Inclusive Education through Digital Comic Creation in Higher Learning Environments

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is article is a detailed and organised presentation of the researchers useful study of digital comic creation for inclusive education in higher education learning environments. This is novel research contemplating whether teacher candidates “embrace and advocate for inclusive educational practices in their future careers”. However, as the study is only of the candidates during the course of their study. The research cannot truly ascertain if candidates maintained such advocacy upon commencing in the profession. (This could be a follow up study).

 

General concept comments:

4.2 Instruments and procedure identifies the use of SPSS, but once the data is later represented in Tables 2, 4, 5 provide Means and Standard Deviations. The descriptions of the data in the tables re-iterates the table data. There does not seem to be specific statistical analysis method identified.

 

Table 6 QDA Miner analysis, is there an example or definition of the coding approach used and how the coding words were identified. For example, was this automatic coding using synonyms?

 

 

Specific comments:

P2 line 51 to-wards – towards

P11 lines

382 Lee and Kim (2020) not in reference list

385 Johnson and Smith (2018) not in reference list

Author Response

Reviewer 1

1. R: This is article is a detailed and organised presentation of the researchers useful study of digital comic creation for inclusive education in higher education learning environments. This is novel research contemplating whether teacher candidates “embrace and advocate for inclusive educational practices in their future careers”. However, as the study is only of the candidates during the course of their study. The research cannot truly ascertain if candidates maintained such advocacy upon commencing in the profession. (This could be a follow up study).

A: Thank you for your comment. You're right that this research, focusing on pre-service teachers, cannot definitively ascertain whether these candidates maintained their advocacy for inclusive educational practices upon entering the profession. It would be valuable to explore this aspect further in a longitudinal study tracking the implementation of these practices by in-service teachers. Your suggestion has been incorporated into the "further research" section of the article as follows.

‘It would be valuable to conduct a longitudinal study with the pre-service teachers upon entering the profession to investigate whether they continue to advocate for inclusive educational practices and integrate digital comic creation into their teaching methodologies.’

 

General concept comments:

2. R: 4.2 Instruments and procedure identifies the use of SPSS, but once the data is later represented in Tables 2, 4, 5 provide Means and Standard Deviations. The descriptions of the data in the tables re-iterates the table data. There does not seem to be specific statistical analysis method identified.

• A: Thank you for the recommendation. The data representation has been revised; the tables now include both pre- and post-test scores to reflect participants' perceptions of digital comic strips in inclusive education. Initially, only the post-test results were presented. The entire section has been restructured to incorporate these pre-post test scores and to discuss the implications of the findings. Additionally, Table 6 has been added to display the results of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, which measures the statistical significance of pre-post changes for non-parametric data. The implications of these findings have been elaborated in the paragraphs and tables provided below:

‘The second section of the pre-survey comprised a 14-item scale adapted from Selon et al. (2021), tailored to the research objectives, and aimed at gauging participants' perceptions regarding the utilization of digital comics for inclusive and diverse education. This segment was replicated in the post-survey following the treatment to assess any differences after students collaboratively created inclusive digital comic strips and presented them in the classroom. The comparative analysis of pre and post-survey scores, as depicted in Table 5, reveals notable trends. Participants generally exhibited positive attitudes towards the efficacy of digital comics for fostering inclusive and diverse education. Notably, there were significant increases in mean scores from pre to post-survey in several areas. For instance, participants showed a substantial increase in their agreement regarding the effectiveness of digital comic strips in enhancing creative skills (Pre M= 3.4, Post M=4.3). This indicates a clear positive shift in perception, suggesting that the collaborative creation of digital comic strips had a positive impact on participants' perceptions of their creative potential. Similarly, there was a notable increase in participants' belief in the ability of digital comics to foster collaboration (Pre M= 3.4, Post M=4.1). This suggests that the collaborative creation process not only enhanced participants' individual creative skills but also fostered a greater sense of teamwork and cooperation among students. Furthermore, participants demonstrated a significant increase in their belief that digital comics could help students better understand the importance of inclusive and diverse education (Pre M= 2.9, Post M=4.3). This indicates that the creation and presentation of inclusive digital comic strips served as an effective educational tool for promoting awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion issues among students.

Table 5. Attitudes towards the use of digital comics for inclusive education

		Pre		Post
	Statement             α = .805	M	SD	M	SD
1	Digital comic strips are an effective media to increase my creative skills	3.4	0.74	4.3	0.80
2	Digital comic strips are an interesting media to use in collaborative creative projects	3.4	0.96	4.1	0.67
3	Digital comic strips enhance students' ability to think critically	3.3	0.87	3.6	.75
4	Digital comic strips can help students better understand the importance of an inclusive and diverse education	2.9	0.83	4.3	0.89
5	Digital comic strips can enhance students' ability to understand other students' needs and situation	4.1	0.85	4.2	0.78
6	I feel motivated to use digital comics in inclusive and diverse education	3.1	0.88	3.8	0.75
7	I feel comfortable sharing my ideas about inclusive and diverse education through comic strips	4.0	0.95	4.1	0.97
8	Digital comic strips can incite students to learn more about inclusive and diverse education	3.9	0.94	4.1	0.89
9	Digital comic strips can raise awareness about inclusive and diverse education in the EFL classroom	3.1	0.85	4.2	0.78
10	I believe other colleagues and in-service teachers will support the idea of using comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective in the EFL classroom	3.3	0.97	3.2	0.71
11	I feel too shy to share my ideas with other students about inclusive and diverse education through digital Comic strips	2.0	0.98	1.9	1.04
12	Comic strips do not allow me to express my thoughts on inclusive and diverse education more clearly or openly	1.9	0.92	1.8	0.90
13	Using digital comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective can have a negative impact on the classroom environment	1.4	0.68	1.4	0.76
14	I believe EFL classes and materials in general (textbooks, activities, etc) should be more inclusive and diverse	4.1	0.97	4.2	0.98

 

The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was utilized as a non-parametric analysis for ordinal data to determine if there was any statistically significant difference between pre and post-treatment scores, with a significance level set at p = 0.05. This test is suitable for analyzing paired data when the assumptions of normality are not met, making it appropriate for ordinal data like Likert scale responses. Significant differences were found in all items except the last five as shown in Table 6. For instance, participants displayed significant improvements in their beliefs regarding the effectiveness of digital comics in enhancing creative skills, fostering collaboration, and promoting critical thinking. They also showed increased confidence in the ability of digital comics to help students better understand the importance of inclusive and diverse education and to comprehend the needs and situations of others.

 However, participants' perceptions regarding their own hesitancy to share ideas through digital comic strips (items 11 and 12) and their skepticism about the support of colleagues and in-service teachers for integrating inclusive digital comic strips in the classroom (item 10) remained relatively unchanged after the treatment. This suggests that while participants felt confident in their own abilities to utilize digital comic strips for inclusive education, they perceived potential barriers or challenges in gaining support from in-service teachers. In general, participants maintained strong beliefs that EFL classes and materials should be more inclusive and diverse both before and after the treatment, indicating a consistent stance on the importance of inclusivity in language education.

Table 6. Perceptions of Inclusive Digital Comics (Pre-post-test)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Z	-5,982b	-5,372b	-3,463b	-6,718b	-2,565b	-5,410b	-1,067b
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)	,000	,000	,001	,000	,010	,000	,286
	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Z	-2,460b	-6,199b	-,392c	-,355c	-1,414c	-1,000c	-1,342b
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)	,014	,000	,695	,723	,157	,317	,180

 

• Table 6 QDA Miner analysis, is there an example or definition of the coding approach used and how the coding words were identified. For example, was this automatic coding using synonyms?

A: Thank you for your inquiry about the qualitative data analysis. The coding approach in QDA Miner allows researchers to manually identify key themes, concepts, or categories within the text. In our analysis, we identified prominent themes based on the recurring topics and ideas expressed by participants in their comments. Each theme was assigned a code, and the frequency of each code was calculated as a percentage of the total number of comments analyzed. Although QDA Miner offers options for automatic coding using synonyms or predefined dictionaries, we opted for manual coding in our study. This method ensured accuracy and relevance to the specific context of our research questions. Manual coding involved reading through the textual data, identifying relevant keywords or phrases, and assigning appropriate codes based on the researcher's interpretation of the content. The percentages in Table 7 represent the frequency of each theme relative to the total number of comments analyzed. For example, under the 'Empathy' theme, 86.2% of the comments expressed sentiments related to empathy and awareness towards inclusive materials. To clarify this approach further, the following paragraph has been added:

‘Regarding qualitative data, the analysis of participants' comments on the need for inclusive and diverse materials in the EFL classroom revealed several prominent themes as shown in Table 7. In the analysis, prominent themes were identified based on the re-curring topics and ideas expressed by participants in their comments. Each theme was assigned a code, and the frequency of each code was calculated as a percentage of the total number of comments analyzed. The percentages in Table 7 represent the frequency of each theme relative to the total number of comments analyzed. First, many participants stressed the significance of empathy and awareness that inclusive materials can foster among students. They perceive these materials as powerful tools for expanding students' perspectives and helping them better understand the experiences and challenges faced by others. Additionally, some participants highlighted practical challenges associated with implementing inclusive materials, such as difficulties in creating content and the time required for effective implementation.’

 

Specific comments:

• P2 line 51 to-wards – towards
• P11 lines

A: Revised and corrected

Thank you for your valuable comments.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The research aim should be defined more precisely.

The theoretical analysis focuses on Comic Books in Education and Digital Comics in Language Learning. The information is general, there is not enough connection to the proposed topic "Inclusive Education Through Digital Comic Creation in Higher Learning Environments". Only lines 125-147 approach the topic (the incorporation of digital comics can also enhance students' intercultural awareness and promote inclusive education; helps contextualize diverse cultural, ethnic, and gender contexts, encourages empathy and ultimately leads to a richer learning environment). The theoretical analysis should be more linked to the topic.

What is the empirical research question?

Descriptive statistics only are used in the analysis of quantitative data. The characteristics of the respondent sample suggest that it is possible to use inferential statistical methods and to find out, for example, whether the results are influenced by the gender of the respondents, whether the student (international or local) is a native or foreign speaker of English.

I would suggest the authors to reconsider their statements in the future. Using digital comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective can have a negative impact on the classroom environment seems biased.

There is no reference to the 4th source in the text.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

1. The research aim should be defined more precisely.

A: Thank you for your comment in the introduction. The following statement has been added:

‘Therefore, the aim is to assess the potential of creating and using digital comic strips in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom to promote inclusive education and enhance language skills, by evaluating teacher candidates' digital skills, investigating their perceptions regarding digital comic strips, and examining the impact on their atti-tudes toward inclusive and diverse education.’

 

2. The theoretical analysis focuses on Comic Books in Education and Digital Comics in LanguageLearning. The information is general, there is not enough connection to the proposed topic"Inclusive Education Through Digital Comic Creation in Higher Learning Environments". Only lines 125-147 approach the topic (the incorporation of digital comics can also enhance students'intercultural awareness and promote inclusive education; helps contextualize diverse cultural,ethnic, and gender contexts, encourages empathy and ultimately leads to a richer learningenvironment). The theoretical analysis should be more linked to the topic.

A: Thank you for your recommendation. Another subsection has been included as follows:

‘2.3. Inclusive Education Through Comic Creation in Higher Learning Environments

Digital comic creation has been increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for pro-moting inclusive education in higher learning environments. Research has shown that this method significantly enhances student engagement and motivation, particularly among those who are less inclined towards traditional learning methods (Jamal et al., 2019). By converting complex information into visually appealing and interactive formats, digital comics facilitate a deeper understanding and retention of information. This meth-od not only makes learning more accessible but also benefits students with disabilities or those located in remote areas by providing easy access to educational content.

According to Cabrera et al. (2018), encouraging students to create their own narratives enhances their creativity and critical thinking skills. This approach enables students to engage critically with content, fostering a more profound educational experience that goes beyond passive learning. The ability of digital comics to be widely shared and accessed also supports a more inclusive educational environment, ensuring that all students, regardless of their physical capabilities or geographical locations, have equal learning opportunities.

However, the integration of digital comics into educational settings is not without challenges. Issues such as technical compatibility, slow loading times, and the need for consistent content quality can undermine the effectiveness of digital comics (Saputri et al., 2021). Moreover, there is a significant demand for teacher training to ensure educators are well-equipped to incorporate digital comics into their curriculum effectively (Rutta et al., 2021). These challenges highlight the need for institutions to invest in both infrastructure and professional development to fully leverage the benefits of digital comics in education.

Research on the use of digital comic creation in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom is limited, particularly regarding teacher candidates. However, a signifi-cant study by Themelis and Sime (2020) addressed this gap by illustrating how digital comics can be integrated into technology-enhanced language learning to foster inclusivity and engagement. Their research not only explores the practical applications of digital comics in education but also synthesizes findings from cognitive psychology, neurosci-ence of storytelling, and educational theory. Therefore, the current research aims to assess the potential of creating and using digital comic strips in the EFL classroom to promote inclusive education and enhance language skills. This includes evaluating teacher can-didates' digital skills, investigating their perceptions of digital comic strips, and examin-ing the impact on their attitudes toward inclusive and diverse education.’

 

3. What is the empirical research question?

A: The research question is:  ‘How does the creation and use of digital comic strips in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom affect teacher candidates' digital skills, their perceptions of digital comics, and their attitudes towards inclusive and diverse education?’  To clarify it, the following statements have been added to the Objectives section:

‘The following objectives were formulated to assess the potential of creating and using digital comic strips to promote inclusive education and enhance language skills in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom:

• Evaluate the digital skills of teacher candidates in collaboratively creating comic strips for the EFL classroom.
• Investigate the perceptions of teacher candidates regarding the use of digital comic strips in the EFL classroom.
• Examine the impact of creating digital comic strips on teacher candidates' attitudes toward inclusive and diverse education.

These objectives are aimed at addressing the research question that explores how the creation and use of digital comic strips in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class-room affects teacher candidates' digital skills, their perceptions of digital comics, and their attitudes towards inclusive and diverse education.’

 

4. Descriptive statistics only are used in the analysis of quantitative data. The characteristics of therespondent sample suggest that it is possible to use inferential statistical methods and to find out,for example, whether the results are influenced by the gender of the respondents, whether the student (international or local) is a native or foreign speaker of English.

A: Thank you for the recommendation. The data representation has been revised, and the tables now include both pre- and post-test scores regarding participants' perceptions of digital comic strips in inclusive education. In the original version submitted, only the post-test results were included. The entire section has been rephrased to incorporate the pre-post-test scores and discuss the implications of the different findings. An additional table (Table 6) has been added, displaying the results of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test used to measure the statistical significance (pre-post) for non-parametric data. The implications of these findings have been added in the paragraphs and tables provided below.  The following paragraphs have been added/modified:

‘The second section of the pre-survey comprised a 14-item scale adapted from Selon et al. (2021), tailored to the research objectives, and aimed at gauging participants' perceptions regarding the utilization of digital comics for inclusive and diverse education. This segment was replicated in the post-survey following the treatment to assess any differences after students collaboratively created inclusive digital comic strips and presented them in the classroom. The comparative analysis of pre and post-survey scores, as depicted in Table 5, reveals notable trends. Participants generally exhibited positive attitudes towards the efficacy of digital comics for fostering inclusive and diverse education. Notably, there were significant increases in mean scores from pre to post-survey in several areas. For instance, participants showed a substantial increase in their agreement regarding the effectiveness of digital comic strips in enhancing creative skills (Pre M= 3.4, Post M=4.3). This indicates a clear positive shift in perception, suggesting that the collaborative creation of digital comic strips had a positive impact on participants' perceptions of their creative potential. Similarly, there was a notable increase in participants' belief in the ability of digital comics to foster collaboration (Pre M= 3.4, Post M=4.1). This suggests that the collaborative creation process not only enhanced participants' individual creative skills but also fostered a greater sense of teamwork and cooperation among students. Furthermore, participants demonstrated a significant increase in their belief that digital comics could help students better understand the importance of inclusive and diverse education (Pre M= 2.9, Post M=4.3). This indicates that the creation and presentation of inclusive digital comic strips served as an effective educational tool for promoting awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion issues among students.

Table 5. Attitudes towards the use of digital comics for inclusive education

		Pre		Post
	Statement             α = .805	M	SD	M	SD
1	Digital comic strips are an effective media to increase my creative skills	3.4	0.74	4.3	0.80
2	Digital comic strips are an interesting media to use in collaborative creative projects	3.4	0.96	4.1	0.67
3	Digital comic strips enhance students' ability to think critically	3.3	0.87	3.6	.75
4	Digital comic strips can help students better understand the importance of an inclusive and diverse education	2.9	0.83	4.3	0.89
5	Digital comic strips can enhance students' ability to understand other students' needs and situation	4.1	0.85	4.2	0.78
6	I feel motivated to use digital comics in inclusive and diverse education	3.1	0.88	3.8	0.75
7	I feel comfortable sharing my ideas about inclusive and diverse education through comic strips	4.0	0.95	4.1	0.97
8	Digital comic strips can incite students to learn more about inclusive and diverse education	3.9	0.94	4.1	0.89
9	Digital comic strips can raise awareness about inclusive and diverse education in the EFL classroom	3.1	0.85	4.2	0.78
10	I believe other colleagues and in-service teachers will support the idea of using comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective in the EFL classroom	3.3	0.97	3.2	0.71
11	I feel too shy to share my ideas with other students about inclusive and diverse education through digital Comic strips	2.0	0.98	1.9	1.04
12	Comic strips do not allow me to express my thoughts on inclusive and diverse education more clearly or openly	1.9	0.92	1.8	0.90
13	Using digital comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective can have a negative impact on the classroom environment	1.4	0.68	1.4	0.76
14	I believe EFL classes and materials in general (textbooks, activities, etc) should be more inclusive and diverse	4.1	0.97	4.2	0.98

 

The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was utilized as a non-parametric analysis for ordinal data to determine if there was any statistically significant difference between pre and post-treatment scores, with a significance level set at p = 0.05. This test is suitable for analyzing paired data when the assumptions of normality are not met, making it appropriate for ordinal data like Likert scale responses. Significant differences were found in all items except the last five as shown in Table 6. For instance, participants displayed significant improvements in their beliefs regarding the effectiveness of digital comics in enhancing creative skills, fostering collaboration, and promoting critical thinking. They also showed increased confidence in the ability of digital comics to help students better understand the importance of inclusive and diverse education and to comprehend the needs and situations of others.

 However, participants' perceptions regarding their own hesitancy to share ideas through digital comic strips (items 11 and 12) and their skepticism about the support of colleagues and in-service teachers for integrating inclusive digital comic strips in the classroom (item 10) remained relatively unchanged after the treatment. This suggests that while participants felt confident in their own abilities to utilize digital comic strips for inclusive education, they perceived potential barriers or challenges in gaining support from in-service teachers. In general, participants maintained strong beliefs that EFL classes and materials should be more inclusive and diverse both before and after the treatment, indicating a consistent stance on the importance of inclusivity in language education.

Table 6. Perceptions of Inclusive Digital Comics (Pre-post-test)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Z	-5,982b	-5,372b	-3,463b	-6,718b	-2,565b	-5,410b	-1,067b
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)	,000	,000	,001	,000	,010	,000	,286
	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Z	-2,460b	-6,199b	-,392c	-,355c	-1,414c	-1,000c	-1,342b
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)	,014	,000	,695	,723	,157	,317	,180

 

5. I would suggest the authors to reconsider their statements in the future. Using digital comic strips from an inclusive and diverse perspective can have a negative impact on the classroom environment seems biased.

A: Thank you for your comments and suggestions.  We understand that the inclusion of negative worded statements in our research might appear biased at first glance. However, we need to clarify that these statements were part of a validated scale, originally developed and utilized by Selong et al. (2021). The inclusion of negative-worded items—specifically items 11, 12, and 13 in the scale—is a statistical methodological approach designed to counteract acquiescence bias, which is a common issue in self-reported data where respondents might just agree with statements as a default rather than providing a true measure of their feelings or opinions. By integrating both positively and negatively worded statements, the scale aims to provide a more accurate and balanced representation of the respondents' attitudes, reducing the tendency towards uniform agreement. Our use of this validated scale, including its negative components, is thus grounded in a well-established research practice designed to enhance the reliability and validity of the findings by minimizing response biases. We hope this explanation resolves any concerns regarding perceived bias in our study and demonstrates our commitment to rigorous academic inquiry.

Thank you very much for your insightful comments and time dedicated to the review of our manuscript

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thanks