Advanced Education

TRANSLATION AND TEACHING OF CLASSICAL ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE IN UKRAINE: CULTURAL INFLUENCE AND HISTORICAL DIMENSION

Zoia Kornieva, Iryna Borbenchuk, Yuliia Baklazhenko — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article studies the translation of the Ancient Greek literature into Ukrainian as an important and historically conditioned process that influenced the translation tradition in Ukraine. The authors trace the history of translation dating from the period of Kyivan Rus to modern times by applying linguistic, chronological and thematic approaches. As a result of the conducted study the authors define main directions and trends of assimilation of the classical Ancient Greek literature by the Ukrainian context through translation in its cultural and historical dimension, as well as characterize the translations of the Ukrainian scientists and outline their contribution into the classical literature corpus formation. It has been revealed that in different historical periods, translated literature performed definite functions (it was used in religious worship, as the material for original literature creation, in intellectual discussions). Since the 19th century, there existed a tendency when translators (M. Zerov, I. Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, V. Svidzinskyi, P. Nishchynskyi, M. Rylskyi, G. Kochur, Borys Ten, M. Lukash, M. Moskalenko, A. Sodomora, etc.), guided by their own preferences, cultural trends, national needs, political attitudes, consciously chose original texts for translation, carried out scientific investigations and added commentaries to their publications, thereby creating a scientific discussion in the Ukrainian society. It was also found out that translations of Homer's works into Ukrainian led to the emergence of a certain translational tradition (the same phenomenon is observed in Western Europe), when Ukrainian translators developed a methodology that allowed them not only to convey the ideological and content component of the original poems, but also to reproduce the rhyming of ancient poetry. The paper concludes that modern translators from the Ancient Greek language continue to popularize ancient literature and the legacy of the holy fathers, thereby supporting the continuity of the Ukrainian school of translation.

EXPLORING LANGUAGE INTERFERENCES: SLOVAK LEARNERS OF SPANISH AND THE CHALLENGES IN PAST TENSE USAGE

Mária Spišiaková, Nina Mocková, Natalia Shumeiko — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Different linguistic classifications of Spanish and Slovak make the differences between these two languages. The genetic criterion classifies languages, clustering them into language families, the largest among which is the Indoeuropean one. The typological criterion divides languages according to their grammatical structures. Meanwhile, Slovak is genetically a Slavonic language, and Spanish is a Romance language. Therefore, they both belong to different language families. Also, according to the typological criterion, Slovak is a synthetic language, and Spanish is an analytic language. Based on a theoretical study of the standard features and differences between the Slovak and Spanish verb systems, we formulated the hypotheses about language interferences, which are accepted or rejected at the end of the research. The current research aims to examine the errors in the use of past tenses by Slovak university students who study Spanish as a foreign language, and then analyze where these errors are due to interference with their native language. The present paper observes what errors students make in using past tenses in Spanish. The research question is: What interferences do Slovak learners of the Spanish language experience in the use of past tenses? We applied scientific methods (an observation, a textual analysis, a synthesis) to conduct the study. The first method was an observation. Applying this method made it possible to gather data by watching the process of doing grammatical exercises in Spanish during classes held from September 2020 to May 2022 for the first- and second-year students at the Faculty of Applied Languages of the University of Economics in Bratislava. These students knew English and were generally better at it than Spanish. We also conducted a textual analysis that primarily looked at the learners’ short-text writing skills. We used a form with 30 phrases the respondents needed to complete using past tenses. Then, we assessed the written and spoken communication skills of students. The analysis results show that, on the one hand, most respondents needed help distinguishing between the past continuous and simple past tenses, resulting in misuse. On the other hand, we found some slight errors in phrases in which the present perfect tense was supposed to be used.

EFFECT OF QUIZLET USE ON UKRAINIAN SERVICE MEMBERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

Nataliia Todorova — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The article focused on exploring the effect of the use of Quizlet on Ukrainian service members’ English vocabulary acquisition and their perceptions of its utilisation in the educational process. A mixed-method research design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed in this experimental study, which consisted of 3 stages. The data for the analysis were collected through 3 survey questionnaires and 2 tests. The obtained results reported a beneficial effect of Quizlet integration into the English language course on the service members’ English vocabulary mastery. The participants demonstrated high learning outcomes and significant English vocabulary acquisition progress after systematic and continued Quizlet utilisation in and out of class. Ukrainian service members positively responded to Quizlet implementation during the course and supported its further integration into the programme. The participants viewed Quizlet as an effective learning tool and highly valued its practical use. They praised Quizlet's simplicity, convenience, mobility, and time-saving abilities but underestimated its motivating and entertaining potential. Under the current conditions of the increased demand for English-speaking personnel, this study can contribute to the development of practice guidelines for the incorporation of Quizlet and other vocabulary-building mobile applications into the English language courses for military professionals at higher military educational institutions.

DEVELOPMENT OF PROSPECTIVE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS’ TECHNICAL WRITING SKILLS USING ONLINE WRITING LAB

Olha Chaikovska, Iryna Humeniuk, Anastasiia Trofymenko — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Technical writing skills allow prospective professionals to be competitive engineers, be effective at the workplace, reach high positions, and gain self-confidence in Agricultural Engineering. Therefore, technical writing is an integral part of English for Specific Purposes communication of prospective agricultural engineers. The current study aims to examine the influence of Online Writing Lab (OWL) resources on the development of students’ technical writing skills. To achieve the outlined aim, a mixed research design was employed, which involved 58 Masters of Podillia State University. Two groups were formed based on students’ preferences: experimental (n=28) and control (n=30). The Pearson criterion was used to process the results, which indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of their technical writing performances. The study has shown that using OWL resources positively influences the development of Master’s technical writing skills. OWL can be considered an effective tool for teaching students technical writing. It engages and motivates the students in technical writing skills and further self-study. Additionally, the study revealed that the majority of the students have positive attitudes toward the use of OWL resources in the learning process.

PRECEDENCE AND IMPACT OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: MEDIATING STUDY USING SEM-PLS

Sna Farooqi, Fakhra Naeem — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This research confirms that an e-learning method such as the flipped classroom model improves active learning through students' engagement, critical thinking, and preparation for class. The research shows that when students were engaged in the class, liked learning new material, and were interested in it, they were more emotionally involved in the flipped classroom content, participated in class, felt good about themselves, and had fun. Afterwards, they demonstrated behavioural engagement by attending class, paying attention, and making an effort to complete assignments and participate in group work as instructed by their concerned teacher. Method: The participants were undergraduates enrolled in a BBA programme and postgraduate MBA course students studying at the university level in the Delhi-NCR region. 261 students, almost 35 per cent of the total population across all years, filled out the questionnaire. A questionnaire developed on Google Forms was distributed among students via the Google Classroom platform and WhatsApp. Students in the classroom were exposed to the flipped learning method using Edmodo and Google Classroom. Findings: Through the consequences of this study, it is demonstrated that, although there is an immediate and positive connection between Flipped Classroom Learning and student Engagement (t-esteem 33.146), the relationship is also positively mediated by (t-value 4.782) and Student Class Preparation (t-value 4.585). It is suggested to increase the scope of the study so that, rather than drawing a study sample from a single institution, future research includes participants from various academic backgrounds and institutions. Practical Implications: This research confirms that a flipped classroom model improves active learning through students' engagement, critical thinking, and preparation for class. This indicates that students were more emotionally invested in the flipped study hall content when they were keen on the class, delighted in learning new data, participated in class, felt good about themselves, and had fun.

AWARENESS LEVELS OF SOCIAL STUDIES PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS REGARDING METAVERSE USE

Ayşegül Tural, Neşe Koçak — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

In today's Technology Age, where communication technologies are gaining momentum, social, cultural, and technological competencies draw attention from individual and societal perspectives. Along with technological innovations, transformations are experienced in the societal development process in many areas, including education, communication, language, culture, economy, etc. In this context, innovative technologies in today's science and technology-oriented society bring applications of artificial intelligence and the virtual universe, exploring the interaction between humans and space and beyond. Metaverse stands out as a structure among these virtual universe applications. Metaverse, one of the popular artificial intelligence applications of recent times, emphasizes creating a virtual social environment beyond time with the understanding of space and beyond. Metaverse is a permanent three-dimensional world where many situations that we cannot experience in the real world can be experienced and where communication can be established with other people or virtual people. It is thought that it may be beneficial to support a course such as social studies, which includes many disciplines and aims to raise well-equipped citizens with technology. The social studies course is also noteworthy as an area focusing on developing digital competence and skills. In this direction, this research aims to reveal the awareness levels of pre-service social studies teachers about metaverse usage from various variables. The experimental scanning method from quantitative research methods was utilized during the research process. According to the results of the study, while the awareness of the pre-service teachers about the application of metaverse as a current, popular technology and communication source is not found to be significant in terms of variables such as gender, age, and class level, it is significant regarding the university they attend, frequency of internet use, thoughts about using the internet/technology in education, digital environment and metaverse themed education, certificate program, and participation in courses.

DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF FUTURE PHILOLOGISTS: CASE OF TURKISH AND UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITIES

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The paper calls into question the development of the digital competence of future philologists, taking into account the Turkish and Ukrainian experiences. The study of digital competence development is attracting increasing interest due to a growing need for experts capable of processing the enormous streams of continuously transmitted information and experts willing to improve their digital skills for professional growth. The purpose of the study is to broaden the current knowledge about the ways of developing digital competence. In this respect, the paper investigates two systems of future philologists' training in Ukraine and Turkey in the Digital Tools for Translation course. The authors analyze the experience of the Turkish and Ukrainian higher education institutions regarding the use of appropriate ICT tools using theoretical and empirical methods. Fifty-two future philologists from Turkey and Ukraine took part in the research. The study presents the results from observing the training and interviews with Ukrainian and Turkish students. The Shapiro-Wilcoxon method (non-parametric criterion) was used to verify the results. An analysis has highlighted the positive experience of Turkish universities, which can be implemented in future philologists training in Ukrainian universities. The findings of this study support the idea that the insufficient level of digital competence development lengthens and complicates the period of adaptation of graduates to modern working conditions. The authors found that the integration of Ukrainian higher education into the European higher education area occurs in times of globalization and the digitalization of society, which radically changes the nature of many activities. This research has clearly shown that digital competence development is more effective with the implementation of a holistic approach when students enhance digital competence while acquiring all other competencies. Our research suggests that the digitalization of education reduces the gap between graduates' digital competence level and modern society's expectations.

INVESTIGATING HIGHER EDUCATION COURSE LEADERSHIP PRACTICE – AN ARGUMENT FOR USING GROUNDED THEORY

Nieky van Veggel, Hilary Engward, Philip Howlett — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The study of course leadership in higher education focusses on an understudied area of research, with a limited number of publications discussing the role of the course leader in higher education, and a distinct lack of research on how course leaders in higher education undertake their professional practice. This lack of a pre-existing theory points the researcher towards grounded theory to investigate and generate a new theory on course leaders’ experiences. Since leadership, and therefore course leadership, is an inherent complex social process, selection of grounded theory as a research methodology to explain how course leaders in higher education practice seems a logical choice. Grounded theory has been successfully used to investigate phenomena in education and in leadership practice in other disciplines. We therefore argue that grounded theory is an appropriate selection for research in education and higher education settings for areas of research where no theory currently exists. Moreover, grounded theories focussing on professional practice have been published in various contexts demonstrating that it is an appropriate method for investigating course leaders’ professional practice. Finally, this paper outlines some perceived weaknesses of using a grounded theory approach for researching course leadership, and offers means to navigate these.

FACTORS INCREASING SELF-PERCEIVED EFFICACY OF MENTOR TEACHERS: GENERAL AND PERSONAL EFFICACY

Michal Novocký, Renáta Orosová, Volodymyr Starosta — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

This study aims to analyse selected variables which influence the self-perceived efficacy in mentor teachers with regard to mentoring student teachers on placement. The Mentor Efficacy Scale (Riggs, 2000) was used as the measuring instrument. Some items were removed, while others were modified for the purpose of specifically researching mentor teachers. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis was performed (principal component analysis, promax rotation). Based on the result, the final version of the instrument explored two dimensions (general and personal efficacy). Cronbach’s alpha confirmed the optimal internal consistency of both the dimensions and the instrument itself. The research group consisted of 128 respondents cooperating with the Faculty of Arts at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The majority of them comprised respondents with 26 – 30 and 31 and more years of teaching practice, 6 – 10 and 11 – 15 years of mentoring practice. A statistically significant difference was identified in the general efficacy of mentor teachers in terms of the completion of training focused on the development of mentoring skills. Another statistically significant difference was identified in the personal efficacy of mentor teachers in terms of the specific type of practice they are mentoring. Other independent variables such as gender, school type, length of the teaching practice, length of the mentoring practice, teaching qualifications, and position of an official mentor for entry-level colleagues, did not make a statistically significant difference in the perceived general and personal efficacy in mentor teachers. Our findings probably indicate that further education focused on mentoring boosts mentor teachers’ cooperating with Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice trust in the benefits of mentoring. Their engagement in the student training boosts their conviction that the students of teaching should receive career development support.

TEACHING CHEMISTRY IN ENGLISH IN TURKISH UNIVERSITIES: CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES

Tariq Elhadary, Ismail Elhaty — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

No matter if they are in high school or college, Turkish students have particular challenges when trying to understand chemistry lectures delivered in English. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the difficulties Turkish students have when studying chemistry in English. A survey was administered to Turkish students at a Turkish University, nutrition and dietetics major in order to obtain relevant information. The results showed that 24.6% of students have difficulties learning chemistry in English, and 52.3% of the students are reluctant to give presentations in the chemistry class due to their lack of confidence in the English language. The results showed that the areas of weakness in the English language were conversational skills (78.5%), grammar (75.4%), vocabulary (75.4%), listening (72.2%), and reading (38.5%). Therefore, a considerable percentage of these students (48.6%) take their lecture notes in Turkish, and an overwhelming majority of them (46.2%) think that adding English terminology to textbooks alongside Turkish would help the problem. According to the research, it is possible to increase students' English skills and therefore their understanding of chemistry by employing various teaching strategies. To address communication hurdles in chemistry classes, the study heavily draws on both the Communicative and Natural Approaches.

DISCUSSION ON INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL TRAJECTORY AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The system of continuous professional development of doctors in Ukraine needs detailed analysis and comprehensive dynamic monitoring to become a process that includes the possibility of a doctor’s professional growth. The research aims to monitor approaches to the continuous professional development of dentists for the formation and improvement of professional competence skills by highlighting the role of individual educational trajectory based on the priority of work formats with professional information, methods of familiarization with it and its receiving. 2216 respondents took part in the research, filling out a questionnaire during scientific and practical events of professional schools for dentists in online mode in March 2023, which included questions on the definition and objectification of forms, formats, ways of implementing continuous professional development and the vision of approaches to acquiring new knowledge and skills. The data obtained was processed using the StatSoft Inc licence program. Analytical research methods and structural-logical analysis were applied. According to the survey results, an individual's educational trajectory should include attending lectures, professional seminars, working with scientific and practical publications. The main quality requirement for publications is their good illustration of clinical cases and algorithms for working with patients. The analysis results of the rating parameters of professional dental journals declare the request of the dental community to improve the quality of material content, visual design and a possible change in positioning.

A SCALE DEVELOPMENT TO DETERMINE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TO ONLINE EXAMS ASSESSMENT

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Purpose: This study aims to develop and validate a scale to determine university students' attitudes toward assessment and evaluation in online exams. Background: Measuring students' attitudes toward online exams is crucial, especially in the context of emergency transitions to online learning and the impact of external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Students' perspectives on online examination practices in higher education institutions are significant in understanding students' attitudes and perceptions of online exams for effective implementation. Method: During the developmental phase of the scale, 13 items were created and presented for expert opinion. The scale propositions are designed to question the compliance of the courses with the curricula in the online education process, the transparency of online exams, and the University's technological infrastructure for online exams. The participants in the study consist of 1095 students studying in different programs at the Vocational Schools of three foundation universities in Istanbul, and they were reached via e-mail. Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted. Findings: The results obtained prove that the 13-question scale is valid and reliable and is a good measurement to determine university students' attitudes to online exams. Implications for Research and Practice: Attitudes are likely determinants of academic achievement. Furthermore, utilizing e-tests positively impacts higher education students' performance and participation in online testing. Therefore, it is essential to consider students' attitudes towards online exams to increase academic success in online courses and provide better learning outcomes. Thus, scale development plays a pivotal role in advancing knowledge within specific domains of social science research, and it is integral to ensuring the quality and reliability of online exam instruments used in higher education.

TEACHING PRACTICES IN THE NEW NORMAL: QUALITATIVE INQUIRY (SRI LANKA CASE)

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The public education system shifted towards one centered on information technology due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Hence, in recent years, online learning has emerged as a substantial curriculum component at several educational institutions in Sri Lanka. The present investigation explores the pedagogical practices in Sri Lankan government universities in the new normal via a qualitative approach by interviewing eight instructors in eight public universities. The findings revealed that the pedagogy has shifted to an online context with the pandemic, and the education system continuously applies online teaching, assessment, and evaluation techniques. Teachers and students initially encountered various issues in the new normal, including technical difficulties, economic conditions, and a lack of available resources for integrating IT into the education pedagogy. Hence, current practices should continue facilitating digital infrastructure and blended approaches for better outcomes. The authors recommend that policymakers and authorities take high responsibility for building an effective IT-based strategy. It is vital to train educators and encourage them to fully utilize the recent movement towards online instruction by supplying all the necessary technological skills. Training educators and encouraging them to utilize the recent movement towards online instruction entirely is vital by supplying all the necessary technological skills. The government should provide essential infrastructure and facilities to institutions while working toward creating a welcoming atmosphere within universities. Giving encouragement and financial aid to students is critical to alleviating student pressures while transitioning to online learning methods. Policymakers must consider the significance of the human component and realize that technology alone cannot solve every problem. The present transition in the educational system demands implementing a strategic framework to identify the strengths and address the shortcomings.