(JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION) JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Year:2016 | Volume:9 | Issue:34|Papers Count:8

The aim of this study is to identify effective factors which optimize qualities of educational services and to analyze the importance and priority of each factor in educational services of institutions and universities. The population from which the sample of the study is selected includes Yazd University students. Data collection is done through two questionnaires which ranking and categorizing effective factors on the quality of educational services are determined. In this study, based on the related literature review and empirical studies, 23 effective factors which optimize qualities of educational services are identified. The ranking of the identified factors on optimization of educational services is carried out using fuzzy VIKOR technique; thereafter, the most important factors are ranked based on their priority and significance utilizing interpretive structural modeling (ISM). The results of this study show that the most basic effective factors on optimization of educational services are strategic educational planning, providing financial resources for educational courses, and recruiting experienced instructors. These factors should be emphasized in initial steps of identification and ranking

The present study is an attempt to investigate the evaluation indexes in higher education, based on Kano’s model at Urmia University. This is a descriptive-survey research. The statistical population of the study includes all 22500 students at Urmia University. According to the data in Morgan table, the sample of the study is 378. In order to choose the sample, stratified sampling was used. The instruments used to collect the data were two questionnaires; The first questionnaire was related to the perception and expectation of the students in 4 dimensions (course content, course structure, teachers’ characteristics, course facilities), and the second questionnaire was based on Kano’s model which examined students' essential, functional, and appealing needs. The results of the study revealed that there is a significant difference between the students’ expectations regarding the content, structure, and facilities of the university courses and teachers’ characteristics and their perception of all these. In other words, the students’ perceptions regarding the 4 dimentions (course content, course structure, teachers’ characteristics, course facilities) is lower than their expectations at Urmia University

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ familiarity with process-oriented evaluation and their use of process-oriented evaluation in their classes in Mamaghan Elementary school. This is a descriptive-survey research and included all 180 primary school teachers in Mamaghan in the academic year 1392-1393, among whom 127 teachers completed the questionnaires. To collect the data, two researcher-made questionnaires were used. The reliability of the first questionnaire was calculated by Cronbach’s Alpha. (92), and the reliability of the second questionnaire was calculated through spilt-half method (.83). The results showed that teachers were less familiar with process-oriented evaluation and its tools, concepts, characteristic and principles. But, they had a positive attitude toward process-oriented evaluation and used it in their classrooms. The other finding was that teachers’ degree and experience did not have a significant relationship with their familiaarty and use of process-oriented evaluation.

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of group narrative therapy on life expectancy and happiness of the elderly in Tabriz. It was a semi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and a control group. The research population included all 60 and older people living in Tabriz who did not have any psychological disorders (amnesia, dementia or Alzheimer). The research sample included 20 people (10 woman and 10 man) who were selected randomly using voluntary sampling in two groups of 10 (experimental and control). Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI 1989) and Miller Hope Scale (MHS) were used for the data collection. First, all the participants answered the questionnaires. Then, group narrative therapy was employed the experimental group in 10 sessions, and finally, a post-test was given to the experimental and control groups. SPSS and one-way ANOVA were used in order to analyze the data. The research findings showed that the process of group narrative therapy increases life expectancy and happiness among the elderly in the experimental group as compared to the control group (P<0.05). The research results showed that group narrative therapy is effective in enhancing life expectancy and happiness among the elderly.

This study aimed to identify the characteristics, abilities and duties of teachers in improving the teaching – learning process at smart schools in Semnan province. The method used for this study was exploratory mixed method in which the first part was qualitative and the second part was quantitative. In the qualitative research, 6 ICT experts were interviewed who were selected through a purposive, snowball method. The results of the content analysis of the interviews and in-depth theoretical study were put into a researchers-made questionnaire with parts: a desired situation and an existing situation. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the experts, and its reliability obtained through Cronbach’s alpha was 0.84 for the desired situation and 0.94 for the existing situation, which were both acceptable. In the quantitative part of the research, the questionnaire was completed by 310 teachers and principals who were sampled through stratified method. The results showed that strategies for "sustainable electronic communications with students to fix problems, guide and continue the process of virtual teaching-learning" ranked first, "reinforcing ICDL and Internet skills through attending in-service courses, using personal tutorials and exercises", second, "search and identify appropriate multimedia e-content on the Internet and in compliance with syllabus and curriculum and utilize them in teaching - learning process"  third, "the ability to design a variety of online academic progress tests and put them on the website or send them to students' e-mails for their academic achievements" fourth, and "active participation on the school portal and learning management system for virtual management of student learning process through the Web", fifth in improving the teaching-learning process at smart schools by teachers

The main aim of this research was to examine the reliability and validity of the psychometric properties of Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF, Petrides, et al, 2006) among the second grade high school students. In a descriptive study, 345 second grade high school students of Gorgan who were selected using cluster sampling method, completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF, Petrides, et al, 2006), the School Burnout Inventory (SBI, Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Leskinen, & Nurmi, 2009), and the Oxford Happiness Inventory(OHI, Argyle, Martin, & Crossland, 1989). The test – retest reliability and Cronbach's Alfa were. 0.58 and. 0.78. The correlation coefficients of TEIQue-ASF with OHI and BSI were also found to be. 0.59 and -. 0.34. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for the measurement model

In order to study the effect of native vs. official language feedbacks on bilingual (Kurdish-Persian) students’ reading and writing achievements, 45 (male) fourth grade elementary students of an educational complex in Ushnawieh were chosen through clustered sampling. The students were assigned to three groups; experimental group 1, who received native language feedback (Kurdish), experimental group 2, who received official language feedback (Persian), and control group, who did not receive any feedback. In order to gather the data, a researcher-made test was used. According to the results of univariate covariance (ANCOVA) analysis, native language feedback had a significant effect on the reading and writing skills of the students and there was a significant difference between the first experimental group, who received native language feedback (Kurdish), and the control group, who received no feedback. However, there were no significant differences between the second experimental group, who received official language feedback (Persian), and the control group. This finding indicates that official language feedback (Persian) had little effect on improving reading and writing skills of bilingual (Kurd) students.

This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of portfolio assessment (PA) on the accuracy and complexity of postgraduate TEFL students’ writing. It was hypothesized that engaging learners in the process of assessing their performance can focus their attention on formal and textual features and thereby promote their writing. 40 intermediate TEFL postgraduate students, selected from a population of 50 taking the “Advanced Writing Course” at Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, participated in the study and were randomly assigned as the control and experimental groups after their homogeneity was assessed based on a Preliminary English Test (PET) and a writing test. Both groups received process-oriented instruction based on the same teaching materials for 12 sessions and underwent a process-oriented teaching approach complemented by interactive feedback, peer-editing, and teacher’s feedback on their writing samples. The experimental group was additionally engaged in weekly PA of their wiring. The paired samples t-test analysis of their writing post-test revealed that the experimental group surpassed the control group and produced more accurate and complex texts. The results accentuate the significance of engaging postgraduate TEFL students not only in the learning process but also in the process of evaluating their own progress over time, and offer pedagogical implications