ANALYSIS OF PUNJAB TEXTBOOK OF GENERAL SCIENCE IN CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT 8TH GRADE

The current research was carried out to analyze the content and to assess teachers’ perception regarding content of general science textbook at the elementary level for grade 8th in the environmental education context. For content analysis general science recommended by Punjab Textbook has been taken. For getting teachers perception, five-point Likert scale was utilized which consisted of 27 statements under the consideration of three components of Palmer’s teaching and learning model a) education about the environment b) education in or from the environment c) education for the environment. The outcomes of the research showed that activities of the content related to environment are more emphasizing towards psychomotor domain instead of equally focusing all domains. On the other hand, teachers’ perception indicate that more improvement is needed in textbook in relation to providing opportunities to boost the skills, knowledge, attitudes among students in order to protect the environment. For instance, an environmental day can be organized in which awareness, knowledge, skills related to environment are provided

AUTONOMOUS & CONTROLLED MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Motivation has immense significance in human functioning. Self-determination theory describes motivation as autonomous and controlled types. The objective of this study was to explore the association between university students’ autonomous and controlled motivation and their two important academic outcomes: critical thinking skills and academic performance. The study sample consisted of 193 participants (57 men and 136 women) studying at the University of Karachi, Pakistan. Participants' autonomous and controlled motivation was assessed by the modified Academic Motivation Scale, critical thinking was assessed by the Critical Thinking scale of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and academic performance was measured by the Subjective Academic Performance Scale. The analysis showed a significant medium-level positive association between students’ autonomous motivation and their critical thinking skills, and weak significant positive association between controlled motivation and their critical thinking skills and academic performance. However, autonomous motivation was not significantly associated with academic performance. It was also determined that differences in autonomous and controlled motivation scores of students with reference to their year of study were not significant. The findings highlight that both autonomous and controlled motivation may have a positive role in academic outcomes at university level in collectivist contexts

IMPACT OF ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN PAKISTAN ON PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS`LEARNING; A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The world is recently moving towards quality criteria in every field. For this Accreditation process has been introduced in every Discipline, Institute and Program to maintain the standards of quality. Accreditation refers to the authenticity and fairness in achieving the benchmarks of standards of program, a course, a module or an Institution. (Harvey, 2004). Accreditation provides certainty that the course or program will meet the demands and requirements of the quality standards. In order to produce trained professionals’ quality in higher education is required and Accreditation process will provide the Quality Assurance. As the teachers are the roots of every profession, therefore the Accreditation Process is also introduced in the field of teacher Education Program to maintain and improve the quality of Teacher Education Programs. When talking in context of Pakistan, there is always an issue regarding in quality of Education in Pakistan. In order to meet this demand NACTE (National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) is established so that the quality criteria can be achieved through the process of Accreditation of different Teacher Education Programs in Pakistan. (Shakoor, & Farrukh, 2016). The programs or courses having NACTE Accredited certificate can be accepted globally and thus can serves as a basis of good professional start. The present study aims to find out the comparative analysis of the impacts of NACTE Accredited and Non-Accredited Teacher Education Programs on student's Achievement. The study is conducted on students of B. Ed honors studying in different institutions in Karachi. To carry out comparative analysis MGA (Multigroup Analysis) is carried out on Smart PLS: 3. The analysis done revealed high ‘values of Accredited groups as compared to nonAccredited groups, concluding that there are significant differences in the impact of two types of programs; Accredited and Non-Accredited teacher Education Programs on student teacher`s achievement. The results declared that Accredited Programs

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF EMOTIONALLY STABLE SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

This study aimed at exploring the relationship between emotionally stable school principals and their academic performance in terms of student academic achievement. A sample of 32 secondary school principals and 238 teachers working in Ffederal Ggovernment Eeducational Iinstitutions (FGEIs) was selected using a random sampling technique. Data collection was carried out using two adapted questionnaires of Eysenck Personality Inventory (1967) and Stronge (2011). SPSS (21.0) was used for data analysis. The study revealed that the majority of emotionally stable secondary school principals focus to improve the overall learning environment of the school. They are found to be positively correlated with their academic performance. The study recommends that secondary school principals should be provided proper awareness about performance standards of school principals. Principals should be encouraged to adopt positive personality traits of emotional stability.

COMPARISON OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT CREATIVITY AS A CULTIVATED SKILL IN THE CLASS ROOM PRACTICES

The research examines and compares public and private secondary school teachers’ perceptions about creativity as a skill that can be cultivated in their class room practices. The researcher adopted PBA, a psychological model of professional behavior analysis for analyzing professionals’ perception. Any professional expert’s positive perception is essential regarding the strategies, to handle the task properly and achieve its maximum objectives. In the present study secondary school teachers of Malir district were taken as population of the study and were divided into two clusters; public and private. For selecting the sample of 560 sizes, each sub group of the sample remained equal by using probability technique. All the clusters were collected randomly. Mixed Method was the adopted research method; quantitative analysis contributes 80% and qualitative analysis contributes 20%. Survey was the research design to collect the data. Close ended questionnaire was developed for collecting quantitative data. In-depth Interview was developed for collecting qualitative data. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the groups quantitatively and thematic analysis for qualitatively. The data triangulation determined the degree of strength of their perceptions. Obtained findings depict that private school teachers’ perceptions are stronger than public school teacher regarding the issue

MEASURING THE ABSOLUTE LITERACY: TO CONTEXTUALIZE WITH OFFICIAL CLAIMS OF LITERACY RATE IN DISTRICT BAHAWALPUR

The goal of the study was to provide documented evidence of the absolute tested literacy and to detect the gap, if any, between tested and reported literacy rates in Bahawalpur District. Two types of research instruments were used to collect the data. One of the tools was a survey sheet to obtain demographic and other details of the respondents. The second tool was a test to measure the literacy rate. All the age groups between 10-50 years were the population of the study. A total number of 194 persons joined the test willingly, out of 589 people who reported as literate population. After the application of the test, the obtained data was inserted into two separate sheets with code numbers. The coded data analyzed and average and percentages were ascertained. It was concluded that a gap is visible in the two data sets; reported literacy and assessed literacy

A RESEARCH STUDY ON THE ESSENTIALITY OF MEDICAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS / PROGRAMS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS AT THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

This research study is conducted on the essentiality of medical awareness campaigns/programs in public colleges, as it is seen that there is a dire need of providing students with many medical and health related information. This research is purposed to enlighten this issue and to make colleges to pay attention and take the initiatives of conducting medical awareness campaigns. These campaigns/programs provide basic life and therapeutic skills, first aid training, medical check-ups, and hygiene information. Furthermore, these campaigns/programs arrange training sessions, workshops, and seminars where students are trained and taught about basic facts and new researches made in the medical field. Besides, knowledge about new emerging issues, problems, and solutions, it also provides awareness regarding diseases and preventions. It is a cross-sectional, quantitative research based on survey method. Data is collected from 60 respondents; 40 female students and 20 teachers, from 6 colleges of 2 towns of Karachi through Likert Scale, comprised of close-ended 43 structured items. The data is apprehended by taking SPSS Mean. It is a small effort done to aid the conduction of medical awareness campaigns/programs as to aware students regarding health and medical information to the concern to meet challenges of the globalized world.

IMPLICATIONS OF PENTAGON THEORY OF CONTEXTUALIZED MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES (CMIs) FOR FUTURE JOB PROSPECTS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The Purpose of the study was to test the Pentagon theory of Contextualized Multiple Intelligences (CMIs) in the context of fourth industrial revolution. It also explored the awareness of students regarding the trends and challenges of future job market. Lastly, skills and competences required by graduate to meet the complexities of future job market were also investigated. This study followed the critical paradigm, therefore sequential explanatory mixed method research design was used. All the masters’ level students, heads of departments/ senior faculty members and experts of social sciences were considered as population for this study. Multistage sampling techniques was employed to select the sample size for quantitative phase (n=786). For qualitative phase, purposive sampling technique was used and 12 experts of social sciences were selected. Self-developed questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents. Contextualized Multiple Intelligences questionnaire has 32 statements under 6 factors with Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.92. Similarly, Future Job Market Prospects questionnaire has 20 statements under 4 factors with Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.91. Semi-structured Interview protocol was developed and used during the qualitative phase. Study revealed positive and strong correlation between the contextualized multiple intelligences and future job market prospects. However, the public universities students showed relatively larger correlation (r=.631, p=.000) as compared to private universities students (r=.556, p=.000). Furthermore, male and female students have differences in their contextualized multiple intelligences. Besides, students exhibited high level of understanding regarding the need of market driven content and importance of employability skills. Experts (Qualitative data analysis) highlighted the need for active role of universities in re-skilling students with contextualized multiple intelligences to make them more desirable for employability.

ROLE OF CASE SCENARIOS IN IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF LARGE GROUP LECTURE FORMAT: DATA FROM UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS

Teaching practices are being modified over time to more student centered approaches to improve the learning. Lecture being the corner stone of the teaching, need techniques to improve its effectiveness thus emphasizing “learning” rather than “teaching.” One of the main problems with long lectures is the low attention span of students. This study was undertaken to assess the role of adding case scenarios to the lectures, thus improving its learning outcomes. It is a descriptive study conducted in 3 rd year and 4th year students at CMH Multan Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) from 1st October 2018 to 1st April 2019. The focus of this study was to know impact of case scenarios in improving learning of the students in a lecture. During study period, on average two lectures per months of department of medicine, were taken with addition of case scenarios. The outcome measurement of this technique was done by two methods, feedback by the students and peer review from colleagues. There were a total of 61 participants who gave feedback on the lecture. Analysis of feedback performa revealed that almost 64% of students had a low attention span after 20 minutes into a well prepared and interesting lecture. Fifty to 90 percent of students agreed or completely agreed that adding aids like videos, graphics, algorithms or case scenarios etc improved the learning of students. More than ninety percent of participants completely agreed or agreed that the case scenarios are relevant, provide sufficient information, improve learning outcome and serve the purpose. The second part of the data collection was peer review; five colleagues attended the lectures during this period and in addition to filling feedback performa, gave valuable reviews on this. All the peers supported the idea of using case scenarios during lectures. We can conclude that adding case scenarios to the large group lecture format makes it more interactive, improved attention span and keeps attention of students which is difficult to achieve in a class of almost hundred.

INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY OF ADOLESCENTS: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS

To explore the components and factors influencing institutional identity in Pakistani adolescents, a thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data, collected from 9 boys and 9 girls in their adolescent age that ranged between 15-17 years. These adolescents were students of grade 9-10, and were sampled from different cities of Pakistan. Thematic analysis revealed that institutional identity comprised of belongingness, personal evaluation and reputation. Analysis also revealed that peer, parents, teachers, infrastructure, curriculum, rules & regulations and extracurricular activities influence various components of institutional identity. This paper provides theoretical and practical implications for the institutional identity development of adolescents in Pakistan.