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Covid-19: Shaping Education for the Future
No full textPresented by Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President & CEO at the Regional Focal Points Meeting – CARIBBEAN held in Jamaica, 30 January 2023
Out-of-School Parenting Girls’ Learning Pathways in Rwanda: Building Resilience through Identity Formation and Mentorship
Get PDFLarge and growing numbers of young people are in neither employment nor education and training. Many of them are young mothers (termed “parenting girls” in this report). When the Commonwealth of Learning’s Open Schooling initiative heard that Rwanda was having some success in getting parenting girls back into school, it commissioned a study to get a better understanding of the learning pathways involved. Focus group interviews were conducted over several months with parenting girls who had returned to education. In these focus groups, the researchers explored how the girls’ pregnancy and subsequent dropping out of school had impacted their lives, the factors that led them to return to school and the factors that could help build their resilience to remain in school
Students’ Perception of Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Vietnam: Empirical Evidence and Implications for Face-to-Face and Alternative Modes of Learning
No full textStudents are considered the most essential internal stakeholders in the higher education sector. They play a significant role in quality assurance processes. This study aims to investigate students’ engagement with and perceptions of Vietnamese higher education quality assurance. The study conducted an online survey questionnaire for undergraduate students in five major cities across Vietnam. The researchers utilised convenience sampling method to draw a representative sample from the target population. The 1,323 valid responses were collected and analysed using IBM’s SPSS Statistical Tool. The results show that most of the Vietnamese students were aware of quality policy and quality assurance models implemented at their institutions. The purposes of quality assurance and the focus level of quality assurance were also reported on by the majority of respondents. However, the positive change as to the results of quality assurance implementation was not clearly observed by the students. The paper concludes that Vietnamese students were involved in several major quality assurance processes, and they were aware of only important quality assurance tools implemented at their university
Digital Education: Unlocking the Potential of Every Mind
Get PDFPresented by Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Director: Education, Commonwealth of Learning at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Digital Skills Taskforce Webinar organised by CARICOM and UNESCO, held in Kingston, Jamaica on 2 March 2023
Gender Profile 2023: Mauritius
No full textThe Gender Country Profile outlines a country’s available data and rankings regarding gender equality. The profile is first a summary of the country’s demographic overview and rankings within established global indices for sustainable development and gender equity. The profile then follows the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index framework to provide statistics on each country in detail
Supporting Student Active Engagement in Chemistry Learning with Computer Simulations
No full textThis case study is an attempt to investigate how computer simulations can contribute to engaging students’ active participation in knowledge creation through chemistry learning. Empirical data were collected through interviews, a survey, and a test on secondary school student performance in Rwanda. The findings reveal four main forms of participating in knowledge construction with computer simulations: self-reliance, peer collaboration-reliance, teacher-guided-reliance, and strategic variation-reliance. The study found no statistical difference between male and female students’ preferences while engaging with these forms. There was also no difference in their performance in terms of higher order thinking skills in chemistry learning with computer simulations. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that computer simulations can help students to create multisensory connections enabling them to become actively engaged in chemistry learning through various settings. Consequently, the lines between abstract concepts and their related chemical reactions and processes become closely connected in a virtual reality. Finally, this study suggests a pedagogical strategy that teachers can undertake to support student active engagement in chemistry learning with computer simulations
Skilling our Youth: Role of Partnerships
No full textVideo presentation delivered by Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President & CEO at the Commonwealth Youth Ministers’ Meeting, London, United Kingdom on 13 September 2023
The Development and Effectiveness of STEAM-C Integrated Learning Devices to Improve Students' Creative Thinking Skills in Specific Cultural Context
No full textGood learning devices greatly assist teachers in conveying the process of seeking knowledge to students. This study aimed to develop a STEAM-C (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics and Culture) integrated learning device in Masjid Kuno Taman, Indonesia to improve students' creative thinking skills. The learning devices included lesson plans, modules, and student worksheets. This research and development (R&D) used the ADDIE development model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation). Subjects (n = 84) were selected by the cluster sampling method. The data collection techniques were focus group discussion (FGD), observation, tests, and questionnaires. The trial of using the product was carried out on mathematics teachers and students at SMP 10 Madiun and SMP 12 Madiun for the academic year 2021/2022, with a total of three teachers and 84 students. The results showed that the degree of validity of the learning devices was in the good category, as was the level of practicality seen in the presentation, use, time and readability. Furthermore, as seen from the four indicators, the devices developed effectively improve students' creative thinking skills, namely fluency in the high category and flexibility, elaboration, and originality in the medium category. As a result, the STEAM-C integrated learning device is recommended for use in mathematics learning to help students improve their creative thinking skills. Implications have been drawn, based on this research and other recent research in this area, for specific ‘learning designs’ in specific social contexts
Gender Profile 2023: Namibia
No full textThe Gender Country Profile outlines a country’s available data and rankings regarding gender equality. The profile is first a summary of the country’s demographic overview and rankings within established global indices for sustainable development and gender equity. The profile then follows the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index framework to provide statistics on each country in detail
Student Perceptions of Online Examinations as an Emergency Measure during Covid-19
No full textThis article explores student perceptions of writing online examinations for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, examinations at an open and distance learning institution in South Africa were conducted as venue-based examinations. From March 2020, all examinations were moved online. Online examinations were introduced as an emergency measure to adhere to safety and health protocols. Although students in developed countries have indicated benefits to online examinations, less is known about students living in the Global South when it comes to writing examinations online. Not enough is known about the benefits and challenges of online examinations since they were implemented as an emergency measure. We aimed at exploring student perceptions of writing online examinations for the first time, improve examination processes by including student views. Through an analysis of 336 written responses to an open-ended question posed at the end of an online survey, we established that digital access, duration of the examination, and the examination system interface affected students’ success in online examinations. Based on the findings, we recommend that students need to be given tools and data to participate in online examinations. Furthermore, students should be granted ample opportunity to practise writing online examinations while receiving the necessary support