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Semi-structured interviews with 22 faculty at a fronterizx HSI located at the U.S.-Mexico border revealed the ways faculty perceive, enact, and engage with servingness practice. Findings provide critical insights into the relationship between servingness and faculty as empowerment agents through three culturally relevant themes: "compromiso," "pertenencia," and "empoderamiento." Specifically, participants' conceptualizations of servingness, based on practice, advanced perspectives and enactments of Latinx student support that helped transform their institution to more aptly serve both the academic and non-academic outcomes of Latinx students. Findings raise implications for research and practice.

Teacher leadership has its beginnings in Western countries as a response to fast changes that have taken place in the social, political, and economic environments. Currently in the Latin American context it has become a focus of interest for educational researchers particularly because the incipient research on the topic in these contexts. This study focused on knowing the elements, contexts, and attributes identified by college teachers about teacher leadership southeastern Mexico. All full-time faculty from a college at a public university (50) participated in this study, 20% of whom have formal administrative functions in addition to their teaching. The main findings show that: the main elements that are related to the concept of teacher leadership are behaviors focused on interpersonal relationships and school innovation. Regarding the contexts, the development of teacher leadership is often based on institutional context and collaborative work. Regarding the attributes, special emphasis is placed on interpersonal relationships, change, and individual development and recognition. No significant differences were found in the perceptions of participants who have an administrative appointment and those who do not, regarding the contexts and attributes of teacher leadership, except for the elements of the concept of teacher leadership between men and women. [Note: The page range (296-316) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 297-317.]

Continuous professional development for teachers will always be prioritized, especially in cases where there are obvious and conspicuous gaps in their subject-matter expertise and when they handle practical skills exercises with inadequate planning and delivery. Hence, this study explores the effects of equipping Civil Technology teachers with hands-on skills and provision of educational resources for effective teaching of practical lessons. This study purposefully sampled nine (09) Civil Technology teachers from Ekurhuleni East, Gauteng province of South Africa. This study was hinged on Stronge's qualities of effective teachers as its framework. This study adapted a mixed method design where closed-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were considered relevant data collection instrument and sources. A sequential explanatory design was used to analyze the collected data. The findings reveal that even though teachers get continuous hands-on skills training from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) annually, the trainings are often too generic and do not adequately boost teachers with confidence to teach specific skills (i.e., construction and plumbing) to learners. As a result, Civil Technology teachers could not actualize their continuous professional development training as an element of learning to become innovative skills teachers. The survey found that while certain Ekurhuleni East schools have instructional tools, some of the teachers were not trained to use them, which made it difficult to effectively teach practical lessons in Civil Technology. Therefore, this study recommended that the Gauteng Department of Education should focus on discipline specific instructional strategies that will promote innovation in skills-based activities in Civil Technology.

Cross-border migration is increasing in a globalized world. On the physical borderlands, migration across and between borders occurs on a habitual basis. This qualitative study employs semi-structured interviews to explore how three "transfronterizo" teachers along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands draw on their backgrounds and lived experiences as they go about in their English teaching practices. Findings suggest that the diverse lived experiences of the three teachers allow them to develop a particular knowledge, consciousness, and agency in creating a third space, or a "mundo zurdo," in which they advocate for their "transfronterizo" students.

This mathematics classroom based experimental study determined the relative effectiveness of formative assessment techniques on students' academic achievement in Mathematics. Factorial research design was adopted for the study involving 100 students from 2 co-educational secondary schools drawn through multistage sampling procedure. Mathematics Achievement Test was the instrument used for data collection. The reliability of the instrument was established using Kudder Richardson (KR[subscript 20]) formula and a reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the muddiest point formative assessment technique proved to be more effective in improving students' academic achievement in Mathematics than the think-pair-share technique. The findings also showed that the mean achievement scores of male and female students in Mathematics are not statistically significant. The muddiest point technique should be employed regularly by teachers for classroom assessment of the students since it is more effective in improving students' academic achievement in Mathematics.

The purpose of this study was to understand the current status of ICT integration in South African schools. Yet, this study focused on the Tshwane West District schools in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This study employed a descriptive research design to understand the aforesaid phenomenon. Data was collected through interviews and open-ended questionnaires with 10 teachers and one curriculum specialist. This study employed thematic analysis as a qualitative research method. Furthermore, Roger's Diffusion of Innovations is used as a framework. Despite the existence of policies, this study revealed that the integration of ICT remained a significant challenge for several instructors in South Africa. The most interesting part was that schools had improved on most ICT tools to enable access to learning with technologies, but to a greater extent, insufficient internet coverage in classrooms made it impossible for most teachers to appreciate the benefits that come with using tools such as laptops, whiteboards, and online videos. This research proposes the installation of pocket Wi-Fi devices in every classroom in schools to provide comprehensive internet access. This will facilitate interaction between instructors and students through up-to-date learning management systems subscribed to by schools, as well as films. This will promote a digitally viable learning environment that promotes creative opportunities for learners.

This is a qualitative study that employed exploratory design to inquire from 15 participants of Central University (Ghana) about their experience with the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. An in-depth interview was conducted, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that participants experienced fear expressed in four key domains reported under four key themes thus: Experiencing psychological distress; Burden of economic hardships; Fear of inefficient health system; and Educational disruptions and worries involved in online teaching and learning. The study concludes that the upsurge of COVID-19 has triggered psychological, economic, and educational conundrums that have to be addressed. This paper contributes to the growing body of studies on COVID-19 and effects on lecturers and students. The burgeoning evidence of the mental health distress following COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for universities and Ghana as a whole to invest both in infrastructure and manpower in this area of health care delivery. Vaccine hesitancy research must be conducted to improve upon health educational campaigns. The significant disruption from the pandemic is a fair warning to all stakeholders to make educational e-learning infrastructure resilient against similar future shocks. The implications of the findings for health and educational policies in Ghana are addressed.

This paper reflects on Freire's discourse on liberating education and adult educators' educational roles with community groups in transforming communities. Mineral-rich communities in Ghana are in danger of losing water bodies, rich arable lands, and forest vegetation cover through "galamsey," which refers to the gathering of rich mineral resources illegally for sale. Yet the fourth Industrial Revolution Age positions adult educators strategically in making learning the needed skill among community groups to improve communities. This qualitative study adopted a convenience sampling procedure to select and interview eight graduate students in a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana. Data were analyzed using thematic and narrative approaches. The results indicate that adult educators' educational roles are empowering, yet they should employ more dialogical, story-telling, and conversational approaches; and must listen to community members' views on community development programs. The study concludes that adult educators drive community development programs via inclusiveness and networks to make communities sustainable.

Despite huge investments in the educational sector, many countries in Africa have not fared well in the education indices. This study examined the effect of teaching equipment and teachers' effort on learning outcomes in 744 Nigerian primary schools using Stochastic Frontier and Ordinary Least Square regression. The mean technical efficiency was 0.43 which showed most of the surveyed schools were technically inefficient. Also, 42.8% of public primary schools operate below 20% efficiency level as against 12.3% in private primary schools. Factors influencing efficiency include school ownership type, visits from the Local Government Education Authority Student-Teacher ratio, and school hygiene.

Unprecedented COVID-19 lockdowns forced schools to close and to adopt online teaching and learning methodologies. In Zimbabwe, underprivileged schools were the worst affected by this directive. This qualitative study, carried out in one cluster of rural secondary schools explored the preparedness of geography teachers to adopt e-learning strategies. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires. Findings indicate that teachers at day schools were not well prepared to adopt e-learning strategies while their counterparts at boarding schools were better prepared. Teachers stuck to their traditional classroom roles and failed to adopt additional online roles resulting in feelings of boredom due to lack of social interaction with students. A lack of teacher training and support and inadequacies in infrastructural facilities were the major impediments militating against teacher preparedness. WhatsApp emerged as the most popular application used to communicate with students. It is recommended that stakeholder support be mobilized towards teacher capacitation.

This paper investigated the strategic devices that can be used to enhance the accounting cash journals content knowledge (ACJCK) of Grade 9 economic and management sciences (EMS) teachers. The study was qualitative, with three participants selected from one rural school in the Thabo-Mofutsanyane education district. The interviews were used to gather information regarding the strategic devices that can be used to enhance the ACJCK of EMS teachers. The data were then analysed using thematic analysis. Finally, the study revealed the following findings: create professional learning communities to enhance cash journals content knowledge and ensuring collaborative lesson planning and preparation of cash journals. The findings suggest that collaborative team teaching must be used to accommodate novice teachers, and continuous training workshops and cluster workshops should also be used to increase teachers' level of understanding to address the inherent cash journal content knowledge misconceptions.

This study investigated Chemistry students' performance and retention (knowledge and understanding, knowledge and application, perception and attitude) in Organic Chemistry in three Senior High Schools (SHSs) within Tamale Metropolis in Ghana. Collaborative learning models were employed as intervention strategies. Quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. The target population for the study was third year SHS Chemistry students. Two intact classes were used as control and experimental groups in each school. The research instruments were self-constructed Organic Chemistry Achievement Test (OCAT) and Students' Attitude and Perception Questionnaire (SAPQ). The Organic Chemistry Achievement Test data was analysed using t-test statistics whilst Students' Attitude and Perception Questionnaire data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed a 34.04% improvement in post-test mean scores on both knowledge and understanding, and knowledge and application due to the intervention. The study again revealed a significant improvement of (20%) in students' perceptions and attitudes towards Organic Chemistry due to the intervention. A statistically significant improvement of 25% in confidence level among students, towards Organic Chemistry, was recorded. Collaborative teaching and learning approaches were judged effective for ameliorating SHS learners, academic achievement and knowledge retention in Organic Chemistry concepts and were recommended for teaching and learning at SHS.

Education is recognized as a universal vehicle for the transmission of values and ideas for the development of the complete individual in connection to society's changing reality. High-quality education can help individuals develop their minds and help society transform economically, socially, and politically. The quality of education provided to such individuals brings out intellectually brilliant students who need to be engaged in a way that will help them utilize their intellectual abilities. What then are the needs of intellectually brilliant students in today's education? To probe further, the study explores the innovative approach to achieve the intellectually brilliant students' needs. A qualitative approach was adopted for the study. Ten intellectually brilliant students were studied as case studies. Semi-structured 45-minute focus groups/interviews were conducted with the selected students, resulting in a total of 10 interviewees. Intellectually brilliant students need worldwide technological collaboration to grow their intellectual abilities to meet the needs of the world in terms of human resources, food security, job creation, infrastructure development, and social stability. Field teachers need tolerance, effort, and time to assess their own sentiments toward intellectually brilliant students and come up with teaching goals with them. Intellectually brilliant students need worldwide technological collaboration to grow their intellectual abilities to meet the needs of the world in terms of human resources, food security, job creation, infrastructure development, and social stability.

In this period of the COVID-19 outbreak, the interest in replacing conventional face-to-face teaching with online teaching in Ghana's Colleges of Education has sown amidst concerns about the presence of teaching. Through an online survey, 452 students from three education colleges responded to the teaching presence scale. This study examined college students' perception of mathematics teaching presence and how gender and the mode of interaction affected students' sense of teaching presence during the emergency remote online teaching of mathematics. The results showed that about 82.7% of the students had a moderate to a high sense of mathematics teaching presence in the emergency remote online teaching. This means that mathematics teachers were unable to identify the mathematics learning needs, neither were teachers able to manage collaborative and reflective work, nor averted undirected discourse among 27.3% of the students. Although the gender of students did not affect the sense of mathematics teaching, the result indicated that in the absence of asynchronous mode of interaction, synchronous and blended modes of interaction positively affected students' perceived mathematics teaching presence. Altogether, this study urges mathematics teachers to employ creative pedagogical approaches that make teaching presence more conspicuous to students in emergency remote online mathematics teaching.

Using data from the latest 2017 Ghana Living Standards Survey Round Seven, this paper explores variables affecting household spending on education using the OLS model. The results showed that in the 12 months preceding the survey, household in the southern regions of Ghana increased their education spending on all the three types of the education categories namely; basic, secondary and post-secondary, and tertiary education, and established that the average annual household basic education expenditure accounts for 17.7 percent of the total annual household income and taking into account household undefined education expenditure, 13.5 of a percentage point is spent more on household basic education. The average annual household secondary and post-secondary education expenditure accounts for 5.8 percent of the total annual household income. Accounting for household undefined education expenditure, 22 percent of a percentage point is spent more on household secondary and post-secondary education and average annual household tertiary education expenditure accounted for 3.8% of the total annual household income. Weighing undetermined spending on education by household, 6.3 percent of a percentage point is spent on household tertiary education. Household expenditure on tertiary education is the lowest of all the education categories' expenditure.

This paper highlights adult female learners' perception and experiences with blended distance education (DE) program in the University of Ghana. It specifically investigates female students' experiences with male and female tutors' tutoring styles, learner support services, the use of educational technology as well as the extent of the gender-inclusive environment created. It throws light on the positive stories regarding the DE program, potential barriers, and panacea from female lens. The study is guided by feminist theory and Larreamendy-Joerns and Leinhardt goals of DE. A qualitative case study and narrative designs were adopted. Data were conveniently collected from 15 female students enrolled on the DE program at the Accra Learning Center. In-depth face-to-face interviews were employed for data collection. Data were analyzed using interpretivist-evaluative narrative approaches. Findings show that gender gaps still exist in using educational technologies for learning; implying that additional technological and tutoring support need to be provided to female students. The paper recommends increasing integration of ICT teaching and learning tools into the curriculum of DE to help in building adult females' digital skills and confidence to enhance their full participation in DE.

In every learning environment, several factors such as mindfulness, self-regulation, school engagement, and resilience may compel students to move beyond their limits to sustain learning and improve their academic performance. The study, therefore, investigated the predictive roles of academic mindfulness, self-regulated learning, and school engagement on academic resilience. Using the analytical cross-sectional design, a sample of 150 students was drawn from high schools in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. Data were collected from the sample using the academic mindfulness, self-regulated learning, school engagement, and academic resilience scales. The data analysis was performed using CB-SEM with AMOS. Findings showed that mindfulness (B = 0.598, Boot 95% CI: 0.315, 0.937), self-regulation (B = 0.528, Boot 95% CI: 0.056, 2.177), and school engagement are significant predictors of academic resilience. Therefore, relevant stakeholders are encouraged to focus on creating and sustaining resilience among learners through mindful and self-regulated policies and practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the educational landscape, making exploration of blended learning (BL) instructional delivery important. Higher education institutions are navigating the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on instructional delivery. Using Accra Learning Centre as a case study, this article explores the experiences of adult learners engaged in BL after the COVID-19 crisis in Ghana. A qualitative research method was employed, and a purposive sampling procedure was used to select 15 adult learners. An in-depth interview guide was developed to garner data. Thematic, narrative, and interpretivist analytical approaches were adopted in presenting the results. Participants' voices, experiences, and meanings were sought. It emerged that BL promotes inquiry-based, self-directed, and constructivist learning rather than using conventional face-to-face teaching and learning, though conventional teaching and learning cannot be discounted, BL fosters self-paced learning among adult learners. It recommends that faculty continue to sharpen their skills in BL instructional delivery and adult learners should be equipped with skills in time management, and effective digital tools used to engage in BL.

This study explored the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) attitudes and self-efficacy of secondary students identifying as Black South African, multi-racial or Afrikaans South African, or Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe nationals who participated in a non-formal STEM education camp programme. Using Bandura's social cognitive theory for self-efficacy and attitude, this study sought to document participants' STEM self-efficacy and attitudinal factors related to the camp experience. Survey data were collected before and after participants' participation in the camp and a delayed post-measurement after 18 months of exposure. Results indicated a significant increase in the self-efficacy concept of "conceptual understanding" over time between the pre-test and delayed post-test; however, there were no indicated differences over time for the other self-efficacy constructs of "Higher Order Cognitive Skills," "Practical Work," "Everyday Application" and "Science Communication." Analyses of the STEM attitude constructs showed differences between the "Twenty-first Century Skills" (increase over time from pre-test to delayed post-test) and "Your Future" (decrease over time from pre-test to delayed post-test) constructs with no differences for "Mathematics," "Science" and "Engineering and Technology." Furthermore, there were no detected differences of self-efficacy and attitudes from pre-test to post-test. These findings suggest that participating in a singular, non-formal STEM learning event may not be sufficient to document changes in self-efficacy and attitudes from the pre- to post-learning experience; however, the experience could have been one of many learning events that may have provided an opportunity for supporting South African students' self-efficacy and attitude growth, especially in "Conceptual Understanding" and "Twenty-first Century Skills."

In spite of the proliferation of educational technologies, teacher surveys have indicated relatively low levels of technology integration in mathematics lesson delivery in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. This study examined how Senior High School mathematics teachers use the available technology resources in their pedagogy in Ghana. Drawing on the substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition model, an explanatory sequential mixed methods design was employed for the study. A questionnaire, classroom observation and semi-structured interview guide were used in gathering data for the study. A total of 202 mathematics teachers were selected using a stratified sampling technique. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) whereas the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed relatively low levels of technology usage as modification or redefinition in mathematics lesson delivery; however, the calculator was reported as the predominant technology frequently used by mathematics teachers as substitution and augmentation in their classrooms. The results also revealed that mathematics teachers could only use technology to facilitate their pedagogical activities. They used digital technologies to prepare for lessons, assist in computational tasks during class (substitution) and validate mathematical solutions (augmentation). Consequently, the study emphasises the necessity of training and enhancing teachers' skills to enable them to employ technology for the transformation (modification and redefinition) of their pedagogical practices within the classroom. This transformation would allow students to utilise technology not only for computation and solution verification but also to develop mathematical concepts and critical thinking skills.

Purpose: This study aims to examine students' experiences of sexual harassment (SH) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ghana as well as their coping strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted the cross-sectional descriptive survey research design and used the convenience sampling technique to sample 926 students from four public Universities in Ghana. The data collected were analyzed using an independent-sample t-test with the aid of IBM SPSS Statistics version 23.0. Findings: The study found no significant difference in male and female students' experience of gender harassment and unwanted SH. Additionally, female students were sexually coerced considerably more than males. In the case of coping strategies, the study found no significant differences among male and female students use of passive coping strategies. Finally, the study found significant differences among male and female students use of active, self-blame and benign coping strategies. Practical implications: This implies that specific attention is required when students experience SH since they may be exposed to more aggressive sexual behavior. Originality/value: The originality of this present study rest on its unique contribution by exploring the prevalent SH and coping strategies among tertiary students in HEIs in Ghana.

The Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA) is a valid and reliable circuit-based test of motor competence which can be used to assess children's skills in a live or recorded performance and then coded. We aimed to analyze the intrarater reliability of the CAMSA scores (total, time, and skill score) and time measured, by comparing the live audio with the video assessment method. We also aimed to assess the interrater reliability using both audio- and video coding on a sample of 177 Spanish children. We found moderate-to-excellent inter- and intrarater video-audio intraclass correlation coefficients for the CAMSA score, time measured, time score, and skill score. Nonsignificant differences were found between video and audio recordings in the CAMSA score, time measured, and time score. Our findings support the rationale that different raters and scoring methods can accurately assess the participants' motor competence level using the CAMSA Spanish version.

This study examines whether family income in early childhood is related to achievements of Israeli students in standardized tests at primary school. We analyzed data from the Israeli censuses of 1995 and 2008, which include information on family income and socio-economic background of children along with data pertaining to their achievements in standardized tests taken in fifth-grade. The findings show that belonging to the lowest quintile of family disposable income in early childhood had a negative and significant effect on future educational achievements, controlling for family income in late childhood and other socio-demographic variables. Furthermore, the effect of family income was stronger when measured at birth -- age two, than at ages 3-5. These findings are consistent with the claim that child development is most sensitive to environmental influences in the very first years of life.

This article investigates the challenges confronted by students with visual impairment at the University of Cape Coast. The researchers adopted the phenomenological design and utilised semi-structured interview guide and observation guide for the data collection. Through the purposive sampling technique, the views of students with visual impairment were elicited. The findings reflect the challenges that students with visual impairment encounter while succumbing to the demands of academic endeavours at the University. These challenges are based on the inauspicious physical environment, inordinate attitude of some members of the University community and unsupportive academic arrangements at the University. The study discusses the need for public education on students with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and the need for lecturers to reconsider their pedagogic procedures to suit all students especially students with SEND. There is also a call for the modernisation of the physical environment and academic assistive devices by the management of the University with the co-operation of the government of Ghana and some NGOs.

Engineering drawing is valuable in capturing geometric features, conveying engineering ideas, and creating a blueprint of the intended product. Engineering students usually perform orthographic projections, imagining a 3D situation and sketching its 2D representation. That requires imagination and mental visualization, determined by the learner's spatial ability. This study proposes the infusion of an AR stereogram mobile application into an engineering drawing course to establish how it influences learning outcomes among students with different spatial abilities. The quantitative experimental study involved two mechanical engineering classes in northern Taiwan, N = 69 first-year vocational high schoolers. Statistical analysis revealed that the experimental group with high spatial ability recorded better results and excellent drawing skills. Bloom's taxonomy categorization reported that spatial ability influenced "understanding" and "applying" levels, with the strongest effect on "understanding." Although no significant interaction existed, learning outcomes were highly affected by spatial ability in "understanding" and "applying" levels and AR in the overall performance. The findings and discussions show AR holds great potential to enhance students' spatial ability for real-time visualization and enables better concept comprehension by improving their understanding of engineering topics. Future studies should consider these implications in creating effective and immersive learning environments for different courses in engineering education.

Undergirded by "economic theory of the principal-agent problem", the study investigated secondary school teachers' perception of the influence of large-scale testing accountability on teaching and learning. Cross-sectional survey design was used. Simple random sampling was also employed to select 200 teachers for this study. The exploratory factor analysis results showed that although large-scale testing accountability serves as a motivational factor for teachers to be more productive, it puts pressure on teachers and students. Teachers reported teaching to the test (i.e. washback) and spending a lot of instructional time preparing students for the test. Teachers suggested that large-scale testing results should not be seen as the sole basis for teacher effectiveness. Rather, they indicated that large-scale testing results should be used to foster equitable distribution of educational resources and support teachers' professional development to enhance teaching and learning. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

This article focuses on a case study of adult learners in Accra Learning Center (ALC) to explore limiting factors to learning in higher education institutions (HEIs) using distance education (DE) mode in Ghana. Educated adults possess experiences that help them take up leadership roles and transform communities. However, limiting factors including lack of media support and employment opportunities to adult learners in HEIs were highlighted by this study. Mixed method research (MMR) that tilted toward qualitative study was employed, and a dialogical approach to MMR was adopted. Semi-structured interview schedules were developed and administered to 45 adult learners. Random sampling procedure was used, and descriptive and interpretivist approaches were adopted in presenting the results. Simple descriptive statistics were adopted to help build a case for using the qualitative data which sought participants' voices, meanings, experiences, and understanding of limiting factors to learning in HEIs by DE mode. Poverty, the high cost of education, and poor time management constituted some of the limiting factors to adult learners in HEIs. The article recommends that HEIs adopt flexible terms of fee payment for adult learners and that young adult learners seek jobs and learn to save while learning in HEIs.

This study examined the perspectives of Ghanaian higher education students on the use of ChatGPT. The Students' ChatGPT Experiences Scale (SCES) was developed and validated to evaluate students' perspectives of ChatGPT as a learning tool. A total of 277 students from universities and colleges participated in the study. Through exploratory factor analysis, a three-factor structure of students' perspectives (ChatGPT academic benefits, ChatGPT academic concerns, and accessibility and attitude towards ChatGPT) was identified. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to confirm the identified factors. The majority of students are aware of and recognize the potential of Gen AI tools like ChatGPT in supporting their learning. However, a significant number of students reported using ChatGPT mainly for non-academic purposes, citing concerns such as academic policy violations, excessive reliance on technology, lack of originality in assignments, and potential security risks. Students mainly use ChatGPT for assignments rather than for class or group projects. Students noted that they have not received any training on how to use ChatGPT safely and effectively. The implications for policy and practice are discussed in terms of how well-informed policy guidelines and strategies on the use of Gen AI tools like ChatGPT can support teaching and improve student learning.

This study reports on Part 2 of a co-evaluation process of a mobile education tool (MET) prototype artifact known as CBEMET, at the College of Business Education (CBE) in Tanzania. A preliminary co-evaluation of CBEMET was done only by teachers and students of one campus. In this study, the design science research (DSR) framework combined with the four-cycle model of Information System (IS) DSR is employed. The participants included 40 teachers, 542 students and 8 managerial staff from the four campuses of the CBE alongside 1 official from the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) and 2 officials from the National Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. Focus group discussions were held and questionnaires were administered. Thematic analysis is used for the qualitative data analysis, whereas for the quantitative data analysis reports on means, standard deviation, and correlations. The findings reveal that CBEMET was able to assist with practical problems for both teachers and students and that the participants found the tool useful for innovative teaching and learning. CBEMET was also found to be motivating to use and improved the learning, especially in supporting self-regulated learning (SRL). This work contributes towards empirical applications of the four-cycle DSR.

Breakthroughs in technology-based assessments recorded in the last decades have given impetus to the integration of technology in teaching practice supervision. This paper describes an electronic supervision (e-TP) model developed for the teaching practice component of the science teacher training program by one university in Zimbabwe. It further sought to determine how school Heads, Deputy School Heads, Heads of Departments and school based mentors from 5 purposively sampled Bindura Urban district schools embraced the electronic student teacher supervision and assessment (e-TP) model introduced (as pilot) by one science teacher education university in Zimbabwe. A qualitative case study research methodology was used to provide an understanding of the participants' experiences and acceptance of the e-TP process. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis procedures which helped identify common themes. Results of the study conclude that e-TP has great potential in improving student teacher supervision. It was observed that the university didn't do enough to disseminate and induct the schools on the implementation of the new model which on further exploration was the cause of the attitudes portrayed by the schools towards e-TP. It is recommended that the university should actively partner cooperating schools in the implementation of the innovation and offer training and support to both students and mentors regarding the acquisition and usage of the said technologies.

The perception of students in six (6) Southern Colleges of Education in Ghana on the use of web-based technology software for teaching and learning of biology was studied using 120 students. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the students on the perception they have about the use of web-based technology. The data from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that the use of web-based technology instructional approach during lessons delivery and accessing the internet to search for information during instructional hours provided opportunities for students to access internet information at their own pace. It also came to light that the use of web-based instruction improved students' understanding in biology concepts, stimulated students' interest and thinking, and was not a waste of instructional time. The study revealed that students could use web-based software without any difficulties, the use of web-based instruction was not boring, the use of web-based instructions individualized learning and finally, the use of web-based technology for biology instruction was not time-consuming. Therefore, science tutors especially biology tutors should use web-based technology software for teaching and learning of biology concepts to make learning meaningful to students.

The study focuses on peer and teacher educators' assessments in teacher education and the level of agreement between pre-service teachers' and teacher educators' assessments. The study employed a mixed-method approach using a lesson observation and assessment instrument and interviews to gather data. Seven conveniently sampled pre-service teachers and two teacher educators participated in this study. The findings showed statistically significant differences between pre-service teachers' and teacher educators' scores on ten items, and their scores were not statistically significant on five of the items. The pre-service teachers scored higher marks than the teacher educators. Their reasons for scoring higher marks were to maintain relationships and lack of content and pedagogical knowledge. Pre-service teachers need to know that peer-teaching and assessment are meant for long-lasting learning instead of simply scoring marks.

The General Education Foundation (GEF) Programme, consisting of two seminar courses, namely "In Dialogue with Humanity" and "In Dialogue with Nature," has been a common core requirement of The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2012. Aided by selected classics, students from all faculties engage in dialogues with their teachers and each other to reflect on what it means to have a good life, what an ideal society is, and the nature of intellectual pursuit in the sciences. Reading classics and discussing serious questions in class, however, can be challenging for some students. To help students meet these challenges, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) were introduced in the pilot stage of GEF in 2010 and, with subsequent refinements, continue to this day. The seminar-style and interdisciplinary nature of GEF makes it an atypical case for PASS. This paper will examine and evaluate how PASS can improve student learning in seminar-style courses like GEF with a mixed-method study from a student perspective. According to evidence from online surveys and focus group interviews, PASS successfully (1) improves students' understanding of the course content at a cognitive level; (2) assists and motivates them to prepare better for seminar discussions, effecting a behavioural change; and (3) facilitates affective learning outcomes in terms of confidence and motivation. Major challenges--including students' misperceptions about PASS, differences in leaders' approaches and organisational difficulties--are identified. Proposed solutions to these challenges will also be discussed.

In the study reported on here we investigated the nature of the organisational climates of well-performing, historically disadvantaged secondary schools. These schools were designated for Black learners during the apartheid era in townships and rural areas. Despite their "disadvantagedness", many of these schools have consistently performed well in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) for 3 consecutive years or more. The Organisational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire-Rutgers Elementary (OCDQ-RE) was administered to 1,050 teachers from these schools in the Gauteng Department's Sedibeng and Johannesburg South districts. Results reveal that although these schools are regarded as well-performing, their teachers perceived their organisational climates as closed with principal and teacher behaviours being closed. Teachers experienced very low engagement and above-average frustrated behaviour. An important consideration is that principals seemed to exhibit directive support, which seems to have led to teachers exhibiting features of engaged behaviour. The implication is for principals' capacity-building, which should include features of holistic school organisational behaviour and development. Furthermore, the Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire for Secondary Schools (OCDQ-RS) should be validated for the South African school context.

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of teacher trainees on the use of think-pair-share in teaching and learning of classification of living organisms. The study adopted a quantitative approach. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to report the results of the study. Frequency counts and percentages were used to report the teacher trainees' perceptions about the impact of think-pair-share learning technique in the teaching and learning of classification of living organisms. The study was carried out in Enchi College of Education in the Aowin Municipality in the Western North Region of Ghana. Stratified, simple random, and systematic sampling techniques were used to select 80 respondents for the study. This was made up of 30 level 300, 30 level 200, and 20 level 100 students, respectively. The participants were subjected to think-pair-share learning technique of teaching. The instrument used for the data collection was a questionnaire guide. The findings of the study revealed that, think-pair-share learning technique of teaching motivate and engage, provide immediate feedback, develop social, and physical skills simultaneously, help students to learn with fun and increase students interest and confidence level. It was, therefore, recommended that creative approach such as think-pair-share learning technique should be adopted by science tutors in Colleges of Education for effective teaching and learning.

The dominant mode of instructional delivery in Ghanaian Colleges of Education has been the conventional face-to-face. However, the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year teaching had to be done via an emergency remote online teaching mode due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic. In a cross-sectional survey, the online mathematics learning experienced of 497 students sampled from three Colleges of education in Ghana were explored using the adapted community of inquiry survey instrument. It was observed from the study that students' online mathematics learning experiences were low. Further observation showed that while class cohesion and resolution dimensions were absent, teaching presence, exploration, affective expression, and triggering event dimensions of students' online mathematics learning experiences were present. Additionally, the results showed that the difference in the magnitude of means in gender was partly dependent on the category of internet use before the remote online mathematics teaching was observed in the dimension of lack of class cohesion. Besides, the students were generally indifferent in their learning experiences regarding genders but significantly in terms of their internet use before the remote online mathematics teaching. Based on the results, implications of the state of the college of education (CoE) students' online mathematics learning experiences and suggestions for improvement have been proposed.

This qualitative research study explored motivational teaching techniques used by instructors of distance learning programmes (DLPs) to assist adult learners in achieving learning outcomes that meet their educational goals. The authors investigated how 11 instructors in a DLP at a large university in Ghana, Africa, applied the techniques, as well as the challenges they faced. The instructors were purposively selected for face-to-face individual interviews and classroom observations. Data were analysed using content, constant comparison and thematic approaches. The findings revealed that in their teaching of adults, the instructors used different motivational techniques, described in this research as "patching," "resting," "piecemealing," "shared learning" and "opportunity to try." Although the choice of techniques overlapped among the instructors in the sample, they each applied them differently to help their adult learners to learn effectively. The instructors also encountered challenges (teaching frustrations), such as learner absenteeism, unwillingness to accept change, disrespect and the lack of preparedness. These findings led to the conclusion that indisciplined learner behaviour can cause underperformance. Given that the instructors faced diverse challenges, the authors recommend that open and distance learning (ODL) instructors in Ghana take advantage of professional development opportunities to keep up to date with techniques for managing complex adult learning environments and issues. Internationally, the findings of this study highlight the need for ODL providers around the world to regularly review their services to ensure that the challenges instructors and learners are facing are addressed in a timely manner. This will ensure that ODL remains a viable alternative mode of education, especially during exceptional circumstances like COVID-19 lockdowns.

Here we showcase an undergraduate teaching laboratory in which students synthesize and characterize colloidal nanoparticles of organic semiconductors and assess their suitability for applications in printed electronics such as solar cells and bioelectronics. Scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy are used to characterize the nanoparticles, and students learn how to match electron donating (p-type) and electron accepting (n-type) materials based on the literature material characteristics: HOMO, LUMO, and charge carrier mobility. This teaching laboratory exercise was developed as part of the University of Newcastle Centre for Organic Electronics Spring School program and includes data from a cohort of 44 undergraduate student participants. The teaching laboratory exercise is applicable to undergraduate students in multiple disciplines, including physical chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, and physics, and can be altered to suit time, level of experience, and instrumentation availability. The exercise utilizes a post-practical quiz to provide feedback and assess embedded knowledge. The student cohort responded well to the post-practical quiz, for example, 94% correctly identified the purpose of synthesizing nanoparticles of organic semiconductors for printed electronics applications being eco-friendly high-throughput processing benefits as well as the ability to nanostructure the photoactive layer to optimize exciton dissociation. This Laboratory Experiment also provides a set of Student Learning Objectives (LOs) and a detailed account of observations/outcomes in attaining these LOs for the student cohort at the Spring School program. This experiment is an introductory lesson in colloidal nanomaterials and gives students exposure to the chemistry, physics, and materials science concepts of organic electronics.

Personality types and practices are presumed to play a significant role in the improvement of schools' performance. This paper presents the findings from the analysis of quantitative data drawn from a larger study that examined the relationship between headteachers' personality types, instructional supervision practices, and performance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design to collect data by utilizing a self-developed and Self-Directed Search (SDS) questionnaire that participants answered. A census sampling was conducted with 71 and 37 headteachers from Embu East and West public primary schools, respectively giving 108 participants. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistics. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to determine any relationship between personality types, instructional supervision practices, and schools' performance. The findings of the study revealed a significant statistical relationship between enterprising personality types and schools' academic performance (r =0.125*, p<0.05). Further, the results revealed that there is a positive (r=0.229, P<0.05) relationship between realistic personality type and holding parents-pupils-teachers' conferences while among conventional types, there is a negative (r=-0.223, p<0.05) correlation in giving teachers feedback. The significance of this study is that headteachers' personality types do not influence instructional supervision practices, which is a unique finding indicating that other factors influence instructional supervision practices.

This research study was conducted to identify core practices of enacting effective mathematics pedagogy with GeoGebra, a software application for teaching and learning mathematics. Eleven Ghanaian in-service mathematics teachers were engaged in a twelve-month professional development programme where they developed GeoGebra-based mathematics lessons, which they taught to their peers and subsequently to students in the classroom. The teachers' actions and views about using GeoGebra to enact mathematics lessons were examined with the aim to specify the core practices of effective mathematics pedagogy. Data was collected through interviews, focus group discussions, lesson plans, and lesson observations. The results provided evidence that teachers were able to enact core practices, to different degrees, within five central themes of effective mathematics pedagogy: creating a mathematical setting, providing worthwhile mathematical tasks, orchestrating mathematical discussions, making mathematical connections, and assessing students' learning. Further analysis of the data provided evidence for theorising 31 core practices across these central themes of effective mathematics pedagogy. Following their engagement in the professional development programme, the teachers enacted these practices to greater or lesser extent. However, it was problematic for most teachers to effectively engage their students in a deep mathematical discussion. The findings from this study have implications for high school mathematics curriculum, effective mathematics pedagogy literature, and professional development for technology integration in teaching and learning.

The purpose of this article is to explore the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) assessment under its Institutional Testing Program (ITP) modality as it acts as a curriculum artifact along Mexican undergraduate degree programs considered within the exit criteria. A discourse historical approach (DHA) (Wodak, 2008; Wodak & Meyer, 2009) is taken in analyzing the TOEFL ITP assessment to further understand its implementation. The analysis helps reveal the many linguistic and metalinguistic skills and elements that extend beyond what may be traditionally taught in English courses or programs. The analysis also calls for further questioning of how suitable the TOEFL ITP may be in aiming to assess the proficiency level or development of English learners along undergraduate degrees in Mexico. Alternative types of assessment may better aid in providing a different perspective on the knowledge or progress of these students.

Past studies revealed that the integration of ethnomathematics approaches is of great importance in the teaching and learning of mathematics as it is believed to improve learners' understanding and achievement in mathematics. Cognisant of the benefits of using ethnomathematics approaches in teaching and learning mathematics, the Zimbabwean school syllabus recommends the adoption and integration of ethnomathematics approaches to improve the learners' performance. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to determine the comparative effectiveness of ethnomathematics approaches and the traditional lecture approaches as well as teachers' views on the use of ethnomathematics approaches. The study sample comprised 90 learners and two teachers from one secondary school in Bindura district in Zimbabwe. Two instruments, a test and interviews were used for data collection. The participating teachers taught the concepts of consumer arithmetic for four weeks. Findings of the study showed that learners taught using an ethnomathematics approach achieved significantly higher in the test than those taught consumer arithmetic using the traditional approach. The study revealed that teachers appreciated the use of ethnomathematics approaches in the teaching of consumer arithmetic as their learners were motivated, actively involved and interested in learning the concepts. It was also reported that ethnomathematics approaches improve learners' understanding and retention of arithmetic concepts. The study, therefore, recommended training of the teachers on the use of the ethnomathematics approach in the teaching and learning of consumer arithmetic.

The study was conducted in Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study, which comprised 168 subjects (44 lecturers and 124 students). Two research questions were posed by the researchers to guide the study. The study used questionnaires to elicit information from respondents. Mean and standard deviation were descriptive statistical tools used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study revealed, amongst others, that many universities in Nigeria lacked digital facilities for quality e-teaching and learning and, again, university lecturers and students required core digital skills for effective e-learning. Based on these findings, it was recommended, amongst others, that the Nigerian government, in collaboration with university authorities, should ensure adequate provision of ICT equipment and facilities in universities for quality e-teaching and learning. Furthermore, adequate ICT training programmes should be set up for the training of lecturers and students in digital technology in order to realise effective e-learning in the Nigerian university system.

Whether altered white matter microstructural property of autistic people also exists in non-autistic siblings is uncertain. The microstructures of a neural tract may not be consistent throughout the whole track. We assessed 38 cognitive-able autistic males (aged 15.8 ± 4.4 years), 39 non-autistic siblings (16.5 ± 5.7 years), and 78 age- and sex-matched non-autistic comparison people (14.4 ± 5.3 years) using tract-based automatic analysis of diffusion spectrum imaging and threshold-free cluster-weighted method. First, we identified segments within the right frontal aslant tract, frontostriatal tract, and thalamic radiation to precentral areas in both autistic people and non-autistic siblings that differed from those in non-autistic comparison people. Second, segments within bilateral cingulate gyri and callosal fibers connecting superior temporal lobes differed between autistic people and non-autistic comparison people but not between siblings and non-autistic comparison people. Third, segments within the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and callosal fibers connecting precuneus showed increased generalized fractional anisotropy in non-autistic siblings. Our findings suggest microstructural properties of some potential neural segments that were similar between autistic people and their non-autistic siblings may serve as intermediate phenotypes of autism, facilitating further etiological searching for autism. Meanwhile, increased microstructural properties in unaffected siblings alone might indicate compensatory processes in the light of genetic predisposition for autism.

This study investigated dimensionality of Binary Response Items through a non-parametric technique of Item Response Theory measurement framework. The study used causal comparative research type of nonexperimental design. The sample consisted of 5,076 public senior secondary school examinees (SSS3) between the age of 14-16 years from 45 schools, which were drawn randomly from three senatorial districts of Osun State, Nigeria. Instrument used for this study was 2018 Osun State unified multiple-choice mathematics achievement test items with empirical reliability coefficient of 0.82. Data obtained were analysed using Non-linear factor analysis, Stout's Test of Essential Unidimensionality (STEU), Factor Analysis (FA), Full Information Factor Analysis (FIFA) and Bootstrap Modified Parallel Analysis Test (BMPAT). Results showed that both the BMPAT and STEU ascertained violation of unidimensionality assumption of the test items (the observed difference in the second eigenvalue of the observed data and that of second eigenvalue of the simulated data was statistically significant, p = 0.0099; Stout's test rejected the assumption of essential unidimensionality, T = 10.6260, p<0.05). Non-linear factor analysis and full information factor analysis revealed that four dimensions embedded in the test items and loadings of the items showed within-item multidimensionality respectively. The authors' concluded that modeling examinees' performance with unidimensional model when it was actually multidimensional in nature would affect performance of examinees adversely and could lead to blur judgment. Consequently, it is recommended that unidimensional scoring method of Osun State unified mathematics achievement test implicit in Classical Test Theory should be jettisoned and an appropriate scoring model (multidimensional) should be embraced.