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With more and more literature on international student mobility and migration (ISM), one area of focus has often been overlooked: the impacts of student visas and study permits. Examined through an institutionalist framework highlighting the influences of institutions on individuals and their agency, this study describes how visa and study permit policies pervades international students' lives in a variety of ways. Interview data collected from 40 international students who study in Australia, Canada, and the United States were analyzed to uncover themes from these host countries. Drawing on these interviews to outline the concept of ISM policy pervasion, the findings of this study show that visa policies affect international students in wide ranging ways. In addition to providing empirical evidence for ISM policy pervasion, this article also lays the groundwork for further studies that delve into the practical impacts of student visa and study permit policies around the world.

The main aim of this article is to introduce the steps followed in designing effective teacher-appraisal forms to be completed by the students, and teacher-self-reflection forms to be completed by the teachers. After explaining the steps and the reasons behind taking them, we will report on the findings of the study we have conducted following the same procedures to design the forms. The findings have identified the characteristics of effective EAP lecturers according to the 196 students who participated in the study for EAP lecturers have also provided their input about the characteristics of effective EAP teachers. The collected data suggest the students seem not to differentiate between the competencies required for teaching and learning general English and EAP. The students considered communicative competence the most essential asset of their EAP lecturers. Accurate interpretation of the data emerging from the ratings is another issue addressed in this article. This can guide the teachers to make better decisions.

Children in sub-Saharan African countries face higher exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) compared to their counterparts in other world regions (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2014). When GBV occurs in schools, it severely endangers access to education. Using the third round of data of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) from over 60,000 Grade 6 learners across 14 countries, we examined the relationship between GBV in primary schools and learners' absenteeism. Findings indicate that sexual harassment perpetrated by teachers significantly increases learners' absenteeism. In contrast, effects were less clear when the perpetrator was a fellow learner. Effects found are similar in magnitude for girls and boys. Violence prevention education programmes and stricter punishment for offenders are needed to establish a safer school environment and overcome harassment-related barriers to learning.

This article conceptualises how disruptions to conventional teaching models may lead to innovative practice. We have identified a gap in current knowledge around how innovations in higher education teaching and learning are initiated in times of crises. Disruptive Innovation Theory and Roger's Diffusion of Innovation Theory are used as lenses to understand how academics' epistemic positioning impacts the implementation of educational innovations, and how such innovations fundamentally change practice. We use COVID-19 restrictions as an illustrative example to deconstruct the catalysts for academics' experimentation with new digital tools, new ways to connect with their students, and novel means of facilitating collaborative learning strategies in the online space. This study makes a distinctive and original contribution by revealing three characteristics of disruptive tools, practices, and mindsets in Initial Teacher Education that differ from the typical efficiencies in other markets.

Previous studies have paid considerable attention to the impact on a child's primary education of attending pre-primary school. Researchers have asserted that early educational intervention can compensate for the effects of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. This study analyzes the relationship between pre-primary education and student reading and mathematics achievement in the sixth grade, focusing on disadvantaged children, in countries that participated in the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) III project. The results show that the achievement of children who attended pre-primary education is higher than that of those who did not. The achievement of children who have many home resources for learning is better than that of children who have a few such resources. In almost all countries, disadvantaged children's achievement is increased when they attend pre-primary education. However, the contribution of pre-primary education to ameliorating social inequalities is different in the various contexts of different countries. These findings contribute to the discussion on the importance of early childhood care and education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study is situated within a worldview theory as espoused by socio-cultural constructivists. Science classrooms in secondary schools in Swaziland are culturally largely homogeneous where learners and their teachers have a strong grounding in traditional Swazi culture. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the conceptions held by Grade 11 learners of selected mechanics topics were influenced by the worldview presuppositions prevalent in their socio-cultural environment. The learners were exposed to a socio-culturally-based teaching/learning strategy that integrated selected indigenous knowledge presuppositions into school science. The learners were given a pre-and post-physics achievement test (PAT). At the end of the intervention, a focus group interview was conducted with some of the learners. Data on selected PAT questions were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The learners' responses to the focus group interview and the PAT's open-ended questions were analysed at a later stage using the Ogunniyi's Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT). The findings of the study show that the learners' post-conceptions on selected mechanics topics were influenced by their local worldview presuppositions and could be analysed according to the CAT worldview categories.

The learning gap between urban and rural areas is a persistent problem in many sub-Saharan African countries. Previous studies have found that the urban-rural learning gap is attributed to the fact that student characteristics and school resources are different in urban and rural areas. Our study updates this finding by using the latest dataset and further examines the changes in the attributed sources over time. Using 15 educational systems in sub-Saharan Africa, we examined 4 potential sources of the gap: student, family, teacher, and school characteristics. Our results reveal that the urban-rural learning gap in recent years is attributed mostly to differences in school and family characteristics. We also found that the attribution remains the same over time from 2004 to 2011 and that the attribution to family characteristics' differences became slightly greater than the one to school characteristics' differences.

The current trend in science learning leans more towards interdisciplinary (integrated) learning. Before 1989, several studies reviewed articles related to integrated science. However, research discussing articles on integrated science from 1996 until the present day is not yet available. The purpose of this study was to review 36 empirical research articles on integrated science published from 1996 to 2019. Most of these articles were taken from Scopus-indexed journals. The research approach used was a qualitative research design. The results of this study show that integrated science has been implemented in various countries. Nonetheless, the implementation of integrated science did not prove out as successful as expected. Students' perception of integrated science is difficult, boring, uninteresting, and abstract. There are several issues in the implementation of integrated science learning: the inconsistency of teachers' educational backgrounds with integrated science, as well as underdeveloped textbooks and curriculum. Implementation of integrated science learning is effective for improving student skills.

Teachers' accurate understanding of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST) is crucial for the proper enactment of this pedagogical approach. In this research, a qualitative case study design was used to explore and interpret pre-service teachers' understanding of IBST at the conclusion of their three-year primary diploma at a university in Swaziland. Data were collected using a semi-structured teaching scenario-based questionnaire in conjunction with individual semi-structured interviews. Thirty-four participants completed the questionnaire and eight of them were subsequently interviewed. The data were analyzed using a conceptual framework of IBST that outlines two dimensions of IBST; namely the cognitive and guidance dimensions. The results show that in the cognitive dimension, participants focused mainly on the procedural domain. With regard to the guidance dimension, they associated the pedagogical approach more with teacher-directed than learner-directed learning activities. This paper recommends that in training pre-service primary school teachers, teacher educators must broaden their focus from procedural aspects of IBST to include all its aspects; thereby developing their pre-service teachers' holistic and deep experiences of IBST.

This meta-synthesis aims to address themes and codes of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) studies in science education. The PCK studies in science education were synthesized and systematically analyzed. A total of 12 studies were examined via the criteria. Three main themes were identified: the development and engagement of the PCK, the relationships between PCK components, and other relationships (belief, attitude, perception etc). The synthesis elicited two dimensions, namely the background and development of the PCK. Also, the results revealed that teachers demonstrated different developmental levels of the PCK and their PCK levels gradually progressed. In addition, it was found that each component of the PCK evolved in different forms. The meta-synthesis emerged two recommended categories of further research on the PCK and its relationships.

Background: This article draws on social constructionism to explore vulnerable boys' constructions of gender within three primary schools in Swaziland. Objectives: It seeks to understand the ways in which vulnerable boys make meaning of masculinities and the implications of these on their social and academic well-being in schools. Method: The study adopted a qualitative narrative inquiry methodology, utilising individual and focus group semi-structured interviews and a participatory photovoice technique as its methods of data generation. The participants comprised 15 purposively selected vulnerable boys -- orphaned boys, those from child-headed households and from poor socio-economic backgrounds, aged between 11 and 16 years. Results: The findings denote that vulnerable boys constructed their masculinities through heterosexuality where the normative discourse was that they provide for girls in heterosexual relationships. The vulnerable boys' socio-economic status rendered them unable to fulfil these obligations. Failure to fulfil the provider role predisposed vulnerable boys to ridicule and humiliation. However, some vulnerable boys adopted caring attitudes as they constructed alternative masculinities. Conclusion: The study recommends the need to affirm and promote alternative masculinities as a strategy for enhancing gender-inclusive and equitable schooling experiences for vulnerable boys.

The study was undertaken to elicit the perception of the High School students of Sifundzani, Swaziland, regarding the prevailing system of teaching methods, to evaluate the extent to which they are benefited by these and to obtain the views and suggestions of students about various aspects of the current Science Education. 115 students were selected from grade 10, grade 11 and grade 12 in the second term of the year 2018 for this study. A set of questionnaires were administered and directed to choose the appropriate option as per the likert scale. The response were collected and analyzed. 43.96% of the total respondents agreed that the presentation of the topics during normal lectures were interesting. Surprisingly 76 % students stated that lecture method is the most effective method of teaching followed by tutorials, 59 % and group discussion, 56%. Reasons given for lecture being one of the best methods was that the teacher provides all knowledge related to topic, time saving, students attentively listen lecture and take notes. The group discussion was rated as the second best method of teaching because of; more participation of students, the learning is more effective, the students don't have to rely on rote learning, and this method develops creativity among students. Sifundzani students stated that 67.07% of the teachers have good communication skill and 62.96% of them found that the teachers are easily approachable, 82.83% of the participants agreed that white board teaching as the better mode of teaching, and in the opinion of 55.87% students, audio visual aids is the useful mode of teaching presentation for auditory and visual learners, 56.10% of the participants agreed that the number of practical classes should be more than the theory classes. Students' perception and ratings about the interesting and effective teaching methods is a way to suggest improvements in teaching/ learning process. One interesting finding was that none of the Method can be 100% effective because sometimes they just don't want to learn. Few interesting results regarding misbehaviour during class learning time was also revealed.

Incidences of school bullying appear to be on the rise in most schools across the globe, and schools in Swaziland are no exception. Sadly, adolescent girls appear to be most susceptible to being bullied. This study considers how some of the traits of young girls tend to expose them to incidences of bullying. The approach was qualitative and employed the multiple case study research design in which data was obtained through focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 24 girls from three schools, by purposive sampling. Content analysis was employed to analyse data from the FGD. Results show the relevance of Routine Activities Theoretical framework in explaining the incidences of bullying among adolescent girls. Low self-esteem and the feeling of loneliness appeared as two major characteristics making girls more susceptible to incidences of bullying. Data interpretation suggests that loneliness tends to expose the girls as suitable targets. Schooling presents a lonely and unprotected experience for girls, where likely offenders take advantage of their isolation. The authors argue that the schooling experiences of adolescent girls require urgent intervention, in which curriculum experts ought to consider bullying lessons for both girls and boys.

This study investigated the experiences and coping strategies of adolescent girl learners from child-headed families in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland. Forty (40) girls whose ages ranged from 13-18 years were participants in the study and were selected through purposive sampling in five selected rural schools. Data were collected on the experiences and coping strategies of adolescent girl learners through focus group discussions and individual interviews. The data were thematically analysed. The findings suggest that these girls experience lack of food security, poverty and strained extended family relations. The girls have also shown resilience despite their adversities which they indicated have been achieved through family unity, prayer and church support as coping strategies.

Sub-Saharan African countries have made remarkable strides in closing the gender gap in primary enrolment and more girls than ever are attending school. With the existing gender differentials in youth literacy rates, an important question is whether they are learning as well as their male classmates. This article explored factors that contribute to gender gaps in reading for sixth-grade pupils from 61 396 pupils from 15 countries in the third evaluation of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ III). Within-class sex differences in test score performance are estimated using ordinary least squares regression models. This is done by analysing the factors associated with female learning that inhibit school attendance and class participation. The results show a female disadvantage in reading in a little under half of the countries studied, which differs from the consistently observed female reading advantage in other parts of the world. Factors that prevent girls from fully attending and participating in school such as domestic responsibilities and hostile school environments explain part of the female disadvantage in reading, indicating that households and schools need to ensure that girls can attend and participate fully in their classes without distractions or fear.

In sub-Saharan Africa over 52 million children are living with the death of one or both parents. Drivers of this parental mortality include afflictions at levels endemic to the region, including: HIV; malaria and other parasites; lower respiratory infections; diarrhoeal illnesses; and road accidents, among others. This paper examines the impact of orphanhood on learning outcomes among girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa, conditional on school enrolment. By analysing test scores for approximately 60,000 pupils in 12 countries, we estimate the effect on student test scores by comparing paternal, maternal, and double orphans to non-orphans in the sample, specifically for the subjects of reading, mathematics, and HIV-AIDS knowledge. No previous study has analysed how orphanhood might influence learning by using student test score data, making this paper's approach unique in the literature. This study employs two estimation techniques: Coarsened exact matching calculates the sample average treatment effect on the treated, while matching on students' family structure, household wealth, school resources, and geographic location; and double lasso (DL) regression applies applying machine-learning for variable selection with high-dimensional controls for regional and school identifiers, school location, and student age. Our results show both CEM and DL consistently report a significant negative impact of orphanhood on test scores among specific countries, especially those which faltered in addressing the HIV-AIDS crisis.

This study reports evidence of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) that surfaced from English compositions of SiSwati learners of English in Swaziland, where English is a second language. Although CLI has been studied widely in other languages, it has not been studied in SiSwati and English, and its implications for instruction are not known. Specifically, this study examined cases of negative transfer from the former to the latter, by identifying the cognitive influence participants' knowledge of their first language (L1) exerted on the structural acquisition of their second language (L2); how the knowledge and command of their L1 thwarts the process of learning L2, and the overall implications of this phenomenon on teaching practices. A total of sixty (60) narrative compositions from thirty (30) participants were collected, transcribed, and analyzed using contrastive rhetoric and categorical aggregation methods to establish consistency of the structural patterns in L2 learners' performance. In order to construct a psycholinguistic path that learners of English in Swaziland traverse during the acquisition of an L2, a weak version of contrastive analysis (CA) was used. The results revealed errors in the use of verbs and subject-verb agreement (SVO); however, a lot of errors were a function of lexical and structural transfer. Overall, this study is useful in improving language instruction in Swaziland and other similar ESL contexts.

This research makes use of hierarchical linear modelling to investigate which teacher characteristics are significantly associated with student performance. Using data from the SACMEQ III study of 2007, an interesting and potentially important finding is that younger teachers are better able to improve the mean mathematics performance of their students. Furthermore, younger teachers themselves perform better on subject tests than do their older counterparts. Identical models are run for sub-Saharan countries bordering on South Africa and for Kenya, and the strong relationship between teacher age and student performance is not observed. Similarly, the model is run for South Africa using data from SACMEQ II (conducted in 2002), and the relationship between teacher age and student performance is also not observed. It must be noted that South African teachers were not tested in SACMEQ II, hence it was not possible to observe differences in subject knowledge amongst teachers in different cohorts and it was also not possible to control for teachers' level of subject knowledge when observing the relationship between teacher age and student performance. Changes in teacher education in the late 1990s and early 2000s may explain the difference observed in the later data set in the performance of younger teachers relative to their older counterparts.

In this paper, we reflect on our experiences teaching and working with mathematics teachers in Canada, Ghana, India and Swaziland to explore challenges and opportunities for creating mathematics tasks for peace and sustainability. Our exploration of these experiences is oriented around our interest in embedding peace and sustainability into mathematics education following the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the United Nations. We claim that attention to local contexts affords mathematics educators a medium for engaging in authentic, meaningful and context-driven mathematics tasks that address issues of local environmental, cultural and societal concerns. However, we argue that globalisation has already colonised local communities. The associated "technoscientificity", along with the conservative nature of textbooks, time constraints and the dominant force of poverty remain hindrances in creating mathematics tasks that are issue centric and socially relevant to address concerns of the local community. We end this paper by suggesting a development of a mathematics task to illustrate the possibility of creating what we call a "situated mathematics task" for students that respond to issues of local community using rural Ghana as a context.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics that make teenage girls vulnerable to bullying in high schools in the Manzini region of Swaziland. It determined how personality traits of victims of different parenting styles contribute to adolescent girls being bullied. The findings of the study revealed that bullying is very rife in schools and that teenage girls experience various types of bullying from their peers. The study concluded that as a result of bullying, the victims experienced a significant drop in school performance. Most of the victims were brought up by authoritative parents and they know how to fend off bullies and are able to respond assertively during confrontations of any kind. The study recommended that school children need to be conscientised about the possibilities of bullies in their midst. There is also need for parents to open up to their children and ensure them that matters reported to them would be handled with care.

This study employed the survey design on a purposive sample of 100 English Second Language (ESL) teachers from Swaziland and South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, to investigate the extent to which they accessed, utilised and conducted research to better their practice. A survey questionnaire and follow-up structured interviews generated quantitative and qualitative data. Findings pointed to grossly restricted physical and intellectual access to research findings and correspondingly low engagement with, and in research, by teachers. Respondents attributed this to inaccessible and inapplicable research, the nature of the school system, which is characterised by conservative examinations and leadership, time and material resource constraints, as well as inadequate teacher preparation and support. Recommendations for improving teacher knowledge, school support system, as well as accessibility and relevance of research are proffered to provide incentives for teachers' study, actualisation and generation of research findings to inform classroom practice.

Raising a child with disability is a challenge to most parents. The study explored the lived experiences of parents of children with disabilities in Swaziland. The specific objective was to determine the challenges which parents of children with disability encounter at home, school and community, which may hinder them to work collaboratively with educators for the betterment of the children. A phenomenological design was adopted. Participants were parents (female = 16; Males = 4) who were purposively sampled from a rural setting (Maphalaleni area) whose children attended in 20 primary schools in the same area. Data were collected using semi structured interview guides and were thematically analyzed. The findings revealed that the parents encounter challenges at work, at home, school and in the community such as emotional stress, failure to cope with the children's disability and financial challenges. The study also indicated that the parents were not sure of what was expected of them in making educational decisions on behalf of their children. It also reported that parents of children with disabilities were not trained on how to cope with their children's disability and how to work with educators. The findings suggest the need for the development of training programmes which will empower parents with knowledge to better partner with educators for the benefit of the child. To address these challenges, government will need to put in place policies which will look at the needs of parents of the children with disabilities.

Globalization continuously shapes our world and influences post-secondary education. This study explored the cultural adaptation process of participants during a short-term study abroad program. Participants experienced stages which included initial feelings, cultural uncertainty, cultural barriers, cultural negativity, academic and career growth, feelings throughout the program, and cultural growth. The findings from this study should be used to design and implement short-term study abroad programs that infuse cultural learning with academic learning and focus on experiential learning practices.

Crossing the Bridge to Swaziland presents the story of five pre-service teachers and their faculty mentors who traveled to St. Philip's Mission, Swaziland in January 2014. There they worked collaboratively with Swazi teachers and staff running a week long camp with a business basics and motivational theme, for teenaged orphans and vulnerable children. The cultural immersion and teaching experience in Swaziland had a profound effect on students' confidence and competence working with English Language Learners, their faith in the power of cross-cultural relationships and their conviction that they can make a difference in the lives of their students.

One way to provide high quality instruction for underserved English Language Learners around the world is to combine Task-Based English Language Learning with Computer- Assisted Instruction. As part of an ongoing project, "Bridges to Swaziland," these approaches have been implemented in a determined effort to improve the ESL program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children at a mission school in Swaziland, Southern Africa. In addition to providing staff development for Swazi teachers and staff, the project director and her students have worked directly with OVC and also created a number of digital tools, designed to encourage discussion, facilitate cooperative learning and inspire English Language use in a meaningful and culturally relevant context. Results, while limited, indicate that application of the two approaches, TBLL and CALL has increased the confidence of teachers and improved student motivation and achievement.

Stigma and discrimination affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people compromise health and human rights and exacerbate the HIV epidemic. Scant research has explored effective LGBT stigma reduction strategies in low- and middle-income countries. We developed and pilot-tested a participatory theatre intervention (PTI) to reduce LGBT stigma in Swaziland and Lesotho, countries with the world's highest HIV prevalence. We collected preliminary data from in-depth interviews with LGBT people in Lesotho and Swaziland to enhance understanding of LGBT stigma. Local LGBT and theatre groups worked with these data to create a 2-hour PTI composed of three skits on LGBT stigma in health care, family, and community settings in Swaziland (Manzini) and Lesotho (Maseru, Mapoteng). Participants (n = 106; nursing students, health care providers, educators, community members) completed 12 focus groups following the PTI. We conducted thematic analysis to understand reactions to the PTI. Focus groups revealed the PTI increased understanding of LGBT persons and issues, increased empathy, and fostered self-reflection of personal biases. Increased understanding included enhanced awareness of the negative impacts of LGBT stigma, and of LGBT people's lived experiences and issues. Participants discussed changes in attitude and perspective through self-reflection and learning. The format of the theatre performance was described as conducive to learning and preferred over more conventional educational methods. Findings indicate changed attitudes and awareness toward LGBT persons and issues following a PTI in Swaziland and Lesotho. Stigma reduction interventions may help mitigate barriers to HIV prevention, treatment, and care in these settings with a high burden of HIV.

The importance of quality education provision for all is a globally acknowledged principle for the creation of sustainable learning environments at primary and secondary levels. This article reports on a study that aimed to increase understanding of the context of how gender and sexuality diversity is responded to in schools in Southern Africa. In this regard, the researchers drew on a recent five country study focusing on what the literature says about gender and sexuality diversity and schooling in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. Drawing on a review of reports and publications by relevant ministries, policy documents, published research, relevant statistical data, as well as the grey literature from civil society organisations, the findings indicated significant barriers to access for learners who embody non-normative gender or sexualities. The policies and schooling cultures in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland foreground discourses that marginalize, silence and invisibilise gender and sexual minorities. The researchers argue that if educational institutions in the region are to include all learners, there must be real engagement with the ongoing realities of heterosexist exclusion and marginalisation. The findings pointed to the need for teacher education to step up efforts to prepare teachers in the region to comfortably and professionally engage with and teach about issues of gender and sexuality diversity in the classroom.

In Africa, advancements in education will be more likely if barriers that limit participation by small grassroots organizations can be brought down. Increased participation and diverse inclusion in conversations about early childhood development will enhance the understanding of quality early childhood programs and what can be done to promote quality in various contexts.

This study employed the descriptive-correlation research design to determine whether secondary school teachers experience work-related stress. Participants included 239 teachers selected from schools in the Hhohho region of Swaziland. A questionnaire was used as the instrument to determine the level of work-related stress experienced by these teachers. Findings showed that teachers were moderately stressed by their work. Contractual problems and the nature of their work were two aspects that were reported to be the main stressors for the sample, while the work environment and work relationships were only mildly stressful. There was a weak relationship between the level of work-related stress and the demographic variables of gender, marital status, and qualifications. Age had a moderate significant relationship with the level of work-related stress for the sample. The study recommends that stress management programmes for teachers are imperative to deal with the consequences of stress.

In this research study, relationships between attitudes to reading, reading ability, vocabulary and academic performance were investigated. The data were gathered and triangulated from an attitude questionnaire, an author and magazine recognition test, as well as from reading comprehension and academic test performance of 84 first- and third-year students studying for a Primary Teacher's Diploma at a College in Manzini, Swaziland. The results suggest that whilst there is no relationship between reading attitudes and reading ability, there is some relationship between reading ability and academic performance. The statistical analyses further indicate a relationship between reading and vocabulary ability of the participants. The findings have grave implications regarding attitudes to reading, reading ability and academic performance for a professional cadre that is expected to be influential in the academic lives of impressionable primary school children in an English as Second Language (ESL) context.

This paper reports activities (as part of a university course in language teacher education on teaching reading) in which primary school student teachers (all ESL in-service teacher trainees) explored their own skills of determining textbook readability using an online software tool and a cloze test completed by two hundred and seventy-eight Grade Seven primary school pupils. Findings from the online tool were that the text was difficult. The cloze test confirmed this when it showed that only eighteen pupils could read the text unassisted while the rest were frustrated by it. The paper uses these findings to describe the challenges pupils face and how readability research is beneficial to the reading development of ESL learners if reading of academic texts is approached from the principles of the interactive view of reading; of cognitive learning theory; and of second language acquisition theory. It is concluded that teachers' awareness of readability issues is helpful for effective reading instruction during the critical formative years of school.

The present study was carried out in the framework of earlier research on environmental education for sustainability, using data collected in the ROSE Project. Attention was focused mainly on students' responses to sections and items related to environmental issues, regarding their countries' degree of development. The research questions dealt with: (a) students' visions for the future of the environment, (b) students' personal engagement in the environmental protection issue, (c) students' interest in learning about environmental challenges, (d) students' interest in a future job as linked to environmental protection, and their relation to their countries' degree of development. The findings showed that students in medium and low developed countries are more: (1) concerned and optimistic about environmental problems; (2) personally and collectively involved in environmental issues; (3) interested in learning environmental topics; and (4) interested in seeing their future jobs dealing with environmental protection. The conclusion is that it is important to develop environmental science education programs based on each country's own cultural, educational, and economic context. These is compatible with a "place-based pedagogy" that promotes a narrative of local and regional politics adjusted to the particularities of where people actually live and linked to global development trends that impact local places. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 3 endnotes.)

This study reports on the extent to which colleges of education in Swaziland prepare student teachers to be gender-sensitive in their practice as teachers. Gendering in contemporary teacher education, both primary and secondary was approached from the curricular and agency perspectives. Gender-related differences in the first teacher education curriculum were highly visible. These have persisted and are still visible in the current curricular structures though the wording may have changed over time. Other major findings included factors perceived by lecturers and teacher education management as necessary for implementation of a gender-sensitive curriculum in teacher education colleges, and these include the need for gender-related initiatives to address gender issues and the need to address gender hierarchies.

A 'Sustainability Commons' is a place to try out sustainable living (Taylor & Westerman, 2013). It is also a place that anyone can visit and experiment with low-carbon technologies, which are usually very simple and inexpensive, and are being used locally for the benefit of the community and the environment. This article reflects on the development of five Sustainability Commons that are being developed in Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana. Each of these Sustainability Commons is unique and reflects the local priorities and social contexts of the institution in which they are being developed. Such approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) are also supported by a range of innovations which are also described further on in this article.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cannabis and amphetamine use and associated factors among adolescents in nine African countries. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 25,372 adolescents (mean age 14.3 years, SD = 1.6) from nine African countries that participated in the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in 2009-2013. Information was collected with a self-administered structured questionnaire. Overall, past-month cannabis use was 4.1% and lifetime amphetamine use was 5.1% among students. In multivariable unconditional regression analysis older age, personal attributes (suicidal ideation, current smoking, school truancy, and having had two or more sexual partners), smoking status of the father and/or mother, and environmental stressors (having experienced hunger, been bullied, having been in a physical fight and having been attacked) were associated with both past-month cannabis and lifetime amphetamine use. Measures to prevent and control cannabis and amphetamine use should include personal attributes (suicidal ideation, school truancy, and HIV sexual risk behavior) and environmental stressors (food insecurity and violence).

This paper investigates the teaching strategies used by secondary school science teachers in Swazi schools that perform well in national examinations. The performance of learners in science in these examinations is generally low, as indicated by the public examination results published by the Examinations Council of Swaziland. However, a few schools have persistently performed very well over the years. This study sets out to identify the perceptions of teachers in high-performing schools on effective teaching strategies in science and to determine the teachers' actual classroom practices. The study is framed by the classification of effective science teaching strategies developed by Schroeder and colleagues, and by the effective curriculum implementation theory by Rogan and Grayson. The sample comprised all teachers in the 12 schools that performed well during the years 2011-2014 in Junior Secondary School Science, and Senior Secondary School Science Biology and Physical Science. Data were collected through a questionnaire (n = 77) and classroom observations (n = 25). The frequencies with which teachers identified and implemented specific strategies were determined. The results showed that science teachers in high-performing schools were clearly knowledgeable about effective teaching strategies as reported in the literature. However, many of the identified strategies were minimally implemented by the teachers and in most cases, implementation was at a low level of cognitive demand, yet high-performing schools should exemplify the best practices for other schools to emulate. It is suggested that teachers be continually oriented for implementing the demands of any existing curriculum.

Swaziland is planning to introduce inclusive education as part of education for all. The innovation may benefit learners with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD). A purposive teacher sample (N = 47) was used to generate and identify behavioural problems that are prevalent in Swazi schools. Aggression was one of the many conduct disorders cited. Using a purposive sample of 300 students, the study found aggression to be indeed a problem among upper primary and junior high school students. The type of school attended was found to be correlated with aggression. Students with moderate to severe aggressive behaviours were found on all categories of learners used in the study. However a significant difference in the number of aggressive students was obtained on only two variables, the type of school students attended and the kind of guardians students lived with at home. There were more students with aggressive tendencies in government schools than other types of schools. Furthermore, aggressive students lived mainly with both biological parents. Teachers rely mainly on punishment to deal with aggressive students. The findings have implications for the ongoing educational reforms concerning inclusive education in Swaziland. Three major recommendations were made to address them. Teacher skills in handling aggressive cases need to be enhanced by both preservice and inservice courses. School counselors need to be appointed to provide suitable psychological intervention. Finally, a more detailed investigation using qualitative procedures was recommended to gain in-depth insights into the problem and its solutions. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study examined (1) the profile of the distance and on-campus learners, (2) the academic performance of distance and on-campus learners, (3) the advantages and disadvantages of learning through distance education and on-campus education, and (4) how the disadvantages of learning through distance education could be reduced. The study found that the majority of distance and on-campus learners were female, single, and unemployed. Most off-campus learners were more than 20 years old, whilst on-campus learners were less than 20 years old. Off-campus learners tended to perform better than on-campus learners. Advantages of distance learning included application of acquired knowledge and skills if working; earning income if working; and studying at own pace, time and place. Disadvantages of studying off-campus included use of all Saturdays for face-to-face tutorials; inability to use library facilities on Saturdays due to tight schedule; some modules were not available on time for learners to use resulting in issue of photocopied handouts and notes by tutors and lecturers; and photocopied handouts were not serving a useful purpose since they were not appropriate for distance learning. Subsequently, off-campus learners suggested that the library should close late on Saturdays; lecturers and tutors should be available in their offices for consultations on Saturdays and during the week; lecturers should pin consultation schedules on their office doors; and lecturers and tutors who absent themselves should be reprimanded and/or requested to repay off-campus learners for the costs incurred travelling to regional learning centres. (Contains 3 tables.)

Drawing from the concepts of social constructionism, the article provides insights on how six purposively sampled Grade 6 vulnerable children, aged between 11-15, from poverty-stricken families, child-headed households and those allegedly orphaned by AIDS, resiliently navigated their schooling spaces and places in one rural, primary school in Swaziland. The article uses qualitative data from semi-structured individual and focus group interviews and a participatory research method, photovoice, to foreground narrative accounts of the vulnerable children's creative coping mechanisms aimed at overcoming the unfavourable circumstances of their schooling experiences. Despite facing some home- and school-based challenges, the vulnerable children were found to display deep-rooted resilience, with or without social support and aspiration for educational attainment, seen as a viable alternative for a better future. Creative coping mechanisms that vulnerable children adopted included calculated rebellion against abusive teachers and consignment to solitude or isolation when feeling overwhelmed by unpleasant experiences. It is recommended that support strategies should involve affirming vulnerable children's voice and resilience, drawing on how these children already creatively navigate their challenges.