest that designing for emotion increases student's ability to be creative and improves their consideration of the user. Evidence of their detailed design thinking and consideration of product features are presented. Prior personal experience of the emotions are reported, as are the session activities, as a source of student inspiration, with important findings favouring the use of mood boards. Limitations of the study are considered together with recommendations for further research.
• From Ears to Experience: Insights into Living with Long-Term Glue Ear
• Styles and Trends of Online Aggressive Language among English Students in Their Blogging Activities
  Online aggression is a prevalent phenomenon among university students because information and communication technology (ICT) is an inseparable part of their daily and academic lives. University students are a demographic that is reportedly little studied. Previous research studied popular social networking sites rather than Blog, and online aggression is rarely studied through the lens of linguistics. Therefore, this study covered these research gaps by exploring the language tendencies of English students who are engaging in online aggression in Blog. The research design is triangulation mixed methods with two data types, i.e., 43 online questionnaire responses as the quantitative data and 302 online aggressive blog comments as the qualitative data. The questionnaire results were analysed based on the percentages and scale leanings, whereas the documented comments were analysed with content analysis assisted with NVivo 12. The results revealed that online aggression among university students who are blogging is primarily done with the style of combining text and non-text elements. The trends of their online aggressive language are lowercase spellings, no proper punctuation, and frequent usage of emoji to fulfil multiple purposes, i.e., syntactic as punctuation and semantic as discourse particle or emblem gesture. This study contributed in exploring the online aggression experiences of a unique demography, specifically the linguistic tendencies of university foreign language students who are interacting aggressively non-anonymously on a social networking site that is little studied.
• Can "Theory of Mind" be taught in school?
  “Theory of mind” (ToM) refers to an individual’s ability to understand and attribute one’s and other people’s mental states, such as thoughts, intentions and beliefs (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985; Premack & Woodruff, 1978). ToM is part of the construct of social cognition, and empirical evidence has suggested ToM plays a vital role in children’s social development. The significance of ToM in children’s development has led researchers to examine individual differences in ToM and their implications (Hughes, 2011). Additionally, researchers have considered whether children who lagged behind in ToM can catch up with their peers, leading to the question as to whether ToM can be taught in school. From a socio-constructivism perspective, it may be helpful to teach ToM in school as teachers can provide scaffolding to children, hence reducing gaps in ToM development. This review will explore whether ToM could be and should be taught in school. The review argues that, given its social origin, ToM can be taught in school, and it should be incorporated in the curriculum instead of being introduced as an independent subject. However, ToM should be taught in school only if educators are aware of the practical issues in doing so. There might be a limited generalisability of the learning effect, an iatrogenic possible effect, and the sociocultural and pedagogical differences across societies in children’s ToM development.
• Learning how to “Tease da Otha’ Race:” Ethnic-Racial Socialization through Multicultural Literature
  While multicultural education is lauded in the U.S. as a culturally-relevant teaching and learning approach that upholds diversity and inclusion, its emphasis of group differences often leads to essentialism, which may result in racial and gendered stereotypes that label non-white, non-binary, nonU.S. American/European students as deviations from dominant groups. This discordance is clear in acritical and ahistorical narratives that paint Hawai‘i and its education system as a model multicultural society despite an abundance of evidence pointing to the existence of institutionalized racism and sexism. Using a critical race theoretical lens and a critical race content analytical framework to examine three Hawai‘i-focused texts, this article exposes racial microaggressions about Communities of Color layered within multicultural discourse. Furthermore, the analysis theorizes potential long-term consequences of consistent exposure to racial microaggressions for Students of Color through an acritical, multicultural educational approach. This includes an internalization of racist ideologies and discourses that contribute to intragroup and intergroup conflict and a low self-regard.
• Storying: a Reflection on Entanglements with Indigenous Australian Methodology
  This article explores a First Nations PhD student’s personal narrative of navigating the entanglement of obligations, relationships, and methodology, while undertaking research with their own community within the Australian settler state. The experience of First Nations PhD student in our journey toward epistemological resonance confined by our unique geopolitical contexts is not adequately represented in any one discourse. Not only are First Nations PhD students dispersed throughout disciplines with unique specific circumstances, we are relative newcomers to the academy. On my journey I privilege my scholarly Matriarchs, Ngugi and Waka Waka scholar Professor Tracey Bunda and Goenpal scholar Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson, while also honouring my own Elders and Matriarchs. I am undertaking fieldwork with Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, a long running Aboriginal theatre company located in Boorloo (Perth, Western Australia). Phillips and Bunda’s Storying (2018) underpins my pedagogical approach in the classroom, which highlights students’ understandings of, and critical engagement with, culture, identity and belonging, in a high school drama classroom. I also experiment with Storying as a method of writing, further illustrating the entanglement of the work and the work’s outcomes. Moreton-Robinson provides the broader critical perspectives needed to acknowledge the role the settler state has to play in the attempted erasure of Indigenous Australian knowledges. As a result, this article stories the lived experience of a First Nations Education student in the context of studying at the University of Cambridge, while also undertaking fieldwork on their Whadjuk Noongar homelands of Boorloo.
• Understanding Equity and Access in the Expansion of Higher Education in Myanmar
  In this article, I examine the extent to which higher education has expanded in Myanmar and whether this expansion has widened or narrowed the equity gap in higher education access, using the lenses of the Maximally Maintained Inequality and Rational Choice Model. To achieve this, I employ a parallel mixed-method research design comprising two components: policy analysis and secondary data analysis. I first explore the policy initiatives implemented before 2016 that arguably aimed at promoting equitable access to higher education. Subsequently, using nationally representative data from the Myanmar Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2000) and separately the Myanmar Demographic & Health Survey (2015-16), I examine the extent to which socio-economic status and certain background characteristics continue to be related to opportunities of access to higher education. I then examine whether the expansion from 2000 to 2016 narrows the socio-economic status differences in access to higher education. The findings suggest that socio-economic status and other background characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and area of residence became more strongly associated to higher education following the expansion, suggesting a move away, instead of towards, equitable opportunities of access. Although higher education access increased across all socio-economic groups over the period studied, the expansion widened the educational inequalities. This is particularly evident for students from lowersocio-economic backgrounds, those from rural areas, and ethnic minorities. In addition, gender-based admission policy initiatives appear to fall short of addressing the existing gender disparities. Hence, I conclude that the policy initiatives studied in this research did not promote equity, despite ostensibly looking to do so. I contextualise my findings in the current Myanmar milieu and propose policy initiatives which, once researched appropriately, could serve to address the inequalities in access to higher education in Myanmar.
• The Future is in the Making: A Review of Literature on Dynamic Assessment in Second Language Education
  As a newly-introduced perspective and pedagogy in second language (L2) education, Dynamic Assessment (DA) disintegrates the long-standing dualism between instruction and assessment by unifying the simultaneous diagnosis and promotion of learners’ L2 developmental potential during the evaluation process. Aligning with a future-oriented and process-focused vision to achieve educational fairness, DA has been increasingly gaining attention and has ignited much research enthusiasm by both educational scholars and practitioners. However, little has been done to date concerning an up-to-date review of this prospective domain. This article aims to provide a thorough review of the developmental trajectories of L2 DA literature with a dual purpose. First, it seeks to comprehensively tease out the general trends and themes in L2 DA development spanning over 30 years. Second, it endeavors to critically comment on the methodologies and DA approaches employed in different studies to emphasize meaningful advances in the field. In so doing, this article first introduces the key concepts of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory underlying the DA principle and then provides a review of empirical L2 DA works coded into three themes, i.e., the interactionist DA approach, the interventionist DA approach and the hybrid DA approach, with several sub-themes further added. Summaries and limitations of current L2 DA works are discussed and potential directions for future research are also suggested.
• Rewriting the Rules of the School Uniform: Insights into Power and Policy in Tanzania
  Non-formal education (NFE) in Tanzania has experienced a recent swell of government support at the secondary school level, where efforts have focused on mainstreaming teenage mothers back into formal education. NFE is defined as any instruction outside of formal schooling that involves the acquisition of basic education; it is used as a complementary feature in most education systems around the world because it provides flexible and accelerated pathways to learning. My doctoral research examines how the political economy arrangements in Tanzania’s education system shape the delivery of NFE at secondary school centers known as, ‘open schools.’ This piece draws on findings from my fieldwork, including policy analysis and in-depth interviews, to narrow in on the reappropriation of policy rules for the use of school uniforms in open schools. In Tanzania, government cohesion around education policymaking exists but the institutions that regulate and distribute education priorities are highly personalized, giving way to policy misalignments that allow for ground-level actors to redefine policy rules. In the case of the school uniform, policies stipulate that NFE students are exempt from wearing them but, in practice, open schools enforce strict uniform rules for their students. School uniforms serve as powerful social signifiers of age and authority. Schools and teachers at the frontline of NFE provision are attuned to these social norms and rewrite the uniform rules accordingly. My reflections on uniform use in Tanzanian open schools are helpful for a broader analysis of how ground level actors can correct for policy misalignments. However, more research is needed to better understand how political economy shapes these misalignments. Furthermore, reforms need to be grounded in local knowledge, as policy priorities are often too far removed from the realities on the ground.
• Sociocultural and Sociolinguistic Approaches to the Role of the Social Context in Online L2 Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Two Empirical Studies
  This paper compares and evaluates sociocultural and sociolinguistic approaches to the role of the social context in second language learning (L2 learning), through analysing two empirical studies about online interaction. The paper argues that due to the different focus of study in the two perspectives, each approach only provides partial explanations of the complex role of the social context in online L2 learning contexts. While the developmental perspective taken by the sociocultural approach provides a detailed account of how learning is socially mediated from external to the internal planes, there is an absence of exploration about how learners themselves can impact the learning process. Contrastingly, while the sociolinguistic approach provides rich insight to how learner affect, identities, stances and ideologies can impact L2 learning processes, how these factors impact the actual acquisition of L2 code is rather unclear. After a critical evaluation of the two approaches, the paper concludes that each of the partial explanations provided by the two approaches are complementary in nature, and that together, they provide a useful tool kit for understanding the complex social nature of L2 learning. Nonetheless, some of the rigid premises set out by both approaches, such as expert-novice participation and language-culture correlation need to be re-evaluated given the backdrop of today’s multilingual age where technology and globalization have fundamentally changed the ways we interact and learn.
• Students’ Strengths Use and Engagement: Exploring the Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs
  With the rise of positive psychology, the focus on individuals’ strengths has become an innovative paradigm for enhancing both wellbeing and performance. While extensive research has demonstrated the positive effect of strengths use on work engagement, less is known about its impact on students’ engagement and the psychological mechanisms underlying the effect of strengths use. This study examines the relationship between strengths use and engagement among university students, with a focus on the mediating role of Basic Psychological Needs (BPN). A sample of 57 participants, including both undergraduate and postgraduate students, completed online questionnaires assessing their strengths use, engagement, and BPN satisfaction. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) mediation analysis. Results indicated a significantly positive relationship between strengths use and engagement, with BPN fulfilment fully mediating this relationship. This suggests that strengths use enhances students’ engagement through the satisfaction of BPN. These results contribute to the literature by providing evidence for the mediating role of BPN and have significant implications for educational strategies aimed at enhancing students’ engagement. The study recommends that future research replicates these findings across diverse demographics and educational settings.
• Trainee teachers’ views on democratic citizenship education: The cases of the PGCE and Teach First
• Understanding Second Language Learning Through a Sociolinguistic Lens: A Comparative Analysis of the Variationist and Identity Approaches
• “Talk to me about the LEGO!” A Qualitative Exploration of Autistic Students’ Experiences with LEGO-Based Therapy
  LEGO-Based Therapy (LBT) is a play-based social skills intervention which is being employed widely in schools across the UK to support autistic students’ social and emotional wellbeing. However, the existing literature lacks insight into how the children themselves experience and benefit from this intervention. Furthermore, there is a need for research that engages with under-represented autistic individuals (e.g., those with accompanying cognitive, behavioural and language difficulties). The following study explored autistic students’ experiences with LBT and aimed to answer whether and how this intervention supports their social and emotional wellbeing in school. The experiences of 14 autistic students with accompanying cognitive, behavioural or language needs (Nfemale = 2, Mage = 10.14 , NCaucasian = 5) from an independent special school in London were captured using video-recorded semi-structured interviews. Multimodal qualitative analysis yielded three key themes: i. Students have positive experiences with LEGO, ii. Majority of students have positive experiences with LBT, and, iii. LBT helps the majority of students and they have suggestions on how it can be better adapted to support them. These findings and the methodology are discussed and emphasise that in order to better represent the entire spectrum of needs in the autistic community in school-based research, future research can use mixed-method approaches which promote positive rapport so neurodivergent children and young people feel empowered to share their experiences through a medium which supports their needs.
• The Relationship Between Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge and Chinese Non-English Majors’ L2 Lexical Inferencing Strategy Use and Success
  The present study aims to explore the correlation between Chinese non-English majors’ depth of vocabulary knowledge (DVK) and their lexical inferencing strategy use and inferential success in English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension. With Qian and Lin’s DVK framework (2020) and Nassaji’s classification of the lexical inferencing strategies (2003) as the theoretical foundation, this mixed methods study investigates 40 third-year non-English major participants, who are categorised into the low-intermediate DVK level (LIL) group and the high-intermediate DVK level (HIL) group. The major findings reveal that: (1) The HIL learners adopted more strategies of word associations, discourse knowledge, and world knowledge, while the LIL learners chose more strategies regarding homonymy, morphology, and sentence-level grammatical knowledge. (2) The HIL learners made more effective use of all types of strategies. However, when both groups utilised the strategies of word associations and sentence-level grammatical knowledge, the difference in their inferential success was not remarkable. (3) Participants’ different choices on strategy use were mainly caused by their understanding of vocabulary meanings and lexical collocations. The LIL learners tended to be attracted to the sound relationships, word forms, and sentence structures, whilst the HIL learners were adept at internalising mnemonic techniques, contextual clues, and their common sense, and thus they focused more on the relationship between unknown words and the whole text. (4) The HIL learners’ inferential success was attributed to both their richer accumulation of vocabulary meanings as well as collocations and their higher degree of risk taking in lexical inferencing. Findings of this study may help Chinese college English teachers effectively with the training of English vocabulary and reading by offering pedagogical implications for non-English majors’ DVK improvement and lexical inferencing strategy development.
• Teaching Activist Thinking in Canadian Education: The limitations of play-based learning and radical potential of Indigenous land-based learning
  Amidst a climate crisis induced by settler colonialism and capitalism, education is key to developing new tools and envisioning solutions. Fostering skills for children to critically engage with systems of power is fundamental to how the next generation will address urgent global issues. Drawing on decolonial methodologies outlined by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012) and Zoe Todd (2016), I question whether play-based models are successful in teaching activist thinking in Canada. As an educational framework, play-based learning is gaining interest, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic that required children to adapt to outdoor learning. Forest Schools Canada is one example that claims to revolutionize how children interact with the natural world to develop eco-stewardship skills in an age of ecological collapse. However, I find that mainstream play-based methods are not necessarily radical when examined alongside Indigenous land-based learning. Both frameworks prioritize intergenerational relationship-building, immersive storytelling, and hands-on learning outdoors, but the intention behind Indigenous land-based learning is inherently decolonial and anti-capitalist by necessity; conversely, play-based learning can inadvertently perpetuate these damaging systems. Using auto-ethnographic professional experience, governmental policies, and Sandra Harding’s (2016) work on standpoint theory, I critique current examples of Canadian play-based education concerning their effectiveness in teaching activist thinking. I rely on Indigenous scholars in New Zealand and Turtle Island to inform academic theories of land-based learning with examples, supported by interviews with former Indigenous colleagues in eastern Canada. My narrative-like writing and inclusion of practice-based methodology—two video conversations—deviates from traditional qualitative research to foreground relationships consistent with the frameworks I discuss. Though play-based learning shows limited promise in deconstructing harmful structures of power, especially within established western contexts like public schools, storytelling has potential to generate meaningful change if layered with intention, such as naming root causes, linking to current affairs, and inviting creative solutions through play.
• A Review of the Literature on the Role of Non-formal Education in Promoting Girls’ Education in South Asia
  Many girls in South Asia face significant barriers in accessing education. However, non-formal education (NFE) programs are sometimes able to address or work around these barriers to reach and teach girls who would otherwise be unable to attend the traditional school system in their region. This study provides a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed, scholarly articles about NFE and girls’ education in South Asia to describe the strengths and weaknesses of NFE programs in reaching these girls. First, it provides a thorough explanation of what NFE is and the primary actors involved in its deliverance. Next, it identifies common barriers to education faced by girls in South Asia, including distance to schools, conflict, conservative cultural norms and practices, and inappropriate or irrelevant curricula. Then, it briefly describes some challenges that NFE programs face in delivering education to girls in South Asia, such as concerns relating to sustainability and proper certification for learning. It suggests that future NFE programs should focus on these shortcomings and highlights the lack of attention to educational quality compared to educational access in NFE research and programming.
• Transitions, Truth-Telling and Teaching History
• Employing Visual Narrative to Alternate Readers’ Perspective: A Case Study of Boxers & Saints
  Over the recent decade, interdisciplinary research in literature has witnessed a burgeoning interest in visual narratives such as picture books and comics. Despite some scholars’ acknowledgement of their transformative value, the field still remains debatable as others question the universality of visual language. This study uses Boxers & Saints as an example to join this debate and explore the effects that visual techniques can produce in readers. Boxers & Saints is a graphic novel created by Gene Luen Yang, which depicts the racial and ethnic conflicts during the Boxers Movement. By employing unique and creative artistic techniques such as the diptych form, contrastive colour palettes and visual braiding, Yang intends to help readers alternate between double perspectives and see the connection between the two seemingly opposing sides, thus developing a more nuanced way of thinking about the historical past and conflicts. Drawing upon reader-response theory and a cognitive approach to comics, this study conducts empirical research to investigate how and to what extent comics can help readers lay aside their preset beliefs and alternate between different perspectives. By conducting interviews with two participants—a Chinese and a British Catholic—and studying their responses to the selected panels in the book, this study questions the take-for-granted universality of visual language and reveals how preset beliefs influence the way they switch between different perspectives. The study ends with implications for future interdisciplinary research in comics and literature: what ethical considerations future researchers should attend to while doing interdisciplinary research in literature, what specific questions can be asked for future research regarding the cognitive approach to visual language, and how to tailor the research design for specific questions.
• The Role of Inhibitory Control in Achievement in Early Childhood Education
  This review paper explores the relationship between academic achievement in early childhood education and inhibitory control, namely students’ ability to regulate behaviour, emotions and thoughts to complete specific tasks. The majority of research in this area has focused on achievement in mathematics, literacy or a combination of both. Despite the recent uptake of ‘whole child’ focused education initiatives, few studies explore social-emotional learning, or all three areas collectively, a gap this paper aims to address. This paper offers a comprehensive review of previous research on inhibitory control and achievement to highlight areas of focus for future research and provide a theoretical basis for study design. The review draws on articles published in the English language and systematically compares research methodologies to elucidate the choices made by researchers. The findings indicated correlations between inhibitory control and the three areas of early childhood education, mathematics, literacy and social-emotional learning, although causation is not established. Hot inhibitory control, involving emotion or an external motivator, was found to be closely related to social-emotional learning and cool inhibitory control, limited emotional and an abstract motivator, with mathematics and literacy. Notably, emergent literacy varied by the language spoken by students. A look at the measures and samples used revealed that purposefully employing inhibitory control measures that align with real-world classroom activities may provide greater insight into the relationship between achievement and inhibitory control. The findings of this paper pose significant implications for research, policy and practice, especially with the recent uptake of social-emotional learning by education programs, as they reveal how inhibitory control relates to students’ ability to thrive in early childhood education settings. In the light of these findings, it is important for educators and researchers to consider how inhibitory control may in itself, be considered a goal of early childhood education.
• L2 Motivation and Identity in Chinese Students Learning a Second Language
  This literature review explores the evolving landscape of L2 motivation, emphasizing the interplay between motivation and identity among Chinese students studying a second language. From Gardner to Dörnyei, the review traces theoretical developments, highlighting the significance of ideal and ought-to selves within the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). Integrating empirical findings, it reveals how Confucian-influenced societal norms shape Chinese students’ motivations, particularly in English versus Languages Other Than English (LOTE) contexts. Given the large numbers of Chinese students learning languages abroad and in China, the review emphasizes the need for further research into the dynamic relationship between identity and motivation in multilingual environments, with Chinese learners as a focal point.
• Rethinking the Significance of Creative Writing: A Neglected Art Form behind the Language Learning Curriculum
  In many countries, including China and the UK, creative writing is seen as a subject within the broader area of first language learning. Embedded within language learning, creative writing therefore appears very functional. Teachers often pay more attention to the technical writing skills but neglect emotion and creativity. However, many researchers argue that emotion and creativity should be the core elements when seeing creative writing as valuable for its own sake, as an art form. This essay will draw on the argument that we should rethink the significance of teaching creative writing as an art form. As the author had educational experience in both the UK and China, this paper will mainly use the examples in the UK and China to explore the following questions: in what ways can we see creative writing as an art form and why is it educationally valuable? What is lost in a functional view of creative writing and how does it contribute to language learning? These answers will address the democratic nature of art education, the role of aesthetics in generating creativity and motivation for language learning. From the perspective of democracy, creative writing is a significant way for self-expression and voice of freedom. From the view of aesthetics, aesthetic experience takes an important role in generating emotion and creativity, which helps personal growth rather than only working on the skill-based learning. Another perspective is that creative writing can help students generate motivation in language learning by giving them more space and time for self-expression and helping them experience the beauty of language, which corresponds to the democratic and aesthetic factor.
• Mindful Parenting and Adolescents’ Behaviour Problems: The Moderating Role of Family Structure
  This present study investigated the associations of mindful parenting with adolescents’ externalising and internalising problems in Chinese families and explored the moderating role of family structure. The sample included 134 Chinese parents (64.9% mothers; 23.1% single parents) aged 33 to 55, whose adolescents (56.7% girls) ranged from 11 to 16 years old. This study employed a cross-sectional survey on Qualtrics. Parents’ levels of mindful parenting and adolescents’ behaviour problems were measured with parent-reported items. Data were analysed using hierarchical linear regressions. As expected, quantitative results suggested that mindful parenting was significantly negatively associated with Chinese adolescents’ externalising and internalising problems. Contrary to the prediction, since this study found no interaction effects between family structure and mindful parenting on Chinese adolescents’ externalising and internalising problems, family structure did not moderate any associations of mindful parenting with Chinese adolescents’ behaviour problems. The study extended empirical studies to Chinese adolescents and offered fresh insights into potential variances in the influence of mindful parenting on adolescents from dual-parent and single-parent families. Furthermore, the study contributed policymakers and Chinese secondary schools to designing evidence-based mindful parenting training programmes
• Expanding the Horizons of the Referentiality Approach
• Making Sense of Special Schools from Sociological Perspectives