Research in Social Sciences and Technology
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Black Students’ Experiences of Academic Support Programs during First Year at University: Case of Extended Studies
Get PDFIn the last three decades, historically white, liberal arts universities began to admit small numbers of black students from rural communities because apartheid policies relaxed. However, those liberal arts universities had doubts about black students’ key skills and knowledge to cope with the demands of higher education. This situation gave birth to Extended Studies Program (ESP) whereby the traditional three-year degree program was extended by a year to close this gap. This study seeks to answer the question: What are black students’ experiences and views about academic support offered to them during their first year at university? In this study both qualitative and quantitative research methods were followed, and purposive sampling was deployed. Data were generated from different sources for triangulation, namely questionnaires and interviews. Participants (N=104) were made of 43 males and 61 females. The results of the study suggest that the need for academic support is not exclusive to first-year students. Improved systematic academic support gives rise to improved student academic performance. Throughout the study, necessity, and urgency of Academic Support Programs (ASPs) is recognized. Recommendations are made suggesting that ASPs be administered throughout the undergraduate programs and not just at the first-year level of study
E-learning Facilities for Teaching Secondary School Physics: Awareness, Availability and Utilization
Get PDFSecondary school physics contribute significantly to the technological development of a nation because it lays the foundation for further studies in physics. Physics is an abstract science subject that relies greatly on practical, and the crucial role played by the use of instructional materials especially, e-learning facilities in this 21st century cannot be over emphasized. This study investigates the awareness, availability and utilization of e-learning facilities among secondary school physics teachers. We adopt the descriptive survey design which involved 78 physics teachers, randomly selected from all the secondary schools in Ondo, Nigeria. A researcher designed checklist was used to collect data for this study. Three research questions were answered using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and the findings from this investigation revealed that physics teachers are aware of most of the e-learning facilities for teaching secondary school physics but only few of these facilities are readily available for teaching physics. This investigation also revealed that only one of these e-learning facilities (desktop computer) was utilized by secondary school physics teachers. This study conclude that e-learning facilities were not used in teaching secondary school physics in Ondo. Based on this findings, physics teachers are encouraged to use the few e-learning facilities that are available in secondary schools. Also, government education agencies and school management team are encouraged to further stress the importance of using the available e-learning facilities for teaching secondary school physics through in-service trainings and workshops
Effective Mentoring to Improve Job Satisfaction among Beginner Teachers at South African Primary Schools
Get PDFTeachers leaving the profession before age of retirement is an ongoing problem in schools worldwide. While fewer teachers enter the profession each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased. Many teachers listed lack of job satisfaction as a reason for leaving the education profession, while citing the lack of mentoring as a main cause of job dissatisfaction. This study explores the impact of an effective mentoring program at primary schools in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa to support and improve job satisfaction among beginner teachers entering the profession. This study follows a quantitative approach, consisting of a Likert-scale questionnaire. The sample of the study was a number of 550 teachers (principals, deputy principals, heads of department, teachers and student teachers) from different races and cultures from 50 randomly selected state and private primary schools in Mpumalanga. After comparing the literature with the respondents' data, the researchers found that the development and implementation of a mentoring program in the province of Mpumalanga would positively impacts beginner teachers' job satisfaction, thus indicating a definite need for such a mentoring program
Transition to online learning by a teacher education program with limited 4IR affordances
Get PDFThis study used the community of inquiry (CoI) framework and the affordances of Internet of things (IoT) to explore how the faculty of education of a rural campus of a university transitioned from face-to-face to online modes of instruction. In this qualitative interpretive study, data were collected through open-ended questionnaires from four purposely selected teacher educators and five final-year bachelor of education preservice teachers. Thematic content analysis techniques were used to analyze the data collected. The findings indicated the tensions experienced by the teacher educators as they negotiated the limited IoT affordances to ensure effective teaching, cognitive, and social presence in the newly formed online classrooms. Some of the tensions included the choices that were made on whether to use synchronous or asynchronous modes of instruction and the selection of effective communication modes. The teacher educators used a combination of the official learning management system (LMS) tools of the university and a social media platform as way of navigating the limited 4IR environments experienced by the preservice teachers
Plans and Interventions of South African Grade 1 Educators During the 2020 Lockdown Period
Get PDFThe extended lockdown in 2020 found South African educators employing innovative strategies to teach and assess Foundation Phase learners. Educators had to make do with reduced hours in the classroom and experienced new challenges in delivering curriculum content to learners that had barely grown accustomed to the formal classroom setup. Empirical research attempted to identify the plans and approaches used by grade 1 educators. The findings may indicate best practices as experienced in this time and help to inform the approach taken during future repetitions of extraordinary circumstances. A theoretical and conceptual framework based on the current constructivist approach adopted by the Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS) guided the empirical research and informed the construction of the questionnaire. The key findings were themed into strategies for presenting teaching and learning, communication, and the impact on schooling. Findings were compared to the premises of the theoretical framework and conclusions drawn. It was noted that educators were hesitant to move their schooling entirely to the virtual learning platform and eager to return to the school environment. Various obstacles posed by the digital divide were flagged as threats to future situations and the involvement of parents was emphasized. The resilience of educators to continue to ply their trade, and their belief in the indomitable spirit of children, may offer conducive circumstances for future innovations in education
The Relationship Between the Performance and the Perceived Stress of Employees
Get PDFThe study aimed to determine the relationship between the job performance of individuals working in the sports industry and their perceived stress. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 474 people including 361 male and 113 female that working in a private company operating in the sports industry in Istanbul, and they were selected by purposeful sampling method. After the data showed normal distribution; Independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were used to analyse the data. According to the result of the analysis, there was no statistically significant difference found between the job performance and perceived stress levels of the participants according to their marital status and educational status. A significant difference was found in the perceived stress levels and job performances of the individuals according to their gender and working period in the workplace. Finally, it was found that there was a negative and low-level relationship between the perceived stress scale and job performance scale. As a result, it was determined that the stress perceived by the individuals and their job performance levels differed according to the socio-demographic characteristics of the individuals, and the higher the stress levels perceived by the individuals, the lower their job performance were
Alteration of Consumption Habits in Turkey Over Time
Get PDFSimon Kuznets and John Maynard Keynes did research on the subject of propensity to consume. Kuznets asserted that people do not alter their consumption/saving ratio and spend more when they have more disposable income. Keynes alleged that when disposable income increases, the rate of saving also increases over time because people tend to keep their consumption habits steady. Namely, the consumption/saving ratio of households or individuals tends to decrease as disposable income goes up. And in this study, the Keynesian consumption function is investigated in the Turkish economy. The result of this research might give insight into the future of the consumption/saving ratio in Turkey. In the study, the ARDL econometric model is operated with data from the Turkish Statistical Institute. The result of the study is that people change their consumption habits with the increase of disposable income. As a result, the consumption level has been slowing down, and the propensity to consume diminishes. That proves that the Keynesian consumption function holds in Turkey
A COVID-19 Re-envisioned Teaching Practicum Curriculum
Get PDFThe changes taking place in the schooling landscape because of the coronavirus are real and meaningful and have implications for the training of preservice teachers, especially the teaching practicum component of their initial teacher education programs. The havoc caused by COVID-19 forced many faculties of education into a state of ‘panic-gogy’ to ensure that student teachers could complete their teaching practicums. In this paper we argue that consideration should be given to core teaching practices and practice-based teacher education pedagogies (i.e., representations and approximations) that can be used in alternative “placement contexts” that will supplement and harness the authenticity of school-based experiences. We provide two conceptual tools, collaboratively developed by teaching practicum educators and mentor teachers, that can be used as heuristic by other university-school partnerships when considering teaching practicum redesign efforts
Chronicling school principals’ experiences on school management in the context of COVID-19 stringency
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic experience has brought to the forefront the importance of leadership as institutions across the world are now trying to emerge from hibernation and rebuild broken academic practices. As such, this study sought to examine school principals’ experiences on school management in the context of COVID-19 stringency in four rural schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Underpinned by a qualitative research approach, the study employed a case study design in which semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from four rural school principals who had been purposively sampled. Findings of the study revealed that in order to combat challenges associated with teaching and learning, school principals engaged among other things, in mobilization of resources, engendering a technological culture among teachers, ensuring effective delivery of content. We further ascertained that although hamstrung by resource inadequacies, school principals in rural schools promoted school safety by ensuring transparent and effective communication, striving for the provision of safe and adequate facilities, among other things. Finally, our study also revealed that rural school principals ensured clear and consistent communication with staff, provided psychosocial assistance to staff members, and adapted performance and workload expectations
Cross-fertilization in Teaching and Learning between Institutions after COVID-19 Shutdown: A Collaborative Effort
Get PDFResearch reported in this article investigated the effectiveness of collaborative effort between schools to bridge the existing gaps that erupted during the outbreak of COVID-19. There are gaps in teaching and learning within the previously privileged institutions and the marginalised institutions in South Africa. Such gaps might have a negative impact on how teaching and learning are conducted. The purpose of this article was to investigate the creative and constructive ways of managing the anxiety related to socio-economic impacts in schools, amongst which were the introduction of online teaching and learning technologies, new methodologies and contents. This article is underpinned by the concepts of the establishment of advantageous strategies for collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer. Qualitative document analysis has been adopted as a methodology to collect information for this study. The outbreak of COVID-19 has evoked inequalities amongst the communities. However, the re-opening of schools exacerbated multiple challenges. While teaching and learning is the centre of the education project in South Africa, which the country has to adapt to, most institutions were faced with a number of challenges. This study’s major finding revealed that collaboration is synergistic and can bring out the best contribution that might currently perceive partnership within the school system. This article recommends ways of bridging the gap between schools through developing partnerships between institutions through cross-fertilisation