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A growing body of research has examined the relations of dispositions toward information and communication technology (ICT) to intercultural competence among university students. However, there is little research exploring the associations between ICT-related dispositions and intercultural competence among adolescent students. The mechanism of such relationships also remains unknown. Therefore, from a self-determination theory perspective, this study investigated the relationships of perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness in ICT usage with global competence--intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes--among 17,055 15-year-old students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in PISA 2018. Results of Multilevel Structural Equation Modelling (MSEM) analyses indicated that perceived autonomy in ICT use, perceived competence in ICT use and perceived relatedness in ICT use all positively affected intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes. Further, the results of the study revealed that the use of social media was a partial mediator in the relationship between perceived autonomy/competence in ICT use and intercultural knowledge/skills; and between perceived relatedness/competence in ICT use and intercultural attitudes. Our findings emphasized the importance of satisfying students' ICT-related needs and acknowledged the role of the use of social media in cultivating their global competence. Implications for teachers, schools and parents were discussed.

Metacognitive judgment of one's online search process (calibration) is an important element of searching efficiency. This study investigated Chinese university students' calibration during online information search. Fourteen students s were asked to search answers for three assigned tasks. Immediately after the search, all participants attended individual interviews about their search behavior. Based on eye-tracking data of the actual search process, three profiles of searchers were identified: surface explorers, deep explorers, and smooth searchers. Eye-tracking and retrospective interview data were analyzed to examine the participants' level of calibration. Results showed that the participants were not able to calibrate well on their searching process, with a mean score of 3.64 out of 10.0 (SD = 1.91), suggesting a mediocre level of calibration capacity. A moderate level of positive relationship (r = 0.42, p > 0.05) was also found between calibration scores and search performance scores, implying a general pattern wherein the high calibration group tended to perform better than the low calibration group. The findings called for integrating metacognitive judgment as a component of improving computer information literacy which, accordingly, could be used to enhance students' ability to think critically about seeking and evaluating information.

Digital portfolios have gained an increasing prominence in teacher education programmes around the world as a consequence of research which purports their multiple benefits to users and of their potential to represent beginning teachers' practices. Despite the current popularity of digital portfolios, the nature of their use is still not well understood. This article explores how student teachers use digital portfolios in a teacher education programme in Singapore from an economics perspective. It posits that the adoption of an economic lens would shed new light on existing understandings and raise awareness of how and why student teachers use digital portfolios the ways they do. Reference to a range of economic concepts would will help to better understand educational outcomes. The article considers the implications of the findings for informing how digital portfolios are implemented and raises issues for consideration in further implementation efforts and in future research.

Purpose: The increasing societal requirement requests higher education institutions to be more responsive to socioeconomic needs and new governmental demands. This study aims to present a self-developed multidimensional quality assurance and assessment model for higher education institutions -- R.I.S.E model (relevance, impact, significance and excellence) -- as a tool for quality assessment in higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The model was first described at a conceptual level, followed by the examination of its applicability by presenting a case of a university in Macau to substantiate the model with real-life evidence. Findings: Results showed that the model can be used as an assessment tool to analyze, evaluate and reflect upon the status quo of higher education institutions. Facilitators can use all or part of the model either as a useful baseline to assess performance and prioritize "next steps" or to compare performance across time to determine progress in achieving goals and objectives. Originality/value: The new model proposed in this study presents multiple perspectives when assessing higher education systems, especially in the transforming stage of a university, to meet upgrading requirements from both the society and the academic community.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of a newly developed modules, Interactive Web-Based Visualization Tools for Gluing Undergraduate Fuel Cell Systems Courses system (IGLU), on learning motivations of engineering students using two samples (n[subscript 1] = 144 and n[subscript 2] = 135) from senior engineering classes. The multivariate analysis results revealed that the participants had a significant increase in their learning motivation after the treatment with the IGLU modules. This result was cross-validated with the two samples, in which the motivation mean posttest scores are significantly higher than the mean pretest scores, systematically (Sample 1: the mean score is increased by 2.09 [0.32, 3.87] points, p = 0.021; Sample 2: the mean score is increased by 1.38 [0.14, 2.61] points, p = 0.029). With the use of instructional technology prevailing in current university courses, the education initiative of the IGLU system and the assessment of its impact on student learning motivation provide us information to improve the modules to serve a more diverse student body. It will greatly help the development of engineering educational curriculum. With regards to the statistical inference, it is desirable to conduct further studies with a quasi-experiment control group design to assess the program effect focusing on student learning and its associations with student learning motivations and learning styles.

This large-scale study used the extended technology acceptance model to examine the different factors influencing Chinese university students' intentions to use the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. Specifically, the subject norm was conceptualised as a three-dimensional construct consisting of teacher influence, peer influence and institutional support. The data were collected from 4561 university students from 16 universities in China. The results indicated that 64% of the variance in Chinese university students' behavioural intentions were explained by their perceptions of ease of use and that the subjective norm significantly influenced their perceptions of the usefulness of the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and the subjective norm significantly influenced students' attitudes towards using the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. In addition, Chinese university students' intentions to use the Internet-based technology with a learning focus were significantly influenced by attitude, perceived usefulness and the subjective norm. This study identified both theoretical and practical explanations for these relationships.

Online information search has become essential to knowledge construction. Digital information technologies are proliferating, and students are expected to be able to use them to manage the enormous volumes of information available online. Past research has shown that students of all ages may lack the ability to search for and find information effectively and efficiently. Therefore, it is necessary to determine ways of helping students to best apply search strategies to achieve their search goals. A review of relevant empirical studies published between 1995 and 2017 was conducted to examine the use of metacognitive scaffolding for online information search. Based on 36 studies, the reviewed metacognitive scaffolding strategies were all effective in enhancing both the process of searching and searching performance. Age was found to moderate this effect for search outcome, but not for search process. The results are discussed in online search contexts.

In recent years, grit has drawn increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners. As an important noncognitive indicator, grit has been used to understand individual success and performance in various fields. However, past empirical research has shown inconsistent findings on the relationship between grit and academic achievement. This study aims to review and synthesize past empirical findings on the relationship between grit and academic achievement. Forty-four relevant articles involving a total of 60,133 participants met the inclusion criteria and were synthesized in this meta-analysis. Our findings suggest that (a) overall grit level and its two facets (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort) are positively associated with academic achievement; (b) the association between grit and academic achievement is moderated by grade level; and (c) perseverance of effort shows the largest effect size on students' academic achievement when compared with overall grit level and consistency of interest.

Moodle is widely used in higher education institutions in this digital age. With the growing popularity of Moodle use in education, this study aimed to research on the factors that influence student users' intentions to adopt Moodle for learning purposes in Macau. A total of 564 students from nine departments at the University of Macau responded to a survey in which ten constructs from a framework that integrated the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Technology Acceptance Model, were measured. The results of this study showed that the research model had a good fit. Two variables--usefulness and ease of use--had significantly influenced Macau students' attitudes towards Moodle use. Other variables such as usefulness, attitude, and perceived behavioral control were found to be important determinants of students' behavioral intentions. Furthermore, usefulness was significantly associated with ease of use, output quality, trialability, as well as subjective norm. Students' perceptions on the ease of use was significantly influenced by technology complexity and trialability. On the whole, the proposed research model had explained 66% of the variance of Macau university students' behavioral intentions to use Moodle. This study contributed to deepening our understanding of technology acceptance theories by contextualizing the current study within the Macau higher education.

This article explores Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' attitudes toward technology use and the factors that influence their technology acceptance. A qualitative study was conducted with data obtained from semistructured, in-depth interviews of 14 university teachers from six provinces. The interview data revealed that Chinese EFL teachers generally maintained a positive attitude toward technology use in teaching. Facilitating conditions driven by modernization, perceived usefulness, subjective norm, and technology mania are major factors influencing their technology acceptance. It is worth noticing that the degree of reliance on technology varied in terms of age and experience. Overall, the findings were consistent with previous studies, while leading to a broader and deeper understanding of technology acceptance theories by analyzing contextual and cultural phenomenon in China. Implications for future research and suggestions to improve Continuing Professional Development were provided in order to promote technology integration among Chinese teachers.

Limited research has examined the mediational role of coping strategy in students' motivation and procrastination. In this study, we examined the relationships among self-efficacy, achievement goals, boredom coping strategies and procrastination with 506 Chinese college students. Data were collected via questionnaires. Structural equation modelling results showed that both self-efficacy and approach goals significantly predicted approach-oriented coping strategies, and avoidance goals significantly predicted avoidance-oriented coping strategies. Among the different types of boredom coping strategies, only behavioural avoidance coping strategy significantly predicted procrastination. Hence, the mediating link was only found between avoidance goals, behavioural avoidance coping strategy and procrastination. Implications of the mediating role of behavioural avoidance coping strategy in the goal-procrastination relationship were further discussed.

Dynamic geometry environments (DGEs) provide computer-based environments to construct and manipulate geometric figures with great ease. Research has shown that DGEs has positive impact on student motivation, engagement, and achievement in mathematics learning. However, the adoption of DGEs by mathematics teachers varies substantially worldwide. This paper described Macau secondary schools teachers' intention to use DGEs within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Using the structural equation modelling approach, results revealed that subjective norm and perceived behavioural control were significant positive predictors of intention, while attitude was not. Further, perceived behavioural control had a significant and positive influence on teachers' attitudes, whereas subjective norm did not. Implications for theory and practice were given.

This study examined students' views on a blended learning environment designed for 29 in-service teachers in Singapore enrolled in an educational research method course. Their self-report data highlighted that students' prior knowledge and the amount and difficulty of content covered in the course affected the effectiveness of blended learning environment. Among the five course components in this blended course, face-to-face tutorials and the group project were perceived to be more useful than the online discussion forum, individual reflection blogs, and self-paced study. Interestingly, the higher their achievement level in this course, the more positive their views were on the blended learning environment. The interactions between student-student and student-tutor were essential elements in this blended learning environment; particularly the presence of tutors (online and offline) was expected as it provided more cognitive and metacognitive scaffolds. Explanations about findings and implications for instructional design are discussed in the conclusion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether achievement motivations influence the adoption of learning strategies and learning strategies influence studying behavior in an online learning environment. The Goal Orientation Questionnaire was used to measure achievement motives, and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was used to assess learning strategies. In addition, data on how learners tagged and annotated the learning materials were collected using software designed to aid studying and to examine studying behavior. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on Goal Orientation Questionnaire data from 170 university students who used the learning software to study a chapter from a textbook. Results showed that task value and effort regulation subscales from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire positively predicted the number of notes created. In addition, mastery and performance goals positively predicted task value, and work-avoidance goals negatively predicted effort regulation and task value.

Previous research has found the effects of acquiescence to be generally consistent across item "aggregates" within a single survey (i.e., essential tau-equivalence), but it is unknown whether this phenomenon is consistent at the" individual item" level. This article evaluated the often assumed but inadequately tested proposition that individual items are affected by acquiescence to the same degree. We modeled an external acquiescence criterion to assess (a) whether it affected scale items consistently and (b) whether it would be strongly correlated with an acquiescence factor based on an assumption of tau-equivalence. The results did not support this assumption. As further evidence, we identified a situation in which this tau-equivalence assumption could potentially be violated. We propose that the response style be best understood within a framework of an acquiescence × item interaction.

The ability to access and process massive amounts of online information is required in many learning situations. In order to develop a better understanding of student online search process especially in academic contexts, an online tool (SCOOP) is developed for tracking mouse behavior on the web to build a more extensive account of student web search processes. Over 100 university students' search activities with SCOOP were recorded as they searched for answers to assigned questions. The primary use of the SCOOP dataset is thus to provide the raw data for the development of online information search models. Further complications will arise because other personal and contextual factors affect the search process for different students with different personalities, learning styles or types of tasks. Hence, the dataset is also for testing the relationship between other factors and online search processes.

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that an influence higher education students' intention to use technology. Using an extended technology acceptance model as a research framework, a sample of 314 university students were surveyed on their responses to seven constructs hypothesized to explain their intention to use technology. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the results showed that perceived usefulness and attitude toward computer use were significant determinants of the intention to use technology, while perceived ease of use influenced intention to use technology through attitude towards computer use. Computer self-efficacy and subjective norm acted as antecedents for perceived usefulness and attitude towards computer use, while facilitating conditions acted as antecedents for perceived ease of use and attitude towards computer use. Together these constructs explained 54.7% of the variance in students' intention to use technology. Implications of the findings were also discussed.

The purpose of this study is to research how Chinese university students solve information-based problems. With the Search Performance Index as the measure of search success, participants were divided into high, medium and low-performing groups. Based on their web search logs, these three groups were compared along five dimensions of the search process for answers to the assigned tasks: frequency counts of different activities during search process, time allocation on each search activity, search patterns, search query as well as selection of information. The results documented students' varying abilities to search. The key factor that determines search performance is the effective use of search queries. Successful searchers made use of advanced search options such as extracting relevant and effective key terms from further reading, in contrast with simpler strategies by unsuccessful searchers like adding, removing unimportant words, or using synonyms. High-performing students also showed more monitoring awareness and strategy, such as changing search engines, reformulation of existing search queries as well as backtracking to task questions.

The psychometric properties of scores from the Achievement Goal Questionnaire were examined in samples of Japanese (N = 326) and Canadian (N = 307) postsecondary students. Previous research found evidence of a four-factor structure of achievement goals in U.S. samples. Using confirmatory factor-analytic techniques, the authors found strong evidence for the four-factor structure of achievement goals in both the Canadian and Japanese populations. Subsequent multigroup structural equation modeling indicated the metric invariance of this four-factor structure across the two populations. (Contains 5 tables.)