title: Parental involvement in early childhood learning: Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon

authors: Fenmachi, Emela Achu

subjects: Parental Involvement

abstract: This thesis considers the significance of parental involvement in early childhood learning from a sociological, sociocultural and African perspective, which all emphasise the role of the home, community and early learning institutions in children’s learning and development. An interpretive paradigm was used to explore parents’ and teachers’ perspectives about parents’ involvement in children’s education in a public and private nursery school in Douala, Cameroon. Data were collected through a mixed-method approach, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observations, document portfolio analysis, informal conversations, Zoom, and WhatsApp messages. Questionnaires were developed for all parents in each nursery school. In addition, eight parents and four teachers in each school were interviewed using semi-structured and open-ended questions. Two weeks of observations were made per nursery school. Following face-to-face data collection, participants were contacted via WhatsApp to obtain additional information and clarify ideas. 
Analysis revealed two types of parental involvement, home-based and school-based parental involvement. Home-based parental involvement included parental engagement of children in day-to-day home activities to develop their independence skills and responsibility, assisting children to complete homework, and providing educational resources to support school-based learning. School-based involvement was higher with private nursery school families. The private nursery school families attended several events run by the school and parents’ input was welcomed and valued through the parent-led forum. Contrastingly, the public nursery school administration offered limited opportunities for parents to participate in school-based activities. Further, due to large class sizes, communication with parents appeared to be one-way; in most cases, parents were responsible for initiating contact. Therefore, parents had limited chances to contribute to the teaching and learning process at school. Teachers of both nursery schools placed little value on the role of parents and other caregivers in supporting and supervising children’s learning and participation in the day-to-day activities of the home and therefore missed the opportunity to draw on home-based resources to incorporate this into classroom activities. 
Discussing the study findings in relation to the sociocultural and African concepts of child development led to an understanding of the different roles played by all agents involved in child development and learning (family, extended family, community, school and the Government) and how they can partner to enhance children’s learning experiences and wellbeing. It was also noted that the education system propagated more of the colonial culture and language, with little emphasis on indigenous forms of learning. Furthermore, the public nursery school faced challenges in implementing the curriculum goals and objectives. These challenges included large class sizes, higher child-teacher ratios, inadequate learning and teaching materials, and limited study space. 
The study recommends a culturally inclusive education framework incorporating children’s everyday experiences and practices into the nursery school curriculum to enhance children’s learning experiences. This implies educators working in partnership with families to integrate family resources into institutional learning programmes, creating a connection between children’s home learning experiences and school-based learning. Furthermore, policies to increase funding for nursery school education will help to provide access to quality early education for all children.

text: Parental involvement in early childhood learning: Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon This thesis considers the significance of parental involvement in early childhood learning from a sociological, sociocultural and African perspective, which all emphasise the role of the home, community and early learning institutions in children’s learning and development. An interpretive paradigm was used to explore parents’ and teachers’ perspectives about parents’ involvement in children’s education in a public and private nursery school in Douala, Cameroon. Data were collected through a mixed-method approach, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observations, document portfolio analysis, informal conversations, Zoom, and WhatsApp messages. Questionnaires were developed for all parents in each nursery school. In addition, eight parents and four teachers in each school were interviewed using semi-structured and open-ended questions. Two weeks of observations were made per nursery school. Following face-to-face data collection, participants were contacted via WhatsApp to obtain additional information and clarify ideas. 
Analysis revealed two types of parental involvement, home-based and school-based parental involvement. Home-based parental involvement included parental engagement of children in day-to-day home activities to develop their independence skills and responsibility, assisting children to complete homework, and providing educational resources to support school-based learning. School-based involvement was higher with private nursery school families. The private nursery school families attended several events run by the school and parents’ input was welcomed and valued through the parent-led forum. Contrastingly, the public nursery school administration offered limited opportunities for parents to participate in school-based activities. Further, due to large class sizes, communication with parents appeared to be one-way; in most cases, parents were responsible for initiating contact. Therefore, parents had limited chances to contribute to the teaching and learning process at school. Teachers of both nursery schools placed little value on the role of parents and other caregivers in supporting and supervising children’s learning and participation in the day-to-day activities of the home and therefore missed the opportunity to draw on home-based resources to incorporate this into classroom activities. 
Discussing the study findings in relation to the sociocultural and African concepts of child development led to an understanding of the different roles played by all agents involved in child development and learning (family, extended family, community, school and the Government) and how they can partner to enhance children’s learning experiences and wellbeing. It was also noted that the education system propagated more of the colonial culture and language, with little emphasis on indigenous forms of learning. Furthermore, the public nursery school faced challenges in implementing the curriculum goals and objectives. These challenges included large class sizes, higher child-teacher ratios, inadequate learning and teaching materials, and limited study space. 
The study recommends a culturally inclusive education framework incorporating children’s everyday experiences and practices into the nursery school curriculum to enhance children’s learning experiences. This implies educators working in partnership with families to integrate family resources into institutional learning programmes, creating a connection between children’s home learning experiences and school-based learning. Furthermore, policies to increase funding for nursery school education will help to provide access to quality early education for all children.

year: 2023

title: DOCODE 3.0 (DOcument COpy DEtector): A system for plagiarism detection by applying an information fusion process from multiple documental data sources

authors: Velásquez, Juan D.

subjects: Plagiarism detection

abstract: Plagiarism refers to the act of presenting external words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own, without providing references to the sources from which they were taken. The exponential growth of different digital document sources available on the Web has facilitated the spread of this practice, making the accurate detection of it a crucial task for educational institutions. In this article, we present DOCODE 3.0, a Web system for educational institutions that performs automatic analysis of large quantities of digital documents in relation to their degree of originality. Since plagiarism is a complex problem, frequently tackled at different levels, our system applies algorithms in order to perform an information fusion process from multi data source to all these levels. These algorithms have been successfully tested in the scientific community in solving tasks like the identification of plagiarized passages and the retrieval of source candidates from the Web, among other multi data sources as digital libraries, and have proven to be very effective. We integrate these algorithms into a multi-tier, robust and scalable JEE architecture, allowing many different types of clients with different requirements to consume our services. For users, DOCODE produces a number of visualizations and reports from the different outputs to let teachers and professors gain insights on the originality of the documents they review, allowing them to discover, understand and handle possible plagiarism cases and making it easier and much faster to analyze a vast number of documents. Our experience here is so far focused on the Chilean situation and the Spanish language, offering solutions to Chilean educational institutions in any of their preferred Virtual Learning Environments. However, DOCODE can easily be adapted to increase language coverage.

text: DOCODE 3.0 (DOcument COpy DEtector): A system for plagiarism detection by applying an information fusion process from multiple documental data sources Plagiarism refers to the act of presenting external words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own, without providing references to the sources from which they were taken. The exponential growth of different digital document sources available on the Web has facilitated the spread of this practice, making the accurate detection of it a crucial task for educational institutions. In this article, we present DOCODE 3.0, a Web system for educational institutions that performs automatic analysis of large quantities of digital documents in relation to their degree of originality. Since plagiarism is a complex problem, frequently tackled at different levels, our system applies algorithms in order to perform an information fusion process from multi data source to all these levels. These algorithms have been successfully tested in the scientific community in solving tasks like the identification of plagiarized passages and the retrieval of source candidates from the Web, among other multi data sources as digital libraries, and have proven to be very effective. We integrate these algorithms into a multi-tier, robust and scalable JEE architecture, allowing many different types of clients with different requirements to consume our services. For users, DOCODE produces a number of visualizations and reports from the different outputs to let teachers and professors gain insights on the originality of the documents they review, allowing them to discover, understand and handle possible plagiarism cases and making it easier and much faster to analyze a vast number of documents. Our experience here is so far focused on the Chilean situation and the Spanish language, offering solutions to Chilean educational institutions in any of their preferred Virtual Learning Environments. However, DOCODE can easily be adapted to increase language coverage.

year: 2016-01

title: Te mana o ngā toa: Māori experiences of Ngāti Tūmatauenga, the New Zealand Army

authors: Kohere, Cheyenne Atairehia Mere

subjects: Kaupapa Māori

abstract: Diverse realities impact Māori people and their capacity to flourish. It is well- established that Māori are significant contributors to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), and especially the New Zealand Army. Noteworthy participation in major conflicts, especially WWI and WWII create a whakapapa of military tradition which contributed to institutional change within the Army in the 1990s. The inclusion of Māori cultural training in the New Zealand Army can contribute to morale and the effectiveness of the organisation (Hohaia, 2016). This master’s thesis aims to deepen understandings of the experiences of Māori personnel in the Army by exploring the role of the New Zealand Army in the health and wellbeing of Māori soldiers, as well as how the Army can be a career pathway for Māori and their whānau to flourish.
This research employs the use qualitative methods such as Kaupapa Māori theory, phenomenology, and pūrākau as a form of narrative analysis. Semi-structured interviews with five participants (three retired personnel and two currently serving) explores these factors that contribute to the flourishing of Māori soldiers in the New Zealand Army. Each pūrākau developed from interview data is an acknowledgment of the personal journeys of the five participants and contains philosophical thought, epistemological constructs, cultural codes, and worldviews (Lee, 2009).
The findings of the research highlight the complexities that arise when considering the health and wellbeing of Māori soldiers. A range of interconnected factors conceptualised within five themes contributes to participants’ ability to flourish. These five themes include hauora (health), whanaungatanga (relationships), manaakitanga (support), whanonga pono (values) and whakapāwera (hardships). These results suggest that flourishing for Māori personnel is complex, and there is not a simple route to enable Māori to flourish. There are many ‘trade-offs’ for Māori and their experiences. However, Māori service provides opportunities and obstacles for an individual, as well as their whānau, hapū and iwi.

text: Te mana o ngā toa: Māori experiences of Ngāti Tūmatauenga, the New Zealand Army Diverse realities impact Māori people and their capacity to flourish. It is well- established that Māori are significant contributors to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), and especially the New Zealand Army. Noteworthy participation in major conflicts, especially WWI and WWII create a whakapapa of military tradition which contributed to institutional change within the Army in the 1990s. The inclusion of Māori cultural training in the New Zealand Army can contribute to morale and the effectiveness of the organisation (Hohaia, 2016). This master’s thesis aims to deepen understandings of the experiences of Māori personnel in the Army by exploring the role of the New Zealand Army in the health and wellbeing of Māori soldiers, as well as how the Army can be a career pathway for Māori and their whānau to flourish.
This research employs the use qualitative methods such as Kaupapa Māori theory, phenomenology, and pūrākau as a form of narrative analysis. Semi-structured interviews with five participants (three retired personnel and two currently serving) explores these factors that contribute to the flourishing of Māori soldiers in the New Zealand Army. Each pūrākau developed from interview data is an acknowledgment of the personal journeys of the five participants and contains philosophical thought, epistemological constructs, cultural codes, and worldviews (Lee, 2009).
The findings of the research highlight the complexities that arise when considering the health and wellbeing of Māori soldiers. A range of interconnected factors conceptualised within five themes contributes to participants’ ability to flourish. These five themes include hauora (health), whanaungatanga (relationships), manaakitanga (support), whanonga pono (values) and whakapāwera (hardships). These results suggest that flourishing for Māori personnel is complex, and there is not a simple route to enable Māori to flourish. There are many ‘trade-offs’ for Māori and their experiences. However, Māori service provides opportunities and obstacles for an individual, as well as their whānau, hapū and iwi.

year: 2022