Educational R esearch

Dialectics as Method and Approach in Educational Research

Yahya Ghaedi

Personal Knowledge Management: Competitive Competency of Knowledge Workers

Dynamic and complex circumstances of any organization, especially
educational organizations critically require creative and innovative
knowledge workers. Various skills such as personal knowledge
management (PKM) are necessary to succeed in job and professional
career. PKM is one of the best sources of personal, collective, and
organizational innovations and proper direction of organizational
knowledge system. Most of studies are about organizational knowledge
management and disregard PKM as basic element of organizational
systems. Therefore, this paper tries to introduce PKM concept, approach,
models and skills. After that, it will discuss the role of PKM to achieve
personal and organizational excellence. Personal knowledge management
is a conceptual framework to organize and synthesize personal
information. It helps people to absorb essential knowledge and make aware
of lifelong learning. PKM make a study foundation for personal
knowledge ability progress, and, it finally increases professional skills and
competitive advantage. A survey research method was applied to conduct
the study. A simple random sample of 97 managers in Shiraz University
participated in the study by responding to PKM questionnaire. The validity
of the questionnaire was tested and verified. Results showed that Shiraz
University managers had average level of personal knowledge
management.

Assessing the Competency of Trainers and Labor- Coaches in Education with Production outside the Work and Knowledge Centre

The aim of this research was evaluating the competencies of trainers and
labor-coaches of “Education with Production” outside of the “Work and
Knowledge Centre” in Kermanshah province. The research method used was
survey. The statistical population consisted of 20 managers and experts from
education office and technical schools, and 135 students whom they used the
"Education with Production" service in Kermanshah province. Based on
Krejcie and Morgan table, 19 people from the first group, and 102 people from
the second group were selected randomly as the statistical sample. Based on
internationally related available researches, scientific documents, qualitative
analysis, and also, by referring to the experts, trainers’ and labor-coaches’
competencies were classified with three ranges: personal competencies,
professional-technical competencies (with the components of knowledge,
insight, and skill), and ethical-belief competencies (with the components of
work commitment, development of ability, social moderation, social
relationships, bureaucratic discipline, and inner faith). Then, based on these
ranges, the questionnaires were prepared. Based on descriptive and inferential
analysis, total average of all of the competencies was high and significant. It
was in the rate of moderate or lower in the following items: applying the
suitable methods of teaching, proving the plan of proper task and updated
information from the journals, utilizing computer and software related to the
skills training, collaboration with school counselors, trying to upgrade and
update their knowledge and skills, and others, exchange of professional
knowledge and information, paying attention to the needs of students and their
individual differences, reporting students’ disciplinary issues, reading and
observing the principles and related standards.

Redefine of Education and its Components Based on the Phenomenological Concept of Identity

The concept of identity is one of the most crucial issues of human society.
One of the areas in which the concept of identity has been strongly
discussed, is education. In each period, affected by the terms and textural
characteristics of societies and eras, identity has found special concept.The
authors attempt to redefine education and its components, based on the
phenomenological concept of identity. The main question is that, how
education and its components must be redefined according to the
phenomenological concept of identity? This study used a qualitative
research, with the analytical and deductive method. The results showed
that ideas of education, teacher training, teacher, student, and othere
educational subjects are not defined from a particular dimension, but, are
simultaneously defined in several different directions. Teaching activities
and the concept of learning are multidimentional themes. Learning is a
multidimentional phenomena, which is born with the rise of identity in the
person. Hence, it is synonymous with identity or individual recognition. In
this sense, learning areas are the areas of identity.

The Role of Gender Segregation on Academic Achievement and Social Acceptance in Primary Schools

The interest on studying Single-Sex and Coeducational Elementary
Schooling has grown significantly among researchers. Despite this, there
has been no research on this topic in Iran till now. The effects of school
type on academic achievement and social desirability which are among
important variables are examined in this research. The research design is
causal-comparative. The population is taken from students in fifth and
sixth grade from the public elementary schools in the academic year
1391/92 in Shahreiar, Tehran, Iran. The total number of the participants is
279 (half on co-ed and others on single-sex), which were selected by
random cluster sampling method. Results showed that the students from
single-sex schools had higher GPA, compared to the students of co-ed
schools. Also, it was statistically significant that the girls had better social
desirability compared to boys.

Learning Style an Approach for Academic Guidance of High School Students

The purpose of this study was investigating high school students’ learning
styles in order to develop an instrument for academic guidance. The
population of this study consisted of male students in three fields of
science, mathematics, and humanities in high schools of Hamedan. The
sample, consisted of 170 male students in grades 2 and 3 of high school in
the fields of science, mathematics, and humanities. Students were selected
through multistage cluster sampling method. Kolb’s Learning Styles
Inventory was employed to measure the students’ learning styles. The
results of the study showed that most of the students in mathematics and
science had a converging and assimilating learning style, and most of the
humanities students had a diverging and accommodating learning style.
Thus, by awareness of students’ learning styles, we can guide them to the
fields that best fit their learning styles in high school or college.