Sexual Violence and HIV/AIDS in Kenyan & Ugandan Schools: Social Implications for Education Policy Development - Wane, Njoki Nathani (Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2009)
With sexual violence becoming widespread in Kenyan and other schools in the region, this paper specifically investigates problems of sexual assault and the heightened risks of HIV/AIDS in Kenyan and Ugandan schools. The paper is based on research undertaken in the concerned areas in 2006. To provide an effective descriptive and, by extension, analytical backdrop for the case, the paper provides important background information based on available literature on sexual violence in schools. As noted below, some of the major factors contributing to increased cases of sexual violence and rising incidences of HIV/AIDS in Kenyan and Ugandan schools are also presented. With that in place, issues related to policy development and possibilities of implementing those policies to address the problem of sexual violence in Kenyan and Uganda schools are examined, with recommendations for policies and programs provided.
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Impact of drought‐related vaccination on livestock mortality in pastoralist areas of Ethiopia - Catley, Andy; Abebe, Dawit; Admassu, Berhanu; Bekele, Gezu; Abera, Bisrat Mesfin; Eshete, Gezahegn; Rufael, Tesfaye; Haile, Tesfaye (Disasters, 2009)
Under a national Livestock Policy Forum in Ethiopia the impact of livestock vaccination during drought was assessed in order to inform the development of a best‐practice guideline. For each of the different types of vaccine used during drought years there was no significant difference in livestock mortality, for any species, in vaccinated compared with non‐vaccinated herds. The limited impact of vaccination on livestock mortality was attributed to weaknesses in the design and implementation of vaccination programmes, including use of inappropriate vaccines, low vaccination coverage, problems with vaccine dosing, incorrect timing of vaccination and problems with vaccine storage. If these weaknesses could be overcome vaccination could be a useful means to protect livestock assets, with considerable benefit‐cost ratios. Vaccination should be conducted as a standard preventive measure during normal years, and programme design should be informed by participatory epidemiological studies.
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An Emerging Human Right to Security from Climate Change: The Case Against Gas Flaring in Nigeria - Sinden, Amy (2009)
Most of the oil wells in Nigeria are accompanied by a raging flame that burns twenty-four hours a day, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky, killing the surrounding vegetation with searing heat, emitting a deafening roar, and belching a cocktail of smoke, soot, and toxic chemicals into the air along with a potent mixture of greenhouse gases. In 2005, the Federal High Court of Nigeria ruled that the widespread practice of gas flaring by Shell and other oil companies in the Niger Delta constituted a human rights violation. This may be the first court ruling anywhere in the world to suggest that there is a human right to security from climate change. Such a right is warranted. It actually fits comfortably within the principles and values that underlie some of the oldest and most venerated rights in the civil and political rights tradition. Even though that tradition was born over two hundred years ago, long before anyone could have conceived of the idea of climate change, this problem - at least in its political aspects - is exactly the kind of problem that civil and political rights are aimed at combating. It is a problem that arises fundamentally from the distortion of government decision making by power. Nor does the fact that the actions complained of here were committed by private actors take this case outside the rubric of human rights. Even under traditional doctrine, the close relationship between Shell and the Nigerian government in this case may well warrant a finding of liability against Shell for acting in concert with the State. But even in cases where no joint venture with the government can be proved, it may be appropriate to hold the multi-national corporation liable. The same concerns that animated the conceptualization of civil and political rights in the eighteenth century as rights against the State, warrant the imposition of such rights directly against multinational corporations in the twenty-first century, when such corporations wield more wealth than many countries and the power of multinationals to affect the conditions of daily existence for individuals often rivals that of government.
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Addressing gaps in surgical skills training by means of low-cost simulation at Muhimbili University in Tanzania - Taché, Stephanie; Mbembati, Naboth; Marshall, Nell; Tendick, Frank; Mkony, Charles; O’Sullivan, Patricia (Human Resources for Health, 2009)
Providing basic surgical and emergency care in rural settings is essential, particularly in Tanzania, where the mortality burden addressable by emergency and surgical interventions has been estimated at 40%. However, the shortages of teaching faculty and insufficient learning resources have hampered the traditionally intensive surgical training apprenticeships. The Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences consequently has experienced suboptimal preparation for graduates practising surgery in the field and a drop in medical graduates willing to become surgeons. To address the decline in circumstances, the first step was to enhance technical skills in general surgery and emergency procedures for senior medical students by designing and implementing a surgical skills practicum using locally developed simulation models.A two-day training course in nine different emergency procedures and surgical skills based on the Canadian Network for International Surgery curriculum was developed. Simulation models for the surgical skills were created with locally available materials. The curriculum was pilot-tested with a cohort of 60 senior medical students who had completed their surgery rotation at Muhimbili University. Two measures were used to evaluate surgical skill performance: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations and surveys of self-perceived performance administered pre- and post-training.Thirty-six students participated in the study. Prior to the training, no student was able to correctly perform a surgical hand tie, only one student was able to correctly perform adult intubation and three students were able to correctly scrub, gown and glove. Performance improved after training, demonstrated by Objective Structured Clinical Examination scores that rose from 6/30 to 15/30. Students perceived great benefit from practical skills training. The cost of the training using low-tech simulation was four United States dollars per student.Simulation is valued to gain experience in practising surgical skills prior to working with patients. In the context of resource-limited settings, an additional benefit is that of learning skills not otherwise obtainable. Further testing of this approach will determine its applicability to other resource-limited settings seeking to develop skill-based surgical and emergency procedure apprenticeships. Additionally, skill sustainability and readiness for actual surgical and emergency experiences need to be assessed.
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Investigations of the March 2006 African dust storm using ground‐based column‐integrated high spectral resolution infrared (8–13 μm) and visible aerosol optical thickness measurements: 2. Mineral aerosol mixture analyses - Thomas, Michael J.; Gautier, Catherine (Journal of Geophysical Research, 2009)
The mineral aerosol mixture composition for the March 2006 Saharan dust storm is assessed in this paper on the basis of the analysis of visible to near‐infrared (VIS‐NIR) and infrared (IR) aerosol optical thickness (AOT) spectra obtained during the Portable Infrared Aerosol Transmission Experiment (PIRATE). The AOT spectra from 8 to 13 μ m were determined using column‐integrated solar transmission measurements using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. To determine the mineralogy and mixture composition of the dust, we determined the expected mineralogy of dust from the Algerian source region in a dust storm environment. Then we computed the modeled VIS‐IR AOT spectra using Mie theory for external and internal mixtures. We compared the modeled VIS‐NIR AOT spectra and derived index of refraction and single‐scattering albedo with the measured values from AERONET and compared the modeled IR AOT spectra with the values from our IR measurements. The fit between the measured and modeled values was best when we used an extinction resonance correction to the Mie theory results to better account for the exact wavelengths and shapes of some of the AOT peaks for mineral particles. The mineralogy and mixture composition of the best dust model includes external mixtures, internal mixtures, and mineralogy dominated by quartz, illite, and calcite. The modeled mean radius was determined, and several modes were computed in agreement with AERONET results.
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Toluene-Induced Hearing Loss in the Guinea Pig - Waniusiow, Delphine; Campo, Pierre; Venet, Thomas; Cossec, Benoı̂t; Cosnier, Frédéric; Beydon, Dominique; Rieger, B.; Burgart, Manuella; Ferrari, Luc; Parietti‐Winkler, Cécile (Toxicological Sciences, 2009)
Toluene is a high-production industrial solvent, which can disrupt the auditory system in rats. However, toluene-induced hearing loss is species dependent. For instance, despite long-lasting exposures to high concentrations of aromatic solvent, no study has yet succeeded in causing convincing hearing loss in the guinea pig. This latter species can be characterized by two metabolic particularities: a high amount of hepatic cytochrome P-450s (P-450s) and a high concentration of glutathione in the cochlea. It is therefore likely that the efficiency of both the hepatic and cochlear metabolisms plays a key role in the innocuousness of the hearing of guinea pigs to exposure to solvent. The present study was carried out to test the auditory resistance to toluene in glutathione-depleted guinea pigs whose the P-450 activity was partly inhibited. To this end, animals on a low-protein diet received a general P-450 inhibitor, namely SKF525-A. Meanwhile, they were exposed to 1750 ppm toluene for 4 weeks, 5 days/week, 6 h/day. Auditory function was tested by electrocochleography and completed by histological analyses. For the first time, a significant toluene-induced hearing loss was provoked in the P-450-inhibited guinea pigs. However, the ototoxic process caused by the solvent exposure was different from that observed in the rat. Only the stria vascularis and the spiral fibers were disrupted in the apical coil of the cochlea. The protective mechanisms developed by guinea pigs are discussed in the present publication.
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Education and the role of the church in Africa: three relevant aspects - Jansen, Cecelia; Pretorius, F.J.; Niekerk, E.J. Van (Koers, 2009)
In this article an attempt is made to provide a grounded basis for expanded church involvement in the provision of formal education, HIV and AIDS education and leadership education in Africa. This is done on the basis of a fundamental reflection on the role of the church in education, as well as a brief analysis of the formal education challenge, the HIV and AIDS challenge and the leadership challenge in Africa.
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Influences on the decision-making, beliefs, pedagogy, and practices of a primary grade 3 literacy teacher in Uganda - Jenkins, Jill (2009)
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Physical trauma experience among school children in periurban Blantyre, Malawi - Muula, Adamson S; Misiri, Humphreys E (Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), 2009)
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A Qualitative Analysis of Teachers' and Counselors' Perceptions of the Overrepresentation of African Americans in Special Education - Shippen, Margaret E.; Curtis, Rebecca S.; Miller, Alan N. (Teacher Education and Special Education, 2009)
In this study, the authors investigate the perceptions of general educators, special educators, and school counselors on the topic of overrepresentation of minorities (specifically, African American) in special education programs. The study took place in a rural school district in south central Alabama, where overrepresentation of African American students in the category of mental retardation had been identified as a chronic problem by the Alabama State Department of Education. Participants took part in focus groups that were held separately for each identified group (e.g., general educators: n = 5; special educators: n = 4; and school counselors: n = 4). Qualitative data collected from the focus groups were examined using content analysis, resulting in the identification of multiple overlapping themes related to overrepresentation. These themes included a lack of family involvement, misinterpretation of assessment results, a lack of understanding of overrepresentation, and unclear ideas about disability characteristics. Findings from the data include a discussion of variables related to systematic bias and susceptibility to disability labeling. Implications for professional development and educator training are presented.
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Prevalence of Malocclusion among School children in Benin City, Nigeria - Ajayi, Emmanuel O. (Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research, 2009)
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of malocclusion in Benin City.A total of 441 school children, 229 males and 212 females of mean age 13.52 years ± 1.83 who had no previous history of orthodontic treatment were assessed for occlusal, space and dental anomalies.Angle's classification was used to assess buccal sagittal relationships.The results showed that 15.9% of the subjects had normal occlusion, 80.7% had Angle's class I and 1.1% had Angle's class II div 1, 0.5% had Angle's class II div 2 and 1.8% Angle's class III malocclusion.Increased overjet and overbite was observed in 24.7% and 9.8% respectively.Anterior open bite was present in 4.1% while crossbite was found anteriorly and posteriorly in 7% and 4.5% respectively.Crowding in the upper (11.1%) and lower anterior segment (12%) were similar while spacing was more prevalent in the upper (29.9%) than the lower anterior segment (10.7%) with midline diastema present in 19.5%.The occlusal traits were not influenced by gender difference (P>0.05).The survey revealed predominance of Class I malocclusion among Nigerian children in Benin City with their occlusal traits comparable to those reported from other Nigerian geo-political regions.
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Motorcycle related ocular injuries in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria. - Enock, ME; Dawodu, O O; Osahon, AI (Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research, 2009)
This is a prospective study of all cases of motorcycle related accidents with involvement of the eyes seen at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital from January 2005 to December 2005.The study was conducted to assess the severity of ocular trauma, ocular structures mostly affected and initial effect on visual acuity in such injuries.All cases referred to the eye clinic as well as cases presenting at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Hospital with eye trauma, with or without other associated injuries from motorcycle accidents were included (even if not referred to the Eye Clinic).Fifty-six patients were seen.There were forty seven males (84%) and nine females (16%).The predominant age group was 21-30 years.Those mostly affected were students (14.1%).Ten patients had associated head injury with or without fracture of the facial bones.Two patients had fracture of the femur.The lids, conjuctiva and cornea were the ocular structures mostly affected.The use of protective helmets with facial covering for all motorcyclists should be enforced.Job creation for unemployed youths will make earning a living as commercial motorcyclists less attractive.Provision of good mass transportation system and an improvement in the road network will abolish the need for the use of motorcycle as a means for public transportation.
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Factors affecting the effectiveness of performance appraisal of teaching staff in Tivet institutions: the case of Kenya Polytechnic - Guantai, Florence K. (2009)
The study set out to investigate the factors that affect the effectiveness of performance appraisal of teaching staff in TIVET Institutions. Generally it was felt that the current appraisal system in TIVET Institutions did not allow employee participation during the Process. An effective appraisal is one, which an employee is involved in setting the targets, and in evaluating himself/herself In order to improve the performance ofthe teaching staff, there is need to establish an effective performance appraisal system, which all employees own. First identifying the factors that hinder the effectiveness of the appraisal exercise and secondly suggesting ways in which improvement would be done would achieve this. The conceptual framework summarized the factors that are likely to affect the performance appraisal of teaching staff in TIVET Institutions. The Objectives of performance appraisal and the extent to which feedback was obtained by the appraised, the appraisal method applied, the process involved, the factors and the reward or outcomes of the appraisal exercise such as promotion, training and rewards all had a bearing on the effectiveness of the staff performance appraisal. The research design adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population comprised of about 350 teaching staff that included TSC staff, part -timers and heads of department who were involved in appraising the staff. A sample size of 40 teaching staff representing 10% of the population was selected using stratified random sampling method for the study. Data was collected using questionnaire method due to its reliability and analyzed using frequency distribution tables, pie charts, histograms and percentages. The study revealed that failure to set performance targets, to involve employee in the appraisal process, to use rewards after appraising employees and lack of commitment on the appraisal exercise all had a bearing on the effectiveness of the appraisal exercise. The study recommended that the current performance appraisal exercise requires overall change and new modem performance management practices should be embraced. There is need to address issues such as confidentiality and transparency of the appraisal process which contributed to ineffectiveness of performance appraisal in TIVET Institutions.
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Phenylketonuria in Tunisian institutions for the mentally handicapped - Khemir, Sameh; Tebib, Néji; Nasrallah, Fahmi; Nour, Farid; Mizouni, Habiba; Elasmi, Monia; Sanhaji, Haïfa; Jemaa, Riadh; Feki, Moncef; Dridi, M. F. Ben; Mebazaa, Alexandre; Kaabachi, N. (Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2009)
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most frequent inherited metabolic disorder and results in progressive mental retardation. The incidence of PKU varies widely in neonates: it is high in Turkey (1:2600) and Ireland (1:4500) and low in Japan (1:125 000).1 The incidence of the disease is unknown in Tunisia and North Africa. In the absence of a newborn screening program for PKU and considering the high rate of consanguineous marriages in Tunisia, this study aimed to assess the incidence of PKU among institutionalised patients with a mental handicap. A …
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Stereotypes of African Americans and Media Use Among Chinese High School Students - Tan, Alexis S.; Zhang, Yunying; Zhang, Lingling; Dalisay, Francis (The Howard journal of communications, 2009)
Little research has examined stereotypes of American racial minorities held by people living abroad. This study attempts to fill this gap by surveying Chinese high schools students to find out their stereotypes of African Americans, their sources of information about Americans in general, and whether stereotypes were related to media use. The results were mixed: Use of Chinese media sourcesled to positive stereotypes of African Americans, and use of American media sources led to negative stereotypes. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
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Osteosarcoma of limb bones: a clinical, radiological and histopathological diagnostic agreement at Black Lion Teaching Hospital, Ethiopia - Wamisho, Biruk Lambisso; Admasie, Daniel; Negash, Bayush E.; Tinsay, Mihiret W. (Malawi medical journal, 2009)
To measure the strength of agreement in clinical, radiological and histopathological diagnosis of osteosarcoma in a 5 year study period.Addis Ababa University, Black-Lion ('Tikur Anbessa') Hospital-BLH, is the country's highest tertiary level referral and teaching hospital. The departments involved in this study (Radiology, Pathology and Orthopedics) receive referred patients from all over the country.All bone tumor patients, presenting to the three departments at BLH between the study period, December, 2003 - March, 2008 were recruited for the study. 51 patients with radiological diagnosis of osteosarcoma of the extremities were identified and their clinical and histopathological diagnoses reviewed in detail. All patients had a clinical examination, plain radiographs and biopsies of the affected part of the extremity. Radiographs of selected difficult cases were discussed at joint orthopedic & radiologic sessions every week. The radiological and histopathological diagnoses made were categorized separately using WHO classification of bone tumors. Strength of agreement between radiological and histopathological diagnoses was measured using Cohen's Kappa test.Of the total of 216 bone tumor patients presented and biopsied in the five year period, fifty one (51) had osteosarcoma of extremity bones. Commonest age affected by osteosarcoma was 16 (7-55 years) and sex ratio was 1:1. Osteosarcoma was also the single most common clinical, radiological and histological diagnosis made. Considering all bone tumors presented together, the study indicated that radiological diagnosis was confirmed by similar histological diagnosis in 172 out 205 cases (84%) and the corresponding Cohen's Kappa value (0.82) showed excellent level of agreement between radiological and histological diagnoses of all bone tumors. The agreement between radiological and histopathological diagnoses of osteosarcoma of the limbs was 84.5%.There is an excellent agreement between clinical, radiological and histopathological diagnoses of bone tumors in general and osteosarcoma in particular. In setups where there is limited or no histopathological service, joint clinical and radiological decision could lead to a higher degree of accuracy in diagnosis of bone tumors, especially osteosarcoma. Radiological diagnosis of bone tumors at Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa is excellent.
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REHABILITATION CARE OUTCOME OF LOWER LIMB FRACTURES IN A NIGERIAN TEACHING HOSPITAL·A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY - Akande, Olawale; Oa, Olakulehin (2009)
Fracture is a common cause ofinjuries to lower extremities. It is clinically assumed that younger and male patients have better outcome following acute care rehabilitation of lower limb fractures. This study was therefore carried out to investigate pattern and outcome oj acute care rehabilitation of lower limb fractures. All cases of unilateral lower limb fractures referred for physiotherapy at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria between November, 2001 and OCtober 2006 were reviewed. Information on personal and clinical characteristics relating to acute care rehabilitation was retrieved from their case files. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 197 patients of male to female ratio 2.3:1 with mean age 38.7± 17. 77years were reviewed. Majority (48.2%) were aged 20-39 years. Majority ofthe patients (74.6%) under review were involved in road traffic accident with a half of them (51. 3%) sustaining fracture of femur. A large proportion of patients (47. 7%) under review were managed non operatively. More than half of these patients (67.8%) completed their ambulation training with axillary crutches within three physiotherapy sessions with 148(75.1 %) patients discharged satisfactorily with either axillary crutches or walking frame. Outcome of ambulation training was found to be associated with age (p=0.03) but was neither associated with gender (p=0.12) nor methods of reduction offractures (p=0.3l). Age is a significant determinant of outcome of rehabilitation of fractures of lower extremities. In other words, the younger a patient with lower limb fracture is, the better the outcome of acute care rehabilitation. Key words: Lower limb fractures, rehabilitation outcome
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The Impact of Peer Collaboration in Enhancing Mathematics Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Skills : Lessons from Tanzania - Kitta, Septimi; Mafumiko, Fidelice M. S. (2009)
It is reported that the Tanzania government is facing a big challenge of organising in-service education programmes that would have impact on mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and skills (PCK&S), which ultimately improve students’ performance in the subject. By using development research approach, a study was designed to evaluate the impact of peer collaboration with the use exemplary materials in probability. The investigation involved 6 ordinary level (junior secondary) mathematics teachers and 130 Form 4 (12th Graders) mathematics students. In data collection, the study used triangulation process that involved observation of collaborative activities, interviews, and student test. Findings from this study revealed that teachers had adopted the collaborative activities that were promoted through the programme for the purpose of enhancing their PCK&S. Moreover, they were also stimulated to conduct other collaborative activities. Findings from students’ test results showed that there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores, demonstrating that students gained knowledge as a result of activity-based probability lessons. Combining the results from teachers’ experiences with peer collaboration and students’ learning, it can be concluded that the COllaboration to Support MAthematics Teachers (COSMAT) programme had yielded a positive impact on teachers’ PCK&S and teacher collaboration.
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Engaging with teachers’ knowledge: promoting inclusion in Zambian schools - Miles, Susie (Disability & Society, 2009)
Current efforts to ensure that every child completes a full cycle of primary education are hampered by chronic poverty and prolonged conflict in the South. It is estimated that 75 million children of primary age are out of school and that one‐third are disabled. This paper contrasts the exclusionary impact of the global digital and communication divide with the international rhetoric of Education for All. Access to information has increased in our brave new world, but inequitably. In this paper insights are explored from a study carried out by the Enabling Education Network in schools in Northern Zambia, in which reflective writing played a role in generating locally relevant teachers’ knowledge. Although there was only minimal evidence of the benefits of the digital revolution, the Zambian teachers successfully developed a problem‐based approach to including disabled children in education as part of their commitment to child rights.
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Assessing the organic pollution of surface water of Medjerda watershed (NE Algeria) - Guasmi, Imen; Kherici-Bousnoubra, Houria; Kherici, Nacer; Hadji, Fatiha (Environmental Earth Sciences, 2009)
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How Much Did Droughts Matter? Linking Rainfall and GDP Growth in Zimbabwe - Richardson, Craig J. (Social Science Research Network, 2009)
Since 2000, Zimbabwe's government, as well as other international aid organizations, have repeatedly blamed the country's sharp economic downturn on persistent and severe droughts. Indeed, past research has shown strong links between rainfall and maize yields in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that the lack of rainfall is an attractive culprit for the recent collapse of Zimbabwe's agriculture-based economy. This article probes this hypothesis further, by examining primary data from 38 countrywide rainfall stations during the 1960-1961/2002-2003 time-frame, in order to put the recent economic decline in better historical context. The article finds little evidence that Zimbabwe's recent economic difficulties were caused by either low or erratic rainfall, suggesting that the recent collapse of the economy is far more likely a result of government mismanagement.
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How Much Did Droughts Matter? Linking Rainfall and GDP Growth in Zimbabwe - Richardson, Craig J. (Social Science Research Network, 2009)
Since 2000, Zimbabwe's government, as well as other international aid organizations, have repeatedly blamed the country's sharp economic downturn on persistent and severe droughts. Indeed, past research has shown strong links between rainfall and maize yields in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that the lack of rainfall is an attractive culprit for the recent collapse of Zimbabwe's agriculture-based economy. This article probes this hypothesis further, by examining primary data from 38 countrywide rainfall stations during the 1960-1961/2002-2003 time-frame, in order to put the recent economic decline in better historical context. The article finds little evidence that Zimbabwe's recent economic difficulties were caused by either low or erratic rainfall, suggesting that the recent collapse of the economy is far more likely a result of government mismanagement.
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Performance and confidence levels of students entering physics at three South African Universities - Malatje, Setswamohlokong Esther (2009)
A test instrument, made up of 25 items, derived from existing standardized tests from literature, was used to probe for the students' knowledge and understanding of basic mechanics concepts, as well as the confidence in the correctness of their answers. The test was administered to 982 first entering physics students; enrolled at three South African universities, at the beginning of the year before any formal instruction could take place. Data collected for this study included students' responses from multiple-choice questions and open-ended explanations to their chosen answers. The analysis of the multiple-choice responses and the written explanations revealed the existence of alternative conceptions among students and that the students' accuracy of judgment about their knowledge and understanding of basic mechanics concepts is different among the different cohorts. Physics education research, has over a number of years, revealed that students have alternative conceptions about physical processes. These alternative conceptions are accumulated from the students' past personal experiences, interactions with people around them and the environment they live in. It was found from the study that the strength of the known alternative conceptions differs among the different cohorts. There are those alternative conceptions that are easier to correct with sound teaching. These alternative conceptions exist mostly in worst performing cohorts and less so in the best performing cohorts. There are those alternative conceptions that persisted despite better teaching. These alternative conceptions are found in all the cohorts.
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Students' perceptions of Zambian women: choosing where to deliver - Kwaleyela, Concepta; Gottvall, Karin; Maimbolwa, Margaret; Arvidson, Anna-Berit Ransjö (African journal of midwifery and women's health, 2009)
In Zambia 57% of births occur at home under the supervision of unskilled attendants. This situation poses a danger to the lives of both delivering mothers and their newborns. The 2001–2002 Zambia Demographic Health Survey revealed that nearly two thirds of mothers who died in childbirth had delivered at home and most of the maternal deaths reported at health facilities were as a result of late referrals from home. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to explore Zambian midwifery students' perceptions of Zambian women's choice of place of delivery, either home or health facility. Four focus group discussions were held with 40 students from Lusaka School of Midwifery. The study deduced that in order to make childbirth safer midwives need to see themselves as change agents not as victims of external factors over which they have no influence.
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Positioning of Records and Archives Education in Uganda: An Analysis of the Trend - Okello‐Obura, Constant (ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, 2009)
The value of good records and archives management in thepromotion of accountability, good governance and human rightscannot be overemphasized. However, this can only be possible whena pool of well-trained human resources exist in the field of recordsand archives management. This article, based on a literature reviewexplores and makes the situation analysis of records and archivesmanagement education in Uganda. The article reviews the administrativehistory of Uganda to highlight the value of good records andarchives management for the promotion of national heritage. It makesamong others a review of records and archives management demandin Uganda; and states the intrinsic values of sound records management.The syllabus of Bachelor of Records and Archives Management(BRAM) in Uganda is presented. The challenges of recordsmanagement education with reference to Uganda and the wayforward are addressed.
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Relationship between management and strikes in the secondary schools of Uganda: a case study of Ntungamo District - Rukundo, Bwooya Moses (2009)
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The Impact of Socio-Economic Development and Climate Change on Livestock Management in Benin - Gruber, Ina (2009)
Contents: Natural and socio-economic conditions in Benin - Production methods in livestock management - Political and economic situation in livestock husbandry - Current problems and theoretical development path - Description of the agricultural sector model - Model simulations and results of BenIMPACT.
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LibGuides: African American Studies: Online Students - Salela, Pamela (2009)
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The Peer Interaction in Primary School Questionnaire: testing for measurement equivalence and latent mean differences in bullying between gender in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the USA - Hussein, Mohamed Habashy (Social Psychology of Education, 2009)
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‘Tales ofSymphonia’: extinction dynamics in response to past climate change in Madagascan rainforests - Virah‐Sawmy, Malika; Bonsall, Michael B.; Willis, Katherine J. (Biology letters (Print), 2009)
Madagascar's rainforests are among the most biodiverse in the world. Understanding the population dynamics of important species within these forests in response to past climatic variability provides valuable insight into current and future species composition. Here, we use a population-level approach to analyse palaeoecological records over the last 5300 years to understand how populations of Symphonia cf. verrucosa became locally extinct in some rainforest fragments along the southeast coast of Madagascar in response to rapid climate change, yet persisted in others. Our results indicate that regional (climate) variability contributed to synchronous decline of S. cf. verrucosa populations in these forests. Superimposed on regional fluctuations were local processes that could have contributed or mitigated extinction. Specifically, in the forest with low soil nutrients, population model predictions indicated that there was coexistence between S. cf. verrucosa and Erica spp., but in the nutrient-rich forest, interspecific effects between Symphonia and Erica spp. may have pushed Symphonia to extinction at the peak of climatic change. We also demonstrate that Symphonia is a good indicator of a threshold event, exhibiting erratic fluctuations prior to and long after the critical climatic point has passed.
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USE OF STABILISED EARTH IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOW COST SUSTAINABLE HOUSING IN AFRICA – AN ENERGY SOLUTION IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE - Zami, Mohammad Sharif; Lee, Angela (International Journal of Architectural Research: Archnet-IJAR, 2009)
Stabilised earth is an alternative building material which is significantly cheaper than using conventional brick and concrete, and is also environmentally sustainable. Earth has been used as a construction material in every continent and in every age. It is one of the oldest building materials. The use of earth on site as a building material saves manufacturing cost, time, energy, environmental pollution and transportation cost. Most African countries do not have any well-structured and effective program to address the global agenda of sustainability through the use of appropriate construction materials. In order to demonstrate stabilized earth as a sustainable appropriate construction material, the experiences and practices of using earth construction can be studied and harnessed from other subcontinents to demonstrate the dynamism of this material suitable for low cost house construction in the African subcontinent. This paper aims to identify and highlight potentiality of stabilized earth construction in the solution of low cost housing crisis in Africa and justify the use of this appropriate construction material is an energy solution in the era of climate change.
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Differentiated quality assurance for the African Virtual University’s teacher education qualification in mathematics and science - Hattingh, Annemarie (South African journal of higher education, 2009)
For the African Virtual University and its consortium of African universities the implementation of quality promoting initiatives are not without challenges and scepticisms. To be discussed in this article is the case of a teacher education qualification in ten different African countries. Seven countries were sampled and visited in 2006 with the aim of understanding quality assurance cultures and practices used for promoting quality. Findings showed that quality assurance processes manifest at various levels of readiness and maturity. The uneven quality assurance landscape led me to propose a ten-tiered differentiated Quality Assurance Framework. In analogy to Vygotsky’s theory of the ‘zone of feasible development’ I suggest the presence of do-able next steps where an institution can set their own priorities and timelines for reform towards quality. Self-paced planning I contend, will not be branded as technobureaucratic control, but will serve a developmental purpose towards inculcation and ownership of quality milestones.
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Joint sector reviews-M&E experiments in an era of changing aid modalities: Experiences from JSRs in the education sectors of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger - Holvoet, Nathalie; Inberg, Liesbeth (Public Administration and Development, 2009)
Abstract Aid policy and practice have been thoroughly shaken up over the past few years. One of the reform areas relates to monitoring and evaluation (M&E). In short, aid recipients are asked to elaborate result‐oriented frameworks while donors are expected to harmonise and align their policies and frameworks. This article examines the extent to which joint sector reviews (JSRs) could take the M&E reform agenda forward. JSRs are M&E exercises at the sector level which have the potential to satisfy the M&E needs of various stakeholders while, at the same time, also contributing to the M&E reform agenda. They are increasingly utilised on the ground, yet, so far, there do not exist any systematic stocktakings and/or analyses of them. Our own analysis of a sample of JSRs from the education sectors of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger indicate that JSRs score highly on harmonisation, coordination, leadership and broad‐based participation, but poorly on alignment. They generally prioritise accountability over learning needs and largely neglect accountability and learning at the level of the sector institutional apparatus. In this article, findings from the field are contrasted with insights from evaluation theory and practice so as to provide suggestions for on the ground JSR improvements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Towards an Integrated Learning Strategies Approach to Promoting Scientific Literacy in the South African Context. - Webb, Paul (International journal of environmental and science education, 2009)
The focus of this paper is on selected recent South African research studies that have explored efforts to promote the discussion, writing, and arguing aspects of scientific literacy in primary and middle schools, particularly amongst second-language learners. These studies reveal improvements in the participants’ abilities to both use the ‘science notebooks’ approach and argue their findings, as well as statistically significant improvement in their problem solving skills. The positive findings of these studies, and the call for attention to be paid to the fundamental sense of scientific literacy by a number of international researchers, resulted in the development of an integrated learning strategies approach. This approach not only specifically includes classroom discussion, argumentation and writing strategies to learn science, but also provides teachers with ideas and techniques to stimulate their learners to develop their own investigable questions, plan and execute a successful investigation in the classroom, and present their findings to an authentic audience. Findings on the effect of the strategy on learners’ general literacy skills, both in their home language and the language of learning and teaching in their schools, are reported.
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Instructional Space Planning and Students’ Academic Performance in South West Nigeria Secondary Schools - Ajayi, Iyiade Adeseye (International journal of educational sciences (Delhi) (Print), 2009)
The study examined the phenomenon of parental preference for private secondary schools in Nigeria.The population consisted all the parents and guardians of children in private secondary schools.Purposive random sampling was used to select 750 parents from various private schools during the Parents-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting.An instrument designated Parental Preference for Private Secondary Schools (PPSS) was used to collect data.The instrument was validated and reliability coefficient was found to be 0.87.The results were analysed using frequency counts and percentages.The findings revealed some factors such as teacher quality and quantity, facilities, class size, curriculum practices, stability of academic activities, disciplinary concerns, cost effectiveness and overall output quality as responsible concepts preference to private secondary schools Some of the recommendations made were curriculum implementation should be more targeted and student specific in public schools, public school administrators are encouraged to learn form best practices that makes private secondary school such an attractive option for both students and parents.Government is encouraged to borrow leaf from the management and supervision of charter schools in Columbia and Philippines who designed quality activity and requirements that are consistent with the ever charging intellectual, social and physical development of the child.
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The persistence of gender inequality in Zimbabwe: factors that impede the advancement of women into leadership positions in primary schools - Chabaya, Owence; Rembe, Symphorosa; Wadesango, Newman (South African Journal of Education, 2009)
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A Holistic Professional Development model for South African physical science teachers - Kriek, Jeanne; Grayson, Diane J. (South African Journal of Education, 2009)
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Higher Education, Knowledge for Its Own Sake, and an African Moral Theory - Metz, Thaddeus (Studies in Philosophy and Education, 2009)
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Disability Grant for People Living with HIV/AIDS in the Eastern Cape of South Africa - Phaswana‐Mafuya, Nancy; Peltzer, Karl; Petros, George (Social Work in Health Care, 2009)
A cross-sectional explorative descriptive qualitative/quantitative study was conducted in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The qualitative component involved 38 HIV/AIDS stakeholders who were interviewed telephonically using a semi-structured interview schedule. The quantitative component comprised 607 People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The majority of PLWHA were female, never married, unemployed, aged between 26 to 45 years, Black African, and had more than grade 7 education. All stakeholders supported the disability grant (DG) because it improved the lifestyle of PLWHA. The CD4 count was cited as the main criterion for putting PLWHA on the DG. The conditions and characteristics of the DG were not clearly explained to PLWHA. The DG application process was viewed to be too long. Access to service points was perceived as a challenge for some PLWHA. The DG was used to meet basic household and health care needs. Not being on a DG was associated with lower CD4 counts, often without enough food, and less often without needed medicines in the past 12 months. Having the DG stopped was associated with often not having enough medicines that were needed in the past 12 months. We conclude that the DG is a lifeline for most HIV/AIDS-affected families. We recommend that DG should not use CD4 cell counts as criterion for DG eligibility; the conditions and characteristics of the DG should be fully explained to recipients; the DG application process should be completed within one day; PLWHA who no longer qualify for the DG yet do not have adequate financial means to meet basic necessities should be put on a nutritional support program; and access to the location of the grants by the poor and vulnerable should be improved.
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Fractures in the Elderly in a West African Teaching Hospital - Adewole, AO; Kayode, MO; Shoga, MO; Ra, Balogun (Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma, 2009)
Background: Fractures in the elderly in West Africa have been reported infrequently in the literature. A study of the pattern of fractures in the elderly as seen in a major urban trauma centre in Nigeria should give some indication of the magnitude of the problem and help to fashion out preventive measures.Methods: This prospective study included all patients aged 65 years and above with fractures of the extremities seen over a period of 18 months. Data collected included age, sex, trauma mechanism, bones fractured, fracture configuration, associated injuries, and vitamin and calcium supplements. This data was stored electronically and analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 15.Results: Of 744 patients with fractures of the extremities in the period under review, 42 were aged 65 years and above. Nineteen were males (45.2%) and 23 females (54.8%). Ages ranged from 65 to 88 years with a mean of 73.4+ 6.7 years. The tibia and fibula was most frequently fractured, in 17 (40.5%), followed by the humerus and femur in 7 each and radius in 5. Bones of the lower limbs were fractured in 24 (57.2%), more frequently than the upper limb in 16 (38.1%). Femoral neck fractures were seen in 5 patients (11.9%), distal radius in 5 (11.9%) and ankle fractures in 9 (21.4%). Majority of the fractures (92.9%) were closed.Trauma mechanisms include falls in 25 cases, motor vehicle injuries as passengers in 9 cases, and pedestrians in 5 cases. Associated injuries were head injuries and soft tissue injuries in 3 cases each. No history of vitamin D or calcium supplements was given.Conclusion: Extremity fractures in the elderly are infrequently seen in our emergency room. Ankle fractures appear to be more common than distal radius and hip fractures. Falls are the commonest trauma mechanism.
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Teachers’ Coping Strategies in Financial Difficulties: A Case Study of the ‘Classroom Tuckshop’ Phenomenon In Zimbabwean Urban Primary Schools In Norton - Bondai, Beatrice; Muchenje, Francis (Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2009)
The study sought to investigate the prevalence of the ‘classroom tuck shop’ phenomenon in Zimbabwean urban primary schools. The sample consisted of five school heads, fifty teachers, and one hundred pupils, all drawn from five urban schools in Norton. Interviews were conducted with the five school heads and one hundred pupils. Questionnaires were administered to the teachers and focused group discussions were conducted with the school teachers and pupils. The study found out that the ‘classroom tuck shop‘ phenomenon is prevalent in urban primary schools. A large number of teachers felt that this phenomenon does not affect the teacher pupil relationship though the majority of pupils were of the opinion that teachers should not sell items in their classrooms. Allthe school heads felt that this practice negatively affects the quality ofinstruction. It was also found out that teachers have resorted to this practice as a result of the unfavourable macro economic environment, which has witnessed a decline in the status of the teacher. The study recommends that teachers should not sell items in their classroom. The concerned Ministry should seriously consider reviewing teachers’ salaries and schools should be allowed to engage in income generating projects to cushion teachers from the effects of the harsh inflationary macro economic environment.
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Sustainability Science Education in Africa: Negotiating indigenous ways of living with nature in the third space - Glasson, George E.; Mhango, Ndalapa A.; Phiri, Absalom Dumsell Keins; Lanier, Marilyn (International Journal of Science Education, 2009)
In response to global climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the immense human impact on the carrying capacity of the earth systems, attention has been given to sustainable development worldwide. In this paper, we explore the emerging field of sustainability science within the context of the socio‐cultural milieu of Malawi, a sub‐Saharan African country. Through interviews in vernacular languages and observations in the field, our research explores how traditional agriculture practices of African elders may contribute to the sustainability of the environment and culture in Africa. Findings indicate that traditional farmers and food preservationists choose to practice indigenous ways of living with nature to live sustainably in a globalized economy. Further discussion elucidates how merging worldviews and hybridized knowledge and languages can be leveraged to create a third space for dialogue and curriculum development by connecting indigenous ways of living with Eurocentric science.
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Sex, HIV/AIDS and Students: A Baseline Study in Agona District in the Central Region of Ghana - Hordzi, Wisdom Harrison K. (Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2009)
The dreaded disease AIDS is on the increase in Ghana. To eradicate it, a number of organizations are stepping up the campaign against the disease. However, it has become necessary to know the attitudes of the youth especially junior and senior secondary school students to sex as well as their awareness levels about the facts concerning HIV/AIDS. As a result, the views of 222 students were sampled in the Agona District in the Central Region of Ghana. From the results it was realized that the students were actively involved in sex and some of them started at the early age of eight years. Regrettably, a sizeable number of those of them engaged in sex did not use the condom. Some of them avoided the condom to avoid negative remarks from others and as a result of shyness. Some of the students did not know the cause of HIV/AIDS whilst others thought thatHIV/AIDS is due to a curse from God or gods and only offenders contract the disease. Some respondents did not even believe in the existence of HIV/AIDS. Despite the fact that some of the respondents had good knowledge of the modes of spread, symptoms, preventive measures and ways of living with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), a large number of them also had all kinds of misconceptions. Respondents also seemed to have very little idea about why one should have sexual intercourse.
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Conquest, Colonial Education and Cultural Uprootedness in Africa — The Role of Education for Hunhu\Ubuntu in de-rooting the African in Zimbabwe - Makuvaza, Ngoni (Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2009)
There is disagreement between colonial and post-colonial Africanisthistoriography over the impact of colonial education on the indigenes of Africa. The former maintain that colonial education benefited the Africans tremendously as it brought them (the Africans) civilization and enlightenment (Temu & Swai;1981, Majeke, 1986). However, the latter are not quite agreeable to this position as they argue that colonial education had more negative effects than positive effects. Notwithstanding the benefits of Western education to the Africans it had the major negative effect on the Africans of culturally uprooting the Africans from their autochthonous culture consciously or otherwise, into a foreign and alien Western culture.. The argument of this paper is that colonial education was and is still instrumental in culturally uprooting the African from his\her indigenous culture into a foreign Western culture. Cognisant of thepreceding, this paper intends to examine the role of colonial education in this regard and in the same spirit is proposing a type of education, namely education for hunhu\ubuntu(Makuvaza,1996) as the modus vivendi in efforts to de-root the African. Education is being singled out for this purpose precisely because if education was instrumental in culturally uprooting the African, it too must be instrumental in de-rooting the African. This paper is an effort toward contributing to the debate on cultural uprootedness in Africa and Zimbabwe in particular and possible ways of containing it.
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Education for all in Zimbabwe: A Mirage? - Mavhunga, Pharaoh Joseph; Madondo, Manasa; Phiri, Morin (Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2009)
This paper assesses Zimbabwe’s efforts towards the attainment of the goals of Education For All (EFA) as determined and agreed upon at the World Conference on Education For All (WCEFA) held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 and re-affirmed in Dakar, Senegal in 2000. While Zimbabwe has been noted to have made huge strides in increasing access to education for previously marginalised Africans during the first decade of independence from Britain, there is need to take stock of progress in recent years against a background of socio-economic decline experienced in the country since the early 1990s, more so since the year 2000.The introduction of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) marked the beginning of a phase of reduced government funding of social services sectors, education included. This saw the re-introduction of school fees and various levies in both primary and secondary schools, negatively impacting on access to education, particularly by children from disadvantaged groups such as those from impoverished rural, farming and mining communities. Added to this is the HIV/AIDS phenomenon that has ravaged communities particularly in the last decade, leaving a considerable number of children orphaned and without a means of sustaining their livelihoods in general and to pay school fees in particular. Then came the economic down-turn of the last decade, but particularly pronounced since the year 2000, again rendering more families poorer and with a reduced capacity to pay fees for school going children. It is against thisbackground that this paper scrutinises Zimbabwe’s efforts towards the attainment of the EFA goals. Is Zimbabwe still on course?
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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skills for Bachelor of Education Degree Students at the University of Zimbabwe: Implications for University Policy on a Computer Course for Undergraduate Student Teachers. - Zengeya, Munyaradzi Alexander (Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2009)
The development of appropriate computer literacy skills within all schoolteachers for non-computing subjects has recently become a strong international challenge. This is in view of the increasing use of computers in enhancing learning in all educational institutions, including colleges and universities. Employing a survey methodology, this study sought to provide answers to questions that included: what computer skills do undergraduate student teachers bring with them to the University of Zimbabwe; what computer equipment was available at the teachers’ schools and homes; and what factors influenced the teachers’ computer skills development? The findings indicated that the students teachers were generally from rural areas and had no, or very little, experience with computers, with most of them using a computer for the first time. The study recommends strengthening the course through strategies such as increasing the computer equipment available for training and offering a separate certificate for the course as an incentive.
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Modelling potential soil erosion in East Africa in the context of climate change - Claessens, Lieven; Temme, A.J.A.M.; Schoorl, J.M.; Lesschen, J.P.; Breugel, Paulo van; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Steeg, Jeannette van de; Herrero, Miguel A. (2009)
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Early childhood care and education in Uganda : the challenges and possibilities for achieving quality and accessible provision - Kisitu, Winifred (2009)
This is a thesis submitted to The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, in fulfilment of the award of Doctor of Philosophy, Early Childhood Care and Education.
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Rwanda denies plan to forcibly sterilise people with learning difficulties - Moszynski, Peter (The BMJ, 2009)
The Rwandan parliament is considering a draft bill on reproductive health that would require the sterilisation of all people with intellectual disabilities and mandate compulsory HIV testing of people about to marry, says the US based group Human Rights Watch. The group cautions that the provisions in the bill, which it has seen, are “deeply flawed” and violate the government’s obligations to uphold and protect human rights. But a government spokesman has dismissed the group’s claims as rumour, saying that the proposals are to go no further. “Compulsory HIV testing and forced sterilisation are counterproductive to the Rwandan government’s goal of improved reproductive health,” said Joe Amon, director of health and human rights at Human Rights Watch. “Provisions in the current bill that increase stigma, rely on coercion, and deny …
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INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON MARITIME OPERATIONS AROUND THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN COAST - Rossouw, M; Theron, A.K. (2009)
This paper gives an overview of the present investigation on the wave climate around the South African coast and possible trends therein, due to climate change effects on the oceans. Preliminary findings indicate that there may be long-term trends in the regional metocean climate, while sea level rise alone will greatly increase the risks and impacts associated with extreme seastorm events. The paper aims to contribute towards determining some of these risks to the port and maritime operations associated with climate change effects in the Southern African marine and coastal region.
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Petrogenesis of a basalt-comendite-pantellerite rock suite: the Boseti Volcanic Complex (Main Ethiopian Rift) - Ronga, Fiorenzo; Lustrino, Michele; Marzoli, Andréa; Melluso, Leone (Mineralogy and Petrology, 2009)
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From enclosed domestic labour to training centers: challenges of the union and the NGOs in organizing paid child domestic workers in Tanzania - Kapinga, Silpha (2009)
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Cryptosporidiosis among children attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria - Obiukwu, MO; Onyido, AE; Umeanaeto, PU; Okoye, UI (The Nigerian journal of parasitology, 2009)
A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum infection among children aged 0-15 years attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria, from January to May, 2007. A total of 480 stool samples were examined for oocysts of C. parvum using the modified Ziel-Neelson staining technique. The overall prevalence was 21.8%. About 74.0% and 10.1% watery and soft-formed stool samples respectively were infected with C. parvum oocysts. The prevalence rate of infection varied with age with the peak among the age-group 3-5 years (31.6%) and decreasing steadily thereafter. Males (26.8%) were more infected than females (18.0%), however the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The prevalence rate was significantly (p
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Locations of osteomyelitis in children with sickle-cell disease at Tokoin teaching hospital (Togo) - Akakpo-Numado, Gamédzi Komlatsè; Gnassingbé, K; Abalo, Anani; Boume, Missoki Azanlédji; Sakiye, Kodjo Abossisso; Tékou, H (Pediatric Surgery International, 2009)
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Dispatches From Ethiopia — A Firsthand Look on the State of Neurology Training - Stump, Elizabeth (Neurology Today, 2009)
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Assessment of Personnel Training Needs in the Ibrahim Babangida Library, Federal University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria - Abba, Tukur; Dawha, Emmanuel M.K. (Library Philosophy and Practice, 2009)
Introduction A Personnel Training Scheme (PTS) is one that seeks to improve work performance. Such a scheme may take forms such as on-the-job, informal, and formal educational training. Slee (1997:89) explains that it is a systematic approach to staff development and continuing education that is often a programme of learning opportunities, with the aim of ensuring that workers continue to acquire and adapt their skills and knowledge to a changing environment. The roles and challenges for information professionals are ever greater, what Kigongo-Bukenya (1999) describes as the need to be contingent. This implies that their skills must be the best fit for the ever-changing needs of an information society. Employees require training for various purposes. Jain (1989) and Rowley (1995) assert that lack of training results in a lack of ability to use existing knowledge, which causes ineffective services, a lack of customer satisfaction, and lower productivity. Pugh (1984) maintains that training will foster an increase in professionalism and better management methods, whereas lack of training can cause frustration and lack of job satisfaction. Well-trained individuals know the scope and expectations of their jobs and will be able to add building blocks to their expertise as they progress through their careers. The library profession has become aware of the need for continuous training, because of the increasing variety of information formats and increasing dependence on automated systems. The changing nature of library users and the demand for managers with appropriate skills have added to the need for training. These developments and pressures have had a profound impact on academic librarianship. University libraries have been significantly influenced by these transformations. Abifarin (1997) opines that staff is an important factor in motivation. If we are able to engage people through training, the impact on them and the library is immeasurable. The National Universities Commission (NUC) (1996:51-52) in its draft manual on university management emphasizes the significance of staff training and development in university libraries, by stressing that: The librarian should ensure regular training development of all his staff. He should encourage illiterate staff, if any, to go for adult literacy classes to ensure their retention and progress in a 'book' institution such as the university library. The Librarian should encourage all his staff, where appropriate, to go for higher education. Library Assistants for library diploma; graduates for master's and doctorate degrees; short course for administrative and secretarial staff. Sponsorship for any training should be based on good performance of the staff. The Librarian should encourage his staff to participate in continuing education programmes. The staff should be sponsored for conferences, seminars and workshops. They should be encouraged to participate actively by presenting papers at these gatherings. The library staff seminar papers usually help the staff for these external outings. The manual also notes that: There is so much professional expertise available locally and internationally that the Librarian should tap these sources for training his staff. Through staff exchange between his staff and those of other institution, his staff should be able to gain additional experience and knowledge from hands on experience in other Library situation. The Ibrahim Babangida Library, Federal University of Technology, Yola (IBL, FUTY) was established along with the institution by the then civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (President of Nigeria at that time) in 1981. It did not inherit any material (books or journals) to start with. The library began providing services to the university community from its temporary building in April 1983. …
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Monitoring of Fecal Pollution in Fresh Water and Soil of Abbis Area, East of Alexandria, Egypt - Abd-Elnaby, Hanan; El-Bestawy, Ebtesam (Journal of High Institute of Public Health, 2009)
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A retrospective study (2004-2008) of poultry diseases diagnosed in Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Vth), Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (Udus) and Sokoto Veterinary Centre (Svc), Sokoto State, Nigeria. - Adamu, A. Y.; Ahmed, A; Abubakar, M. B.; Lawal, Mohammed (2009)
A retrospective study of clinical records in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (VTH-UDUS) and Sokoto Veterinary Centre (SVC) was carried out to establish the occurrence and distribution of poultry diseases over the period of five years (2004-2008). A total of 1,034 cases were recorded out of which 337 (32.9%) was Infectious bursal disease (IBD), 147 (14.0%) was coccidiosis, while 128 (12.4%) and 102 (9.9%) were Newcastle disease (NCD) and Fowl typhoid (FT) respectively. Other diseases/conditions with lower occurrences include Fowl cholera (FC), Malnutrition/starvation and the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) with 33 (3.2%), 17 (1.6%) and 2 (0.26%) cases respectively. The highest prevalence of 50% (515 cases) was indicated in viral diseases and the least was from malnutrition/starvation with only 1.6 % (17 cases) recoded. Dry period represented the period of increased disease occurrence of 71% (788 cases) which on comparison to that of dry season 29 % (246 cases) revealed statistically a significant difference (p＜0.05) by the Chi-square analysis. The years 2005 and 2008 recorded the highest 272 (26%) and the lowest 127 (12.3%) disease occurrences respectively. Poor management, inappropriate vaccine handling and self medication practices by the poultry farmers in conjunction with lack of facilities and awareness on diagnostic laboratory services may be associated with the distribution pattern of cases recorded in the clinics.
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Parents’ Preference for Private Secondary Schools in Nigeria - Adebayo, Florence Aduke (International journal of educational sciences, 2009)
The study examined the phenomenon of parental preference for private secondary schools in Nigeria. The population consisted all the parents and guardians of children in private secondary schools. Purposive random sampling was used to select 750 parents from various private schools during the Parents-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting. An instrument designated Parental Preference for Private Secondary Schools (PPSS) was used to collect data. The instrument was validated and reliability coefficient was found to be 0.87. The results were analysed using frequency counts and percentages. The findings revealed some factors such as teacher quality and quantity, facilities, class size, curriculum practices, stability of academic activities, disciplinary concerns, cost effectiveness and overall output quality as responsible concepts preference to private secondary schools Some of the recommendations made were curriculum implementation should be more targeted and student specific in public schools, public school administrators are encouraged to learn form best practices that makes private secondary school such an attractive option for both students and parents. Government is encouraged to borrow leaf from the management and supervision of charter schools in Columbia and Philippines who designed quality activity and requirements that are consistent with the ever charging intellectual, social and physical development of the child.
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Assessment of potential toxic elements pollution of marine environment using African cuttlefish (Sepia bertheloti) from the Gulf of Guinea as an environmental bioindicator - Akpan, I. O.; Ama-Absai, D.; Adebiyi, F. M.; Obiajunwa, E.I. (Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 2009)
Samples of African cuttlefish, Sepia bertheloti, were collected from the gulf of Guinea and analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray reflection fluorescence (EDXRF) analytical technique to assess potential toxic elements pollution of the marine environment. Eleven elements, namely, Cl, Sr, K, Ca, Br, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, and Se were detected. It is observed that Cl, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn identified in the cuttlefish exceeded their maximum recommended dietary reference intakes for individuals. This is supported by their calculated pollution index (PI > 1) indicating that the cuttlefish might have accumulated the elements via polluted marine environments. Comparison of the elemental composition of the cuttlefish with other common meats showed that the values of Ca, Mn, Ni, Cu, and Zn were comparatively high. Strong and significant positive correlation existed between Cl/Zn; Cl/Br; Ca/K; Se/Ni; Se/Cu; Se/Zn; Br/Cu; Br/Zn; Br/Se; Sr/K; and Sr/Ca signifying a common source or chemical similarity, while no strong and significant negative correlation existed between the elements detected.
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The Teacher Matters: Strategies for Making the Teaching Profession More Relevant in Nigerian Educational System - Aluede, Oyaziwo (International journal of educational sciences (Delhi) (Print), 2009)
This paper is premised on the fact that education is an instrument for social change. It is the only known weapon that can combat poverty. In this regard, this paper examined the concepts of education and teaching, the importance and the usefulness of teachers. It also provided strategies for making teachers more relevant in teacher education and teaching profession. These strategies include: reviewing the existing teacher education programmes to emphasize how to teach, which can be achieved by replacing the already existing six weeks teaching practice exercise with internship of one-year duration. The paper further recommended the establishment of licensure and credentialing board and the need to propose a bill before the National Assembly to regulate the practice of teaching. In addition, the paper recommended the revision of the curricula of teacher education programmes in Nigerian Universities or Colleges of Education, to align them with the mission and vision of the primary and secondary schools
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The Effects of School-Based Curricula on Reading Achievement of African American Males in Special Education. - Anderson, Kenneth A.; Sadler, Camelia I. (Journal of Negro Education, 2009)
Longitudinal research on reading curricula and skills that predict future reading achievement for African American males in special education is quite limited. Using a national sample over a five-year period, this study highlights reading skills most associated with later reading achievement for African American males in special education. For African American males in special education, findings show that prior comprehension ability is consistently associated with future reading comprehension after several years. Other commonly taught reading skills produced inconsistent results and were less reliable for African American males in special education, but more consistent for non-African American males in special education. Curricular implications and practices for these findings are discussed. Large-scale studies focused on school-based reading curricula and teaching techniques, largely fail to include or adequately address the needs of African American males. A key concern related to the lack of inclusion of African American males in large-scale literacy studies is that large-scale studies are often used to influence educational policy and practices (see policies and standards in What Works Clearinghouse, 2008). Moreover, research has shown that literacy levels are linked to future achievement, student behavioral issues, and delinquency (Anderson, Howard, Graham, 2007; Geliert & Elbro, 1999; Kowaleski-Jones & Duncan, 1999). Considering the literacy underachievement of African American males and the overrepresentation of African American males in special education (Anderson, 2007; Ebersole & Kapp, 2007; Hall, 2006; Hilliard, 2003; Washington, 2001; Watkins & Kurtz, 2001), this article will attempt to address literacy underachievement and African American males in special education by making contributions in four areas: first, the dearth of reading-related curricular studies that include substantial samples of African American students will be discussed; second, problems associated with the Report of the National Reading Panel (NRP): Teaching Children to Read, a major study that was used to frame current day reading-related curricula and teaching techniques will be presented (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NCIHD, 2000); third, a review of the literature regarding African American males in special education will be presented and assumptions associated with the NRP will be tested using a longitudinal, national sample of African American male students in special education. Finally, implications for school-based reading curricula and instructional techniques for African American males will be discussed. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Reading-related Curriculum Research Reading-related curricula and teaching research containing large samples of African American males are limited in the peer-reviewed public domain. In response to the need for more guidance to practice on reading interventions for African American males, this review synthesizes a select number of the experimental and quasi-experimental studies on reading conducted with African Americans from 1994-2004. The aforementioned period is critical for two reasons: (a) the years 1994-2004 cover the timeframe in which the NRP conducted their review of research which heavily influenced reading curricula in the United States, and (b) key reading-related studies primarily focusing on African Americans were identified and presented in the peer-reviewed literature during this period (see Lindo, 2006). A key contribution of Lindo's review is that her review focused solely on experimental or quasi-experimental studies published in peer-reviewed journals with a specific reading intervention of some sort. Furthermore, the purpose of her review was to document the small presence of African Americans included in empirical studies of this type. Specifically, out of three highly regarded peer-reviewed journals - Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Scientific Studies in Reading - she found that from 1994-2004, 0. …
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Morphological Awareness Skills of Fourth-Grade African American Students - Apel, Kenn; Thomas-Tate, Shurita (Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 2009)
Purpose We examined the morphological awareness skills of fourth-grade African American children and the association between degree of African American English (AAE) use and performance on written measures of morphological awareness. Additional purposes were to determine whether performance on the morphological awareness tasks (a) was affected by the transparency of morphologically related words and the type of task administered, (b) was associated with other literacy and literacy-related skills, and (c) explained unique variance on these latter abilities. Method Thirty fourth-grade African American children from low-income backgrounds were administered 2 morphological awareness tasks and completed norm-referenced measures of word-level reading, reading comprehension, spelling, phonemic awareness, and receptive vocabulary. Results The degree of AAE use was not associated with students' performance on the morphological awareness tasks. On these tasks, significantly higher scores were obtained on items that represented a transparent relationship between a base word and its derived form. The students' performance on the morphological awareness tasks was significantly and moderately related to their performance on the word-level reading, spelling, and receptive vocabulary measures. Morphological awareness scores explained significant unique variance on measures of word-level reading and spelling, above that predicted by performance on measures of phonemic awareness and vocabulary. Conclusion As shown in previous investigations of Caucasian children’s morphological awareness skills, fourth-grade African American students' morphological awareness abilities are associated with select language and literacy skills. Professionals should capitalize on students' intact capabilities in morphological awareness during literacy instruction in an effort to maximize language and literacy performance for African American students.
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ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS ALONG QENA-SAFAGA ROAD, CENTRAL EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT - Azab, M. A. (The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 2009)
Hazard assessment studies are necessary to identify the investigated area along Qena-Safaga road, between km 20 – km 30 from Qena City, where extensive damage has constantly been reported. This damage includes, asphalt road, breaking of the potable water pipeline, tilting of tower line and telephone poles, as well as of Safaga-Abu Tartur railroad. These types of damage result from tectonic activity around the Qena-Safaga district. The structural and seismic maps are used to interpret and evaluate the deep-seated structures and the tectonic setting of the study area. Strong ground motion is the most important phenomenon of natural hazard. It has an effect on the nature, human life and man-made structures. Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing are useful tools in disaster management for the study area. These automated tools are used for the storage, analysis and visualization all geological and geophysical data of the investigated area to the decision support. Also, by using the Landsat image acquired in 2001 and Aerial photograph dated 1955 reveals that, the spatial deformation of the recent surface features has been estimated during 46 years.
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‘I have big things planned for my future’: the limits and possibilities of transformative agency in Zambian schools - Bajaj, Monisha (Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2009)
This article explores the extent to which participation in alternative human values education affects students' conceptions of agency amidst the economic and HIV/AIDS crises in Ndola, Zambia. Drawing on the concept of transformative agency as developed by critical research in education, this study examines conceptions of agency based on data produced through interviews, focus groups and diaries given to pairs of siblings from lower to middle income families one of whom attended a government secondary school in Ndola and the other an alternative school run by a non‐governmental organization. This study found that transformative agency was enabled by alternative schooling that attempted to disrupt the reproductive tendencies of state schooling. After graduation, however, students were forced to renegotiate their sense of agency vis‐à‐vis the larger structural constraints of Zambian society. As such, the limits and possibilities of alternative pedagogy and school structure towards educational equity are analysed and discussed in relation to the field of international and comparative education.
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Why context matters: understanding the material conditions of school‐based caring in Zambia - Bajaj, Monisha (International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2009)
This study utilized in‐depth interviewing, participant observation, and student diaries completed by participants to examine the quality of teacher–student relationships at a low‐cost private school in the townships of Ndola, Zambia. Amidst economic decline and the HIV/AIDS epidemic facing Zambia today, teachers and students developed strong relationships that differed from those found in government secondary schools and were shaped by the economic and social realities in the larger society. These caring relationships were facilitated by official school policy, deliberative spaces created for caring such as longer school hours and smaller class sizes, and strict oversight of teachers by the school administration. Teachers’ efforts to provide students advice and resources related to the economic and health crises affecting their community resulted in the development of caring relationships that students noted were unique given their experiences in and exposure to government secondary schools. The findings of this study suggest that scholars of caring in the US and internationally should consider the material conditions of both students’ and teachers’ lives beyond the school environment in order to understand how caring relationships are structured, limited, and enabled in distinct moments by larger socioeconomic and political realities.
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Psychosocial support to vulnerable youth in vocational schools in northern Uganda - Bannink, Femke; Lorschiedter, Ann (Intervention, 2009)
This report describes the psychosocial interventions of AVSI [an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) operating in Uganda since 1984] in Kitgum District of northern Uganda. These interventions are part of the educational programmes aimed at supporting vulnerable youth through vocational training. Apart from the educational support, the beneficiaries of the programme are also offered psychosocial support. This support is meant to help youth who have undergone difficult, and at times, traumatic experiences during the insecurity that has lasted for two decades and affected almost all families in northern Uganda. For many of the youth, access to education cannot be the only means to empower them to overcome psychosocial problems; but in combination with counselling, they can be supported to gain self confidence and to redefine their roles as independent and important members of their communities.
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Intermittent preventive treatment using artemisinin‐based combination therapy reduces malaria morbidity among school‐aged children in Mali - Barger, Breanna; Maiga, Hamma; Traoré, Oumou; Teketé, Mamadou; Tembine, Intimbeye; Dara, Antoine; Traoré, Zoumana; Gantt, Soren; Doumbo, Ogobara K.; Djimdé, Abdoulaye (TM & IH. Tropical medicine and international health (Print), 2009)
To assess the efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) against malaria in school-aged children.This was an open randomized controlled trial of seasonal IPT among school children (IPTsc) aged 6-13 years in Kollé, Mali. The study began in September 2007 and completed follow-up in May 2008. Students were randomized to one of three study arms: Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus artesunate (SP/AS), amodiaquine plus artesunate (AQ/AS) or vitamin C. All students received two full treatment doses, given 2 months apart during the season of high transmission from September to December. Groups were compared with respect to incidence of clinical malaria, asymptomatic parasitemia and haemoglobin concentration.A total of 296 students were randomized, and retention in the study was 99.3%. Clinical malaria incidence in the SP/AS and AQ/AS arms was reduced by 66.6% and 46.5%, respectively, vs. vitamin C (P < 0.001). There were fewer clinic visits for any cause among the children receiving SP/AS or AQ/AS (P = 0.024). The prevalence of asymptomatic parasitemia was fivefold higher in the vitamin C arm than either SP/AS or AQ/AS at each post-treatment evaluation (P < 0.001). At the end of the transmission period, children treated with IPT had lower rates of anaemia (SP/AS, 17.7%; AQ/AS, 16.0%; vitamin C, 29.6%; P = 0.039).IPT among school children reduced the rates of clinical malaria, all-cause acute clinic visits, asymptomatic parasitemia and anaemia among school-aged children.
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Management and Academic Freedom in Higher Educational Institutions: Implications for Quality Education in Uganda - Basheka, Benon C. (Quality in Higher Education, 2009)
Abstract In accordance with the recommendation concerning the status of higher‐education teaching personnel approved by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1997, higher education institutions and their academic personnel have long been expected to exercise their intellectual capacity and their moral prestige to defend and actively disseminate universally‐accepted values; and enjoy full academic autonomy and freedom, conceived as a set of rights and duties, while being fully responsible and accountable to society. Academic freedom is a key parameter of sound governance of higher education systems in any country. To what extent can academic freedom be a function of effective management systems and does it have any implications for quality education in developing countries? The paper answers in the affirmative. Data from a sample of academic staff, university managers, students and policy‐makers were analysed using correlation and regression techniques and it was found that management significantly contributes to academic freedom in higher educational institutions. In this way, a better‐managed institution enhances academic freedom and this consequently offers answers to the quality of education. The results are compared with international findings and policy and management implications are presented. A conceptual framework is suggested that links management systems with academic freedom and the quality of education, using the systems theory approach.
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Perceptions of head teachers, teacher counsellors and students on the effectiveness of guidance and counselling programme in enhancing students’ personal, academic and career competencies: A case of secondary schools in Baringo District, Kenya. - Chepkong’a, Salina Chebichii (2009)
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Interrelationships of non-formal mother tongue education and citizenship in Guinea and Senegal - Clemons, Andrea; Yerendé, Eva (International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2009)
Abstract Guinea and Senegal are multilingual countries that use French as a language of instruction in the formal educational sector with some significant exceptions. As in many other African countries, such exceptions in Guinea and Senegal, use local African languages primarily in the non-formal sector for a variety of purposes, such as adult literacy and basic education for youth. In this chapter, we examine mother tongue (MT) education as it contributes to a type of citizenship education, focusing on the ways that MT education can, with varying degrees of effectiveness, redefine local communities and forge alliances with communities of near and distant places and at local, regional, national, and global levels. The two case studies presented here, of the N'KO schools in Guinea and the Ecole Communautaires de Base programs in Senegal, offer examples of different approaches to MT education and its impact prevalent not only in Guinea and Senegal but also other countries in the immediate region of West Africa and beyond.
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Training in the management of post-traumatic stress disorder in Uganda - Dardenne, P; Dorner, Hanspeter; Walugembe, James; Nakibuuka, Allen; Nsereko, James; Onen, Tom; Hall, Cerdic (International psychiatry, 2009)
The aims of this study were to establish the feasibility and effectiveness of training Ugandan mental health workers in the management of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) based on guidelines from the UK National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The Butabika Link is a mental health partnership between the East London Foundation NHS Trust (ELFT) and Butabika National Psychiatric Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, supported by the Tropical Health Education Trust (THET), and based on the recommendations of the Crisp report (Crisp, 2007). The Link has worked on the principle that the most effective partnership between high-income and low- or middle-income countries is through organisations already delivering healthcare, that is, through the support of existing services. Butabika Hospital is a centre of excel-. Butabika Hospital is a centre of excellence, serving an entire nation of 30 million people, many of them recovering from 20 years of armed conflict that took place mainly in the north of Uganda. In addition, Uganda has received refugees from conflicts in neighbouring states, including Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan and Burundi. The Ugandan Ministry of Health's Strategic Plan (2000) has prioritised post-conflict mental disorders and domestic violence, which is reflected in the vision of the Link's work.
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Race, Schools, & Hope: African Americans and School Choice After Brown - Dávila, Brianne (Contemporary Sociology, 2009)
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O42 National school prevalence survey on soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis, Rwanda 2008 - Denise, María; Eugène, R; Blaise, Koné Atioumounan; Nadine, R.; Vianney, N.; Odette, M.; Alan, F.; Josh, R. (International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 2009)
Polyvalent trace elements such as the high field strength elements (HFSE) are commonly considered rather immobile during low-temperature water–rock interaction. Hence, they have become diagnostic tools that are widely applied in geochemical studies. We present results of batch leaching experiments focused on the mobilization of certain HFSE (Y, Zr, Hf, Th, U and rare earth elements) from mafic, intermediate and felsic igneous rocks in the presence and absence, respectively, of the siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFOB). Our data show that DFOB strongly enhances the mobility of these trace elements during low-temperature water–rock interaction.The presence of DFOB produces two distinct features in the Rare Earths and Yttrium (REY) patterns of leaching solutions, regardless of the mineralogical and chemical composition or the texture of the rock type studied. Bulk rock-normalized REY patterns of leaching solutions with DFOB show (i) a very distinct positive Ce anomaly and (ii) depletion of La and other light REY relative to the middle REY, with a concave downward pattern between La and Sm. These features are not observed in experiments with hydrochloric acid, acetic acid or deionized water. In DFOB-bearing leaching solutions Ce and U are decoupled from and selectively enriched relative to light REY and Th, respectively, due to oxidation to Ce(IV) and U(VI). Oxidation of Ce3+ and U4+ is promoted by the significantly higher stability of the Ce(IV) and U(VI) DFOB complexes as compared to the Ce(III) and U(IV) DFOB complexes. This is similar to the relationship between the Ce(IV)- and Ce(III)-pentacarbonate complexes that cause positive Ce anomalies in alkaline lakes. However, while formation of Ce(IV) carbonate complexes is confined to alkaline environments, Ce(IV) DFOB complexes may produce positive Ce anomalies even in mildly acidic and near-neutral natural waters. Siderophore-promoted dissolution processes also significantly enhance mobility of other ‘immobile’ HFSE and may not only cause or modify Ce anomalies and Th–U fractionation, but also mobilization of and fractionation between Zr, Hf, Th and redox-insensitive REY during weathering, pedogenesis, diagenesis and incongruent dissolution of particles in seawater and freshwater.Siderophores may significantly affect the use of HFSE as geochemical tools. Concave downward light REY patterns may be used as a biosignature for water–rock interaction in the presence of siderophores. Enhanced and preferential mobilization of U relative to Th in the presence of siderophores may produce Th–U signals comparable to those indicative of weathering under oxidized conditions, which might constrain the use of U concentrations and Th/U ratios as a paleoredox-proxy. The enhanced mobilization of Zr and especially Hf from igneous rocks in the presence of DFOB might have implications for the use of the latter as a tracer for the impact of continental weathering on seawater chemistry. Because siderophore complexes affect the particle-reactivity of Hf and Zr, they may prevent effective removal of terrigenous Hf and Zr during aggregation/coagulation of riverine particles in estuaries. Siderophore-promoted solubilization and stabilization might hence be an additional way to transport continental Hf and Zr to the oceans. Furthermore, siderophore-enhanced mobilization may also have implications for the remediation techniques employed to immobilize HFSE such as U, Th and REY, at nuclear waste and reprocessing sites and at REY ore processing plants, where soils are commonly contaminated with these (sometimes radioactive) heavy metals.
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Addressing the severe shortage of health care providers in Ethiopia: bench model teaching of technical skills - Dorman, Katie; Satterthwaite, Lisa; Howard, Andrew; Woodrow, Sarah; Derbew, Miliard; Reznick, Richard K.; Dubrowski, Adam (Medical Education, 2009)
Context There is a severe shortage of health care workers in Ethiopia. This situation must be addressed by the efficient training of mass cohorts of students. Objectives This study aimed to demonstrate that bench model training is a feasible approach to teaching surgical skills in Ethiopia. Methods A pre-test, simulation-based training intervention and post-test design was used. Two objective structured assessments of technical skills (OSATS) and a bench-top simulation training session were administered at the Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants included 19 surgical residents who volunteered as trainees. Five surgical faculty members and one senior resident from the Black Lion Hospital, as well as two faculty members from the University of Toronto, participated as trainers and evaluators. The intervention consisted of OSATS tests comprising four stations, covering knot tying, closure of skin laceration, elliptical excision and bowel anastomosis. Tests were separated by 2-hour practice sessions. Main outcome measures included previously validated instruments comprising global rating scales (GRS) and skill-specific checklists (SSC). Results The measures showed no improvement on knot tying (GRS: P = 0.14; SSC: P = 0.7), marginal improvement on closure of laceration (GRS: P = 0.48; SSC: P = 0.003), and improvements on excision (GRS: P = 0.012; SSC: P = 0.003) and bowel anastomosis (GRS: P < 0.001; SSC: P < 0.001). Conclusions The bench models and scoring schemes developed in Toronto, Canada were directly applicable in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This approach may prove a feasible, safe and cost-effective method for training a multitude of health care professionals in technical skills and may help to address the human resources deficit in Africa.
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Home–School Literacy Connections: The Perceptions of African American and Immigrant ESL Parents in Two Urban Communities - Dudley–Marling, Curt (Teachers College record (1970), 2009)
Background/Context Educational reform has emphasized the importance of parent involvement. Perhaps the most common instantiations of parent involvement are various efforts to encourage particular reading practices in the home. Although there is some research supporting the efficacy of “family literacy” initiatives, these efforts have been criticized for their deficit orientation and cultural insensitivity. Some educators have attempted to create family literacy practices considerate of the cultural and material demands of families, but no one has investigated how parents actually experience these initiatives. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This research examined parent perceptions of school-to-home literacy initiatives intended to encourage particular literacy practices in the homes of families living in two predominantly poor urban communities served by underperforming schools; specifically, How do African American and immigrant ESL parents living in these two urban communities experience various school-to-home literacy initiatives? These groups of urban parents were interviewed because they and their children are especially likely to be targeted by family literacy initiatives. The study focused on school-to-home literacy practices that attempted to influence literacy in the home because these are the most common instantiations of family literacy. Population/Participants/Subjects The participants included 18 African American and 14 immigrant ESL parents living in two large urban centers in the northeastern United States. Research Design: Open-ended, qualitative interviews were conducted with the participants to elicit parents’ perceptions of school-to-home literacy practices. Interviews ranged from 30 to 60 minutes in length and were conducted by two doctoral students trained by the author. Data Collection and Analysis Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and, if necessary, translated into English. Based on multiple readings of the data, several core themes were identified that were the focus of the data analysis. Data were analyzed through a process called modified analytic induction to develop a “loose descriptive theory” of how these urban parents experienced school-to-home literacy initiatives. Conclusions/Recommendations The analysis of the data indicated that school-to-home literacy practices, as experienced by these parents, did not always fit well with family routines, cultural values, or expectations. The analysis also highlighted a one-way model of school-home communication that provided few opportunities for school-to-home literacy initiatives to respond to the needs of individual families. It was concluded that a model of family literacy considerate of families’ cultural and material needs depends on creating spaces for parents to share their needs, expectations, and values—and for school officials to listen.
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COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RISK ASSESSMENT OF FORMALDEHYDE EXPOSURE AMONG STUDENTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FACULTIES OF MEDICINE IN EGYPT - E., El Okda; Elaziz, Khaled M. Abd; Samaha, Hanan E. (Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine, 2009)
Objectives : This study aimed at evaluation of the discomfort level produced by formalin vapors on medical students during the daily dissection schedule. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in two medical faculties, Ain Shams University (general) and Misr University (private). It explored the effects of exposure of the students of both faculties to the vapors of embalming fluids containing different concentrations of formaldehyde and related symptoms. Results:. Higher prevalence of irritation : Itching,soreness of skin and GIT symptoms was found among Ain Shams University students exposed to higher concentration of Formaldehyde and the difference was highly statistically significant.Conclusion: Considering the severity of the toxic symptoms caused by formaldehydefumes the need of a standardized embalming fluid that has a lesser concentration of formaldehyde. The lesser concentration of formaldehyde will in turn reduce the toxic effects and the other chemicals that are used like surgical spirit, glycerine and carbolicacid will help in maintaining a good preservation of the cadavers.
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Secret Cult Activities in Institutions of Higher Learning: Lessons from the Nigerian Situations - Egbochuku, E. O. (Studies of Tribes and Tribals, 2009)
The economic and racial backgrounds of cult members have changed: most situations involved middleclass to wealthy young people. Cult recruiters often targeted to obtain their affluent parents’ money. However, we now witness a gradual transition to the recruitment of the less affluent and less educated. Recruitment of members of minority groups has increased. Members now come from every ethnic and religious background and include adults, middle-aged, elderly, and children. Entire families join or develop within a group, and children are born into and raised within them. The problems of cultism in Nigerian tertiary institutions are legion. It is difficult to focus attention on all the facets of the plague. Thus, the focus of this article is five-fold; namely to: Highlight the emergence of cults in Nigerian tertiary institutions; Discuss how members are recruited into the cults; Describe the initiation ceremonies; Assess the problems created by the cults; and Examine their counselling implications, ways and means of preventing students from joining the cults.
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Educational Futurism: A Case for the Teaching of Agricultural Education to Youths in Nigeria - Egun, A. C. (International journal of educational sciences, 2009)
One of the general aims of education in a country is the preparation of the youths (new recruits of the society) for effective future living in a changing society without loss of those aspects of the culture that have been time cherished. This is usually achieved through the school system with a well articulated and designed package of learning experiences that transcend varied cultures that interact with one another. Nations look into the future with saintly resolve of achieving a good system that is able to produce and train nationals that are able to meet the demands of the future and not lagging behind in a competitive world. The achievement of set goals on what education should be in the future demands a clear vision of the future. This involves total commitment of both material and financial resources to the educative process. Agriculture has been the main stay of Nigerian economy and will continue to do so for a long time to come as it continues to employ good percentage of the population both at peasant and commercial levels of production. This necessitates a good vision of the future and design of curriculum package that is able to reduce shock of food shortage and raw materials for agro-based industries and create a frame of mind that is devoid of cultural superstition and beliefs; and a curriculum that will accommodate different agricultural practices, recognizing different cultural practices and international character of knowledge. This paper recommends a change in method of instruction, effective, funding, a curriculum of affect and equal opportunity for male and female members of the society to participate in agricultural activities and national sustainable agricultural policy.
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MAXIMIZING NITROGEN AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN EGYPT - Elbordiny, M. M.; El–Bagoury, K. F. (Misr journal of agricultural engineering, 2009)
Nitrogen loss by leaching is considered a major problem, particularly under higher N requirement. Consequently, a study was conducted to determine the effect of decreasing rates of inorganic nitrogen and irrigation scheduling on distribution of both chemically available soil nitrogen and soil moisture content as well as grains yield of corn. To test this assumption, corn (Zea mays, variety single hybrid 10) was selected and four nitrogen treatments were applied at EL-Khatatba area, El-Monofia, Egypt: (a) Control, 100 kg N/ fed as (NH4 NO3, 33% N), (b) 80 kg N/fed + compost, (c) 70 kg N/fed + compost and (d) 60 kg N/fed + compost. The compost added to the soil at the rate of 2 %.  As well as three drip irrigation scheduling were applied with fixed total applied water amounts: (1) daily irrigation, (2) three days intervals (every second day) and (3) two days intervals (every third days) with 4L/h emitters. Chemically available nitrogen and soil water content in the intervals soil depths (0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm) as well as nitrogen content in plants and grains yield were determined. The results indicate that the root zone was contain higher moisture with application of daily and two days intervals irrigation treatments compared to  three days intervals. Application of three days intervals increased water content with the increasing soil depth especially with increasing time of experiment. High amounts of nitrogen were existing in the upper layer (0-30 cm) of the soil and it decreased gradually by going deeper to reach (at 60-90 cm). The total cumulative amounts of nitrogen from 0-60-cm depth were sufficient level with different treatments. The available nitrogen was 290, 283, 243 and 202 mg/Kg soil with application of 100 kg N/fed, (80 kg N /fed + compost), (70 kg N/fed +compost) and (60 kg N/fed +compost) at flowering stage, respectively. *   Associate Prof. of Soil, Fac. of Agric., Ain Shams Univ. ** Assistant Prof. of Agric. Eng., Fac. of Agric., Ain Shams Univ Chemically available N levels in the soil were increasing and moving downward when soil irrigated three times weekly. Application of 80 Kg N /fed combined with compost and two days intervals or daily irrigation increased markedly nitrogen content in –corn plant and grain yield of corn plants compared with other treatments with respect of irrigation scheduling.
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Profiles of Reading Motivation among African American and Caucasian Students - Guthrie, John T.; Coddington, Cassandra S.; Wigfield, Allan (Journal of Literacy Research, 2009)
Previous research has investigated motivations for reading by examining positive or affirming motivations, including intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Related to them, we examined two negative, or undermining, motivations consisting of avoidance and perceived difficulty. We proposed that the motivations of intrinsic motivation and avoidance are relatively independent and thus can be combined to form meaningful profiles consisting of avid, ambivalent, apathetic, and averse readers. With Grade 5 students we found that these motivations were relatively independent for both Caucasian and African American students. The two motivations uniquely explained a significant proportion of variance in reading comprehension and other cognitive reading variables. Although intrinsic motivation correlated higher with achievement than avoidance for Caucasians, avoidance correlated higher with achievement than intrinsic motivation for African Americans. For both groups, the profile of avid readers showed higher reading achievement than the other profiles.
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Access and Equity for African American Students in Higher Education: A Critical Race Historical Analysis of Policy Efforts - Harper, Shaun R.; Patton, Lori D.; Wooden, Ontario S. (The Journal of Higher Education, 2009)
Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsShaun R. HarperShaun R. Harper is assistant professor of higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.Lori D. PattonLori D. Patton is assistant professor of higher education at Iowa State University.Ontario S. WoodenOntario S. Wooden is associate dean of University College at North Carolina Central University.
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Steps forward and new challenges: indigenous communities and mother-tongue education in southern Africa - Hays, Jennifer (International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2009)
Abstract Two international conferences held in southern Africa in 2005 gathered education and language experts to discuss practical, theoretical, and political aspects of the development of African languages for education. Despite the diversity of the participants, there was unanimous agreement that the economic and social benefits of providing mother-tongue education far outweigh the costs. Furthermore, the predominant view was that mother-tongue education in minority languages should be seen as valuable in its own right, and not merely as a bridge to the dominant language, and that it should continue beyond the first few years of schooling. These meetings represent a major step forwards, ushering the movement toward mother-tongue education into a new phase of priority and collaboration. However, with this new phase come new challenges. As the movement toward mother-tongue education gains steam, and as national governments, local and global non-government organizations, and international donors get on board, we must remain attuned to the need for projects that are flexible, process-oriented, and firmly embedded in the communities they aim to serve. Using an innovative mother-tongue education project in Namibia as a case study, this paper highlights some important considerations and potential pitfalls.
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Questions in the answers to primary school educational reconstruction in Sierra Leone - Hinton, Samuel (US-China education review, 2009)
The purpose of this paper is to review current issues in pre- and primary school reform and to pose questions on the long-term implications of present day solutions. Such an exercise will open up discussion on the probable effects of educational policy decisions with a view to minimize negative effects brought on by new policies. Because data collection in Sierra Leone is embryonic and unreliable, it is difficult to be definitive in planning future reform in education based on available data. The civil war between 1989 and 1999 practically shut down the educational system. Some of the obvious steps taken to ameliorate the situation included mandatory compulsory primary education in 2004 and completing the construction of 500 new classroom buildings by 2008. School enrolment doubled between 2001 and 2005 and the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) was about 160 percent. It is important to join in a discussion of the long-term implications of short-term solutions to educational development in Sierra Leone. The paper is organized under the following headings: (1) The context of pre and primary school development; (2) Current education system; (3) Issues in pre-primary and primary education; (4) Government statements on education and jobs respectively; (5) Questioning as a way to improve education quality; (6) Discussion; and (7) Recommendation.
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Teacher's perspective of multilingual classrooms in a South African school - Hooijer, Elizabeth Lynne; Fourie, Jean (Education As Change, 2009)
The educational changes brought about by the South African Constitution and the Language in Education policy have resulted in many previously monolingual classrooms in South Africa becoming multilingual. Teachers in these classrooms now teach children whose mother tongue differs from the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) of their particular school. The focus of the inquiry was therefore to ascertain how these teachers make sense of teaching in such classrooms. Much of the current literature regarding second language teaching focuses on either the recommendation of different methods of teaching a second language or describing the experiences of second language learners. There are not many studies that try to understand the phenomenon of teaching children who are learning in English, a language other than their mother tongue, from the teacher's point of view. This study describes the lived experiences of six Intermediate Phase teachers, teaching second language learners in multilingual classrooms. The research context was an ex-Model C school1 1A Model C school was a school that was created by the previous government predominantly for white children. These schools have now been converted into State schools and admission is open to all children. in Gauteng (South Africa) where each of the eleven official languages are represented as home languages among the learners. The research design was qualitative in nature and a number of different data collection techniques were used. The findings from the data reflect that teachers found teaching in such multilingual classrooms both challenging and difficult. The study concludes that teachers in multilingual classrooms need support. Recommendations are made of how this could be accomplished. The results of this inquiry show that further research in this area pertinent to the South African context is needed.
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Gender Difference in the Application of Preventive Discipline Practices among Principals of Secondary Schools in Nigeria - Ikoya, Peter O. (Journal of Social Sciences, 2009)
The research examined disparity in the implementation of preventive discipline practices by principals of secondary schools in Nigeria. Employing the ex-post facto design, a survey of principals, teachers, students and other stakeholders was carried out. Data analyzed revealed clear disparity between male and female principals. Findings also show that general implementation of the preventive model was low among principals. The implication is that the quality of school discipline is low. It was accordingly recommended that all stakeholders of the education industry should partner with schools’ administrators and managers to enhance effective implementation of preventive discipline practices for improved quality discipline in the nation’s school systems.
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Addressing the social exclusion of children from primary education : country analyses of India and Mozambique - Jenkins, Robert S. (2009)
This thesis focuses on the social exclusion of children of primary school age in India and Mozambique by examining two related aspects: the policies that have been adopted in both countries to tackle social exclusion and the indicators they have used to identify it. It is argued that existing policy indicators in both countries can provide a partial answer to the question of how far they have been able to address social exclusion but that indicators and analyses need to be more fine grained both to monitor social exclusion and provide leads as to how it can better addressed. The purpose is not to compare the two country analyses in order to evaluate how they differ in terms of magnitude or severity in the form of the exclusion. Rather, it is to understand the diverse nature of exclusion, and the different remedies and analyses that are required in the two countries. This analysis suggests that one size fits all policies, as once suggested by the World Bank, are inappropriate. The thesis develops an understanding of the concept of social exclusion and contrasts it with previous accounts of poverty in countries like India and Mozambique. It also adopts a normative Human Rights approach in viewing primary schooling as crucial to questions of social exclusion. It also shows how these key concepts can be related. Through the two country analyses offered in this thesis, it can be shown that because data collection processes are largely based on aggregate indicators, there is insufficient information to undertake an adequate analysis of social exclusion. In order to establish this point, official data sets are reanalyzed to see how far they can take us in helping to understand the complex nature of social exclusion. In particular, it will be shown that the indicators related to the education status of children are insufficiently disaggregated to enable an improved understanding of the characteristics of children that continue to be excluded. From this analysis it will be argued that a broader list of indicators needs to be developed related to the dynamics at the level of the school, community and household. However, given that social exclusion may be structured differently in various contexts it is argued that participatory research is required that facilitates the assessment and analysis of these dynamics by all the key stakeholders, including children, at the various levels. In particular, policy makers fail to involve children in the process of assessing and analyzing the reasons for exclusion, and therefore do not benefit from their perceptions and insights. Further analysis of the various dynamics which relate to exclusion provide useful insights to better understand the policy and programmatic initiatives that effectively address the social exclusion of children from primary school.
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Parental Influence, School Readiness and Early Academic Achievement of African American Boys. - Joe, Emanique M.; Davis, James Earl (2009)
This study examined the relationship between parental influence and the school readiness of African American boys, using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: ECLS-K, Parents' influence, via their academic beliefs and behaviors, was associated with the cognitive performance of African American boys during kindergarten. While previous research has produced similar results, the present study indicates there are differences in which academic beliefs and parenting behaviors are most effective in facilitating school readiness and early achievement. Emphasizing the importance of academic skills for African American boys was associated with higher reading and mathematics achievement as well as prior enrollment in center-based child care. Parenting behaviors, such as discussing science topics, reading books, and discussing family racial and ethnic heritage, differed in their significance in predicting cognitive outcomes. Implications for differences in the kinds of parental involvement in the education of African American boys are discussed. Recently there has been a significant amount of attention from researchers, educators, parents, and policymakers on the academic achievement gap and the disproportionate number of African American males who are represented among underachievers (Davis, 2008; Mickelson & Greene, 2006). This increased interest in the academic performance of young African American males in particular is often linked to negative consequences for future educational and social opportunities. Certainly, lags in early achievement particularly in reading and mathematics become more difficult to overcome for students who are located in under-resourced schools with limited access to high quality instructional and learning activities (Brown, Dancy, & Davis, 2007; Ferguson, 2003). Evidence also suggests that differences in early academic achievement among children begins prior to their school entry, and is significantly influenced by families' race/ethnicity, poverty status, parental educational attainment, and children's health and living environments (Currie, 2005; Reichman, 2005). Empirical investigations of the influence of family characteristics on children's academic outcomes emphasize the role of parent as an important mediating factor in children's academic achievement, and this is particularly true for African American boys (Boyd-Franklin & Franklin, 2000; Ferguson, 2000). Research has also been conducted concerning the educational experiences of African American boys (Entwisle, Alexander, & Olson, 2007; Ferguson, 2003) and the roles parents play in preparing their children for success in school (Brook-Gunn & Markman, 2005; Hill & Craft, 2003; Jeynes, 2005). While a few studies indicate mat parental involvement and several aspects of parenting are associated with academic achievement among African American boys (Mandara, 2006; Toldson, 2008), research is unclear regarding how early schooling experiences and social contexts affect school readiness and the early academic achievement of African American boys (Davis, 2003). Educational policy initiatives such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) has increased accountability among institutions, educators, and parents to better prepare children to succeed academically. However, there is little empirical evidence regarding the extent to which parents' roles (within the home and their children's schools) influences the school readiness and early academic achievement of African American boys. This study presents a unique examination of parental involvement in its use of a nationally representative sample, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). With such an increased emphasis on children's academic performance, in addition to the disproportionate number of African American males entering elementary schools at an academic disadvantage, the collaboration among those actors (i.e., teachers, parents), factors (i. …
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The Africa Teledermatology Project: Preliminary experience with a sub-Saharan teledermatology and e-learning program - Kaddu, Steven; Soyer, H. Peter; Gabler, Gerald; Kovarik, Carrie L. (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2009)
To the Editor: Recent advancements in technology and telecommunications have created special opportunities to use teledermatology in resource-poor settings. There are very few teledermatology programs active in sub-Saharan Africa, and most of these are targeted to specific countries or regions.1Schmid-Grendelmeier P. Masenga E.J. Haeffner A. Burg G. Teledermatology as a new tool in sub-saharan Africa: an experience from Tanzania.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000; 42: 833-835Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (40) Google Scholar, 2Schmid-Grendelmeier P. Doe P. Pakenham-Walsh N. Teledermatology in sub-Saharan Africa.Curr Probl Dermatol. 2003; 32: 233-246Crossref PubMed Google Scholar, 3Caumes E. Le Bris V. Couzigou C. Menard A. Janier M. Flahault A. Dermatoses associated with travel to Burkina Faso and diagnosed by means of teledermatology.Br J Dermatol. 2004; 150: 312-316Crossref PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 4Fraser H.S.F. McGrath S.J.D. Economical solutions are available to support heath care in remote areas.Br Med J. 2000; 321: 465-466Crossref PubMed Scopus (59) Google Scholar, 5O'Mahony D. Banach L. Mahapa D.H. Lancaster E.W. Van der Linde G.D. Williams B.H. et al.Teledermatology in a rural family practice.SA Fam Pract. 2002; 25: 4-8Google Scholar We have recently established a store and forward teledermatology consultation network (“Africa Teledermatology Project”) with the aim of linking a broad range of medical institutions in sub-Saharan Africa involved in treatment of skin diseases to more specialized dermatology units in Europe, the United States, and Australia. We present our preliminary experience with this project. The project was initiated through a special collaboration between the Departments of Dermatology at the Medical University of Graz, Austria, and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and the Dermatology Group at the University of Queensland, School of Medicine, Brisbane, Australia. Nine district, regional, and national hospitals with limited dermatology facilities located in seven different sub-Saharan African countries were included in the project, namely the Skin Clinic and the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; the Dermatology Clinic, Mbarara University, Faculty of Medicine Mbarara, Uganda; the Baylor College of Medicine Abbott Fund Children's Clinical Center of Excellence (COE)–Malawi in Lilongwe; the Botswana–Baylor Children's COE in Gaborone; the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana; the Baylor College of Medicine-Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Lesotho, in Maseru; the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Swaziland in Mbabane; Kapsowar hospital, Kenya; and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania. From February 2007 to May 2008, more than 140 consecutive problematic dermatologic cases with 320 clinical images were successfully submitted over the project Web site (http://telederm.org/africa/), which uses software similar to that employed by the telederm.org program.6Soyer H.P. Hofmann-Wellenhof R. Massone C. Gabler G. Dong H. Ozdemir F. et al.telederm.org: freely available online consultations in dermatology.PLoS Med. 2005; 2: e87Crossref PubMed Scopus (39) Google Scholar The majority of these clinical photographs were taken using cameras with a 4 megapixel resolution capability. Notably, a large proportion of these skin conditions (92 patients; 65%) arose on a background of HIV infection. Overall, cutaneous infections and/or infestations accounted for 30% (42 patients) of all submitted cases. A significant number of cases also represented various types of skin tumors (20 cases; 14%; Fig 1), papulosquamous lesions (18 cases; 12%), and a range of drug reactions (15 cases; 10%). The histopathologic evaluation of skin biopsies was necessary to confirm the teledermatologic diagnoses in 28 cases (20%). In eight patients, a diagnosis was not possible, mainly because of insufficient clinical information or poor quality of images. The majority of consults (60%) were closed within 2 days following submission. Assessment of system performance by patients and remote local medical staff was not specifically performed, but verbal communication from referring medical personnel indicated a high level of mutual satisfaction. A number of teleteaching opportunities were also set up on the project Web site, including a comprehensive list of dermatology literature sources, a dermatology curriculum, a list of exemplary cases with comprehensive discussions in the “case of the month,” and a “discussion forum.” Temporary interruptions in local telecommunications at the African sites have been the main limiting factor. System problems have only occasionally been encountered. Optimum participation of local medical personnel has sometimes been hampered by manpower shortages. There have been a few reports of patients who refused to be photographed or included in the project, likely because of certain cultural/religious attitudes or a lack of trust in data security or capability of this technology to improve their health. Preliminary results from our project confirm the feasibility of a broad-based, sub-Saharan African store and forward teledermatology network using the currently available telecommunication infrastructure in these countries. In this setting, teledermatology can offer prompt expert diagnostic and treatment suggestions that are helpful in improving management of many skin conditions and provide continuing medical education for local medical staff. Based on our findings and those from previous projects,1Schmid-Grendelmeier P. Masenga E.J. Haeffner A. Burg G. Teledermatology as a new tool in sub-saharan Africa: an experience from Tanzania.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000; 42: 833-835Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (40) Google Scholar, 2Schmid-Grendelmeier P. Doe P. Pakenham-Walsh N. Teledermatology in sub-Saharan Africa.Curr Probl Dermatol. 2003; 32: 233-246Crossref PubMed Google Scholar, 3Caumes E. Le Bris V. Couzigou C. Menard A. Janier M. Flahault A. Dermatoses associated with travel to Burkina Faso and diagnosed by means of teledermatology.Br J Dermatol. 2004; 150: 312-316Crossref PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 5O'Mahony D. Banach L. Mahapa D.H. Lancaster E.W. Van der Linde G.D. Williams B.H. et al.Teledermatology in a rural family practice.SA Fam Pract. 2002; 25: 4-8Google Scholar we recommend that sub-Saharan African countries consider including telemedicine and teledermatology as an explicit part of their national health care system plans. This could serve to emphasize the important role that telemedicine can play in improving future health care delivery in these countries. Potential challenges of teledermatology mainly represent technical and economic factors. The introduction of new technological developments—such as the use of mobile phones with built-in cameras as an alternative to bulky digital cameras and computers—could drastically lower overall implementation costs and improve efficiency in the delivery of these services. We believe that our initial experience and data may be helpful in providing a foundation for establishment of much larger teledermatology projects in this setting. We extend a special thanks to the following colleagues for their valuable contributions: Dr M. Adler, the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Swaziland; Dr C. Cox, the Baylor College of Medicine Abbott Fund Children's Clinical COE, Malawi; Dr K. Ferrer, the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE-Lesotho; Dr C. Forbes, the Botswana-Baylor Children's COE, the Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana; Dr F. Henderson, the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Swaziland; Dr S. Kambugu, Skin Clinic, Faculty of Medicine (Mulago National Hospital), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Dr A. Kekitiinwa, Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Centre of Excellence–Uganda at Mulago Hospital; Mr R. Kimuli, Pediatric Clinic, Faculty of Medicine (Mulago National Hospital), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Dr P. Larson, Kapsowar Hospital, Kenya; Dr J. Lee, the Botswana–Baylor Children's COE and the Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana; Dr R. Lee, the Botswana–Baylor Children's COE and the Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana;, Dr J. Magina, Mbarara University, Faculty of Medicine Mbarara, Uganda; Mr S. Mugoya, Skin Clinic, Faculty of Medicine (Mulago National Hospital), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Dr G. Mulyowa, Dermatology Clinic, Mbarara University, Faculty of Medicine Mbarara, Uganda; Dr T. S. Peniel, Moshi Hospital, Arusha, Tanzania; Dr J. M. Pierce, the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Lesotho; Dr T. Sebastian, the Baylor College of Medicine Bristol-Myers-Squibb Children's Clinical COE–Swaziland, and Dr E. Tsai, the Botswana–Baylor Children's COE and the Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana.
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African languages, education and sustainable development: An introduction - Kamwendo, Gregory (Language Matters, 2009)
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Enhancing teacher assessment practices in South African schools: Evaluation of the assessment resource banks - Kanjee, Anil (Education As Change, 2009)
Abstract The effective use of assessment by teachers can have a significant impact on improving learning. However, teachers require adequate support and appropriate resources to enhance their classroom assessment practices. This article reports on the results of a study which evaluated the effectiveness of Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs) for supporting teachers in rural primary schools to improve their classroom assessment practices. These ARBs are teacher booklets that comprise sets of Literacy and Numeracy tasks for use in assessing learner performance against the national Assessment Standards. The ARBs were piloted in 450 rural schools across four provinces. Data for the evaluation was obtained from classroom observations and interviews conducted in a sample of pilot schools and teacher and principal surveys administered in all pilot schools. The results of the evaluation indicate that providing teachers with relevant assessment resources can improve their classroom assessment practice. Most teachers reported that they found the ARBs to be extremely useful for conducting classroom assessments, and used them on a regular basis. In addition, the ARBs also provided a valuable resource for the planning and presentation of lessons as well as for assigning class work and homework exercises. The article concludes by highlighting future development and research needs in the deployment of ARBs in South African schools. Keywords: Teacher assessmentclassroom assessmentassessment resource banks
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Reading African‐American literature to understand the world: critical race praxis in teacher preparation - Katsarou, Eleni (Race Ethnicity and Education, 2009)
Teacher preparation programs have come under close scrutiny and teacher educators are being called to shift the center of gravity from traditional approaches to more transformative and urban‐focused curricula that will better prepare teacher candidates (TCs) to become effective and caring teachers of diverse pupils, particularly in urban sites. Critical race praxis scholars and practitioners have long argued that colleges of education have been complicit in maintaining the education inequalities that exist in schools that serve children of color, English language learners, and other pupils of non‐dominant backgrounds. In this paper, I will give an account of the changes made in a student‐teaching seminar, including the assigned readings and fieldwork assignments, that aimed to explore the key ideas of historical context, especially as it is reflected in schools and communities, and the notion of self as situated within it. Drawing from the experiences of many years as a teacher educator but especially from those in the reported year‐long course of study and actions, I conclude that teacher preparation must first center all efforts in offering TCs ideas and text that pave the way to resist racist, reductionist, and overly‐simplified metaphors that are used to describe children and second insist on highlighting real models of teachers and school leaders who know the historical and cultural antecedents of their school and communities, and who frame powerfully a culture of learning and an ethos of achievement that is accessible to non‐dominant students and their parents.
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A Comparison of Counselling Students' Needs in the United States and Nigeria - Kenny, Maureen C.; Aluede, Oyaziwo; McEachern, Adriana G. (Australian journal of guidance & counselling, 2009)
Abstract Knowledge of the needs of graduate counselling students can assist counsellor education faculty in understanding the unique concerns of this student population and thus assist in the development of adjunct services to address these important issues. This study compared the needs of graduate counselling students from the United States (U.S.) and Nigeria and found that they shared many of the same concerns, with time management as the highest-ranked concern. The implications of these results may help guide all counsellor education faculty in planning to assist students.
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Health Information Management Skills and ICT Staff Training Needs in a Nigerian Tertiary Medical Library - Komolafe-Opadeji, Helen (Library Philosophy and Practice, 2009)
Introduction Information technology has permanently altered traditional librarianship and the duties of librarians and support staff. Before the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), academic libraries were the sole custodians of information, which was mostly in print (Annunobi 2008). Information technologies have also had an impact on healthcare workers. The Internet brings access and communication on an unprecedented scale (Masys 2005). Sources of information are increasing exponentially, reflected in the steady growth in the use of information technology in teaching and learning. The nature of medical knowledge and technology requires everyone in the health care sector have computer skills (Trivedi 2008). The paradigm shift from traditional to multidisciplinary librarianship through ICT has increased the quantity of information passing through the library and the health librarian's role must keep up with these changes. Health care is an information-intensive sector and ICT is important in the health care delivery. ICT offers opportunities for developing countries like Nigeria to narrow the development gap (Ajuwon and Rhine 2008). Librarians and library support staff require the skills to serve the health sector optimally (Walton &Edwards 1999). Librarians often handle queries from patrons, while support staff may find themselves providing technical assistance. All staff providing direct or indirect assistance to library users need increased technical skills (Ashcroft and Watts 2005) Walton and Edwards (1999) found a significant information management skills gap amongst information professionals in Nigeria. The research suggested collaboration and strategic management of resources as way of alleviating problems. Staff training or retraining becomes imperative, because without training, the vast amount of electronic health information resources will be underused. Studies have shown that the provision of electronic information in the health sector does not match that of the academic sector (Goulding et al. 2000). The E. Latunde Odeku Medical Library (ELOML), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, serves the student and staff community of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, as well as the University College Hospital (UCH), Nigeria's pioneer teaching hospital. They are both situated on the same campus. Staff expressed the desire for exposure to ICT through their numerous unsuccessful applications for training outside the country. The ELOML collaborated with Lenny Rhine, the former Director of Biomedical Library, University of Florida, USA, and presently with Librarians without Borders to organize a week-long intensive workshop, called Health Librarians Information Management Skills, in July 2007. Data for this study was gathered at that workshop. The objective of the study is to assess the library staff ICT or information skills knowledge, to ascertain how they were trained and areas that would need additional training or retraining. This study investigates the use of ICT skills by librarians and support staff in ELOML The investigation also helps build training modules that would be most useful. Methodology Prior to the workshop, 24 staff were surveyed using a questionnaire with eleven questions. The survey assessed knowledge before the workshop. The training was informed by Williamson and Bannister's (2002) belief that, effective training must be concise and interactive, interspersed with exercises and hands on experimentation. The workshop was held in the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan's Education Trust Fund (ETF) computer laboratory. The laboratory has sixty computers and, the College of Medicine graciously provided electricity from their stand-by generator whenever there was a power outage. Each participant had a desktop computer to work with, and hands-on sessions were very successful. Workshop modules were designed to suit the needs of the participants extracted from the questionnaires. …
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Emerging geographies of school provision in Cape Town, South Africa - Lemon, Anthony; Battersby, Jane (Geography, 2009)
Fieldwork conducted in 1998 and 2005 in six previously segregated Cape Town schools illustrates the results of post-apartheid education policies. The apartheid legacy was one of gross racial, urban-rural and provincial inequalities, and the racially divided education system was a key target of the liberation struggle, but despite increased spending on coloured, Indian and black African education in the 1980s it had undergone no radical change by 1994.Desegregation has occurred in urban areas, but only ‘up’ the aparthied racial hierarchy, with class replacing race. English is the dominant medium of instruction with the teaching of black African languages largely confined to black African schools. In more affluent catchment areas, schools charge ever higher fees to maintain favourable learner-teacher ratios and facilities, which are reflected in academic performance.Another legacy of the apartheid era is the disproportionately high share of educational budgets devoted to teachers' pay; it is hard to predict progress towards equality of opportunity while this remains the case.
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Idle chatter or learning? Evidence of social learning about clinicians and the health system from rural Tanzania - Leonard, Kenneth L.; Adelman, Sarah; Essam, Timothy (Social Science & Medicine, 2009)
We examine data from the rural Arusha region in Tanzania in which households are asked to recall the illness episodes of randomly chosen other households in their village. We interviewed 502 randomly selected households from 22 villages in 20 wards of Arusha. We analyze the probability that a household can recall another illness episode as a function of the characteristics of the illness, the location and type of health care chosen and the outcome experienced. We found that households are more likely to recall severe illnesses, illnesses for which good quality care is important, illnesses that resulted in visits to hospitals and illnesses when the patient was not cured. In addition, households are more likely to recall illnesses that resulted in a visit to a facility where the average tenure of clinicians is less than two years. The results suggest that households deliberately collect information in order to learn about clinicians and facilities in their local area. We show evidence that households use this information when they choose whether to visit new health care providers. In particular, households are less likely to visit a new provider when they hear of bad outcomes and more likely to do so when they hear of good outcomes.
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Code-switching in Botswana History classrooms in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development - Mafela, Lily (Language Matters, 2009)
Abstract Education is an important vehicle for the achievement of overall sustainable development. Moreover, international organisations have encouraged governments around the world to work towards achieving education for all. The notion of inclusive education has been useful in ensuring that country-level educational policies and practices incorporate and serve the interests of learners coming from diverse socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Language facilitation has been earmarked by UNESCO (2005) as a necessary component of education for sustainable development. Despite global affirmation of the importance of language, the absence of language facilitation policies hampers the achievement of education for sustainable development at classroom level. This article explores language use in Botswana's History classrooms in the context of education for sustainable development. It is based on an exploratory study that was undertaken to investigate the use of code-switching in Botswana's History classrooms. The article begins with a discussion of the concept, origins and evolution of sustainable development, and how it links with education for sustainable development. The article goes on to link education for sustainable development with issues of equity and inclusiveness, and explores the role of language in the facilitation of an enabling and interactive teaching and learning environment.
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Analysis of Spatial Awareness of HIV-AIDS amongst Students of Tertiary Institutions in Edo State, Nigeria - Magnus, Ojeifo O.; Gbakeji, Julius O. (Studies on Ethno-Medicine (Print), 2009)
This study examines the spatial awareness of HIV-AIDS among students of tertiary institutions in Edo State Nigeria. Four higher institutions were selected for this study in the state and primary data were obtained from these institutions using questionnaire and personal observation. Secondary data used were obtained from published materials. The analysis of the data showed that awareness of HIV-AIDS in the high institutions is relatively high and most of the students were aware of its existence. Inspite of this, students were still found to be involved in acts capable of spreading the disease. Several measures were however recommended as a way of reducing the spread of the disease and treatment of infected persons.
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Effects of climate change over the NW African Coast - Marcello, Javier; Hernández‐Guerra, Alonso; Eugênio, Francisco (2009)
Changes in the coastal upwelling ecosystems need to be accounted for as these structures are responsible for an important percentage of the global fish catch, for the primary and secondary productivity and for the atmosphere-ocean exchange. In this sense, our work aims to assess its impact in the coastal upwelling regions located in the northwest African coast (latitudes 5° to 36°N and longitudes 5° to 30°W). This area is one of the major upwelling regions in the world, so, it is important its study to predict the variability that measured parameters may have in the future. Upwelling Index obtained from Sea Surface Temperature images for the period 1987-2006 and remote sensing wind stress have been used to analyze the coastal upwelling region off Northwest Africa. Upwelling Index shows an intensification of the upwelling during the 20 years period.
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Bridges and barriers: Language in African education and development - Matiki, Alfred Jana (Language Matters, 2009)
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Element mobility during zeolitic and argillic alteration of volcanic ash in a closed-basin lacustrine environment: Case study Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania - McHenry, Lindsay J. (Chemical Geology, 2009)
Pliocene–Pleistocene Bed I of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania provides an ideal test for models of element mobility during closed-basin saline–alkaline tephra alteration. Samples of a single phonolitic lapilli-rich layer of marker Tuff IF were collected across a transect of paleo-lake Olduvai, including authigenic K-feldspar and phillipsite bearing samples from the central saline–alkaline lake basin, less altered phillipsite and chabazite-bearing samples from the intermittently dry lacustrine and lake margin deposits, clay-dominated samples from the distal lake margin, and less altered or fresh samples from a freshwater wetlands deposit. In addition to authigenic mineral assemblage, bulk composition (as measured for lapilli separates) also varies across the basin. Of the major elements, Si and Al varied the least across the environments sampled. Ca, Na, and K were variable but did not display significant leaching as would occur under more dilute and neutral conditions. K in particular varied in concentration depending on environment, showing depletion in the lake margin argillic samples and concentration in the phillipsite and K-feldspar dominated zeolitic samples of the central basin. Mg followed the opposite pattern, with higher concentrations in the argillic samples. The overall pattern of element enrichment and depletion helps reconstruct the Olduvai Basin diagenetic history. Ordinarily immobile elements Ti and Zr showed significant variation, especially in the most altered samples. Zr concentrations were up to 50% lower in the zeolitized samples, while they were conserved or slightly enriched in the least altered and argillic samples. Of the trace elements analyzed, only Ta and Nb were consistently immobile, showing variations of under 10%. These observations suggest that Zr and Ti should not be treated as immobile elements if exposure to saline–alkaline fluids is suspected, as they can become more mobile under specific high-pH conditions.
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Southern African students at the Music School in Weimar, Germany, 1884-1921 - Mescht, Heinrich Van der (South African Journal of Cultural History, 2009)
Suider-Afrikaanse studente aan die Hochschule für Musik in Weimar, Duitsland, 1884-1921Die Musiekskool in Weimar, een van die beroemdste musiekstede ter wêreld, is in 1872 gestig. Die skool het geleidelik meer studente, ook uit die buiteland, getrek. Die primêre doel van die navorsing was om vas te stel of Suider-Afrikaanse studente aan die skool studeer het, soos wat dit by die konservatoriums in Amsterdam, Leipzig en Wene, die Royal College of Music in Londen, die Stern-Konservatorium in Berlyn en die Hochschule für Musik in Berlyn die geval was. Verrassenderwys het slegs ses studente met Suider-Afrikaanse verbintenisse tussen 1872 en 1939 aan dieMusiekskool in Weimar gestudeer. Hulle was Maria Adamson (Kaapstad), Myrtha en Ursula Noyce (Heidelberg, Transvaal), Johanna (Joan) van Niekerk (Uitenhage), Thyra Nissen-Lass (Windhoek) en Anna Maria Bach (Windhoek). Geeneen van hulle word in die programme van studentekonserte genoem nie. ’n Mens moet dus aanneem dat hulle standaard nie goed genoeg was om saam met die ander studentein die openbaar op te tree nie. Maar die buitengewone aktiewe musieklewe by die Musiekskool en in die stadjie Weimar sou aan hulle baie ander musiekervarings verskaf het. Hierdie veelsydige agtergrond sou in hulle latere musieklewens ruimskoots tot hulle voordeel gestrek het. Van die ses studente is slegs Joan van Niekerk vandag nog bekend weens haar Die Groot Afrikaanse-Hollandse Liederbundel (1927) en haar werk as liedbegeleier.The Music School in Weimar, one of the most famous music towns of the world, was founded in 1872. It gradually attracted more students and also more foreigners. The first aim of the research was to establish whether there were Southern African students at this school as there were at the conservatories in Amsterdam, Leipzig and Vienna, the Royal College of Music in London, the Stern Conservatorium in Berlin and the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Surprisingly, only six students with SouthernAfrican connections were found at the Music School in Weimar between 1872 and 1939. They are Maria Adamson (Cape Town), Myrtha and Ursula Noyce (Heidelberg, Transvaal), Johanna (Joan) van Niekerk (Uitenhage), Thyra Nissen-Lass (Windhoek) and Anna Maria Bach (Windhoek). None of these students was mentioned in the programmes of student concerts. One must assume that they were not of a standard to perform in public with the other students. But the extremely active music life at theMusic School and in the town of Weimar would have provided them with additional musical experience. This versatile background would have been to their advantage as musicians later in their lives. Among the six students it is only Joan van Niekerk who is known today, for her volume of Dutch Afrikaans songs (1927) and her work as an accompanist.
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Urban Debate and High School Educational Outcomes for African American Males: The Case of the Chicago Debate League. - Mezuk, Briana (Journal of Negro Education, 2009)
This study examines whether participating in competitive policy debate influences high school completion, academic achievement, and college readiness for African American male students. The analysis examines data from the Chicago Debate League from 1997 to 2006. Debate participants were 70% more likely to graduate and three times less likely to drop out as those who did not participate, even after accounting for 8th grade test scores and grade point average. Debate participants were more likely to score at or above the ACT benchmarks for college readiness in English and reading, but not in science or mathematics, than those who did not participate. Recurrent participation in policy debate positively influences scholastic achievement among African American male students in this urban setting. In 2003, the national high school graduation rate was 70%; however, there was marked variation in high school completion rates by region and urbanicity (Swanson, 2008). The 2003 graduation rate in the city of Chicago Public School district was only 48% (Chicago Public Schools OREA, 2009), which is consistent with data showing that urban public school districts have, on average, lower high school completion rates than their suburban counterparts (Swanson, 2008). Racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately experience poor educational attainment even in these ?^asfsG??p??^ urban settings. For example, within Chicago the 2003 graduation rate for nonHispanic White students was approximately 10% higher than for African American students (54.0% vs. 44.5%, respectively; Chicago Public Schools OREA, 2009). Within urban districts like Chicago, African American males have particularly low graduation rates and high dropout rates relative to their non-Hispanic White counterparts (35% and 61%, respectively; Chicago Public Schools OREA, 2009). Disparities in college matriculation and graduation mirror those seen in secondary education. African American men are less likely to graduate high school, less likely to matriculate to either two or four-year postsecondary education than Whites, and, once in college, are less likely to graduate in six years (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Ginder, 2009). Ensuring that African American males graduate from high school and possess the literacy skills to succeed in college, in the workplace, and in broader society is a core priority for education policymakers. It is estimated that 25% of high school students basic level and nearly 40% of high school graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Substantial investments have been made to improve performance in elementary education, but few programs are available to effectively address secondary literacy for urban students generally, or African American men specifically. While urban students show steady improvement in early literacy, many studies isolate a fourth grade slump- a point in literacy where students begin to transition from learning to read to reading to learn and where students who will eventually below grade level in later years show marked difference from their peers (Chali & Jacobs 2003; Chali, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990). The literacy gains in economically poor school districts generally flat-line or decline at this point relative to more affluent districts (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006; U.S. Department of Education, 2005). This slump has severe consequences, since only 21% of African American and 33% of Hispanic high school graduates meet college readiness benchmarks for (ACT, 2006). Secondary literacy impacts both intensive courses (i.e., literature and composition) and students' ability to access and master material and concepts across the curriculum (Snow & Biancarosa, 2003). Thus, student progress as a whole can be significantly impaired when students have poor secondary skills. Findings increasingly indicate that improving secondary literacy requires sustained engagement with complex texts. …
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Revitalising and sustaining Botswana cultures through the secondary school curriculum: A myth or reality? - Molosiwa, Annah (Language Matters, 2009)
Abstract The government of Botswana is committed to recognising, supporting and strengthening the different languages and cultural traditions of the country by the year 2016, within the education system. The main way in which this goal will be attained, is by implementing the curricula that were reformed in 1998. The curriculum emphasises the need for learners to understand their cultural practices, to develop self-esteem, pride and appreciation for the national cultural heritage, and to acquire knowledge of cultural practices, including those that promote the conservation of the environment and have implications for the future. Contrary to curriculum reform efforts, many teachers ignore the topics that fall under the domain of Culture; an anomaly that has adverse effects in actual classroom practices. This article argues that the non-teaching of these topics denies learners the essential knowledge, attitudes and skills they need in order to understand themselves and others, to appreciate cultural diversity and participate effectively both in their communities and nationally. Data sources included an analysis of official documents, interviews and a questionnaire administered to a number of SetswanaFootnote1 secondary school teachers. The findings revealed that in Botswana schools, teaching is driven by the requirements of national examinations. Keywords: AssessmentculturecurriculumeducationlanguageSetswana Notes 1. Setswana is the national language of Botswana. It is offered as a compulsory school subject to all citizen students in the country.
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Language policy and practice in Botswana in the context of education for sustainable development - Mooko, Theophilus (Language Matters, 2009)
Abstract This article explores language practice in Botswana in the context of disseminating information related to environmental issues. Despite the fact that indigenous languages are invaluable carriers of environmental education, the current language policy in Botswana does not provide room for the use of the different indigenous languages-messages conveying information on environmental matters are still presented either in English or Setswana. To situate that argument, the article briefly provides the messages presented by government organisations, companies and non-governmental organisations interested in environmental issues. The analysis revealed that the hegemony of English and Setswana prevails in the communication of information on environmental issues, even in instances where other local languages could have been utilised to effectively communicate the intended message. This article underscores the need to develop inclusive language policies which will provide for the use of the diverse African languages. It is imperative to do so, because vital indigenous knowledge, which can contribute to sustainable development, can only be best understood in the languages of the people. The current practice of overemphasising English and Setswana, within the Botswana context, denies the nation the opportunity of understanding environmental issues from diverse perspectives.
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Adult education learners' recruitment: Challenges and prospects for re-engineered access to adult education in Kenya - Mualuko, Ndiku J.; Hellen, Muthamia; Odeo, Ipara; Obaki, Samuel O. (Educational Research Review, 2009)
A research survey was designed to investigate the factor affecting participation of illiterate adults in adult education in Kenya and suggests ways to improve on the literacy levels. From the findings it was established that lack of conducive learning environments for adult learners, unavailability of enough instructional materials, negative attitude towards learning and shortage of professionally trained trainers for adult learners were some of the factors hindering many illiterate adults from participating in adult education programmes. It was recommended that the government and other agencies should take more responsibility in supporting adult education to make it more attractive to adult learners to attend the programmes by providing adequate funding and facilitating teacher training. The need for effective involvement of the learners in curriculum developed was emphasized.
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Attitudes and beliefs about homosexuality and same-sex marriage among a sample of South African students - Mwaba, Kelvin (Social Behavior and Personality, 2009)
With the enactment of the Civil Unions Bill in 2006, South Africa became the fifth country in the world, and the first in Africa, to legalize same-sex marriage. While supporters of the bill hailed the decision as signaling the end of discrimination against homosexual couples, critics slammed it as undermining traditional marriage between a man and woman. The attitudes and beliefs of a sample of South African students regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriage were investigated. A survey was conducted among a sample of 150 undergraduate students at a predominantly black university in the Western Cape. Results showed that 71% viewed same-sex marriages as strange and supported religious groups opposed to such marriages. Close to 40% supported discrimination against homosexuals with 46% indicating that they should be denied the right to adopt children. It is concluded that, despite having legal protection, public acceptance of homosexuals and same-sex marriage may be quite limited in South Africa.
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Case studies of the implementation of “progression and integration” of knowledge in South African schools - Naidoo, Devika (Education As Change, 2009)
Abstract Two fundamental pedagogical principles that underpin the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) in the General Education and Training band (Grades 7–9) are, firstly, a high level of knowledge and skills for all; and secondly, the progression and integration of knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers of three grade 9 classrooms in three diverse schools have responded to these principles. The study was framed by Bernstein's sociological analysis of the stratified distribution of knowledge in different social class schools. Within the case study approach, data were collected through non-participant observation of teachers’ classroom practices in the province of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) over a month followed by open-ended interviews with teachers. The findings indicate extreme variations in the subjects/Learning Areas offered across the schools, in high level knowledge and skills taught, in conceptual progression and in access to integrated knowledge. The finding, that the historically disadvantaged school was not able to provide learners with the opportunities to learn high level knowledge and skills, resonates with the findings of other researchers of classroom practices. The dominance of integration with everyday knowledge and the accompanying lack of conceptual progression typical of school knowledge resulted in impoverished learning opportunities for learners. The exemplar of the dual curriculum modality of an integrated curriculum based on a subject-based curriculum as observed in one of the advantaged schools seems to show much promise for attaining both pedagogical principles. Keywords: Progressionintegrationinequalitydiverse school contexts
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Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships for Medical Students: An Innovation Adopted by Medical Schools in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States - Norris, Thomas E.; Schaad, Douglas C.; DeWitt, Dawn E.; Ogur, Barbara; Hunt, D. Daniel (Academic Medicine, 2009)
Integrated clinical clerkships represent a relatively new and innovative approach to medical education that uses continuity as an organizing principle, thus increasing patient-centeredness and learner-centeredness. Medical schools are offering longitudinal integrated clinical clerkships in increasing numbers. This report collates the experiences of medical schools that use longitudinal integrated clerkships for medical student education in order to establish a clearer characterization of these experiences and summarize outcome data, when possible.The authors sent an e-mail survey with open text responses to 17 medical schools with known longitudinal integrated clerkships.Sixteen schools in four countries on three continents responded to the survey. Fifteen institutions have active longitudinal integrated clerkships in place. Two programs began before 1995, but the others are newer. More than 2,700 students completed longitudinal integrated clerkships in these schools. The median clerkship length is 40 weeks, and in 15 of the schools, the core clinical content was in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics-gynecology. Eleven schools reported supportive student responses to the programs. No differences were noted in nationally normed exam scores between program participants and those in the traditional clerkships. Limited outcomes data suggest that students who participate in these programs are more likely to enter primary care careers.This study documents the increasing use of longitudinal integrated clerkships and provides initial insights for institutions that may wish to develop similar clinical programs. Further study will be needed to assess the long-term impact of these programs on medical education and workforce initiatives.
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Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships for Medical Students: An Innovation Adopted by Medical Schools in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States - Norris, Thomas E.; Schaad, Douglas C.; DeWitt, Dawn E.; Ogur, Barbara; Hunt, D. Daniel (Academic Medicine, 2009)
Integrated clinical clerkships represent a relatively new and innovative approach to medical education that uses continuity as an organizing principle, thus increasing patient-centeredness and learner-centeredness. Medical schools are offering longitudinal integrated clinical clerkships in increasing numbers. This report collates the experiences of medical schools that use longitudinal integrated clerkships for medical student education in order to establish a clearer characterization of these experiences and summarize outcome data, when possible.The authors sent an e-mail survey with open text responses to 17 medical schools with known longitudinal integrated clerkships.Sixteen schools in four countries on three continents responded to the survey. Fifteen institutions have active longitudinal integrated clerkships in place. Two programs began before 1995, but the others are newer. More than 2,700 students completed longitudinal integrated clerkships in these schools. The median clerkship length is 40 weeks, and in 15 of the schools, the core clinical content was in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics-gynecology. Eleven schools reported supportive student responses to the programs. No differences were noted in nationally normed exam scores between program participants and those in the traditional clerkships. Limited outcomes data suggest that students who participate in these programs are more likely to enter primary care careers.This study documents the increasing use of longitudinal integrated clerkships and provides initial insights for institutions that may wish to develop similar clinical programs. Further study will be needed to assess the long-term impact of these programs on medical education and workforce initiatives.
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Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships for Medical Students: An Innovation Adopted by Medical Schools in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States - Norris, Thomas E.; Schaad, Douglas C.; DeWitt, Dawn E.; Ogur, Barbara; Hunt, D. Daniel (Academic Medicine, 2009)
Integrated clinical clerkships represent a relatively new and innovative approach to medical education that uses continuity as an organizing principle, thus increasing patient-centeredness and learner-centeredness. Medical schools are offering longitudinal integrated clinical clerkships in increasing numbers. This report collates the experiences of medical schools that use longitudinal integrated clerkships for medical student education in order to establish a clearer characterization of these experiences and summarize outcome data, when possible.The authors sent an e-mail survey with open text responses to 17 medical schools with known longitudinal integrated clerkships.Sixteen schools in four countries on three continents responded to the survey. Fifteen institutions have active longitudinal integrated clerkships in place. Two programs began before 1995, but the others are newer. More than 2,700 students completed longitudinal integrated clerkships in these schools. The median clerkship length is 40 weeks, and in 15 of the schools, the core clinical content was in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics-gynecology. Eleven schools reported supportive student responses to the programs. No differences were noted in nationally normed exam scores between program participants and those in the traditional clerkships. Limited outcomes data suggest that students who participate in these programs are more likely to enter primary care careers.This study documents the increasing use of longitudinal integrated clerkships and provides initial insights for institutions that may wish to develop similar clinical programs. Further study will be needed to assess the long-term impact of these programs on medical education and workforce initiatives.
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Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships for Medical Students: An Innovation Adopted by Medical Schools in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States - Norris, Thomas E.; Schaad, Douglas C.; DeWitt, Dawn E.; Ogur, Barbara; Hunt, D. Daniel (Academic Medicine, 2009)
Integrated clinical clerkships represent a relatively new and innovative approach to medical education that uses continuity as an organizing principle, thus increasing patient-centeredness and learner-centeredness. Medical schools are offering longitudinal integrated clinical clerkships in increasing numbers. This report collates the experiences of medical schools that use longitudinal integrated clerkships for medical student education in order to establish a clearer characterization of these experiences and summarize outcome data, when possible.The authors sent an e-mail survey with open text responses to 17 medical schools with known longitudinal integrated clerkships.Sixteen schools in four countries on three continents responded to the survey. Fifteen institutions have active longitudinal integrated clerkships in place. Two programs began before 1995, but the others are newer. More than 2,700 students completed longitudinal integrated clerkships in these schools. The median clerkship length is 40 weeks, and in 15 of the schools, the core clinical content was in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics-gynecology. Eleven schools reported supportive student responses to the programs. No differences were noted in nationally normed exam scores between program participants and those in the traditional clerkships. Limited outcomes data suggest that students who participate in these programs are more likely to enter primary care careers.This study documents the increasing use of longitudinal integrated clerkships and provides initial insights for institutions that may wish to develop similar clinical programs. Further study will be needed to assess the long-term impact of these programs on medical education and workforce initiatives.
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Vocational Choices among Secondary School Students: Issues and Strategies in Nigeria - Ohiwerei, Franklin Ohiole; Nwosu, B. O. (Asian Journal of Business and management, 2009)
This study tried to examine the problems that are associated with vocational choices of secondary school student. The research revealed that secondary school students are faced with choosing a vocation right from the colonial master to date in our educational system. The research also represents there are so many factors that are responsible for this, among which are parents, teachers, peer groups and subject study. Conclusion and recommendations were however made such as get information about job descriptions and requirements, Get information about salary and working conditions, Get information about the education and training requirements and source for information about the labor market, including industrial occupational trend. That parent must not force their children to choose a vocation. A student must not choose a vocation because he or she sees his or her friends choosing the vocation. A student must choose a vocation where he or she has intellectual, ability, aptitudes, and interest.
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Teaching “Human Rights in Africa” Transnationally: Reflections on the Jos-Osgoode Virtual Classroom Experience - Okafor, Obiora Chinedu; Dakas, Dakas C.J. (German Law Journal, 2009)
During the Fall of 2007, as part of a much broader York-Nigerian Universities linkage project that he had been working on for some time, Professor Okafor taught an internationalized version of a pre-existing existing course entitled “Human Rights in Africa.” At the same time, Professor Dakas of the Faculty of Law, University of Jos, Nigeria (assisted by Mr. J.D. Gamaliel) taught a similarly modified version of an existing course at their own institution. Professor Dakas, a former Hauser Global Scholar at New York University and most recently the attorney-general of the Plateau State of Nigeria) was the lead faculty at that partner law school in Nigeria.
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Promoting child development through music: A comparision of preschool teachers' perspective in Kenya and United States - Okongo, Benson Charles Odongo (2009)
Thesis [M.Ed.] -- Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction
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Preservice; Nigerian science teachers' conceptions of integrated science - Oludipe, Bimbola Dupe; Oludipe, Daniel Idowu (Educational Research Review, 2009)
The main purpose of this study was to critically examine the conceptions students in the integrated science major and non-integrated science major have about integrated science. Participants were 187 student-teachers enrolled in a University of Education in South-West Nigeria. They all did integrated science at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level and offered physics, chemistry and biology at the 100 and 200 levels in the University. Finding of this study revealed that, contrary to generally held opinion about non-integrated science students, majority of the participants held cohesive conceptions of integrated science, while gender was also found not to affect integrated science conceptions.
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The situation of youth with disabilities in Uganda (特集 アフリカの障害者と障害者運動の現状) - Olweny, Aggrey (アフリカnow, 2009)
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English-only language-in-education policy in multilingual classrooms in Ghana - Opoku-Amankwa, Kwasi (Language, Culture and Curriculum, 2009)
This paper, based on the findings of a qualitative study, discusses the influence of Ghana's recently introduced English-only language-in-education policy on pupils' classroom communicative practices and learning generally. It highlights how the use of English – an unfamiliar language – creates anxiety among students and stalls effective classroom participation. The paper first considers the key issues that impinge on the literacy development in multilingual classrooms in postcolonial Africa including the uninformed attitudes towards mother tongue/bilingual education. It then draws on the empirical data from Africa and elsewhere to refute the negative perceptions about mother-tongue education, and, examines the prospects for bilingual/mother-tongue education in multilingual classrooms in Ghana.
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Environmental Pollution and Blood Lead Levels in Nigeria: Who is Unexposed? - Orisakwe, Orish Ebere (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2009)
While blood lead levels (BLLs) in many western countries have progressively declined since 1976, in Nigeria high BLL continue to be documented not only in exposed workers but also in "unexposed" control subjects. The problem of environmental lead exposure has hitherto gone unaddressed by both researchers and health policy makers in Nigeria despite the immense public health importance. Continued high BLLs in Nigeria cast doubt on researchers' ability to find real "unexposed control subjects" in future studies, and point to the importance of controlling environmental lead exposures.
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Environmental Pollution and Blood Lead Levels in Nigeria: Who is Unexposed? - Orisakwe, Orish Ebere (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2009)
While blood lead levels (BLLs) in many western countries have progressively declined since 1976, in Nigeria high BLL continue to be documented not only in exposed workers but also in "unexposed" control subjects. The problem of environmental lead exposure has hitherto gone unaddressed by both researchers and health policy makers in Nigeria despite the immense public health importance. Continued high BLLs in Nigeria cast doubt on researchers' ability to find real "unexposed control subjects" in future studies, and point to the importance of controlling environmental lead exposures.
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Self-esteem and Suicidal Risk among Subjects with Dermatological Disorders in a West African Teaching Hospital - Owoeye, Olugbenga A.; Aina, Olatunji F.; Omoluabi, Peter F.; Olumide, Yetunde (Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, 2009)
I In nt tr ro od du uc ct ti io on n P sychological problems play an important role in the relapse and chronicity of several skin disorders. 1As in other parts of the world, examples of common skin disorders in Nigeria are dermatitis, eczema, acne, and fungal infections. 2,3owever, in addition to these, leprosy is still a major
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‘It's easy to learn when you using your home language but with English you need to start learning language before you get to the concept’: bilingual concept development in an English medium university in South Africa - Paxton, Moragh (Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2009)
Abstract This article describes a multilingual glossary project in the economics department at the University of Cape Town which gave multilingual students learning economics through the medium of English, opportunities to discuss new economic concepts in their home languages in order to broaden and enrich understanding of these new concepts. The findings from this project illustrate how important it is that students use a range of languages and discourses to negotiate meaning of unfamiliar terms. The article responds to Mesthrie's (2008) caution regarding the development of multilingual glossaries, dictionaries and textbooks at higher education level in South Africa. It argues that translation of terminology happens inevitably both inside and outside our university classrooms as multilingual university students, in peer learning groups, codeswitch from English to their primary languages in order to better understand new concepts and this could be used as an important resource for building academic registers in African languages.
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Phonological Milestones for African American English-Speaking Children Learning Mainstream American English as a Second Dialect - Pearson, Barbara Zurer; Velleman, Shelley L.; Bryant, J. T.; Charko, Tiffany (Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 2009)
This study provides milestones for phonological development in African American English (AAE) speakers who are learning Mainstream American English (MAE) as a second dialect.The Dialect Sensitive Language Test (DSLT; H. Seymour, T. Roeper, & J. G. de Villiers, 2000) was administered to a nationwide sample of typically developing children ages 4 through 12: 537 speakers of AAE as a first dialect and 317 speakers of MAE as a first dialect. DSLT items tested all consonant segments and many clusters of MAE in initial and final position. The age at which each dialect group reached 90% criterion for each segment in each position was compared.Several phonetic elements that are contrastive between the dialects (i.e., differentiate the dialects) in word-final position were found to be similar in the 2 groups in word-initial position. Only /eth/ was contrastive in both positions. We confirm the later acquisition of certain phonological segments and structures by AAE speakers compared to MAE speakers and report their earlier mastery of other elements of MAE phonology.Both segmental and phonotactic development show different trajectories for AAE and MAE. Thus, initial diagnosis of impairment for AAE children should focus only on mastery of noncontrastive segments and structures that share a similar developmental profile for the 2 dialect groups.
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To be or not to be an academic: South African graduate students’ vocational choices - Portnoi, Laura M. (International journal of educational development, 2009)
In the post-apartheid era, South African universities are striving to attract and retain diverse faculty, as mandated by the 1998 Employment Equity Act (EEA). While the focus on faculty is critical to the transformation agenda, it is informative to step back and consider the factors that influence graduate students’ decisions regarding joining the academy. This qualitative study explores the educational experiences and vocational decisions of 50 masters and doctoral students from the EEA's “designated groups,” who are poised to become academics. Factors influencing graduate students’ vocational choices should be taken into consideration as universities strive to attract more diverse faculty.
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From Brilliant Baby to Child Placed at Risk: The Perilous Path of African American Boys in Early Childhood Education. - Rashid, Hakim M. (Journal of Negro Education, 2009)
The preschool and elementary years play a major role in transforming young African American boys from babies into at risk. A preschool to prison pipeline now exists that is becoming increasingly apparent. It runs from preschool settings through elementary and middle school, into the high schools from which young African American men continue to drop out in staggering numbers, and ultimately, into federal and state prisons. A number of critical factors affect the status of African American boys in childhood education. They include quality of preschool setting; teacher beliefs, expectations, and behavior; acquisition of literacy and school readiness skills; and curriculum quality and relevance. In order to address these issues and the broader context of childhood for African American boys, a wide range of recommendations are made for consideration by communities and policymakers. The concept of early childhood education has come to represent the context of for young children from preschool through third grade. During this period that typically covers age three to eight, the young child is undergoing a series of transformations that reflect tremendous growth and development in the cognitive, social, and emotional realms. As the landscape of childhood is more closely examined, however, one sees a terrain fraught with potential landmines for young African American boys. These brilliant little minds typically enter the preschool at age 3 with the innate curiosity and motivation that characterize their age cohort, and often reflect the psychomotor precocity that has been well -documented in infants of color (Werner, 1972). They emerge from this six-year period and head into fourth grade with the lowest reading levels; the lowest expectations from teachers; and the highest suspension, expulsion, and special referral rates of any group of children in the United States. The transformation of these babies into children placed at risk (Boykin, 2000), during a period of time when their potential is unlimited, is a phenomenon that must be addressed by educators, policymakers, parents, and the nation as a whole. The present article discusses the importance of childhood to long-term outcomes for young African American boys; describes the current context of childhood for young African American boys; and makes recommendations to community members and policymakers for strategies to enhance the childhood context for African American boys. WHY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT TO LONG-TERM EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN BOYS Moving toward the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the overall quality of life for young African American males continues to be a national disgrace. Young Black men continue to be disproportionately incarcerated in the nation's penal system, experience higher rates of death by homicide and HIV, and have less access to health insurance (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004). They have experienced a chronic decline in labor force participation (Holzer, Offner, & Sorenson, 2004), alarming school drop-out rates (Orfield, Losen, Wald & Swanson, 2004), higher rates of suspension and expulsion from schools than any other group (Drakeford, 2004), disproportionate number of referrals for special services (Townsend, 2000), and generally lower levels of educational attainment than their peers (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004). High quality childhood programs have the potential to address long-term outcomes for African American males in a variety of contexts. Longitudinal studies of the impact of childhood interventions (see Schweinhart et al., 2004), and the related cost-benefit analyses that have been conducted on many of the projects, have clearly demonstrated the longterm value to children, families, and society as a whole. …
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How can seasonal climate forecasts change agricultural decisions? A case study on millet producers in Niger - Roudier, Philippe; Quirion, Philippe; Sultan, B (HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2009)
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Do gender differences in help avoidance vary by ethnicity? An examination of African American and European American students during early adolescence. - Ryan, Allison M.; Shim, Sungok Serena; Lampkins-uThando, Shawn A.; Kiefer, Sarah M.; Thompson, Geneene N. (Developmental Psychology, 2009)
The present research examined whether the nature of gender differences varies by race for two types of academic engagement in the classroom (help avoidance and voice with the teacher) in a sample of early adolescents (N = 456; 55% female, 60% African American and 40% European American) making the transition to middle school. Growth curve analyses indicated that help avoidance increased over time, voice remained stable, and achievement declined. In line with hypotheses based on cultural variations in the female role, there were no gender differences in help avoidance for African American students, whereas for European American students, girls were lower in help avoidance than were boys. For African American students, there were no gender differences in voice with the teacher, whereas for European American students, girls were higher than were boys. These group differences were present at all 3 waves. For all students, increases in help avoidance negatively predicted changes in achievement, whereas increases in voice positively predicted achievement. Results underscore the importance of examining gender and ethnicity together to understand academic adjustment during early adolescence.
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"Emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy as predictors of academic performance among senior secondary school students in Oyo state, Nigeria " - Salami, Samuel O.; Ogundokun, MO (2009)
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Measuring disability in censuses: The case of South Africa - Schneider, Marguerite; Dasappa, Princelle; Khan, Neloufar; Khan, A. H. (Alter, 2009)
This paper reports on findings from the South African census content research to develop a disability set of questions for Census 2011. The findings of this research are used to determine, firstly, whether the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) Short Set (revised for the South African context) is an appropriate set of questions to measure disability in Censuses, and, secondly, whether it is sufficient to ask about basic domains in order to identify the population at risk of experiencing disability related disadvantage and discrimination. The methodology is a national survey using a population based representative sample. The focus of the research were two sets of questions: the first being the Short Set for Census proposed by the WG, and the second being the disability questions used in the 2001 South African Census. The survey comprised three questionnaires: a Household Questionnaire with one member of the household responding for the whole household; a Living Standard Measure (LSM) questionnaire administered to the same person about the whole household; and an adult questionnaire administered to all household members 15 years and older who could respond for themselves. The findings support the use of the revised WG Short Set as an appropriate Census measures. It captures a broader and more inclusive population as having difficulties compared to that captured on the Census 2001 disability question, without excluding the Census 2001 population captured as disabled. The results are inconclusive with regard to the sufficiency of basic domains as a measure of the population at risk. Further testing is required to understand how people understand and respond to questions such as ‘do you have difficulties in taking care of your household responsibilities or in your day to day work/schoolwork?’. Cet article rend compte des résultats d’une recherche sur le contenu du recensement sud-africain en vue de développer un ensemble de questions sur le handicap pour le recensement de 2011. Les résultats sont utilisés pour déterminer, premièrement, si le module proposé par le Washington Group de Statistiques sur le Handicap (WG) (révisé pour le contexte sud-africain) est un ensemble de questions approprié pour mesurer le handicap dans les recensements et, deuxièmement, s’il est suffisant d’interroger sur les domaines de base pour identifier la population susceptible de faire l’expérience du désavantage et de la discrimination liés au handicap. La méthodologie est celle d’une enquête nationale utilisant un échantillon représentatif de la population. La recherche se centre sur deux ensembles de questions : premièrement, le module pour le recensement proposé par le WG et, deuxièmement les questions sur le handicap utilisées dans le recensement sud-africain de 2001. L’enquête comprend trois questionnaires : un questionnaire « ménages » avec un membre du ménage répondant pour le ménage entier; un questionnaire de Mesure du Standard de Vie administré à la même personne a propos du ménage entier ; et un questionnaire « adulte » administré à tous les membres du ménage de 15 ans et plus qui peuvent répondre pour eux-mêmes. Les résultats soutiennent l’utilisation du groupe de questions proposées par le WG comme mesures appropriées pour le recensement. Ce groupe de questions délimite une population plus large et plus englobante de personnes ayant des difficultés que la question sur l’incapacité posée dans le recensement de 2001, sans exclure la population handicapée délimitée par cette dernière. Les résultats ne permettent pas de conclure si les domaines de base sont une mesure suffisante de la population ciblée. D’autres tests sont nécessaires pour savoir comment les personnes comprennent et répondent aux questions telles que « Avez-vous des difficultés pour prendre en charge vos responsabilités au sein du ménage ou dans votre travail quotidien ? ».
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Cultural Considerations in the Development of School-Based Interventions for African American Adolescent Boys with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders - Serpell, Zewelanji; Hayling, Charlayne C.; Stevenson, Howard C.; Kern, Lee (Journal of Negro Education, 2009)
African American males are overrepresented among youth in special education identified as having and behavioral disorders. Compared to other youth in special education, they have the least access to needed services and the worst social and academic outcomes. Little empirically supported guidance exists to inform the development of effective and culturally responsive interventions for these youth. This article addresses this gap in the literature by reviewing existing research, and highlighting problems with current approaches to identification, referral, and treatment. The authors provide specific examples about ways to harness African American adolescents' strengths when developing culturally responsive, school-based interventions and discuss implications for educational policy. African American adolescent males are disproportionally represented among students in special education identified as having and behavioral disorders (EBD; Osher, Woodruff, & Sims, 2002). Students identified as having EBD demonstrate the poorest educational, behavioral, and social outcomes of any disability group, with no documented improvements over the past several decades (Bradley, Dolittle, & Bartolotta, 2008; Wagner, Newman, & Cameto, 2004). Frank, Sitlington, and Carson (1995) found that students with EBD have lower grades, more course failures, higher retention, and lower rates of passing minimum competency tests compared to students in all other disability groups. Only about 28% of African American students with EBD graduate from high school, and as many as 50% drop out of school (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Post-school outcomes are similarly poor. Fifty-eight percent of students with EBD are arrested within 3 to 5 years of leaving school; this figure rises to 73% for students who drop out (Wagner, 1995). Challenges among Oris group persist into adulthood, typified by difficulties with obtaining and maintaining employment, poor interpersonal relationships, and high rates of substance abuse (Bullis & Cheney, 1999; Greenbaum et al., 1996). Finding ways to effectively meet the needs of African American males with EBD is therefore critical. Effective intervention for these youth will depend on the extent to which we understand their characteristics and needs, in tandem with available systems of care, particularly schools. This article reviews previous research on the school experiences of African American males with EBD, and discusses implications for developing culturally responsive interventions and educational policy. DEFINING THE PROBLEM Issues Contributing to Overrepresentation The overrepresentation of African American males in EBD is a problem that has persisted for many decades, and trends in the data indicate that this problem is getting worse (Zhang & Katsiyannis, 2002). This is partially because behaviors that classify a student as EBD are illdefined, and school systems are left to determine what student behaviors align with the categorical criteria. Classification begins with the federal definition of EBD articulated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-P. L. 101-476) under the term emotional disturbance. IDEA defines disturbance of EBD as: ... a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree which adversely affects school performance: (a) an inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; (b) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers; (c) inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances; (d) a general mood of unhappiness or depression; (e) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. Students with schizophrenia are included in this classification, whereas students with social maladjustment are not, unless it is determined that they also are emotionally disturbed. …
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Summer Dormancy and Drought Survival of Moroccan Ecotypes of Orchardgrass - Shaimi, Naima; Kallida, Rajae; Volaire, Florence; Saïdi, Najia; Faïz, Chaouki Al (Crop Science, 2009)
Summer dormancy improves drought survival and autumn recovery of perennial forage species in Mediterranean areas. Morocco has served as a source of germplasm for orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) breeding, but little is known of the incidence and variability of the summer dormancy trait in Moroccan orchardgrass germplasm. This paper characterizes summer dormancy and summer drought survival in Moroccan ecotypes of orchardgrass. Ten Moroccan ecotypes and the cultivar Kasbah were studied in the field in Guich experimental INRA, Rabat, Morocco. Two trials were conducted in irrigated (to test summer dormancy) and in rainfed conditions (to test drought survival after summer). Under irrigation, Moroccan ecotypes of orchardgrass and Kasbah were summer dormant. According to a summer dormancy index and a combination of physiological responses, most ecotypes and Kasbah were found completely dormant. A single ecotype was considered incompletely dormant. After intense first year summer drought, plant survival was correlated ( P < 0.001) with water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content and osmotic potential in immature leaf bases ( r = 0.67 and 0.62, respectively). Two Moroccan ecotypes exhibited higher post‐drought survival after summer drought (98%) than Kasbah (90%) ( P < 0.01). After a second year with severe drought, an ecotype outyielded Kasbah for autumn recovery ( P < 0.001). Moroccan germplasm exhibited good levels of dormancy and agronomic performance that would be desirable in breeding programs.
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The Impacts of Training on Retention of Employees in Organizations in Uganda. A case Study of Didi's World Kampala District - Shopi, Ronald (2009)
A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the A Ward of Bachelor's Degree in Human Resource Management of Kampala International University.
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Causes of increased inflow of foreign students in Ugandan institutions of learning: a case study of Kampala international university, Kansanga Ggaba road; - Ssekiwunga, James (2009)
a research report submitted to the faculty of education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the a ward of bachelor of arts degree with education of Kampala international university.
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“2050 Challenge” Introduces College Students to Hands-On Technology Projects in Mali - Stockdale, Anne M. (Mrs Bulletin, 2009)
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From Sector Wide Approach to General Budget Support: The Impact of Political Shift in the Education Sector in Zambia - Suzuki, Takako (国際協力論集, 2009)
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Turning the Restrained Social Problems into the Basis for the Inclusive Movements : A Study of the Influence of the Young Men's Muslim Associations Had in Palestine through their Charitable Activities in the Late 1920s - Tamura, Yukie (イスラーム世界研究 : Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies, 2009)
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Turning the restrained social problems into the basis for the inclusive movements: a study of the influence the Young Men's Muslim Associations had in Palestine through their charitable activities in the late 1920s (Special feature: Nakba after sixty years: memories and histories in Palestine and East Asia) - Tamura, Yukie (イスラーム世界研究, 2009)
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Religious teachings and influences on the ABCs of HIV prevention in Malawi - Trinitapoli, Jenny (Social Science & Medicine, 2009)
This study examines the relationship between religion and HIV risk behaviors in rural Malawi, giving special attention to the role of religious congregations, the organizations with which rural Africans have most immediate contact. It draws on 2004 data from a household survey in 3 districts (N = 3386), and quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2005 from 187 leaders of religious congregations previously identified in the survey. The first aim is descriptive – to identify overall patterns and variations in what religious leaders in rural Malawi teach about HIV and about sexual behavior in light of the epidemic. The second aim is to assess how religious organizations impact the behavior of individual members. I examine three outcomes that correspond with the ABCs of HIV prevention: abstinence (for never married persons), fidelity (for married persons), and condom use (among sexually active persons). Multi-level models reveal that religious affiliation and involvement are not correlated with the sexual behavior of congregation members, but that beliefs about appropriate sexual behavior and particular congregational characteristics are associated with adherence to A, B, and C. Individuals belonging to congregations led by clergy who 1) frequently deliver formal messages about HIV, 2) monitor the sexual behavior of members, and 3) privately encourage condom use report greater adherence to the ABCs of HIV prevention, suggesting that religious congregations are relevant for the sexual behavior of members and for better understanding the forces shaping individual behavior in the context of the African AIDS epidemic.
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Parental Education and Children’s Schooling Outcomes: Evidence from Recomposed Families in Rwanda - Walque, Damien de (Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2009)
In this article, I investigate how educational outcomes of orphans are affected by the education of the family members in their new family. The study uses household survey data from Rwanda that contain a large proportion of children living in households without their biological parents. The data also allow controlling for the educational attainment of the absent biological parents and the type of relationship that links the children to their adoptive families. The results of the analysis suggest that the education of the adoptive parents has a positive impact on the children’s schooling. Interestingly, mothers’ education matters more for girls, while fathers’ education is more important for boys. The results also indicate that placing orphans with their relatives has a positive impact on their schooling. This finding has obvious policy implications for African countries with a large proportion of orphans due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic or to conflicts.
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Two worlds apart: experiential learning in Ghana. - Ware, Sharon Douglass; Winters-Moorhead, Carol (Journal of National Black Nurses' Association: JNBNA, 2009)
As our society becomes more diverse, it is important for nursing students to become culturally competent and to view the world from a global perspective. Traveling abroad enlightens the senses and expands the worldview. Traveling for study abroad is more than taking a vacation; it affords students the opportunity to learn experientially and it can be a transforming encounter that influences the way an evolving nurse will practice. Nursing students at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, had the opportunity to bridge two worlds, urban life at the university and village life in Dodowa, Ghana, West Africa. The purpose of this article is to explore the role that studying abroad has in nurturing experiential learning. The experiences of students from a southern historically Black university that were enrolled concurrently in two summer independent study courses focusing on global healthcare in Ghana, West Africa, are described.
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L-band and C-band InSAR studies of African volcanic areas - Wauthier, C.; Oyen, A.; Marinkovic, Petar; Cayol, Valérie; Fernández, Marcel; Gonzalez, Juan Paris P.; Hanssen, Ramon F.; Kervyn, F.; d’Oreye, Nicolas; Shirzaei, Manoochehr; Walter, Thomas R. (2009)
Radar interferometry has proven to be a very suitable, low-cost and accurate tool to measure surface displacements. We investigate several data fusion or time-series analysis strategies which aim to mitigate C-band InSAR restrictions for volcano deformation monitoring applications. The focus is on active African volcanic areas. Firstly, data fusion of C-band ENVISAT/ASAR and L-band ALOS/PALSAR sensors helps the determination of a rifting event sequence that took place in summer 2007 in Lake Natron area. The second strategy investigated is a new Wavelet Based InSAR time series applied on ERS-2 data covering the Nyiragongo-Nyamulagira area. It allows new ground displacements identifications outside the local rift valley. Lastly, PALSAR Quad-Pol POLInSAR applicability is explored for La Palma Island.
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Perception of senior high school teachers' on educational reforms in Ghana: A case sutdy of Winneba senior high school - Wilson, Kofi Bentum (2009)
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African Union–NEPAD Africa Day Symposium, Tshwane/Pretoria, 2009: Unifying Africa through education and culture - Xingwana, Honourable Lulu (International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, 2009)
(2009). African Union–NEPAD Africa Day Symposium, Tshwane/Pretoria, 2009: Unifying Africa through education and culture. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies - Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 91-95.
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Teacher management and support services in Wassa West district of Ghana - Yankey, John Kofi (2009)
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STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS IN THE LIBERIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (LSHSCE) AND HOW IT IS INFLUENCED BY TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS - Younn, Joseph Flekpedolo (2009)
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From Sector Wide Approach to General Budget Support : The Impact of Political Shift in the Education Sector in Zambia - 鈴木, 隆子 (国際協力論集, 2009)
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The impact of climate change on groundwater recharge: a case study from the Ethiopian Rift. - Abiye, Tamiru; Legesse, Dagnachew; Abate, H. (IAHS-AISH publication, 2009)
PRMS (Precipitation-Runoff Modelling System) was applied to a river basin in the Main Ethiopian Rift in order to: (1) assess the impact of projected changes in rainfall due to climate change on basin water resources, and (2) to estimate groundwater recharge. Due to variable geological cover and physiography, climate and physical characteristics of the River Meki basin control the amount of water in the rivers and runoff in the basins, which are directly related to effective recharge. Climate varies locally as a result of topography. PRMS uses rainfall, temperature, evaporation, radiation and river discharge as an input variable, along with digital elevation model, land use and soil maps. The impact of six plausible scenarios of climate change on mean basin fluxes was evaluated. The results of the simulated scenarios reveal that an increase in ambient air temperature by 1.5°C reduces the recharge, whereas a rise in rainfall of 20% increases annual recharge by 27-50%. Further research will investigate inter-annual changes in water resources.
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Air pollution tolerance indices (APTI) of some plants around Erhoike-Kokori oil exploration site of Delta State, Nigeria - Agbaire, P. O. (International Journal of Physical Sciences, 2009)
The study examined air pollution tolerance indices (APTI) of ten plant species around the Erhoike-Kokori oil exploration station of Delta state. Four physiological and biochemical parameters; leaf relative water content (RWC) ascorbic acid content (AA), total leaf chlorophyll (TCh) and leaf extract pH were used to compute the APTI values. The result showed that combining variety of these parameters gave a more reliable result than those of individual parameter. The order of tolerance is as follows: Psidium guajava < Elaesis guineensis < Musa paradisiaca < Bambosa bambosa < Anacadium occidentale < Terminalia catappa < Manihot exculenta < Impereta cylindrical < Chromolaena odorata < Manifera indica. Key words: Air pollution tolerance indices (APTI), ascorbic acid (AA), total leaf chlorophyll (TCh), Abraka, Nigeria.
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How will climate change transform African local governance? - Assessing the role of civic engagement. - Chirisa, Innocent; Chanza, Nelson (Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 2009)
The impact of climate change viewed from the poverty context of the region will deepen the plight of the continent. Nonetheless, the engagement of the asset of local governance will bring about a lot of opportunities owing from the fact that governance is about creating opportunities with, through and for society. In the face of climate change in Africa local governance will create a number of opportunities for the benefit of the region including technological Innovation, local government finance enhancement, social capital improvement and capital and asset investment. This is against a background of passivity, half-hearted involvement and indifference by the civic society pertaining to issues of local development. This paper assesses the role of the institution of local government as it gives the general oversight over actions parametrically availed by local citizens, line ministries and departments and bilateral and multilateral agencies as they act on the ground for mitigation and adaptation to the climate change challenge with a special focus on the Africa region. Key words: Opportunities, innovation, local initiatives, technology, infrastructure development and maintenance, citizenship.
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The conceptualization of instructional technology by teacher educators in Zimbabwe - Chitiyo, Rodwell (Education and Information Technologies, 2009)
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Race and Opportunity in the Transition from School to Higher Education in South Africa - Cosser, M. (Journal of Higher Education in Africa, 2009)
While South Africa is well into its second decade of democracy, higher education opportunities in the country remain different for different race groups. Black African learners are not represented in the first-year higher education enrolment profile (the intake of learners who proceed to higher education directly from school) in relation either to their representation in the general population or to their aspirations for entry into higher education. This much emerges from a triangulation of the findings of two surveys of Grade 12 learner aspirations for higher education study, conducted in 2001 and 2005, with analyses of the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS) enrolment profiles of 2002 and 2006. That the 2001– 02 aspiration-enrolment disjunction is replicated in the 2005–06 study, moreover, confirms the slow pace of educational transformation in the new democratic order. The key conclusion drawn from the juxtaposition of these two studies is that discrimination, while not overt, remains entrenched in South African educational pathways by virtue of the differential opportunities available to learners of different races – opportunities that are a function largely of socio-economic status (SES) and of the differential horizons for action which SES opens up for learners.
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Sexual Orientation and Quality of Life Among University Students from Cuba, Norway, India, and South Africa - DrPhilos, Bente Træen; DrPsychol, Monica Martinussen; DrPsychol, Joar Vitters⊘; Saini, Sunil (Journal of Homosexuality, 2009)
This article explores quality-of-life aspects among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and straight male and female students in Havana (Cuba), Troms⊘ (Norway), Hisar (India), and Cape Town (South Africa). In the period 2004–2005, a questionnaire survey on sexuality, happiness, and life satisfaction was undertaken among 339 students from the University of Havana, 144 students from the University of Troms⊘, 200 students from Guru Jambheswar University, and 189 students from the University of the Western Cape. The majority of the participants were straight and, in Hisar and Cape Town, few of those who regarded themselves as gay/lesbian/bisexual had engaged in sex with a person of the same gender. In all cities, straight men and women scored higher than gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons on the quality-of-life measures. Quality of life among gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women was higher in cultures with accepting attitudes toward homosexuality than in cultures with restrictive attitudes.
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Students' Perceived Effectiveness in the Use of Library Resources in Nigerian Universities - Edem, Nkoyo; Ani, Okon E.; Ocheibi, Jonathan A. (Educational Research Review, 2009)
This study was conducted on students’ perceived effectiveness in the use of library resources in some selected Nigerian Universities. Questionnaire was the main instrument for collecting data. 600 copies of questionnaires were distributed, 530 were returned. The overall response was 88.3%. The responses showed that, majority of the users source their information through the catalogue indexes. While those not satisfied in their quest for information attributed them to lack of physical materials and the cumbersome library organization. Some recommendations were made for improvement, such as the role of e-library and its application, orderliness, relevance of resources and user education through orientation.
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Gender Equality in Education - Policy, Practice and the Girl-toGirl Strategy in Madagascar - Olsen, Jeanette M. (2009)
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Matching Intended and Actual French Curriculum Objectives in Secondary Schools in Western Province, Kenya. - Omusonga, TO; Kazadi, IM; Indoshi, F. C. (Educational Research Review, 2009)
Intended French curriculum objectives refer to four official objectives of teaching and learning French in secondary schools in Kenya as laid down in syllabuses; namely, to equip learners with basic communicative skills, give learners access to oral and written materials, facilitate further studies, and promote global peace (Republic of Kenya, 2002). On the other hand actual curriculum objectives refer to what teachers and students of French perceive to be the objectives of teaching and learning French in secondary schools in Kenya. It is imperative that the intended and actual French curriculum objectives should match for there to be effective learning. However, the facts that French subject at secondary school continues to register low enrolment and retention of students as well as poor performance in national examinations indicate a mismatch between the two kinds of objectives. The purpose of the study therefore was to match intended and actual French curriculum objectives in secondary schools in Kenya. The study is based on survey design. It was carried out in 16 secondary schools offering French in Western Province of Kenya, selected by stratified random sampling to include provincial, district and private school categories. Saturated sampling technique was used to select 16 teachers of French and 327 students of French, from the 16 sample schools. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (t test). The study found match on only one objective of equipping learners with basic communicative skills. Based on these findings, it is recommended that officially French be taught starting from primary schools and equipping learners with basic communicative skills for effective communication where French is required be recognized as the main objective of teaching and learning French in secondary schools in Kenya. Key words: French curriculum, intended objectives, actual objectives, match.
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Extent to Which Selected Factors Contribute to Alcohol and Cigarette Use among Public Day Secondary Schools Male Students: A Case of Nakuru Municipality, Kenya - Oteyo, John; Kariuki, Mary (Educational Research Review, 2009)
The increase in alcohol and cigarettes use among young people than any population strata is of great concern. The use of alcohol that began in African traditional society as an activity for political, religious, cultural and social relations has evolved over time into a problem of dependence and addiction. Despite concerted prevention efforts, there is still evidence of high prevalence of these drugs among students. As part of the prevention efforts, studies have been conducted to unravel etiological complexities of this drug use problem. This study sought to examine the extent to which the family factors, peer-group influence, exposure to pro-alcohol and cigarettes mass media content and level of self-esteem contribute to the use of alcohol and cigarettes among male students in public day secondary schools in Nakuru municipality, Kenya. To achieve this purpose, ex post facto research design was used and independent variables were studied retrospectively. Multistage cluster, Probability Proportionate to Size and purposive sampling methods were used to select the participating schools and respondents. A sample size of 327 students was selected from total population of 2279 from nine sampled schools. A self- administered questionnaire was used to collect data on students’ demographic and background characteristics, level of self reported alcohol and cigarettes use and social influences (parents, siblings and peers and exposure to pro-alcohol and cigarettes mass media content) that promote use of these drugs. Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure respondents’ self-esteem. Data was analyzed by use of frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulation, Chisquare and logistic regression. SPSS version 15.0 computer program was used to aid in data analysis. The study established that Peer- group influence had the greatest contribution to high alcohol and cigarettes use, followed by family factors. The selected factors accounted for 44% of high alcohol and cigarettes use collectively. These findings may be useful in prioritizing targets for prevention and intervention programs.
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Preparing to Manage Natural Hazards and Climate Change Risks in Dakar, Senegal : A Spatial and Institutional Approach - Wang, Hyoung Gun; Montoliu-Munoz, Marisela; Gueye, Ndèye Fatou D. (World Bank Other Operational Studies, 2009)
This report describes a pilot study of natural risk hazards in the peri-urban extension areas of the Dakar Metropolitan Area, Senegal. The area subject of this study stretches across 580 square kilometers, covering less than 1 percent of the national territory, but housing about 50 percent of Senegal's urban population. Much of the rapid population growth of the Dakar Metropolitan Area is taking place beyond the boundaries of the Department of Dakar (the city center), in peri-urban areas that combine two disquieting features: they present significant vulnerability to some natural hazards, and they have unclear administrative and governance arrangements, often being out of the direct oversight of established urban and rural local governments. Situations like this are not unusual in developing countries, and call for more systematic attention to hazard risk management in peri-urban areas, including a better understanding and awareness of the nature of the hazards that they face as well as of the institutional capacities and measures that would be necessary to manage them better. The objective of this pilot study is, therefore, two-pronged. First, the study intends to propose a new methodology for quick assessment of natural hazard risks at a metropolitan region scale, using new tools of spatial analysis based on geographic information systems (GIS) data. Second, the study aims to apply the principles and diagnostic questionnaire of the climate change city primer developed by the East Asia region of the World Bank to get a comprehensive view of the institutional framework for climate change-related hazard risk management existing in the city at this time. Bringing the spatial and the institutional analyses together, the study proposes and starts to develop a number of dissemination and awareness-raising tools that can help to inform different stakeholders about the general parameters of the natural hazard risks facing the Dakar Metropolitan area. The pilot study concludes with a broad action plan for Dakar, to ramp up disaster management practices, as motivation for a stakeholder debate to define subsequently a set of specific and viable actions.
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Moroccan foreign language students’ views of a career in teaching - Kyriacou, Chris; Benmansour, Naima (The Journal of Educational Enquiry, 2009)
This study explored the views of 203 university students studying English or French at a University in Morocco about a career in teaching. The students completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to rate the importance of 20 factors influencing their choice of career, and then the extent to which they thought teaching offered these factors. The factors rated highest by students as ‘very important’ in their choice of career were: ‘a job that is respected’; ‘a job that I will find enjoyable’; and ‘a job where I am required to use my intellect’. Interestingly, ‘a job that is respected’ was also rated very highly as being a factor that ‘teaching definitely offers’. Students most highly rated ‘my wish to share my knowledge with others’ as the factor that might influence an individual’s decision to become a teacher. Finally, when asked about changes to the profession that might encourage more people to consider it, the highest rated measure was ‘an improvement in the quality of materials, resources and facilities for teaching’. The findings support a model of career choice based on a match between factors the students consider important in a job and whether they perceive these factors are offered by the career in question.
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Computer skills of first-year students at a South African university - Nash, Justin M. (2009)
With increasing use of information and communication technologies in education, students entering university need a basic level of computer proficiency to be able to access course material and complete assignments. At the University of Cape Town (UCT), all new first-year students are required to write an online computer skills test, so that those who lack the necessary skills can be identified and provided with basic training. This paper analyses the results of the computer skills assessments written by 4169 first-year students during orientation 2009. We conclude that there is a definite need to provide computer training for new university students, and that African students are most at risk of being disadvantaged by their lack of prior skills.
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Walking Together, Walking Far: How a U.S. and African Medical School Partnership Is Winning the Fight against HIV/AIDS - Quigley, Fran (2009)
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Interactional dynamics and acquisitional potential of oral communicative activities in the class of French language. A comparative analysis of two types of activities with Algerian learners - Mahieddine, Azzeddine (2009)
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Of a reform in its effects safe the teaching practices : a case study : the teaching of the algebra in the tunisian school context - Nejma, Sonia Ben (2009)
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A changed climate for mental health care delivery in South Africa - Ab, Janse van Rensburg (African journal of psychiatry, 2009)
Traditional health practice was recently mainstreamed in South Africa by the promulgation of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, No. 35 of 2004. Due to the extent of integration of mental health in the legal definition of traditional health practice, promulgation of this Act also has significant implications for mental health care delivery. This paper explored the documented interface of traditional health practice with mental health care in South Africa over the past almost 50 years.A preliminary overview of health literature was done on formal mental health care and traditional alternatives in South Africa since the 1950's. Important themes were identified as first step in a qualitative approach to identify concepts.The search yielded 143 references, between 1958 and 2004, from articles, case reports, scientific letter, theses and chapters in books. A cross section of 56 references was selected for inclusion in this review of the material.The documentation on the interface between the two parallel systems contribute to establish a context against which the promulgation of the legislation to formally integrate and regulate African traditional health practice in South Africa can be considered. South African policy makers may now have ensured that a multi-faceted, multi-cultural and multi-cosmological context for health and mental health care delivery has come to pass. To health administrators, though, the inclusion of traditional healers into the formal public health system and mental health may still prove to be too costly to implement.
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The Gender Factor in Composition Writing with the Use of the Cooperative and the Individualized Approaches at a Junior Secondary School in Botswana - Adeyemi, Deborah Adeninhun (The Journal of Educational Enquiry, 2009)
The stereotype of gender in performance in certain subjects is not new. Excellent performance in mathematics and the sciences has been long attributed to the male gender while such a performance in English Language and the Arts has also been attributed to the female gender. The use of English language in schools in Anglophone African countries is regarded as highly important if boys and girls are to be able to communicate effectively in the society. However, composition writing for most students has become an arduous and torturous activity. Two strategies dominate the teaching and learning of composition writing in the classroom setting. These are the individualised and the cooperative strategies.
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Tertiary teaching and learning in Papua New Guinea - building effective intercultural learning and teaching relationships - Whitington, Victoria; Glover, Anne (2009)
Papua New Guinea is in the process of nation building. Integral to this national development is the building of a successful vernacular-based early years education program for children aged 6 to 8 years. The program is a new initiative in a country which formerly provided schooling only from the primary years and conducted in English. The system is being implemented by village-based elementary teachers supported by district trainers. These trainers require skills in early years education, with qualifications and expertise to match their various roles and responsibilities. The PNG Department of Education, in conjunction with AusAID, chose the early childhood program at the University of South Australia to upgrade the qualifications of 36 trainers to degree level. This was achieved using a two year, mixed-mode delivery, including four two week in-country intensives. From late 2002 to early 2004, early childhood lecturers traveled to meet their students in-country. In the aftermath, three lecturers and one student reflected on their experiences, both personal and professional, on teaching and learning in one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. Six strategies for building reciprocal relationships in cross-cultural teaching and learning contexts are identified, with the key theme of the teacher as learner.
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English and Education in Anglophone Africa: Historical and Current Realities (2009)
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Changing the Trajectory: Education and Training for Youth in Democratic Republic of Congo - Bashir, Sajitha (2009)
This study analyzes the current educational attainment and school enrollment status of youth, as well as the formal and informal post-secondary educational and training opportunities available to them. The study uses the results of a simulation model that incorporates enrollment in alternative education programs and considers alternative scenarios for developing the post-primary sector. Each scenario is evaluated for the impact on the human capital accumulation of young people and the sustainability of public expenditures. The report offers policy options for rapidly raising the educational attainment of young people who will be entering the labor force in the next two decades, including expanding opportunities for alternative education and training for out-of-school children, the extension of primary education, and the reorganization of secondary and technical/vocational training to reduce early specialization.
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Congo, Democratic Republic of - Changing the trajectory : education and training for youth in Democratic Republic of Congo - Bashir, Sajitha (2009)
This report, Changing the Trajectory: education and training for young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, provides an analysis of the current educational attainment and current school enrollment of youth in the 12 to 24 years age group and the educational opportunities and training available to them in the formal and informal sectors. Using the results of a simulation model that incorporates enrollment in alternative education programs and the educational level attained by out-of-school population, the report explains the various scenarios for the development of the post-primary sector. The results of each scenario are evaluated according to their impact on the human capital accumulation of young people and sustainability of public expenditures. The report offers various options for rapidly raising the educational achievements of young people who will enter the labor market in the next two decades, including expanding opportunities for alternative education and training for school children, extension of the primary cycle and the reorganization of secondary education and technical/vocational education to reduce early specialization. This study is of interest to other African countries, education professionals and staff development organizations struggling to grapple with the challenge of expanding access to post-primary education in a context of low primary achievement and limited resources.
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Congo, Republique Democratique du - Changer de trajectoire : education et formation de la jeunesse en la republique democratique du Congo - Bashir, Sajitha (2009)
This report, Changing the Trajectory: education and training for young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, provides an analysis of the current educational attainment and current school enrollment of youth in the 12 to 24 years age group and the educational opportunities and training available to them in the formal and informal sectors. Using the results of a simulation model that incorporates enrollment in alternative education programs and the educational level attained by out-of-school population, the report explains the various scenarios for the development of the post-primary sector. The results of each scenario are evaluated according to their impact on the human capital accumulation of young people and sustainability of public expenditures. The report offers various options for rapidly raising the educational achievements of young people who will enter the labor market in the next two decades, including expanding opportunities for alternative education and training for school children, extension of the primary cycle and the reorganization of secondary education and technical/vocational education to reduce early specialization. This study is of interest to other African countries, education professionals and staff development organizations struggling to grapple with the challenge of expanding access to post-primary education in a context of low primary achievement and limited resources.
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Drought Impact on the Olive-Trees in the Tunisian Jeffara - Dhaou, Hanen; Ouerchefani, Dalel; Taâmallah, Houcine; Donald, Gabriels; Ouessar, Mohamed (沙漠研究 : 日本沙漠学会誌, 2009)
In spite of its high adaptation capacities and also its aptitude to grow in the arid areas, the olive-tree did not escape to the negative effects of the drought resulting usually in a fall of the production, the accentuation of the alternation production cycle and in some ultimate cases by the withering of the olive-tree. This work concerned the study of drought impact on olive-growing plantations in the Tunisian Jeffara (province of Medenine). It aim at characterizing the rainfall deficit observed in the study zone during the period 1999-2002, and to identify the meteorological drought intensity differences in the same region. The rainfall data from two gauging stations: Medenine (1903-2002) and Zarzis (1908-2002), were analyzed using several indices. It was found that drought is a recurring phenomenon in the study zone. The occurrence of successive dry years is less frequent in the costal zones than in the other localities. The year 2000-2001 is founded the most exceptional dry period which affected negatively the development and the growth of the olive trees resulting in partial or complete loss of a large number of olive-trees.
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Educational And Health Impacts Of Two School Feeding Schemes: Evidence From A Randomized Trial In Rural Burkina Faso - Kazianga, Harounan; Walque, Damien de; Alderman, Harold (2009)
This paper uses a prospective randomized trial to assess the impact of two school feeding schemes on health and education outcomes for children from low-income households in northern rural Burkina Faso. The two school feeding programs under consideration are, on the one hand, school meals where students are provided with lunch each school day, and, on the other hand, take-home rations that provide girls with 10 kg of cereal flour each month, conditional on 90 percent attendance rate. After running for one academic year, both programs increased girls enrollment by 5 to 6 percentage points. While there was no observable significant impact on raw scores in mathematics, the time-adjusted scores in mathematics improved slightly for girls. The interventions caused absenteeism to increase in households that were low in child labor supply while absenteeism decreased for households that had a relatively large child labor supply, consistent with the labor constraints. Finally, for younger siblings of beneficiaries, aged between 12 and 60 months, take-home rations have increased weight-for-age by .38 standard deviations and weight-for-height by .33 standard deviations. In contrast, school meals did not have any significant impact on the nutrition of younger children.
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Natural Vegetation Cover Dynamic under Climatic Drought and Human Disturbance in the Matmata Mountains, Southern Tunisia - Salem, Farah Ben; Tarhouni, Mohamed; Belgacem, Azaiez Ouled; Neffati, Mohamed (沙漠研究 : 日本沙漠学会誌, 2009)
This study deals with the assessment of the effects of climatic drought and human disturbance on the natural vegetation cover in the arid zone of Tunisia (Matmata Mountains). Plant cover and density were assessed and monitored during two seasons (fall 2005 and spring 2006) using the quadrat-point method in four sites (stations) which differ by their disturbance degree. Main results show that the plant cover is mainly influenced by the human activities. The highest plant density was recorded during the spring.
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Adolescent Street Boy Urchins and Vocational Training in Northern Nigeria - Usman, Lantana M. (Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 2009)
In northern Nigeria, over 80% of the unskilled and uneducated adolescent street boys, or Almajiris, are from the ethnic Hausa-Fulani tribes. They depend on street begging and menial jobs for daily survival. In dealing with the situation, state vocational centers were established as the Millennium Hope Project (MHP) to provide the boys with trades and skills for self-reliance and socioeconomic transformations. This article presents findings from an educational policy evaluation research study of the MHP implementation and outcomes. The research was based on an ethnographic approach using multimodal data derived from interviews and observations and data analysis-involved transcription, categorization, and coding. Major themes include the cultural identities and statuses of the boys, curriculum implementation and management of the project, socioeconomic transformation of learning outcome, and the challenges and positive impacts of the MHP on the boys. The themes are discussed using the boys' “voices” and pertinent literature. The conclusion includes educational policy remedies for future reforms and modification of the project.
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Curriculum Implementation and Re-Training of Teachers in English Language: Pre-Conditions for Functional Nigerian Educational System - Adebile, Ruth Foluke (African Research Review, 2009)
The educational system in Nigeria today has been largely imported.This is because no one country is self-reliant without utilizing other countries' technologies and good educational ideals.A consideration of a stable and functional educational system should involve consistent re-training of teachers for efficient implementation of the curriculum for Nigerian schools.Consistent development and re-training of teachers in English language will improve capability of teachers for efficient use of the curriculum, being the implementers of the educational programmes.As such, there is the need for teachers' re-training programmes and adequate supply of human and material resources for educational productivity and consolidation of the Nigerian educational system.It is the concern of this paper to consider the concept of training and re-training of teachers in English language, efficient curriculum implementation by professionally trained teachers and curriculum innovation for qualitative teaching outcome.
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Quantitative Ability as Correlates of Students’ Academic Achievement in Secondary School Economics in Oyo State, Nigeria - Adu, Emmanuel O.; Ojelabi, SA; Adeyanju, Hammed (African Research Review, 2009)
The introduction of quantitative topics into the secondary school economics curriculum has attracted the interest of economics educators and researchers.This concern arose from the fact that students' achievements in the Secondary School Certificate Economics have remained poor.It is against this background that this study investigated the relationship between quantitative ability (knowledge of Venn diagram; measures of central tendency; and percentage) and secondary school students' achievement in economics.The study adopted survey research design of the ex-post facto type.A purposive sampling technique was used to select sample for this.Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression statistics.The findings revealed that that students' knowledge of measures of central tendency made the greatest contribution to their achievement in Economics (β = .653;p<.05).This is followed by Venn diagram (β = .580;p<.05).These two variables made contributions which Indexed African Journals Online: www.ajol.infoare significant.Only Students' knowledge of percentage made no significant contribution to their achievement in Economics (β = .450;p>.05).It is, therefore, recommended that these factors should be taken into consideration in order to enhance the understanding of economics.
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Effect of Bonny Light Crude Oil Pollution of Soil on the Growth of dayflower (Commelina benghalensis L.) in the Niger Delta, Nigeria - Daniel-Kalio, LA; Pepple, SF (Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 2009)
The effect of Bonny Light Crude oil pollution of soil and successive plantings in the same soil at 4 -week intervals on the growth of dayflower (Commelina benghalensis L.) was investigated.The factorial sets of treatments were two levels of oil pollution (0 and 50 mg/g) and 5 successive plantings.Characters assessed were mean plant height, leaf area per plant and mean dry matter weight.At each of the 5 croppings mean plant characters assessed were significantly higher (P = 0.05) at 0 mg/g oil pollution than at the 50 mg oil/g soil pollution level.In the Control treatments, a declining trend in plant growth was observed from the 1 st to the 5 th crop.In contrast, in the oil-treated soils, an increasing trend was observed.@JASEM
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Internalization of the Thin Ideal as a Predictor of Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean Female College Students - Gilbert, Stefanie; Crump, Stacey; Madhere, Serge; Schutz, William C. (Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 2009)
This study, conducted at a historically Black university, evaluated the impact of awareness and internalization of the Western thin ideal of beauty on body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimia in African-American, African, and Caribbean women. The relationship between internalization of the thin ideal and disordered eating was moderated by ethnicity, with the relationship significant only for the African-American group. Internalization functioned as a mediator between awareness of the thin ideal and both drive for thinness and bulimia, but only for the African-American group. These results suggest that the sociocultural model may not be as valuable in predicting eating disturbance in women from non-Western societies.
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Linguistic – Stylistic Technique and the Effective Teaching and Learning of Poetry in Nigerian Senior Secondary Schools - Inyang, GB (African Research Review, 2009)
This study investigated the effect of linguistic-stylistic technique on the effective teaching and learning of poetry in Nigerian senior secondary school.The sample of the study comprised of 310 senior secondary two (SS II) students from six schools randomly selected from Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigerian A non-randomized pre-test post test control group design was used for the study.The reliability co efficient of poetry in English Achievement Test (PEAT) was 0.75 using Kuder-Richardson formula 21.The student's t-test was used in the analysis of the data.The results showed that students taught with linguistic-stylistic technique achieved and retained better than students taught with traditional method in poetry.The results also showed an insignificant difference existing between the achievement of male and female students in poetry taught with linguistic-stylistic technique.It is recommended that linguistic-stylistic technique should be used in schools to teach various concepts in poetry.
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Low-Income Urban African American and Latino Parents’ School Involvement: Testing a Theoretical Model - Maríñez-Lora, Ané M.; Quintana, Stephen M. (School Mental Health, 2009)
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Africa: Teaching IR where it’s not supposed to be - Ofuho, Cirino Hiteng (2009)
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Relationship between Computer Attitudes and Literacy of Science Teachers in Secondary Schools in Nigeria - Ogunkola, BJ; Olatoye, Rafiu Ademola (African research review, 2009)
This study investigated the relationship between computer attitudes and literacy of science teachers in secondary schools in Nigeria.A sample of two hundred and forty (240) science teachers drawn from the four political divisions of Ogun State, Nigeria was used for the study.Two valid and reliable instruments namely Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) and Computer Literacy Self-Assessment Scale (CLSAS) were used to collect the needed data.Frequency, count, mean, standard deviation and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were employed for data analyses.The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between the computer attitudes and literacy of the science teachers.However, only computer confidence out of all the sub-scale of computer attitudes is significantly related to computer literacy, while others like computer anxiety, liking and usefulness are not.It is recommended all the stakeholders in education in Nigeria should be exposed to regular seminars and workshops with the aim of making them see the reality that computers are very important in today's effective teaching and learning.
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Creativity: A Blind Spot in Quality Teacher Education in Anambra State of Nigeria - Olibie, EI; Akudolu, L-R (African Research Review, 2009)
Creativity has been mentioned prominently in Nigeria's objectives for teacher education in the National Policy on Education for over 30 years.Still, one is worried that teacher education institutions appear to inadequately foster the spirit of creativity in the students.The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which creativity was enhanced in teacher education curriculum delivery in Anambra State based on the views of students.Three research questions were formulated and answered.The descriptive survey design was adopted.Sample involved four hundred students selected through random sampling technique.A 40-item questionnaire was validated, tested for reliability and used to collect data.Data was analyzed using mean and standard deviation.Results showed that the lecturers did not use a variety of learning experiences to encourage creativity among students.The use of instructional technologies to promote creativity was low, students' have a good understanding of the implementation of creativity across the curriculum, and the present curriculum assessment tends to stifle creativity rather than promote it.Going by this finding, creativity remains a blind spot in quality teacher education in Nigeria.Some recommendations were made.
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The Role of Nigerian Teachers and Parents: A Pre- Requisite for Efficient and Dynamic Curriculum Development - Adebile, Ruth Foluke (African Research Review, 2009)
The non-challant attitudes of the Nigerian teachers and parents to the challenges of curriculum development and educational achievement have created a great gap between the school-teaching-learning programme and the achievement of educational goals.The instrument and strength of change for sustainable development, stable educational policies, and viable educational achievement depends on the virtues of competent professionally dynamic teachers, parental sensitivity to the child's academic needs and the government concern about the dynamic nature of the society and the curriculum that will satisfy the aims and the goals of education.The Nigerian teachers and parents have strategic roles to play, being the prime executors of the government policies on education, through the curriculum.As such, the operational performance of teachers and parents could make or mar the future of Nigeria learners.Efficient and dynamic curriculum development for functional and qualitative teaching outcome will bring new challenges and improvement in the production of self-reliant citizens.
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Addressing the Factors Inhibiting Students’ Participation in Classroom Interactive Teaching and Learning in Jimma University, Ethiopia - Filaba, MA (African Research Review, 2009)
This action research was conducted in 2007 with these aims: to discover the stressors to active students’ participation in classroom; attempt solving the identified stressors immediately; and to design some mitigating measures for both short term and long term solutions. Although Ethiopian Ministry of Education stresses the need for employing interactive teaching methods, this has been frustrated due to number of problems. The glaring ones are: unpreparedness of teachers to change their teaching methods; the reluctance of students to comply as they are used to teacher-centered methods and culturally encapsulated in male-chauvinism; students’ poor English language background and absolute poverty and so on. There are also problems of policy conflicts; insufficient learning and teaching materials; noises; and so o, all combined to inform this research-design. With patience and continuous enlightenment of the students and application of more students’ centered methods, there were noticeable changes toward the desired attitudes. A matrix mapping out the problems, what was done to instantly address each of the problems, assessment of the effectiveness of the measures adopted and concise suggestions for further re-enforcement of desired learning behaviour were given. The key concepts are: Action Research; Inhibitors of Learning and Teaching; Interactive Teaching Methods; Classroom Management; and Gender Issues.
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Making poverty reduction inclusive: Experiences from Cambodia, Tanzania and Vietnam - Fritz, Dominic; Miller, Ursula; Gude, Andreas; Pruisken, Andreas; Rischewski, Dorothea (Journal of International Development, 2009)
Abstract Poverty reduction strategy (PRS) processes have often failed to address the needs and interests of persons with disabilities. Without their inclusion, however, developmental strategies are unlikely to meet their goals. Three projects in Cambodia, Tanzania and Vietnam have fostered participation of persons with disabilities and their organisations in the PRS of their respective countries. This study examines the inclusive dimension of PRS processes and reviews the relationship between poverty and disability. It then describes the three projects and analyses their successes and challenges. While all projects have shown good results in terms of capacity development, few real impacts could be achieved regarding the implementation of PRSPs on a larger scale. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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The State of Reading in Selected Secondary Schools in Oyo State, Nigeria - Kolawole, Coo (African research review, 2009)
The paper is a survey of reading in selected secondary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria.It covered schools selected across the three senatorial zones of the State.In undertaking the study, the researcher with the support of research assistants first observed the teachers and students in the schools in their reading activities and later administered a self-designed questionnaire on them.The questionnaire sought information on the reading related activities of teachers and students as well as the availability or otherwise of materials to facilitate reading in the schools concerned.Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage counts were used to analyse the data generated from the study.The outcome of the study revealed that reading is not given adequate attention in the schools the way it ought to, all the subject teachers do not handle the teaching of reading while the reading activities in the school are left to the discretion of students.Among the teachers who give attention to reading, we found a majority of them who failed to give students the necessary motivation to strengthen their interest in reading.It was also found out that most school heads contributed to the poor reading culture of the students by their attitude to issues that bother on reading and how it can be promoted in their schools.This is because most of the schools have no functional libraries and other facilities that can promote effective reading of reading.Based on the foregoing, adequate recommendations that would promote reading at the secondary school level in the State have been made in the paper.
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Views of Physics Teachers on the Need to Train and Retrain Physics Teachers in Nigeria - Omosewo, EO (African research review, 2009)
Teacher education is an important enterprise because no education can rise above the quality of its teachers.The number of physics teachers is not as desired in Nigerian secondary schools.Many schools do not have physics teachers (Omosewo and Salami, 2002).For this reason, teachers that were teaching integrated science did not teach the physics aspect of the subject.Therefore, very few students offer physics at the senior school level because physics was strange (since they were not taught at the junior secondary school level) to students.Also, teachers that taught physics at the senior secondary school level could not teach some topics well because they were not taught while at their colleges/universities (Omosewo 2001).One hundred and thirty five physics teachers were sampled in Kwara State of Nigeria on the need for training teachers by giving them questionnaire to fill.The teachers recommended that prospective physics teachers should register for physics courses that they are going to teach at the secondary school level.They also recommended that scholarship should be granted to candidates willing to read physics education in the university and also that there should be in-service training for those on the job.Relevant recommendations are made.
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A Critical Review of the Involvement of Teachers and Students’ Interest in Current English Language Curriculum in Nigerian Secondary - Oribabor, O.A (African Research Review, 2009)
This paper evaluated the appropriateness of teaching English language in some selected secondary schools in both Urban (Ile-Ife) and Rural (Ibodi) areas respectively of former Oranmiyan and Atakunmosa Local Government Areas of Osun state, Nigeria.150 Senior Secondary School students whose ages ranged from seventeen years six months to eighteen years three months were used for the study.Also investigated were the attitudes of the teachers to the philosophy and implementation of the new English Language curriculum.The interest of the students in the new English language curriculum was also assessed.An attitude scale and a questionnaire were used to test the relationship among the variables identified for the study.Data collected in the study were analysed using percentages and t-test to test the hypotheses generated for the study.Results showed that teachers in both urban and rural settings did not differ in their opinion that they were not involved in the planning of the new English language programme.It was discovered by the paper that there is need to involve the teachers in both rural and urban schools settings in the identification and planning of programme objectives.The non-availability of recommended instructional materials was equally discovered.The paper suggested the need for an urgent re-assessment of existing strategies for implementing the new English language programme.
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Using Multimedia in the Classroom: Cultural and Learning Style differences in the US, Russia, and Uganda - Anderson, David; Zlotnikova, Irina (EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, 2009)
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Professional Training of Secondary School Principals in Nigeria: A Neglected Area in the Educational System. - Arikewuyo, M. Olalekan (2009)
The paper examines the professional training of Principals of secondary schools in Nigeria. The study observes that teaching experience appears to be the major yardstick that is being used currently to promote teachers to the rank of school Principals in the country. After drawing experiences from some other countries on how Principals are trained and appointed, the paper concludes that teaching experience should not be the only yardstick for appointing Principals of secondary schools in Nigeria. As school administrators, the principals need to be formally trained before they assume administrative positions. The paper therefore suggests that the National policy on Education should be amended such that potential principals would attend mandatory leadership courses at the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) before they assume managerial positions. It further proposed that NIEPA should expand its programmes to provide the opportunities and avenues for such training.
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Mentoring: Implications for African American College Students - Brittian, Aerika S.; Sy, Susan R.; Stokes, Julie (Western journal of black studies, 2009)
The importance of a college degree in the United States is becoming increasingly apparent. There is an emerging difference in the overall earning potential of those with high school diplomas and those with bachelor's degrees (Mortenson, 2005; Perna, 2003). Despite the importance of higher education being present in the minds of many Americans, poor retention and graduation rates for African American students, particularly males, persist in universities. The nationwide average for African American college graduates in 2000 was 37 percent, compared to 59 percent for White students (Cross & Slater, 2001). According to Cross and Slater (2001) the decrease in the number of African American male university graduates in the past 10 years holds negative implications not only for the African American community and American society as a whole, but it also reflects negatively on universities who want to increase diversity and retention rates. Acculturative Stress Acculturative stress has been proposed as one explanation for low academic retention rates among African American students. This theory, as described by Anderson (1991), is the result of an observed threat to one's cultural beliefs and values that creates a unique vulnerability to psychological distress. It stems from the belief that a person must assimilate to the majority culture, while abandoning the values and traditions of his or her own culture. Acculturative stress is associated with depression, low self-esteem, and academic difficulties (Anderson, 1991; Constantine, Ozazaki & Utsey, 2004). In addition, acculturative stress affects an individual's health, motivation, and increases social deviance (Berry, 1998; Pillay, 2005). African Americans are particularly susceptible to experiencing acculturative stress due to their status as an underrepresented ethnicity in the United States. The act of assimilating leads individuals to experience a feeling of displacement between themselves and the environment. This feeling of incompleteness negatively influences African American student's self-esteem, peer relationships, and success in school (Kimbrough, Molock, & Walton, 1996). As African American students enter the university the accumulation of acculturative stress and stress associated with the college transition becomes a concern. However, it should be noted that research suggests that African American students enrolled at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU's) have been reported as having more Afrocentric values than students enrolled at predominantly White universities (DeCuir-Gunby, 2009). This would lead us to believe that the perception of the need to assimilate among these students would be less pervasive. Stress Associated with Transitions The transition from high school to college can be a stressful time in emerging adulthood. Leaving one's home to pursue a degree in a new area, or facing the fear of the unexpected, possibly doubting one's abilities to compete with other students, as well as obtaining financial means to pay for expenses, all contribute to the amount of stress the college student encounters. For many students, attending a university becomes a challenging, new experience. It is an opportunity to restructure oneself as the hierarchies of high school dissolve to reveal a system of individuals working towards the financial independence and responsibility the work force provides. The college student faces the danger of isolation, in addition to the opportunity to create a new identity. In addition to these stressors, African American students may experience discrimination on and off campus as they attempt to obtain a degree (D'Augelli & Hershberger, 1993, Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000). Some students face harassment and discrimination regularly from fellow students, professors, and law enforcement as they leave the campus. Research suggests the events such as these negatively impact a student's perception of the campus and in turn, their academic performance (Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002; D'Augelli & Hershberger, 1993; Steele & Aronson, 1995). …
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Emerging Concept of Internationalisation in South African Higher Education: Conversations on Local and Global Exposure at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) - Cross, Michael; Mhlanga, Ehpraim; Ojo, Emmanuel (Journal of Studies in International Education, 2009)
Rather than paying attention to the specific approaches emerging from different contexts, current debates tend to privilege Western-universalizing concepts of internationalisation, unproblematically accepted as globally established truths. In South Africa, where the legacy of isolation and the dominance of Eurocentricism in academia have inspired considerable scepticism regarding internationalisation, the challenge is to find innovative approaches that account for its specific context. This article responds to this challenge by examining the emerging concept of internationalisation at Wits. It does so with reference to three questions: What conceptions inform the internationalisation practice at Wits? Does Wits have appropriate strategies in place to promote internationalisation? How do these match its particular circumstances?
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Can Tracking Improve Learning? Evidence from Kenya - Duflo, Esther; Dupas, Pascaline; Kremer, Michael (Education Next, 2009)
Tracking students into different classrooms according to their prior academic performance is controversial among both scholars and policymakers. If teachers find it easier to teach a homogeneous group of students, tracking could enhance school effectiveness and raise test scores of both low- and high-ability students. But if students benefit from learning with higher-achieving peers, tracking could disadvantage lower-achieving students, thereby exacerbating inequality. Debates over tracking reached their high point in the United States in the 1990s. An influential report published in 1998 by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation argued that the available research did not support the contention that tracking doomed impoverished students to inferior schooling, nor did it support universal adoption of the practice. Over the last decade, patterns in grouping students have changed markedly in the U.S.; high school students are no longer placed in rigidly defined general-education or noncollege tracks but have the flexibility to move between course levels for different subjects. These changes may have assuaged some critics, but the broader debate over tracking remains unsettled. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The central challenge in measuring the effect of tracking on performance is that schools that track students may be different in many respects from schools that do not. For example, they may attract a different pool of students and possibly a different pool of teachers. The ideal situation to assess the impact of tracking on test scores of different groups of students would be one in which students were assigned to tracking or nontracking schools randomly, and the performance of students could be compared across school types. We shed light on these issues using data from Kenya. In 2005, each of 140 primary schools in western Kenya received funds from the nongovernmental organization International Child Support (ICS) Africa to hire an extra teacher. One hundred twenty-one of these schools had a single 1st-grade class and used the new teacher to split the students into two classes. In 61 randomly selected schools, students were assigned to classes based on prior achievement as measured by test scores. In the remaining 60 schools, students were randomly assigned to one of the two classes, without regard to their prior academic performance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The results showed that all students benefited from tracking, including those who started out with low, average, and high achievement. At the tracking schools, the test scores of students who started out in the middle of their class do not seem to be affected by which section (top or bottom) the students were later assigned to. In other words, any negative effects of being with lower-achieving peers were more than offset in tracked settings by the benefit of the teacher being able to better tailor instruction to students' needs. Primary Education in Kenya The Kenyan education system includes eight years of primary school and four years of secondary school. Like many other developing countries, Kenya has recently made rapid progress toward the goal of universal primary education. After the elimination of school fees in 2003, primary school enrollment rose nearly 30 percent, from 5.9 million in 2002 to 7.6 million in 2005. This is typical of what is happening in sub-Saharan Africa overall, where the number of new entrants to primary school increased by more than 30 percent between 1999 and 2004. This progress creates its own new challenges, however. Pupil-teacher ratios have grown dramatically, particularly in lower grades. In our sample of schools in western Kenya, the median 1st-grade class in 2005 (after the introduction of free primary education, but before the class-size-reduction program we study here) had 74 students and the average class size was 83. These classes are heterogeneous in a number of ways: Students differ vastly in age, school readiness, and support at home. …
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The use of mobile technologies in enhancing learning in South Africa and the challenges of increasing digital divide - Foko, Thato (EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, 2009)
ED-MEDIA 2009. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 22 - 26, 2009
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The Outcomes of the Workshop on ICT with Learner Centered Approach in Palestinian Schools in Syria - Konno, Takayuki; Kishi, Makiko; Minoura, Yasuko; Kubota, Keiichi (EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, 2009)
This paper is generally concerned with the outcomes of the workshop conducted under the project program with the cooperation of Kansai University, Japan and United Nation Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in respect of quality improvement of Palestinian refugees’ schools (UNRWA schools) in Syria. The workshop aims to support UNRWA in order to promote ICT with Learner Centered Approach (LCA) in Palestinian refugees’ school teaching-learning practices. In the workshop, problem-based learning and collaborative learning approaches were employed as LCA. And Japanese good practical lessons using ICT with LCA in “integrated study” period were introduced to the teachers. The teachers who attended the workshop needed to understand ICT with LCA and apply it to their classes. This study clarified, as an initial finding, the effect of the workshop training --- if they applied what they learned in the workshop in practice.
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Case Study Analysis of the Effect of Contextual Supports and Barriers on African American Students' Persistence in Engineering. - Montgomery, Lisa (2009)
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Lord Shall Be Taught to Egypt: The Girls' Boarding School in Babelluk (1892-1923). - Nurdoğan, Arzu M. (Education 3-13, 2009)
Kingdom, O Christ, is a Kingdom of all ages, and Thy dominion from to generation (i) The immediate and controlling aim in all Missionary work is the awakening of faith in individual souls, and the raising up of a community of Christian believers. In this sense education has from the beginning been an important department of missionary work. I attach very great importance to our Schools as one of the best means of sowing the seed of the Word of God with the hearts of the rising of Moslems. (ii) The conditions of Missionary work are not the same in every case, and the initial stages may well prove of diverse lengths; but in every case the Missionary stage is comparatively brief, and we see at once that Missionary work among an unevangelised people, regarded as involves a certain amount of Christian education, in order that the object of faith and worship may be discerned, and also in order that the elements and activities of the intellectual life may be in harmony with the elements and operations of the religious life. (iii) It is obvious that in a sense the whole process of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) activity from first to last is in the nature of education. According to the missionaries heathen, savage or uncivilised minds must be appealed to, thought must be awakened, and drawn out, in order to convey the simplest religious truths, or to awaken the most rudimentary religious emotions (iv). And in this sense, if not almost the only way to this missionary aim is by educational work among Egyptian young generation. The education of girls presents a quite different problem compared to that of boys, from missionary point of view, for, though the element of competition is far from being absent in Egypt also, it is certainly less keen; and moreover, the fact that the training of girls in Egypt is to fit them to become wives and mothers, and not, as is so apt to be the result in boys' schools, government officials, makes such work more important and more congruous with the missionary aim. This paper considers the educational policy of the CMS in Egypt in the abovementioned period in an attempt to understand the mission's social impact in the light of, and in spite of, its lack of converts (v). All sorts of documents and objects such as pictures of school, staff and students, missionary letters and annual reports were used in this study with the aid of historical method for interpretation of the past. At this point we have to note that the most limiting aspect of the study was the fact that geographical and chronological range of the CMS educational activities to Egyptian girls is too great for any one article. Therefore the interpretations and evaluations in this study were based on individual experiences of a single school. And generalizations were made with care because of the density of the content. The CMS archives in the University of Birmingham constitute main major source of this study. Diaries, reports, letters, memoirs, histories, pamphlets, and many more kinds of texts written by CMS missionaries filled with information about imperatives to convert, subdue and possess the world through the cultural power and superiority of English Protestantism. (vi) The variety of subject and perspective is enormous, but recent work by scholars such as Brian Stanley and Andrew Porter has none the less gone some way to demonstrate the possibilities of making this overwhelming volume of material more manageable and less daunting (vii). Moreover general histories of the CMS include The History of the Church Missionary Society: Its Environment, Its Men and Its Work by Eugene Stock, The Problems of Success: A History of the Church Missionary Society 1910-1942 by Gordon Hewitt, The Church Missionary Society and World Christianity 1799-1999 by Kevin Ward-Brian Stanley, Role of Women in the Church Missionary Society, 1799-1917 by Jocelyn Murray have greatly deepened researchers understanding on humanitarian, educational, medical, philanthropic and social work of the CMS outside the continental Europe. …
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Improving the Quality of Education in Nigeria through Effective Inspection of Schools. - Ochuba, V. O. (Education 3-13, 2009)
It is a known fact that education is instrument for economic empowerment and development of sustainable economy. No wonder, one of national education goals is the acquisition of appropriate skills and development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for individual to live and contribute to development of society (FRN, 2004 pg 8). Nwangwu (2007) opined that what children learn, retain and practice after leaving school has direct impact on nation's competencies and skills. What is learnt both formally and informally thus determines individuals ability to contribute to national development. According to Aghenta (2006), trained or educated human resources constitute manpower and personnel that bring about national development. It therefore means that quality of education received by citizens determines level of development of any nation There has been a public outcry on continual decline in standards of education in country especially as indicated in public examination and performance of education outputs that are inadequate for employment. For instance, FME (2006) reported that an average of 13.8 percent and 20.72 percent of candidates who sat for West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO) between 2000 and 2006 had five credits (including Mathematics and English) respectively. Employers of labour also complain about low performance of graduates from nations institutions of higher learning. A number of factors determine level of performance in school system especially quality of input and school process variables. Ochuba (2008) opined that goals of education can only be achieved with a well organized school system that would ensure that all aspects of school life are well articulated and effectively co-ordinated. For education industry to carry out its functions of developing quality human capital, there is need for checks and balances by regular and effective supervision and inspection. Wilcox (2000) defined inspection as process of assessing quality and/or performance of institutions, services, programmes and projects by those (inspectors) who are not directly involved in them and who are usually specially appointed to fulfill these responsibilities. The federal inspectorate service of Federal Ministry of Education is directly responsible for quality control and maintenance of standards in institutions below tertiary level. Decree No 16 of 20th August, 1985 outlined it's objectives to include: * To maintain minimum standards in education practice nation wide. * To operate common system of education practice nation wide. * To introduce classroom innovation * To achieve quality education in Nigeria Unfortunately, inspectorate services both at state and federal levels have not lived up to expectation. This is because inspectorate service is plagued by a number of issues and challenges. A study carried out by Ogunu (2001) revealed that inadequate number of inspectors, inadequate funds for inspection, lack of transportation among others were some of problems encountered by inspectors. He also noted that 88% of respondents reported that inadequate number of inspectors was a serious constraint to school inspection. Compounding problems of inadequate number of inspectors is low quality of personnel recruited into inspectorate. Ogunu's study aforementioned shows that only 15 inspectors in Edo State Inspectorate Department are to visit 1008 primary and 145 secondary schools in state, and only 6 of 15 inspectors had degree in education and none had specialized training in educational supervision/inspection. This inadequacy may be due to lack of policy on recruitment and deployment of inspectors. Meanwhile, there is need to have right quality of inspectors for effective discharge of their duties. …
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Influence of Teacher Characteristics on Affective Evaluation of Social Studies Teachers in Nigeria. - Otote, Celia O.; Omo-Ojugo, Matthew (Education 3-13, 2009)
Social studies as a subject encourages the development of socio-civic and personal-behaviour. Its focus is on the affective domain of learning. It would be necessary to ascertain success of instruction through an appropriate evaluation of this domain . Literature has highlighted possible problems in the assessment of this domain of learning. Pierre and Oughton (2007) claim that many college outlines and lesson plans with affective outcomes fail to indicate how these will be taught and evaluated. In the same Vein, Griffith and Nguyen (2006), state that the emphasis of evaluation is on the cognitive domain for many end results of efforts are test scores and mastery of academic skills. If the assessment of the affective domain is not popular amongst teachers, in spite of the importance of this area of learning, it may be necessary to identify some factors influencing its evaluation. Many researchers have stressed the role of necessary training background in curriculum implementation. This, by extension applies to affective evaluation. Crowther (1972), opines that not all teachers have the same propensity to implement any given innovation. Value orientation in relation to the innovation, type of previous training and ability to use the innovation are some characteristics required for the effective implementation of an innovation. Value orientation in the case of social studies implies that teachers are unconsciously prepared to be committed to change the attitude of the learner in a pre-determined mode. A teacher without the necessary background in social studies may not have this orientation but be more interested in imparting knowledge which is the goal of most disciplines. The type of previous training of social studies teachers, could determine their orientation and consequently their ability to effect an innovation. Teachers' knowledge has become the focus of educational reform, Palousky (1993). This implies that the knowledge available to teachers determine how they perform in a classroom situation. Social studies is a subject area that emphasises methodology. This orientation is reflected in any social studies curriculum. Hence the absence of training background in social studies may affect their competency in affective evaluation. In spite of the importance of training background as indicated by literature, there appears to be a dearth of professionally trained social studies teachers. Mezeobi (1992), on the issue of professionally trained social studies teachers posits that another constraint in social studies curriculum implementation is that professionally trained social studies teachers who are the lifewire of social studies curriculum implementation programme are hard to come by, given the slow pace introduction of social studies programmes in Nigerian universities. The dearth of social studies teachers has also been highlighted by eminent social studies educators Imogie (1989) Iyamu (1991), Mkpa (1992). A qualified social studies teacher is one who has studied social studies as a teaching subject at the National Certificate of Education or Graduate Level. The dearth of qualified social studies teachers in Nigerian secondary schools may pose a problem to the effective implementation of the social studies curriculum. Hence it might be necessary to ascertain the influence of training background on affective evaluation by social studies teachers. Certain subjects are closer to social studies as a subject area than others. Teachers' subject areas in this study were ranked from numbers 1--32 according to their level of relevance to social studies as a discipline. The least related to social studies was called number 1, while the most related was scored 32. It follows naturally that the nearer the orientation of a subject area to social studies as a discipline, the more effective the teacher will be, in carrying out the goals of social studies. …
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Sexual Behavior and Attitude toward Condoms among Unmarried ins-School and out-of-School Adolescents in a High-HIV Prevalence Region in Ghana - Sallar, Anthony M. (The International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 2009)
Among adolescents in Africa and in the rest of the world, unprotected sexual intercourse is the primary cause of HIV transmission. There is limited information on population based study of adolescents who are not-in-school. A quantitative and qualitative study was conducted among adolescents aged 10–19 ( n = 483, mean age = 16.6) in the Ashanti region of Ghana on sexual behavior, condom use, and peer norms regarding sexuality. Age of sexual debut was younger for those in-school. However, out-of-school adolescents were more likely to ever have sexual intercourse (72.2% vs. 27.8%) and use condoms (83.6% vs. 16.4%) compared to their in-school counterparts. Religious affiliation was associated with being less sexually active. Statistically significant differences occurred for condom use and increased sexual activity with age. There is the need for programs to increase condom use. Adolescents in Ghana represent a vulnerable population and concerted efforts must be made to reach them.
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