Pakistan Journal of Education
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The Discursive Constructions in School: A Qualitative Assessment of Value Conflicts Between School Ethos and Everyday Life
Full text linkThe debate of quality education in Pakistan revolves around three basic systems of education – Elite English Medium Education System, State Urdu Medium Education System and Madrassa Education System. However, the history and discourse of educational planning and development in Pakistan demonstrate that role of school socialization has largely been ignored when addressing the development issues of children. While focussing on the psychological and cultural incongruences in the socialization experiences of children, this paper asks that what are the major realms where school going children experience conflicts between the school ethos and real-life practices? The ethnographic study was conducted in Chakwal city, located in Punjab Province, involving participant observation in private and public schools. In-depth interviews were also conducted to acquire a holistic understanding of emerging trends of school ethos among students. The sample was selected through purposive sampling which includes students, parents and teachers belonging to different educational levels and diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The findings suggest that discordance between school socialization and what children experience in wider society engenders conflicting worldviews eventually creating everyday value-conflicts and identity crisis among children.Keywords: school ethos, socialization, value-conflict, identity, Pakista
Source Culture and Target Culture in English Language Teaching: A Study of Intercultural Pragmatics and Students’ Learning Outcomes
Full text linkThe study explores the role of intercultural pragmatics in theimprovement of students’ reading comprehension of English. This is anexperimental research conducted upon 50 eighth-grade Pashtun studentsaged around 12 and 13 years. The experimental group (n=25) was taughtan intercultural curriculum which included topics from the British culture(target culture) and Pashtun culture (source culture) in addition to theform of language. The control group (n=25) was treated traditionally inwhich the focus was on the structure and form of language. The pre- andpost-tests were administered to both groups. After comparing the meanscores of the tests, it has been found that the experimental group showedgreater improvement in their English language proficiency as comparedto the control group. It is recommended that topics from both the sourceand target cultures written in the target language be included in theEnglish curriculum. Further, training programs for language teachersshould include intercultural pragmatics in their syllabi. Further researchmay be conducted in the same area in different places with participantsfrom different cultures and age groups
Effects of Training of Eye Fixation Skills on the Reading Fluency of Children with Oculomotor Dysfunction
Full text linkThe study was carried out to determine the effect of training of eyefixation skills on the reading fluency of Children with OculomotorDysfunction. Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design was used in thisexperimental study. All the school going children having OculomotorDysfunction and poor reading skills between the ages5-14 years atprimary level were population of this study. King Devick Pro Readingtest was run on the children with poor reading abilities to diagnose theChildren with Oculomotor Dysfunction. Children having percentile rankbelow 15 or below average accuracy on King Devick Pro Reading testwere diagnosed as Children with Oculomotor Dysfunction. 20 Childrenwith Oculomotor Dysfunction were selected from a pool of 50 Childrenwith Oculomotor Dysfunction using random sampling technique. Twocohorts (experimental and control) having 10 Children with OculomotorDysfunction each, were used in the study. The level of Visual FixationSkills of the children of both of the groups was analyzed sing NovaSoutheastern University College of Optometry Oculomotor Test. Thesubjects of experimental group underwent training of manual andcomputer animated visual fixation skills 50 minutes per day for 7 days aweek for 6 weeks. Words Correct Per Minute Method was used todetermine the reading fluency of both of the groups before and after theintervention from selected paragraphs of Punjab Textbook Boa
Evaluation of Daily Duty Plan of Secondary School Heads in Perspective of TASPA Model
Full text linkThis research provided the theoretical orientation for examining schoolheads daily duty schedule/plan. The research provided that could help toevaluate and validate the proposed School Heads Daily Duty Plan.Objectives of study were to develop and validate TASPA Model DailyDuty Plan for Secondary School Heads. It was a descriptive researchwhich aimed to assess the impact of Time, Activity, Strategy, Progress,Assessment Oriented TASPA Model designed as School Heads DailyDuty Plan. Population of the study consisted of all public sectorsecondary School Heads in Punjab. The accessible involved populationwas 270 Secondary School Heads in nine districts of three divisions incentral Punjab. Randomly three districts from each division and threetehsils from each district were selected for the study. Questionnaire wasused as an instrument of the study. Data were categorized according tofive point Likert scale.t-test was applied. Conclusion was the finalizedvalidated TASPA Model based Daily Duty Plan (DDP) for theSecondary School Heads as an end-product of study. It was a validatedtool for the secondary school educational leadership for supervising theinstitutions in an efficient, productive and useful manner on daily bas
Effect of Communicative Approach on Creative Writing at Secondary Level in Pakistan
Full text linkThe main purpose of this study was to examine the effect ofcommunicative approach on creative writing among 9th graders. It wasfound from the literature that different aspects of creative writing can bedeveloped through communicative approach. The pretest posttestnonequivalent control group design, that is, Quasi Experimental designwas used. To carry out this investigation six classes from two schools,one public and one private, were selected to collect data for the purpose.206 students were conveniently selected for experimentation. There were33 girls and 173 boys in all the experimental and control groups. Fourtasks of the creative writing were carefully chosen from literature andwere pilot tested at a smaller group of students. After pilot testing, minorchanges were incorporated. The pre-test was administered to control andexperimental groups. Communicative lessons were delivered in theexperimental classrooms only. The same pre-test was used as the posttestas well. The creative compositions were evaluated in the light ofscoring rubrics. They were rechecked by relevant class instructors forinter-rater reliability. The data were analyzed using t-statistics and thesoftware SPSS. Results of the research showed that communicativeapproach had a noteworthy influence on the increase of creative writingskills among secondary level learners. The outcomes of the research areworthwhile for teachers, curriculum specialists, syllabi designers andpolicy makers. In addition, communicative approach is recommended forteaching of writing any genre in English
Investigating the Effect of Structural Communication Grids as Conceptual Change Strategies on Student’s Academic Achievement in 9th Grade Biology
No full textThe conceptual understanding of students is closely related to circumstances such as teachers, textbooks, instructional strategies, and assessment techniques. The most critical factor which affect student’s learning is the way we assess them. Structural communication grids being an alternative assessment technique is to measures meaningful learning and discovering students’ misconceptions. Quasi-experimental design was used in this study to explore the effect of structural communication grids as conceptual change strategies on students’ academic achievement in 9th grade biology. The sample of the study was comprised of 100 9th grade biology students (male 55 and female 45). Researcher conducted side by side experiments in two different institutions in G-9 sector, Islamabad. Biology achievement test as one of the data collections tools, was developed by researcher and its reliability was found to be .85. Further, 30 structural communication grids were used in the present study, which were developed by researcher in consultation with experts in the subject of biology. After treatment results were collected and analyzed by researcher using descriptive statistics (Mean and Standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Independent Sample t-test and Two-Way Analysis of Variance). Findings of the study revealed that structural communication grids are useful for improving student’s achievement by diagnosing their misconceptions concerning grade 9 biology
A Correlational Study on Teacher Educators’ Assessment Literacy and Their Students’ Academic Achievement
Full text linkThe knowledge and skills of classroom assessment is one of the requirements which have been declared in National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan. Without the knowledge and skills of assessment teachers cannot effectively implement their instructional plan. This study investigated teacher educators’ assessment literacy and its relationship with the academic achievement of prospective teachers. The study was quantitative correlational and survey method was adopted for data collection. Teacher educators and prospective teachers of Government Colleges of Elementary Teachers and Regional Institute for Teacher Educators were included in the population. Data were collected through an assessment literacy test from the sample groups of the study which was analyzed through mean scores, Pearson correlation and linear regression. The results illustrated that the assessment literacy of teacher educators was of average level which was significantly co-related to the academic achievement of prospective teachers. To further enhance the assessment literacy in-service trainings/workshops were recommended. Further, an Assessment Wing at federal level for the development of assessment standards at different level was also recommended
Innovative Teaching: An Effective Ingredient for Educational Change at University Level
Full text linkEducational Change gravely needs an effective and innovative teaching methodology in universities. It is voice of the time, the innovative methods in teaching can not only meet the individual needs of the students but can produce high grade quality future professionals. To review the current status of teaching in universities, a quantitative study has been conducted. A survey based on innovative teaching practices and educational change linked with these practices have been done from the sample of 400 students of BS / MPhil / PhD and 200 teachers of BS/ MS/ MPhil /PhD level. The results have shown that still there’s a long way to go to encounter the fast changing scenario of education at higher level. Keywords: Educational change, Innovative Teaching, Ingredient, University Leve
A Survey of English Writing Competencies of Secondary School Students
No full textWriting is the framework of communication. Good writing skills allow students to communicate their ideas clearly. Good writing skills in English play an important role in life of students. We are encountered writing every day in our daily lives. In our country, secondary school students lacking effective writing skills. The study aimed to assess the English writing competencies of secondary school students. It was descriptive study conducted in secondary schools of district Attock. Sample of the study consisted of 360 students (180 male and 180 female). Tool of study consisted of an achievement test for students consisting five areas of English writing competencies (vocabulary, sentence making, hand writing, comprehension, tenses) and a questionnaire for teachers. The data was analyzed using t-test for the purpose of measuring difference between the students’ performance. A test of correlation was used to find relationship between students’ competencies in sub skills of English writing competencies and their teachers’ usage of different strategies and techniques in class in teaching of these skills. The findings of the study showed that the use of multiple teaching techniques has a positive impact on development of English writing skills of students
Nurturing Inclusive Education through Cooperative Learning as Pedagogical Approach at Primary School Level
Full text linkInclusive education is a way of reducing exclusion and increasing participation in such a way that responds effectively to the diverse needs of all learners without differentiating on the basis of their weaknesses and strengths. This approach with the use of cooperative learning strategies provides an ample opportunity to learners by developing a sense of community where their voices are heard and responded. This qualitative inquiry was planned to look at prospects of cooperative learning instructional strategies to foster inclusion in the learning environment. The main objective of this study was to examine students’ success through cooperative learning instructional strategies that are conducive to foster inclusion in the classroom. Data were collected from seven highly experienced teachers of inclusive schools by using purposive sampling technique. Participants were provided fair chance to share their belief and experiences aligned with the topic of cooperative learning for inclusion. The findings indicated that teachers use Co-op, Co-op, Numbered Heads Together, Social Skills Training and Jigsaw techniques for students on IEPs (individualized education plans) to create cooperative learning environment that is conducive to inclusive education. It is recommended that training sessions and workshops should be organized for teachers to assist them in effective implementation of cooperative learning approach. To gain more generalizable results, the study may be conducted by using quantitative approach as well