Keyword: secondary school teacher

ABSTRACT: In recent years, the Chinese government has actively promoted the digital transformation of education, with a strong emphasis on integrating digital technologies into teaching practices. As a result, teachers’ digital competence has become a key focus of academic research. This study surveyed secondary school teachers in mainland China using the Teacher Digital Competence Self-perception Instrument, and descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis were conducted on the data. The findings indicate that teachers generally have a positive self-perception of their digital competence. However, they demonstrate weaker skills in digital teaching and learning management, while excelling in digital engagement. Significant differences in digital competence were observed based on teaching experience, educational background, and regional disparities. To address these challenges, China should offer more professional development opportunities for teachers and enhance policy support for improving digital competence. These findings and recommendations may provide useful insights for other countries and regions pursuing similar initiatives.

ABSTRACT: The academic achievement of secondary students remains a top goal for an increasing number of parents, teachers, administrators, students, and policymakers. This is because students with high academic learning outcomes gain a lot in the long run, including
future admission success in college or university and later in the workforce. As a result, all educational stakeholders must focus on figuring out how to raise student academic achievement. One of the promising avenues to increase academic achievement is student engagement. According to self-determination theory, satisfying a student’s need for relatedness, autonomy, and competence is one of the conditions for raising student engagement. This study, therefore, mainly examined how the classroom environment of student cohesiveness (SC), equity (EQ), teacher support (TS), and teacher autonomy support (TAS) predicts behavioral engagement (BE), cognitive engagement (CE), emotional engagement (EE), and agentic engagement (AE) of students. Data were collected from 305 students (150 males and 155 females) in four purposively selected secondary schools in the Nyamagabe district of Rwanda. The four subscales from the What Is Happening In this Class (WIHIC) questionnaire, the Learning Climate Questionnaire, and the Student Engagement Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the Mean and SD, multivariate analysis of variance, and regression analyses. Based on the results, the SC, TS, EQ, and TAS were significantly related to all components of student engagement (BE, CE, EE, and AE). There was a significant difference between boys’ and girls’ perceptions of BE and TAS. Gender, SC, and EQ predict BE; TAS predicts CE; EQ and TAS predict EE; and SC, TS, and TAS predict AE. Thus, responding to students’ SC, TS, EQ, and TAS needs is crucial as they can foster student engagement in various aspects.