Influence of Institutional Inclusive Policy on Curriculum Adaptation and Participation of Students With Disabilities on Academic Activities in Public Universities in Kenya

Globally, it is estimated that close to 140 million learners are out of school and among them are those with disabilities as a result of physical, mental and sensory impairments. Out of that number, it is further estimated that 70% of learners with disabilities can attend and benefit from regular education programs as long as effective institutional changes that are guided by sound inclusive policies are done. So, this study examined institutional inclusive policies on curriculum adaptation, and how the policies affect the way Students with Disabilities participate academically. The study was guided by the social model theory of disability. A descriptive research design and a comparative approach were used to scientifically compare curriculum adaptation in Kenyatta and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Universities which were purposively chosen as the sample owing to their longer establishment. Lecturers teaching and Students with Disabilities enrolled in different programs were targeted. The two registrar academics in charge of admission and the two coordinators of the disability offices from both universities were purposively selected. Data collection instruments were interviews, questionnaires, observation guide, focus group discussions and document analysis. The findings showed that the appropriate adaptation of the University curriculum has not been fully made to respond to the diverse academic needs of all learners with various disabilities.

Saudi Parents' Involvement in Children's Education during COVID-19

The flare-up of coronavirus has reportedly put on many changes and wrecked chaos in almost all life aspects, economically, academically, and socially. School closure has led to homeschooling, where the responsibility of children's education was laid mainly in the parents' hands. Consequently, many parents were compelled to be significantly involved in their children's education. However, full parental engagement in children's education is seemed to be a comparatively new trend amongst Saudi parents. Drawing from existing literature on parents' involvement, this paper used a quantitative descriptive study through a survey method to access the experience of Saudi parents involved in homeschooling. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 51 Saudi parents.The findings showed that even though Saudi parents have encountered some challenges, they are facilitating their children's learning and assisting them throughout the online learning process. Parents' support was identified in different areas such as ensuring students' attendance of online sessions, nurturing a good session flow, connecting with teachers and parents via WhatsApp group, and taking full responsibility for mongering their children during exams. The result provided a comprehensive set of recommendations not only to parents but also to schools to consolidate a good connection between especially in times of crisis. It is envisaged that the results of this study will enrich the literature about this phenomenon which seems relatively new not only in the context where this study was situated but worldwide due to the pandemic of coronavirus or other unforeseen circumstances.

SWOT Analysis of a Didactic Program in Dietetics: Results from Focus Group Research

This study utilized focus group research to understand the experiences of students in a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) at a large, public university. Students participating in the focus group reflected on and discussed the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the program. The participants stated that faculty support, hands-on learning, and opportunities to participate in clubs were strengths of the program. Students would like more opportunity to do research with faculty. They also indicated that there are program weaknesses such as access to common space, limits in course availability, roadblocks in curriculum, and limited access to necessary tools. Program opportunities, such as the upcoming accreditation visit, will express the student’s concerns and therefore focus administration’s attention on much needed financial support for the program. Although not a specific threat, changes in the credentialing for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists were also discussed by the students. Data were collected in preparation for an accreditation visit. However, the results can be used to advise department and university administrators about what items make students successful in their programs.

Purpose Driven Internet Use and Its Impact on Academic Performance of College Students

The purpose of this study was to determine how students in Middle-Level Colleges use the internet, with a special focus on the Nairobi Institute of Business Studies (NIBS). The study was conducted using a descriptive research approach. The student population was determined using a purposive sample strategy, while the stratified sampling approach was utilized to divide the population into distinct subgroups (strata) based on the eight courses that students took. Both open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect relevant data. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability in a group of randomly selected students. Following data collection, descriptive statistics were used to examine pertinent data. To summarize the data and report the research findings, descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, bar graphs, and pie charts were used. This research focused on the NIBS College, which has approximately 3000 regular students. A total of 138 people were sampled from the population to participate in the study. The majority of students, according to the report, use the internet for entertainment. For communication and pleasure, students utilize social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter at nearly the same rates. The respondents also stated that using the internet has expanded their access to more up-to-date educational information and has had a good impact on their academic efficiency. When compared to traditional materials, respondents found the Internet to be more informative. The respondents also said that the internet saved time and provided reliable information. To access the internet, most students possess and use smartphones (iPhones). They use the internet in their dorms compared to other locations on campus or at home, where internet access was unreliable. The majority of students preferred Google to other Internet services. This demonstrated that students rely extensively on Google to find current and relevant information. The vast majority believed that people do not need to be trained on how to use the internet to find information. The trial-and-error method was the most prevalent strategy for obtaining relevant Internet skills. Others sought advice from their peers or took official training given by several computer colleges to learn how to utilize the internet.

An Action Research Study of Promoting Teachers’ Confidence and Competence in Teaching English Meaningfully

This action research study investigates the introduction, implementation and evaluation of a training course—Meaningful Communication in English (MCE)—designed for English teachers at Saudi public schools. The course aims to promote the teachers’ confidence and competence to use alternatives in classroom practices and develop an English communicative and interactive syllabus. Saudi public schools aim to educate students to use English in real-life communication. However, the current classroom practices do not meet these expectations. Despite having been taught English from Grade 4, most Saudi high school students graduate with low levels of understanding and competence when communicating in English. Saudi teachers and students are afraid of change because they are confused and suspicious about the functions and effectiveness of interactive classroom activities. This situation in schools demands the development of a training course based on communicative and interactive pedagogies and topics related to real life situations. The study is conducted in two cycles to investigate the training strategies and acquisition associated with MCE over 180 hours of training. Each cycle of MCE is based on the themes of the first three stages of research: theme 1- ‘identifying the problem’, theme 2- ‘reviewing literature’ and theme 3- ‘developing a plan’. Upon the completion of MCE in each cycle, participant teachers were encouraged to conduct the following two stages ‘implement the plan’ and ‘evaluate the outcomes’ at their classrooms while providing remote supervision and support. The MCE training course differs from the traditional trainer-directed approach to introducing a learner-centered approach. Two hundred and forty-three English teachers contributed to this study and participated in observations, directed group discussions and surveys. The study found that MCE contributes positively to teachers’ professional confidence and competence. The outcomes from this study will inform current practice and policy in the teaching and learning of English in Saudi Arabian training rooms as well as classrooms, and will contribute to creating an engaging, interactive and learner-centered training courses for the future.

The Analysis of Psychopathic Traits and Behavioral Problems Relationships in Italian Adolescents

In this article we analysed the association between psychopathic traits manifested at early age and behavioral problems in adolescents with an extension of correspondence analysis. The used technique allows to verify the relationship between row and column variables in a two-way contingency table. The data are obtained submitting to a sample of 689 high school students two questionnaires: The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)). Founding has an important pedagogical impact. The educational professionals, who spend most of the day with the kids, hardly can identify the Callous-unemotional traits but, at same time, could identify easily behavioral problems allowing the implementation of early treatments or the use of pedagogical strategies for young people that could have a high risk of psychopathic traits.

Presidential Interactions with Faculty Senates: Expectations and Practices

Shared governance is an important element in higher education decision making. Through the joint decision making process, faculty members are provided an opportunity to help shape the future of an institution while increasing support for decisions that are made. Presidents, those leaders who are legally bound to guide their institutions, must find ways to collaborate effectively with faculty members in making decisions, and the first step in this process is understanding when and how presidents and faculty leaders interact. In the current study, a national sample of college presidents reported their preparation for the presidency, their perceptions of the functions of a faculty senate, and ultimately, the locations for important interactions between presidents and faculty senates. Results indicated that presidents, regardless of their preparation, found official functions to be the most important for communicating, although, those presidents with academic backgrounds were more likely to perceive faculty senates as having a role in all aspects of an institutions management.

The Influence of Representational Formats and Learner Modality Preferences on Instructional Efficiency Using Interactive Video Tutorials

This study investigated how to create effective interactive video tutorials for learning computer-based tasks. The role of learner modality preferences was also considered. A 4 × 4 between-subjects factorial design was employed to examine the influence of instruction representational formats (noninteractive static, interactive static, interactive visual-only video with onscreen text, interactive video with audio narration) and learner modality preferences (visual, aural, read/write, multimodal) on instructional efficiency. Instructional efficiency was a combined effect of test performance and perceived cognitive load during learning. The results suggested that implementing interactivity into the video tutorials tended to increase transfer performance, and the role of modality preferences was related to learners’ perceived cognitive load. The significant interaction effect on transfer efficiency indicated: (a) the auditory preference tended to exhibit better transfer efficiency with the narrated video, and (b) the read/write preference tended to exhibit better transfer efficiency with both the noninteractive static format and the captioned video. This study highlighted the importance of considering individual differences in modality preferences, particularly that of auditory and read/write learners.

From Social Research to Education and Training - Campaigns to Raising Public Awareness of Hazards

The education of society regarding safety is in fact the cheapest, smartest and most effective form of preventing danger. It constitutes a fundamental way of building the population’s safety. It also has a great influence upon the attitudes, values, knowledge and skills required for proper behaviour in case of danger.The article describes the education process consisting in the transfer of knowledge and teaching skills in order to take specific actions, as well as forms and tools to raise the level of social awareness, especially in terms of perceiving actions, and a list of references showing the flow of social research, its purpose, and the tools used. Most of the elements, however, are shown in the list of possibilities to use tools on a very large scale, in the form of social campaigns. An example is given of a practical approach to all departments and goals for raising the level of social opinion in Transcarpathia and of hazadrs occurring in that area and ways to counteract them.

Technology Integration: Teaching Elementary Deaf Student English Language Arts

This study examined an elementary deaf education teacher’s experiences and practices regarding the integration of technology into an English/Language Arts (ELAR) classroom. Most deaf students experience challenges acquiring and learning English as a second language. Research continues to indicate deaf students graduate high school with a fourth-grade reading level. Specifically, the study investigated how technology was used to support the development of English/Language Arts skills in deaf students based on McCrory’s model on technological integration (McCrory, 2006). McCrory’s (2016) technology integration model is used to identify the teacher knowledge and use of technology. The model includes four components: representation, information, transformation, and collaboration. Using a qualitative case study design, data was collected using interviews, surveys, and observations. The data collected focused on the teacher only and did not include the students. The analysis showed how the ELAR teacher used technology to teach deaf students in relation to the four components of McCrory’s model. Implications for K-12 teacher preparation and professional development are discussed.