Factors influencing Bachelor of Science in Clinical Medicine students performance in Clinical Officer Council Licensure examination, Kenya

Background: Clinical medicine program has recorded high rates of student’s enrolment to training while their performance in clinical officers’ council (COC) licensure examination remains variable. This study investigated performance of clinical medicine degree student’s in COC examinations by determining student characteristics, institutional and regulatory body factors in relation to performance.Methods: A retrospective study, using mixed method approach to collect data. A sample total of 427 of students was analyzed while cluster and purposive sampling were used for key informants interviewed. Quantitative data was converted from Microsoft excel to statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software version 26 and analysed. Odd ratio was used to measure strength of association between students,institutions and regulatoy body charateristics and performance with p<0.05 being considered significant. Qualitative data was transcribed for content analysis.Results: The results indicated that there was highly significant relationship among the performance of students in government and private institutions respectively (p<0.001) unlike faith-based institutions (p=0.292). Private institutions were 0.158 more likely to perform better than other institutions while government institutions were 5 times more likely to perform better than any other institutions.Conclusions: Age, mode of study and years of experience were found to be significant factors associated with performance while intergrity in marking was an important concern. The recommendations from the study are that training institutions continue upgrading program but factors contributing to low performances should be looked into. There is need to select experienced faculty to teach and set competency based licensure examination after internship.The study has demonstrated that results can be used to predict performance which are reliable for developing recruitment and examination policies.

Holistic Transformative Development Amid Global Pandemic - Singapore’s Journey

COVID-19 is a global pandemic (Jaihah) that brings hardships (Haraj). This has affected all aspects of our life. The United Nations Development Programme reported that uncertainties due to this global pandemic are manifold. Under a 'High Damage’ scenario, the world could see a staggering 251 million people driven into extreme poverty by the pandemic, bringing the total number to one billion by 2030. The Singapore government had made swift and comprehensive response by forming multi-ministry task force and galvanise various organisations, at all levels, including faith-based institutions to manage and address the multiple challenges in hands. This paper highlights the 3Rs approach adopted by the government through their policies, measures, and actions on various aspects of sustainability including climate and social changes and how the rest of the stakeholders come together for greater impact, with specific focus on the response from the Muslim community.

Accountability and legitimacy dynamics in an Islamic boarding school

Purpose This study aims to investigate the dynamics of legitimacy and accountability relationships in an Indonesian boarding school. It examines how the key actors improve and use accountability mechanisms in the school and how these practices contribute to the organisation’s legitimacy. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative case study approach in an Indonesian boarding school and draws on Black’s (2008) notion of legitimacy and accountability relationships. The qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and documentary analysis. Findings Accountability mechanisms at Pondok Pesantren Wali Songo (an Islamic boarding school) were developed to alter the habit of conducting organisational affairs based merely on trust between the organisation members without any particular accountability mechanism, a common practice in Indonesian boarding schools. The mechanisms were believed to improve the public trust and bring convenience to the management of the school on the legitimacy (halal) of their doings, which in turn maintain their legitimacy as a provider of Islamic education services. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of accountability mechanisms in faith-based institutions context to maintain their legitimacy. It provides evidence of the mutual nature of accountability and legitimacy, which is often seen as contrasting concepts by previous studies, by drawing on Black’s (2008) legitimacy and accountability relationships.

College Student Experiences of Grief and Loss Amid the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

This study examined types of and reactions to loss experienced by a sample of 162 undergraduate and graduate students in the United States amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. Results indicated students reported an average of 6.33 losses with loss of normalcy being the most prominent. The number of losses experienced was a significant predictor of loss of control and avoidance. A significant positive relationship was revealed between spirituality and positive reappraisal whereas a significant negative correlation was identified between spirituality and loss of control and avoidance. Age was also negatively associated with expressions of avoidance and loss of control. Finally, students who attended faith-based institutions reported higher levels of positive reappraisal and lower levels of loss of control. Results suggest the need for educators and mental health practitioners to assess non-death losses among college students and provide supportive interventions aimed at promoting psychosocial-spiritual coping and resilience during and following a pandemic.

Are Australian Islamic schools elitist?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether Australian Islamic schools, by dint of their unique status within Australian private schooling, may be construed as elitist or exclusivist premised on markers such as religious affiliation, school age, history, location, reputation and non-curricular excellences such as affluence and alumni. This issue has not been examined empirically hitherto. This study addresses this absence, as these markers, when used selectively, may make student entry restrictive by virtue of enrolment criteria that is either hyper selective or exclusivist that is often administered through costly tuition fees. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative analysis is used to examine four distinct elitist markers associated with Islamic schools, as they appeal to a market prescribed by faith, preference and demand. Data is sourced from selected government and independent school databases including the index of community socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) database. Findings The findings indicate that Islamic schools do not fit any of these markers partly because these schools are positioned predominantly in middle to lower socio-economic communities and areas where the measure of educationally advantaged backgrounds is only marginally above the ICSEA threshold of 1,000. Further, their enrolment criteria are not premised on high fee-based structures nor on exclusivist selection and enrolment practices that would tag them as elitist. Research limitations/implications It is quite possible that parental and community perceptions of Islamic schools using qualitative measures may identify some schools as elitist. This, however, has yet to be tested empirically in further studies relying on surveys, interviews and focus group sessions. Practical implications Islamic schools should not market nor portray themselves as elitist or exclusivist for that may undermine the very purpose of their function as faith-based institutions. Social implications Perceptions of elitism levelled against some Islamic schools must be weighed against a number of distinct social markers. The examination of four markers in this study does not support such perceptions. Elitist perceptions may abound within communities and amongst parents when vying for student placements in these schools. The basis for such observations, however, is at best anecdotal or outright conjectural in the absence of empirical evidence. Originality/value This is the first and only study that examines the issue of elitism amongst Islamic schools in Australia and elsewhere.

Beyond Integration: A Phenomenology of Faith-Informed Clinical Practice

The provision of clinical counseling within the context of a Christian worldview has profound meaning for those who seek education in Christian institutions. This phenomenology explored the essence of faith-informed clinical practice for experienced licensed professional counselors. The following six overarching themes emerged from interviews with 10 clinicians: Faith-Informed Clinical Practice Emerges from an Eternal Perspective, Distinct Aspirations of Faith-Informed Clinicians, The Clinician’s Inner World, Bi-directional Influences of Faith and Professional Development, Clinical Issues Specific to Faith-informed Practice, and Suggestions for Faith-Based Education. Recommendations include the replacement of integration studies with spiritual formation and a more holistic, practical, experiential, and spiritual approach to counselor training in faith-based institutions.

Illustrating the Outcomes of Community-Based Research: A Case Study on Working with Faith-Based Institutions

Incoming immigrants to places like Canada tend to be religious and thereby have sympathies counter to prevailing secularizing trends that emerge in research praxis. This paper presents an illustrative case study of Community-Based Research (CBR) that starts from the community to be studied. We illustrate how CBR can be an effective tool for engaging community stakeholders in solving community problems when stakeholders are part of faith-based institutions. This is accomplished by drawing on Ochocka and Janzen (2014) and Janzen et al. (2016), who discuss the hallmarks of CBR that we used to structure a case study with The Salvation Army (TSA). This paper focuses on TSA as a religious institution and how CBR supports TSA’s adjustment to enhance its relationships with a community it finds itself serving: newcomers. We first outline the hallmarks of CBR and show how they are expressed in our case study. Second, we extend Ochocka and Janzen (2014) and Janzen et al. (2016) by focusing on the functions of CBR to illustrate further the outcomes that can emerge from this sort of approach and make recommendations for researching with faith-based institutions.

“I Have Been a Sojourner in a Foreign Land”: A Qualitative Inquiry on the Psychological Experiences of International Students Enrolled in a Christian University

International students make up 5.5% of all university students in the United States. In addition, international students consist of approximately 4% of the student population in Christian higher education. Although there is a significant number of international students enrolled in faith-based institutions, this population remains underrepresented in multicultural psychological literature. Thus, applying the intrapersonal-interpersonal-spiritual framework, we interviewed 15 international students from a Christian university to investigate their unique and shared experiences with the general international student population in the United States. The Consensual Qualitative Research method (CQR) was employed, and seven principal domains were identified: (a) religiousness, (b) reactions toward international students, (c) social support and acceptance, (d) hopes and expectations, (e) cultural adaptation, (f) cultural differences, and (g) international student identity. Similar themes to those present in the existing international student literature were established, but differential themes related to religiousness were discovered as well. Implications for Christian campuses are discussed.