Background The aim of this study is to validate the Arabic version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS), and to investigate the extent of its invariance across five Arab countries and gender. Methods A back-translated version of the BPNSFS, the second version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) were administered to a sample consisting of 1082 undergraduate students affiliated with universities in five Arab countries (487 males and 595 females: Mage = 20.04 ± 1.87 years). The data of the BPNSFS were examined for univariate and multivariate normality using Shapiro–Wilk tests and Mardia’s coefficient, respectively. To evaluate and compare the four models with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we used the following goodness-of-fit indices: the chi-square value (χ2), comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), Root Mean-Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and Baysian Information Criterion (BIC). A multi-group CFA [Byrne in Structural equation modeling with EQS: basic concepts, applications, and programming, Routledge, Abingdon, 2013] on the BPNSFS structure to examine its invariance across the five Arab countries and across genders. Results The results of confirmatory factor analysis supported the generalizability of the BPNSFS’s six-factor model to the five Arab countries. The relationships between the six psychological needs satisfaction and frustrations and both mental health and symptoms of depression provide additional evidence on the construct validity of the BPNSFS through cross cultural data. The findings of BPNSFS’s measurement invariance across males and females and across the five Arab countries help ensure that the latent means are comparable across these different groups. Conclusions The study concluded that the Arabic version of the BPNSFS which measures satisfaction and frustration of the three basic needs (autonomy, competency, and relatedness) is proved to be invariant across the five Arab countries and gender and can be used to compare the basic psychological needs in the Arab context.

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This paper is part of a larger cross-sectional, phenomenological study that examined pre-service teachers' belief of the competencies they possess to teach socially sensitive issues at secondary level in Trinidad and Tobago. Purposive sampling resulted in 39 pre-service social studies teachers (Years 2 to 4) who were exposed to a methodology course in a social studies specialisation programme and nine social studies lecturers, at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. The study is located in the mixed methods paradigm, with a quan/QUAL design. This paper represents discussions and findings from two questionnaires and four focus groups analysed through the IBM SPSS Statistics 22 software for the quantitative analysis and content and micro-interlocutor analyses for the qualitative analysis. The findings show that pre-service teachers believe they have the competencies to teach socially sensitive issues; yet they had not obtained these from the designated methodology course. Further that both contextual and personal factors affect the teaching of socially sensitive issues. Six themes, with accompanying competencies emerge from the data and frame affective teaching of socially sensitive issues. Arising out of the findings, the author developed a competency-based framework that has implications for curriculum development and transformational pedagogy.

The study aims at identifying the acquisition level of instructional competences by Omani physical education teachers. It also attempts to identify any statistical differences between them due to gender, experience, and the educational region. Moreover, the study examines the relationship between acquisition level of instructional competencies and reasons for opting for physical education as a teaching profession. The sample of the study comprises of 142 male and 168 female physical education teachers. The results of the data obtained via a questionnaire indicate that the acquiring level of instructional competencies range between low, medium and high. Furthermore, there are no significant differences among the respondents due to gender and educational region whereas there are significant differences among them attributed to experience. The most frequently expressed reasons behind career choice were love of sports, low marks in the secondary school diploma, and passion towards teaching as a profession. Finally, the results suggested that there are no significant differences between teachers' acquired level of instructional competencies and reasons for choosing the physical education teaching as a profession.

The purpose of this study was to investigate Omani physical education teachers‟ (pre -service and in-service) beliefs about the characteristics and roles of physical education teachers in Omani schools. Interviews were used to achieve this purpose by interviewing 29 participants: 12 student teachers and 17 teachers. Data were analysed qualitatively by using analytic induction and interpretive analytic framework. Qualitative results show that student teachers and teachers have similar beliefs about the general and professional characteristics of a physical education teacher. Between 70% and 95% of participants believed that the essential general characteristics of physical education teachers are: having a strong personality, being an ideal model for students, having patience and tolerance, and communicating effectively with students. Also, similar beliefs were found among the participants regarding the professional characteristics. They believed that a successful physical education teacher is one who has conviction about his profession, and who is always physically fit in order to be able to manage all of the profession‟s requirements in or out of school. Results also indicated that student teachers believed in traditional roles of the teacher who is more concerned about giving knowledge to students, while experienced teachers believe in progressiv teaching roles of the teacher who facilitates students‟ learning. All the results are discussed in relation to the physical education context in Oman.