فراتحلیلی بر تحلیل محتوای کتاب مهارت های نوشتاری پایه اول ابتدایی بر مبنای مولفه های مهارت های زندگی

A meta-analysis on the analysis of the content of the first-grade writing skills book based on the components of life skills

Brzegar M.*[1]

Abstract:

Introduction: The present article was conducted with the aim of meta-analysis on the content analysis of the first-grade writing skills book based on the components of life skills, which is among meta-analysis researches.

Research Methods: The statistical population consisted of the researches conducted in the field of content analysis of elementary school writing skills textbooks in 1402-1401 based on the components of life skills. The sampling method was purposeful according to the nature and type of study. In order to analyze the data, descriptive statistics methods were used in the form of percentages and tables. Based on the findings, problem solving skills, empathy, and creative thinking have been emphasized more among the ten life skills in textbooks. All the studies reviewed have used the content analysis method. The society studied in most of the researches was the first grade, then the second to the sixth grade. The tool of all the researches was the checklist. The method of data analysis in all researches has included the use of frequency and percentage.

Results: Most of the researches have paid attention to the images and written text, and only one case has been satisfied with the images of the books. The shared features of the conducted researches are content emphasis on problem solving skills, empathy and creative thinking, research method (using the content analysis method), research tool (checklist) and data analysis method (using the statistical method of abundance and percent) and more attention has been paid to the images and text of the books.

Conclusion: The difference also included a slight emphasis on some components of life skills, including critical thinking skills, the studied society (different levels of education from the first to the sixth grade) and only paying attention to the pictures in the book in one case.

Keywords: content analysis, first grade of elementary school, Life Skills, Writing skills book

Received:2/May/2023                      Accepted: 29/May/ 2023

Introduction:

The primary period is the golden period and the window of opportunity for education. Because the childhood and elementary years are the foundation period of the child's personality and behavioral structure, the formation of intellectual, social and emotional development and human personality, and the development of basic and motor skills of the child. The four language skills (reading and writing, listening and speaking), counting and life skills are the main goals and the basis of education, especially in the primary period. Numerous researches confirm the importance of reading and writing skills in the primary period and experts emphasize that language and the four language abilities are key tools of communication and the basis of human activities, and the part that can Paying attention to the process of exchanging human thoughts, feelings, information and knowledge, deciphering unfamiliar words and texts, accessing the endless reserves of human experience, acquiring social skills and manners such as interacting with others, thanking and appreciating, listening to others. And thought transmission is done through them. In addition, language learning and reading and writing skills are the means of students' learning in various fields such as math, science, geography, history, etc., thinking and problem solving, developing children's skills and their academic ability. , or to put it more precisely, it is the key to all learning (1).

Primary education is the entry point for a long and important movement of learning and knowledge in children's lives (2). This period is considered the most important educational period in all education systems of the world, because the formation of personality and all-round development of a person is mostly done in this period. On the other hand, the elementary school is a life skills training course. Skills such as problem-solving ability, effective communication ability, interpersonal communication ability, decision-making ability, critical thinking ability, self-awareness ability, ability to deal with emotions, ability to deal with stress and the like are very important life skills. and are considered basic, these skills include a set of abilities that provide the basis for adaptation and positive and useful behavior. These abilities enable a person to accept the responsibility of his social role and effectively deal with requests, needs, expectations and daily problems, especially in interpersonal relationships, without harming himself and others (3).

Nowadays, writing in elementary school is considered as one of the most complex cognitive activities of students, and its teaching method requires special attention. Many psychological, cultural and sociological factors have an effect on learning a language in general and writing skills in particular (4).

Abbasi et al.'s findings (5) indicate the general weakness of secondary school graduates, whose roots should be sought in the primary school. In addition, one of the most important reasons for repeating the grade of lower grade students is their basic weakness in reading and writing and life skills. In other words, it can be said that although students currently go to school and learn to read and write during the curriculum; But this mostly includes the ability to read and transcribe, and students do not achieve the level of proficiency in the very important subject of reading and writing.

Also, the results of Iranian students in the international reading and writing test (PERLS) are also a confirmation of this situation. The reports of the National Center for Pearls Studies indicate that Iran's position in Pearls 2001 among 35 participating countries was 32nd, in Pearls 2006 among forty-five world educational systems, it was ranked 40th, and in Pearls 2011 among forty-five world educational systems, it was ranked 38th. And in April 2016, it was ranked 45th among fifty educational systems in the world, and also, the performance of female students in Iran was better than that of male students (6).

The current situation of the level of four language skills (reading and writing, listening and speaking) and the manners and life skills of primary school students is not suitable. Because the national evaluations of the reading and writing status of students in different courses indicate significant weaknesses in these fields. For example, Salisbili (7) in the research "Evaluation of the Persian curriculum of the first grade of elementary school at the level of the implemented curriculum", showed that there are significant challenges and shortcomings in terms of content characteristics, teaching methods, situations There is learning, evaluation of what has been learned, application of educational materials and resources, timing, place and space of education, and implementation platform. In terms of teaching handwriting and content, and the teaching method in bilingual areas, significant obstacles and shortcomings are evident in the Persian curriculum implemented in the first grade of elementary school. Also, learning manners and life skills in this period is considered the first clay of people's social life, and by learning them, one can expect a person to have a useful and constructive role in family and social life. Therefore, learning the language and language skills and manners and life skills can guarantee a person's academic and social future, and not learning it will cause the student's academic or social failure in the future (8, 9).

Having said that, many students lack the necessary skills and abilities to face life's problems, and traditional and conventional educations in the form of in-school learning have not been able to help them solve life's problems. do (10) The lack of emotional, psychological and social skills and abilities makes people vulnerable when facing issues and problems and exposes them to mental, social and behavioral disorders. Formal teaching of life skills to children, teenagers and other members of the society has been accepted due to their importance, and nowadays a part of the curricula of various educational levels is devoted to the teaching of this skill (11).

There are not many researches about the manners and skills of life in the primary period and the findings of these researches are also contradictory and show that it is a problem. The result of Yousefi and Samadi's research (12), titled "The success rate of the Islamic life skills and manners curriculum (Karamat plan) on students' problem solving skills" has shown that the success of the Islamic life skills and manners training program ( Dignity plan) on the acquisition of students' ability to solve problems, requires more growth and maturity (12).

A lso, Lee et al. (13), in research aimed at the effect of life skills training on depression and emotional regulation of primary school students in the form of an experimental work, concluded that life skills training for primary school students leads to the development of emotional regulation and Depression symptoms decrease among boys (not girls) (13). Reflecting on the above results shows that the country's primary education (preschool and primary school) is facing a very fundamental and effective problem. Of course, the education and primary education system was formed with the aim of facilitating the basic learning of students and is trying to achieve this goal, and all efforts to develop new curricula and new teaching-learning methods in this It is done straight. But such a problem needs special attention. Therefore, in the academic year of 1399-1400, the Deputy of Primary Education of the Ministry of Education decided to design a solution entitled "Reading School: Strengthening and promoting integrated, collaborative and school-oriented four language skills and manners and life skills" and execute The word "Khana" is the result of connecting first letters, words of reading, writing, and manners and life skills, and its purpose is to combine life skills (politeness, courage, and responsibility) with language skills. On the one hand, the results of the researches have shown the weakness of our students in different academic levels regarding language skills, and on the other hand, the elementary course is a golden period for paying attention to the development of language skills and social manners. Is. Therefore, it seems necessary to implement a plan that includes the development of both mentioned skills (9).

Writing skills: In linguistics, speech is before writing, because according to evidence, long before the invention of writing and its use, the only means of human communication was verbal or speech signs. In learning the language, first the child will master the speaking and listening skills, and then he will acquire the two skills of reading and writing in school. In the language learning process, writing skills are acquired later and more difficult than other skills. Therefore, few speakers of a language acquire the necessary skills in writing essays or articles. Many school and university graduates face problems in writing an official letter; It is even possible to find people who are not able to write an acceptable literary text among the graduates of Persian literature. The development of literacy is one of the important goals that have been emphasized in the fundamental change document in recent years. has taken. The fundamental transformation document has a set of goals, values and perspectives, and one of the value propositions raised in this document is related to strengthening language skills; Because language is the basis of learning and progress in society (14).

On the other hand, according to experts, one of the fields that can help a person in communicating effectively is the field of language and literature. This field, as one of the oldest fields, has been able to make a significant impact on people in the form of curricula. The four main skills of this field include: speaking, listening, reading and writing, which are the most important language skills (15). Countless social, cultural, physical, and psychological factors can affect writing or language learning in general. Among these factors are family-related factors, such as cultural and economic factors, parents' social class (16), the level of verbal and non-verbal communication in the family environment (17), educational factors related to family cohesion and the educational status of family members. Newman et al., 2013), psychological factors related to the child's personality and social factors related to interaction with peers and adults in the home and school environment (18, 19). Among the factor's affecting writing is the linguistic factor, which includes cognitive and physical conditions, mastering the muscles and having a model to imitate (20). are related Skills such as handwriting, spelling, composition or written expression are considered components of writing. Some studies show that there is an effective relationship between phonemic awareness and children's performance in writing and reading (21).

The necessity of paying attention to writing skills: writing is considered one of the most important skills in the elementary school and the foundation of this skill is formed in elementary school age, for this purpose, the school environment and teachers as the main influencers in education, can perform properly Help students improve their writing skills (22).

Gallor and Bruning believe that writing is also one of the fundamental processes of learning, whose scope is far beyond the introduction of educational methods, and it is the most important skill after reading. Writing is communicating and transmitting information and ideas through a system of written signs, and sentence formation is one of the important tools to strengthen writing skills. In the lower years, the sentences are short and informative, but in the higher years of the elementary school, it is expected that the student will increase his sentence making ability and make longer sentences. Writing plays an important role in people's social and cultural progress and continuing their education and acquiring information throughout their lives. Communication through writing is a prerequisite for success in school. Students with learning disabilities usually have a difficult time with writing assignments in school. Because they have problems in mastering the more mechanical aspects of written expression, such as spelling, handwriting and punctuation, as well as high essay writing skills (23).

Factors affecting writing skills: if the writing teaching methods are varied and practical, it is effective in creating and developing writing skills (24). In this context, the results of various researches in the field of grammar errors (25), lack of practice (26) and relational errors (27) show that linguistic factors can be considered as important influencing factors in creating writing errors. did

Learning writing skills is a complex and long process and is not only affected by linguistic factors that can include physical and cognitive conditions; Rather, individual, environmental and psychological factors also play an effective role in acquiring these skills (28). Environmental factors in the society where the child lives affect the language abilities and skills of these children at school age. Also, the family and the types of relationships between family members affect the language and communication skills of many children, although family factors are only one of the influencing factors. Various factors such as family relations, interpersonal relations and ethnic diversity have a great impact on shaping children's writing and speaking abilities and skills from a sociological point of view (28).

During their growth period, between the ages of 6 and 10, children receive a lot of stimulation directly or indirectly, which affects the growth and development of children's language and learning skills. In this active process, individual and psychological characteristics and the ability to interact with the environment and society are of particular importance. Between the ages of 6 and 10, children feel that they need information from other people, which is not limited to relationships with family members, but also seeks to interact with other people outside the family environment. For example, they are influenced by the attitudes, speech styles and vocabulary usage of friend groups and the school environment (29).

In the individual context, personality is usually reflected in daily behaviors. Since birth, humans have their own cognitive abilities and inherent characteristics in terms of personality, and in case of gaining experience and learning from the environment, the inherent characteristics develop. Family is the first learning environment that children experience and will be a solid foundation for forming language skills and basic learners (30). Children's speaking and writing skills can be directly observed and evaluated from the ability to speak and write in different situations, because it is possible to use different methods and styles for different situations and conflicts. Therefore, writing skill as a language skill that develops in all stages of a child's life, along with listening and speaking skills, is influenced by individual and environmental abilities (31).

Although external and environmental factors are components of the ability to write and speak, language and especially writing ability is not only influenced by external factors, but the internal and psychological characteristics of children also play an important role in it. Among them, various abilities of speaking, thinking and understanding that researchers have investigated many cases of these abilities (32).

Research results (33, 30) have shown that the influence of children's learning skills in the environment can create a foundation that is unique for the acquisition of children's speaking and writing skills in school.

Curious activities in interaction with the environment with the aim of creating cognitive stimulation can maximize the verbal and writing skills of children in primary age (34). Writing and reading skills are influenced by linguistic factors, environmental factors such as school and family, psychological and individual factors. Researches (35, 36) show that writing and speaking skills are influenced by complex factors, each of which has a special role in acquiring these skills.

Life skills are special skills that provide people with the possibility of a life with satisfaction. Ways of dealing with existing and emerging issues, coordination and adaptation to changes, how to communicate with others, pressures caused by environmental conditions, are examples of issues that are raised more and more in the new era. Therefore, life in such conditions requires its own special skills. The skills that can bring a person to live properly, that is, a healthy life with joy, peace, growth and efficiency (37). The skills that the World Health Organization has introduced for having a successful personal and social life:

Self-awareness skill, empathy skill, interpersonal relationship skill, effective communication skill, stress coping skill, emotion management skill, problem solving skill, decision making skill, creative thinking skill, critical thinking skill (38).

In the cultural and historical surveys of Iran, the importance of elementary school in the flourishing of students' talents and abilities is clearly evident. In the religious culture of the country, the elementary period is considered a very important period in terms of growth, education and personality formation of children. This period has also been called the period of obedience, discipline, creativity and emergence of general talents. This level of education is called elementary education, compulsory education, general education and general education. In some countries, teaching the aforementioned skills is considered a necessity for citizenship education. In the general goals of the education system of Iran, teaching of life skills has been emphasized directly or indirectly, however, this type of education has not been given much attention in practice. Anyway, the ineffectiveness of the primary school curriculum leads to the ineffectiveness and effectiveness of the primary education course. This causes the students of this level not to learn the necessary skills in different fields and not to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to enter the society (39).

In relation to the subject of analyzing the content of the first grade writing skills book based on the life skills components, various researches have been conducted, and in this research, some examples that are more relevant are mentioned.

Izan and Ahmadi Aliabadi in a study entitled "The effect of the implementation of the reform package of Khana School on the reading, writing, and life skills of elementary school students" showed that the students who received the reform package of Khana School In reading, writing, and life skills, compared to the group that did not receive the transformational package of Khana School, they scored higher; Therefore, it is better for teachers to use an integrated approach to strengthen language skills and life skills in different curricula (1).

Adib Menesh in research in 1400 showed that based on the studied sources for life skills in three parts of knowledge (4 main themes), ability (11 main themes) and attitude (7 main themes) and a total of 69 categories. Came. Also, the results showed that the current situation of life skills in elementary school is not suitable (40).

Ghorbani et al. (2019) in research with the aim of "examining the factors affecting the improvement of students' writing skills from the teachers' point of view. The research paper on teaching Persian language to non-Persian speakers" showed that factors such as environmental, linguistic, psychological and individual factors can be used in the educational system of the elementary school to improve students' writing skills (4). Roshni (2015) showed in his research that teachers believe more than average in the development of students' life skills through teaching life skills lessons in elementary school. The opinion of female teachers about the role of these trainings in the development of skills in students was better than the opinion of male teachers, but no significant difference was observed in terms of education and years of service (41). Navaei et al. (2014) showed in their research that in the 6th grade Persian textbook, attention has been paid to each of the indicators of problem-solving skill, empathy skill, emotion coping skill, stress coping skill, and effective relationship skill (42).

Vasiliva et al. (43) in research aimed at identifying factors affecting children's speaking and writing skills showed that the family environment and parents' attitudes towards literacy and knowledge acquisition have a direct effect on children's speaking and writing skills. Also, Hammerchets et al. (44) in research aimed at the relationship between parents' education level and children's skills found that there is a significant relationship between parents' education level and their socio-economic base with children's language skills.

Inumata et al. (45) in research titled investigating the relationship between children's cognitive abilities and their writing skills showed that there is a direct relationship between children's cognitive abilities and their writing skills. Tang (29) found in his research titled the effect of teachers' attitudes on students' language and writing skills that teachers' attitudes and beliefs about teaching language skills have a direct effect on children's writing skills.

By reviewing the research conducted in the field of content analysis of the book, it is observed that the writing skills of the first elementary level are based on the components of life skills, and it has not been comprehensively investigated; Considering the importance of writing skills as well as life skills in the acquisition of learning and growth of learners and the role of various factors in the acquisition of the mentioned skills and the lack of comprehensive research, it seems necessary to conduct research in this field, therefore, the present research It is designed to answer this question: What is the status of the research conducted in the field of content analysis of the first grade writing skills book based on the components of life skills in terms of content?

Research method:

The current research is among the meta-analytic researches. Humanities researchers use a method called meta-analysis to review the background of research topics and discover new relationships among a large number of researches that have already been done. Glass used the term meta-analysis for the first time to mean the statistical analysis of research results with the aim of combining the findings. In the meta-analysis method, the commonalities and differences of the conducted researches are given attention and importance. The statistical population consisted of the researches conducted in the field of content analysis of elementary school writing skills textbooks based on the components of life skills. The sampling method was purposeful according to the nature and type of study. In order to collect data in the current research, the method of library study and document study was used. By studying the books, articles and researches related to the research topic, the desired data was identified and collected, and the library method was also used to collect and compile the literature related to the research topic. In order to analyze the data, descriptive statistics methods were used in the form of percentages and tables.

Results:

At first, the content analysis of educational books was examined based on the components of life skills.

Table 1: Researches conducted in order to analyze the content of the first-grade writing skills book based on the components of life skills.

According to the information in Table 2, some researches have only paid attention to a limited number of components of life skills, and others have paid attention to all ten life skills. Some other researches have only paid attention to life skills in cognitive dimensions.

Table 2: Important components in the field of life skills (in terms of content)          

According to the information in Table 3, all the researches were conducted based on the content analysis method.

Table 3: Cognitive methodology (research method) of the conducted researches

According to the information in Table 4, the statistical population studied from the books to read and write was from the first to the sixth grade.

Table 4: Cognitive methodology (community and sample) of the conducted researches

According to the information in Table 5, all the conducted researches have used the checklist tool.

Table 5: Cognitive methodology (tools) of the conducted researches

According to the information in Table 6, all the researches used frequency and percentage in data analysis.

Table 6: Methodology (data analysis method) of the conducted researches

According to the information in Table 7, most of the researches have emphasized the written text and images, but one of these researches has only emphasized the images of the books.

Table 7: Researches conducted in the field of content analysis of the first-grade writing skills book based on the life skills components in terms of form

Question 4: What is the commonality and difference between the researches conducted in the field of content analysis of the first-grade writing skills book based on the components of life skills?

Table 8: Commonalities of the conducted researches

According to the information in the above table, the commonality of the researches is content emphasis on problem solving skills, empathy and creative thinking; Using the research method (using the content analysis method), using the research tool (checklist), using the data analysis method (using the statistical method of frequency and percentage) and paying more attention to the images and the written text of the book.

Table 9: Differences between the conducted researches

According to the information in the above table, the difference between the researches is the slight emphasis on some components of life skills, including critical thinking skills, the studied society (different levels of education from the first to the sixth grade) and only paying attention to the book images in one case.

Table 10: Components emphasized in the conducted research

Discussion and conclusion:

In response to the first question: Based on the findings of the current research, problem solving skills, empathy, and creative thinking have been given more attention among the ten life skills in the examined textbooks. On the other hand, in this regard, some researches have paid attention to some other skills such as critical thinking, which other researches have not paid attention to. Therefore, this problem can be a contradiction in the findings of the researches. In addition, in response to the second question: based on the findings of the current research regarding the research method, all the researches reviewed have used the content analysis method. The society studied in most of the researches was the first grade, then the second to the sixth grade. The tool used in all researches was a checklist. The method of data analysis in all researches has included the use of frequency and percentage. Also, in response to the third question: based on the findings of the current research, most of the researches have paid attention to the images and written text, and only one case has been satisfied with the images of the books.

Finally, in response to the fourth question: based on the findings obtained from the current research, the common features of the conducted research are content emphasis on problem solving skills, empathy and creative thinking, research method (using content analysis method), research tools (checklist) and the data analysis method (using the frequency and percentage statistical method) and paying more attention to the images and written text of the books. The difference also includes a slight emphasis on some components of life skills such as critical thinking skills, the studied society (different levels of education from the first to the sixth grade) and only paying attention to the book images in one case. It is worth mentioning that in some researches only some life skills have been emphasized and in others all life skills have been emphasized and some have only emphasized cognitive skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, critical thinking.

In this regard, many researches have been conducted, some of which have examined this topic from the perspective of the method of content analysis of textbooks. Some researches, including the research of Nawai et al. (42), have emphasized only five components of life skills. Some other researches have focused on all ten components of life skills, including Hashemi's research (46). Based on the findings of the current research, it can be acknowledged that some researches have presented conflicting results in order to pay attention to the components of life skills, so that some researches have acknowledged that the relevant textbooks cover all ten dimensions of skills. but others have only dealt with a few skills. Also, based on the cognitive methodology, all the researches under review have been included in the content analysis method based on the general purpose of the current research. On the other hand, the studied society of these researches has fluctuated from the first to the sixth grades, and most of the researches were in the first grade. The tool of all these researches was the checklist and the method of data analysis was the use of frequency and percentage, which showed the similarity of the researches in terms of cognitive methodology. On the other hand, most researches have paid attention to the visual and written components of books, and only one of these cases has been limited to images.

Research limitations:

- The current research has been conducted for the first-grade writing skills textbooks, so it has subject limitations.

- The current research tool (checklist) can be one of the other limitations of the current research due to its subjective nature.

- The present research method was meta-analysis and it has the limitations of meta-analysis methods.

Practical suggestions:

- According to the findings of the present research, it is suggested to pay attention to life skills in all aspects, including the written text as well as the pictures, in the books under review.

- According to the findings of the current research, it is suggested that in the reviewed books, all the components of life skills, including (self-awareness, empathy, effective relationships, interpersonal relationships, decision-making, problem solving, creative thinking) , critical thinking and the ability to deal with stress and face emotions) should be taken into consideration and the investigated components should not be limited to a limited number of life skills.

- According to the findings of the present research, it is suggested to compare the amount of attention given to the ten life skills in the pictures and in the written text in terms of quantity and emphasized components in the reviewed books.

- According to the findings of the current research, it is suggested that in the reviewed books, the amount of attention paid to the ten life skills in the written text in terms of quantity and emphasized components by using statistical tests such as chi-square (to the purpose of checking the observed frequency with the expected frequency) should also be noted.

- According to the findings of the present research, it is suggested that the amount of attention paid to ten life skills be investigated in the reviewed books by using different measurement tools.

[1] - Senior expert in the field of educational planning, Department of Educational Sciences, Roudhen branch, Islamic Azad University, Roudhen. Iran

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