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The widespread prevalence of COVID-19 pandemic has affected academia and parents alike. Due to the sudden closure of schools, students are missing social interaction which is vital for better learning and grooming while most schools have started online classes. This has become a tough routine for the parents working online at home since they have to ensure their children's education. The study presented was designed to explore the experiences of home learning in times of COVID-19. A descriptive qualitative study was planned to explore the experiences of parents about home learning and management during COVID-19 to get an insight into real-life experiences. Purposive sampling technique was used for data collection. Data were collected from 19 parents falling in the inclusion criteria. Considering the lockdown problem, the data were collected via Google docs form with open-ended questions related to COVID-19 and home learning. Three major themes emerged after the data analysis: impact of COVID on children learning; support given by schools; and strategies used by caregivers at home to support learning. It was analyzed that the entire nation and academicians around the world have come forward to support learning at home offering a wide range of free online avenues to support parents to facilitate home-learning. Furthermore, parents too have adapted quickly to address the learning gap that have emerged in their children's learning in these challenging times. Measures should be adopted to provide essential learning skills to children at home. Centralized data dashboards and educational technology may be used to keep the students, parents and schools updated.

Teachers in the recent fast transforming technological era are required to regularly upgrade their knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet the needs of the 21st century learners & learning. This study explores the engagement of the school leaders in continuous professional development (CPD) by using a case study method. An elite school was selected as a sample case considering its recognition of CPD models and its constructive implications on learning. Two school leaders consisting of school headmistress and CPD convenor were selected using a purposive sampling method. The data were collected using an in-depth interview strategy and having a semi structured interview guide that could allow subjective detailed questioning and responses. Also, researchers own observations of CPD programmes provided relevant data for the study. The data analysis revealed that school leaders pursue CPD in a very systemic and process-oriented manner. The process starts from exploring individual teachers' needs to providing them with avenues to upgrade their teaching with timely support and monitoring. This study synthesizes the findings and present essential characteristics of effective professional development. Strategies for policy makers, school leadership, school administrators and teachers to engage in continuous, relevant and contextualized professional development endeavours are discussed.

Schools label themselves to be English medium considering that by implementing textbooks in English language and adopting English as a medium of instruction is sufficient to be English. In this regard, there is a need for a checklist or self-assessment tool to enable the schools to evaluate themselves to see their positioning as an English medium school as well as understanding their role in it. This study aimed to develop a scale to enable the English language teaching practitioners to explore if the non-elite schools successfully fulfilled this claim. The scale construction methodology was used to carry out this investigation. The sample comprised of 134 participants including school principals, coordinators and teachers randomly selected using convenient sampling methods. A reliability analysis was carried out to establish the authenticity and applicability of the tool. A satisfactory score of test-retest reliability revealed the scale as a good fit to evaluate school support for English language learning; therefore, the scale can be stated as acceptable based on its psychometric properties.

This research aimed to explore if self-regulation skills had any effect on the academic outcomes of young children in private schools of Karachi, Pakistan. Quantitative research method was used to determine the impact of self-regulation upon the academic outcome of young children by utilizing Early School Self-Regulation Scale-Care Giver Version (Bhamani, 2012). The sample size consisted of randomly chosen 210 children, studying in grades 1 and 2 from seven different private schools in Karachi. The results of the research show that self-regulation skills had a significant impact on the academic outcome of young children in private schools of Karachi, b = -6.3, t(198) = 0.693, p < 0.01. Self-regulation skills also explained a significant proportion of variance in students' grades, R[superscript 2] = 0.397, F(1, 198) = 130.536, p < 0.01.

The aim of the research was to study the phenomenon surrounding the perspective of university students preferring grades to knowledge and skills. Three currently enrolled participants were selected from different private universities of Karachi. Participants' interviews were examined through thematic analysis. The findings suggested that students give preference to grades and knowledge, more job oriented focus of the study and made recommendations for institutions and academicians for further probing of the issue in hand.

The aim of this study was to explore the conduct problems faced by school going children in the rural areas of Pakistan. Two hypotheses were formulated to explore the significant differences between the intervention and non-intervention groups and gender on the variables of conduct and internalization. The data of a total 386 young children were collected from three different regions, who were enrolled in government pre-primary classes. The children under study comprised two kinds of schools: intervention schools that had early childhood interventions, and non-intervention schools. The data analysis revealed no significant difference between children in intervention and non-intervention schools. However, there was a gender difference found in the variables of conduct and internalization. The conclusion of the study was framed to provide implications of the study for professionals.

This research aimed to improve written expression (composition) skills of 5th grade students of an elite private school. The research was designed under the paradigm of action research. A total sample of 39 students' from the same grade was chosen for the study. The baseline assessment was carried out to explore the pre-intervention writing skill score of the students prior to the intervention cycle one. Later, intervention and writing skill support strategies were carried out for eight weeks. In the end, post-test was carried out to explore the differences occurred in the writing score of the students as a post intervention effect. The findings obtained from the quantitative data showed the improvement in the written expression skills of the students. It was observed that through taking the above mentioned measures, the teachers can help students improve their writing skills.

Early childhood is a critical period for developmental milestones, yet in regions like Pakistan, limited access to quality daycare due to socio-economic constraints poses significant challenges. This study explores the impact of daycare quality on child development, focusing on the structural, systemic, and cultural factors that influence childcare in a low-income Pakistani context. This cross-sectional study involved 56 participants recruited from a tertiary care hospital early childhood parenting education club. Data were collected through online structured questionnaires assessing parental perceptions of daycare quality based on several criteria including proximity, safety, curriculum, and staff qualifications. Results highlight a significant discrepancy between parental expectations and the actual qualities of daycare services available. Key preferences of parents when choosing daycare services demonstrated a strong demand for proximity, safety, enriched curricular offerings, and qualified staff. Participants prioritized daycare proximity (73.2% very important) and transport convenience (71.4%). A vast majority valued a clean, safe environment (96.4%) and preferred balanced curricula with enrichment programs (96.4%). Qualifications of staff (92.8%) and outdoor play areas (87.5%) were also regarded as highly important. The study underscores the urgent need for regulatory frameworks that standardize daycare services to improve child developmental outcomes. Implementing national guidelines and enhancing caregiver training are recommended to elevate childcare quality, thus fostering better developmental environments for children in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to learn about the climate change perspectives of parents. Convenience sampling was employed to collect the data from individuals who were attending the climate change and parenting seminar online. This survey was sent as a pre survey questionnaire and the data of the parents who consented were used. There was no significant difference found with respect to gender, age or qualification in the climate belief, whereas significant difference was found in intention with respect to gender, qualification, and socioeconomic status. Furthermore, the findings stipulated the mean of beliefs (µ =1.72 and SD= 0.92) and the average mean of (µ =3.36 and SD= 0.86) in the intentions of people regarding climate change related attitude. Whereas the participants intention towards not investing time in solving the environmental issue shows strong agreement (µ=4.22.). The findings of the study share the insights of providing training to the parents of young children, so that they can have better understanding of the climate responsiveness and can take relevant strategic actions to foster climate safety for their future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the cause of stillbirth after application of relevant condition at death (ReCoDe) classification system. Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study of 207 women diagnosed with stillbirth after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi between 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2019. The primary objective was to find the cause of stillbirth according to the new classification of relevant condition at death (ReCoDe). Results: There were a total of 32413 live births and 207 stillbirths during the study period thus stillbirth rate of 6 per 1000 live births. In this study, 80% of women were in the age group of 20-35 years, 16% had advanced maternal age while 3.8% of women accounted for less than 20 years. Among the maternal factors; 54.5% cases were booked and the remaining were were un-booked cases. Pre-eclampsia was the most common associated maternal condition (14.9%). Fetal cause accounted for 34.7% of stillbirths and the fetal growth restriction (FGR) was the most common; 23.6%. After application of ReCoDe classification, in 81% of stillbirth cases associated condition were found and only 18.8% of cases were categorized unexplained. Conclusion: Application of ReCoDe classification is easy to understand and applicable, especially in low resource settings with associated causes identified in vast majority of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to examine current trends towards shared stories in urban Pakistan. It explored the experiences of the parent's attitude towards reading and children's interest in reading. It also looked at the association between parents' qualifications on child reading and shared reading experiences at home. A cross-sectional survey study design was employed for this study with universal sampling employed to seek data from the parents during August and September 2021. This study found that children benefits greatly when parents share stories with their children. It also found that generally parents who buy and read books themselves supported children to become readers. The findings of this study provide insights into building awareness programs for the parents to provide them with hand on skills to initiate, sustain and promote story reading at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]