Online education is a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Gathering data online during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines the response, readiness and challenges of on...

The higher education sector globally has gone through a transition because of the coronavirus outbreak, and as a result, many traditional higher education institutions across the globe have been forced to go online to provide education and arrange assessments so that their students could continue their education and complete their courses. Unlike developed countries, at the beginning of the lockdown, most of the higher education institutions in Bangladesh shut down their operations, and a few universities started moving toward online distance teaching and learning activities. Based on an empirical study, this article discusses the challenges of teaching and learning in higher education in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 lockdown. It also identifies good practices to overcome those challenges. An online survey was conducted to collect data from university teachers throughout the country. Findings from this study show that it was a great challenge for most universities to adopt online teaching and learning models at the beginning of the pandemic. Many factors, such as preparedness, limited resources including financial means, low digital literacy, internet connectivity and suitable physical and virtual infrastructure affected this transition. However, the findings also show that the COVID-19 pandemic created new opportunities for educators and practitioners to explore various professional development activities by trying out different digital pedagogies through practice and reflection. This article also highlights the immediate effect and long-term impact on teaching and learning regarding preparedness for future approaches to education in emergencies.

This article systematically reviews empirical studies involving scientific literacy published in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on the construction of scientific literacy in formal education worldwide, the suggested ways of adopting scientific literacy in the early years, and the current practices and future possibilities for scientific literacy research in the early years. From searching three databases between 2001 and 2022, including EBSCOhost (Education), ERIC, and Web of Science, as well as additional sources, 79 articles out of 857 were selected for final analysis. Most of them covered primary, secondary and higher education and were dominated by quantitative methods. The selected studies mainly investigated scientific literacy topics related to the effect of programs/projects, assessing the scientific literacy level, teaching–learning and classroom practices, and teachers’ views. Some gaps were identified in line with adopting scientific literacy in the early years: less of a focus on early years, play-based activities, intentionality and cultural context; a missing link regarding continuity from one level to another; an underrepresentation of theoretical aspects and children’s perspectives; and less concentration on addressing policy, exploring parental views, and identifying factors for making scientific literacy sustainable. This review recommends conducting studies in these areas to explore scientific literacy in the early years.

Children’s scientific literacy development in the early years helps them progress their science concept knowledge by relating and applying it in play activities. Studies have addressed several areas of scientific literacy in the early years; however, understanding the process of this development through play and intentionality is a significant knowledge gap. This article aims to explore how children develop their scientific literacy through their science play experiences with the help of educators’ intentionality. Using qualitative research methodology, this study collected more than seven hours of digital video data from three science play experiences from a preschool. In addition, data were collected from a professional development session and informal discussions with educators to explore their pedagogical reflections. The findings illustrated a three-stage continuum of promoting children’s scientific literacy: planning, play-based action and production phases, and pedagogical reflection. The study recommends continuing interrelated and interconnected science play activities to progress children’s higher learning development and scientific literacy in their early years.

Tests or examinations are an essential part of education, creating test anxiety among students. Several studies identified a negative correlation between test anxiety and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students’ academic performance in higher education, and female students in STEM subjects showed more test anxiety before and during an examination. Studies also identified that STEM students could pay less attention to their examinations due to test anxiety. Such evidence in the context of Bangladeshi universities is yet to be understood. This study investigated the level of test anxiety among Bangladeshi university students of STEM subjects, including gender differences and the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance. We considered the quantitative research design to understand the status of test anxiety among undergraduate STEM students. A survey was conducted online from two STEM departments of a private university in Bangladesh using the shorter version of the CAEX test anxiety instrument, and a total of 246 undergraduate students participated. The findings show that Bangladeshi undergraduate STEM students generally felt slight anxiety during or before the examination. Female students were more anxious before or during a test than male students, and no significant relationship was found between test anxiety and academic achievement. The study reflects the need to conduct further research to understand the physiological, cognitive, and psychological factors leading to test anxiety among university students, as well as establishes a demand to identify the reasons behind having no relationship between test anxiety and students’ academic performance.