International Journal of Emerging Issues in Social Science, Arts and Humanities ( IJEISSAH)

AI in Journalism Education: An Experimental Study on the Impact of Foundational Training on AI-Assisted News Writing

2026-02-06T09:38:54+00:00

This study is motivated by the rapid development of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, such as ChatGPT, which have transformed journalistic practices. While AI enhances efficiency in content production, it also raises concerns regarding accuracy, bias, and ethics. In educational settings, many students rely on AI tools without sufficient foundational journalistic skills, resulting in passive and uncritical use and a gap between technological adoption and professional competence. This research examines the impact of basic journalism training on students’ competence in producing AI-assisted news articles. It specifically investigates whether instruction in fundamental journalistic principles improves the quality, objectivity, and publishability of AI-supported news writing. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was employed, involving 57 communication science students divided into an experimental group and a control group. Both groups wrote news articles using ChatGPT; however, only the experimental group received basic journalism training. Writing quality was evaluated by an expert panel, while students’ knowledge and self-confidence were measured through questionnaires administered before and after the intervention. The findings reveal a significant competence gap between the two groups. The experimental group demonstrated notable improvements in journalistic knowledge (mean increase of +2.07 points) and self-confidence, whereas the control group experienced a decline (mean decrease of −1.87 points). Training promoted critical, ethical AI use, moving students from copy‑pasting to editing, verifying, and directing outputs to journalistic standards. The findings show that foundational journalism training and curriculum‑integrated AI literacy enable productive, responsible AI use.

Enhancing Creative Writing Skills through Computer-Generated Imagery: A Study on Intermediate ESL Learners in Colombo, Sri Lanka

2026-03-06T04:23:50+00:00

Recent examination reports from the Examination Department and the Ministry of Education have identified weak performance in the composition section as a key reason for low GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) English results. In response, this study explores the use of Computer‑Generated Imagery (CGI) as an innovative approach to improving creative writing skills among secondary school learners. Using a pre‑test–post‑test experimental design, the study involved 60 Grade 10 second‑language learners from a semi‑government boys’ school in Colombo. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental group, which completed six narrative writing tasks using CGI, and a control group, which completed the same tasks using traditional methods supported by still pictures during 2025. Convenience sampling was used based on participant accessibility. In addition to the writing tasks, student surveys and teacher interviews were conducted to gain deeper insight into learner engagement and instructional effectiveness. A paired sample t‑test revealed that students who used CGI demonstrated significantly greater improvements in writing performance compared to those taught through conventional visual support. Survey responses indicated that students found CGI‑based tasks engaging and helpful for generating ideas, while teacher feedback highlighted CGI’s potential to encourage student‑centered learning and creativity. Overall, the study suggests that computer‑generated imagery is a promising tool for enhancing creative writing among intermediate‑level learners. The findings highlight practical implications for educators, encouraging the integration of CGI into writing instruction to stimulate imagination, motivation, and meaningful narrative development.

Online Explicit Essay Structure Instruction and Sentence-Level Errors in Arabic EFL Writing

2026-02-19T05:27:09+00:00

This study investigates the effectiveness of explicit essay structure-instructional strategies (ESIS) in improving English sentence structure accuracy among Arabic-speaking English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Arabic speakers frequently encounter challenges in academic writing due to significant linguistic dissimilarities and First Language (L1) transfer. The research employed a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design involving 60 Arabic ESL students in an academic writing course. The intervention utilized a Genre-Based Approach (GBA) to provide a macro-level organizational blueprint for persuasive essays, combined with the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) to address micro-level syntactic errors. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews to explore learner perceptions. The findings indicated that the ESIS intervention led to a notable reduction in sentence-level errors. Learners reported that the structural scaffolding reduced cognitive load, allowing them to focus more effectively on grammatical precision. The study demonstrates that coupling macro-level structural guidance with micro-level instruction is an effective pedagogical model for mitigating L1-based writing errors. This approach suggests that improvements in sentence accuracy emerge most effectively when learners are provided with a clear organizational framework that assists in managing the complexities of English academic discourse.

Professional Development and English Curriculum Implementation: A Case Study of Primary Teachers in Bagha Upazila, Bangladesh

2025-12-19T05:57:17+00:00

This study forms part of a mixed-methods research, and this paper reports the qualitative findings only. The qualitative case study explores how professional development (PD) grounded in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) shaped the implementation of the English curriculum in primary schools across Bagha Upazila, Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. Data were collected in 2025 through semi-structured interviews with sixteen teachers from sixteen purposively selected rural schools and four focus group discussions involving thirty-five participants. Through a six-phase thematic analysis, five major themes emerged: limited and uneven professional development opportunities, difficulties in implementing CLT within crowded classrooms, lack of mentoring and structured follow-up, teachers’ strong motivation and self-driven learning initiatives, and practical suggestions from teachers for improvement. The implications of these findings are important in that, although teachers have a good understanding of CLT and a desire to innovate, professional development in rural Bangladesh remains disjointed, top-down, and unsustainable in classroom practice; thus, participatory and context-sensitive professional development involving the active engagement of teachers in planning and follow-up is key to improving professional agency, classroom performance, and equitable access to English education. The findings are particularly relevant for primary English teachers, teacher educators, professional development providers, and education policymakers involved in rural and low-resource contexts.

A Phenomenological Study on Adaptation of Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum in UAE

2026-03-05T08:58:24+00:00

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which was originally developed for a British context, is adapted and implemented within schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While considering the UAE’s diverse cultural and linguistic landscape, this research helps in addressing a critical gap in existing literature. Thus, a qualitative phenomenological research design was employed in the study. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews involving 25 participants and a few classroom observations, which includes EYFS teachers, curriculum coordinators, and policymakers from a few noteworthy British international schools in the UAE. The collected data were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s (2006). The findings seem to reveal several key themes that would most definitely influence the EYFS adaptation. The focus is on cultural adaptation of learning materials, language-related barriers, parental expectations, resource limitations, and finally the challenges in evaluating adapted resources. Educators are seen as frequently incorporating culturally relevant materials and applying strategies that would support the needs of a bilingual class to improve student engagement. The study sheds light on the importance of a well-structured evaluation framework and its application, the need for appropriate professional development opportunities for educators and the need for collaborative planning among shareholders to improve curriculum adaptation practices. The findings provide practical insights for the stakeholders seeking to strengthen the implementation of EYFS in multicultural educational contexts.

Online Communicative Language Teaching: A Case Study of Zoom-Based ESL Instruction in Myanmar

2026-02-18T05:00:48+00:00

This qualitative case study examines the enactment of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in an online English as a Second Language (ESL) lesson for adolescent learners in Myanmar. Primary data were collected in 2024 through the non-participant observation of a one-hour Zoom-based session within a volunteer-led English program operating amid ongoing political and educational disruption. The population comprised Myanmar adolescents engaged in remote English learning; using purposive sampling, one session involving two learners was selected for detailed analysis. Data collection relied on structured observational field notes documenting interactional patterns, teacher’s scaffolding strategies, affective behaviors, and technological interruptions. Secondary data were derived from scholarly literature on CLT, Second Language Acquisition (SLA), online pedagogy, and education in fragile contexts. Primary data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns of communicative engagement, negotiation of meaning, and contextual constraints. Findings indicate that open-ended questioning, scaffolded interaction, and meaning-focused tasks facilitated learner participation despite unstable connectivity and anxiety-related camera-off behavior. The study underscores the necessity of adaptive pedagogical strategies and low-bandwidth multimodal resources to sustain communicative competence development in crisis-affected online environments.

Utilizing Machine Learning for Behavioral Analysis in Educational Environments: A Study on Student Engagement and Classroom

2025-10-27T05:29:57+00:00

The quality of students’ learning experiences is closely linked to their level of interest, effective teaching practices, and a safe, supportive classroom environment. While skilled teachers can simplify challenging subjects and help students achieve academic success, learning outcomes remain limited when students are disengaged or unmotivated. For school administrators and education policymakers, understanding these classroom dynamics is essential, yet continuous observation of students and teachers is difficult, time‑consuming, and often subjective. Students’ facial expressions and body language offer important clues about their attention, emotions, and engagement. However, it is not realistic for teachers to consistently monitor these subtle cues while teaching. To address this challenge, this concept paper explores the use of machine learning to support behavioral analysis in both physical and online classroom settings. The proposed approach combines YOLO version 7 (You Only Look Once) to detect behaviors such as posture, gestures, and facial presence, with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to identify micro‑expressions associated with emotions including happiness, confusion, anger, and boredom. Data are drawn from CCTV recordings in physical classrooms and video recordings from online learning environments. As a concept paper, the empirical results are still in development. Nevertheless, the proposed framework is expected to offer teachers and school administrators clearer, more objective insights into student behavior. These insights may help schools improve learning environments, refine instructional strategies, and better understand whether student disengagement stems from digital device use, teaching methods, or unengaging learning materials.

The Effectiveness of Muddiest-Point Instructional Strategy on Pupils’ Performance in English Studies in Kaduna, Nigeria

2026-04-21T03:13:00+00:00

In Nigerian schools, the English language plays a pivotal role in all teaching and learning activities. It serves both as a medium of communication and a gateway to understanding other subjects. However, studies have shown that many pupils face challenges in mastering the language because of poor instructional strategies used by the teachers. This study assessed the impact of the Muddiest‑Point Instructional Strategy on learners’ achievement in English Studies in Kaduna, Nigeria. A quasi‑experimental design was employed for the research. From a population of 12,494 pupils, 250 were selected to participate through a multistage sampling procedure. Data was collected via the English Performance Test, which yielded r = 0.76. Analysis of Covariance was used to test three hypotheses at a 0.05 significance threshold. Findings indicated that the intervention markedly enhanced pupils’ English Studies results. A significant interaction emerged between the strategy and school type, while no interaction was observed between the strategy and gender. The paper recommends adopting the Muddiest‑Point Instructional Strategy to improve English proficiency. Curriculum developers are encouraged to embed it within instructional policies, and educators should be trained in its effective application. Also, inclusive methods must ensure gender equity, and implementation should consider differences across school types.