Challenges Faced by Student Affairs Practitioners in Embedding Indigenous Knowledge into Student Leadership Development Pedagogy. A Case for Zimbabwe

The drive to mainstream indigenous knowledge into student leadership development in Zimbabwean higher education has recently gained currency. Student leadership development has a Eurocentric historical background and it has continued on this paradigm in the post-independence era. Framed on decolonial theoretical framework this study interrogates the challenges that are faced by student affairs practitioners in their efforts to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership development programmes. The research was designed as a case study that employed qualitative methods of data collection and analysis focussing on student development practice at three state universities in Zimbabwe namely Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Science Education and Great Zimbabwe University. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with student Affairs practitioners and analysed through NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Research findings indicate that student affairs practitioners face a myriad of problems which hinder the mainstreaming of the knowledge of the local indigenous people into leadership development. These problems include lack of training to empower them with skills to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership training, lack of funding and policy guidelines. Theorising on this complexity the research recommends the designing of leadership programmes that imbue indigenous epistemologies of the local people in student development such as hunhu/ubuntu values.

Effects of Principals’ Provision of Teaching and Learning Materials on Students’ Perfomance in Mathematics in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Meru County

In the past few years, Mathematics performance among secondary school learners in Meru County has been decreasing. The current study aims to evaluate various administrative strategies used by principals and their effects on learners’ grade attainment in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Educationin Meru County. The study examines ways through which principals support mathematics teachers through trainings, seminars, workshops and how the support is translated into students’ performance. The study adopted ex post facto design to collect data and analyze the information for conclusion. The researcher analyzed KCSE data over the previous 5 years in Meru County, interviewed the principals, and designed questionnaire for Mathematics teachers. A total of 836 Mathematics teachers and 299 principals across the county were targeted.Using stratified and random sampling, only 251 Mathematics teachers and 92 principals were engaged, which accounts for only 30% of the target. The researcher used split half technique to test reliability and instrument piloting to ensure validity of the data. The study concluded that principals provided little support to Mathematics teachers to attend seminars and workshops. However, principals defended this by citing low resource budget allocations and inadequate resources to support teachers’ seminars and workshops. The findings of the current study can be used by education ministry, school administrator, teachers, and other stakeholders during the decision-making.

From Personal Experiences of Transformative Learning on Educational Challenges and Reforms in Secondary School in China

Educational policy generating 21st-century skills is accelerating, but Chinese education still employs traditional teaching such as memorizing and test-based instructional practices. The pencil and paper tests, no matter how sophisticated, are hard-pressed to measure interpersonal, intrapersonal skills, and the penetration of educational core values into secondary schools internationally, which is weak. This article aims to navigate the secondary school challenges and proposed reforms through analyzing the over 20 years of the author's experience. Findings show that high stakes cause teachers, school principals, parents, and students to disincentivize deeper learning. The exam-oriented teaching and learning approach causes students who might obtain a high score but lower functional performance. Parents' high hopes cause educational inequality and restrict students to develop their skills. Worse, the school principal utilized the power and authority in leading school development and evaluated teachers' performance based on students' test scores that force teachers to demand students to complete the mock practices and test. Because of test-based accountability, the study suggested that secondary school in China necessitates to abolish the "Gaokao" system instead of using a whole-personal assessment. The school leadership needs to shift from bureaucratic management to transformational, Junzi, and adaptive leadership. School principals advocate parents' commitment and deliver a quality of education to secondary school students. Therefore, future research explores how the "Gaokao" system causes inequality and impacts 21st-century skills for secondary school students' academic, emotional, and behavioral development through a comparative mixed research design.

A Path Analytical Model on Factors with the Implementation of Civic Education Curriculum among Teachers in Cross River State, Nigeria

The height of moral decadence of adolescent is a worrying development that may degenerate to uncontrolled situation if not checked. The crime rate and other civic problems in the society cannot be clearly linked to any particular cause, hence, the need to explore the underlying principle behind this horrible fashion. This problem prompts this study on factors with teachers’ implementation of civic education curriculum in secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted cross sectional survey design approach. A total number of all the 510 civic education teachers in public Secondary Schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State in 2019/2020 academic session were used for the study. A self-developed 60-item Questionnaire was used for data collection. The data analysis was subjected to Structural Equation Modeling using Analysis of MOment of Structure to generate a path analytical model and data analysis at .05 level of significance. The result revealed that there were significant direct predictive effects between teacher’s supervision, teacher’s knowledge of subject matter and teachers’ attitude and the implementation of civic education curriculum. It was recommended among others that teachers should advance their knowledge by enrolling further in academic programmes as well as engage in in-service training to update their knowledge for a better academic outcome of the students.

Information Communication & Technology (ICT): A Comparative Literature Review of Education in the United States and Liberia

Globally, the potential of ICT has resulted in mass deployment to transform the educational landscape in accordance with 21st- century demands. The diffusion of ICT within education has shown tremendous benefit, positively impacting students and teachers in learning, instruction, engagement, and assessment (Fu, 2013) However, the widespread application of technology to address education access and quality has not been universally adopted for various reasons, resulting in the exclusion of critical segments of the world's population. As a result of the current technology inequities, the current literature review focuses on access to and use of ICT within education. More specifically, it seeks to explore: (1) what does the comparative and international research say regarding the factors that facilitate access to and use of ICT among underserved K-8 education populations in the United States and Liberia?

Design Guidelines for Applications that Target Arab Dyslexic Students

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that involves difficulties in reading and affects the academic achievement of students with dyslexia, particularly in reading. It is a language-based learning disability, where the severity of difficulties varies across different languages. Arab dyslexic students are in need for tools that support their academic achievement process. The design of most of the educational applications in Arabic language that target dyslexic student, do not meet their special needs and requirements. Our contribution is an analysis of design considerations to reach a suitable design for applications that targets Arab students with dyslexia. The result of our analysis is presented as a number of guidelines that are related to the applications elements.

International Higher Education Students and Educators Psychological Experiences of Covid-19 in an Emerging Country

The Coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) is hastily spreading, bringing pressure and challenges to international students and educators in a higher education institution who were locked down on campus during the COVID-19 outbreak. We sought to explore psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were 20 conveniently selected international higher education students and educators who were locked down on Campus from March 20 to September 25, 2020. The interviews were conducted face to face. Data were thematically analysed. The study was informed by the ecological systems theory. The psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during COVID-19 pandemic were categorized in to four themes. Frist negative emotions present in early stages involving discomfort, anxiety and helplessness caused by isolation, fear and concern for safety. Second self-coping strategies included psychological and life adjustments, social distancing, acceptance of wearing of masks, hand sanitizing and online/blended learning. Third we reported growth under the crisis which included affection for family members, peers and self-reflection. Finally, we reported that positive emotions occurred concurrently with negative emotions. During the COVID-19 crisis positive and negative emotions of international higher education students and educators intertwined and co-occurred. Self-coping strategies and psychological growth played a crucial role in maintaining mental health of the students and educators. The international students and educators in a higher education institution appeared to be thriving in coping with the COVID19 crisis and lockdown situation which enhanced their participation in online/blended learning.

A Tale of Two Degrees: Always Ask Why

Variations of the familiar formulae for inter-converting temperature readings on the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales are developed, and the genesis of the alternative formulae are attributed to the process of reflective study. The opportunity to gain a better intuitive grasp of just exactly what one is doing and even the possibility of finding better ways of doing things are emphasized as rewards of reflection, along with the ensuing sense of personal accomplishment that fuels self-motivation and engenders self-esteem.

Emotion Detection and Opinion Mining from Student Comments for Teaching Innovation Assessment

Students can provide their opinions, comments, or suggestions about a course, course instructor, study environment, and available resources using the course evaluation at the end of every semester. This helps the course professors and other college authorities make appropriate changes or continue a particular approach to get the best experience in classrooms. These course evaluations are in both quantitative and qualitative forms. In quantitative feedback the evaluation is performed in terms of measurable outcomes and include a Likert-type scale to capture the level of agreement and disagreement. In qualitative feedback the students can convey their feelings, opinions or suggestions about the course, the course instructor, or their overall thoughts/comments towards the course. The qualitative feedbacks provide freedom for the students to express their honest thoughts on a course. The data collected in the qualitative form provides deeper insight into a student’s emotional state. In this work we focus on mining the qualitative student feedbacks and analyzing the student sentiments. We also analyze the efficiency of Light Weight teams and Flipped Classroom approach which are Active Learning methods. Results show that the implementation of these Active Learning methods is linked with increased positivity in student emotions.

Enhancing Cultural Intelligence and Digital Literacy in Accounting Education: Insights from a University’s Global Student Consulting Programme

Recent literature has advocated for the use of project based learning to engage students in active learning. This study examines how students’ learning is enhanced through an overseas project-based learning (PBL) programme at a Singapore University (UNIS), called the UNIS-XO pedagogy. Specifically, this study provides a framework through which students, faculty members, and industry partner can collaborate through consulting programs with the aim to provide feasible recommendations to the clients. Our findings suggest that an experiential PBL with an overseas client is an important learning experience through which students can strengthen their digital literacy as well as cross-cultural competency to make them more futureready for their work.