Search

In this paper, we present certain results concerning the distribution of zeros of polynomials of a quaternionic variable and with quaternionic coefficients. We obtain ring shaped regions of Eneström–Kakeya type for the zeros of these polynomials and also extend some classical results from the complex to quaternionic setting.

This paper introduces a unified conceptual framework for understanding refugee identity construction within educational contexts, drawing on theories of social justice (Fraser, 2008), affective relations (Lynch, 2012), the resumption of ordinary life (Kohli, 2011) and ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Addressing a gap in the existing scholarship, the model emphasises the importance of affective relations in shaping refugee identities in education alongside other factors. The study examines the macro constructs of redistribution, recognition, representation and relational affect, highlighting their impact on refugee children's educational experiences. Further, it considers the micro constructs of safety, sense of belonging and success in integration and attainment in educational environments. The constructs are examined across various levels of Bronfenbrenner's ecological system, demonstrating the complexity of refugees' needs. This model aims to facilitate a holistic, justice-oriented approach to refugee education, which is crucial given the rise in global displacement. The study has significant implications for refugee education research and policymaking, potentially informing targeted interventions and programmes that foster academic success, overall well-being, and practice in refugee education.

Despite a burgeoning body of research on teacher identity development, little is known about how incongruities between the ideal and real-life teaching practices create identity tensions. The present study adopted an arts-based approach and examined teachers' ideal and actual teaching practices, and the associated identity tensions and related coping strategies in the context of Afghanistan. Data were collected from six English teachers via drawings and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis indicated that the teachers experienced unattainable ideal praxis in terms of 'time, space and facility', 'ideal teaching methods', 'ideal instructional materials', and 'technology-enhanced classroom', which resulted in various identity tensions. However, thinking reflectively about their imagined community and ideal practices offered affordances for the teachers to be creative to manage the tensions, and build resilience and reflexivity. The study concludes with implications for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers in developing awareness of ideal-real mismatches to support teacher identity development.

This study examined students' attitudes toward distance learning, and its relationship with the duration of using Telegram and schooling. It specifically explored students' experiences of the challenges and opportunities that distance learning created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, two null hypotheses were formulated: (1) there is no significant relationship between students' attitudes toward distance learning and the duration of using Telegram; and (2) there is no significant relationship between students' attitudes towards distance learning and the duration of schooling. Data were collected from a survey questionnaire and in-depth semi-structured interviews with students from the English Department of Herat University, Afghanistan. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, an independent samples t-test, and ANOVA. The results of the t-test showed that the first hypothesis should be accepted, meaning there is no relationship between students' attitudes toward e-learning and years of Telegram use. Further, the one-way ANOVA test showed that the second null hypothesis was affirmed. Moreover, the qualitative findings indicated that distance learning via Telegram is associated with context-specific challenges and several opportunities.

This study investigates the perceptions of teachers and students toward formative assessment (FA) in higher education settings. The researchers developed a four-construct perception scale, namely self-assessment, interactive formal assessment, in-class diagnostic assessment, and subjective assessment. Data were collected from 216 participants--91 teachers and 125 students. The findings demonstrated that both teachers and students have identically perceived interactive and in-class diagnostic assessments. Nonetheless, they distinctively perceived self-assessment and subject performance assessment demonstrating a significant difference. The students reported self-assessment greater than the teachers, whereas they perceived the subject-performance assessment lower compared to the teachers. The findings suggest that English as a foreign language (EFL) or English as a second language (ESL) learners benefit from formative assessment if teachers evaluate students' progress based on their own development rather than being evaluated in comparison to other students' development.

Afghanistan has recently witnessed the redefinition of its educational policies, particularly those related to language teaching. However, little is known about Afghan second language (L2) teachers and the challenges they might face in their professional identity construction. This study investigated the challenges of professional identity construction of Afghan L2 teachers. Scenario prompts and semistructured interviews were used to explore how the teachers responded to challenging situations and narrated their professional challenges. Data analyses indicated that the teachers responded to the scenario prompts in accordance with perspectives mirroring criticality in educational functioning by promoting learners' awareness of sociocultural anomalies, resisting institutional inequalities, and gearing instruction to learners' needs. Additionally, analysis of the teachers' semistructured interviews revealed sociocultural, institutional, and pedagogical challenges, particularly the dominance of institutional barriers in sanctioning the teachers' identity construction. The authors argue that Afghan L2 teachers need more assistance from policymakers and teacher educators to facilitate their professionalism and professional practice.

The goal of this paper is to find spherical shells that contain all of the zeros of a unilateral polynomial with quaternionic coefficients. These bounds are derived using Geršgorin-type results for the norms of the eigenvalues of a quaternionic matrix and matrix similarity. In addition to yielding some interesting implications, our results also bring certain classical results of Diaz–Barrero, Egozcue, Bidkham, and others into the quaternionic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how feedback loops function within the Ministry of Education (MoE) Provincial Education Directorate (PED) in Herat province of Afghanistan, how the MoE/PED collects, analyzes, and uses feedback for improving its policies and programs, and responds to the issues and barriers identified at the school levels. To narrow down the research, it investigated the feedback loops around teacher professional development (TPD). We used semi-structured interviews and document analysis to collect data. The participants were 34 individuals selected purposefully from six schools, one CBE, and Herat educational offices. We used thematic analysis methods for analyzing the data. The findings indicate that the MoE/PED did not collect regular or quality feedback about TPD activities, usually offered as teacher training workshops, from this study participants. Besides, we did not find any evidence that the MoE/PED has used the rarely collected feedback for improving TPD programs, so the feedback loops were not closed. The mechanisms for collecting, analyzing, and using feedback are not well defined and established at the MoE/PED. The existing structures for communicating information between schools and the higher authorities in the MoE/PED are manual and paper-based, and the process is very time-consuming.

The goal of this paper is to generalize and refine some previous inequalities between the LP- norms of the sth derivative and of the polynomial itself, in the case when the zeros are outside of the open unit disk.

Given the significance of people’s attitudes in shaping the dominant culture of a society, this study intends to see how people react or are emotionally aroused when they see an intelligent person (i.e., sapioemotionality), and then examine the underlying cultulinguistic reasons for different degrees of sapioemotionality in the Persian culture. To do so, first, a sapioemotionality scale was developed and validated using 440 individuals. For further analysis, 68 interviews were conducted and a list of Persian, knowledge-related utterances/expressions were extracted to cross-validate the quantitative findings. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and t-test were used to analyze the quantitative data, and cultuling (culture + language) analysis was employed to examine the qualitative data. The results substantiated the validity of the proposed scale, revealing that the level of sapioemotionality is dwindling in Iranian society. Cultuling analysis, confirming the low level of sapioemotionality, espoused the quantitative findings. In the end, the results were discussed, and a number of suggestions were made to shed more light on sapioemotionality.

Despite a burgeoning body of research on teacher identity development, little is known about how incongruities between the ideal and real-life teaching practices create identity tensions. The present study adopted an arts-based approach and examined teachers' ideal and actual teaching practices, and the associated identity tensions and related coping strategies in the context of Afghanistan. Data were collected from six English teachers via drawings and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis indicated that the teachers experienced unattainable ideal praxis in terms of 'time, space and facility', 'ideal teaching methods', 'ideal instructional materials', and 'technology-enhanced classroom', which resulted in various identity tensions. However, thinking reflectively about their imagined community and ideal practices offered affordances for the teachers to be creative to manage the tensions, and build resilience and reflexivity. The study concludes with implications for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers in developing awareness of ideal-real mismatches to support teacher identity development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a unified conceptual framework for understanding refugee identity construction within educational contexts, drawing on theories of social justice (Fraser, 2008), affective relations (Lynch, 2012), the resumption of ordinary life (Kohli, 2011) and ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Addressing a gap in the existing scholarship, the model emphasises the importance of affective relations in shaping refugee identities in education alongside other factors. The study examines the macro constructs of redistribution, recognition, representation and relational affect, highlighting their impact on refugee children's educational experiences. Further, it considers the micro constructs of safety, sense of belonging and success in integration and attainment in educational environments. The constructs are examined across various levels of Bronfenbrenner's ecological system, demonstrating the complexity of refugees' needs. This model aims to facilitate a holistic, justice‐oriented approach to refugee education, which is crucial given the rise in global displacement. The study has significant implications for refugee education research and policymaking, potentially informing targeted interventions and programmes that foster academic success, overall well‐being, and practice in refugee education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Servant leadership has been one of the most preferred styles of leadership in education due to its underlying principles. This exploratory study aimed to examine the university teachers’ use of servant leadership principles by students’ reported experiences. It utilized a mixed-method approach. A questionnaire was sent to 111 college students after conducting a pilot, passing the reliability test, and applying sample size formula. The semi-structured interviews were also taken from 11 participants who were sophomore and junior students in the English Department, Faculty of Letters and Humanities. The data was analyzed through color-coding, thematic and statistical analyses. This study narrowed its scope by only focusing on the principles of listening, persuasion, commitment to the growth of others, and community building. It tested the correlation between these principles and examined the relationships between the reported use, gender, and schooling years. The results revealed that the practiced servant leadership principles were pretty at a high level except for the commitment to others’ growth principles (M= 3.6). It also found that gender was not a robust predisposing factor, whereas years of schooling influenced the students’ reported experiences about their teachers’ use of servant leadership in the classroom. The principles also proved to be correlated after conducting the Pearson correlation test. The study concluded with suggestions and further implications that could improve the quality of instruction in the classrooms and educational institutions. It is highly suggested to establish leadership centers in both public and private higher education institutions to provide various leadership trainings for students, teachers and staff to enhance the quality of education.