US-China Education Review 2014(4B)

US-China

Education Review

B

Volume 4, Number 4, April 2014 (Serial Number 35)

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Publication Information: US-China Education Review B (Earlier title: Journal of US-China Education Review, ISSN 1548-6613) is published monthly in hard copy (ISSN 2161-6248) by David Publishing Company located at 240 Nagle Avenue #15C, New York, NY 10034, USA. Aims and Scope: US-China Education Review B, a monthly professional academic journal, covers all sorts of education-theory researches on Higher Education, Higher Educational Management, Educational Psychology, Teacher Education, Curriculum and Teaching, Educational Technology, Educational Economics and Management, Educational Theory and Principle, Educational Policy and Administration, Sociology of Education, Educational Methodology, Comparative Education, Vocational and Technical Education, Special Education, Educational Philosophy, Elementary Education, Science Education, Lifelong Learning, Adult Education, Distance Education, Preschool Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Art Education, Rural Education, Environmental Education, Health Education, History of Education, Education and Culture, Education Law, Educational Evaluation and Assessment, Physical Education, Educational Consulting, Educational Training, Moral Education, Family Education, as well as other issues. Editorial Board Members: Asst. Prof. Dr. Güner Tural Associate Prof. Rosalinda Hernandez Prof. Aaron W. Hughey Prof. Alexandro Escudero Prof. Cameron Scott White Prof. Deonarain Brijlall Prof. Diane Schwartz Prof. Ghazi M. Ghaith Prof. Gil-Garcia, Ana Prof. Gordana Jovanovic Dolecek Prof. Grigorios Karafillis Prof. James L. Morrison Prof. Käthe Schneider Prof. Lihshing Leigh Wang Prof. Mercedes Ruiz Lozano Prof. Michael Eskay Prof. Okechukwu Sunday Abonyi Prof. Peter Hills Prof. Smirnov Eugeny Prof. Yea-Ling Tsao Manuscripts and correspondence are invited for publication. You can submit your papers via Web submission, or E-mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. Submission guidelines and Web submission system are available at http://www.davidpublishing.com. Editorial Office: 240 Nagle Avenue #15C, New York, NY 10034, USA Tel: 1-323-984-7526, 323-410-1082 Fax: 1-323-984-7374, 323-908-0457 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Copyright©2014 by David Publishing Company and individual contributors. All rights reserved. David Publishing Company holds the exclusive copyright of all the contents of this journal. In accordance with the international convention, no part of this journal may be reproduced or transmitted by any media or publishing organs (including various Websites) without the written permission of the copyright holder. Otherwise, any conduct would be considered as the violation of the copyright. The contents of this journal are available for any citation. However, all the citations should be clearly indicated with the title of this journal, serial number and the name of the author. Abstracted/Indexed in: Database of EBSCO, Massachusetts, USA Chinese Database of CEPS, Airiti Inc. & OCLC Chinese Scientific Journals Database, VIP Corporation, Chongqing, P.R.C. Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory ASSIA Database and LLBA Database of ProQuest Excellent papers in ERIC Norwegian Social Science Data Service (NSD), Norway Universe Digital Library Sdn Bhd (UDLSB), Malaysia

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US-China Education Review

B Volume 4, Number 4, April 2014 (Serial Number 35)

Contents Teacher Education

Prospective Teachers’ Individual Innovativeness and Their Adopted Philosophies of Education 223

Mustafa Ilhan, Bayram Çetin, Seyfettin Arslan

Special Education

The Noumenic Methodology—Its Advancement in Gifted Children Special Education and Effects on Academic and Intellectual Performance of Gifted Children 245

Andrew Alexi Almazán Anaya

Educational Methodology

Opinions of School Administrators and Teachers on the Use of Social Media Platforms and Tools in Education 260

Mehmet Menteşe, Şefika Şule Erçetin

Sociology of Education

The Need for Transformational Leadership in Utilizing Abandoned Mining Holes as a Business Opportunity 268

Andriyansah, Tati Rajati, Fatia Fatimah

Comparative Education

Institutional Expansion of Private Higher Education: Comparison Between China and the US 276

Han Meng-jie, Zhang De-xiang

Education and Culture

On Scarlett’s Persistence in Gone With the Wind 282

Wang Xiao-yan, Tong Li-jun

US-China Education Review B, ISSN 2161-6248 April 2014, Vol. 4, No. 4, 223-244

Prospective Teachers’ Individual Innovativeness and Their

Adopted Philosophies of Education

Mustafa Ilhan

Dicle University,

Diyarbakir, Turkey

Bayram Çetin

Gaziantep University,

Gaziantep, Turkey

Seyfettin Arslan

Marmara University,

Istanbul, Turkey

The purposes of this study are: (a) to develop an instrument for measuring educational philosophies adopted by

prospective teachers; and (b) to identify the correlation between prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness and

their adopted philosophies of education. Based on the survey method, the study was conducted on a total of 310

prospective teachers (191 of them being female and the remaining 119 being male) who studied primary school

teaching at Marmara University during the spring term of the academic year 2011-2012. Expert review was done to

check the content and the face validity of the Philosophy Preference Assessment Scale (PPAS). An exploratory

factor analysis (EFA) was performed in order to check the construct validity of the scale. As a result of the EFA, a

39-item two-factor structure emerged, explaining 35.68% of variance. The emerging factors were called as

“contemporary philosophies of education” (CYPE) and “conventional philosophies of education” (CLPE). As a

result of reliability analysis, it was determined that internal consistency and split-half reliability coefficients were

fairly acceptable. The findings of the item analyses showed that all of the items were discriminatory. In light of

these findings, it can be argued that the scale is reliable and valid and can be used to measure educational

phisolophies adopted by prospective teachers. A canonical correlation analysis was conducted to examine the

correlation between the two data sets, namely “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education”.

The former consisted of the variables “resistance to change” (RC), “opinion leadership” (OL), “openness to

experience” (OE), and “risk-taking” (RT), whereas the latter was comprised of the variables CYPE and CLPE.

According to the results obtained from the canonical correlation, it was found that the participants’ individual

innovativeness was significantly correlated with their adopted philosophies of education and that the amount of

shared variance between the two data sets was 55%.

Keywords: individual innovativeness, philosophies of education, prospective teachers

Introduction

We live in a world that requires constant changes and advances in science and technology and training the

type of individuals that can adapt themselves to changes (Un Acikgoz, 2011). Education is an important

element in the process of educating the type of individuals that can catch up with changes (Akkoyunlu &

Mustafa Ilhan, Ph.D. candidate, research assistant, Department of Primary Education, Ziya Gokalp Faculty of Education, Dicle University.

Bayram Çetin, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Gaziantep Faculty of Education, Gaziantep University.

Seyfettin Arslan, Ph.D. candidate, research assisstant, Department of Primary Education, Atatürk Faculty of Education, Marmara University.

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TEACHERS’ INNOVATIVENESS AND THEIR ADOPTED PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

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Kurbanoğlu, 2002; Kuzubasioglu & Celebi, 2009). Education can condition society to change culture and

eliminate potential pains and problems of changing only through the kind of teachers that can comprehend what

change means and know their importance and functions in the process (Dogan, 2004). A teacher’s individual

innovativeness plays a key role in the extent to which he/she can adapt himself/herself to changes and

innovations (Adiguzel, 2012; Hermans, Tondeur, Braak, & Valcke, 2008). Innovativeness has been described

in different ways by different authors: Hurt, Joseph, and Cook (1977) described it as a willingness to change;

Agarwal and Prasad (1998) as the tendency to risk-taking, a quality possessed by not every person; and Berthon,

Hulbert, and Pitt (1999) as broadmindedness, entrepreneurship, willingness to change, and creativeness. Rogers

(2003) adopted a different approach to the matter and based his definition on the word “innovation”. According

to him, innovation is ideas, practices, or objects that are considered new by an individual, a group, or a society.

He maintained that it is only through the concept “innovativeness” that one can explain how these new ideas,

practices, and objects spread throughout and get accepted by a society. Accordingly, he described

innovativeness as one’s tendency to adopt an innovation earlier than other members of a society. All these

considered, innovativeness is an umbrella term that has a number of meanings, like risk-taking (Bhatnagar,

Misra, & Rao, 2000; Cowart, Fox, & Wilson, 2007), ability to cope with ambiguities (Rogers, 2003), openness

to experience (Berthon et al., 1999), facing mistakes (Khasawneh, 2008), creativeness (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996),

and opinion leadership. Similarly, different descriptions by various authors suggest that innovative individuals

are broadminded/entrepreneurial and creative (Berthon et al., 1999), that they can accept innovations in an

easier way and it takes them less time to adopt innovations, and that they are able to cope with ambiguities

(Rogers, 2003). Seeing that teaching is not a stationary profession and teachers need to update themselves in a

constant manner (Erciyes, 2006), it is essential that teachers should possess the skills included under the

umbrella term “individual innovativeness” (Yilmaz & Kocasarac, 2010). Nevertheless, individual,

organizational, or social factors sometimes put obstacles in the way of teachers’ individual innovativeness. In

particular, individual factors, like perception and attitude that form the basis of innovativeness, are among the

micro-level factors in blocking innovativeness (Kılıçer, 2011). Another individual factor in teachers’ individual

innovativeness is their educational beliefs (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Hermans et al., 2008; Higgins & Moseley,

2001; Pajares, 1992; Tobin & McRobbie, 1996). Depending on their educational beliefs, some teachers find it

easier to adapt themselves to innovations while others have more difficulties in catching up with them (Tondeur,

Hermans, Braak, & Valcke, 2008). Their educational beliefs, in turn, are shaped by their adopted philosophies

of education (Pajares, 1992; Rideout, 2006; Sang, Valcke, Braak, & Tondeur, 2009).

Philosophies of education deal with all educational theories and practices from a holistic perspective

(Erden, 1998), attempt to explain educational problems, concepts, ideas, and principles (Brauner & Burns,

1982), and shape educational policies and practices (Klein, 1977). Different educationalists have classified

philosophies of education in different ways. For instance, Wiles and Bondi (2007) grouped these philosophies

under six headings, namely perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, reconstructionism, naturalism, and

existentialism. On the other hand, Apps (1973) used five headings for the classification, namely perennialism,

essentialism, progressivism, reconstructionism, and existentialism. In parallel with this classification, Yilmaz,

Altinkurt, and Cokluk (2011) presented a five-dimensional structure about philosophies of education in their

study on developing a scale for revealing teachers’ educational beliefs. However, the classification that is the

most widely accepted in literature has four headings, namely, perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and

reconstructionism (Demirel, 2010).


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Perennialism is based on idealism and realism (Isichei, 2006). According to this philosophy of education:

1. Human nature and moral values do not change from time to time or from society to society; they remain

the same (Martin & Loomis, 2012; Oliva, 2009). Therefore, the objective of education is to adjust men to the

truth which is eternal, rather than to the contemporary world (Crookees, 2009; Kneller, 1971);

2. Education is a preparation for life (Kuçukoglu & Bay, 2007; Martin & Loomis, 2012). Thus, a school

should not be a copy of life (Kneller, 1971), but a place where culture is passed down to future generations

(Erisen, 2004). From this point of view, perennialism is the oldest and most conservative philosophy of

education (Wiles & Bondi, 2007);

3. The objective is to provide students with an intellectual education (Demirel, 2010). To do this, students

should be made to read classics (Pazmiño, 2008).

Essentialism is based on idealism and realism (San Mateo & Tangco, 2003), too. According to this

philosophy of education:

1. The objectives of education are to educate individuals in accordance with social values, to enable them

to get socialized, and to help them develop mentally (Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998; Ornstein & Lewin, 2006);

2. Since educational system is the protector of social culture (Long, 1987), teachers should be

representatives of social culture and positive role models (Basaran, 2007);

3. It is teachers, not students, that are mainly responsible for the learning/teaching process (Dhawan, 2005).

Therefore, educational process should focus on teacher-centered conventional methods (San Mateo & Tangco,

2003);

4. The essence of the educational process is excellent internalization of subject focus (Strain, 1971). In this

respect, essentialism can be regarded as a subject or a discipline-centered philosophy of education (Kneller,

1971). Subjects introduced into the classroom should not be open to discussion; in contrast, they should stand

the test of time (Demirel, 2010).

Progressivism is based on pragmatism (D. H. Parkerson & J. A. Parkerson, 2008) and considered its

application in education (Sonmez, 2011). According to this philosophy of education:

1. The objectives of education are to improve democratic and social life (Apps, 1973; Ornstein & Hunkins,

1998), to inform students about the changeable nature of concepts, and to enable them to gain an open and

speculative perspective on knowledge (Erden, 1998);

2. The process is student-centered (Gutek, 1988). Therefore, students’ needs and requirements should be

taken into consideration (Dhawan, 2005; Joseph, 2000). A teacher functions as a mentor and guide (Ornstein &

Hunkins, 1998);

3. Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself (Martin & Loomis, 2012). To ensure this,

the process should include situations that one is likely to encounter in real life (Lee, 2011);

4. The educational process thrives in a democratic environment, which ensures that students will be

affected by one another and that they will be able to express their opinions in a free way (Demirel, 2010;

Dhawan, 2005). In addition, it should include cooperative activities (Erden, 1998; Ergün, 2009), discovery

teaching strategy (Erden, 1998), and problem-solving techniques (Dhawan, 2005; Long, 1987).

Reconstructionism is based on pragmatism (Sonmez, 2011), too. According to this philosophy of

education:

1. Society will change not through policies but through education (Ergün, 2009). Therefore, the objectives

of education are to reconstruct society (Hewitt, 2006; Segall & Wilson, 2004) and to insert real democracy into


226

social life (Erisen, 2004);

2. A schools is not an institution that pass down cultural heritage to future generations, but a place

responsible for social change (Isichei, 2006; Oliva, 2009). Therefore, teachers should be representatives of

change and reform (Demirel, 2010; Kneller, 1971);

3. The educational process should include such social, political, and economic problems as racism, hunger,

unemployment, and environmental pollution, and make students aware of the problems that threaten humanity

(Gutek, 1998; Martin & Loomis, 2012);

4. The learning/teaching process should draw on project-based learning and teachers should act as research

leaders and project managers (Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998).

It can be seen that perennialism and essentialism rely on idealism and realism. Both philosophies of

education attach importance to content (subjects) in the learning/teaching process. They regard students as

passive recipients of knowledge whereas teachers are accepted as active providers of knowledge. With

reference to the points they have in common, perennialism and essentialism are named “conventional

philosophies of education” (CLPE). On the other hand, progressivism and reconstructionism are based on

pragmatism. Both philosophies of education maintain that the learning/teaching process is student-centered. It

is essential that students should actively participate in the process and that teachers should guide them. With

reference to the points they have in common, progressivism and reconstructionism are called “contemporary

philosophies of education” (CYPE) (Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998).

A review of literature indicates that there are studies on prospective teachers’ adopted philosophies of

education and their individual innovativeness. Some of the studies on their adopted philosophies of education

are focused on whether their adopted philosophies of education and philosophical preferences differ depending

on demographic variables, such as gender, grade, and department (Cetin, Ilhan & Arslan, 2012; Ekiz, 2007;

Kucuk, Yangın, & Bag, 2011). On the other hand, some of the studies on prospective teachers’ philosophical

preferences are focused on the correlation between their adopted philosophical preferences and their identity

functions (Kocak, Ulusoy, & Onen, 2012), their attitudes towards the teaching profession (Cagirgan & Batdal,

2010), their adopted values (Duman, Aykac, & Celik, 2011), the extent to which they use instructional

technologies and the Internet (Duman & Ulubey, 2008), their attitudes towards using computer technologies

(Onen, 2012), the use of computers in the learning process (Ertmer, 1999), learning strategies and learning

styles (Duman, 2008), and their epistemological beliefs (Bicer, Er, & Ozel, 2013). There are fewer studies on

prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness when compared to the ones on their adopted philosophies of

education. Kılıçer (2011) studied the individual innovativeness profiles of prospective computer and

instructional technologies teachers, Adiguzel (2012) explored the correlation between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their moral maturity, Kocak and Onen (2013) analyzed the basic technology

competency of student teachers according to their openness to individual innovations, whereas Cuhadar, Bulbul,

and Ilgaz (2013) explored the relationship between the individual innovativeness of pre-service teachers and

their competencies in techno-pedagogical education. It has been revealed that educational beliefs of teachers

and prospective teachers are shaped by their adopted philosophies of education (Livingston, McClain, &

DeSpain, 1995; Rideout, 2006; Sang et al., 2009) and these educational beliefs play a decisive role in the extent

to which they can adapt themselves to innovations (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Tobin & McRobbie, 1996).

According to Pajares (1992), teachers interpret innovations according to their personal beliefs. In other

words, teachers accept more easily innovations that are in accordance with their personal conceptions of


227

teaching and learning (Tondeur et al., 2008). Thus, the integration of educational innovations is doomed to fail

unless we understand teachers’ adopted philosophies of education (Trigwell, Prosser, & Taylor, 1994). Seeing

that prospective teachers’ willingness to put innovations into practice is a key factor in educational

development (Ghaith & Yaghi, 1997) and adoption of educational innovations can only be explained when

also educational beliefs of teachers are taken into account (Tondeur et al., 2008), it is important to study the

variables in their willingness to put innovations into practice and to analyze the correlation among the

variables, which may reveal what needs to be done to make educational innovations a success (Trigwell et al.,

1994). The theoretical knowledge suggests a correlation between prospective teachers’ individual

innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education. Even so, it appears that the literature does not

include any empirical studies on how prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness is correlated with their

adopted philosophies of education. Thus, it is hoped that the present study will fill the gap in the literature. All

things considered, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the correlation between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education empirically. Hopefully, it will fill the

gap in the literature and present what needs to be done to integrate the rapid change in today’s world with

educational environments in a successful way. Based on the purpose of this study, the first step in the study

was to develop the Philosophy Preference Assessment Scale (PPAS), which is used for measuring prospective

teachers’ adopted philosophies of education in a valid and reliable way. The second step was to examine the

relationship between prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of

education.

Methodology

Population

The population of the study was comprised of a total of 310 prospective teachers (191 being female

(61.60%) and the remaining 119 being male (38.40%)) who studied primary school teaching at Marmara

University. This university is located in the city of Istanbul and attracts students from across Turkey. The

participants were randomly selected and distributed across departments as follows: 64 (20.60%) participants

from the Department of Science Teaching, 47 (15.20%) participants from the Department of Primary School

Math Teaching, 97 (31.30%) participants from the Department of Classroom Teaching, and 102 (32.90%)

participants from the Department of Social Studies Teaching. Their ages varied between 18 and 36, the mean

being 21.48.

Crowley and Lee (1992) argued that a sample with 300 participants is good for factor analysis (as cited in

Akbulut, 2010). In accordance with this argument, it can be said that the number of participants in the study

group is sufficient for a factor analysis. On the other hand, for the reliability of the findings obtained from

canonical correlation analysis, it is recommended that the number of participants to be included in the

population should be 20 times larger than the number of variables in the data sets. The study had four variables

in the data set “individual innovativeness”, namely “resistance to change” (RC), “opinion leadership” (OL),

“openness to experience” (OE), and “risk-taking” (RT), and another two variables in the data set “adopted

philosophies of education”, namely, CYPE and CLPE. The number of variables means that the study should

have at least 120 participants to ensure that the findings are reliable. Therefore, it can be argued that the number

of participants in the present study ensures that the findings are reliable.


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Data Collection Instruments

The data were collected through the Individual Innovativeness Scale (IIS) and the PPAS.

The IIS. The IIS is a self-report scale, in which individual innovativeness is measured through

participants’ own responses. It was developed by Hurt et al. (1977) and adapted to Turkish by Kılıçer and

Odabasi (2010). The original version was based on the 7-point Likert type and consisted of 20 items. It has

been tested for validity and reliability purposes by different authors on different samples. They have reported

different findings on the factor structure of the scale.

When Kılıçer and Odabasi (2010) adapted the scale to Turkish, they used the 5-point Likert type and

conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to analyze the scale’s construct validity. Their analysis

concluded that the scale had four factors that accounted for 52.52% of the total variance. The first factor, which

accounted for 13.67% of the total variance and contained eight items, was called RC. This dimension consisted

of items concerning individuals’ worries about change and innovation in general (Sample item: I think that it is

best to adopt an old lifestyle and to do things through old methods). The second factor, which accounted for

13.61% of the total variance and contained five items, was called OL. This dimension consisted of items

concerning individuals’ characteristics that enable them to lead others (Sample item: My friends often come

and ask for my suggestions or information). The third factor, which accounted for 12.97% of the total variance

and contained five items, was called OE. This dimension consisted of items concerning individuals’ willingness

to look for innovations and experiences (Sample item: While solving a question whose answer is ambiguous, I

often develop new methods). The fourth factor, which accounted for 9.28% of the total variance and contained

two items, was called RT. This dimension tested whether individuals gave up or got motivated when faced with

ambiguities (Sample item: Questions whose answers are ambiguous make me excited).

The internal consistency coefficients calculated by Kılıçer and Odabasi (2010) to test the reliability of the

Turkish version were 0.82, 0.81, 0.73, 0.77, and 0.62 for the whole scale and the sub-scales RC, OL, OE, and

RT respectively. On the other hand, the internal consistency coefficients calculated by the authors of the

present study were 0.82, 0.79, 0.65, 0.80, and 0.51 for the whole scale and the sub-scales RC, OL, OE, and RT

respectively. It is accepted that scales with a reliability coefficient of 0.70 or higher are reliable (Fraenkel,

Wallend, & Hyun, 2012; Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994), which suggests that the whole scale and the sub-scales

RC and OE had sufficient reliability coefficients. In addition, it is accepted that scales with 10 or fewer items

should have a reliability coefficient of 0.60 and higher (Yurtkoru, Sipahi, & Cinko, 2010) or the correlations

between the items should be between 0.20 and 0.40 (Briggs & Cheek, 1986). In the present study, the

sub-scale OL was reliable, for it had a reliability coefficient higher than 0.60. Although the sub-scale RT had a

reliability coefficient lower than 0.60, the correlation between the items was 0.34, which suggests that it was

also reliable.

The PPAS. The PPAS was developed by the authors themselves. The analyses performed regarding the

development of PPAS and the related results have been presented in the “Findings” section.

Procedure

The data were obtained during the spring term of the academic year 2011-2012. Prior to the administration

of the data collection tools, the participants were informed about the aim of the research. They were also

informed that the collected data were to be used solely for research purposes and not shared with any

institutions or people. Similarly, prior to the administration phase, the participants were reminded that


229

participation in the research was not compulsory and the sample comprised only volunteering prospective

teachers. The participants were asked to supply their demographic data, such as age, gender, and department in

the first part of the questionnaire. Two different paths can be followed in order to match IIS and PPAS scores

belonging to a certain participant: simultaneous administration of the two scales to pre-service teachers or

applying the measurement instruments to pre-service teachers at certain intervals after noting down their names.

However, it was thought that writing down the participants’ names would prevent pre-service teachers from

giving true responses. For this reason, the first path was followed and both scales were applied to pre-service

teachers at the same time. Most participants took 25-30 minutes to complete the questionnaires.

Data Analysis

The data were analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0). The EFA was

performed in order to check construct validity of PPAS. The reliability of PPAS was examined by means of

internal consistency and split-half methods. In order to determine the items’ discriminatory power, corrected

item total correlations were calculated and the upper and lower score groups each containing 27% of the total

groups were compared with each other.

A canonical correlation analysis was conducted to study the correlation between the prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education. Canonical correlation analysis (see

Figure 1) is used for studying the correlation between two data sets with at least two variables ((X1, X2, … Xn

and Y1, Y2, … Ym) and (n ≥ 2 and m ≥ 2)) (Bordens & Abbott, 2011). In this method, the correlation between

the two data sets is revealed through one single analysis. In this respect, it enables one to control type-1 error

that can intervene in the measurement (Stangor, 2010). In canonical correlation analysis, the first thing to do is

to derive linear composites that will maximize the correlation between the two data sets (Leech, Barlett, &

Morgan, 2005). These new variables that are derived from the linear composites of the variables are called

canonical variables (Afifi & Clark, 1996). The canonical variables on the right and left hands of the canonical

correlation equation are called a pair of canonical variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). The correlation

between pairs of canonical variables is called canonical function or canonical root (Sherry & Henson, 2005).

In canonical correlation analysis, the maximum number of pairs of canonical variables is equal to the number

of variables in the set of variable with the fewest variables (J. Cohen, P. Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). The

first pair of canonical variables derived from canonical correlation analysis should be calculated in a way that

will maximize the correlation between sets of variables (Afifi & Clark, 1996). Then, the second pair of

canonical variables is derived. The second pair exhibits the maximum correlation between two canonical

variables, not accounted for by the first pair of canonical variables (Stevens, 2009). The canonical correlation

decreases in value with each new function derived from two canonical variables (Hair, Black, Babin, &

Anderson, 2010). In practice, one interprets only the functions with statistically significant differences

between two canonical variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Figure 1 presents a general illustration of

canonical correlation analysis.

The purpose of this study is to determine the correlation between the data set “individual innovativeness”,

which was comprised of the weighted combinations of the variables RC, OL, OE, and RT and the data set

“adopted philosophies of education”, which consisted of the weighted combinations of the variables CYPE and

CLPE. The two data sets contained four and two variables respectively, which meant that the maximum number

of pairs of canonical variables was two.


230

Figure 1. A general illustration of canonical correlation analysis.

Findings

This section includes findings related to the development of the PPAS and the relationship between

pre-service teachers’ education philosophy and individual innovativeness level.

Findings Regarding the Development of the PPAS

The scale development process consisted of various stages. Firstly, an item pool was formed with

propositions that explained philosophies of education. The pool contained 39 items, which were designed in

accordance with the most widely accepted classification in the literature, namely, perennialism, essentialism,

progressivism, and reconstructionism (Demirel, 2010). Next, the scale was submitted to four educational

scientists (one of them specializing in testing and evaluation while the remaining three specializing in

curriculum and instruction) to ensure the content validity and face validity. The specialists and developers of a

scale should have common definitions, for determining the concept of a subject requires judgment (Tavsancil,

2010). Especially in multidimensional measurement instruments with more than one subscale, experts are

needed in order to understand whether the items targeting different constructs are related to the expected

dimension or not (DeVellis, 2003). In relation to this necessity, the specialists were asked to evaluate the scale

in accordance with the four fundamental philosophies of education that the authors based their study on. The

scale was revised with reference to their opinions. The authors did not need to exclude any of the items.

However, they changed the way that some items were expressed. An example would be the item “Students

should memorize what teachers teach”, an item reflecting the philosophy of essentialism. One of the specialists

stated that the word “memorizing” already connoted negative things. Thus, the item was reconsidered and

restated as “Teachers teach what is correct; students must provide these correct answers in examinations”.

Similarly, two specialists noted that the item “Knowledge is relative”, an item reflecting the philosophy of

progressivism, was not clear enough. Accordingly, it was restated as “Correct knowledge may change

depending on conditions, environment, people, and time”. After certain changes had been made in accordance

with the specialists’ opinions, the scale was submitted to two Turkish philologists to ensure that the items were

comprehensible and clear. The scale was finalized after the philologists agreed that all the items included in the

scale “were comprehensible and complied with Turkish grammar rules”. Afterwards, the scale was based on the

5-point Likert rating, namely, “Strongly agree”—5 to “Strongly disagree”—1. Finally, it was implemented on

the participants. The data obtained from the scale were statistically analyzed in terms of construct validity,

reliability, and item analysis.

An EFA was conducted to test the construct validity of the PPAS. Before an EFA is carried out, one needs

Kanonik

X1

X2

Xn

Y1

Y2

Ym

Set 1 Set 2 rc

Canonical correlation


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to identify whether the data set is suitable for factor analysis. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Barlett’s

Test of Sphericity are two considerations in deciding whether the sample is suitable for data analysis. In order

for the sample size to be adequate for factor analysis, KMO values must be higher than 0.60 and results of

Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity must be significant (Buyukozturk, 2010). In the present study, the KMO coefficient

and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity were 0.883 and 4879.799 (p < 0.001; df = 741) respectively. These values

suggest that the data were suitable for factor analysis. Afterwards, a two-factor structure was obtained as a

result of the principal components analysis and oblique rotation. The reason why this rotation technique was

used was that the factors in the scale were correlated with one another. The analyses yielded a two-factor

structure that accounted for 35.68% of the total variance. Table 1 presents the findings of the EFA.

Table 1

The Factor Structure of the PPAS and Factor Loadings

Factor Item No. Items Factor loading

CYPE

CYPE-1 The center of education is students. 0.69

CYPE-2 Learning takes place through experiences. 0.66

CYPE-3 It is essential that students should learn to learn, not just knowledge. 0.63

CYPE-4 Correct knowledge may change depending on conditions, environment, people, and time. 0.45

CYPE-5 The role of a teacher is to guide the learning/teaching process. 0.57

CYPE-6 Students should be active in the educational process. 0.75

CYPE-7 Discovery and inquiry teaching strategies should be used in the process. 0.73

CYPE-8 Education is life itself. 0.34

CYPE-9 The educational environment should be democratic. 0.67

CYPE-10 The curriculum should include situations that one is likely to encounter in real life. 0.59

CYPE-11 The learning/teaching process should include cooperative learning. 0.76

CYPE-12 The educational environment should focus on practices. 0.76

CYPE-13 Education is an important tool for social reform. 0.62

CYPE-14 It is schools that are mainly responsible for changing a society. 0.49

CYPE-15 Teachers should be representatives of change. 0.64

CYPE-16 The objective of education should be to teach such values as cooperation and democratic life.

0.66

CYPE-17 The objective of education is to improve liberties. 0.47

The amount of variance accounted for (%) 22.91

CLPE

CLPE-1 Students should be educated in accordance with truth which is eternal. 0.54

CLPE-2 Teachers should be the sole authority in the classroom. 0.55

CLPE-3 Education is a preparation for life. 0.43

CLPE-4 Teachers should teach students fundamental cultural values. 0.49

CLPE-5 Classics should be included in the curriculum. 0.41

CLPE-6 It is not necessary to take individual differences into account in the educational process. 0.42

CLPE-7 Students should be enabled to get to gospel truth through reasoning. 0.50

CLPE-8 Students should imitate their teachers. 0.49

CLPE-9 Life is different from the school. 0.34

CLPE-10 The role of education is to teach students subjects and knowledge that do not change from past to present.

0.66

CLPE-11 Phenomena and subjects that are not agreed upon (i.e., open to discussion) should not be brought into the classroom.

0.47

CLPE-12 Knowledge through deduction is gospel truth. 0.50

CLPE-13 In the educational process, students should take what their teachers teach as gospel truth. 0.50

CLPE-14 It is possible to resort to punishment to achieve desired results in the educational process. 0.49


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(Table 1 to be continued)

CLPE

CLPE-15 Expository teaching approach should be used in the educational process. 0.58

CLPE-16 School is not a place for reform. 0.36

CLPE-17 By its very nature, learning involves coercion and strict disciplinary rules. 0.51

CLPE-18 The role of a teacher in the classroom is to convey knowledge. 0.69

CLPE-19 The essence of the educational process is excellent internalization of subject focus. 0.61

CLPE-20 Human mind is inherently empty; all information can be learned later. 0.44

CLPE-21 Teachers teach what is correct; students must provide these correct answers in examinations.

0.69

CLPE-22 Students do not know what is good for them. 0.36

The amount of variance accounted for (%) 12.77

The total amount of variance accounted for (%) 35.68

The EFA concluded that the first factor CYPE, which contained 17 items concerning progressivism and

reconstructionism, accounted for 22.91% of the total variance. The items included in this factor had factor

loadings ranging from 0.34 to 0.76. On the other hand, the second factor CLPE, which contained 22 items

regarding perennialism and essentialism, accounted for 12.77% of the total variance. The items included in this

factor had factor loadings varying between 0.34 and 0.68. It can be argued that the construct validity of the

scale was ensured, seeing that the benchmark value for the amount of variance accounted for in the EFA is 30%

and higher (Bayram, 2009; Buyukozturk, 2010) and the items included in the scale had factor loadings higher

than the 0.30 lower limit (Costello & Osborne, 2005; Martin & Newell, 2004). It is known that perennialism

and essentialism are called CLPE in the literature while progressivism and reconstructionism are named CYPE

(Ornstein & Hunkins, 1998). From this point of view, the first factor, which contained items regarding

progressivism and reconstructionism, was called CPYE, whereas the second one, which contained items

regarding perennialism and essentialism, was named CLPE. The EFA also reported that the correlation between

CYPE and CLPE was -0.15.

The reliability of the PPAS was tested on the basis of internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and

split-half reliability analysis. The internal consistency coefficients were 0.90 and 0.86 for CYPE and CLPE

respectively. On the other hand, the reliability coefficients obtained through the split-half reliability analysis were

0.85 and 0.84 for CYPE and CLPE respectively. It is accepted that scales with a reliability coefficient higher than

0.70 are reliable (Fraenkel et al., 2012; Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994). Therefore, the reliability coefficients for the

sub-scales CYPE and CLPE were sufficient. Table 2 presents the findings on the reliability of the PPAS.

Table 2 Reliability Coefficients of the PPAS Calculated Through Internal Consistency Reliability and Split-Half Reliability

Dimension Internal consistency reliability Split-half reliability

CYPE 0.90 0.85

CLPE 0.86 0.84

The item discrimination index and the predictive power of the items were calculated on the basis of

corrected item total correlations and a comparison of the upper 27% of the group and the lower 27% of the

group. The item total correlation was calculated with the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient

whereas scores of both top and bottom 27% of groups were compared with the independent samples t-test. The

findings are presented in Table 3.


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Table 3 Corrected Item Total Correlations of the PPAS and T-Values for the Differences Between the Upper 27% of the Group and the Lower 27% of the Group

Sub-dimension Item No. Item excluded Corrected item

total correlation t

Scale mean Scale variance Scale alpha

CYPE (N = 310); Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85

CYPE-1 30.18 83.970 0.89 0.62 12.29*

Df = 161; *p < 0.001

CYPE-2 30.12 83.300 0.89 0.61 11.08*

CYPE-3 30.13 82.920 0.89 0.59 10.59*

CYPE-4 29.85 84.220 0.90 0.42 10.04*

CYPE-5 30.24 85.930 0.90 0.53 9.66*

CYPE-6 30.33 83.680 0.89 0.70 13.18*

CYPE-7 30.25 82.830 0.89 0.69 11.96*

CYPE-8 29.53 85.990 0.91 0.32 7.96*

CYPE-9 30.22 84.050 0.89 0.61 9.66*

CYPE-10 30.10 84.180 0.90 0.53 12.52*

CYPE-11 30.20 83.050 0.89 0.70 12.70*

CYPE-12 30.18 81.750 0.89 0.72 13.45*

CYPE-13 30.03 84.310 0.89 0.57 9.49*

CYPE-14 29.75 84.990 0.90 0.46 10.30*

CYPE-15 30.00 83.810 0.89 0.58 11.97*

CYPE-16 30.10 83.740 0.89 0.64 12.70*

CYPE-17 29.82 85.450 0.90 0.43 8.65*

CLPE (N = 310); Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86

CLPE-1 66.30 153.317 0.86 0.46 10.55*

Df = 173; *p < 0.001

CLPE-2 65.57 152.855 0.86 0.52 10.49*

CLPE-3 37.15 161.100 0.86 0.28 4.68*

CLPE-4 67.19 160.616 0.86 0.32 5.91*

CLPE-5 67.08 162.161 0.86 0.27 4.65*

CLPE-6 65.18 155.993 0.86 0.44 8.28*

CLPE-7 67.03 158.556 0.86 0.37 6.04*

CLPE-8 65.64 156.304 0.86 0.47 8.75*

CLPE-9 66.11 158.007 0.86 0.32 5.94*

CLPE-10 65.92 149.929 0.85 0.61 15.02*

CLPE-11 65.80 155.084 0.86 0.46 9.16*

CLPE-12 66.14 157.330 0.86 0.42 10.29*

CLPE-13 65.31 154.732 0.86 0.51 9.93*

CLPE-14 65.83 155.633 0.86 0.45 9.73*

CLPE-15 66.52 154.386 0.86 0.48 10.01*

CLPE-16 65.94 159.281 0.86 0.34 6.72*

CLPE-17 65.53 153.771 0.86 0.51 11.05*

CLPE-18 66.62 149.920 0.85 0.60 12.36*

CLPE-19 66.76 155.356 0.86 0.50 10.03*

CLPE-20 66.47 158.807 0.86 0.33 6.59*

CLPE-21 66.11 150.031 0.85 0.62 15.05*

CLPE-22 65.78 159.559 0.86 0.35 6.81*

The comparison of the upper 27% of the group and the lower 27% of the group suggested that all of the

t-values regarding the differences between the scores of the items included in the lower and upper groups were

significant. In addition, the t-values for the sub-scale CYPE ranged between 7.96 and 13.41 (df = 161) whereas


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those for the sub-scale CLPE varied from 4.65 to 15.05 (df = 173). The correlated item total correlations ranged

from 0.43 to 0.72 and from 0.27 to 0.62 for the items included in the sub-scales CYPE and CLPE respectively.

It is generally accepted that items with a value of 0.30 and higher are suitable for discriminating between the

properties to be measured (Buyukozturk, 2010; Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994). This criterion was fulfilled by all

the items except for item CLPE-5, which had a corrected item total correlation of 0.27, and item CLPE-3,

which had a corrected item total correlation of 0.28. However, the t-values obtained through the comparison of

the upper 27% of the group and the lower 27% of the group were meaningful also for the items CLPE-3 and

CLPE-5. Therefore, all the items in the scale had satisfying discrimination indices.

All the statistical validity and reliability analyses of the PPAS as well as the analysis of the item

discrimination index suggest that the scale had satisfying psychometric properties to measure prospective

teachers’ philosophical preferences.

Findings Regarding the Relationship Between Prospective Teachers’ Individual Innovativeness and

Their Adopted Philosophies of Education

Canonical correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education. The findings are presented in Table 4.

Table 4 Canonical Correlation Analysis Results for the Relationship Between Individual Innovativeness and Adopted Philosophies of Education

Variables Function 1 Function 2

Coef. rs rs2 (%) Coef. rs rs

2 (%) h2

CYPE -1.0180 -0.99 98.010 -0.216 0.07 0.490 98.50

CLPE -0.0730 0.21 4.410 -1.038 -0.98 96.040 96.45

Rc2 - - 45.728 - - 17.262 -

RC 0.0080 0.25 6.250 -0.983 -0.92 84.640 90.89

OL -0.3560 -0.80 64.000 -0.419 -0.15 2.250 66.25

OE -0.6950 -0.95 90.250 0.148 0.09 0.810 91.06

RT -0.0850 -0.60 36.000 -0.081 -0.17 2.890 38.89

Eigenvalue 0.84 0.20

Percentage of variance 80.15 19.85

Canonical correlation 0.68 0.42

Squared canonical correlation 0.46 0.17

Percentage of variance in dependent variables explained by canonical functions

Dependent variables (CYPE and CLPE) 49.08 22.90

Covariates (RC, OL, OE, and RT) 22.45 3.95

Percentage of variance covariates explained by canonical functions

Dependent variables (CYPE and CLPE) 23.74 51.92

Covariates (RC, OL, OE, and RT) 8.30 48.08

Notes: F-values of multivariate tests of Pillais, Hotellings, and Wilks reached the 0.001 significance level. Structure coefficients (rs) greater than |0.30| are underlined. Coef.: standardized canonical function coefficient; rs: structure coefficient; rs

2: squared structure coefficient; and h2: communality coefficient.

In the research, two canonical functions have been obtained from the relationship between individual

innovativeness and adopted philosophies of education. It was determined that canonical model that consisted of

the cumulative values of these canonical functions was statistically significant (Wilks’ λ = 0.45, F (8, 608) = 37.42,


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and p < 0.001). Wilk’s λ refers to the variance that cannot be accounted for by the canonical variables in the

model. Therefore, “1-λ” represents the amount of variance canonical variables share and can be interpreted in a

similar way to r2 in regression analysis. Wilks’ λ value for the relationship between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education is 0.45. Thus, it can be said that the

amount of shared variance which the individual innovativeness and adopted philosophies of education share is

55%.

The correlation between the data sets in the first canonical function calculated to make the relationship

between individual innovativeness and adopted philosophies of education data sets maximum has been

established as 0.68. According to this, it has been surfaced that individual innovativeness and adopted

philosophies of education share a common variance of 46% in the first canonical function. In the second

canonical function, the canonical correlation value, which is overlooked in the first canonical function and

which sets the maximum relationship between two canonical variables, is calculated. The canonical correlation

value calculated in the second canonical function is 0.42. This result shows that the value of common variance,

which individual innovativeness and adopted philosophies of education share in the second canonical function,

is 17%.

While the variables OL, OE, and RT contributed to the data set “individual innovativeness” by more

than 0.30 in the first canonical function, the variable RC contributed to the same data set by less than 0.30

(see Table 4). In this case, the variables OL, OE, and RT contributed more significantly to the data set

“individual innovativeness” than the variable RC. The criterion of 0.30 for the significance of contributions

made by variables to data set is based on the principle that items with a factor loading of 0.30 and higher are

acceptable in factor analysis (Costello & Osborne, 2005; Martin & Newell, 2004). Whereas the variable

CYPE contributed to the data set “adopted philosophies of education” by more than 0.30 in the first

canonical function, the variable CLPE had a structural coefficient of less than 0.30 (see Table 4). In this case,

the variable CYPE contributed more significantly to the data set “adopted philosophies of education” than

the variable CLPE.

In canonical functions derived from canonical correlation analysis, one can also conclude from the

variables with a structural coefficient of 0.30 or higher whether the correlation between these variables are

positive or negative. In the first function, the variables OL, OE, RT, and CYPE had significant structural

coefficients, all of which had negative signs. Therefore, there was a positive correlation between the

variables OL, OE, RT, and CYPE in the first canonical function, which suggests that the more the

participants adopted CYPE, the higher their OL, OE, and RT levels were. This function was named

“willingness to change (WTC) and CYPE” with a consideration into the variables that contributed

significantly in the first canonical function to the data set they were included in and the theoretical

knowledge about them.

The first canonical function, named WTC and CYPE, had an rs2 value of 45.728 (see Table 4). This

figure suggests that the amount of shared variance between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and

“adopted philosophies of education” in the first canonical function was 45.73%. Figure 2 presents the

structural coefficients concerning the canonical function WTC and CYPE and the canonical correlation

coefficient between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education” for

this function.


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Figure 2. Structural coefficients and canonical correlation value for the canonical function WTC and CYPE.

An analysis of the findings on the second canonical function suggests that the variable RC contributed to

the data set “individual innovativeness” by more than 0.30 whereas the variables OL, OE, and RT contributed to

the same data set by less than 0.30. In this case, the variable RC contributed more significantly to the data set

“individual innovativeness” than the variables OL, OE, and RT. Although the variable OL had a standardized

coefficient higher than 0.30 in the second canonical function, it had a structural coefficient lower than 0.30. This

finding suggests that the variable OL acted as a suppressor variable in the second canonical function. Variables

that significantly contribute to the prediction of the dependent variable due to their high correlation with other

independent variables are called suppressor variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Whereas the variable CLPE

contributed to the data set “adopted philosophies of education” by more than 0.30 in the second canonical

function, the variable CYPE contributed to the same data set by less than 0.30. In this case, the variable CLPE

contributed more significantly to the data set “adopted philosophies of education” than the variable CYPE.

Both the variables RC and CLPE, which had significant structural coefficients in the second canonical

function, had negative signs. This finding suggests a positive correlation between the two variables. Therefore,

the more the participants adopted CLPE, the higher their RC levels were. This function was named “RC and

CLPE” with a consideration into the variables that contributed significantly in the second canonical function to

the data set they were included in and the theoretical knowledge about them.

The second canonical function, named RC and CLPE, had an rs2 value of 17.262 (see Table 4). This figure

suggests that the amount of shared variance between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted

philosophies of education” in the second canonical function was 17.262%. Figure 3 presents the structural

coefficients concerning the canonical function RC and CLPE and the canonical correlation coefficient between

the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education” for this function.

Figure 3. Structural coefficients and canonical correlation value for the canonical function RC and CLPE.

CYPE

CLPE

Set 1 Set 2 0.42

-0.92

-0.15 0.07

-0.98

RT

OE

OL

RC

0.09

-0.17

CYPE

CLPE

Set 1 Set 2 0.68

0.25

-0.80 -0.99

0.21

RT

OE

OL

RC

-0.95

-0.60


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According to the findings obtained by the canonical correlation analysis, the amount of shared variance

between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education” was 55%. In this

respect, the correlation between the two data sets can be expressed in Figure 4.

Figure 4. The amount of shared variance between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education”.

Discussion and Conclusions

The present study aims to: (a) develop an instrument for measuring educational phisolophies adopted by

prospective teachers; and (b) identify the correlation between prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness

and their adopted philosophies of education.

The first purpose of the research is to develop the PPAS. Expert review was done to check the content and

face validity. EFA was applied in order to maintain the construct validity of the scale. As a result of EFA, a

two-factor structure explaining 35.68% of the total variance was obtained. Considering the nature of the items

in the factors and the theoretical structure, the first factor was named CYPE and while the second factor was

named CLPE. The factor loadings of the items in the scale vary between 0.34 and 0.76. Considering that values

of 30% and over are the criteria for the explained variance rates in the EFA (Bayram, 2009; Buyukozturk,

2010) and the scale items’ factor loads meet the lower limit of 0.30 (Buyukozturk, 2010; Costello & Osborne,

2005), it could be argued that PPAS has satisfactory construct validity. The reliability of the PPAS was

examined by means of internal consistency and split-half methods. The analyses concluded that the internal

consistency and split-half reliability coefficients for the CYPE and CLPE sub-dimensions were fairly

acceptable. An item analysis was conducted in order to determine PPAS items’ predictive and discriminatory

power. Item total correlation was analyzed in the item analysis and the 27% upper and lower level groups were

compared. As the end of the analysis, item total correlations ranged between 0.27 and 0.72 and the differences

between the top and bottom 27% groups were significant for all the items included in the scale. These findings

point to the discriminatory power of all the PPAS items.

The second purpose of the research is to analyze the relationship between prospective teachers’ individual

innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education. The relationship between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education was examined through canonical

correlation analysis. The analysis yielded two canonical functions, both of which were found to be significant.

55%


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The amount of shared variance between the data sets “individual innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of

education” in the first canonical function was 46%. In this function, there was a positive correlation between

the variable CYPE and the variables OL, OE, and RT. CYPE reflects progressivism and reconstructionism.

According to progressivism, the universe is in a constant state of flux. Therefore, educationalists should be

prepared to update their methods and policies in accordance with the changes in the world. Progressivism also

stipulates that the educational process should focus on teaching ever-changing life, not continuing standards or

unchanging things (Kuçukoglu & Bay, 2007). It is schools that are responsible for social change, according to

reconstructionism, another philosophy on which CYPE rests (Isichei, 2006; Oliva, 2009). Thus, teachers should

be representatives of change and reform (Demirel, 2010; Kneller, 1971). Considering that individuals with a

high tendency to OL, OE, and RT have increased levels of individual innovativeness (Kılıçer & Odabasi, 2010),

the positive correlation between CYPE and OL, OE, and RT appears to be supported by theoretical knowledge

about progressivism and reconstructionism. The amount of shared variance between the data sets “individual

innovativeness” and “adopted philosophies of education” in the second canonical function was 17%. In this

function, there was a positive correlation between the variable CLPE and the variable RC. CLPE reflects

perennialism and essentialism. According to perennialism, it is true that modern life is in a rapid state of flux.

However, “changelessness in a rapid state of flux” is a more essential principle of education (Kuçukoglu & Bay,

2007). Considering theoretical knowledge about perennialism and essentialism, the positive correlation

between CLPE and RC was significant.

There was a positive correlation between the variable CYPE and the variables OL, OE, and RT in the first

canonical function whereas there was a positive correlation between the variables CLPE and RC in the second

one. Considering, in the light of the findings on the first and second canonical functions, that individuals with a

high tendency to OL, OE, and RT and a low tendency to RC have increased levels of individual innovativeness

(Kılıçer & Odabasi, 2010), prospective teachers that adopt CYPE at a higher level than CLPE have a higher

innovativeness level. Thus, an understanding of prospective teachers adopted philosophies of education is an

important factor in supporting their individual innovativeness.

If it is possible to divide the data sets as dependent and independent variables in canonical correlation

analysis, the amount of shared variance between data sets can be interpreted in a similar way to the value r2 in

regression analysis (Sherry & Henson, 2005). Therefore, it can be argued that the prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness was accounted for by their adopted philosophies of education by 55%. This finding

can be supported by the fact that philosophies of education shape prospective teachers’ educational beliefs

(Livingston, McClain, & DeSpain, 1995; Pajares, 1992; Rideout, 2006; Sang et al., 2009) and such individual

factors as beliefs form the basis of innovativeness (Kılıçer, 2011). This finding is also in parallel with other

findings, such as their educational beliefs play a key role in the attitudes of teachers and prospective teachers to

innovative applications (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Tobin & McRobbie, 1996; Van den Berg, Admiraal, & Pilot,

2006) and educational innovations cannot be successful without a consideration into these beliefs (Trigwell et

al., 1994).

Implications for Teacher Educators and Educational Policy Makers

Implications rise for teacher educators in the design and development of teacher education programs when

the relationship between prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of

education is considered. The correlation between prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness and their


239

adopted philosophies of education means that if an attempt is made to change teachers’ practice about

educational innovation, it is necessary to know their philosophical preference. In other words, educational

phisolophies adopted by prospective teachers should be known and understood at the start of the innovation

process (Van Driel, Bulte, & Verloop, 2007). Thus, it is expected that activities on increasing the extent to

which prospective teachers adopt CYPE will contribute to the development of their individual innovativeness.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to change prospective teachers’ educational beliefs, for they are well-established

and result from experiences so far (Nespor, 1987; Van Driel, Bulte, & Verloop, 2007). Even so, the fact that

educational beliefs might undergo changes through new knowledge (Austin & Reinhardt, 1999; Becker &

Ravitz, 1999) and concrete experiences in a supportive atmosphere (Nespor, 1987) suggests that activities on

increasing the extent to which prospective teachers adopt CYPE will lead to a change in their educational

beliefs. Such activities may start with providing pre-service teachers with the type of learning experiences that

are arranged in accordance with the principles of progressivism and reconstructionism. Activities that reflect

progressivism and reconstructionism and will increase the extent to which prospective teachers adopt CYPE

might include organizing pre-service education in accordance with prospective teachers’ interests and needs

(Dhawan, 2005), establishing a democratic environment in which they can freely express their opinions

(Dhawan, 2005), including situations they are likely to encounter in real life (Demirel, 2010), making use of

cooperative learning activities (Ergün, 2009), using discovery learning strategy (Erden, 1998) and

problem-solving (Ozmon & Craver, 1999), including social problems (Gutek, 1988), and taking advantage of

project-based teaching (Ornstein & Hunkings, 1998). The positive correlation between CYPE and the variables

OL, OE, and RT suggests that such activities are likely to increase both the extent to which prospective teachers

adopt CYPE and their levels of individual innovativeness.

In summary, those who lead educational policies should be aware that change is not a top-down and

uni-directional process and the applied reforms are not necessarily accepted by teachers. In order for

educational reforms to be successful, initially, teachers should be willing to apply these innovations and the

reforms should not challenge teachers’ educational beliefs (Niederhauser & Stoddart, 2001). Therefore, it is

highly important that teachers generally adopt modern educational philosophies which are in a positive and

significant relationship with individual innovativeness. Considering the fact that pre-service education plays a

functional role in forming changes in pre-service teachers’ philosophy preferences and the educational

philosophies they adopt is a complementary result of the education they receive in this period (Doganay, 2011),

pre-service education programs should be organized in such a way that they support pre-service teachers’

adoption of modern educational philosophies. In this respect, pre-service teachers’ level of adopting various

educational philosophies should be identified in the first year of pre-service teacher education. For the primary

condition for creating change in pre-service teachers’ adopted educational philosophy is to create awareness

into their existing educational beliefs (Gilakjani, 2012). Upon determining the level of pre-service teachers’

traditional and modern education philosophies, longitudinal studies should investigate the effectiveness of

pre-service educational programs and if necessary, changes should be performed in pre-service educational

programs.

Limitations of the Study and Implications for Further Research

All the findings on the validity, reliability, and item analysis performed in order to examine the

psychometric characteristics of the PPAS suggest that it is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to


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measure prospective teachers’ philosophy preferences. However, the results of validity and reliability analysis

must be viewed in light of some limitations on the generality of the results. The participants of the study

consisted of only prospective teachers, which might mean that the validity was proven only on prospective

teachers. Therefore, it is essential that the validity and reliability of the PPAS should be tested on in-service

teachers or on groups, such as administrators and academicians in education. Furthermore, the factor structure

set out in this study can be verified with different samples via the confirmatory factor analysis. The present

study examined the PPAS’s reliability by means of internal consistency and split-half methods. In order to

understand whether the PPAS gives varying results in time, the scale’s test-retest reliability should be analyzed

in future studies. Further studies that will use the PPAS will contribute to the measurement power of the scale.

In the present study, the shared common variance between pre-service teachers’ adopted educational

philosophies and individual innovativeness was found to be 55%. Although it is acknowledged that teachers’

educational beliefs are the most important predictor of individual innovativeness (Clark & Peterson, 1986), the

fact that pre-service teachers’ educational philosophies account for 55% of the total variance can be considered

as a high rate. This might also be caused by failure to include variables that might be related to both educational

philosophy and individual innovativeness and failure to control for the effects of these variables. In other words,

many of the individual, institutional, and social factors (Kılıçer, 2011), which are predictors of pre-service

teachers’ individual innovativeness levels, might be in relation with the educational philosophy they adopt.

Consequently, the 55% variance explained by pre-service teachers’ innovativeness levels might have been

influenced by both educational philosophies and personal, institutional, or social factors which may be related

to individual innovativeness levels. Therefore, future studies should address variables which may be related to

both pre-service teachers’ philosophy preferences and individual innovativeness levels, and after these

variables have been controlled for, analysis of the relationship between philosophy preferences and individual

innovativeness can be recommended. Through such a study, the effect of other factors that interact with the

55% shared variance between pre-service teachers’ educational philosophies and individual innovativeness

levels might be isolated. In addition, carrying out further research on the effect of individual factors other than

educational philosophy, such as problem-solving styles, leadership, group work (Scoot & Bruce, 1994), and

creativity (Pratoom & Savatsomboon) and on institutional and social factors that might be effective over

individual innovativeness levels may contribute to forming a model explaining a significant portion of

pre-service teachers’ individual innovativeness levels. Such a model, in turn, could provide guidance on what

kind of activities can enhance prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness.

Nevertheless, educational beliefs are mainly shaped by cultural factors (Chan, 2003; Louca, Elby,

Hammer, & Kagey, 2004; Sang et al., 2009). Thus, the correlation between the prospective teachers’ individual

innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education could have been influenced by these cultural factors,

which is another limitation on the part of the present study. Even so, the limitation can be eliminated by further

studies on prospective teachers from different cultures. Hopefully, a restudy of the correlation between

individual innovativeness and adopted philosophies of education through data on prospective students from

different cultures will contribute to the extent to which the findings of the present study can be generalized. In

such a study, the model obtained in the present study for the relationship between prospective teachers’

individual innovativeness and their adopted philosophies of education can be used as a starting point, which

allows the use of a confirmatory approach to analyze the data, for instance, applying structural regression

modeling or path analysis which may be used to test the fit of specific models.


241

In the present study, the data were obtained from only one university which attracts students from across

the Turkey. Although this university was a degree representative of Turkish higher education system; this may

also be considered as a limitation. Another limitation of the study is that it was based on a quantitative model

with data obtained only through self-report techniques. The limitation should be overcome by qualitative

studies that will provide more detailed information about prospective teachers’ individual innovativeness and

their adopted philosophies of education. Such studies could shed light on the correlation between the two

variables in a more meticulous way and could substantiate the present findings.

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The Noumenic Methodology—Its Advancement in Gifted

Children Special Education and Effects on Academic

and Intellectual Performance of Gifted Children

Andrew Alexi Almazán Anaya

Talent Attention Center (CEDAT), Ciudad de México, México;

The Institute of Technology and Higher Studies of Monterrey (ITESM), Monterrey, México

It is calculated that 95% of gifted students are lost worldwide, therefore, new special education methodologies and

theories have been researched. One of them widely used in centers for gifted persons in America is the Noumenic

methodology, after which the Intellectual Enhancement Program was designed for increasing the intelligence and

academic performance of the gifted students. After its conception 15 years ago, it has shown reliable results with

gifted children. The objective of this study was to find the quantitative effect of the Noumenic special education

methodology on the academic performance and intelligence in gifted children during a two-year period. Eight

hundred and sixty-eight gifted students from 20 countries were gathered to receive the most intensive model

consisting of 1,640 studying hours per year. The intellectual quotient (IQ) was measured every six-month, as well

as the academic performance level with tests from the Academic Gifted Test (AGT). A correlation was found

between the Noumenic methodology and an increase in the academic performance in general as well as in the

students’ IQ, showing also special patterns of intelligence improvement regarding gender and age. The Noumenic

methodology, also known as the theory of the organization of intelligence, has been the official psychoeducational

model for several of the largest institutions in giftedness in the world for the last four years, and emerged as a

possible solution to the scarceness of special education methodologies designed for gifted students.

Keywords: Noumenic methodology, gifted, special education, gifted education, educational differentiation

Introduction

Currently, there is a worldwide problem in education that the minds of future (gifted students) are without

education programs designed with teaching-learning innovative methods that would let them take advantage of

their capacities and apply them in an effective way for society (Vrignaud, 2006). This has caused the loss of

millions of talented students in the last five decades, who could have been the future scientists, leaders,

philosophers, artists, and investigators in mankind advancement (Pérez-Sánchez, López-Cobeñas, Del Valle, &

Ricote, 2008). According to the World Health Organization (2001), giftedness is defined as a situation present

when a person has an intellectual quotient (IQ) above 130 points (as cited in Dawson & Trapp, 2005), making

their educational and psychological needs different from the average students. Approximately, 66 million

Andrew Alexi Almazán Anaya, Ph.D. candidate, physician, psychologist, director, Research and Psychology Department,

CEDAT; Graduate School of Education, ITESM.

DAVID PUBLISHING

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THE NOUMENIC METHODOLOGY

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children in the world are gifted, including one million in Mexico, three million in the United States of America

(USA), and 10 million in China; however, most of them go undetected and do not receive a methodology

designed to improve their educational and psychological development (Dawson & Trapp, 2005; Giessman,

Gambrel, & Stebbins, 2013).

Yet, where are they? Possibly they lost along the educational path and they will remain so unless they are

identified and attended properly. Therefore, it is crucial to detect them on time—a job that starts at home as

well as at school (where the main traits of giftedness are most frequently expressed), the teacher being one of

the main factors that promotes or inhibits educational innovation in the field of giftedness (Elices, Palazuelo, &

Del Caño, 2006). To develop and evaluate education models for gifted students has been considered a

worldwide priority by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for more

than 30 years (Báthory & Joó, 1988; Passow, 1995), yet, in spite of it, few teaching-learning methods were

developed for these brilliant minds. This problem in this field has existed for over 80 years since the genetic

studies of gifted persons were conducted by Terman (1930), who proposed the enrichment and acceleration

program in 1930. Gifted students have different educational needs because of their intellectual characteristics;

however, the educational programs in general do not have procedures to give them an adequate education

(Hettinger-Steiner, 2006). In average schools, the teaching strategies and the training of professors are designed

based on the mean and not for unique students (Hettinger-Steiner, 2006). Not even the teachers have an idea as

to how to adapt an education program to attend these students. In traditional schools, gifted students are at risk

of being misdiagnosed and medicated, worsening the situation of loss of their talent, not counting the bullying

they experience (Archundia, 2010).

In addition, a matter of concern in the occidental world has been the intellectual drowsiness experienced in

the population in general, which effects get worse on gifted persons. This produces a diminishing effect of

4%-5% annually on the IQ and cognitive abilities in great measure for the lack of mental stimulation and the

existence of numerous factors that distract the students from studying (Almazan, 2010). This increases even

more the need for special education methodologies for the gifted children, programs that have very ancient

roots.

The precedents of special education for gifted children go back to ancient Greece, with Plato’s proposal

of a republic of ideas, an utopic idea where the most intelligent individuals were selected to be trained on

public matters and turn them into political leaders of society based on reasoning and intelligence (Weyl, 1970;

Yun-Dai, Ann-Swanson, & Cheng, 2011). Thomas Jefferson pondered this need and considered it

fundamental to recognize individual differences and make the most out of them for the benefit of society by

stating that “There is nothing more unequal than to give equal treatment to unequal people” (Gabriel, 2010, p.

86). Diversity as a base of equality became the keystone of special education of gifted persons (Walsh &

Kemp, 2013; Weyl, 1970).

Countries, like Germany, have been working on special education methods since the 18th century; in

most cases, these attempts went unnoticed. The case of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, who was

responsible for raising his country as a European power, is well known. Frederick started a project, embraced

later by General Clausewitz (1976) with the San Afra-Meisen Academy, where he assembled 100 gifted

youths to help in the development of military technology and the planning of strategies to increase the

influence of his nation in Europe. The project was based on a method called “magnet school of priority


247

attention”, the former consists of working with gifted students in exclusive groups and making social

interaction among equals in function of their intellectual capacity to eliminate the negative effects caused by

the lack of stimulation that happens when they interact in an average society (González-Geraldo, Del Rincón,

Bonilla-Sánchez, & Sáez, 2013). In the following 200 years, it maintained an enrollment of nearly 1,000 gifted

students evolving into high schools and universities, where great emphasis was placed on mathematics and

physics, under the premise that only under coexistence among equals and an academic demand above normal

will it be possible to lead them into excellence and success (Trapp & Himelstein, 1962).

The results of these policies of “magnet school of priority attention” in this period are evident: rockets,

jets’ motors, submarines, and the principles of nuclear energy were developed, because the most brilliant minds

were allowed to work in teams towards an specific goal to develop their country’s technology (Pallas &

Alexander, 1983).

Afterwards, Prussia created the Landemgymnasium für Hochbegabte (German Federal School for the

Highly Gifted) with a methodology called “pull-out”, to which acceleration and enrichment strategies were

added. It merges the traits of the three models in special education into a hybrid, designed for specialized

education centers with personnel trained to attend gifted children (Vaughn, Feldhusen, & Asher, 1991).

This method was followed by a more drastic one called “full-time ability regrouping” that resumed the

“magnet school of priority attention” with just one change in its teaching-learning strategies based on the model

by competences (Colson, 1980). It takes into consideration the creation of a parallel “social life” in gifted

students where they would be able to develop their interpersonal skills at the same time they keep their

intelligence stimulated. One of its premises states that the education center that implements it must have a

considerable population of gifted students (over 100) to generate the “pull-out” effect, avoiding the social

isolation of the students through a strict psychological surveillance at the same time (Hsu, 2003; Swiatek,

1995).

It is calculated that an average of 95% of gifted students in Mexico and the world are lost (some countries

like Israel with that rate as low as 40% and France as high as 98%), therefore, new methodologies and theories

were researched to improve the educational attention these brilliant minds receive. One of them widely used in

centers for gifted persons in America is the Noumenic methodology (named after the Greek word “nous” that

means intelligence), on which the Intellectual Enhancement Program was designed. After its conception 15

years ago, it has shown reliable results with gifted children. It was created as an innovative and viable

education strategy designed for the most brilliant minds to be applied together with traditional education and

innovative education methods at home or those of a specialized education. This has been applied for several

years in the largest centers of gifted persons in Latin America and the world around to develop their intellectual

abilities by providing the gifted students a special education methodology designed to improve their

intelligence and knowledge of sciences (Archundia, 2010; Almazán, 2013).

The Noumenic methodology is founded on Terman’s (1930) proposal of enrichment, but adding the

innovative psychoeducational techniques to improve the intelligence of gifted students as well as their

emotional and psychological stability (Clements, 2012; Cruz, 2013). Therefore, it was developed following the

techniques from the “pull-out” method developed in Germany, Russia, and Colombia to initially start a weekly

modality similar to the Star project, which consisted of extracurricular classes on advanced themes along with

other gifted students with a weekly periodicity. This modality considers 80 working hours a year. Afterwards,


248

an intensive methodology was designed based on the “full-time ability regrouping” that considers 1,640

studying hours a year, 130% above the national average in Mexico’s education system (Almazán, García-Horta,

Muñoz, Somunano-Spears, Esquivel, & Delgado, 2013).

The Noumenic methodology was originally conceived as a pilot test of a psychoeducational model for the

development of intelligence and academic performance in 1994. It was officially integrated at the Center of

Attention to Talent (CEDAT), the largest institution in Latin America for gifted students, in 2010, and later on,

at several American organizations of superior intelligence. In front of the deficiencies experienced in the world

of sustainable strategies and at the same time effectiveness on gifted children, this program integrated the

enrichment program along with the German “pull-out”. It brings together the original strategies from “magnet

school of priority attention” (designed to work with exclusive groups of gifted children), enrichment (by

adding scientific themes in the academic summary of the students that would not have received until entering

university), and acceleration (the objective is to advance as much as possible without “skipping” the academic

degrees through official certifications) (Almazán, 2010; Hettinger-Steiner, 2006).

The main premise of the Noumenic methodology is that special programs for gifted persons can increase

their capacities even more with the correct and intensive educational strategies. This was demonstrated in China

through an intervention based on the intellectual enhancement for a period of six months, where a permanent

increase of 40% in the mental and processing speed in gifted students was found (Duan, Shi, & Shou, 2010). In

that research study, an evaluation of students’ intellectual capacities that evaluated their performance several

years later was not realized.

It is still unknown what are the quantitative effects on the academic performance and the IQ of the

students after the Noumenic methodology has been applied longer than a semester (the minimum time

recommended to observe educational changes); the latter reflects the level of demand and progress that an

educational program exerts on its students asides the capacity to keep their cognitive capacities stimulated

(Trapp & Himelstein, 1962).

It must be considered that it has not been solved whether the groups of gifted persons attended with the

special education method express an IQ and an academic performance level different from those attended with

the traditional education model (Legendre, 2008). To know this would establish educational policies based on

empirical data that show which are the most successful strategies to attend gifted students, whom, because of

their importance for the development of the nation, are human assets that cannot be wasted. This is a question

posed in this research project to describe the quantitative effects of a specialized education model for high

intelligence students.

Hypothesis: Statistically, there is a significant increase on the academic performance and the IQ in

populations of gifted students attended with the Noumenic special education method.

The objective of the investigation was to describe the measurable increase on the academic performance of

gifted children through the application of the Noumenic methodology and the changes in the intelligence levels

(reflected in the IQ) during a two-year period intensive special education program.

Methodology

This investigation was a qualitative one using all the available information about the application of the

Noumenic methodology and its results on high intelligence students in three of the largest institutions for gifted


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persons in the world (CEDAT, Mexican School of Gifted Students, and the Alliance for Gifted Persons). A

population of 868 gifted students (2-13 years old) was selected and formed part of the Noumenic methodology

international program in the last two years.

Population

Eight hundred and sixty-eight gifted students from 20 countries (Mexico, USA, Argentina, Germany,

South Africa, Australia, India, China, etc.) were selected for the investigation. To establish their giftedness

condition, all of the participants were previously evaluated to obtain their IQ, and almost all had an IQ above

130 points as reference before the study began (see Table 1).

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of the Gifted Population Evaluated in January 2012 Regarding Age, IQ, Academic Gifted Test (AGT) Scores, and Gender

N Minimum Maximum Mean Standard deviation

Age of the participants 868 2.05 13.79 7.58 2.74

Age of the male participants 680 2.08 13.79 7.49 2.67

Age of the female participants 188 2.05 13.18 7.71 2.98

Overal IQ 868 117.00 158.00 139.05 9.73

IQ of the male participants 680 117.00 158.00 139.16 9.77

IQ of the female participants 188 128.00 154.00 138.63 9.56

Overall AGT score 868 22.00 100.00 55.84 20.26

AGT score of the male participants 680 22.00 100.00 55.94 20.56

AGT score of the female participants 188 29.20 86.00 55.35 18.79

Notes. Data were obtained during analysis with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and calculation of descriptive statistics. Gender groups did not show differences in all measurements of IQ and AGT scores.

The study counted on 868 voluntary participants aged from 2-13, all of them are gifted students who took

the Noumenic methodology special education program in its intensive modality consisting of 1,640 effective

hours per year (see Table 1). The IQ of the individuals was found in a 118-158 range, with the median placed

on 139 through the Gauss curve effect on the highest scores of IQ that produces a scarcity of individuals when

the punctuation increases. Scores below 130 were accepted as exceptional cases that proved to have all the

other psychological and social characteristics of giftedness. Although the large part of the study population was

Mexican, there was a representation of 30% of foreign students from the USA, China, Australia, South Africa,

among other 15 countries to increase the international application of the results obtained.

The inclusion criteria for all the students subjected to the study were:

1. An IQ above 130 points (intellectual giftedness);

2. Permanence in the institution under six months at the start of the study (January, 2012);

3. To be in a 2-13 years old bracket at the start of the study;

4. To have been diagnosed with intellectual giftedness after August 2011 (due to the semester caducity of

IQ results);

5. Approval of a basic medical evaluation process.

The exclusion criteria (for reducing biases) include:

1. Chronic or long-term medical illness (over one month);

2. Active or recent inner family violence (in the last six months);


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3. Severe psychological or psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, depression, limited disorder of personality,

etc.);

4. In the process of receiving educational, psychological, or any other kind of therapy that aliens to the

education institution where they study.

Investigation Tools

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI-III) and Wechsler tests. The tools

to evaluate the students’ intellectual level were the psychometrics test in the Wechsler scale. This is the largest

international application to evaluate the IQ because of its standardization conducted in 150 countries every

lustrum (Swiatek, 1995). For the purposes of this investigation, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV

(WISC-IV) was used. A test of this scale was designed for ages 6-17, which measures the IQ in ranks of

intellectual giftedness. It is subdivided into 10 subtests that evaluate areas of verbal intelligence, reasoning,

memory, and mental speed (Swiatek, 1995) as a whole. Whereas the WPPSI-III test, which was subdivided into

eight scales, was used on 2-6 years old children. The statistical analysis unit for these tools is the IQ and its

respective percentile in relation to the level of intelligence of the average population.

Standardized academic test for gifted persons. The test that evaluated the students’ academic

performance was the AGT that consists of a series of tests, supported by the Mexican Federation for Intellectual

Giftedness with a “departmental evaluations” style for gifted persons about the academic knowledge acquired

at school and at extracurricular activities expected of a gifted student from the 21st century according to the

World Council for Gifted and Talented Children and UNESCO. This tool is standardized by age, from 4-18, not

academic grades (There is a version for each year, in which the length of the evaluated themes and difficulty

increases as the age of the evaluated students increases). The scale for the 4-year-old students evaluates six

areas while the 18-year-old ones do it with 25 areas of knowledge. Among the subjects evaluated are biology,

astronomy, physics, robotics, algebra and differential calculus, world history, Spanish, redaction, etc., which

are required by the basic education of gifted persons (Ramsay & Richards, 1997).

AGT has an application periodicity of six months, so it is possible to have a time line of the students’

academic performance, and through the use of a “pool” of more than 4,000 possible questions, it eliminates the

Flynn effect: an increase in performance because of the students’ maturity (Van Tassel-Baska, Johnson, &

Avery, 2002). The version used in this study was the one found in Spanish, which lets us know the level of

academic knowledge of each student in the groups and calculate the academic performance in the same way

national academic tests do, but this time for the population of gifted students.

Procedure

The project was implemented for two years in a row at CEDAT (Mexico City) and Mexican School for

Gifted Children (Mexico City), where a team of 40 people (psychologists, educators, pedagogy specialists,

physicians, administrators, and parents) controlled the educational and psychological environment of the

students subjected to the studio to avoid biases.

In October 2011, basic information was collected on the 868 participants (see Table 1). The tools were

initially applied in January 2012 and concluded in August 2013. The participants had the continuous presence

of the investigation team to intervene on the cases that could affect the results, such as bullying.

The WPPSI-III or WISC-IV was applied with a 6-month periodicity. Due to international and national

normativity, the IQ measuring tools were applied only by psychologists certified by the Mexico’s General


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Direction of Professions. The AGT was applied only two times, at the beginning and at the end of the time

frame of the research to avoid the bias effect of students’ maturity.

Statistical Analysis Method

All the information was analyzed using the SPSS (Version 21) to measure the degree of modification in

the academic performance of the gifted students who received the Noumenic methodology, in comparison to

those who did not, through the scoring grades. The intelligence scores of each participant were obtained every

six-month to relate them with the educational and psychological effects of the Noumenic methodology. T-test

was used to compare the application of the Noumenic methodology before and after as well as to calculate the

difference between the different checking points (every six-month) when revaluation of IQ and the academic

knowledge was conducted. A p < 0.05 reliability level was established for the statistical tests, recommended by

international standards for statistical analysis (Dawson & Trapp, 2005).

International Applications of the Study

The investigation was conducted in a population of 868 gifted students from 20 countries. With this

multinational population, it was guaranteed that the investigation represented people from all continents to

increase the reliability and transnational application of the results obtained. A common problem during the

international, educational investigation with gifted students is the scarceness and difficulty to find them outside

the centers (Hsu, 2003). The investigation was therefore realized in one of the largest institutions for gifted

students in the world with people from all the continents in the world, making it an investigation of

international applications.

Results and Discussion

A population of 868 was used for the study, which has an error rate of 2.79% and a confidence level of

95% for reliability purposes of the results. The female population composed only 21.6% of the gifted group due

to a widely known gender effect on the IQ scores and giftedness identification process (Pallas & Alexander,

1983), which will not be analyzed in this article.

We found out that the gifted children and youngsters subjected to the Intellectual Enhancement Program

have experienced a 9.5% average increase in their IQ after working two years in the program. The average IQ

level of the gifted children at the start of the study in January 2012 was 139 points whereas it had reached 151

points at its conclusion in August 2013. Such an increase was observed in all the tests of intelligence used

across the group. There was a considerable variation on the increase of IQ; some individuals increased only

four points while others had an increase of up to 30 points. When analyzed with the student t-test, a statistically

significant difference was found between the IQ scores obtained every semester, showing a gradual increase

related with the permanence of the gifted population in the Noumenic methodology in the two-year period.

These differences were motivated in great measure by the IQ level at the beginning of the study; those who

started the cycle with an IQ higher than 150 did not increased it beyond 165 at the end of the year while other

students with 130 were able to reach 155 points (see Figures 1 & 2). Suggesting in this way that although the

IQ could increase in gifted population, it has an upper limit that hampers further increases. This score roof

could have been located near 162 in this research, as they were few scores that surpassed this limit although the

IQ test range reached 210. However, possibly it is required a longer educational intervention in order to attain

extremely high scores (located near 170-180) to begin the special educational intervention at younger ages or to


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design an even more intensive program. For this reason, this research is currently being continued in order to

report results after five years are achieved and afterwards when a decade of intervention is completed.

Figure 1. IQ scores throughout the two-year period of the Noumenic methodology application in gifted population (N = 868). A significant difference is presented between the IQ scores obtained in every semester, a larger difference is found comparing initial scores (obtained in January 2012) and the final ones (measured in August 2013). Bold line represents the approximate 50th percentile of the group in every evaluation schedule; the upper and lower edges of the boxes are the quartiles. The average of both groups remains distant, the same occurred with the quartiles. Standard errors are represented in the figure by the errors bars attached to each box.

Also, a change was observed in the variance of the data, although it increased from 9.73-21.75 in the first

semester (January 2012) and lowered to 12.45 in the last semester (August 2013). Suggesting that although

initially the program could cause an uncoordinated increase in the group’s overall IQ (some students could

respond earlier than other), it achieves a general increase that decreases variance between students’ IQs at the

end of the second year. During the first year, male individuals tended to have a mild rise in their mean IQ in

approximately seven points while females increased nearly 13 points. Although it was a different increase rate

regarding gender in the first year (see Figure 3), both gifted groups have matched each other with a difference

in their mean lower than two points at the end of the two-year intervention.

This suggests that depending on gender, the gifted children respond differently to special education

strategies in their initial stages, although through the pass of the months, their performance gets paired. This

could respond to the different personalities produced by gender that had been observed in psychology. Studies

have shown that gifted females usually work more industriously when they are given educational opportunities

due to their difficulty in getting admission to gifted schools in comparison with males (Olszewski-Kubilius &

Lee, 2011). However, further studies should be conducted in order to unveil that why in their first year of

special education intervention, female group expressed a different pace of increase in their IQs than males and

why finally after 18 months of intervention, male group reached the female group’s mean score, possibly, some

personality traits could be playing a major role in this phenomenon.


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Figure 2. Normal distribution curve regarding IQ scores throughout the two-year period of the Noumenic methodology application in gifted population (N = 868). Blue bars represent IQ scores obtained in January 2012 while red bars represent IQ scores measured in August 2013. A significant difference is presented between the IQ scores obtained in this time frame comparing initial scores (obtained in January 2012) and the final ones (measured in August 2013). The apex of the blue curve represents the approximate value of the mean IQ at the initial evaluation. A small fraction of the red curve appears in the same position of the blue curve remarking that the 24 participants did not experienced an increase of their IQ after the Noumenic methodology application and instead lowered their scores in approximately 5% per year.

In the pedagogic results, a 19.5% increase in the academic performance was found through the grades

obtained. The students’ scores obtained in the AGT were compared between when they entered the Noumenic

methodology in January 2012 and the grade obtained in the AGT until August 2013 (see Figure 3). The average

score obtained in January 2012 by AGT was 55.8 while it raised to 63.8 in August 2013.

One special finding was that along with the increase in the AGT mean score, the standard deviation was

reduced from 20.2-14.6 (see Tables 1 & 2 and Figure 4). This has wide implications, schools usually prefer

students with good or fair notes with low variance than unstable high score children. In the latter ones, the

performance variance is so high that it is unreliable to predict the students’ future academic development. For

education, it is better to have the security that the mean of a group is high and this assures that with less

variance in academic performance, the possibility of academic success increases (García, 2007). So, this

diminishment of variance of the students’ scores in this education program shows an increase not only in

performance but also in reliability of its results in spite that variance of scores is reduced dramatically.

However, it should be noted that out of the 868 gifted students, there were 24 students that did not

experienced any increase in their IQ. Instead, they expressed the effects of diminishing intellectual capacities

with a decease in their intelligence and academic performance of nearly 10% in the two-year research project,


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which would mean an approximate degression of 5% annually (see Figure 2). All of these cases were male

gifted teenagers who began the program after their 12 years old, suggesting that although the Noumenic

methodology is beneficial for gifted students, it could have a maximum age of application. As at the age of 12,

the neuronal plasticity is lower that the one experienced at early childhood and also the negative effect of

average society distractors could be overwhelming for the students that begin the program at an older age

(Almazan, 2010; Trapp & Himelstein, 1962). A future research should be conducted in this field for analyzing

this factor and revealing the effect of age in these IQ modifications.

Figure 3. IQ scores regarding gender (N = 868). A significant difference is presented between IQ scores obtained both in the second and third semesters, a larger difference is found comparing the initial scores (obtained in January 2012) and the final ones (measured in August 2013). The number expresses the mean of each group in every evaluation schedule. The average of both gender groups remains distant in January 2013.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of the Gifted Population Regarding IQ, AGT Scores, and Gender Throughout the Two-Year Period of the Intellectual Enhancement Program Application

Mean (Jan. 2012)

Standard deviation (Jan. 2012)

Mean (Aug. 2012)

Standard deviation (Aug. 2012)

Mean (Jan. 2013)


Mean (Aug. 2013)

Standard deviation (Aug. 2013)

Overall IQ 139.05 9.73 140.30 21.75 146.11 15.13 151.90 12.45 IQ of the male participants

139.16 9.77 140.38 21.92 145.83 15.12 151.97 12.31

IQ of the female participants

138.63 9.56 141.40 21.24 151.40 15.16 150.18 12.73

Mean (Jan. 2012)


Mean (Sept. 2013)

Standard deviation (Sept. 2013)

Overal AGT scores

55.84 20.26 63.88 14.31

Notes. Data were obtained during analysis with SPSS and calculation of descriptive statistics. Gender groups did not show differences in all measurements of IQ and AGT scores.


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Figure 4. AGT scores throughout the two-year period of the Noumenic methodology application in the gifted population (N = 868). A significant difference is presented between the AGT scores obtained between January 2012 and August 2013. The dot represents the mean of the group in every evaluation schedule. The average of scores remains distant when comparing the initial and final scores, the same occurred with the quartiles. Standard errors are represented in the figure by the error bars attached to each box.

In general, these results proved that it was possible to counteract successfully the worldwide effect of

intellectual drowsiness that produces an annual reduction of 4%-5% on the IQ in gifted children. Not only the

level of intelligence was stabilized, but also it was possible to increase it as a consequence of the application of

the program suggested by the Noumenic methodology that considers 1,640 studying hours a year. An increase

was observed in the general level of knowledge of the gifted students in this methodology that proved not only

its efficacy in the cognitive field but also in the academic one by producing a 19.5 increase in their performance

of knowledge (measured with the AGT). One important factor when considering the success of an education

methodology is its capacity to increase the learning process in students; it was something found in the current

study with the Noumenic methodology through the improvement of IQ scores.

These findings suggest how to increase the intelligence and academic performance of the gifted students

allthough they should be analyzed with care, as they were only attained at special schools designed exclusively

for high intelligence children with the addition of several social and psychological factors that could be easily

overlooked. Throughout their lives, gifted children are characterized by having suffered social rejection in their

schools, causing them low self-esteem, low tolerance to frustration, aggressiveness, social isolation, depression,

etc. (Caroff, 2006). The previous conditions get worse at average schools since these exceptional children

possess sensorial and emotional hypersensitivity, which makes them more susceptible of pscyhological damage

because of the rejection they suffer at average schools. Therefore, these special schools for gifted children not

only have an academic and intellectual function, as the psychologists involved in these schools on the gifted


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education are alert to maintain the emotional stability of the gifted children attended in the programs. As it was

shown by Terman and Oden (1954) that, for this population, one main factor to take special care of in their

special education is the perception that all previous negative experiences will not be present any longer. This

gives them a feeling of security and lets them work on the academic side without distractions from the

emotional field. In the first place, children begin to gain confidence in themselves when they confirm that there

are persons who are similar to them, understand them, and do not intend to hurt them. This improves their

self-confidence importantly; the psychologists help them overcome their fears and reinforce their security

(Weissman, 2006). The emotional factors should be considered as one of the causes of the Noumenic

methodology as it can be observed with more self-confident students who stand up for their ideas, unafraid to

say they are gifted persons, lecture with no hesitation before a large audience, etc.. Therefore, the results of this

research show that the Noumenic methodology works perfectly at special schools for gifted students. The

effects with gifted students at average schools are unknown although possibly it will not produce the same

beneficial results.

Several governments have expressed their concern of the scarcity of extremely high giftedness in their

population produced mainly by the Gaus curve effect. However, with the use of the Noumenic special

education methodology or a similar one, it could be possible to attain to have these special students rising from

the same population of mildly gifted students. The benefits of raising the intelligence and academic

achievement of the mild gifted ones to the levels of the extremely high ones would produce effects not only in

the scientific development, but also in the economic one. The latter produced due to the correlation between the

level of intelligence and gifted populations with the per capita income of that country and therefore with

national richness (Lynn & Vanhanen, 2002).

Conclusions

The Noumenic methodology, also known as the theory of organization of intelligence, has been the

official psychoeducational model for the last lustrum in several of the largest institutions in the world, for

instance, the Mexican Alliance for Giftedness, which was recognized by the World Council of Gifted and

Talented Children for its innovative methods in the education of gifted persons. The Noumenic methodology,

thereby, emerged as a possible solution to the lack of an education methodology designed for gifted students,

which could not only take advantage of their capacities, but also to improve them. Even spreading knowledge

about this innovative method for gifted students could mean an improvement for the most brilliant minds in the

world as a new educational alternative for those who, because of their high level of intelligence, are the

potential scientists, inventors, or leaders, and the only thing they need is to count on an educative methodology

based on investigations designed for them.

The area of giftedness is a very broad field of investigation, unexplored in great part, where it would be

convenient to conduct investigations aimed at knowing this sector of the population. In addition to the positive

effects it will have on the persons in this sector, many benefits would be attained if giftedness is properly

diagnosed and channeled in all of the cases in the education area in function of the contributions this population

would offer to mankind in general (García, 2007; Olszewski & Lee, 2011). In this research, a relationship was

found between the application of the Noumenic methodology and an increase in academic overall performance.

Whereas underachievement, a deleterious factor commonly used to disrupt gifted students’ development at

average schools, in this case at the special schools where this study was performed, was diminished. In addition,


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an increase of 10% approximately in gifted students’ IQ was found out, one thing that did not happen with the

ones that stay at Mexico and America’s average schools, where the intellectual drowsiness phenomenon tends

to reduce their IQ in 3%-4% approximately due a lack of cognitive stimulation. Paving in this way, a possible

action for stopping the average social negative effects is produced in gifted students due to a lack of

stimulation.

The results reinforce the statement of the Chinese Secretary of Education that the special education models

of the “pull-out” method and “full-time ability regrouping” produce a significant development on the

intellectual level and academic performance of the gifted students after two years of application, in addition to

reducing the loss of talent index in schools, in comparison to what happens with the intensive education

methods (Yun-Dai, Ann-Swanson, & Cheng, 2011).

There are still numerous areas to be investigated in this field of gifted students, for example, academic

success (the possibility that they will enter and conclude university and postgraduate degrees satisfactorily). As

it is widely known that although IQ scores could be reliable for measuring intelligence, they are not fully

predictors for future success, for this reason, other tests similar to the ones of IQ have this capacity. The

potential of future academic success is measured in Mexico with the Academic Admission Test (PAA) and the

Admission Exam to Postgraduate Test (PAEP) designed by the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores

de Monterrey (ITESM). Both standardized tests are used as a reliable indicator of the academic potential of

each student in function of his/her cognitive record, educative preparation, and intellectual capacity, also

predicting the risk of scholar desertion (Tecnológico de Monterrey, 2011). On an international level, the

General Record Examination (GRE) is used as a predictor of the academic potential although with similar

premises by the American and European universities. These tests could be applied in the future to the same or a

larger sample of gifted students to expand the scope of the results obtained.

We still have to analyze the difference on academic and intellectual performance in gifted students who

receive specialized education in comparison to those in traditional schools who do not get this attention. A

comparative study of this type would help solve the question about which are the most effective education

models to increase the gifted students’ academic and intellectual capacities thus guiding the creation of

educative policies related to this area. In addition, the gender difference of the increase of IQ could be also the

central topic of a large-scale research on gifted children.

With the data found in this study, it can be affirmed that the Noumenic methodology has shown

effectiveness to increase the academic and intellectual performance of the gifted students, a matter that had not

been possible to produce along with other strategies applied previously in Mexico and several at USA. This

method has not yet been applied in a larger scale; it includes 3,000 gifted students who have worked in it in

relation to 66 million in the world, including one million brilliant minds available in Mexico, three million in

USA, and 10 million in China. However, if this method is used in a general way in more centers for gifted

students in other continents, it would reflect with a better index of educational success in the future: New

investigators and gifted leaders would allow mankind to progress not only in the scientific area, but also as a

society in general.

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Opinions of School Administrators and Teachers on the Use of

Social Media Platforms and Tools in Education*

Mehmet Menteşe, Şefika Şule Erçetin

Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

In a globalizing world, technology is progressing at breakneck speed. Modern people are now staying away from

static, unshared, and perhaps most importantly, slow technologies and looking for new products for themselves.

One of them is social media. Given the development of social media and the level and frequency of use of these

tools by a new generation who is defined as “digital natives”, it is impossible for the educational approach to be

unaffected by this. Therefore, this study has tried to reveal what opinions school administrators and teachers—as

the main actors of education—held on the use of social media platforms and tools in education.

Keywords: school administrators and teachers, social media and education, social media platforms and tools

Introduction

Dialogues and sharing among individuals on the Internet constitute social media. Thanks to websites and

applications, such as social networks, blogs, micro-blogs, instant messaging programs, chat sites, and forums,

allowing people to share content and information, Internet users have the opportunity to access the content they

are seeking and interested in.

In the 21st century, known as the age of information and technology, information technologies (ITs) have

reshaped interpersonal interaction as well as the teaching-learning process and social, economic, and cultural

life.

In particular, on social networking sites that carry people’s communication mode to different dimensions,

millions of people are located therein with their real identities and are able to share all kinds of information

freely. The fact that effective usage of social networking sites has become so widespread for very different

purposes is part of the educational processes and is of paramount importance as well.

The fact that mostly young people and students constitute the majority of social network users and that

provides users with the opportunity for rich interaction brings to mind the use of these media for educational

purposes. Social networking sites having an importance in the lives of students of any age have aroused great

interest among some educators (Selwyn & Lyndsay, 2009, pp. 79-86).

Social networking sites can be used more easily in comparison with other educational management

systems because they are flexible and user-friendly. Many educators and researchers are creating a

* This paper is produced from the Master’s thesis “Opinions of School Administrators and Teachers on the Use of Social Media

Platforms and Tools in Education” of Mehmet Menteşe, a Ph.D. candidate at the Educational Sciences Department, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University.

Mehmet Menteşe, Ph.D. candidate, Educational Sciences Department, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University. Şefika Şule Erçetin, Ph.D., professor, Educational Sciences Department, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University.

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community by following simpler steps, and the realization of sharing among themselves provides substantial

convenience for communication and feedback. In addition to these mentioned characteristics, social

networking sites also provide benefits to educational organizations for features, such as enriching blended

academic experience and providing a useful support in the evaluation process (Jones, Blackey, Fitzgibbon, &

Chew, 2010, pp.776-782).

The use of social networks enriched by the opportunities provided to users in recent years is becoming

more widespread every day. Given the fact that the large part of social network users are comprised of students,

teachers, and school administrators, the existence of ideas and works for the educational usage of social

networking sites is required to stay abreast of the changing ITs. On the other hand, due to the dense number of

social network users, the importance of their usage by educators both for professional development and

educational context is increasingly understood (Grant, 2008, pp. 3755-3759).

Prensky (2001, pp. 1-6) stated that future generations will be comprised of “digital natives” born in an

environment where today’s technology is present and will grow up with technologies, such as computers, video

games, digital music players, video cameras, cell phones, and the Internet, and learn technologies as if

acquiring their mother tongue. A staff consisting of teachers and education administrators with a command of

technology even if they are unable to fully use its language will be able to provide the training of such a

generation who can use technology like a language and who can operate their minds with the language of the

technology.

In a world where generating information and possessing it have become a power, it has become inevitable

that the traditional role of the teacher should also be changed. It is no longer a teacher’s job to transfer readily

available information but to provide access to information which is rapidly developing and changing.

The teacher-centered education in the traditional system has been replaced with the student-centered

education system. In teacher-centered education, the teacher, who plays the role of supplier of information and

knower of everything, is active in the classroom environment. The method of acquiring information is based on

collecting information and memorizing it. The use of technology is at the level of drilling and practicing. In the

student-centered education system, on the other hand, there exists an environment where interaction is the most

prominent within the classroom. A teacher is in a situation where he/she co-operates and is a learner sometimes;

he/she has developed a sense of inquiry and invention (Odabaşı, 1997, p. 47).

The results of the study carried out by Erçetin and Menteşe (2012, pp. 110-113) on the students’ and the

investigated parents’ opinions of social media also revealed to us that new generation of students known as the

“digital natives” now want a brand-new learning model. It is also teachers that will realize this learning model.

Therefore, instead of running away from the new training model, it seems that a much more constructive and

wise approach to learn and teach how to use the social media platforms and tools is needed to make a positive

impact at different levels.

What teachers and administrators—as the major actors of education—think about this matter is very

important in terms of guiding education. Therefore, the present study is aimed at bringing forward the opinions

of the teachers and the administrators on the use of social media platforms and tools in education and whether

their opinions vary according to personal characteristics.

The answers to the following questions will be sought about the status of this problem:

1. What are the personal characteristics of the teachers and the administrators participating in the study?

2. Is there a relationship between the personal characteristics of the teachers and the administrators and


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their status as to using social media platforms and tools and their knowledge level?

3. What are the opinions of the teachers and the school administrators on the use of social media platforms

and tools in education?

4. Is there a relation between the teachers’ personal characteristics and their opinions about using social

media platforms and tools in education?

5. Is there a relation between the status of the teachers and the administrators’ usage of social media

platforms and tools, their knowledge level, and their opinions on their use in education?

Method

In this research, the general survey model has been chosen from among surveying model types, because it

is appropriate for assessing school administrators and teachers’ opinions regarding the usage of social media

platforms and tools in education.

Working Group

As the research group, the opinions of the high school teachers and administrators working in official

Anatolian teacher training high schools have been sought, because it is believed that today’s teachers who are

training the teachers of the next generation have both responsibility and rich backgrounds.

In line with the expressed problem and the overall objective of the research, high school teachers and

administrators from official Anatolian teacher training high schools located in the city of Ankara during the

2012-2013 academic year constituted the population of this study. For sampling, 182 respondents were selected

from among the administrators and teachers working in these schools with a 5% error ratio, by using a simple

random sampling method.

Acquisition of the Data

In this study, the second portion of the survey questionnaire developed by Demir (2001) for his Master’s

thesis titled “Reviewing Opinions and Attitudes of Instructors and Students Regarding Use of the Internet for

Instructional Purposes” at the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Social Sciences, University

of Gaziantep was used.

In the first part of the questionnaire, 12 questions were asked to learn about the individual characteristics

of the respondents and for use in creation of independent variables of the study and the sub-problems thereof.

In the second part, a 5-point Likert-type Scale consisting of 17 questions has been used to learn the

opinions of the teachers and the administrators regarding the use of social media platforms and tools in

education.

Analysis and Interpretation of the Data

In analysis of the data, both descriptive analysis and content analysis were utilized. The process which is

basically carried out in the content analysis is gathering the themes that are similar to each other within the

framework of certain concepts and themes, and interpreting them by arranging them in a format which can be

understood by the readers (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2011, p. 42).

In solution of sub-problems, the issue of whether there is a difference between the opinions of the teachers

and the administrators on the use of social media platforms and tools in education, as well as the percent

frequency tables, has been studied according to variables of age, gender, seniority, branches, and positions.

Since the measurements did not show a normal distribution, non-parametric tests have been used.


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Findings and Interpretation

Personal characteristics of the respondents taking part in the survey are shown in Tables 1-5.

According to Table 1, it appears that 26.9% of the teachers and the administrators participating in the

survey are in the 23-32 age group, 47.8% of them are in the 33-42 age group, and 25.3% are in the 43 and over

age group. When Table 1 is analyzed, it appears that the mean age of the teachers and the administrators was

composed mostly of the teachers and the administrators from the 33-42 age group.

Table 1

Dispersion by Age

Frequency Percent (%) Current percent (%)

Age group

23-32 49 26.9 26.9

33-42 87 47.8 47.8

43 and over 46 25.3 25.3

Total 182 100.0 100.0

In total, 182 people have participated in the survey. When this is analyzed by gender distribution (see

Table 2), it appears that 59.9% of the respondents were males while 40.1% were females.

Table 2

Dispersion by Gender


Gender

Male 109 59.9 59.9

Female 73 40.1 40.1

Total 182 100.0 100.0

When dispersion by branches is analyzed in Table 3, it appears that the highest participation is in the

English course with 24.2%, while the lowest is in the Music course with 1.1% .

Table 3

Distribution by Branches


Branch

Physics 14 7.7 7.7

Chemistry 7 3.8 3.8

History 15 8.2 8.2

Maths 25 13.7 13.7

Geography 16 8.8 8.8

Counseling 5 2.7 2.7

Religion 8 4.4 4.4

English 44 24.2 24.2

Physical Education (PE) 10 5.5 5.5

Music 2 1.1 1.1

Biology 9 4.9 4.9

Philosophy 4 2.2 2.2

Literature 14 7.7 7.7

Art 5 2.7 2.7

German 4 2.2 2.2

Total 182 100.0 100.0


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According to Table 4, the number of teachers and administrators with 16 years of service and over

constitutes the majority of the participants (33%). However, when 1-5 and 6-10 years of service are assessed in

unison, it appears that young teachers and administrators outweigh them, with a total of 50%.

Table 4

Dispersion by Seniority


Seniority group

1-5 43 23.6 23.6

6-10 48 26.4 26.4

11-15 31 17.0 17.0

16 and over 60 33.0 33.0

Total 182 100.0 100.0

As shown in Table 5, the rate of the teachers participating in the survey was 80.2%, while the

administrators were 19.8%.

Table 5

Distribution of Tasks


Category

Teacher 146 80.2 80.2

Administrator 36 19.8 19.8

Total 182 100.0 100.0

Seventy-eight percent of the teachers and the administrators participating in the survey said “Yes” to the

question “Have you attended a lesson/course concerning the Internet and its applications?” and 22% gave a “No”

answer. According to these results, it is apparent that teachers and administrators should receive in-service

training to use evolving technologies in their classrooms.

It appears that the majority of those participants in the survey have no personal pages on social media

platforms or the relevant tools. It can be seen that we are just following the technology, but we cannot steer it

much.

A meaningful difference was found between the dispersion of the teachers and the administrators receiving

a lesson/course concerning the Internet and its applications according to their branches (Chi square value =

15.697; p = 0.001). In other words, distributions of the teachers and the administrators receiving a lesson/course

related with the Internet and its applications differ according to their branches.

When branches were assessed in unison, 22% of the teachers participating in the survey stated that they

had not received a lesson/course related to the Internet and its applications. In this era where digital natives

exist, it appears that there is a need to increase in-service training activities in this area regarding the necessity

of integrating teachers and administrators into this system.

By branches, on the other hand, teachers of English and German branches receive lessons/courses most. It

can be said that language teachers are better equipped in this issue.

When age groups are examined, the 43 and over group is the one that does not have accounts on social

media platforms most (34.8%). According to Table 1, as age increases, a decrease is observed in the ownership

of social media accounts.

There was a decline in instances of having an account by the teachers and the administrators with higher


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seniority on social media accounts in parallel with age. Young teachers with 6-10 years of seniority hosting an

account are quite widespread. It seems that young teachers and administrators are using technology better than

the older seniors.

A meaningful difference was found between the cases of the teachers and the administrators having

accounts on social media platforms according to their duties (Fisher’s p-value = 0.000). This shows us that the

administrators who steer education and thus need to have a vision do not follow technology to a large extent. In

this era when the Fatih project (also called Movement to Increase Opportunities and Technology) is also being

put into practice, in-service training should be given to school managers quickly.

A meaningful difference was found between the cases of the teachers and the administrators having

accounts on social media platforms according to their gender (Fisher’s p-value = 0.000*). It was found that

72.5% of the male teachers and administrators have an account in the social media environment and 27.5% of

them do not, while 93.2% of the female teachers and administrators have an account in the social media

environment and 6.8% of them do not.

It appears that those teachers and administrators in the 16 and over group according to seniority are the

lowest group (86.7%) in terms of having a personal page on social media platforms and the associated tools,

even though the group of 6-10 years of seniority seems to be the highest group (70.8%). In total, 64.3% of the

participants do not have personal pages.

While PE, Visual Arts, and Music branches are at the lowest level (11.8%) in terms of personal page

ownership on social media platforms and the associated tools, English and German branches are at the highest

level (79.2%).

A meaningful difference was found between the usage frequency of social media platforms and tools by

teachers and administrators according to their gender (Chi square value = 16.637; p = 0.002). It was found that

67% of the male teachers and administrators are using the social media platforms and tools every day and 4.6%

of them do not use them at all, while 83.4% of the female teachers and administrators are using the social media

platforms and tools every day and 4.11% of them do not use them at all. When the frequency of use of social

media platforms was studied, it was apparent that among the teachers and the administrators, females used them

once every 2-3 days (65%) while males used them every day (67%).

The majority of the respondents (50.5%) agreed with the opinion that using evolving technologies in the

classroom will enhance students’ interest in the lesson.

The respondents often stated that use of social media platforms and tools in the classroom will not reduce

in-class communication and the communication with the teacher.

A percentage of 35.7% of the respondents stated that the use of social media platforms and tools in

education will replace traditional teaching methods. This result indicates that new regulations are required in

the education system of teacher candidates studying at universities.

Opinions of the male teachers and administrators regarding the use of social media platforms and tools in

education were found to be relatively more positive compared to those of the females.

Opinions of the teachers and the administrators whose branches were English and German on the use of

social media platforms and tools in education have been found to be more positive compared to those of the

teachers and the administrators in other branches.

Opinions of the teachers and the administrators who were 33-42 years old regarding the use of social

media platforms and tools in education have been found to be more positive compared to those of the teachers


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and the administrators in other age groups.

Opinions of the teachers and the administrators with 6-10 years of seniority regarding the use of social

media platforms and tools in education have been found to be more positive compared to those of the teachers

and the administrators having seniority with different years of service.

Opinions of the teachers regarding the use of social media platforms and tools in education have been

found to be more positive compared to those of the administrators.

Conclusions and Recommendations

According to the findings of the study, the teachers and the school administrators participating in the study

share the views that the use of social media platforms and tools in education will:

(a) Raise the level of education given to students;

(b) Increase the motivation of students;

(c) Not weaken in-class communication and the communication with the teacher;

(d) Make students more social;

(e) Provide a faster and more detailed feedback in exams;

(f) Not increase class absenteeism;

(g) Not reduce the role of the teacher;

(h) Not depress students and school relationship;

(i) Not cause a decrease in the success of students;

(j) Enhance students’ ability to communicate;

(k) Enrich the class environment;

(l) Provide easy access to course materials in and out of class;

(m) Broaden students’ scope of thought;

(n) Replace traditional teaching methods.

In contrast, the teachers and the school administrators participating in the study on the use of social media

platforms and tools in education provided negative feedback, sharing the opinions that:

1. It is not suitable for all courses;

2. It is not suitable for students of all levels;

3. It will be effective only for students with internally highly motivation levels.

The results of the research indicate to us the vital need for school administrators and teachers, who are the

dominant components of the education system, to train themselves according to the learning styles of the digital

natives.

It seems that a much more constructive and wise approach to learn and teach how to use the social media

platforms and tools is needed to make a positive impact at different levels (Erçetin & Menteşe, 2012).

According to the results of the survey, the following recommendations have been formulated for

practitioners and researchers:

1. Training programs should be redesigned according to technological developments regarding the use of

social media platforms and tools in education;

2. The topics regarding the use of social media platforms and tools in education should be added to the

content of the educational technologies course, which is taught to pre-service teachers in universities;

3. Technical infrastructures required for utilization of social media platforms and tools in education should


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be established at all levels of education;

4. Teachers should be encouraged to use social media platforms and tools in education;

5. In-service training should be arranged for school administrators and teachers so that they receive such

training in practical platforms to develop knowledge and skills for the use of platforms and tools in education;

6. Researches should be carried out on more efficient use of social networks in the educational field.

References Demir, S. (2001). Reviewing opinions and attitudes of instructors and students regarding use of the Internet for instructional

purposes (Master’s thesis, Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, University of Gaziantep). Erçetin, Ş. Ş., & Menteşe, M. (2012). What is happening to the students on social media? Humanity & Social Sciences Journal,

7(2), 110-113. Grant, N. (2008). On the usage of social networking software technologies in distance learning education. In C. Crawford, D.

Willis, R. Carlsen, I. Gibson, K. McFerrin, J. Price, & R. Weber (Eds.), Proceedings of The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3755-3759). Chesapeake, V.A.: AACE.

Jones, N., Blackey, H., Fitzgibbon, K., & Chew, E. (2010). Get out of my space! Computers & Education, 54, 776-782. Odabaşı, F. (1997). Öğretim üyelerinin eğitim teknolojisinden yararlanmaları: Değişime direnç mi, meydan okuma mı? (Use of

educational technology by faculty instructors: Is it resistance to change or challenge?). Retrieved August 8th, 2012, from http://home.anadolu.edu.tr/~fodabasi/doc/ty33.swf

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Selwyn, N., & Lyndsay, G. L. (2009). Researching the realities of social software use—An introduction. Learning, Media and

Technology, 34(2), 79-86. Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2011). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (Qualitative research methods in social sciences)

(8th ed., p. 42). Ankara: Seckin Publishing.


The Need for Transformational Leadership in Utilizing

Abandoned Mining Holes as a Business Opportunity

Andriyansah, Tati Rajati, Fatia Fatimah

Universitas Terbuka, Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia is known as a mine-producing country, but only a few of its products can be enjoyed by the surrounding

society. Facts show that a lot of abandoned mining holes are deserted like useless garbage. Transformational

leadership is expected to change negative thought patterns into positive ones with the paradigm “garbage is not

always useless”. Transformational leadership should be applicable in utilizing abandoned mining holes by

educating the society and colleagues in order that the disused mine areas can be productive as independent business

opportunity into the nation’s prosperity.

Keywords: transformational leadership, abandoned mining hole, business opportunity

Introduction

The glory of Indonesia’s tin that was famous in the past left disused holes of tin mining, which were called

as “kulongs” in Belitong language or widely known as “lake”. Kulongs, the abandoned tin mining holes, have

occured since tin mining started and were spread almost in all sub-districts in Bangka Belitung province, in

which the mines are located in the middle of forest and even near the sub-district center.

Mine certainly gives positive and negative impacts on the local area, and so does the tin mine. According

to Latief (2010), positive impact of tin mining is on the economic life of the society. If the result is good, a unit

of unconventional mine (UM) can get 4,000,000 rupiah (Rp) in a day. Workers get high wage, reaching Rp

150,000 per day. Even children collecting the remains of tin sand can earn Rp 40,000 in a day. The amount of

money resulted from unconventional tin mining is very big, so it directly affects the economy of the society.

The citizens can buy goods in big amount so that retail trade develops fast, which promotes the economy

growth. The abandoned mining holes are deserted just as they are. Negative impact of the mining holes

includes the damage of biotic environment. Damage to forest from mines cause severe drought in some areas in

the dry season. Miners keep mining the tin by stealth in the forbidden areas. UMs also damage river basins,

coastal areas, conservation forest, and production forest. The abandoned mining holes are barren, because they

are not reclaimed.

Acknowledgements: It is based on the authors’ paper presented at The International Seminar on Global Education II Indonesia & Malaysia. The authors would like to express their thanks to the Faculty of Economy in Universitas Terbuka (Open University) and UPBJJ-UT Padang that assigned them to attend the international seminar. Next, they would like to thank the Committee of International Seminar on Global Education II Indonesia (Universitas Eka Sakti-Padang) and Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) that have given the chance to present the paper in Fakulti Sain Sosial on February 24th-25th, 2014.

Andriyansah, S.E., M.M., Faculty of Economy, Universitas Terbuka. Tati Rajati, Ph.D., Faculty of Teacher-Training and Educational Sciences, Universitas Terbuka. Fatia Fatimah, S.Si., M.Pd., Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Terbuka.

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A leader having visions will change someone’s negative ideas into positive ones stating that the mining

holes are very necessary for the prosperity in the future and the continuity of the next generation. Nowadays,

transformational leaders are suitable to overcome the leadership crisis in some leadership theories that have

been learned. Transformational leadership is firstly suggested by Burns (1978), and if it is related to Belitung

Island, a transformational leader will think positively. For example, he/she can invite tourists to come, enjoy

the scenery, and do research. It should be admitted that the increasing tourism will indirectly change the local

economy life (Andriyansah, Rajati, & Fatimah, 2012). The abandoned tin mining holes, which prove

that men do not care about environment, are probably considered as unprofitable. A leader with visions

will assume that garbage is not always useless, but it can be a blessing to increase the prosperity of the

society.

Discussion

Belitung, which local society calls as Belitong, was known as an island in the eastern sea (lepas pantai

timur) of Sumatera, Indonesia, located between Gaspar Strait and Karimata Strait. Now, Belitung Island is

divided into two administrative regions: Belitung Regency whose capital city is Tanjung Pandan and East

Belitung Regency whose capital city is Manggar.

Because of Laskar Pelangi, the visits of domestic and foreign tourists to Belitung increase after the release

of Laskar Pelangi film. Data in Table 1 show the significant tourist visits during 2008-2012.

Table 1

The Amount of Tourist Visits During 2008-2012

Year Domestic Foreign

2012 110,638 975

2011 82,584 1,309

2010 49,118 1,383

2009 39,499 2,734

2008 29,983 2,053

Note. Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)-Belitung Regency, 2013.

Right now, tourist visits focus on exotic Belitung beaches and the location of Laskar Pelangi film. It,

indeed, needs hard work to realize creative idea of developing natural tourism into agricultural business

(agribisnis) or agricultural tourism by utilizing the abandoned mining holes as a promising business opportunity,

considering the land gets smaller and job opportunities reduced, unless people create job opportunities by

themselves.

Transformational Leadership

In the authors’ opinion, a leader with transformational leadership is a leader that has abundant dreams to

make surrounding people happy and pleasant. The approach applied by a transformational leader is more

humane and removes the gap between employers and employees. Participative working environment gives

colleagues opportunity to develop personality strength and the openness to the employees will be positive

energy for the improvement. According to O’Leary (2001), transformational leadearship is a leadership style

used by a manager when he/she wants a group to widen the border and has performance that goes far beyond

the status quo or reaches a series of organization’s objectives that are fully new.


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In Indonesia, Belitung is not the only place that suffers because of the mining process. The object of this

paper is Belitung, because from 2008 until now, Belitung has been phenomenal and becomes a new tourist

destination; however, the environment that has given benefit in life has not been reclaimed yet or left damaged.

According to Mulyono (2009), transformational leadership has the following characteristics:

1. It motivates the followers to realize the importance of work results;

2. It motivates the followers to prioritize the organization’s interest;

3. It motivates the followers to fulfill the higher needs.

If a transformational leader emerges, the abandoned mining holes will possibly give many benefits to

society. Theoretically, according to Bernard (1996), transformational leadership has different characteristics

with other leadership styles. Transformational leaders aim at producing superior results with one or more

behaviors of the following:

1. Individual simulation: Transformational leaders stimulate their employees to be innovative and creative

by asking assumptions, limiting the problems, and approaching the old situation with a new way;

2. Individual consideration: Transformational leaders pay special attention to individual needs in its

fulfillment and improvement they expect by behaving as trainers;

3. Inspirational motivation: Transformational leaders act with the aim of giving motivation and inspiration

to the surrounding people;

4. Idealized influence: Transformational leaders behave as models for their employees. Leaders like this are

usually respected and trusted.

Four factors above become the power to develop leadership style. Concrete action that can be taken is doing

research about kulongs or the abandoned mining holes, especially their benefits in various fields.

Tin Mine

John Francis Loudon—the son of Aleander Loudon, Scotland marine and the founder of the company

Billiton Maatschappij, through the approach of Dutch East India Government, assigned Dr. Croockewit to

research mineral resources in Belitung Island, and Dr. Croockewit arrived there on October 14th, 1850.

Theoretically, John Francis Loundon had applied transformational thought pattern so that disused mines could

be utilized. However, he did not full apply it or probably because theory of transformational leadership has just

been found, so the abandoned mining holes have made the Belitung citizens suffer.

In 1972, Indonesia government founded PN Timah (Tin State Company); however, PN Timah did not last

longer. In 1976, the government established PT Tambang Timah (Tin Mine Company), but until now, Belitung

people still know it as PN Timah even though the name has changed. PT Tambang Timah with the biggest

operation power has mining licence as broad as tens of thousand hectares. Data state that there are 25,000

hectares in Belitung regency and 62,000 hectares in East Belitung, out of the breadth of Belitung Island 483.3

hectares. The location of mines is not only on land, but also offshores. Right now, PT Timah does not operate

anymore.

Twenty-three years ago, the mines were abandoned. On April 29th, 1991, technical services unit of

Belitung ended their operation because possibly the remaining tin is not advantageous anymore for the life of

the state company. It can be imagined that Belitung society was spoiled by the tin company. When PT Timah

stopped the operation, prosperity also diminished. All employees were fired and given severance money, which

local people called as “surprised money”. The name of “shocked money” was caused by two factors: 1. The


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employees of PT Timah were shocked because the company having given them income stopped the operation;

and 2. PT Timah employees earned quite much money at that time, so they could not spend it well. Even

though history states that PT Timah ever developed well in Belitung Island that is blessed with tin, and now, it

did not operate anymore, which does not mean that the tin excavation or mining in Belitung Island stops.

Until this paper is written (January 1st, 2014), tin is still the livelihood of Belitung people, in which 70% of

Belitung inhabitants mine with different methods from that of PT Timah.

Data of CBS-Belitung Regency (see Table 2) show the decrease, about 2.47% of Belitung society still rely

on tin, and their way or method of tin search is Tambang Karya (TK) mini or small work mine and

“ngelimbang” (looking for tin) that still use very simple tools. The method of “ngelimbang” uses pan or woks

with other tings of the same kind. The significant difference is that PT Timah employs workers, but TK (work

mine) is done individually or involves family members.

Table 2

Excavated Tin During 2008-2012

Year Tin (ton)

2012 5,560

2011 532,800

2010 398,300

2009 620,990

2008 22,475,307

Note. Source: CBS-Belitung Regency, 2013.

Abandoned Mining Holes

The film background with Belitung scenery transforms Belitung into a new tourist destination with its

famous beaches, such as Tanjung Tinggi Beach, Tajung Kelayang Beach, Tanjug Pendam Beach, and other

tourist objects, such as Berahu Hill and many other tourist objects that refresh mind. According to Pearce,

Morrison, and Rutledge (1998), motivation is “the total network of biological and cultural forces that give value

and direction to travel choice behaviour and experience”. The authors try to distinguish between motivation and

destination. Motivation focuses more on understanding the psychological side of each tourist, whereas

destination choice focuses more on the important factors of tourist destination that attract the tourists to come and

how those factors can satisfy the tourists.

Besides beaches, there is still another tourist object that can attract the tourists to come to Belitung—tin

mines! Location of the abandoned tin mines has been ignored so far and is still regarded as secondhand thing that

cannot be used anymore. Kolongs (or kulongs in the local language) deserve to be a Belitung tourist object. There

are some arguments that support this. First, novel Laskar Pelangi was inspired by the difference between local

people and the employees of PN Timah, so it has historical note about tin and the local people. Moreover, Qur’an

(2008) has emphasized:

That is those who remember Allah while standing or sitting or laying, and they think of the sky and earth creation (while saying): “Ye our God, you did not create this uselessly, you are the most holy, then please keep us away from the hell torture”. (p. 191)

It is not late to think that the abandoned mines can be developed into tourist objects, for example,

transforming the mines into green areas with certain management, so that they are not barren anymore.


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Business Opportunity

It is certain that tin in Belitung will run out as time passes. For tin miners, they are categorized as

“prosperous” if they get tin. A prosperous family is a family that is formed on the basis of legal marriage, can

fulfill material and spiritual needs well, believe in God and obey Him, and have harmonious and balanced

relationship between family, society, and environment (The State Secretariat of Republic of Indonesia, 2009).

Level of a family’s prosperity is categorized into five stages:

1. Stage of pre-prosperous family (PPF): It is the family that does not fulfill one of the six indicators of the

prosperous family-I (PF-I) or indicators of a family’s basic needs;

2. Stage of PF-I: It is the family that can fulfill six indicators of PF-I stage, but does not fulfill one of the

eight indicators of prosperous family-II (PF-II) or indicators of a family’s psychological needs;

3. Stage of PF-II: It is the family that can fulfill six indicators of PF-I stage and eight indicators of PF-II, but

does not fulfill one of the five indicators of prosperous family-III (PF-III) or indicators of a family’s

developmental needs;

4. Stage of PF-III: It is the family that can fulfill six indicators of PF-I stage, eight indicators of PF-II, and

five indicators of PF-III, but does not fulfill one of the two indicators of PF-III plus or indicators of a family’s

self-esteem;

5. Stage of PF III plus: It is the family that can fulfill six indicators of PF-I stage, eight indicators of PF-II,

five indicators of PF-III, and two indicators of PF-III plus.

Data of Belitung that is published by CBS-Belitung Regency in 2013 are shown in Table 3.

Table 3

Category of Prosperous Family (2008-2012)

Year Category

PPF PF-I PF-II PF-III PF-III plus

2012 2,528 2,052 7,369 34,230 541

2011 2,096 4,982 3,854 24,499 487

2010 2,024 4,657 3,559 24,260 42

2009 864 4,979 8,994 23,104 2,529

2008 864 4,973 8,994 23,104 8,019

Note. Source: CBS-Belitung Regency, 2013.

The data show that Belitung society is categorized PF-III in 2012. Characteristic of PF-III is that some of

the family’s income is saved in the form of money or things (for example, livestock, paddy fields, jewelry,

rented house, and others). Besides that, the family get information from newspapers, magazines, radio, or

Internet, which means that family members have an opportunity to access information locally, regionally,

nationally, and internationally through printed media (e.g., newspaper, magazine, and bulletin) or electronical

media (e.g., radio, television, and Internet). These media are not only owned or bought by the family, but also

can be lent to or owned by other people/family or by public. Tin mining is a dilemmatic problem.

Referring to the data, it is clear that the society is prosperous; on the other hand, environment surrounding

the mines shows the picture of poverty that forces the society to keep prosperous and alive. Tin, indeed, affects

the local economy development, statistic facts show minimum job vacancy out of the mines, but local economy

is still growing. Faozan (2010) stated that local economy growth is simply defined as a process of economy


273

activity in a region which makes goods and/or service produced in a region increase and the prosperity of the

society rise in the long term.

The process of economy activity in the region is closely related to tangible or real economy development,

such as development of infrastructures, hospitals, schools, manufactured goods, and production of industrial

goods in the region. Therefore, local economy growth can be described as the development of economy

potentials that can increase economy of the local people. For example, the abandoned mining holes can be

utilized as the area for breeding freshwater fish, like catfish in fish cage (keramba) or breeding them by leaving

them wild. Integrated method focuses on fishery.

The abandoned mining holes as tourist object can be in the form of artificial lake that is equipped with

facilities sufficient and beneficial for the society; moreover, the holes can also be used for educational tourism

so that young generation understands tin mining and its positive and negative effects. Suratmo (2012) stated

that the development of the abandoned tin mining areas can be optimized to be efficient and can add Belitung’s

income. Tourism can become potential that must be developed when mines cannot be relied, and with

governments’ support, Belitung can become the third tourist destination after Bali and Lombok. This is based

on the fact that Belitung has the same beautiful beaches as Bali. For example, Tanjung Tinggi Beach has stone

contour in its seashore.

The utilization of kulongs for fishery and plantation may involve the society as a partner. Besides, it can

help reducing poverty through increasing the income of the society and providing job vacancy, and the

development of core partnership and plasma partnership can give advantages to the company, that is

through the utilization of castor bean as fuel for the operation of mining industry to substitute fossil fuel

and help the society to obtain castor oil cheaply as the substitute of kerosene, which is hardly to obtain

recently.

In general, kulongs with various sizes are filled with ground water, river water, and rain. Potential of

freshwater fish breeding includes kulongs or the abandoned mining holes that are spread in each regency/city.

Kulongs and freshwater swamp approximately reach 1,602 hectares, and 44,000 hectares in Belitung Regency.

Data of PT Tambang Timah in 2000 stated that out of 343 kulongs with the size of 67,714 hectares in Belitung,

only 54 kulongs have been reclaimed, which is the effort of rehabilitating the damaged land resulted from the

mining activities, so that it can function optimally in appropriate with the capabilities (General Directorate of

Land and Social Forestry Rehabilitation, 1997).

Efforts that governments can do are: giving seeds freely to the farmers, utilizing the abandoned mining

areas with the system of production sharing, coaching the farmers and doing mentoring while the production

process is running, conducting modelling project, or employing unemployed people to do reclamation in the

company’s areas with the funding from the company. However, the first step that should be taken is educating

the society in order to change their mind and paradigm from garbage to blessing.

Conclusions

All of us are leaders, so the damaged land should not be abandoned as it is. Central and local governments

should make breakthrough and educate society that the abandoned areas can still be utilized as the Earth still

rotates. Besides that, governments can cooperate with the related institutions to analyze the utilization of the

abandoned mining holes, so the areas are not only used to mine water without producing something productive

for the prosperity of the society.


274

The abandoned tin mining holes can be utilized optimally for tourist object, such as educational tourism

for young generation about positive and negative sides of the tin mining, plantation that can give regional

income, and opening job vacancy for the society or opening fish freshwater breeding that can provide job

vacancy, so that the abandoned mines are not mourned as the damaged land, which, with knowledge, can be

productive land for a source of the economy to the society.

A transformational leader should not be formal like a head of a region, a minister, or a president. A

transformational leader is a person with the leadership skill that can change negative paradigm into positive

paradigm. The authors believe that whatever the leadership style is, there should be three elements that are

closely related and have the same vision—a leader, followers, and an environment where the organization is

located. In the case of the abandoned mining holes, it can change the way of thinking or paradigm,

transforming the garbage to the blessing.

References

Andriyansah, Rajati, T., Fatimah, F. (2012). Novel dan film media pemicu pegnembangan pariwisata dalam menanggulangi

kemiskinan (Novel and film as media of tourism development in poverty reduction). Jurnal Bisnis dan Manajemen (Journal

of Business and Management), 9(1), 16-31.

Benke, B. (2011). Novel Laskar Pelangi laris di Korea Selatan (Novel Laskar Pelangi best-seller in South Korea). Retrieved from

http://suaramerdeka.com/v1/index.php/read/entertainmen/2011/10/05/429

Bernard, M. B. (1996). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. In S. Richard, M. Porter, L.

W. Bigley, & A. Gregory (Eds.), Motivation and leadership at work (6th ed.). Singapore: McGraw Hill.

Burn, M. J. (1978). Leadership. New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row.

Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)-Belitung Regency. (2013). Belitung dalam angka 2013 (Belitung in Number 2013). Retrieved

from http://belitungkab.bps.go.id/index.php?r=publikasi/detail&id=116&title=Belitung-Dalam-Angka-2013

Dipanatara, L. (2010). Habis manis, sepah dimakan juga (When the sweetness is gone, the pulp is eaten). Retrieved from http://epan

-wbakie.blogspot.com/

Faozan, H. (2010). Tata kelola pemerintahan daerah yang baik dan pertumbuhan ekonomi lokal yang menimbulkan pembangunan

daerah penulis (Good management of local government and local economy growth triggering regional development). Jurnal

Ilmu Administrasi (Journal of Administration Science), 7(4), 297-307.

General Directorate of Land and Social Forestry Rehabilitation. (1997). Pedoman reklamasi lahan bekas tambang (Guide of

reclamation of the abandoned mining areas). Jakarta: General Directorate of Land and Social Forestry Rehabilitation.

Latief, A. S. (2010, April). Dampak limbah dan bekas tambang timah terhadap lingkungan (Kasus di kecamatan Belinyu kabupaten

Bangka provinsi Bangka Belitung) (Impact of tin waste and the abandoned tin mines on environment (Case in sub-district of

Belinu, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Province)). Jurnal Rekayasa (Journal of Engineering), 5, 112-118.

Mulyono, D. (2009). Educational leadership: Mewujudkan efektivitas kepemimpinan pendidikan (Educational leadership:

Realizing educational leadership effectiveness) (pp. 135-136). Malang: UIN Malang Press.

National Family Planning Coordinating Board. (2011). Batasan dan pengertian MDK (Limmitation and definition of MDK).

Retrieved from http://aplikasi.bkkbn.go.id/mdk/BatasanMDK.aspx

Noviyarto, H. (2012). Pemanfaatan kolong bekas tambang timah sebagai sumber mata pencaharian masyarakat pasca timah: Studi

peraturan daerah kabupaten bangka tengah nomor 26 tahun 2011 tentang pengelolaan dan pemanfaatan kolong (Utilization

of the abandoned tin mine kulong for society’s livelihood after tin mining: Study of local regulation of middle Bangka Regency

No. 26, year 2011 about management and utiliation of kolong). Retrieved from http://hendri-noviyarto.blogspot.com/2012/06

/pemanfaatan-kolong-bekas-tambang-timah.html

O’Leary, E. (2001). Kepemimpinan (Leadership). Edisi Pertama, Yogyakarta: Andi.

Pearce, P. L., Morrison, A. M., & Rutledge, J. L. (1998). Tourism: Bridges across continents. Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

Qur’an. (2008). Surah Ali Imran Trans (p. 191). Bandung: Diponegoro Publishing.

Suratmo, Y. (2012). Belitung, dari tambang ke pariwisata (Belitung, from mines to tourism). Retrieved from http://www.infobisn

isinternasional.com/berita/budaya/14/december/2012/belitong-dari-tambang-ke-pariwisata


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The State Secretariat of Republic of Indonesia. (2009). Undang-undang Nomor 52 RI tentang perkembangan kependudukan dan

pembangunan keluarga (Act No. 52 of the Republic of Indonesia about population and family development). Jakarta: The

State Secretariat of Republic of Indonesia.

Universitas Bangka Belitung. (2013a). Pemberdayaan kolong bekas galian tambang timah sebagai usaha perikanan terpadu

(Utilization of the abandoned tin mining holes for integrated fish farming). Retrieved from http://fppb.ubb.ac.id/?Page=

artikel_ubb&&id=51

Universitas Bangka Belitung. (2013b). Pemanfaatan lahan pasca tambang timahh (Utilization of the abandoned tin mining areas).

Retrieved from http://www.ubb.ac.id/artikel_pdf.php?nomorurut_artikel=54


Institutional Expansion of Private Higher Education:

Comparison Between China and the US

Han Meng-jie, Zhang De-xiang

Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

The emergence and growth of private higher education (HE) is one of the recent trends of HE in the world.

Considering that China is one example of the developing countries and the United States (US) somehow represents

the developed countries, the paper probes into the roles, finances, and regulations of private HE from a comparative

perspective to detect the different mechanism of private HE in its political and economic backgrounds. Though

there are more regulation and less markets in China than in the US, private HE sectors in the two countries are both

changing for a better combination of regulation and market, which can be reflected by recent deregulation reforms

in China and more federal policies and coordination in the US.

Keywords: private higher education (HE), public institution/sector, comparison between China and the US

Introduction

A long-term trend of expansion of higher education (HE) is—whereby extent of homogeneity or diversity

is constantly on the move through overall structure changes, as well as through the repositioning of the

individual institutions on the overall “map” of HE (Teichler, 2006). One of the clearest trends to emerge in the

world is the growth of many private/non-government providers of HE in response to the strong demand for

access and the need for a greater diversity (Bjarnason, Cheng, John, Lemaitre, Levy, & Varghese, 2009).

Meanwhile, funding policies for HE differ greatly from nation to nation and one of the major debates concerns

the private-public mix (Levy, 1982). Since China can be mentioned as an example of the developing countries

(with “newly” established private institutions) and the United States (US) somehow represents the developed

countries (with a diversified HE system), we decide to compare the roles, finances, and regulations of private

HE in the two countries to detect the different mechanism of private HE in its political and economic

backgrounds. We hope that the study will help learn more about recent changes of Chinese HE system and its

important political issues.

Theoretical or Conceptual Framework

Though there are many differences among national systems, almost every HE system usually includes

public and private sectors in modern times. Just like American HE system: 1. Public institutions depending

upon government support and subject to government regulations; and 2. Private institutions experiencing both

the risk and the freedom of independence (Bogue & Aper, 2000). Each system offers complementary strengths

Han Meng-jie, Ph.D., lecturer, Research Center for Higher Education, Dalian University of Technology. Zhang De-xiang, Ph.D., distinguished professor, chairman, Supervisory Board, Dalian University of Technology.

DAVID PUBLISHING

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INSTITUTIONAL EXPANSION OF PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION

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to the goals of access, innovation, and quality. In the US, private sector has a history of more than three

centuries, even though it is not clearly privatized in the colonial period till the early 19th century.

Comparatively, private HE has a long history of thousands of years in China, such as Confucius academy in

about 500 Before Christ (B.C.). However, private HE experienced a thriving or weakening period in historical

dynasties. Therefore, private HE sector is always influenced by its social background.

In the study, we will use both qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods to compare

the characteristics of private HE in the two countries, mainly on the share of private HE (institutions and

enrollment) in the national HE system, the financial resources from the tuitions and the government, the

regulation from the government and the extent of autonomy of private HEIs (higher education institutions). We

get the data mainly from the official statistics in the two countries (China Statistical Yearbook 2011 (National

Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), 2011); Chinese Education Statistical Yearbook

2011 (Department of Education of the PRC, 2011); Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (National

Center for Education Statistics of the US, 2011a); Digest of Education Statistics 2011 (National Center for

Education Statistics of the US, 2011b)). Some other data are from documents, reports, and papers of other

relevant studies. From these, the paper probes into the changes of private HEIs to detect their own mechanism

of private HE in their political and economic backgrounds.

Data Analysis and Comparison

Great changes have taken place in China during the last few decades. After the founding of New China,

the central government reorganized universities and colleges in old times to establish a modern HE system.

Under the influence of the Soviet Union, the Mao government prohibited the development of private HE and

every private college was changed into a public one. It was believed that private colleges and universities are

capitalist or bad things, not socialist. After that, Chinese HE system was completely composed of public

colleges and universities. The government provided almost all the funds to the institutes, as well as the students

(even including their living stipend). The adjustments in the 1950s have greatly changed the Chinese HE

system, and we still can see its deep influenece till now (Han & Song, 2014).

Private HE system has experienced great expansion during the last decades, especially after the 1978

reform and openning up. The first private college was not established in China until 1982, after 30-year

suspension. Gradually, private sector began to revive and has gradually become an indispensable supplement to

public sector. Till 2011, there are 2,409 institutions in China, including 696 private colleges and universities.

Private sector accounts for 28.89% in Chinese HE system (see Figure 1). Comparatively, private sector has

always been the important part of American HE system. What is more, most of the prestigious colleges and

universities in the US are private institutions with a long history, such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc.. In 2010,

There are 2,943 private colleges and universities among 4,599 HE institutions. Private sector accounts for

63.99% in American HE system (see Figure 2). But, these private institutions are usually very small.

As for the enrollment, the majority is public enrollment, not only in China, but also in the US (see Figures

3 & 4). In China, the total enrollment of HE summed up to 23.09 million in 2010, including 5.05 million in

private institutions. The percentage of private sector is only 21.88%. Even though private sector has developed

very fast, it still can not match up with public sector in China. In the US, the total enrollment is 21.02 million,

and 5.87 million is in private sector, which accounts for 35.78%. We can see that the enrollment of private

institutions are much smaller than the number of private institutions in the US.


278

Since private sector has been suspended for three decades in China, the newly-established private

institutions have weak infrastructures, relatively unstable full-time academic faculty, and they mostly operate

mainly for profits. The majority of institutions of HE system are public ones and the prestigious research

universities are mostly public in China, which is quite different from the US. Since the colonial age, most

institutions with long history have developed into private colleges and universities in the US. Influenced by the

market, American private institutions keep continuous development and are well-established. Therefore, most

of the famous research institutions are private in the American HE sysstem.

Figure 1. Changes of private and public institutions in Chinese HE system.

public institutions

private institutions

Total institution

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1949

-195

0

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-195

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ber o

f ins

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s

public institutions private institutions Total institution

Figure 2. Changes of private and public institutions in American HE system.

Besides, there is a particular form of private sector in China, which means that there is a private one

affiliated to a prestigious public university. The first independent private-funded college was created as a

subsidiary of a public university in 1999. Now, it becomes a new model of private HE. Private HEIs almost

provide undergraduate education and professional HE in China and are mostly dependent on tuitions. In 2010,

the tuitions account for 76.96% of the total revenue of private HE, and the government’s support is only 5.58%.


279

In the US, private HEIs are divided into non-for-profit and for-profit HEIs. The former might be research

universities, like Harvard, which get research funding from the government or donations. In 2010, the tuitions

account for 33.41% and 14.88% revenue is from the government. However, the latter is almost dependent on

tuitions. Their tuitions account for 90.64% and only 8.52% revenue is from the government.

Figure 3. Changes of public and private enrollment in Chinese HE system.

public enrollment

private enrollment

total enrollment

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

1929-1930

1933-1934

1937-1938

1941-1942

1945-1946

1947-1948

1950-1951

1952-1953

1954-1955

1956-1957

1958-1959

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1962-1963

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1983-1984

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1999-2000

2001-2002

2003-2004

2005-2006

2007-2008

2009-2010

enr

ollme

nt(

thous

and)

public enrollment private enrollment total enrollment

Figure 4. Changes of public and private enrollment in the American HE system.

From the data analysis, we find that public HE accounts for the majority in Chinese HE system, both in

institution and enrollment. Private HE is only a supplement to public HE, but it also develops quickly. In

China, all private HEIs are newly established after 30-year suspension. They are mostly dependent on tuitions,

though the government provides subsidies to them, as well as the regulations on their establishment, enrollment,

and operation. Comparatively, private HEIs account for the majority in the US, but its enrollment in private

sector is much smaller than that in public sector. Besides, private sector is divided into non-for-profit and


280

for-profit institutions. Many leading research universities in the US are non-for-profit and well-established,

which are usually funded by diversified resources, such as research funding and denotations. However, the

for-profit institutions emerge since the late 20th century, which are operated only for profits and almost

dependent on tuitions revenue.

Discussion and Conclusions

In China, the government supervises the establishment standard of HEIs, the national entrance policy

(such as the national college entrance examination to public institutions as well as private institutions), and the

standardized operation of private colleges. However, too much regulation sometime becomes the barriers to the

development of private HE and reduces the enthusiasm for private organizations or persons to invest in HE.

Comparatively, the American government exerts less regulation on private institutions, which enjoy great

autonomy to decide what to do. On the whole, American private sector operates like an enterprise, especially

those for-profit institutions. American HE is considered to be the most efficient in the world because of its

flexibility. However, its scholars always criticize the commercialization of HE, which might disturb academic

essence and pursuit of knowledge.

The mechanism of private HE is deeply rooted in its political, economic, and social environments. There

are three forces—the government, the market, and the institutions, which influence the changes and

development of HE. It is traditionally “big government and small market” model in China, which means that

the government plays an important role in the development of private HE. But now, the marketization has been

paid much more attention in the course of HE reforms in China. On the contrary, it is traditionally “small

government and big market” model in the US, which means the market is the important force. However, the

government has gradually intervened in the development of private HE in the US. The governments seek to

regulate and monitor private providers of HE because HE should not be left to the vagaries of market forces

(Bjarnason et al., 2009).

Rigid regulation from the government and the mechanism of free market are the two extreme modes of

political economy. However, it is confusing if the regulation from the government and free market are

contradictory. Perhaps the answer is not. The government and the market are equally important in the

coordination of private HE. The important thing is to decide appropriate role of the government and the market.

From the above mentioned, it is obvious that there are more regulation and less free markets in China. On the

contrary, there are less regulation and more free markets in the US. In spite of these, both countries are

changing for a better combination of regulation and market, which can be reflected by recent deregulation

reforms in China and more federal policies and coordination in the US. The common model of private HE will

be appropriate coordination of the government and basic mechanism of market economy.

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On Scarlett’s Persistence in Gone With the Wind

Wang Xiao-yan, Tong Li-jun

Changchun University, Changchun, China

Gone With the Wind was written by an American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949). After its publishing, the

novel caused a great stir in the entire America and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The novel is still popular even

nowadays, winning multitudinous readers. With the impact of American Civil War upon the South and suffering of

Scarlett’s family as the background, the story describes the transformation of Scarlett from an innocent girl into a

mature lady. The present paper, first of all, gives a brief introduction of the story. Then, it mainly makes an analysis

of Scarlett’s characters from two aspects: Her persistence towards love for which she sticks to for more than a

decade and her persistent pursuit of a better life for which she does by fair means and foul. The paper concludes

with Scarlett’s motto “Tomorrow is another day”.

Keywords: character, analysis, rebellion, Gone With the Wind

Introduction

Gone With the Wind is Margaret Mitchell’s only novel. It describes Scarlett’s triangular love and depicts

the life of the South during the American Civil War. The heroine, Scarlett, is a well-depicted figure. When the

story begins, Scarlett is only 16-year-old, a proud and attractive princess. She is so young and beautiful that it

seems that she can conquer almost all the young men in the neighborhood, and she enjoys dealing among these

young men. She loves Ashley very much though she does not know him completely. So, when Ashley gets

engaged with Melanie, being angry, she gets married with Charles Hamilton, who is Ashley’s wife’s brother.

Unfortunately, the Civil War destroys all her life profoundly, Hamilton, soon, dies in the war and Scarlett

becomes a widow. What is worse, she losts her beloved mother and has to take care of her ill father, her two

sisters, and other 10 people of the family. Although she is strong and brave enough to make a living in the

wartime, it is extremely difficult for a 19-year-old girl to shoulder the responsibility for the whole family after

the war. But she has no choice, her character and times need her. In order to revitalize her family, she needs

money badly. She goes to Rhett Butler for help, but at that time, he was put in prison. In her desperate despair,

she meets Frank Kennedy, who is her sister’s fiancé and who has a sum of money. For her family and industry,

she gets married with Kennedy. With the money, she paid the taxes, and later on, opens a sawmill and her

business is booming. But during a fight with the soldiers of the North, Kennedy lost his life. Despite of the

opposition of the local people, she finally marries Rhett who really loved her very much from the very

beginning. However, Scarlett still pursues the unreal love towards Ashley and never tries to know Rhett. She

does not realize Rhett’s love until Melanie dies. But it was too late. Rhett determined to leave her without

Acknowledgement: This paper is a part of the result of the research program “The Study of the Female Characters’ Social Position in the Early Stage of 20th Century Foreign Literature ” (2013, No. B137), in which the authors have participated.

Wang Xiao-yan, associate professor, School of Foreign Languages, Changchun University. Tong Li-jun, associate professor, School of Foreign Languages, Changchun University.

DAVID PUBLISHING

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ON SCARLETT’S PERSISTENCE IN GONE WITH THE WIND

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hesitation. In the end, Scarlett had to tell herself that tomorrow is another day. What caused Scarlett’s destiny?

The present paper will discuss it by analyzing two aspects of her characters.

Scarlett’s Persistence Towards Love

Scarlet, the heroine in the novel, is a well-portrayed character. Her personality is complicated and

changeable. “She combines egocentrism, rebellion, and independence all into one” (Zhou, 1997, p. 78).

However, for love, she is persistent and never gives up. She thought Ashley was her true love, so she did all she

could to pursuit it. Unlike the common girls, she is determined to act on her own wishes and confronts Ashley

in the belief that he will not be able to resist her assault. But to her great surprise, she is declined by Ashley.

Yet, her stubborn love to Ashley remains until she is 28-year-old. During this period of time, she worries about

Ashley’s safety and keeps her promise to take care of Ashley’s wife Melanie no matter how hard it is. She even

continues to support Ashley’s family after the war. In fact, her so-called love to Ashley is perhaps a 16-year-old

girl’s blind love, because Ashley is the one who denies her, which makes her want him more. Though, in her

life, she experiences three kinds of marriages, in fact, she only loves Ashley Wilkes blindly and later Rhett

Butler truly. For the love to Rhett Butler, she did not realize it until she had lost everything that made life

desirable—Ellen, Gerald, Bonnie, Mammy, Melanie, and Ashley. For Rhett, she has mixed feelings that he is

the man who had strong arms to hold her, a broad chest to pillow her tired head, and jeering laughter to pull her

affairs into proper perspective. Scarlett married Rhett in spite of people’s opposition. After marriage, as Rhett

said, “I wanted to take care of you, to pet you, to give you everything you wanted. I want to marry you and

protect you and give you a free rein in anything that would make you happy” (Margaret, 1999, p. 608).

But unfortunately, Scarlett still can not understand Rhett’s love and can not forget Ashley in her heart even

though she delivers Rhett a beloved daughter. She even goes so far as to embrace Ashley and recall their happy

childhood on one occasion. Rhett cannot stand it and decides to go away. At this moment, she finds out that,

“He (Ashley) never really exited at all, except in my imagination, …I loved something I made up, something

that is just as dead as Melly is” (Margaret, 1999, p. 791).

She senses in Rhett something strong, unyielding, and implacable—all the qualities she had looked for in

Ashley and never found. The one who really helps her, understands her, cares her, and loves her is Rhett. When

she realizes this, she runs out to find Rhett. She wants him know that she loves him and will love him forever,

because he is strong, unscrupulous, passionate, and earthy, like herself. But poor Rhett is so heart-broken that

he can not believe her, and finally left her. A person, sometimes, can not realize the value of something until

he/she loses it, so does Scarlett. She reflects her love with these two men:

She had never understood either of the men she had loved and so she had lost them both. Now she had a fumbling knowledge that, had she ever understood Ashley, she would never have loved him; had she ever understood Rhett, she would never have lost him. She wondered forlornly if she had ever really understood anyone in the world. (Margaret, 1999, p. 807)

But her persistent towards love never leaves her, as she said, “Tomorrow, I will think of some way to get

him back” (Margaret, 1999, p. 808).

Scarlett’s Persistent Pursuit of a Better Life

Before the War, Scarlet is a spoiled, selfish, and untried girl, full of youth, and warm of emotion, who

lives a happy-go-lucky kind of life and needs not to worry about anything. But now, there was nothing left of


284

that girl but hunger and hard labour, fear and constant strain. The terror of wars and reconstruction had taken

away all warmth, youth, and softness from her. The war destroyed her peaceful and happy life, her beloved

mother died and her father turned into a childlike old man. What is worse, their Confederate cash becomes

worthless, so she has to face the starvation and shoulder all the burdens for the family. However, unlike most of

the people who do not accept the fact, who fail to realize that their ideal is out of date and must be remolded to

correspond to the new conditions of the social environment, Scarlett is more shrewd and flexible in the new

environment. Unlike her two sisters, she did not stay in the sadness of war, but worked hard to live better,

because she knew that she was no longer the princess of Tara. The lazy and luxury old days in the South have

gone forever, and she is not going to sit down and patiently wait for a miracle to help her. She is going to help

herself. She is going to rush into life and wrest from it for what she wants.

She could not ignore life. She had to live it and it was too brutal, too hostile, for her even to try to gloss over its harshness with smile. (Margaret, 1999, p. 471)

There was no going back and she was going forward throughout the south … and she will never look back. (Margaret, 1999, p. 603)

Breaching her South aristocratic manner, without food, she goes out to find it; without slaves to work in

the cotton field, she labors herself; lacking of money for the tax, she kills a North soldier and gets the money.

She works like a brave warrior, fighting for hunger, fighting for money, and fighting for a better life. At that

time, Scarlett is the daughter, the sister, and the mother, to be exact, the soul and backbone of the family. For

revitalizing her family, she goes to the prison in Atlanta to borrow money from Rhett. For paying the

deliberately raised tax, she lies to Frank, who is her sister’s fiancé (but her sister loves another man), and

marries him. For a better life, she runs a little wood company to earn money, since she strongly believes that a

woman cannot be a lady without money. In fact, at that time in the South, no woman comes out to work except

Scarlett. Even men at that time can not tolerate a woman like Scarlett who defeats them. Her natural talent and

courage to run her business indeed accumulate a lot of money, which will make sure that the family lead a

better life. The hard life after the war makes her more tough and selfish, but what she really wants is not hungry

again and live a better life.

As God as my witness, I will never be hungry again. … I am going to have money enough so the Yankees can never take Tara away from me. And I am going to have a new roof for Tata and new barn and fine mules for ploughing and more cotton than you ever saw. (Margaret, 1999, p. 489)

For her persistent pursuit of a better life and revitalizing her family, Scarlett used fair means and foul. She

should be respected in this aspect, because she has protected her family and her friends. No any other women,

even men can do like her. Not even all the women can do nowadays. That is why Scarlett impressed readers for

so many years.

Conclusions

Scarlett in Gone With the Wind is a well-depicted and miracle character. On the surface, she is a beautiful,

smart, and arrogant daughter of a plantation, but tempered by the Civil War and the experiences of life, her

brave, restless, and persistent nature appears. Before the Civil War, she is a pretty girl, who lives a well-off life.

Influenced deeply by the idea of what a southern woman should do, her desire is to marry Ashley. But the Civil

War shatters her dream, she has to fight for hunger, fight for death, fight for poverty, and shoulder all the


285

burdens of the family. After the war, with her “good head for figures” (Jian, 1995, p. 669), she puts all her heart

into making money desperately. She runs her own sawmill, earns money, and revitalizes her family. Through

those years, Scarlett has grown up from an innocent 16-year-old girl into a far-sighted mature woman. She is a

combination of external beauty and internal strength.

For Scarlett, the old South, with its bitter-sweet memories, its old traditions, and its slave system, is gone

with the wind forever. Everything is changing, but there are something unchangeable in Scarlett—her

persistence in love and her persistent pursuit of happiness and a better life. For love, she is no longer a blind

foolish girl, she is clear about what her true love is and will continue to pursue it. Though life is still difficult,

she is determined to meet all the challenges. She bears the motto in her heart, which is also a universal truth to

everybody—“Tomorrow is another day!”.

References Brian, P. (2003). Study guides to Gone With the Wind. Tianjin: Tianjin Science Press. Chang, Y. X. (2002). A survey of American literature. Tianjin: Nankai University Press. Goodale, G. (2011). From “glory” to “gone with the wind” fascination with Civil War endures. The Christian Science Monitor, 4,

11. Gui, Y. Q. (1985). Selected reading in English and American literature. Beijing: Translation Company Press. Jian, Z. (1995). Translation version of Gone With the Wind. Changchun: Changchun Publishing Press. Margaret, M. (1999). Gone with the wind. Xi’an: World Book Publishing Company. Rubinstein, A. T. (1988). American literature: Root and flower. Beijing: Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Press. Shi, J. B. (2004). Survival of the fittest—An analysis of the theme in Gone With the Wind. Journal of Nanjing University of

Science and Technology, 2, 56. Zhou, M. Y. (1997). A comment on Gone With the Wind. Foreign Literature Studies, 4, 78. Zhu. F. (2010). An analysis of Scarlett’s character in Gone With the Wind. Popular Literature, 18, 29.

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