درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This research aimed to investigate the factors contributing to dropout rates among students in physical education high schools in Kurdistan province. The study employed a qualitative approach, specifically utilizing the systematic data-based strategy developed by Strauss and Corbin. Sixteen male students were purposefully selected based on theoretical saturation. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, online media analysis, and document reviews. Following the extraction of perspectives from the qualitative interview texts, the content of these texts, along with online media and documents, was analyzed using a three-stage coding process: open, axial, and selective coding. Initially, 332 open codes were identified, which were subsequently refined to 234 primary codes and 20 axial codes by eliminating redundancies. To ensure the reliability and validity of the data, several strategies were implemented, including rigorous research stages, author characteristics, resource enrichment, data triangulation, and participant validation. The findings revealed that causal factors for dropout included internal demotivation, family financial difficulties, and peer pressure. Background factors consisted of an inappropriate family atmosphere, parental illiteracy, and discrepancies in societal literacy. Intervention factors contributing to dropout included parental coercion regarding education and inadequate school facilities and infrastructure. Proposed strategies to reduce dropout rates encompass support from school staff, attention to students facing challenges, and fostering teacher empathy. Ultimately, the consequences of student dropout include diminished social competencies and negative attitudes toward education.

This study investigates the impact of Iranian EFL learners' motivational goal orientations on their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in the classroom. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the research involved 200 intermediate EFL learners from language schools in Iran, who completed the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), a Goal Orientation Survey, and a Student Engagement Questionnaire. The results show that mastery goal orientations, both approach and avoid, positively predict these engagement dimensions, while performance goal orientations do not significantly affect engagement. The findings highlight the importance of fostering mastery goals to enhance student engagement and improve language learning outcomes. The implications of this study suggest that educators should create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes mastery goals, thereby facilitating deeper engagement and better academic performance among EFL learners. This study investigates the impact of Iranian EFL learners' motivational goal orientations on their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in the classroom. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the research involved 200 intermediate EFL learners from language schools in Iran, who completed the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), a Goal Orientation Survey, and a Student Engagement Questionnaire. The results show that mastery goal orientations, both approach and avoid, positively predict these engagement dimensions, while performance goal orientations do not significantly affect engagement. The findings highlight the importance of fostering mastery goals to enhance student engagement and improve language learning outcomes. The implications of this study suggest that educators should create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes mastery goals, thereby facilitating deeper engagement and better academic performance among EFL learners.

The present study examined the relationship between student-teacher relationships and students’ academic engagement, with a particular focus on the mediating role of psychological well-being. A total of 380 high school students in Ahvaz, Iran, participated in the study. Data were collected using the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale – Short Form (STRS-SF), the Academic Engagement Scale, and Ryff’s 18-item Psychological Well-Being Scale. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data and test the hypothesized model. The results indicated that student-teacher relationships positively predicted both academic engagement and psychological well-being. Moreover, psychological well-being was found to mediate the relationship between student-teacher relationships and academic engagement. The model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data (CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.053). These findings underscore the critical role of emotional and psychological support in academic contexts and highlight the importance of fostering strong interpersonal connections between teachers and students. Enhancing student-teacher relationships and promoting psychological well-being may serve as effective strategies to increase students’ academic engagement

In recent decades, language educators have taken advantage of technological advancements in the language classroom, and L2 learners have voiced their interests, concerns, and preferences about those technological advancements. The current investigation was designed to find out the attitudes of Iranian intermediate IELTS candidates towards using digital multimodal composing (DMC) and massive online open courses (MOOC) in their speaking classes. To achieve this aim, a sample of 60 male and female EFL learners at the intermediate level were selected based on volunteer sampling procedures. Subsequently, the participants were assigned to the two conditions of DMC and MOOC. The two groups were exposed to the same instructional materials, with the difference being that in DMC, the learners had to produce videos during the course and post them on the Flip platform for their peers and teacher to review and comment. They then could use the feedback to make corrections/revisions; in the MOOC condition, the learners signed up for an IELTS course on futurelearn.com and received video presentations, pdf articles, and quizzes, and they were asked to leave comments or react to each other's' comments during the course. Each group received a researcher-made attitude questionnaire at the end of the course and expressed their opinions about the treatment they were exposed to. Not surprisingly, both groups welcomed the use of DMC and MOOC and had positive attitudes towards incorporating such techniques into speaking courses. Based on these findings, this study presents a discussion of certain pedagogical implications.

Listening effectively in a foreign language presents many challenges for students. The aims of this convergent mixed methods study were two-fold. First, to determine whether teaching listening strategies through materials tailored to apply principles related to decreasing Cognitive Load (CL) could help learners improve their L2 listening comprehension. Second, whether using such materials could reduce learners' cognitive load. In doing so, two modes of material presentation (computer-based and text-based) were selected. Eighty-eight TEFL bachelor students in three intact classes were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: Strategy-Based Cognitive-Load-Decreasing Computer-Based Material (SB-CLD-CBM), Strategy-Based Cognitive-Load-Decreasing Text-Based Material (SB-CLD-TBM), and Strategy-Based Non-Cognitive-Load Decreasing Conventional Learning Material (SB-NCLD-CLM), and received relevant instructions. A general proficiency test was used to examine participants' language proficiency. A listening pretest and posttest, a listening achievement test, and a cognitive load questionnaire were used to collect data in the quantitative phase. A reflection paper, including two questions about students' perceptions administered during the treatment, was used to gather qualitative data. The One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) showed that CLD-CBM and CLD-TBM outperformed the NCLD-CLM in listening comprehension and experienced lower cognitive load. However, no significant difference was found between the experimental groups. The findings are valuable for teachers and materials developers, suggesting they should include Cognitive Load Theory principles and strategy instruction when designing learning materials and instructional approaches.