Iranian Evolutionary and Educational Psychology Journal
Volume:2 Issue: 4, Dec 2020

The purpose of this research was to investigate the conceptual framework for developing family-centered early interventions for the cognitive functions of 3 to 5-year-old children in Yasuj. Using the convenience sampling method, the researchers analyzed all the foreign and domestic studies conducted until 2018. Also, the snowball sampling method was used to select ten experts to evaluate the components. The data were analyzed by thematic analysis using Nvivo software. Data analysis revealed four organizing themes, including attention, memory, language, and executive functions. Seventeen basic themes that constituted the organizing themes were extracted to develop a family-centered intervention program for cognitive functions. The basic themes were maintaining attention, sustained attention, divided attention, focused and selective attention for the theme of the organizer of attention; visual, auditory and working memory for the theme of the organizer of the memory; expressive and receptive language for the theme of the language and basic themes of planning, emotional control, time management, flexibility, metacognition, response inhibition and organization for the theme of the organizer of executive functions. To validate the thematic model, the researchers designed a questionnaire and gave it to the second group of experts, and the coding reliability was confirmed by Holsti’s method. This package can pave the way for parents of at-risk children and children with developmental delays. It can also help enhance the cognitive functions of normal children.

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness components of the curriculum of undergraduate course of elementary education in Farhangian University  from the perspective of experts. The statistical population of this research consisted of professors of Farhangian University in 2020. The sample of this study was selected by accessible sampling method. A total of information was collected from six prominent university professors who taught at Farhangian universities. The data collection tool in this study was semi-structured interview. Results revealed that effectiveness components of the curriculum of undergraduate course of elementary education in Farhangian University were "Determining and implementing desirable educational goals", "Using experienced professors from the schools", "Using appropriate educational content", "Considering the studentschr('39') characteristics" and" Appropriate physical appearance and up-to-date facilities. Generally, the research results support the revision of the teacher training curriculum in order to be more effective.

The purpose of present study was to examine the structural relationship between perceived transformational teaching and critical thinking mediated by motivational beliefs (self-efficacy, intrinsic interest and test anxiety) among university students. The population in this study was all of the undergraduate students of Psychology of Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Iran, in 2019-2020 academic year. From this population 384 students were selected using random stratified sampling method. The research instruments were Transformational Teaching Questionnaire (TTQ), The California Critical Thinking Disposition (CCTD) questionnaire and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The proposed model of the relationships between variables was tested using path analysis. According to results, proposed model had an acceptable fitness regarding fitness indices. In general, the results showed that perceived transformational teaching are effective both directly and indirectly through self-efficacy, intrinsic interest and test anxiety with critical thinking disposition.

Approaches to assessment are distinguished mainly by the fact that whether the provision of feedback and modification of learners performance during assessment procedures is of concern or not. In fact, Dynamic Assessment (DA) attempts to integrate assessment and instruction and uses a range of mediational strategies to gain insight into the learners current abilities and to assist them in reaching their learning potentials. Non-Dynamic Assessment (NDA), on the other hand, aims at obtaining a pure and reliable measurement of the learners abilities.The present study was designed to experimentally investigate and compare the effects of feedback offered within the frameworks of Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA) and Formative Assessment (FA) on the improvement of 34 intermediate Iranian EFL learners writing performance and their capability in transferring the acquired knowledge and skills to new and more challenging tasks. As for the intended treatments, the G-DA students benefited from a model of classroom-based DA including three stages of orientation, execution and control and the FA students received a careful and systematic sequence of instruction, assessment and feedback. The necessary data were collected from the students in-class written drafts and their performance on four non-dynamic writing tests. Results of the analyses, especially, two-way repeated measures ANOVAs, indicated the inherent superiority of the DA group in improving their writing; however, both groups of learners were equally able to transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to new and more challenging writing tasks, which can be attributed to the satisfactory level of internalization and self-regulation they have possibly achieved as a result of the interventions received. Accordingly, it was concluded that systematic feedback offered within the frameworks of these two approaches to assessment can successfully help the learners improve their writing ability.

Teacher competency is defined as a knowledge, skill, ability, personal quality, experience or other characteristic that contributes to a teacher capacity to teach effectively. Despite the importance of teachers competency in teaching, few studies in Iranian EFL context have explored the relationship between self-efficacy and teachers competency.  Accordingly, the present study attempted to investigate the effects of self-efficacy on a group of Iranian high school EFL teachers competency by using one-sample t-test, confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. A total of 197 high school EFL teachers teaching English in Hormozgan province (namely, in Bandar Abbas and Minab cities) participated in the study. A teacher competency test and a self-efficacy beliefs scale were used to collect the necessary data. The results of data analyses indicated that that there was positive relationship between self-efficacy and EFL teachers competency. Likewise, instructional strategy, as the subscale of self-efficacy, could best predict EFL teachers competency. As for the implications of the study, it can be suggested that the results of the study can be used as a framework in improving EFL teacher education policy and designing and implementing of teacher-training programs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between school climate and achievement motivation in high school students. The method of the present study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population was all high school students in Shiraz in the academic year of 2018-2019. Two hundred five students were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling method. For data collection, Student Perceptions of School Climate (SPOSC) and Hermans Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (HAMQ) were used, and Pearson correlation and regression methods were used to analyze the data. The results showed there is a positive and significant correlation between school climate and achievement motivation. Also, a positive and significant relationship was observed between each of the dimensions of school climate including teacher support, peer support and autonomy with the achievement motivation. However, no significant correlation was observed between the stability of rules and the achievement motivation. The results generally showed that the school climate has a significant predictor of achievement motivation in high school students.

The present study has qualitatively reviewed the association between religious orientation and mental health in educational setting. This research is a review study that has been done by reviewing about fifteen citations. In this paper, we review the religious orientation literature, with a focus on educational contexts. Searches of relevant databases and reference lists were used to source articles for this narrative review. Evidence regarding religious orientation variable associated with educational researches is discussed. In general, there are two internal and external dimensions in the discussion of religious orientation, and each of which determines how people interact with the world around them. People with an internal religious orientation are those in whom religiosity is the highest motivation and belief in God is the basis of their actions and behavior. They worship God not only out of a desire to achieve something, but their goal is to give thanks to God. People with an external religious orientation may use religion in different ways to achieve their personal goals. They either do not firmly believe in their religious beliefs or choose and shape them according to their needs. These people have a utilitarian approach and view religion as a meaningful source of social status. In other words, instead of giving themselves over to religious teachings, these people define religion in terms of their personality and needs. Further research to understand and expand the literature about association between religious orientation and mental health in educational context would be beneficial.

Risky sexual behaviors are associated with a wide range of the physical and social health problems in young people. The role of emotional self-efficacy in preventing risky sexual behaviors is important. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Emotional Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. In addition,  this study examined the relationships between the emotional self-efficacy and risky sexual behaviors. The statistical population of the study included all male and female undergraduate students of Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch, Iran. In total, 270 students were selected by stratified random sampling. The final analysis was performed on 260 questionnaires. The research method was descriptive and correlational. Data were collected using two questionnaires of emotional self-efficacy and risky sexual behaviors. Results indicated that the emotional self-efficacy questionnaire has good validity and reliability for implementation on the Iranian sample. The results also revealed a negative and significant relationship (-0.79) between the emotional self-efficacy and high-risk sexual behaviors (p <0.05). The findings support the role of emotional self-efficacy in preventing risky sexual behaviors.

Creativity is the desire for creativity that is potentially present in all people and at all ages and is directly and closely related to the socio-cultural environment. Teaching method refers to activities that are designed by the teacher with the aim of facilitating learning between the teacher and one or more learners in the form of interaction. The aim of the present study was testing the conceptual model of creativity-based teaching method among high school students. It was conducted on a sample of experts (including principals, deputies, teachers and counselors) working in 20 public schools in Shiraz (384 people, including 250 males and 134 females) in the academic year of 2019-2020. The method of the present study was a correlational in which researcher-made questionnaires were distributed among the subjects, and then, the fitness of the proposed model and the effect of teaching methods on creative learning were examined using AMOS 24 software. The results of statistical tests showed that studentschr('39') creativity is influenced by teaching methods.