Abstract

Pupil’ absenteeism and lateness to school, dilapidated and shortage of relevant facilities in primary schools in the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State seems to suggest lapses in parent-teacher association involvement in school affairs. This prompted the researchers to ascertain the extent of parent-teacher association (PTA) involvement in the implementation of universal basic education program in primary schools in the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State. Three research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were tested. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was comprised of all 250 head teachers and all PTA members at all 250 primary schools in the Northern Senatorial District. Multiple stage sampling technique was used to sample 205 respondents made up of 75 head teachers and 130 PTA members. The researchers developed an instrument titled “Parent-Teacher Association Involvement in School Questionnaire (PTAISQ)” which was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach alpha and it yielded an overall reliability coefficient value of .76. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed among others that the extent of PTA involvement in maintenance of facilities in the implementation of universal basic education program in primary schools in the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State was high. Based on the findings, recommendations were made and conclusions were drawn.

Keywords: community, parent-teacher association, school facilities, discipline, universal basic education program

Abstract

The article is focused on the problem of language multicultural education in the ethno-regional context. The content of the problem is revealed through its constituent concepts "multicultural education" and "language multicultural education". Language multicultural education in the ethno-regional context is considered as a process of acquiring knowledge about ethno-cultural diversity of the co-studied languages countries and the relationships between cultures in the modern multicultural world through polylogue of cultures. It is revealed that language multicultural education in the ethno-regional context is characterized by a number of features: polylogue of three linguocultures at the regional, state and global levels; equal polylogue of cultures, built on mutual respect of cultures involved in contact; ethno-cultural component focused on formation of a representative of a particular ethnic group and multicultural component, whose purpose is creation of a person of universal culture.

Keywords: multicultural education, language multicultural education, ethno-regional context, polylogue of cultures

Abstract

A vibrant higher education sector is a cornerstone to the production and application of cutting-edge knowledge and human resources relevant to spearheading socioeconomic development. While this is true, Africa has a discouraging performance in research, as compared with other world regions. In raising its research performance, Africa is now receiving considerable attention to revitalize its higher education sector from both global and local forces. In a bid to enhance success of different local and global interventions that Africa is currently receiving, it is imperative to revisit the past to comprehend what has made Africa’s higher education research be where it is today. Informed by the postcolonial theory, this paper seeks to establish the historical antecedents that have undermined the development of research in Africa. Several antecedents are established including the role of colonial higher education policies, incompatible supranational donor policies, unstable political landscape, interrupted academic freedom and autonomy, and unfamiliar language of academic, research and scholarly communication. The paper argues that any initiative that aimed at revitalizing research in Africa should place the present higher education research doldrums in its wider sociohistorical context where Africa’s higher education sector had been hindered for decades by challenges, as discussed in this paper.

Keywords: knowledge production, higher education, supranational organizations, postcolonial theory, African universities

Abstract

This paper provides information about findings from a recent research project that provides a new insight into how students’ approaches to learning may be impacted by their level of interest in and enjoyment of the topic being studied. The data from this research suggests that for contemporary students, interest and enjoyment play an important role in determining their approach to learning. As such there are implications for all educators who may wish to encourage their students to use a deep approach to learning.

Keywords: approaches to learning, assessment, interest and enjoyment, surface and deep approaches to learning

Abstract

The study aimed to establish the metacognitive online reading strategies used by pre-service EFL teachers and to describe their experiences in employing the strategies. This mixed-methods study employed 65 participants (n = 65). The data were collected by using Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS), as developed by Anderson (2003), and through a semi-structured interview. The findings showed that the subscale Global Reading Strategies (GLOB) was employed most frequently, followed by Problem Solving Strategies (SOLV) and then Support Strategies (SUPP). The most frequent levels of strategies included guessing the contents, scrolling through the texts, associating schemata and current information, using context clues, using tables or pictures, pausing and thinking about the contents, using printed texts, and translating the contents into Indonesian. The interview also reported that the strategies employed were focusing on simplified texts, focusing on colorful texts, translating texts into Indonesian, reading for fun, and utilizing schemata. In short, various strategies can be employed to comprehend and increase better understanding of the online texts.

Keywords: metacognition, online reading strategies, English as a foreign language