The Beauty of Mathematics: Learning Mathematics by Questioning

Mathematics problems may seem to have no real use in life, but this could be further from the truth. The use of mathematics is everywhere in our daily lives and, without discovering it; we apply mathematics ideas, as well as the skills we learn from executing mathematical challenges every day. Unfortunately, mathematics feedback at national examinations is deficient. A mean of between 23 to 29 percent for 5 years in a row from 2014 to 2018 is a clear indication that the training of students today for tomorrow’s workplace with concept development in context, problem solving through interactive experiences and understanding through application is missed. Over this period, the evaluation of the outcome has also shown a standard deviation almost equal to the mean or even greater than the mean for instance 2016 for paper 2 (refer to Kenya National Examinations Council Report) is a clear sign that there is a big disparity from the mean and a likelihood of a number of students scoring zeros or below 10 percent. This dismal performance in national examinations particularly in mathematics demonstrates that contextual curricula and instructions that encourage numerous structures of learning like relating, transferring, applying, experiencing and collaborating are not achieved. Therefore, this article looks into different contexts in which students learn and how they broaden their abilities to make connections, enjoy discovery, and apply the knowledge learnt. These are abilities they will need throughout their daily lives and careers. Being able to do arithmetic is of little ultimate use to an individual unless he or she can apply it. Each arithmetic operation is explored in detail for its applications in the real world problems. Real life challenges motivate ideas and provide additional settings for practice.

Teaching Science Practical’s in Tanzanian Secondary Schools

This paper is aimed at analysing the importance of teaching science practicals as they are shown in the syllabus of science subjects lather than waiting for the national examinations or waiting learners to reach form three or four. Among the importance of teaching science practicals as shown in the syllabus include, Development of student’s scientific knowledge through practicals, Involving students in action and reflection, Practicals develops learners interest, Practical enhances creativity and deep understanding. Finally the paper recommended that the teaching of sciences in secondary schools in Tanzania needs to be reviewed and restructured so as to accommodate the current needs and challenges.

Examining the Nature of Item Bias on Students’ Performance in National Examinations Council (NECO) Mathematics Senior School Certificate Dichotomously Scored Items in Nigeria

This study examined the nature of item bias on students’ performance in 2017 National Examinations Council (NECO) mathematics senior school certificate dichotomously scored items in Nigeria. The study adopted an ex-post-facto research design. A sample of 256,039 candidates was randomly selected from the population of 1,034,629 students who took the test. Instrument for data collection was 'Student Results' (SR). Data collected were analysed using the R language environment and an independent t-test. Results showed that the 2017 NECO Mathematics test was essentially unidimensional (-0.28 (<.20), ASSI = -0.31 (< 0.25) and RATIO = -0.31 (< 0.36). Results also showed that the nature of bias statistically encountered was a mean difference in scores bias, indicating that 86% (52 items), 79.1% (34 items), and 96% (56 items) were biased against male students, urban and public-school students, respectively. It was concluded that item bias is a notable factor that affected the validity of the NECO 2017 Mathematics test and conclusions drawn from the scores in Nigeria. Hence, it was recommended that before tests are administered for public use, examination bodies should make a careful review of tests through dimensionality assessment at the developmental stage to eliminate any perspectives that could cause test inequity among examinees.

Readiness of Human Capital in Implementation of E-Marking of National Examinations in Malawi

The aim of this study was to investigate readiness of the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) examiners’ in e-marking of national examinations and general use of technology with focus on their computer proficiency and perception. The study followed an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design and data was collected from sampled examiners through a questionnaire, a focus group discussion (FGD) and a computer proficiency assessment test. The findings show that over 90% of the participants had moderate to very high computer proficiency levels. The findings also show that both age and gender did not have any effect on the technology readiness index (TRI) of Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examiners but on Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examiners. The findings also indicate no effect of the examiners’ years of marking experience on their TRI. The distribution of examiners across TRI segments shows that the number of examiners increases with the increasing order of adoption propensity. In line with this, most examiners showed positive perception of e-marking of national examinations as well as moderate to very high computer proficiency level.

Impact of Guidance and Counselling Services on Academic Performance of Students in Some Selected Secondary Schools in Sokoto Metropolis

The study aims to evaluating the impact of guidance and counseling services on the academic performance of students in some selected secondary schools in Sokoto metropolis. Causal-comparative (Ex-post facto) research design was adopted for this study. This study involves a total of 200 subjects comprising 5 principals, 25 class teachers, 10 teacher counselors, and 160 students from the five selected schools. Data were collected using the four sets of questionnaires. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The finding revealed that eighty percent (80%) of the students responded that their academic performance was changed after receiving counseling services. Seventy-two percent (72%) of the class teachers perceived the level of students’ academic performance after counseling as good, while 20% perceived it very good and 8% rated it bad. Guidance and counseling services have positively influenced the academic performance of the students and should be strengthened to improve the students’ performance in national examinations.

Constructing and Validating Competence Indicators for Professional Technicians in Fire Safety in Taiwan

This study constructed professional competence indicators for technical personnel in fire safety equipment that can be used to guide curriculum planning of fire-protection-related programs in colleges and universities; training of technical personnel in fire safety equipment in the industry; and the mandatory national examinations for technical personnel in fire protection. To achieve the purpose of this study, document analysis, expert interviews, and the Delphi technique were used to verify that there are three first-level dimension indicators. These three primary indicators were categorized as knowledge, skills, and attitude, with an additional 12 second-level orientation indicators and 61 third-level detailed indicators. Furthermore, in relation to the importance–performance analysis, the falling point distribution of the detailed indicators of technical personnel in fire protection in the four quadrants of the IPA model chart was obtained in order to provide a reference for the industry, government, and academia.

Reviewer Acknowledgements

International Journal of English and Cultural Studies (IJECS) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether IJECS publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue. Reviewers for Volume 4, Number 1Gillian Steinberg, SAR High School, USAKeeley Megan Buehler Hunter, Southern New Hampshire University, SwitzerlandAna Costa Lopes, Higher School of Education of Viseu, Viseu Polytechnic Institute, PortugalNicolau Nkiawete Manuel, Agostinho Neto University, AngolaFatma Benelhadj, University of Sfax, TunisiaEllie Boyadzhieva, South-West University, Blagoevgrad, BulgariaEmmanuel Chibuzor Okereke, National Examinations Council, Enugu State Office, Enugu, NigeriaShashi Naidu, Ball State University, United StatesJelena Timotijevic, University of Brighton, United KingdomJânderson Coswosk, Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo, BrazilHerman, University of HKBP Nommensen, Indonesia Nina HowardEditorial AssistantInternational Journal of English and Cultural StudiesRedfame Publishing9450 SW Gemini Dr. #99416Beaverton, OR 97006-6018, USAWebsite: http://ijecs.redfame.com