JEES: Journal of Education and Educational Sciences

Exploring the Antecedents and Consequences of Challenging Behavior in Learners with Down syndrome: an Intervention for Teachers on Functional Behavior Assessment at Deborah Academy

2026-05-15T06:44:49+07:00

The purpose of this study was to evaluate functional behavior assessment (FBA) training for teachers on teaching children with Down syndrome who present challenging behaviors at Deborah Academy of Ethiopia. The intervention consisted of a two-week training program to diagnose this behavior and apply interventions. Results indicated considerable improvement in teachers’ levels of confidence and competence in handling difficult behaviors. Teachers reported having more access to information about why students acted out and could deliver better interventions sin response. The other results were observed: disruptive issues were reduced and a positive classroom climate. FBA training can offer useful materials to educators with students who display challenging behaviors such as Down syndrome students. It allows teachers to learn systematically as a result of the method, which is good for both student and teacher.

Mathematics and Language Self-Efficacy, Reading Interest, and Bullying as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Formal and Nonformal Education

2026-07-08T09:33:36+07:00

Although mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, and bullying have individually been linked to academic achievement, their combined and domain-specific associations with Indonesian Language and Mathematics achievement across formal and nonformal education remain insufficiently understood. This study examined the relationships among mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, bullying, gender, educational unit type, and achievement in both subjects. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design involved 241 Grade IV students from formal and nonformal educational units in Cirebon, Indonesia. Data were obtained through questionnaires assessing the four psychosocial constructs and documented academic scores. SmartPLS was used solely to evaluate convergent validity and internal consistency, while the General Linear Model Multivariate procedure was used for hypothesis testing. Mathematics self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, reading interest, bullying, and educational unit type were significantly associated with the combined academic outcomes, whereas gender was not. Mathematics self-efficacy was specifically associated with Mathematics achievement, while language self-efficacy was specifically associated with Indonesian Language achievement. Reading interest was positively associated with both subjects, whereas bullying was negatively associated with both. These findings suggest that academic achievement is related to domain-specific confidence, reading engagement, social experiences, and educational context. The study supports targeted interventions that strengthen subject-specific self-efficacy, promote reading across subjects, and prevent bullying through scaffolded learning tasks, cross-curricular reading activities, and structured school-based prevention protocols in both formal and nonformal settings.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Elementary School Student’s Percevied Teacher Trust Behavior Scale

2026-07-08T10:05:28+07:00

Students' perceptions of trust behaviors are associated with learning engagement, academic motivation, and positive classroom behavior. The availability of evidence on psychometric quality and structural stability of this scale in a wide range of samples is limited. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of PTTBS in elementary school students. A quantitative cross- sectional design was employed involving 340 participants. Data were collected using PTTBS, which comprises four dimensions: emotional support, moral recognition, academic support, and competence recognition. Psychometric evaluation was carried out by Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using SmartPLS 4. The findings supported the four-dimensional structure of this instrument. In addition, the results show satisfactory reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, as well as model fit, indicating that the items maintained adequately represent each construct. These results suggest that PTTBS is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring elementary school students’ perceptions of teacher trust behavior. This research strengthens the construction of PTTBS in the context of elementary schools in Indonesia and makes an empirical contribution to the use of PTTBS in educational research.

Learning Motivation and Self-Directed Learning as Mediators of Academic Resilience on Well-Being: A PLS-SEM Analysis

2026-07-08T09:42:57+07:00

This study was conducted to examine the effects of academic resilience and learning motivation, self-directed learning, and academic well-being as mediators of learning motivation and self-directed learning. A cross-sectional research design utilized a sample of 240 students from an elementary school in Indonesia. After the data was collected through structured observation tools, SmartPLS 3 was used to analyze the data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that academic resilience has a significant effect on self-directed learning and learning motivation, but it doesn't directly impact students' academic well-being. In addition, self-directed learning and learning motivation significantly predict academic well-being. However, the mediation analysis shows that this variability partly acts as a mediator in the relationship between academic resilience and students' academic well-being. The results show that just boosting resilience isn't enough to improve academic health if it's not accompanied by greater learning motivation and self-directed teaching. By providing an integrated model that explains how academic well-being affects the academic resilience of elementary school students in Indonesia, this study helps educational psychology. In addition, it also offers practical advice on how to create school interventions that support students' academic achievement and overall well-being.

Interpersonal Relationships and Academic Performance: Discriminant Analysis and ANOVA of Elementary School Students

2026-07-08T09:43:45+07:00

Although academic achievement and interpersonal relationships are recognized as closely related components of elementary education, limited evidence has examined these relationships simultaneously among young Indonesian students. This study investigated whether relationships with parents, teachers, and peers differentiated levels of academic achievement among elementary school students. A total of 240 fourth- and fifth-grade students were classified into three achievement groups based on report card scores: adequate (<80, n = 89), remarkable (80–84.9, n = 83), and exceptional (≥85, n = 68). Interpersonal relationships were measured using a 21-item Likert-scale questionnaire ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, one-way ANOVA, canonical discriminant analysis, and multinomial logistic regression in SPSS and SmartPLS 4. The results showed no significant differences among achievement groups in parent relationships, F (2, 237) = 0.38, p = .684, ηp² = .003. Peer relationships showed a non-significant tendency, F (2, 237) = 2.53, p = .082, ηp² = .021. In contrast, teacher relationships differed significantly across achievement levels, F (2, 237) = 3.33, p = .038, ηp² = .027. Canonical discriminant analysis further indicated that the three relationship dimensions jointly differentiated the achievement groups, Wilks’ λ = .940, p = .023. Overall classification accuracy reached 43.8%, with the highest accuracy obtained for the exceptional-achievement group. These findings provide comparative evidence that teacher-student relationships are the strongest and most consistent interpersonal differentiator of academic achievement, while parent and peer relationships show weaker distinctions across achievement levels.