Socio-Economic Factors Contributing to Female Students’ Dropout in Community Technical Colleges in Thyolo and Phalombe Districts: A Case of Milonga and Naminjiwa Technical Colleges

Most students in community technical colleges dropout before completion of their training course, particularly female students, which is counterproductive with regard to women empowerment. This paper therefore, reports on a study that was conducted at Milonga and Naminjiwa community technical colleges in Thyolo and Phalombe districts respectively. Thus, the study sought to establish probable socio-economic factors that influence dropout of female students from the two colleges, with a view of finding solutions to the problem. The two colleges were earmarked for the study because of their proximity to tea estates where manpower is the main source of labour for the tea industry. In addition, people in the two districts have similar cultural beliefs and economic status. Population of the study covered both female and male students including principals and instructors of the two technical colleges. In addition, identified parents of female students who dropped out of school were also part of the study. Thus, the study was conducted through qualitative research method so as to have an in-depth understanding of people views. Data was collected with reference to objectives of the study and then thematically analyzed. The study revealed several socio-economic factors that contribute to dropout of female students from the two colleges such as: cost of training and poverty, domestic chores and parents’ characteristics, cultural factors, early marriages and gender difference including training environment. However, the relationship among students and instructors showed that it had no effect on dropout as it was cordial and amicable. Recommendations to policy makers and other stakeholders were proposed as follows: Government and Ministry of Labour Skills and Innovation should have a national policy to provide bursaries and loans to needy students. The government should construct hostels at the two colleges to have conducive training environment. Ministry of Labour Skills and Innovation should organize awareness campaign programmes to sensitize the community surrounding the two colleges on the importance of TVET. Ministry of Labour Skills and Innovation should recruit more female instructors to act as role models to other female students.

Phone Cameras and the Internet as it affects the Photographic Abilities of Students in South-South Nigeria

Illustrations when captured using cameras help its mastery, but photographic skills have been hampered by the discovery of the digitalised camera phone manufactured by Samsung and released in South Korea in June of 2000. Photographic skills have further been slowed down by the coming of the internet. To cover this empirical study, one objective and research question was used. The study therefore examined the effects of phone cameras and the internet on the photographic abilities of students in South-South Nigeria. The target population was students who studied Fine and Applied Arts that specialized in graphics. The population only involved the years three and four students. The methodology was a quantitative survey which applied the interview of students and lecturers. The cluster and purposive sampling method was applied. Data was analyzed using simple percentages. Fifty two students in all were interviewed and presenting four questions while those of lectures was eleven presenting two questions. The action of students in this study was greatly influenced by two theories. The theory of social exchange which is maximized by rewards and minimized by costs and the theory of reinforcement, the stimuli coming from the teachers being quiet on the students direction. The results indicated that the student’s photographic knowledge was negatively affected by the use of phone cameras and the use of the internet especially on their phones. This situation was accentuated by their teachers not insisting on how or where to obtain illustrations. The recommendations included their lecturers insisting on the use of professional cameras, the university authorities providing quality professional cameras for study purposes and lecturers must insist that students avoid the use of phone camera for their illustrative assignments because its provides another avenue to download and copy.

Traditional Ewe Folktale: A behaviour modification strategy in the Early Grade Education classrooms in Ghana.

Purpose: Behaviour modification is considered a task of the home and the school. It is the duty of the school to nib in the bud any negative behaviour children pick from the home environment at the early grade level. This paper explores the impact and usefulness of messages from Traditional Ewe Folktales hereafter (TEF) in the training of early grade children in Ghana. Methodology: This paper is a qualitative research. Primary data was collected from four separate storytelling sessions in home and school settings. Six stories were narrated in the home setting by two old ladies under moonlight for fifteen children each from a rural setting. In the school setting, one story each was narrated by two teachers in two different schools. Storytelling periods on the school time table was used. Three stories were considered for analysis; Two and one story each were randomly selected from the home and school settings respectively. Results: It was found that educational values are imbedded in TEF. The educational values include the values of the society such as honesty, hard work, teamwork, patriotism and turn taking. Regular and purposeful use of these stories has the propensity of modifying behaviour. The paper concluded that when these educational values are tapped and developed through appropriate exemplars in the enactment of the school curriculum, behaviour modifications would occur with sustainability. The use of teaching strategies like role play, dramatization and songs can drive the behaviour modification. The paper recommended that TEF should be included in early grade classroom activities as a teaching strategy but not a means of whiling time. Parents should support teachers to gain more knowledge of TEF for classroom practices. The school base in-service training should be revived to equip teachers with knowledge of TEF and its application in the classroom.

Educational Finance in Pre-Covid and Covid-19 Era in Nigeria: What has changed and Way Forward

For few decades, education has been receiving financial attention from the government and other concerned personnel in the society owing to the general belief that education is the key that opens great door of sustainable development to any country of the world; it is the major tool for individual, national, socio-economic development, poverty eradication and it should be adequately financed to have desired results. Unfortunately education is still underfunded in Nigeria despite enormous resources invested in it in form of allocations yearly. This has over the years exposed the educational sector of Nigeria to drastic ruin as a result of mismanagement of allocated resources and other functional financial fraudulent acts in the sector. Few years back the world experienced global economic meltdown (recession) which also led the Nigerian education sector to struggle with meeting its financial obligations and while the nation was witnessing this, the unexpected outbreak of coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic occurred forcing the sector to experience extremely lack of finance to keep the sector moving. To justify this insinuations this paper reviewed the financing of the educational system in pre-covid and covid-19 era in Nigeria; what has changed over the years, the challenges associated with the changes and the way forward in form of recommendations.

UTILIZATION OF COMPUTER LITERACY SKILLS IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH BY LECTURERS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION LECTURERS IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Purpose: Every institution has its aims and objectives with activities to be carried out and resources to be utilize to achieved the expected goals. Utilization of computer skills requires adequate planning and regular practicing for effective performance. The purpose of the study was to examine the computer literacy skills utilized in teaching and research by Federal and State colleges of Education lecturers in South East Nigeria. Methodology: Two research questions guided the study, while one null hypotheses was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey was adopted for the study, population of the study comprised of 2,102 lecturers in all the seven colleges of education in south east Nigeria. (Three federal and four state colleges of education) The sampling size was 630 using proportionate stratified sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was researcher –structured questionnaire titled Utilization of Computer Literacy skills Questionnaire (UCLSQ) which was validated by three experts. The reliability of the (UCLSQ) was established using Cronbach alpha formular to test for internal consistency of the items which yielded reliability indices of 0.82. the questionnaire copies were administered to the lecturers with the help of three research assistants. Method of data collection, Data collected was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and independent t-test. Results: The findings of the study further revealed among others that lecturers utilize only microsoft word skills and internet operation, but do not utilize microsoft power point, and microsoft excel, generally as shown in the study lecturers do no. Secondly, both Federal and state colleges of Education lecturers utilize microsoft word skills and internet operation skills but do not utilize microsoft powerpoint and microsoft excel skills. There is no significant difference between federal and state in utilizing microsoft word and internet operation skills, also there is a significance difference between federal and state lecturers in utilization of microsoft power point and microsoft excel in teaching and research. Policy recommendation: Based on the results of the study, it was recommended that the school management should on regular basis organize in house training programme for lecturers in the utilization of different computer skills for teaching and research and also provision of laboratory, personal laptops effective teaching and learning.

EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN THE TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN LAIKIPIA WEST SUB-COUNTY, LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The study aimed at finding out whether parents play a role in the teaching learning process of pupils in public schools in public primary schools in Laikipia West sub-county. Methodology: A mixed method research design was used where cross sectional descriptive survey was used on quantitative data and phenomenology was used to complement components of qualitative data. Population of 13 public Primary schools was sampled from the total 65 public Primary Schools in the Sub-County. Out of 2,236, pupils’ in class 6, 7 and 8, 3 girls and 3 boys were selected per class through stratification and simple random method. Parents/ guardians for the selected pupils were purposively selected regardless of their age, level of education and gender. All class teachers from the sampled schools were targeted and purposively selected. The data was collected using questionnaires, interview guide, document analysis guide and focus discussion guide. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was used to analyze quantitative data. Results: The results from the study showed that there is prevalence of parental roles on the pupil’s learning process in Laikipia West Sub- County mainly through attending school functions, assisting with homework, communicating with teachers and their children and provision of learning resources. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The recommendation was that those parents who were not actively involved on pupil’s academic related matters be sensitized on their roles of promoting child education. The County as well as national governments should support parents by establishing structures and policies that boost the standard of education in the area. According to this study such policies includes; establishing efficient and effective guidance and counseling programs in school, taking legal action on parents who keep their children at home, providing full sponsorship to needy parents and establishing boarding schools among the pastoralists communities.

EXAMINATION OF PARENTAL INVOLMENT ON UPPER PRIMARY PUPILS PARTICIPATION IN ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN LAIKIPIA WEST SUB-COUNTY, LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The study aimed at finding out whether parents in public primary schools in Laikipia West sub-county influence pupils to participate in academic activities. Methodology: A mixed method research design was used where cross sectional descriptive survey was used on quantitative data and phenomenology was used to complement components of qualitative data. Population of 13 public Primary schools was sampled from the total 65 public Primary Schools in the Sub-County. Out of 2,236, pupils’ in class 6, 7 and 8, 3 girls and 3 boys were selected per class through stratification and simple random method. Parents/ guardians for the selected pupils were purposively selected regardless of their age, level of education and gender. All class teachers from the sampled schools were targeted and purposively selected. The data was collected using questionnaires, interview guide, document analysis guide and focus discussion guide. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was used to analyze quantitative data. Nine hypotheses that sought to find out parental influence on pupils’ participation in academic activities were tested using correlation coefficient analysis. Qualitative data was transcribed, coded, and themed and interpreted in response to research questions. Results: The results from the study showed that there is prevalence of parental influence on pupil’s academic activities in Laikipia West Sub- County mainly through attending school functions, assisting with homework, communicating with teachers and their children and provision of learning resources. In response to parental involvement, pupils attended school regularly; asked questions in class, joined study groups and finished homework on time. Major restrictions to parental involvement included poverty, insecurity and illiteracy. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The recommendation was that those parents who were not actively involved on pupil’s academic related matters be sensitized on their roles of promoting child education. The County as well as national governments should support parents by establishing structures and policies that boost the standard of education in the area. According to this study such policies includes; establishing efficient and effective guidance and counseling programs in school, taking legal action on parents who keep their children at home, providing full sponsorship to needy parents and establishing boarding schools among the pastoralists communities.

EFFECT OF CONCEPT MAPPING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ACCOMPANIED BY DISCUSSION WEB ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CONCEPT OF GENETICS

Purpose: This study explored the effect of Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy Accompanied by Discussion Web on students’ academic achievement in the concept of Genetics at Navrongo Senior High School, generally, and on gender basis. Methodology: The study adopted quasi-experimental design (pretest, posttest non-equivalent design). The sample comprised of 80 Navrongo Senior High School Form Three Gold Track and Green Track science students. Students from the Green Track class and Gold Track class were assigned experimental group and control group respectively. The experimental group class was made up of 23 males and 20 females. The control group class was also made up of 24 males and 13 females. Pretest was administered to all the participants. The experimental group was taught using Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy Accompanied by Discussion Web. The control group was taught using Conventional Teaching Method. A posttest was administered to both groups to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. The reliability of the test items was determined using test-retest reliability coefficient. The test-retest reliability coefficients of the instruments were found to be 0.70 and 0.73 for the pretest and posttest respectively. The data obtained were analysed using t-test. Results: The pretest test scores revealed that the students were homogeneous in terms of academic achievement (t-value = 1.05, p-value=0.30, p>0.05). Posttest results of students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group (t-value = 8.07, p-value = 0.000, p < 0.05). The result of the posttest showed that the use of concept mapping instructional strategy accompanied by discussion web in teaching genetics was more effective than conventional teaching method. There was no statistically significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female students in the experimental group (t-value = 1.68, p-value = 0.11, p > 0.05). Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This study recommended that Biology teachers in Navrongo Senior High School should be encouraged to teach Genetics using Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy Accompanied by Discussion Web in order to improve the academic achievement of students. Science teachers should be given the opportunity to attend workshops, seminars, conferences to enable them update their knowledge on current instructional strategies that are capable of improving the academic achievement of students. The Government, Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education should establish professional development fund for teachers to enable them upgrade professionally and also improve on their teaching styles since most teacher are not abreast with the current or modern methods of teaching.

Transition from Preschool to Standard One in Botswana Public Primary Schools

Purpose: This paper examines transition from Preschool to Standard One in the Early Childhood Education programme implemented in 2013 in Botswana public primary schools. Methodology: The methodology employed in this study is the qualitative approach with multi-case study technique to investigate the implementation of the Early Childhood Education programme. Transitional Bilingual Education is used as the theoretical framework to benchmark the realities of transition from Preschool to Standard One classrooms. Data collection was done using open ended questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and scrutiny of learners’ artifacts. Results: The findings indicated that transition is not smooth due to the languages of instruction used at both Preschool and Standard One, learners who do not attend Preschool and lack of teacher aides in Standard One classes. The study concluded that there must be harmonization of languages of instruction at both levels to enable smooth transition. Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: Lastly, the study recommends compulsory Preschool learning for all young learners before entry into Standard One.

Factors influencing adolescent self-identity development of Senior High School Students in Effutu Municipality in Central Region. Ghana

Purpose: The study sought to explore the parental and peer factors that influence adolescent self-identity development of senior high school students in the Effutu Municipality. Methodology: The descriptive survey design using the quantitative method was adopted for the study. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 310 students for the study. Frequencies, percentages were used to answer the research questions while Independent-Samples t-test was used to test the hypotheses. Findings: The findings revealed that frequent parent-adolescent communication enhances adolescent self-identity development. It was also found that peer feedback was a source of adolescent self-identity development. The study also revealed that there was statistically significant gender difference with regard to peer factors contributing to adolescent self-identity development. Unique contribution to theory and practice: It was recommended that during Parents Teachers Association meetings, parents should be educated by the schools on the need to create conducive environments at home to help their children build strong self-identities since parents make impact on their self-identity development.