The University of Zambia Journals
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Rethinking Lewis Development Model and the Nigerian Development Question.
Get PDFThis work revisits the Lewis Dual sector model of economic development and growth. The focus is on its applicability or otherwise to Nigeria. Adopting a classical theory of “unlimited supply of labour” in rural, subsistence agriculture and transferring it to modern, urban capitalist sector; Lewis sought to explain a path for growth and development for LDCs. For clarity, this paper is structured into five interrelated sections. The first section dwells on the background (educational and career) of the proponent of our theory. The second section succinctly gives the operational definition of the key concepts within the understanding of Sir Aurthur Lewis. The third section distilled properly the fundamental theses and assumptions of the model. The fourth and most important section dwells extensively on the model with Nigeria in focus. Obviously, Lewis model when carefully studied reveals some manifest contradictions. His wage determinism is flawed, creation of homogeneity is challenges with the emergence of a new duality of the formal and informal sectors everywhere instead of a developed capitalist sector, food shortage crisis and its implication for industrialization for the Nigeria raises it arrowhead, and the misconception of reinvestment of appropriated profits tints this model with flaws not appropriate for emerging economies. This paper adopts a purely qualitative method. In all we recommend “unlimited supply of land” and mechanized agriculture for balanced sectoral growth for Nigeria
Child Abuse and Family Background as Predictors of Poor Academic Performance Among Adolescents in Special Schools of Ibadan-Nigeria
Get PDFThis study investigated child abuse and family background as predictors of poor academic performance among adolescents in special schools in Ibadan. The study adopted the descriptive survey design of correlational type. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select four secondary schools for this study. From each of these schools, twenty-five (25) respondents were selected among the special students. The total sample size for the study was one hundred (100) students selected randomly. Data was collected using reliable instrument (Family Background Scale α =0.79; Child Abuse Scale α = .89; Academic Performance Questionnaire α=.73). The three research questionnaires were raised and tested at 0.05 level of significance using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression statistical tools. The study found that, academic performance of adolescents in Special Schools in Ibadan was significantly correlated with child abuse (r = .542;
Curriculum Implementation Strategies of Education Standards Officers in Choma District of Zambia: A Critique of their Effectiveness
Get PDFEffective curriculum implementation by teachers is recognised as a lynchpin for achieving educational goals of any education system that leads to improved learner outcomes. In this article, authors make a critique of the effectiveness of Education Standards Officers’ (ESOs) curriculum implementation strategies that were used to support teachers’ effective teaching and learning in Choma district of Zambia. They set the arguement by riding on the six premises of Fullan’s curriculum implementation model against the contemporary backdrop and knowledge that ESOs monitoring and evaluation roles are critical to effective curriculum implementation in schools. In this qualitative study, researchers identified and critiqued strategies that were employed by ESOs in the contemporary milieu of Choma district. Using interview guides and focus group discussions guides, data was collected from head teachers and teachers in five, public secondary schools. Additionally, interview guides were also used to collect information from ESOs themselves. Findings pointed to the fact that curriculum implementation strategies such as formation of subject associations, follow-up visits and the recommendations from ESOs and the use of common schemes of work in schools did not yield desired results in terms of supporting teachers to improve their teaching based on what ESOs identified as areas of need during their school visits. In fact, it was also noted that ESOs missed a golden opportunity to practice clinical supervision and to make lesson demonstrations as they interacted with teachers. Arising from the factors which led to this scenario, researchers make two main recommendations. They first and foremost suggest that the Ministry of Education needs to provide sufficient funding to aspects of curriculum implementation at both the district and school levels. Researchers also recommend that ESOs should consult teachers and their administrators as they come up with curriculum implementation strategies in order to have them aligned with the realities of the schools
An Investigation into Truancy Intervention Programmes for Learners in Selected Primary Schools of Choma District in Zambia
Get PDFThe scale and nature of truancy in schools continues to raise significant concern among stakeholders in Zambia. As a result, the purpose of the study was to investigate truancy intervention programmes (TIP) available for learners in selected primary schools of Choma district, Zambia. The study was guided by the Social Control Theory developed by Travis Hirschi (1969) to explain disruptive behaviour and conformity to the established social order. The researchers adopted a descriptive research design. Participants were 51, comprising nine headteachers, nine guidance and counselling teachers, nine class teachers, and 24 pupils from nine randomly selected primary schools in Choma district. Data was collected through interviews and was analysed thematically. The findings revealed that truancy intervention programmes used in primary schools include feeding programmes, registration, remediation, extracurricular activities, parental sensitisation programmes, and guidance and counselling. The researchers recommended that the Ministry of General Education should support the counselling and guidance units in the schools for more coordinated intervention efforts in curbing truancy. The school disciplinary committees should also consider forming Truancy Boards to mitigate truant behaviour among learners
Application of Basil Bernstein’s Classification and Framing to Zambia’s Early Childhood Education Policies on Play Vis-â-Vis the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Children Articles 28 And 31
Get PDFThe aim of the study was to assess how educational policies and practices have provided for play in early childhood education (ECE) in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Article 28 (1) and 31 using Basil Bernstein’s classification and framing. This study departs on the Bernstein’s (1975) assumption that the concepts of classification and framing are useful “for the analysis of transmitting agencies”. With this in mind, this study problematises ECE policy and play in line with the UNCRC Articles 28 and 31 as both a philosophical and sociological problem. The findings presented a shifting construction of discourses owing to conflicts, lack of understanding and competitions pointing alluding to power struggles which characterise policy. The findings were of particular interest with regards to the classification and framing of problematising play in ECE policies in line with the UNCRC. The intertextuality among the policy texts was strong in unison with the UNCRC thereby having weak classification and framing of play in ECE presenting integrated codes. This made it difficult to sustain and protect the discourses on play practices in ECE
Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Recreational and Natural Water Bodies in Lusaka, Zambia
Get PDFStaphylococcus aureus is a potentially harmful human pathogen associated with both nosocomial and community-acquired infections with increasingly antibiotic resistance. Although microbial contamination of marine waters is predicted to be responsible for millions of gastrointestinal, and acute respiratory infections, and several skin infections, there is little information regarding the microbial contamination of water bodies in many Sub-Saharan countries. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the antimicrobial susceptibility of S. aureus isolated from recreational waters and natural water bodies in Lusaka, Zambia.
This was a cross-sectional study with a total of 90 water samples collected from recreational and natural water bodies. To isolate S. aureus, standard microbiological methods were used while the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used for susceptibility testing. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was detected by use of cefoxitin.
The overall results showed that there was 36.7% bacterial contamination in the waters tested. From the 90 samples collected, a total of 33 bacteria were isolated, of which 12 (36.4%) were Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus, 9 (27.2%) were S. aureus and 12 (36.4%) were non-staphylococcus species. All the isolates showed 100% resistance to penicillin G and ampicillin. The S. aureus isolates were most susceptible to chloramphenicol (88.9%), cefoxitin (88.9%), ciprofloxacin (100%), amikacin (88.9%) and gentamicin (88.9%). Only 11.1% of isolates showed phenotypic resistance to methicillin after testing against cefoxitin.
The results from this study signify that recreational and natural water bodies in Lusaka, Zambia may be possible reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus which may possibly be transmitted to humans when using the same waters
Pathological and Microbiological Diagnosis of Cutaneous Blastomycosis in a Four Months Old Dog in Zambia
Get PDFBackground: Blastomycosis is usually a systemic fungal disease, most commonly diagnosed in dogs and humans. Cutaneous involvement primarily results from hematogenous spread, but in rare cases, direct inoculation can occur.
Case presentation: The current report describes a case of a four month old male dog presented with cutaneous lesions caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis without pulmonary or disseminated disease. Diagnosis was achieved through histopathology and culture. Surgical debulking associated with systemic therapy with oral itraconazole resulted in significant remission of the lesion. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous blastomycosis reported in an animal in Zambia.
Conclusions: Accurate diagnosis of the disease in dogs is of public health importance as canine blastomycosis can be a presage of the disease in humans
Understanding the Educational Experiences of Grade Four Language Learners in Selected Rural Schools of Zambezi District of Zambia
Get PDFThis study was undertaken to analyse the educational experiences of Grade four language learners in selected rural primary schools of Zambezi District of Zambia. As a qualitative study, the descriptive research design was used to provide a detailed analysis of the phenomena under investigation. Data was collected through interviews and lesson observation in the target schools. The data was analysed thematically by grouping related data together into main themes. The population comprised all primary schools, all primary teachers, and all primary pupils of Zambezi District. The sample size comprised four primary schools, four primary administrators, four primary teachers, four parents and forty pupils from the four primary schools bringing the total participants to fifty-two (52). Purposive sampling was used in the selection of the teachers while convenience sampling was used to select the pupils. The objectives of the study were to; (i) establish the educational experiences of Grade four language learners in selected schools of Zambezi district, (ii) ascertain the views of teachers on the educational experiences of Grade four pupils in Zambezi district, (iii) determine the views of parents on the educational experiences of Grade four pupils in Zambezi district of Zambia, and (iv) establish pupils’ and teachers’ experiences on instructional experiences for Grade four classes in Zambezi district of Zambia. The findings of the study were that learners faced diverse educational challenges ranging from inadequate teachers, lack of teaching and learning materials or having outdated materials, negative attitude of some teachers towards work as they were not available for class at times, distance to schools, family pressure with their emphasis on traditional education and bullying by fellow pupils. The study recommended that head teachers should be monitoring their teachers effectively. The government should build more schools to reduce the long distances that learners cover. District educational officials should sensitize parents in rural schools to balance modern and traditional education
Merits and Demerits of Pre-Scripted Literacy Lessons in Zambia
Get PDFLesson plans are said to be valuable forms of teacher support because
they can expand a repertoire of teaching practices. The government of the
republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Education designed lessons
and lesson procedures including materials for teachers to use in the
teaching of literacy in grade three. Scripted lesson plans are a contentious
issue in pedagogical discourse. The study sought to establish the merits
and demerits of pre-scripted literacy lessons based on the experiences
of teachers who implemented the scripted lessons. In depth interviews
with grade three teachers of literacy as well as one standards officer
and curriculum development officer were also included respectively.
Regarding the merits of pre-scripted lessons, the study found that, scripts
were a guide in the teaching of literacy and that they are helpful to ill
prepared teachers who needed further pedagogic scaffolding after being
newly employed by the government. Notwithstanding the merits, findings
also showed that pre-scripted lessons were restrictive and took away the
teacher’s creativity. Moreover, such lessons were not responsive to the
diverse needs of learners in multilingual and multicultural classrooms
where multiple identities were a norm. The study concludes by arguing for
the sensitisation of teachers on the merits of pre-scripted lessons and what
power teachers have towards the negotiation and recontextualization of
such curriculum in providing learner centred inclusive pedagogy
Influence of Information Communication Technology on the Performance of Private Schools in Bauchi Metropolis, Nigeria
Get PDFThe visible presence of enormous opportunities inherent in the usage of online marketing in terms of cost-saving and the ability to transmit tailor-made messages to target audiences had made some private secondary school operators in Nigeria embrace online marketing communication as a strategy for reaching present and potential customers individually. The study primarily examines the profound influence of online marketing tools on the performance of private schools in Bauchi metropolis. A survey research design was adopted for the study, and a structured questionnaire was utilised to collect the required data from one hundred and twenty three (123) staff of private schools in Bauchi Metropolis. They were selected through a simple random sampling procedure. The data elicited from the respondents were analysed through mean scores and linear regression analysis using SPSS 22 version software. The study results showed that e-mail marketing has a significant influence on the profitability performance of private schools. It was also discovered that social media marketing has a significant influence on the number of student-enrolments performances of private schools. The study recommended that the managers of private schools regularly exploit e-mail marketing to enhance their firms' profitability. Also, they should adequately utilise social media marketing platforms to boost students' enrollment in their schools