ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Promoting Developmental Research: A Challenge for African Universities
Author: Mohamedbhai, Goolam
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Economic Development,Developing Nations,Poverty,Innovation,Scientific Research,Barriers,Program Descriptions,Foreign Countries,Universities,Masters Theses,Doctoral Dissertations,Biochemistry,International Trade,Food Processing Occupations,Needs Assessment,Agricultural Occupations

There are two well-known and often-quoted facts about Sub-Saharan Africa. One is that, in spite of significant progress made in recent years, Africa remains the least developed region in the world and is unlikely to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The other is that Africa fares very poorly in terms of research and innovation; it produces only about 1% of the world's research publications and 0.1% of global patents, and the bulk of these emanate from just two countries--South Africa and Nigeria. There is a clear link between these two phenomena, and while there is general acknowledgement that the research output from Africa must be dramatically increased in order to overcome the development challenges, achieving that objective appears to be elusive. Promoting research that leads to innovation, which then directly impacts on development remains a challenge for Africa. This article describes the constraints that prevent Africa from producing research, the benefits of developmental research in Africa, and two examples (the Adapted Hoe Project at the University of Development Studies, Ghana and Shea Nut Processing at the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) that illustrate the huge potential for developmental research and the enormous benefits to communities, universities, and the country.
Technology Leadership and ICT Use: Strategies for Capacity Building for ICT Integration
Author: Mwawasi, Felix Mndenyi
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Information Technology,Technology Integration,Capacity Building,Secondary Schools,Secondary School Teachers,Qualitative Research,Case Studies,Semi Structured Interviews,Focus Groups,Observation,Data Analysis,Leadership

Technology leadership is a fairly new concept in school leadership focus. It has become a concern for study in recent times, in tandem with the pedagogical change of integrating ICT in teaching and learning especially in the developed nations. However, few such studies have been done in Africa. A number of studies in the developed countries have advanced descriptive approaches on how educators should go about the using of ICT in education. Teachers, therefore, need to have prerequisite skills to integrate ICT in teaching and learning and school leaders have a role in enabling the effective use of ICTs. This study aimed at investigating how school leaders help build capacities of teachers to be able to effectively integrate ICT in their teaching and learning, at school level, in a public secondary school in Kenya. Using a qualitative case study approach, five school leaders involved in the capacity building, were purposively sampled for interviews, four teachers were engaged in a Focus Group Discussion and two teachers were observed engaged in classroom practice. Further data was obtained by analysing official school documents. The data analysed indicate the school leaders facilitated increased access to ICT facilities to the teachers and supported them, alongside training, to enable them explore various ways of integrating ICT in teaching and learning.
A Social Partnership Model to Promote Educators' Development in Mauritius through Formal and Informal Capacity-Building Initiatives
Author: Santally, Mohammad Issack
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Capacity Building,Partnerships in Education,Innovation,Faculty Development,Creativity,Consortia,Open Universities,Foreign Countries,Program Descriptions,Educational Resources,Grants,Instructional Materials,Teaching Methods,Online Courses,Inservice Teacher Education,Teacher Qualifications,Corporations,Research and Development,Teacher Education,Action Research

This paper describes a social partnership model based on the living lab concept to promote the professional development of educators through formal and informal capacity-building initiatives. The aim is to have a broader impact on society through community outreach educational initiatives. A Living Lab is an environment for user-centered innovation, based on the observation of everyday user practice and experience for solving problems but is also based on users' active participation, with an approach that facilitates their influence in the open and distributed innovation process (participatory design). It is defined as 4P innovation, namely, Public-Private-People-Partnership. The objectives are thus political and strategic, focusing on the social role of innovation, i.e., trying to totally realize human potential by increasing creativity. In 2009, the Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies (VCILT) embarked on the SIDECAP project, funded by the EU-ACP in a consortium led by the Open University of the UK. The work of the VCILT in the context of the SIDECAP project was essentially focused on the repurposing of Open Educational Resources to fit in the local Mauritian Context. At the same time, the VCILT received an internal grant to work on the development of interactive learning materials using the integration of text-to-speech technology in instructionally designed PowerPoint presentations. During the same period, the Centre launched an innovative online training programme for in-service educators to allow them to top-up their qualifications in the field of educational and instructional technologies. The set of activities described in the paragraph above, resulted in a succession of action-reflection cycles which developed into the concept of a Living Lab. We report the Living Lab setup at the University of Mauritius, by showing how the research activities at the VCILT led to a series of development and applications in a real-world context, related to the formal teacher training courses and informal continuous professional development of educators via the establishment of a social entity in a partnership with Microsoft Indian Ocean and French Pacific under the Partners in Learning Program. The model is referred to as a multiple-impact social partnership model. Therefore, there are three major components that would form the backbone of our Living Lab, namely, Research and Development, Teacher Education and, finally, the social entity that links the private and public sectors, and educators, in a social partnership.
Effect of Community Factors on Primary School Learners' Achievement in Rural Bangladesh
Author: Alam, Shafiqul
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Community Influence,Elementary School Students,Academic Achievement,Rural Schools,Case Studies,Qualitative Research,Human Capital,Social Capital,School Community Relationship,Educational Quality,Parents,Semi Structured Interviews,Community Characteristics,Parent Attitudes

Community plays an important role in childhood education. This research has identified the community factors that affect learners' achievement through the use of case studies. Qualitative data were captured by semi-structured interview and data interpretation was underpinned by concepts derived from human capital and social capital theories. This research identified six community factors: financial position, environment, educational status, communication and support given to schools, community child care, and unity and cooperation among community people that affect learner's achievement (i.e., quality of education). This research also suggests that the notion of &quot;rural community roles&quot; tend to be thought of as &quot;doing something for the children&quot;. There is also an ecological balance in the relations between the community and the school. This research suggests that the human capital and social capital of the community and children reinforce each other in a reproductive loop. This means the human and social capital of family and community play a role in the creation of the human and social capitals of the children (quality education), and vice-versa. These observations on education quality add a new horizon to the knowledge base of primary education, and one that may contribute to policy-making and also facilitate further research.
Bridging the Gap between Community and Cardiologists
Author: Jamatia, Biplab
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Diseases,Physicians,Medical Education,Physician Patient Relationship,Heart Disorders,Foreign Countries,Open Universities,Distance Education,Prevention,Clinical Diagnosis,Independent Study,Video Technology,Teacher Student Ratio,Hospitals,Program Descriptions,Teleconferencing,College Credits,Medicine,Specialists

Cardiovascular diseases are an emerging cause of morbidity and mortality in India. India produces less than 150 cardiologists annually, leading to a gap between the need and availability of trained professionals. A three-year cardiology-training programme is available for post-graduate doctors in the conventional medical education system. The majority of the people living in rural areas, small towns, and district towns in the country do not have any access to cardiac care, because trained cardiologists are mostly concentrated in the metropolitan are or capital cities. To address this issue Indira Gandhi National Open University has designed and developed a two-year, full-time training programme in the area of non-invasive cardiology for medical graduates, named the Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Cardiology, which is being offered through the open and distance learning mode. The objective of the programme is to train a large number of medical graduates effectively to enable early recognition, management and prevention of common cardiovascular diseases. Learners have been given the opportunity to train in different departments and are posted in various areas in this programme, such as management of common cardiovascular diseases (6 months), ECG and Stress Testing (3 months), Echocardiography (3 months), ICU/CCU management (6 months), Paediatrics Cardiology (3 months), preventive cardiology (3 months). Self-learning materials, 33 video programmes (1260 minutes), and a monthly, live, interactive teleconference (90 minutes), have been incorporated into this programme. Beside these, 50 theory counselling sessions, 25 guest lectures, seminars, journal clubs and case discussions have been provided in every training center. Hands-on skills training is provided to every learner as prescribed in this programme. The 72 credits in the programme are divided into seven theory and six practical courses. Students need to pass in each course independently both in the internal examination and the term end examination. The minimum teacher-student ratio has been maintained strictly in both training and term end practical examinations. The topmost cardiac institutes/hospitals across the country have been identified as training centers, as per the norms of the university. This programme began with 116 students in 16 training centers in 2006. In 2013, 443 students were enrolled in 67 training centres. More than 320 cardiologists are involved as academic counselors in this training programme. A total of 1006 candidates have successfully completed their training and many of them are providing services in small or district towns of the country.
Using Community Radio in a Rural Women's Post-Literacy Programme in Nepal
Author: Nagaoka, Chizuko
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Rural Population,Females,Pilot Projects,Radio,Intervention,Adult Literacy,Adult Students,Adult Programs,Program Effectiveness,Foreign Countries

This paper examines the literacy and post-literacy needs of rural women in Nepal, describes a pilot study in using community radio to supplement a classroom-based post-literacy programme for these women, analyses the findings of this intervention and considers the implications for similar programmes in other settings.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Skill Deficit: The Role of Open Distance Learning (ODL)
Author: Srivastava, Mamta
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Prior Learning,Distance Education,Economic Development,Skill Development,Vocational Education,Employment Qualifications,Foreign Countries,Job Skills,Guidelines,Open Education,Human Resources,Industry,Evaluation Methods,Disadvantaged,Economic Change,Technological Advancement

Skills acquisition is vital for any economic growth, particularly in an era of economic and technological changes. The need for skill development is a vital challenge, foremost for a developing nation, such as India. Therefore, vocational education and training (VET) is a direct means of providing workers with skills more relevant to their livelihood needs and generating a harmonized condition that should be linked directly to industry's needs and requirements. Skilling half a billion of India's population by 2022 is the biggest challenge and most ambitious goal ever set by the country in the field of education and training. On the one hand, there are millions of people in India who have a considerable level of skill in a particular area but they do not have any formal certification to verify their existing skills, and on the other hand they are unable to further improve upon this already acquired skill to be commensurate with industry's needs. Hence, there is a need for a way to credit these already acquired skills through a qualifications framework, against which individuals' skills could be mapped. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a relatively new concept for India. Presently no system has been developed in the skill training sector for assessment, accreditation and certification of prior learning. During 2013, the Government of India entrusted the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) with the responsibility for developing a robust system for assessment, accreditation and certification of prior learning by educational institutions, both in the formal and nonformal education sectors. A concerted effort has been made by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an examining body at the school level, devoted to disadvantaged groups using open distance learning (ODL) mode, under the auspices of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, for assessment, accreditation and certification of skills in the informal sector workforce with industry partners. An attempt has been made through this paper to portray the framework developed by NIOS, and to discuss the issues and challenges related to implementing RPL in a socio-economic environment as diverse as India's.
Continuity Education in Emergency and Conflict Situations: The Case for Using Open, Distance and Flexible Learning
Author: Creed, Charlotte
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,War,Conflict,Natural Disasters,Access to Education,Open Education,Distance Education,Learner Controlled Instruction,Continuing Education,Educational Needs,Case Studies,Role of Education,Educational Planning,Home Schooling,Remedial Programs,Educational Policy

Emergency and conflict in countries such as Syria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have made us more aware of the long-term serial disruption and psychosocial damage faced by people caught up in emergency and conflict areas. Open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) has sometimes been employed in these regions to maintain a degree of continuity in education. For the most part, however, this role has been ad hoc, short-term, and often bearing limited relation to the psychosocial and educational needs of the displaced or traumatised populations it serves. But could ODFL play a more planned, significant and relevant role in emergency and conflict regions and if so, how? This paper will address this core question. We identify particular aspects of ODFL programmes, which are especially useful in reaching and extending basic and secondary education to hard-to-reach children and those in emergency and conflict contexts. Through a specific case study of the recent conflict in Sri Lanka, we show how ODFL is currently being used for these groups and to what effect. We argue that by building on proven achievements and integrating ODFL more systematically into the existing national planning for conflict and emergency zones, it could play a significant and cost-effective role in these regions and also, more widely, in facilitating links between the non-formal and formal sectors and improving the quality of provision.
Increasing Access to Science Oriented Education Programmes in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana through Distance Education
Author: Osei, C. K.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Access to Education,Science Education,Science Programs,Distance Education,Student Participation,Academic Persistence,Public Colleges,College Science,Engineering Education,Computer Science Education,Barriers,College Students,Facilitators (Individuals),Questionnaires,Interviews,Student Attrition,Structured Interviews

There is emphasis in the educational policy of Ghana for the promotion of Distance Education programmes to widen access to education at all levels and facilitate human resource development. This study examined the level of access and challenges faced by learners in science oriented programmes offered by distance in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. The study used descriptive statistics for analysing data from 120 learners and 8 facilitators from three science-based programmes. The findings indicated that the top-up initiative programmes by distance increased enrolment and participation of learners in 3 science-oriented programmes in KNUST. We found evidence of high rates of learners' persistence in the three science programmes which were linked to factors such as strong personal determination to succeed in achieving higher academic status, the availability of learning materials for the courses and support from family members (spouse, children, and friends). The study indicates that both learners and facilitators faced challenges that ranged from lack of time as a result of work activities to delays in receiving course materials among students and short contact hours with learners to low remuneration for facilitators.
Experiential Learnings Revised
Author: Herman, Lee
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Experiential Learning,Social Justice,Teaching Methods,Learning Processes,Educational Philosophy,Learning Experience

The proposition is challenged that experience and learning are separate. It is argued that all experience is necessarily learning, and that any object of experience may disclose unlimited learnings in both extent and profundity. The implications of these claims are examined for teaching and learning, for the openness of the academy and for social justice.
Curricular Innovation and Digitisation at a Mega University in the Developing World--The UNISA &quot;Signature Course&quot; Project
Author: Baijnath, Narend
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Developing Nations,Curriculum Development,Learning Modules,Distance Education,Electronic Learning,Case Studies,Educational Change,Course Descriptions,Academic Achievement,Barriers,College Programs,Foreign Countries

As part of the endeavor to reposition itself in the open distance and e-learning arena, the University of South Africa (UNISA) has designed and developed six modular courses (one module per College) referred to as &quot;Signature Courses&quot;. The focus of these modules is on a student-centred online teaching and learning approach; extensive student online mentoring and support; and alternative online assessment practices, while also developing prototypes for fully online courses as the University advances in its digitisation objectives. This paper presents a case study of the achievements of the project thus far. It reports challenges the project has been facing and anticipates the trajectory the University will be following in the future as it moves decisively towards online teaching and learning.
Harnessing OER to Drive Systemic Educational Change in Secondary Schooling
Author: Butcher, Neil
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Resource Units,Computer Uses in Education,Shared Resources and Services,Multimedia Materials,Educational Change,Secondary Education,Information Technology,Access to Education,Teacher Student Relationship,Knowledge Economy,Public Schools,Educational Policy,Action Research,Private Schools,Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Pilot Projects,Teaching Methods,Virtual Classrooms,Educational Environment,Management Systems,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Surveys

There is growing interest about the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) and how it can transform education around the world, with governments exploring the potential of OER and considering policy positions supportive of open licensing. The urgent imperative--and the real transformational potential of OER--is to evolve new systems of education that can help societies, and especially youth, to navigate their way through a world in which the disruption wrought by information and communication technologies (ICT) requires a completely new approach to knowledge, skills, and competence. Ubiquitous access to open content offers an opportunity to re-think the basis on which educational experiences of school students are organized and to liberate the time of teachers so they can focus on providing meaningful support to students rather than continuing to act predominantly as conduits of information from the textbook to the students. This provides an opportunity to overhaul resource use and the nature of teacher-student interaction so that students can develop key attributes required for success in the knowledge society. This paper thus seeks to engage with the challenge of determining the conditions under which use of OER can drive a transformative educational agenda in schooling systems. It considers two key emerging questions: (1) What role can OER most effectively play in supporting school-level pedagogical transformation? and (2) Given the inherent conservatism in public schooling systems, what policy approaches may most successfully initiate such transformation? In exploring answers to these questions, the authors initiated two action research exercises: one at the school level at a private school in Johannesburg, South Africa; and the other at a national level in Antigua and Barbuda.
Assessing E-Learning Readiness at the Kenya Technical Teachers College
Author: Okinda, Robert Alfred
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Learning Readiness,Qualitative Research,Likert Scales,Questionnaires,Interviews,Foreign Countries,Teacher Education Programs,Educational Technology,Instructional Design,Student Attitudes,Statistical Analysis,Teaching Methods,Surveys,Models,Organizational Culture,Technological Literacy,Course Content

The purpose of this survey was to assess the level of e-learning readiness at the Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC). This was part of an institution-wide strategy to guide the adoption and implementation of e-learning at KTTC. The main objectives of the survey were, to: assess the level of e-learning readiness by establishing a baseline aggregative index; and, recommend activities to improve the readiness that facilitate effective deployment of e-learning technologies in teaching, learning and research. Various models used for measuring e-readiness within the ADDIE model of instructional design were reviewed. Engholms' model for assessing e-learning readiness provided the conceptual foundation for the survey and informed its objectives and methodology. A survey was used to capture the respondents' perception of the level of e-learning readiness along five dimensions adapted from Engholm using a five-point Likert scale. Samples were collected based on quantitative and qualitative methods using self-administered questionnaires and interviews.