This paper discussed the factors that hinder academic achievement of African American males from disadvantaged backgrounds with emphasis on Mississippi. These factors are applicable to other disadvantaged students from the same backgrounds. The factors originate from homes, individuals, communities, and schools. In addition, the paper proffered what African American males from disadvantaged backgrounds can do to overcome home, individual, community, and school factors that increase the odds of dropping out of school. The paper concluded that the causes of disadvantaged African American males dropping out of school originate from many sources. Finger pointing can only exacerbate the problem. Therefore, all stakeholders should work together to minimize or eliminate the problem of dropout for disadvantaged African American males and others from similar backgrounds in the Unites States and other regions of the world.

This paper shares reflections from an empirical study on the experience of using Pintrich et al.’s (1991) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and learner logs to strengthen metacognition and self-regulated learning in students enrolled in two education courses: a) an educational foundations course, which focuses on critical and contemporary issues in education, and b) a mathematics course for elementary education majors, which studies geometry. Student reactions as well as the qualitative benefits and drawbacks of these tools are also shared. In addition, important pointers are highlighted in the following areas: designing pre-class work, providing feedback on the MSLQ, and using the MSLQ results to generate learner log prompts.

The paper analyzes the position of ancient history in primary school history teaching. Three program documents for history teaching, The Syllabus for Primary Schools from 2006, History Curriculum Proposal from 2016, and History Curriculum for Primary Schools and Gymnasiums from 2019, are compared and analyzed with respect to the prescribed teaching contents related to ancient history. The paper also analyzes history textbooks before and after the 2019 reform, comparing textbook topics and the number of pages dedicated to ancient history, as well as the relationship between the histories of the Ancient East and Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome.

The research aimed to clarify the role of self-directed learning in the learning process of English learners at the University of Social Science and Humanities Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. There were 539 students participating in this research. Within this research, the self-directed learning scale by Bhrati et al (2020) was administrated and the English grades were evaluated by participants. The results revealed that most of the students were at a good level in learning English according to their self-record. Self-directed learning explained 43.9% of changes in English learning grades, which means the higher students practice self-directed learning in learning English, the more chances their English learning grades could be changed. Especially, planning and deploying learning activities, a factor of self-directed learning, contribute mainly to changes in the English grades of students. As the results, the research suggests that lecturers and school managers should introduce and equip students with good planning and deploying learning activities skills to improve English grades and English learning outcomes in general. Moreover, the study also indicated that family social economic status could be a factor contributing to improving students’ self-directed learning and English learning grades. It could imply that social policymakers could reference for further consideration social impacts resulting in improving community education outcomes.

The tradition of lamentation seen in poets and minstrels is as old as the history of the Turkish nation. This article aims to explain the tradition of lamentation and focus on the situations in which laments are performed by our female minstrels. Our minstrels and poets evaluated in the article are respectively Makbule Leman, Yasar Nezihe (Bukulmez), Nigar Hanim, Ihsan Raif Hanim, Sukufe Nihal, Emine Hanim, Hasibe Ramazanoglu, Hasibe Hatun, Dudu Karabiyik, Minstrel Derdimend (Fatma Oflaz), Fatma Behice Batur, Minstrel Sah Turna, Asik Surmelican (Kaya) , Gulhanim Yildirim, Hatce Ana (Hatice Sahinoglu), Dikmenli Emine Sener, Kamanli Minstrel Emine Baci, Minstrel Fatma Inan , Pîr Sultans daughter Sanem, Minstrel Kevser Ezgili, Minstrel Ayse Çaglayan, Minstrel Yeter Yildirim, Minstrel Gülhanim Yildirim, Minstrel Nursah (Dursen Mert). Female minstrels, who lived and are living in Türkiye in the last century, contributed to the survival of this tradition by lamenting painful events that affected them very much.

The paper will present the results of experimental research on the impact of drama activities on the development of pupils communication competence in primary education. The study was conducted on a sample of pupils in the fourth year of primary school (N=344) in the City of Zagreb, Croatia. An experimental model with equal parallel groups was applied. The procedure was carried out according to the following scheme: K-control group - traditional Croatian Language classes (lecturing and presenting) and E-experimental group – where drama activities were performed in Croatian Language classes. The pupils communication competence was measured by a written composition evaluated at three levels: content, language, and handwriting. The results of the analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the communication competence of pupils between the control and experimental group at two of the three levels.

This research aims to analyse “The Coming of Age” by Simone de Beauvoir, classify the word associations with the phenomenon of ageing and identify the changes in the perception of ageing by the population. The scientific methods used in this research are determined by the objectives and the research questions: methods of empirical research (survey, observation, semantic analysis, method of free-associative experiment). Text analysis was performed with the help of Voyant Tools (quantitative confirmation of patterns in the text, identifying key words and phrases within a large corpus). The semantic analysis of the text made it possible to distinguish three main connotations used by Simone de Beauvoir to describe old age: existential, romantic, pejorative and it was proved that “The Coming of Age” belongs to “sad” texts using V. Belyanin’s (2000) classification. The results of the associative experiment conducted with 340 participants showed that 45% of associations with the word ageing carry an existential connotation; 40% – pejorative; 10% – romantic and 5% of the associations have a connotation that cannot be included in the three main categories. The results of the text analysis showed that the content and the language of “The Coming of Age” by Simone de Beauvoir directly collate with the author’s personality. Moreover, modern society demonstrates similar stereotypes, phobias, and discrimination to those depicted in the literary work more than fifty years ago. The results open the gate to further research on gerontophobia and authors’ personality.

Changes are inevitable in both civilization as a whole and in humans. The majority of the time, social change in a country is brought about on a global scale. The intentional and unintentional changes that occur in our culture are explained by a variety of theories. They include theories on conflict, evolution, and different agents of change like invention and finding. Our society, politics, family, and even our education have all been impacted by social change. Hence, the pre-colonial, colonial, military, and what might be referred to as the democratic eras are some of the stages that the Nigerian society has gone through. Although the society undergoes changes as a result of each step, this societys desire for change has not yet been fully satiated. There is a constant search for improved social reforms and conditions because change is a fact of life. Particularly in Nigeria, societal change has occurred over time and continues to occur. It is advised that Nigeria should preserve its native language because it has played a significant role in social change since the post-Colonial era. These changes can be attributed to a number of variables, including language education, technology, modernization, environment, population, etc. It does, however, demonstrate that there are additional variables at play.