JOURNAL OF NEW APPROACH IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
Year:2011 | Volume:2 | Issue:3 (7)|Papers Count:10

Information technology (IT) plays a fundamental role in various fields these days. One of the areas which has varied principally with the advent of IT is training. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of IT use on training effectiveness in educational centers specifically high schools in the academic year 89-88. In order to assess this impact, a use was made of Kirkpatrick’s model. This survey study was both descriptive and inferential. The sampling frame of the study included all high school teachers (N=1400) of Rasht (district 1 & 2). 375 respondents were selected as the sample of the study. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire composed of two parts made up of 24 and 15 Likert-scale items assessing IT and training respectively. The content validity of the instrument was established by a panel of experts and university instructors. Its reliability was also assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. In order to analyze data and to test the hypotheses a use was made of ANOVA and Duncan’s test. The results showed that there were significant differences between the aspects of the IT dimensions (including timeliness, relevance, accuracy, sufficiency, being real, transfer speed, learning accuracy, and cost reduction) and learning effectiveness.

One’s organizational life and private life are mutually complementary. Workers are the most important capital in an organization and play a pivotal role to ameliorate it. In the past, staffs’ private lives were emphasized, while, today, the quality of their working life is one of the most important organizational goals. The main goal of this study was to determine the relationship of quality of working life to organizational commitment and productivity in Jahrom Medical Science University. The research method was descriptive and correlational. The sampling frame of this study included all personnel of Jahrom Medical Science University (N=854). A sample 267 was selected using stratified random sampling strategy. The data of this study were collected through three questionnaires, that is, quality of working life, organizational commitment, and productivity questionnaires. The reliability indexes of the questionnaires were 0.87, 0.81, and 0.89 respectively as assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey test with the help of SPSS. The results indicated that there was a significantly positive relation between the quality of working life and both organizational commitment and productivity in Jahrom Medical Science University.

It is necessary to study students’ metacognitive experiences in order to apprehend their use levels. The aim of this study was to determining how much students resorted to metacognitive strategies and their relationship with their academic achievement. The sampling frame this descriptive-correlational study included the students of faculties of education and psychology of Shiraz University. 50 students were randomly selected as the sample of the study. Data were collected through and open-ended questionnaire. Its validity and reliability was established. A use was made of content analysis and Spearman correlation to analyze data. Results revealed that 26% of applied metacognitive skills in learning and studying correctly. As regards metacognitive components, 35% of students used self-regulation, 34 percent had a high level of metacognitive knowledge, 25% acquired high level of behavioral control, and 10% enjoyed a proper condition to employ metacognitive skills. In addition, 29% of the students utilized suitable metacognitive methods and strategies. Students’ metacognitive skills were significantly and positively correlated with students’ mean scores (p=0.01). This, more specifically, was significant for strategies, study skills, metacognitive knowledge. However it was not significant as far as other components are concerned. Due to the comparatively poor metacognitive skills of the students and the relationship between metacognition and academic achievement, it is suggested that metacognitive strategies and skills be taught to learners.

This study aimed to evaluate Knapp’s conceptual model in an attempt to explore socio-cognitive processes affecting students’ team effectiveness and team learning and their relationship. This study was a descriptive-correlational research. All students of Islamic Azad University of Saveh were the target population. The sample of the study consisted of 191 students selected using purposive sampling method. Research instrument was a questionnaire developed by the current researchers which tapped into five variables including team structure and context, team beliefs, metacognition, team learning behaviors, and team effectiveness. Cronbach’s alphas of the respective scales were 0.72, 0.78, 0.71, 0.70, and 0.72 respectively. Pearson Correlation, multiple regression and path analysis were employed at the level of inferential statistics. Results of regression analysis confirmed the positive and significant pairwise relationships between the variables and multiple regression analysis provided partial support for the interactive relationships among them. Then, the adequacy of the model was assessed by LISREL. Results indicated that the whole model did not fit the data. Path analysis suggested a new model indicating that in order to attain team learning and team effectiveness, team beliefs and metacognition need to be paid explicit attention.

This purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of internet perceived complexity to internet perceived ease of use and internet perceived usefulness among school managers of Anar city in Kerman province. Research method was descriptive-correlational. This study involved all 210 school managers of Anar as the target population. In consultation with Morgan’s table, a sample of 149 managers was drawn using simple random sampling method. Data were collected employing TAM questionnaire adapted from Gardner and Amoroso (2004), Pauld Rouse (2004), Hong et al. (2004), and Sonj & Patton (2002). Path analysis and correlation analysis were employed to analyze data. Results revealed that there was a significantly negative relationship between internet perceived complexity and both internet perceived ease of use and its actual use. The relationship between other variables of concern in this study including internet perceived ease of use and its perceived usefulness and attitudes towards its use, attitudes towards internet use and behavioral intention in internet use, and between behavioral intention in internet use and its actual use were all significantly positive.

The main purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to determine the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions among the students of agricultural-vocational high schools in Ravansar town in Kermanshah province. The target population included all third-year students (N=91) of “Khoshehaye Zarin” agricultural-vocational high school in Ravansar selected through census. Data were collected using Linan’s Entrepreneurial Intention Scale (EIS). Using back translation technique, the questionnaire was crossed-checked and then validated through a panel of experts’ consensus. Its reliability was also measured using Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient yielding 0.7. Results revealed that the students had high entrepreneurial intentions. Step-wise regression analysis showed that 54% of entrepreneurial intention could be explained by the attitude towards entrepreneurship and self-efficacy. The results of this study have implications for agricultural learners. If entrepreneurial mentality is to be encouraged, teachers should provide a positive environment for entrepreneurship so that entrepreneurial behavior of students is reinforced.

Over the years, Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) has, no doubt, received increasing attention among researchers and practitioners in higher education. Accordingly, this growing attention is expected to be reflected in TQA approaches and translation pedagogy in educational settings. The main aim of the current study, which is a qualitative content analysis one, is to report on a survey of Translation Quality Assessment Literacy (TASL) and the ways TQA is practiced in higher education in Iran. The sample of the study included 30 senior B.A. students and 15 university instructors of English Translation, who were randomly selected from 10 Iranian universities. A comprehensive interactional semi-structured interview, aiming to explore TQA approaches, level and quality of interviewees’ assessment literacy, and current limitations and deficiencies of the approaches, was the instrument of the study. The results of the study underscored the necessity of more principled approaches and profound assessment literacy in TQA and, more importantly, its effective practice in higher education settings.

This research aimed at evaluating the conceptual pattern of productivity management from the viewpoints of employees in Fars Educational Organization. The research method was descriptive-correlational. The target population included 241 individuals. The sample of the study consisted of 159 employees in consultation with Morgan’s table. Two Likert-scale questionnaires were adapted to collect data. One of them measured the conceptual pattern components such as group factors, legal factors, customer satisfying factors, supporting factors, qualitative factors, logical thinking, and working conscientiousness and the other one assessed productivity. The reliability of the conceptual pattern and productivity questionnaires were 0. 87 and 0.97 respectively as assessed through Cronbach’s alpha. A use was made of Pearson correlation coefficient to analyze factors. The results of the study indicated that all factors had a significantly positive correlation with productivity and impacted it. In order to predict productivity, based on the respective pattern in the organization, multiple regression analysis was employed. It showed that logical thinking, group factors, and customer satisfying factors could predict productivity.

This study aimed to examine the effect of metacognition and metacognitive approaches on the high school first-graders’ ability to solve mathematical problems. The research methods was quasi-experimental. 120 participant students in Yazd were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a six-week (4 hours a week) training of metacognitive strategies. Before the training, both groups were administered a pre-test. The research instrument was a test of mathematics developed by the current researchers whose reliability and content validity were established. Data were analyzed through employing t-test. It was revealed that there was a significant difference between groups. That is, the mean of the experimental group was significantly larger than that of the control group. In general, this study indicated that teaching metacognitive strategies had a positive effect on their ability to solve mathematical problems and encouraged them to learn mathematics.

The aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting teachers’ occupational stress and to provide suggestions as to how to reduce them. The research method was a descriptive survey. Both male and female teachers of all school levels were surveyed in this study. The sample of the study included 496 selected using stratified sampling method from among a sampling frame of 4970 teachers teaching in Ghazvin city. A questionnaire (with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.82) was made use of to collect data. ANOVA was performed to analyze data using SPSS. The results showed that teachers’ adverse financial status had the highest share in the teachers’ job stress, women had less stress than men, teaching experience had no significant effect on stress levels, the level of education impacted stress, and that stress level of teachers was higher than average.