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Stakeholders’ Opinions on the use of Code Switching/ Code Mixing as Coping Strategies and its Implications for Teaching and Learning in Tanzanian Secondary Schools
No full textThis paper focuses on the opinions of stakeholders on the use of code switching for teaching and learning in Tanzania secondary schools although examinations are set in English. English-Kiswahili code switching is employed intensively in the classrooms by both teachers and learners, as a coping strategy to attain meaningful learning. This practice is not permitted officially in Tanzania even though it may be the only possible strategy at the moment to move away from the difficulty faced in using English only to communicate in teaching and learning. Specifically the study used interviews, observations and documentary analysis. Major findings from the stakeholders indicate that code switching appeared to be a very natural, obvious and necessary practice. There were various reasons advanced for teachers and students code switching practices. In addition there were different manners in which the two languages were used; reasons for this are explained. Code switching was employed unsystematically despite stakeholders’ preference to use code switching. Code switching as it is used currently does not lead to competence in either Kiswahili or English. It is stressed in this paper that competence in English and Kiswahili is beneficial. It is thus recommended to improve the teaching of English and Kiswahili by using qualified language teachers. It is also recommended that multilingualism rather than bilingualism through code switching is worth encouraging and facilitating. It is important for Tanzanian students to learn several languages apart from English and Kiswahili and gain reasonable competence in them
The Effect of Moisture and Seed Treatment on the In- Situ and Ex-Situ Regeneration of Dalbergia Melanoxylon (African Blackwood) in Pugu Forest Reserve
No full textA study was conducted to investigate the effect of moisture and seed treatment on the in-situ and ex-situ regeneration of Dalbergia melanoxylon in Pugu forest reserve. Seed germination experiments was conducted for three months between November and December 2005 in the nursery Botany Department of the University of Dare s Salaam while seedling growth rate measurements were conducted for 12 months between January and December 2006 in the Pugu forest reserve. A total of 2 kg of D. melanoxy seeds collected from Pugu forest reserve and some from Tanzania Tree Seed Agency (TTSA) were used for seed germination experiments. A total of 25 seedlings approximately 2 years old were randomly chosen from Pugu forest reserve for seedling growth rate experiments. A split plot experimental design was used for seed germination in the nursery where soaked and non-soaked seeds stood for main plot and different moisture level treatments stood for subplot. Parameters recorded were germination dates, germination percentages, seedling increase in height and seedling increase in girth. Manual computation of data was accomplished according to Zar, 1988 where LSD was used for mean separation to determine statistical differences between treatment means. Tables and Figures were used to facilitate presentation and discussion of results. Data analysis led to the conclusion that, a moderate ex-situ moisture level of 200ml in a 1L pot per day effectively promoted seed germination up to 21% in seeds previously soaked in water for 6 hours compared to high moisture treatment of 300ml in a 1L pot per day which effected seed germination only by 11.6%.. The maximum in-situ growth rate was concluded to be 0.01 cm/month. The study revealed that seeds and young seedlings of D. melanoxylon are vulnerable to high moisture level while older trees are water and light demanding. It was recommended that future researches should endeavour to increase seed viability by harvesting them immediately from their maturity and storage in sealed containers, conducting tissue culture to manipulate seedlings and hybridization experiments with related species to reduce growth period
Teacher Education by Open and Distance Learning: Experiences and Lessons of the 1970s and Prospects of MOEC's Current Teacher Education and Professional Development Initiatives
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TRENDS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENROLMENT IN NIGERIA PYSCHOLOGICAL BASIS FOR GENDER DIFFERENTIATION
No full textDifferent studies have shown that girls achieve at a lower level than boys, especially in the science and technology oriented subjects; there are equally differentials in enrolment patterns between males and females at various levels of educational institutions. These goes on to career choices. This paper examines the psychological basis for gender differentiation in enrolment in the sciences and related areas
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE’S EXISTENTIALISM: A SETBACK TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD?
No full textExistentialism is the product of the World I and World War II. Existentialism gives importance to the lived human experience rather than given. According to Sartre each one of us is endowed with unlimited freedom. That is to say that everyone is totally free. However, this statement may question the limits of every individual’s freedom of choice. As human beings, social and physical constraints cannot be overlooked in the way in which we make our choices. Freedom is not an ability to act. Freedom is rather to be understood as a characteristic of the nature of consciousness (that is as spontaneity). Sartre introduces his notion of freedom as amounting to making choices, and indeed not being able to avoid making choices. His conception of choice can be understood with reference to an individual’s original choice. For example in matters of education, each individual person is allowed to make his/her own choices regardless of any other circumstances or situations. A person’s transformed life is a result of his/her prudent use of freedom in essence seeking understanding. Essence always gets refined and renewed by the freedom of choice determination. Man’s/woman’s existential condition is not a state of alienation from his/her essential nature rather it is a realization of who s/he is. However, the question remains: Is it possible for human beings to make choices without the possibility of making some errors? In educational issues, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of personal choice. In existential terms, lecturers, teachers, instructors, tutors are supposed to view the individual as an entity within a social context in which the learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own views. This paper is going to give a bird’s eye view of Sartre’s notion of existentialism which is mainly based on freedom and responsibility and see its impact on education particularly as far as morality is concerned.Â
Why do Adolescents smoke? Investigating the Cognitive Determinants of Tobacco Smoking Behaviour among Secondary School Adolescents in Ilala District
Get PDFThis paper is based on the study which explored the cognitive determinants of tobacco smoking among secondary school adolescents in Ilala district in Tanzania’s largest city, Dar Es Salam. Specifically, the study sought to explore the relationship between smoking, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 400 secondary school adolescents, aged between 12 and 22. The findings revealed that there was significant a strong positive association between smoking and Self- efficacy [r = .80 p<.01] and a weak positive relationship between smoking and Self-esteem [r = .11, p<.05]. The study concluded that adolescents with low self -efficacy is more likely to smoke tobacco and adolescents with high self-esteem are more unlikely to smoke tobacco. Based on the findings the paper recommended that self-efficacy and self-esteem must be taken seriously when considering intervention programs to prevent smoking. These intervention programs may include guidance and counselling services in and outside school settings
Inequalities in infant malnutrition between rural and urban areas in Cameroon: a Blinder- Oaxaca decomposition
No full textChild malnutrition is an obstacle to human capital and a deprivation of capabilities. In Cameroon, malnutrition is a public health problem and rural areas suffer more from child malnutrition than the urban areas. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that explain inequality in the distribution of child malnutrition between urban and rural areas in Cameroon. The methodology used is based on the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. The data used is from the Demographic and Health Survey organized in 2011 by the National Institute of Statistics. Differences in endowments of children and mothers explain 75% of the weight difference of children under 5 years between urban and rural areas. We specifically find that a paid job for the mother reduces by approximately 2.56 % the differences in the weights of children of less than 5 years between urban and rural areas. Also, the education of the mother reduces the difference in weight between the rural and urban children by 2.44% for primary education, 5.48% for secondary education and 3.54% for higher education. Lastly, the difference in weight between the children of rural and urban areas increases when the households are poor. The reduction inequalities of child malnutrition between urban and rural areas in Cameroon thus passes through the improvement of the education of the mother, the strengthening of the economic capacities of women in rural areas and the improvement of the living conditions of rural households
The Effect of Public Health Spending on Under-five Mortality Rate in Uganda
No full textPrevious studies indicate that under-five mortality rates have remained stagnant and Uganda failed to meet the Millennium Development Goals target and hence unlikely to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Although effective health reforms and programs such as the Immunization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), and Home Based Management of Fever (HBMF) and increasing health expenditure were undertaken since1990s, health outcomes especially under-five mortality rates have remained poor. Uganda’s under-five mortality rate has remained high that is 68 per 1000 live birth in relation to MDGs target 56 per 1000 live birth in 2014 .The MDGs assessment report by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) shows that the low level of public health expenditure is a major factor determining poor child health outcomes in Uganda. However empirical evidence on the health expenditure and its effect on under-five mortality rate have remained inconclusive. Simple Ordinary least squares (OLS) method was used to investigate the relationship between public health spending and under-five mortality rate. The results revealed that recurrent health expenditure, capital health expenditure, women literacy rate and percentage of population living in urban areas are strongly associated with under-five mortality rate. The study therefore recommends that the government should increase health spending per capita in relation to the increase in population and increase accessibility to education for the girl child
Balance of Payments Constrained Economic Growth in Nigeria
No full textThis paper applies the adjusted balance of payment (BOP) constrained growth framework modified by Thirwall and Hussain (1982) on Nigeria's economic growth to estimate the determinants of the long run rate of growth in Nigeria. With Nigeria adopting the import substitution industrialization policy in 1960, we apply cointegration test on time series data to estimate the long-run relationship between Nigeria's real GDP (output) and its real export. Results signify cointegration between our variables, lending support to Thirwall's BOP constrained model as a suitable framework to explain Nigeria's long term growth and reinforces the opinion that external factors constrain Nigeria's economic growth