CHAPTER 4: RESULT
4.1 Current Trend of KB Studies
This chapter presents the findings collected from 56 selected KB studies that met the selection criteria mentioned earlier in this study. Descriptive analysis was adopted to illustrate findings with research questions respectively.
4.1 Current Trend of KB Studies
4.1.1 Patterns of Countries Where KB Studies Were Conducted
Table 4-1 shows that all 12 countries that conducted KB studies maintained active contribution to the journals over the past 16 years. Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan were among the top four countries, while Italy, Japan, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Mainland China, Mexico, and the United States showed an emergent interest in KB pedagogy.
Based on the data collected, study ID559a was conducted with a cohort of graduate students from Canada and Hong Kong in 2007. Hence, the total of KB studies countries equaled n =57.
Among these countries, 53% were Eastern countries (n = 30) and 47% were Western countries (n = 27), which are shown in Figure 4-1.
Table 4-1
Ranking of Countries and Distribution Frequencies in Three Time Periods Time period
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Figure 4-1 KB Studies Countries
Figure 4-2 shows that there was an upward trend for both Eastern countries and Western countries in the number of KB studies conducted over the three time periods. However, the number of KB studies conducted in Eastern countries is higher than Western countries between 2006 and 2016.
Figure 4-2 Trend of KB Studies Between Eastern and Western Countries in Three Time Periods
To explore the findings above, this study analyzed the trend of KB studies among 12 countries over three time periods. Figure 4-3 shows that with the exception of Australia,
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Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Turkey, and United States, all the other countries showed an upward trend in the number of KB studies between 2001 and 2016.
Among these countries, Italy showed a transition from 0 to 5 in number of KB studies after the year 2011. Mainland China and Mexico also showed a transition from 0 to 1 in number of KB studies after 2011. Taiwan presented a rapid growth from 1 to 6 in the number of KB studies after 2011.
On the other hand, Figure 4-3 shows a surprising finding that Canada (n = 10) has the highest number of KB studies among all countries between 2006 and 2010. Although Canada shows a downward trend in the number of KB studies after the year 2011, the country that conducted the most KB studies was Canada (n = 16) over the three time periods. Another finding revealed that Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Turkey had sustained the number of KB studies between 2006 and 2016.
Figure 4-3 Trend of KB Studies Among Countries Over Three Time Periods
4.1.2 Education Levels of KB Studies Participants
As the data shows, study ID339 was conducted using Grade 7-9 and Grade 10-12 participants. Hence, the total participants of KB studies equaled n = 57. Table 4-2 illustrates
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that 36.84% of KB studies engaged Grade 1-6 participants (n = 21), followed by 28.07%
involving undergraduate (n = 16) and 10.53% involving Grade 10-12 participants (n = 6). In contrast to the three educational levels stated above, 3.51% of KB studies engaged preschool (n = 2), Grade 7-9 (n = 2), graduate (n = 2) and postgraduate participants (n = 2) respectively.
Table 4-2
Percentage of Education Levels of Participants and Distribution Frequencies in Three Time Periods
Time period
Education level 2001-
2005
To explore the above findings, we had analyzed the trend of KB studies among eight educational levels over three time periods. Figure 4-4 shows that the number of KB studies that engaged Grade 7-9 and undergraduate participants showed an upward trend between 2006 and 2016. Grade 7-9 participants showed a transition from 0 to 2 in number of KB studies after the year 2011. Undergraduate participants presented a rapid growth from 3 to 12 in the number of KB studies after 2011.
On the other hand, Figure 4-4 shows a finding that the number of KB studies that
engaged Grade 1-6 participants (n = 13) was the highest between 2006 and 2010. Despite that the number of KB studies that engaged Grade 1-6 participants showed a downward trend after the year 2011, the most KB studies involved engaging in Grade 1-6 participants (n = 21) over three time periods. Another finding revealed that number of KB studies that involved preschool, Grade 10-12, and postgraduate participants was sustained between 2006 and 2016.
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Figure 4-4 Trend of KB Studies Among Educational Levels Over Three Time Periods
Figure 4-5 shows that most KB studies conducted in Eastern countries engaged Grade 10-12 and undergraduates as participants. In contrast, most of the KB studies conducted in Western countries engaged Grade 1-6 students as participants.
Figure 4-5 Comparison of Eastern Countries and Western Countries in Educational Levels
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To look into participants’ identities in KB studies, Figure 4-6 shows that 67% were learners (n =37) and 33% were teachers (n =18). To explore the finding above, we analyzed the trend of KB studies among participants’ identities over three time periods. Figure 4-7 showed an upward trend for both learners and teachers over the three time periods. However, between 2006 and 2016 the number of KB studies that engaged learners was higher than those with teachers.
Figure 4-6 Participants’ Identities Engaged in KB Studies
Figure 4-7 Trend of KB Studies Among Participants’ Identities Over Three Time Periods
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Table 4-3 illustrates that 78% of KB studies in Eastern countries engaged teachers (n = 14), while only 22% of KB studies in Western countries engaged teachers (n = 4). To explore this finding, this study analyzed the trend of KB studies that engaged teachers from Eastern countries and from Western countries over three time periods. Figure 4-8 shows that the number of KB studies that engaged both teachers from Eastern countries and teachers from Western countries was sustained between 2006 and 2016. However, the number of KB
studies that engaged teachers in Eastern countries was higher than those involving teachers in Western countries between 2006 and 2016.
Table 4-3
Percentage of Participants’ Identities of Teachers in Eastern and Western Countries and Distribution Frequencies in Three Time Periods
Time period
Country 2001-
2005
2006- 2010
2011- 2016
Total (%)
Eastern 0 7 7 14 (78.00)
Western 0 2 2 4 (22.00)
Figure 4-8 Trend of KB Studies Between Eastern Countries Teachers and Western Countries Teachers Over Three Time Periods
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4.1.3 Subject Domains of KB Studies
The results in Table 4-4 indicate a preference by KB studies researchers. 30.14% of KB studies were related to Science (n = 22), followed by 17.81% that were related to Technology (n = 13), 16.44% were related to Pedagogy (n = 12), 12.33% were related to History (n = 9) and 5.48% were related to Mathematics (n = 4).
Table 4-4
Percentage of Subject Domains and Distribution Frequencies in Three Time Periods Time period
Subject domain 2001-
2005
To explore the above findings, this study analyzed the trend of KB studies related to 12 subject domains over three time periods. Figure 4-9 shows that except for the subjects of Design, History, Language, Science, and Technology, the number of KB studies for the other subject domains showed an upward trend between 2006 and 2016. Mathematics showed a transition from 1 to 3 in number of KB studies after the year 2011. Pedagogy showed a transition from 4 to 7 in the number of KB studies after the year 2011. English and
Geography showed a transition from 1 to 2 in the number of KB studies after 2011. Chinese and Visual Art showed a transition from 0 to 1 in the number of KB studies after 2011.
On the other hand, Figure 4-9 shows a surprising finding that the number of KB studies that related to Science (n = 12) was the highest between 2006 and 2010. Although the number
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of KB studies in Science showed a downward trend after the year 2011, most of the KB studies were conducted in Science (n = 22) over three time periods. The same condition was found in the number of KB studies using Technology. Another finding revealed that the number of KB studies with Design was sustained between 2006and 2016.
Figure 4-9 Trend of KB Studies Among Subject Domains Over Three Time Periods
Figure 4-10 shows that most of the KB studies conducted in Eastern countries were related to Technology. In contrast to the Eastern countries, most of the KB studies conducted in Western countries were related to History and Science.
Figure 4-10 Comparison of Eastern Countries and Western Countries in Subject Domains
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In summary, the number of KB studies conducted in the Eastern countries was slightly higher than that those in the Western countries over the past 16 years. However, the top country for conducting KB studies was Canada, which provided an important discussion clue for the next chapter. Another finding revealed that most of the KB studies engaged Grade 1-6 participants in the subject domain of Science. Further explanations will be discussed in the next chapter.
4.2 Patterns of Research Designs and Analysis Methods