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International fieldschool reciprocity: using a whole-of-university approach to create positive change in Northern Uganda
The determinants of youth labor market integration in cameroon: Is family socioeconomic-background more effective than education?
Local Council Development Areas and Local Service Delivery: How a Fourth-tier Government Unit is Improving Access to Primary Health Care and Education Services in Lagos, Nigeria
Literacy usage in impoverished African settings: Post-Education for All (EFA) research needs
The role of record keeping and maintenance in enhancing decision making among smallholder dairy farmers in Gitugi Ward in Murang’a County, Kenya
The Role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Restoring Hospitality Sector Specific Skills in Zimbabwe: A Students’ Perspective
International fieldschool reciprocity: using a whole-of-university approach to create positive change in Northern Uganda
by Sebastian Oguti Oswin
International fieldschools to developing countries have become an important component of the university curriculum because they provide experiential learning and research skills, while also contributing a range of soft skills such as resilience, empathy, resourcefulness, critical thinking, and cross-cultural communication. Yet, with the increasing popularity of ‘developing world’ fieldschools, an ever-more pertinent question to ask is, cui bono? Who benefits when relatively ‘privileged’ students from wealthy countries travel to visit ‘underprivileged’ communities in poorer parts of the world? In this article, we contribute to the discussion about fieldschool reciprocity using data from a newly established program in Northern Uganda, established as part of the University of New South Wales’ UNSW2025 strategy. We show that a whole-of-university approach has significant benefits for staff and students from both institutions, more diffuse benefits for the wider Ugandan host community, as well as the potential to create synergies to leverage community transformation. We also look at challenges that include: power differentials, uncertainty in the field environment, sustainability, and the ability to maintain collaborative equity between institutions over the long term. © 2019, © 2019 HERDSA.
The determinants of youth labor market integration in cameroon: Is family socioeconomic-background more effective than education?
by Samuel Nouetagni
Background: The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of socioeconomic background and human capital on young people’s labor market integration. A review of the literature suggests that in addition to human capital, other factors not directly related to individual productivity play an important role in labor market integration. Data Source & Method: The empirical work is based on the analysis of a firsthand biographical database from Bafia, a Cameroonian city. Results: Results show that young people from privileged background are more likely to swiftly enter the wage sector than their peers from disadvantaged background. Conclusion: This result is not only due to the fact that former received more education than the latter but also because of the existence of a sort of privileged birth-related premium not induced by the formal education levei. © 2019, Union for African Population Studies. All rights reserved.
Local Council Development Areas and Local Service Delivery: How a Fourth-tier Government Unit is Improving Access to Primary Health Care and Education Services in Lagos, Nigeria
by Omomayowa Olawale Abati
Emerging accidentally from an array of political and legal contestations is a fourth-tier government unit in Lagos state–Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). The LCDAs have survived almost two decades of existence without the ’traditional’ monthly federal allocation, which has been the mainstay of the existing 774 LGAs in Nigeria. This study attempts an explanation of this apparent survival by examining the institutional structure of the LCDAs vis-à-vis their service delivery performance. Different from earlier studies that have examined service delivery using final outcomes, the study examines accessibility as an intermediate output; dimensioned as availability, adequacy and affordability. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study shows that Lagos LCDAs’ inclusive operational structure is significantly improving access to primary health care and education services. Thus, the study finds evidence within the operational structure of Lagos LCDAs for Acemoglu and Robinson’s theory of inclusive and extractive institutions. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Literacy usage in impoverished African settings: Post-Education for All (EFA) research needs
by Laouali Malam Moussa
The demand for literacy in sub-Saharan Africa – as throughout most regions of the world – is directly linked to the uses to which those skills can be put in everyday life. Although educators know a good deal about the dynamics of learning itself, many are typically much less familiar with the detail of literacy’s actual usages in the labour market and across different sectors of developing economies. That nexus can best be illuminated by careful studies of what literacy programme completers and recent school leavers manage to do with the skills they have acquired, the environmental factors that limit or multiply such opportunities and their effect on literacy retention and lifelong learning. To date, follow-up studies of this kind have been little used in researching African literacy. The authors of this article review existing literature on the topic, consisting of five types of materials: (1) results of longitudinal research (“tracer studies”); (2) recent material on “literacy practices”; (3) reports from programmes designed to link literacy and livelihoods; (4) evidence from local “empowerment” initiatives; and (5) documents on local capacity building for political and economic decentralisation. Drawing on their analysis of this literature and the evidence presented there, the authors suggest ways of improving related research practice and enhancing the lessons it may have to teach us about the role of literacy in sustainable development. © 2019, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning and Springer Nature B.V.
The role of record keeping and maintenance in enhancing decision making among smallholder dairy farmers in Gitugi Ward in Murang’a County, Kenya
by Paul Maku Gichohi
Dairy farmers are expected to maintain farm records for aiding decisions making. However, the extent to which farm records inform decision making is not clear in Gitugi Ward in Murang’a County, Kenya. This study aimed to determine the role that record keeping and maintenance play in enhancing decision making of smallholder dairy farmers in that area. Descriptive survey research design was used to examine 175 smallholder dairy farmers. Simple random sampling technique was used in getting a sample size of 118 subjects. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to test the underlying proposition. Most smallholder dairy farmers have adequate experience in dairy farming and have minimum basic education, although not sufficient for making complex computations and interpretations for key decision making. The kind of decisions made based on dairy farm records statistically and significantly affect output in dairy farming businesses. Livestock Extension Officers should embark on advocacy programs, sensitization workshops, mentorship and training programs on record maintenance practices to ensure dairy farm records are preserved and utilized in supporting decision making. The findings of this study contribute to improvement of dairy farming information management practices and in making data-supported decisions among dairy farmers in Gitugi Ward, Mathioya Sub-County and in other geopolitical regions. © The Author(s) 2019.
The Role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Restoring Hospitality Sector Specific Skills in Zimbabwe: A Students’ Perspective
by Ngoni Courage Shereni
This study was done to determine the role played by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in restoring sector-specific skills lost to other countries in the Zimbabwean hospitality industry. Semi-structured questionnaires were self-administered to 136 students studying hospitality related qualifications in Polytechnics in Zimbabwe using a convenient sampling technique. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to analyze data generating frequencies and descriptive statistics. The findings of the research show that the hospitality industry will continue to lose skills to other countries mainly because of low salaries, better working conditions in other countries, the unfavorable economic environment in Zimbabwe and the need by students to gain international exposure. TVET institutions in Zimbabwe have a great role to play in replacing lost skills therefore financial challenges, equipment unavailability and lack of qualified lecturers need to be addressed for them to be effective. © 2019, © 2019 The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education.
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