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Librarians’ competencies for implementing embedded librarianship in university libraries
Depicting science teachers' concerns regarding the Tanzanian inquiry-based science curriculum
Indoor Pool Game and Substance Abuse as Trajectories to Students' Academic Procrastination: The Mediation Role of Self-Regulation
Intercultural sensitivity of instructors in Ethiopian public universities
“We were girls but suddenly became mothers”: Evaluating the effects of teenage motherhood on girl’s educational attainment in the Volta Region
Addressing the higher education for sustainable development agenda at the College of Open and Distance Learning, St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges
Causes of teachers’ professional misconduct in Ethiopian secondary schools: Implications for policy and practice
Academic libraries and the need for continuing professional development in Botswana
Librarians’ competencies for implementing embedded librarianship in university libraries
by Mushi, Carren
The present study examines the extent of academic librarians’ teaching, research, communication, and interpersonal skills; key competencies required for the successful implementation of embedded librarianship in Tanzania. A mixed research approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches, was deployed to guide the collection of data from 166 librarians and 6 directors. Whereas cross-section survey questionnaires were used to collect data from librarians from six university libraries. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to collect data from directors. Regarding statistical analysis, descriptive statistics were performed to derive frequencies and percentages from quantitative data collected. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically and presented in narrative form. The findings suggest that librarians’ teaching skills and their knowledge of the research cycle are inadequate, while their communication and interpersonal skills are sufficient to allow them to effectively embed their services in their users’ (researchers, students, and teaching staff) activities. To effectively adopt embedded librarianship, the authors recommend the allocation of adequate funds to support diverse external and in-house training, the development of harmonized library and information science (LIS) curriculum, and the use of social media to interact with users. © The Author(s) 2022.
Depicting science teachers' concerns regarding the Tanzanian inquiry-based science curriculum
by Makwinya, Noel M.
Secondary school teachers in Tanzania have been attempting to implement the inquiry-based science curriculum since 2005. This study is descriptive and was designed within the realms of a Type IV case-study design (Yin, R. K. 2014. Case study research: Design and methods 5th ed. SAGE) to investigate their concerns in dealing with this curriculum. It employed the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as its lens and collected data using the Stage of Concern (SoC) questionnaire. In addition, the study used background information of the participants themselves and their context collected using one-on-one interviews to enrich the interpretation of revealed concerns. The findings revealed variations in the nature and intensities of concerns amongst science teachers in the case-study schools. These variations were partly due to the differences in contextual and background characteristics of staff of the three case-study schools. The implications of these findings for both policy and practice are discussed.
Indoor Pool Game and Substance Abuse as Trajectories to Students' Academic Procrastination: The Mediation Role of Self-Regulation
by Gita, Dinaol Urgessa
BackgroundOver the last decade, indoor pool games (IPGs) and substance abuse (SA) became a remarkable emerging addictive behavior among adolescent university students. With the failure of educational quality and retention of learners, boomerangs around the university local environment in line with the students' learning culture were not considered in many countries including Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to examine the trajectory and contribution of an IPG and SA to students' academic procrastination (AP) as determinants of quality education. MethodsA sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Self-reporting questionnaires, interview guides, and an observation checklist were used to collect data. All self-reporting items were adapted from previous scales. By using simple random sampling techniques, 237 undergraduate university students were selected for obtaining the quantitative data, and using purposive sampling, 12 interviewees were selected to collect the qualitative data. The SPSS AMOS version 25 was used to compute the multiple mediation path analysis. The Hayes PROCESS macro model was used. Furthermore, the thematic content analysis method was employed for the qualitative data. ResultsA direct path analysis was established between IPG, SA, and AP. The path analysis model indicated that IPG did not significantly predict AP. Moreover, SA significantly predicted AP. In addition, SR had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between IPG, SA, and AP. ConclusionThe study concluded that IPG and substances available around the university local environment found trajectories to students' AP, which in turn affects the quality of education.
Intercultural sensitivity of instructors in Ethiopian public universities
by Tariku Gutu
Higher education institutions are a place where transformation is a guiding principle. Instructors, as major agents for change, are expected to have qualities that transcend the boundaries of one-size-fits-all. This study, therefore, examined the intercultural sensitivity of university instructors in Ethiopian public universities. It was primarily aimed at investigating their intercultural sensitivity across several major demographic and background variables. A quantitative research approach substantiated with qualitative data was employed for the study. Results show that instructors’ intercultural sensitivity in all universities regarding their demographic characteristics and background information, except academic status and gender, were not found to be determinants of sensitivity. Their intercultural sensitivity levels across the dimensions, however, were different among instructors in all universities. Recommendations are made, taking into account the findings and their implications underpinning intercultural sensitivity as the sine qua non for academic prowess. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
“We were girls but suddenly became mothers”: Evaluating the effects of teenage motherhood on girl’s educational attainment in the Volta Region
by Morgan, Anthony Kwame
Evidence suggests that teenage motherhood undermines human capital development such as the education of young girls in developing economies. Teenage motherhood is associated with school dropout due to stigmatization and inadequacy of finance to support their studies and the need to care for their child. While teenage pregnancy is topical among research areas in Ghana, there is a dearth of literature on the issue in the Kpando Municipality of Ghana’s Volta region. This study examined the predisposing factors to teenage motherhood as well as the consequences of teenage motherhood on the education of adolescent mothers in the Kpando Municipality. The descriptive case study design, with a mixed-method approach, was adopted. Data were obtained with the aid of structured interview guides from 85 teenage mothers through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The study revealed that poverty is the principal predisposing factor to teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood in the municipality. The study further revealed that 79% of the teen mothers have dropped out of school, thereby placing them in a dreadful position as far as their education and human capital development are concerned. In cognizance of the life-changing impact of education on the lives of teenage mothers, the authors recommend that barriers to school re-entry such as stigmatization should be addressed through public sensitization. Moreover, livelihoods should be improved through agricultural and informal sector development policies to revamp the economic activities of the people, since poverty was found as a major predisposing factor to teenage pregnancy in the municipality. © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
Addressing the higher education for sustainable development agenda at the College of Open and Distance Learning, St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges
by Tamrat, Wondwosen
Purpose: This study aims to assess the extent to which sustainable development practices are prevalent at the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia. The assessment focused on identifying the college’s inclusion of the sustainable development agenda in its policy statements, various functions and practices. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a mixed-method approach and used a case study in its design. Data were generated from a standard survey questionnaire, adopted from the unit-based sustainability assessment tool (Togo and Lotz-Sisitka, 2009), a semi-structured interview and documentary evidence. Findings: The findings revealed that CODL has limited involvement in sustainability issues despite relevant policy directions set at national and institutional levels. Current engagement patterns are limited to teaching, course provision and a few areas of operations and management while a serious gap has been noted as regard the two core functional areas of research and community service which happen to be neglected. Research limitations/implications: This study was based on a single CODL, albeit an institution with a long history of offering distance education in Ethiopia. Despite its contribution to an understanding of how sustainability issues are addressed in the context of Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular, the generalizability of the findings to other similar institutions is limited. Originality/value: There is very little research in Africa as regard the involvement of higher education institutions in promoting the issues of sustainability in general and distance education providers in particular. In addition to addressing this gap, the study suggests the need for distance education institutions to improve their mapping strategies and respond to the greater concerns of sustainable development. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Causes of teachers’ professional misconduct in Ethiopian secondary schools: Implications for policy and practice
by Kindu Ayechew Ayenalem
This study investigated the causes of Ethiopian teachers’ professional misconduct in secondary schools. The researchers employed a descriptive survey design with quantitative and qualitative approaches and collected the data from 404 teachers, ten principals, and five district education office experts via questionnaires and interviews. The researchers analyzed the quantitative data using percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation, while the qualitative data through a reflexive thematic analysis technique with verbal narration. The findings disclosed that multifaceted factors as the causes of professional misconduct of secondary school teachers. Such factors include teachers’ financial constraints, lack of appropriate training on professional ethics, teachers’ negative attitude towards their profession, a mismatch between policy and context, unfriendly working environment, lack of supervision, changes in the curriculum, the community’s unfavorable attitude towards teachers and the teaching profession, student-related factors, poor school leadership, and teachers’ low commitment to their duties and responsibilities. We recommend that since the causes are multiple and interlinked with each other, the move towards searching for a solution requires holistic, integrative, and systematic approaches in terms of policy directions and continuous intervention practices at different levels of the education system. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
Academic libraries and the need for continuing professional development in Botswana
by Olugbade Oladokun
An academic librarian is expected to be skilled in the tasks they undertake and make quality services promptly available to users. This study aimed to determine academic librarians’ understanding of the changes in their profession and the need for continuing professional development; examine librarians’ perception of the quality of library and information science education in Botswana; and find out the extent to which academic librarians perform different library and professional functions. The research paradigm adopted was a positivist approach. Using the census method, quantitative data was collected from practising librarians and qualitative data was obtained from five library heads. The study established that there had been significant changes in the librarians’ jobs over the years, as they were currently required to work harder, learn more skills and perform new tasks. With no suitable continuing professional development strategy in place, there was a lack of adequate knowledge to perform information technology and other salient tasks. Appropriate recommendations are made. © The Author(s) 2021.
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