BULGARIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION POLICY (BJSEP) ISSN (print) 1313-1958 ISSN (online) 1313-9118 (University of Sofia)

Editor: B.V. Toshev

Abstracting/Indexing: Index Copernicus (IC(2010)=4,23); EBSCO databases; NewJour databases; DOAJ; Education Research Global Observatory; Harzing's Publish or Perish; Scientific Commons; Socolar databases; Ulrich's (Global Serials Directory); BASE
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ToC: Bulgarian J. Science & Education Policy, Volume 5, Number 1, 2011
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http://bjsep.org/index.php?page=11&volume_id=5&issue_id=2
 
E. Ahmetoglu, R. Ceylan. A Study on the Views of Mothers of Preschool Children about Children's Books (p. 5)
References: 15

This study was conducted to examine the views of mothers of preschool children about children’s books. It was conducted on 512 mothers with male and female children who were attending public and private preschools located in the center of Edirne and affiliated with the Ministry of Education. Data were collected with a “Questionnaire Form” developed by the researchers. It comprised two parts. The first one included questions about children and their family members, while the second one included questions about mothers’ views on children’s books. Data were entered into SPSS 11.0 and analyzed through percentages. The results showed that 96% of the mothers in the sample bought books for their children at least several times every month, and that 61% preferred to buy illustrated storybooks, 20% preferred tales, 3% preferred magazines, and 16% preferred to buy more than one type of book. It was also found that 89% of the mothers read books for their children at least several times every month, and that 69% made their children browse the illustrations and answer questions about the book, asked them to summarize the contents or explained unknown words after reading.

J.O. Oni. Civil Servants' Perception on Service Delivery of Private and Public Elementary Schools in Ogun State, Nigeria (p. 15)
Notes: 5; References: 9

This study examines civil servants’ perception on service delivery of private and public elementary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. It employed descriptive design of survey type. Purposeful stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 600 respondents among teachers, medical practitioners and local government employees from four out of the state’s twenty local government councils. Four (two in one) hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 significant level. Self-developed questionnaire was used to generate data and student t-test (independent) statistical tool employed for the analysis. The findings revealed, among other things, that gender, age and social-economic status had no significant influence on the perception of civil servants on the service delivery of public and private elementary schools. Level of education, however, significantly influenced civil servants’ perception on the service delivery of private elementary schools, whereas it did not affect their perception on service delivery of public elementary schools. Private schools were perceived to be better in the measured indices of service delivery. Government was advised to ensure adequate provision of resources in public schools and thorough supervision of public and private schools so that whichever a parent sends his children will be a matter of choice.

E.N. Etuk, G.K. Etuk, E. Etudor-Eyo, J. Samuel. Constructivist Instructional Strategy and Pupils' Achievement and Attitude Towards Primary Science (p. 30)
Notes: 2; References: 15

The study investigated a constructivist instructional strategy and pupils’ achievement in and attitude towards primary science. The population was 650 Basic-5 pupils in 21 public primary schools in Western Senatorial District of Rivers State, Nigeria. The sample of 180 pupils was drawn from four intact classes from four schools in the area. Primary Science Achievement Test (PAST) and Primary Science Attitude Scale (PSAS) were the instruments used for the study. Test-retest reliability coefficient and Cronbach alpha 21 reliability was 0.82 for PSAT and 0.85 for PSAS, respectively. Four research questions and four corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multiple classification analysis (MCA) were used in analyzing the data. Results showed that the constructivist strategy was more effective than expository strategy in facilitating pupils’ achievement in and attitude towards primary science. Pupils’ from urban schools performed significantly better than pupils from rural schools under each of the two methods. The researchers advocated for the use of constructivist strategy by primary science teachers among their recommendations.

R. Ergul, Y. Simsekli, S. Calis, Z. Ozdilek, S. Gocmencelebi, M. Sanli. The Effect of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching on Elementary School Students' Science Process Skills and Science Attitudes (p. 48)
Notes: 6; References: 34

The purpose of this study was to determine Turkish elementary school students’ level of success on science process skills and science attitudes and if there were statistically significant differences in their success degree and science attitudes depending to their grade level and teaching method. The total 241 students comprised of 122 males, 119 females. For this purpose, a pretest-post test control group and experimental group design was used. The data were collected through using Basic Science Process Skill Test and Integrated Science Process Skill Test and Science Attitude Scale. Study was conducted during the two semesters. Results of the study showed that use of inquiry based teaching methods significantly enhances students’ science process skills and attitudes.

V.A. Vernigorova. Using Internet Technologies in Legal Practices and Studies in Russia (p. 69)
Notes: 3; References: 3

This paper is devoted to the agenda of using computer and Internet technologies in legal practices and studies in Russia. Despite the obvious necessity for professionals to learn English, many graduates in Russia still demonstrate a very poor command of this universal language. And it has become quite impossible for a lawyer (or for any other specialist) to work effectively without using the Internet and for a student – to study and to practice a foreign language.

B.V. Toshev. Status and Problems of the Bulgarian Science Fund (1990-2011) [In Bulgarian] (p. 76)
Notes: 6; References: 3
http://bjsep.org/getfile.php?id=90

The article describes the establishment and development of the Bulgarian Science Fund (1990-2011). In this development three main periods could be recognized. In the first stage research projects in the basic scientific areas were financed in a modest way. The second stage was marked by the Act for research promotion in Bulgaria (2003). A criticism of that law is presented. In 2008 and 2009 the Fund had an increased budget but poor practices compromised the implementation of the announced competitive sessions. The reasons for failure are analyzed.

P.A. Reddy, D.U. Devi, E.M. Reddy. A Study of the Vocational Education Preferences and Interests of the Indian Undergraduate Students (p. 94)
Notes: 5; References: 6

The study identifies the priorities of vocational educational courses and interests of the Indian undergraduate students. The study was conducted in S.V. University area covering 300 undergraduate students of Arts, Commerce and Science streams. The study identified the more prominent, prominent and less prominent vocational educational courses. Further, studies the association between vocational education interests and the background of the students (sex, caste, stream of study, year of study and area). The difference between various groups of students belonging to above groups in their vocational education interests of the undergraduate students was also identified. The study provided a suggestive list of vocational educational courses for undergraduate students for enhancing their employability.

B.V. Toshev. Academic Position "Professor in Theoretical Chemistry" at the Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Sofia: Doc. Dr. Alya Tadjer [In Bulgarian] (p. 115)
Notes: 1; References: 9
http://bjsep.org/getfile.php?id=92

This is a review of the teaching and research activity of Dr. Alya Vitali Tadjer who applies for the academic position “Professor in Theoretical Chemistry” at the Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Sofia.

B.V. Toshev. Higher Education of the Communist Bulgaria: Review (Boyadjieva, 2010) [In Bulgarian] (p. 125)
Notes: 3; References: 7
http://bjsep.org/getfile.php?id=93