Journal of Curriculum Studies Research

“Shaping Young Minds” under Occupation: Hidden Curriculum in East Jerusalem’s Primary Textbooks

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

Childhood education is a critical period during which young learners form their values, perspectives, and beliefs and shape their identities. Due to pupils’ vulnerability at this stage, the impact of both explicit and implicit learning materials, especially curricula and textbooks, can be profound and long-lasting. This study examined the changes made by the Israeli Ministry of Education to Palestinian textbooks used in East Jerusalem, focusing on the impact of these alterations on pupils. Social Studies, Arabic Language, Mathematics and Islamic Education textbooks for Grades 1 to 4 were analyzed. The sample consisted of sixteen (16) textbooks, with analysis based on four domains: Language and Symbols, Cultural Patterns, Social Context, and Authority and Control. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with thirteen (13) principals, teachers, and parents directly involved in teaching these textbooks. The findings revealed deliberate changes by the Israeli authorities to manipulate educational content, particularly in National and Social Education. These alterations aimed to promote Israeli political and cultural narratives by removing references to Palestinian sovereignty, cultural symbols and key national landmarks. Besides, the textbooks have been modified to foster an Israeli-centric perspective, replacing "Palestine" with "Israel" and erasing Palestinian symbols, such as the flag and national anthem. Changes in Arabic and Islamic Education textbooks were similarly meant to weaken the connection between pupils and their Palestinian heritage. As such, modifications reflect an agenda to suppress Palestinian national identity and instill Israeli values in young learners; several conclusions and recommendations were proposed.

AI as a Simulated Client: Impact on Educational Psychology Students’ Therapeutic Skills

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

Role-playing emerges as a central pedagogical strategy, enabling trainees to navigate complex scenarios through human-like interactions that bridge theoretical knowledge with practical expertise. As generative artificial intelligence continues its exponential growth, its promise in mental health contexts has garnered substantial attention. However, the integration of chatbots into educational psychology training remains an underexplored frontier. This study aims to address this gap by examining the impacts of an intervention using role-play simulations of psychoeducational counseling sessions on therapeutic skills. This pre-posttest controlled study engaged 112 educational counseling students. A treatment group (n = 53) participated in an eight-week intervention using a Gemini-powered simulation, which featured a pre-prompted student-profile chatbot and an artificial third party providing post-activity feedback on participants’ performance as counselors, while a comparison group (n = 59) had no access to the simulation. Therapeutic skill assessments were conducted before and after the experiment, complemented by qualitative interviews exploring students’ perceptions. The chatbot-mediated intervention yielded gains in feedback synthesis, guided discovery, cognitive-behavioral focus, and change strategies. While some respondents expressed skepticism, overall sentiment was positive. This research highlights the potential of chatbot-augmented training to enhance empathetic understanding, interrogative precision, and reflective feedback capabilities in educational psychology curricula.

Toward Precision on Evaluation: Hierarchical Weighting-Based Assessment on Implementation of Outcome-Based Curriculum

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

Assessing learning outcomes is essential for measuring student achievement and enhancing educational effectiveness. However, traditional assessment methods often struggle to capture the complexity of diverse competencies, leading to gaps in evaluation and improvement. Outcome-based education (OBE) represents a shift from conventional paradigms by emphasizing the attainment of predefined learning objectives at multiple levels, including student, course, and program outcomes. This study introduces a hierarchical weighting-based assessment framework designed to evaluate learning outcomes comprehensively. The framework employs a three-tier weighting system that assigns differentiated weights to various assessment elements. Using a development research model, this approach enables a nuanced and holistic evaluation of student performance. The methodology involved needs analysis, assessment modeling, practical implementation of the framework, and case study analysis to demonstrate its effectiveness. The User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) was administered to 225 users to evaluate the system's usability and emotional impact. Results show that the proposed framework offers a more accurate representation of student achievement, aligning closely with intended learning outcomes and performance indicators, and effectively distinguishing varied competencies across diverse assessments. The findings highlight its potential scalability across educational institutions seeking to refine assessment practices. Additionally, this framework presents a promising strategy to enhance the precision, inclusivity, and engagement of educational evaluation systems.

The Role of Pedagogical Practice Duration in Developing Pre-Service Teacher Competencies

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

Pedagogical practice is a core component in preparing pre-service teachers by immersing them in real teaching environments. This practice helps develop pedagogical competencies by integrating theoretical knowledge with practical application, while also teaching students how to select, prepare, and utilize educational materials and resources. This study explores pedagogical practice's role in enhancing pre-service teachers' competencies in the "Welfare and Care for Children" program at AAB College, Pristina, Kosovo. A quantitative descriptive and correlational research design was employed, using a survey administered to 56 students in the program. Findings from the literature review and data analysis indicate that pedagogical practice is beneficial, equipping students for their future careers. Moreover, mentor teachers in kindergartens and schools play a crucial role in the student's professional development. However, the results also reveal a weak mentor-novice-teacher relationship, attributed to the limited duration of pedagogical practice. It is recommended that the duration of pedagogical practice be extended in the program curriculum, allowing students to gain more extensive practical experience and receive mentorship from experienced teachers.

Teachers' Perceptions of the Curriculum Changes: The Case of the New Social Studies Curriculum in Northern Iraq

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

This study aims to examine how social studies teachers in Iraq's Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok regions interpret and respond to the newly implemented social studies curriculum. The study was designed using a case study approach within qualitative research methods. Twenty teachers working in public schools in Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Erbil participated in the research. Using semi-structured interviews, the research examines the motivations behind reform efforts, theoretical foundations of curriculum objectives, challenges encountered during development and implementation, and educators' perspectives on anticipated outcomes. The findings provide important insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to improve social studies education to develop civically engaged and socially aware students who can navigate diversity and contribute to community development. Several key patterns emerged, including the multiple ways teachers learned about the new curriculum, their opinions on syllabus and textbook clarity, their understanding of core curriculum goals, their comparisons between former and current curricula, and their views on essential student learning outcomes. The study highlights the complexity of curriculum reform and the need for clear communication, comprehensive educational materials, and an integrated, analytical approach to social studies education. These insights can inform future curriculum revisions, guide teacher development programs, and affect policies aimed at strengthening social studies instruction.

Effect of Practice-Oriented Courses in the Study of Natural Sciences on the Development of Professional Qualities in College Students

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

The purpose of this study is to identify the professional qualities required of students specializing in "Vocational Training A training experiment method was employed as the primary method, conducted at the pedagogical and agrotechnical colleges of Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. The experiment involved 128 students, randomly divided into two groups (experimental and control). N.V. Noss' occupational questionnaire was employed to assess the progress of the experiment. The results were analyzed using statistical methods, calculating individual and average group test performance coefficients. The study findings revealed that students in the control group exhibited poorly developed professional qualities, while the experimental group showed considerable improvement. Students in the experimental group showed better theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and soft skills such as independent decision-making and proficiency with computers and office equipment. Based on the results of the pedagogical experiment, the authors propose pedagogical conditions and a specialist training model aimed at fostering students' interest in natural sciences and enhancing their professional qualities.

The Role of Traditional Dance Education in Children's Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

This systematic literature review explores the impact of traditional dance education on children's cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. Through an analysis of diverse studies and theoretical perspectives, the review highlights how traditional dance fosters holistic learning in young children. Traditional dance holds significant cultural value, not only as a means of preserving heritage but also as an educational tool. This paper followed a systematic literature review of journal articles extracted from SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected. The traditional dances reported in the selected studies include: Greek Traditional Dance (GTD) (n=8), Traditional Art Dance Therapy (TATA) (n=1), Malay Zapin Traditional Dance (MZTD) (n=2), Turki dances (n=2), Javanese Traditional Dance (JTD) (n=1), Indian Traditional Dance (ITD) (n=2), and Russian Folk Dance (RFD) (n=2). Six studies described the impact of traditional dance on students' cognitive abilities. The findings indicated that traditional dances enhance children's intellectual and mathematical skills. Twelve studies clarified the contribution of traditional dance to physical and motoric skills; the results show that traditional dance improves motor skills, balance, coordination, and body awareness. Other results, seven studies on traditional dance have an impact on social and emotional skills that allow children to express themselves creatively, which plays a significant role in emotional regulation, confidence, self-awareness, collaboration, communication, and empathy.

Developing Students’ HOTS Digital Literacy Profile by Using IRT

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

This study aimed to develop and validate a digital literacy higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) cognitive test for engineering students at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Utilising a quantitative research design, the study involved 95 participants and employed expert judgement to assess content validity through the Aiken V Index, which yielded a high average validity score of 1.783. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed a single factor structure with strong fit indices (CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.08), indicating robust construct validity. Reliability analysis revealed a high internal consistency (α = 0.92). Item Response Theory (IRT) calibration demonstrated satisfactory model fit, with moderate discrimination and average difficulty indices for the test items. The findings affirm that the developed test is both reliable and valid, effectively capturing students' digital literacy HOTS profiles, thereby providing valuable insights for educational interventions aimed at enhancing digital literacy skills in engineering education.

Enhancing Preschool Educators' Self-Efficacy in Designing Subject-Development Environments: Evaluating a Structured Training Program

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

Subject-development environments play a crucial role in early childhood education by fostering cognitive, social, and emotional growth. This study investigates the effectiveness of a structured training program in enhancing preschool educators' self-efficacy in designing such environments. A quasi-experimental design was employed, incorporating both a control group and an intervention group. The study involved 160 participants from Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University who engaged in a targeted structured training program combining theoretical instruction with hands-on activities. Findings indicate that the structured training program significantly improved educators' self-efficacy, with experimental group participants demonstrating significantly higher post-test scores across all measured areas compared to the control group. Based on these results, integrating the structured training program into preschool teacher preparation and existing curricula is recommended to enhance early childhood education practices.

Intercultural Citizenship in Foreign Language Education: A Study with Kazakhstani Pre-Service English Teachers

2025-08-11T00:46:03+03:00

This study aims to examine the integration of the intercultural citizenship (IC) component into the training of pre-service English teachers in Kazakhstan, where the growing role of English as a global communication tool demands an educational approach that extends beyond language proficiency. This study focuses on how foreign language education can foster intercultural citizenship within Kazakhstan’s multicultural and multilingual context. Using a mixed-methods design, the research involved a pre- and post-test comparison between two groups of third-year university students: one exposed to an IC-focused curriculum and the other following a traditional language program. Data were collected through quantitative questionnaires assessing intercultural citizenship and qualitative open-ended responses. The study findings suggest that the integration of the IC component into foreign language education can enhance students’ intercultural awareness and motivation to engage in cross-cultural interaction. The findings offer practical insights for curriculum development and highlight the importance of preparing future educators for participation at both local and global levels.