African Journal of Empirical Research
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Developing Essential Skills for Undergraduates in a Time of Polycrisis: An Empirically-Driven Framework for Higher Education
Get PDFIn an era of polycrisis – characterized by interconnected environmental, economic, social, and health crises amplified by neoliberal policies – higher education must evolve to equip undergraduates with essential skills beyond traditional technical knowledge. This study, situated at the University of Eswatini, (UNESWA), aimed to identify the essential skills undergraduates require to navigate and contribute positively in such contexts, addressing gaps in curricula that prioritize qualification while neglecting socialization and subjectification, as per Biesta\u27s (2015) educational domains. The purpose was to identify perceived essential skills, curricular deficiencies, and integration strategies to foster transformative learning. Employing a mixed-methods sequential design, the research began with a literature review on skills for complexity. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with five purposively selected education stakeholders, exploring perceptions of skills, gaps, and pedagogies. Quantitative data came from surveys of 225 undergraduates randomly selected through stratified sampling (75% response rate) and 18 educators (90% response rate), using a Likert scale to rank skill priorities and identify gaps. Key findings reveal a consensus on top skills: critical thinking and problem-solving (mean 4.6/5), resilience and adaptability (4.5), sustainability awareness and ethical reasoning (4.4), digital literacy and collaboration (4.3), and civic engagement and social justice (4.2). Surveys indicated 72% of undergraduates view curricula as inadequate for polycrisis, with a bias toward qualification over other domains. Qualitative themes highlighted polycrisis as exposing qualification limitations, deficits in ethical initiative and resilience, curricular bottlenecks fostering passivity, and the need for pedagogical shifts like project-based learning. The study concluded that higher education must balance Biesta\u27s (2015) domains to nurture resilient, ethical agents. An empirically-driven framework integrates skills across qualification (e.g., problem-solving), socialization (e.g., collaboration), and subjectification (e.g., ethical initiative), promoting modular curricula, real-world projects, and reflective assessments. Recommendations include prioritizing subjectification through activities building autonomy and ethics; integrating domains via project-based assignments; reforming assessment to reflective portfolios; and conducting multi-site comparative research to adapt the framework regionally
Bridging the digital divide: Integrating information literacy instruction to empower distance learners – a five-year systematic literature review (2020–2025)
Get PDFThe rapid expansion of digital and distance learning modalities has intensified the need for robust information literacy (IL) competencies among higher education students. This 5-year systematic literature review (2020–2025) synthesises 87 peer-reviewed studies to explore how IL instruction can bridge the digital divide and empower distance learners. Findings reveal that distance learners face critical challenges in advanced information search, evaluation, and academic use of digital content. Enablers of IL success include embedded librarianship, scaffolded IL instruction, inquiry-based learning, and discipline-specific IL integration. On the contrary, constraints relate to limited IL policies, weak faculty–librarian collaboration, poor ICT infrastructure, and low learner self-efficacy. The review concludes that integrating IL instruction into distance learning curricula is essential for learner empowerment, academic success, and lifelong learning. The study recommends institutional IL policies, structured collaborations, improved ICT resources, and sustained assessment frameworks to enhance IL outcomes in digital learning environments. Finally, a conceptual model for integrating IL into distance education is proposed, illustrating how inputs, processes, outputs, and learner outcomes interact to reduce the digital divide among learners and leading to enhanced quality of distance education
Local community engagement, governance, and sustainability in marine resource management: Evidence from Tanzania
Get PDFMarine resources and coastal ecosystems support the livelihoods of billions of people in developing countries. To ensure the sustainability of marine resources, it is imperative to understand local community awareness of the governance instruments that regulate their utilization. The present study explored the actors responsible for the management and conservation of marine resources, investigated governance instruments used, and identified the challenges encountered in marine resource utilization and management in Dar es Salaam. The study used a case study design and was guided by Ostrom\u27s common pool resource theory. The study used a sample size of 223 respondents for quantitative data and 14 respondents for qualitative data, making a total of 237 participants. Respondents were selected from two wards of Ununio and Mbweni using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Various tools were used in collecting the information, including the use of structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews and reviewing the relevant literature. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, discourse analysis, and thematic analysis, as well as a relative importance index using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 12. The findings obtained were presented using tables and descriptions organized across major themes. The results indicate that the local community asserts the existence of various governance instruments, which include policies, rules, regulations, traditions, and norms that govern the utilization of the marine resources. Furthermore, various actors were responsible for the management and conservation of the marine resources, including the government through its respective ministries, the Beach Management Unit, and the local community. Despite the efforts of marine resource actors, several challenges hindering the conservation and management of marine resources were identified, including inequitable sharing of coastal resources, inadequate stakeholder engagement in decision-making, and inadequate communication among key stakeholders. Thus, to enhance sustainable management and conservation of marine resources, the respondents call for the establishment of regular patrols and enhancement of the cooperation between B.M.U. and the local communities in managing marine resources
A lexico-semantic analysis of sense relations in EkeGusii circumcision social varieties
Get PDFThis paper investigates how EkeGusii conveys meaning and offers an insightful analysis of the relationships between meanings in the social varieties of EkeGusii circumcision. EkeGusii is a Bantu language spoken in Southwestern Kenya by about 2.6 million native speakers. The language is free of observable isoglosses, but within it are diglossia situations. Diglossia is a condition in society where two varieties of language exist side by side and each has a certain role. The paper focuses on levels of sameness and oppositeness as well as the homonymy-polysemy interface within EkeGusii circumcision social varieties. Sense relations are universal in all languages in the world. Sense relation is any relation between lexical units in the semantic system of a language. It is a relationship between words as expressed in synonymy, hyponymy, homonymy, and polysemy, as well as antonymy. These relationships are entered by being contrasted or substituted. A sense relation involving a word makes the word have the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. These words cannot be used in another context to bring out the same sense. Lexical semantic components of the lexical pragmatic approach are used. The lexical semantic component treats words as encoding concepts. Participatory observation and introspection by jotting down insightful ways of using language are used to elicit useful data. Data is also collected from a sample of twelve native speakers of EkeGusii. Data analysis involves classifying the lexical items into the respective parts of speech, glossing the words into English, and identifying the sense relations to which the words belong. Findings show that sense is realized as a case of style or register. Findings also point out that context plays a significant role in establishing meaning. Pitch and stress determine meaning in context. Differences in tone result in homonyms: words that have different meanings but are pronounced or spelled the same. Sense realization follows the different ways in which the male and the female genders manipulate language. It is recommended that more research on sense relations in other Bantu languages be carried out as a way of explaining sense relations further
Navigating the dilemma between social realities and public health: Health beliefs and COVID-19 protocol non-adherence among fishers in Winneba, Ghana
Get PDFGlobally, the fisheries sector was identified as one of the most vulnerable to the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with several countries imposing complete shutdowns. In Ghana, however, the government did not include a total closure of the fishing sector as part of its COVID-19 interventions. Despite awareness of the disease and associated preventive protocols, many fishers in coastal communities in the Central Region, particularly in Winneba, exhibited low adherence. This study sought to identify and explain the cognitive and contextual factors influencing this non-adherence. Guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) and adopting a qualitative case study approach, the research draws on data collected through interviews with three chief fishermen, three focus group discussions, and observations from transect walks in three fishing communities in Winneba. A thematic analysis of the data reveals that the socio-economic conditions, communal lifestyle, and occupational realities of the fishers serve as significant barriers to the adoption of the preventive behaviours. Moreover, local fishers largely perceived COVID-19 as a distant, dangerous disease that had little relevance to their daily lives. These perceptions were reinforced by health communication cues that lack local relevance or evidential resonance. The study concludes that the fishers\u27 low risk perception, in conjunction with economic and social barriers, leads to their non-adherence to COVID-19 protocols. Without locally grounded, context-specific messaging that reflects the realities of these communities, health communication interventions are unlikely to bring about meaningful behavioural change. The study therefore recommends that health interventions in coastal and, by extension, rural communities should be informed by a communication-based assessment that addresses the unique challenges of the targeted communities and audiences
Rethinking the financial management skills of school heads on the quality of basic education: Implications for the Tanzania Development Vision 2050
Get PDFThe low quality of basic education, linked to limited financial management skills among school heads, threatens workforce training to foster the Tanzania Development Vision 2050 of building a prosperous, just, inclusive, and self-reliant economy. Therefore, this study examined gaps in financial management skills among school heads in Tanzania and explored how these skills relate to the quality of basic education. It used a sequential explanatory design, gathering data through questionnaires from 350 randomly selected school heads. We used key informant interviews with district accountant officers for validation and conducted a documentary analysis to assess the quality of basic education. The descriptive results indicated that the majority of school heads encounter financial management skill gaps, particularly in using public electronic payment systems, preparing and managing budgets, preparing and reporting financial statements, generating their own sources for school programs, conducting internal controls of school funds, and interpreting public financial laws and regulations. Moreover, the documentary analysis indicated a moderate quality of basic education in terms of academic performance, infrastructure, completion rate, and transition to advanced secondary education. Similarly, the correlation results indicated a strong and positive link between school heads’ financial management skills and the quality of basic education, with the highest correlation coefficients of (r = .741) for the quality of pedagogy and (r = .739) for the quality of teaching and learning resources. This relationship implies that gaps in financial management skills negatively affect the quality of basic education, which subsequently jeopardizes the national development vision 2050. Therefore, the study recommends providing financial management training for school heads and incorporating financial management skills in teacher education curricula
Participatory learning methods and their usefulness in higher learning institutions of developing countries: Critical literature review
Get PDFThe research study focused on participatory learning methods which universities from multiple countries implement to understand their current status, benefits and obstacles in their application. Guided by participatory action learning theory and constructivist learning theory, the review highlights the pedagogical value of positioning students as active co-constructors of knowledge. The study performed a systematic search for peer-reviewed studies from 2017 to 2025 through major research databases before applying thematic analysis to detect emerging patterns. The study demonstrated that participatory learning methods which include as problem-based learning, flipped classrooms, peer instruction and facilitated learning, team-based learning, co-creation of learning experiences, participatory action learning and student-centred learning affect student academic success. The implementation of these methods encounters barriers because of existing system limitations which include oversized classrooms, insufficient resources, unprepared teachers and diverse educational contexts between various higher education institutions. Therefore, the study recommends that learning institutions need to establish mentorship programs alongside monitoring systems and incentive structures to help lecturers use participatory teaching methods in their classrooms. Cross-cultural and longitudinal studies is recommended in understanding how participatory learning methods can be adapted to maximise student learning and engagement globally
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Job Performance: A Systematic Review
Get PDFThe rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across organizational functions has intensified scholarly interest in their implications for employee job performance. While existing studies highlight both productivity gains and emerging challenges associated with AI adoption, the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and research frontiers of this growing body of literature remain fragmented. The goal of this study is to organize the scholarly contribution to the impact of artificial intelligence on job performance. The study was carried out by examining 1,747 publications that were indexed in the Scopus database. The data were analyzed to give an overview of the domain using the PRISMA sampling approach and VOSviewer software. We then reported tables, graphs, and maps to highlight the key performance metrics for the creation of articles and their citations. The findings demonstrate the frequent usage of phrases like “job performance,” “artificial intelligence,” “organization performance,” “human resources management,” “performance management,” and “machine learning,” among others. Furthermore, some of the more recent study subjects are revealed by the density map, including “digital education technology,” “innovation performance,” “emotional intelligence,” “big data analysis,” “deep learning algorithms,” “data augmentation,” “smart technologies,” and “knowledge specificity." The study offers valuable insights for managers and policymakers who aim to utilize AI to improve job performance while minimizing negative impacts on employees
Convergence and divergence of adjusted net national income per capita and GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFThis paper uses a novel approach that combines a non-conventional indicator of income inequality (the "Adjusted Net National Income per capita" – ANNIPC) together with the traditional indicator (the "GDP per capita" – GDPPC) to test for income convergence and divergence. In addition, the paper evaluates the effects of inflation, gross fixed capital formation, unemployment, labour force, and institutional factors on ANNIPC and GDPPC using the spatial lag and OLS regression models. The results of income convergence and divergence tests for both ANNIPC and GDPPC reveal comparable patterns, with a diverging trend being apparent in the initial period (1971–1994) succeeded by a converging trend in the subsequent years (i.e., 1995 to the early 2020s). The results of the spatial regression indicated that overall, the models were statistically significant due to the inclusion of spatial components. However, the individual predictors did not significantly explain the variability in ANNIPC and GDPPC. On the other hand, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) results revealed that GDPPC was significantly influenced by gross capital formation, unemployment, and the total labour force. We underscore the need for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to enhance the economic prospects of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to consider the complex relationships between inflation, gross capital formation, and labour dynamics. Strategies should not only address immediate economic concerns but also focus on promoting sustainable and inclusive growth for the future
Level of community collaboration in the implementation of wildlife conservation and management policy in King’wal Wildlife Conservancy, Nandi County, Kenya
Get PDFThis paper examined the extent of community collaboration in the implementation of Kenya’s Wildlife Management Policy in King’wal Wildlife Conservancy in Nandi County, Kenya. It was guided by the Rational Choice Theory. The paper adopted a descriptive survey research design in which both a structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to gather information from the sampled respondents. The target population comprised assistant chiefs, village elders, conservation administrators, Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] chairpersons, and households, consisting of 855 people. A sample of 273 respondents was selected using the stratified sampling technique. Frequencies, means, and percentages were used to analyze the data and to describe and summarize the findings in terms of descriptive statistics. There was a pre-testing to improve the validity and reliability of the research instruments. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, and open-ended responses and interviews were analyzed qualitatively with the use of thematic analysis and identifying the emerging patterns. The results revealed that community cooperation had a significant impact on policy enactment. The unstandardized coefficient (B) of a community collaboration was 0.567, and the standard error was 0.084, which means that a one-unit rise in community collaboration led to a rise in the implementation of the Wildlife Management Policy by 0.567 units, holding other variables steady. This means that an increasing degree of cooperation is linked with more efficient implementation of policies. The research established that the extent of community participation in wildlife management at King’wal Wildlife Conservancy was moderate, implying the existence of gaps in information sharing and representation. Based on the results and findings of this research, it is suggested that the conservation authorities ought to design more effective communication strategies in order to ensure that information regarding the management of wildlife policies is made available to all the segments of the community