UMT Education Review (UER)

Availability of Reformative Education Programmes for Prisoners in North West Nigeria

2020-07-09T13:07:47+02:00

The study investigated the availability of reformative education programs for prisoners in northwest Nigeria. A descriptive survey was the adopted research design. The target population comprised the stakeholders (prison inmates, prison officials, lawyers, and human rights activists) from four states (Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, and Kano) northwest Nigeria. A total of 13 prisons, 1338 respondents (1068 inmates; 200 prison officials; 50 lawyers; and 20 human rights activists) were selected using multi-stage sampling. Four questionnaires designed by the researcher were used for data collection dedicating one questionnaire to each of the stakeholders. The validity of the instruments was ascertained using content and construct validity. The calculated value of Cronbach Alpha was 0.87. The data collected from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The hypotheses were tested using chi-square. The findings of the study revealed that out of the five indicators of prisoners' reformative education, only one was available, that is, religious education. However, the other four, facilities, personnel, and reading materials; educational continuity and motivation; remedial and adult education, and vocational education were unavailable. The study recommended that prisons should be equipped with modern facilities for valuable reformative education. There should be training and retraining of prison personnel, and a well-stocked library with current and updated materials containing textbooks, periodicals and computers be provided in all prisons for the use of both inmates and prison officials, among others.

From Banking Model to Critical Pedagogy

2020-07-09T13:11:27+02:00

Critical pedagogy, contrary to the banking concept of education, seeks to empower learners to think critically to transform their living conditions. This mixed-methods case study aims at exploring the actual teaching practices of the university teachers in order to demystify the challenges and constraints impeding the implementation of critical pedagogy in the universities of Punjab, Pakistan. Women University in Multan was the selected case and exploratory sequential design the method selected for this study. The researchers personally collected data using a small-scale survey with 100 students using cluster sampling, and in-depth interviews with ten teachers purposively selected from various departments of the university, ensuring equal representation. The study concluded that large class size, lack of needed resources and trained personnel, lengthy and fixed syllabus, and lack of student interest and motivation were the reasons for continuing with the 'banking method.' Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that for the critical pedagogy to take root in Pakistan, the teachers and students should be cognizant of the utility of critical pedagogy, and adequate resources must supplant the teaching and learning environment to enjoy best outcomes.

Does Income Inequality Lead to Education Inequality?

2020-07-09T13:13:34+02:00

When firms do not know which labor is capable of efficient work, then paying all employees their average product as wage seems a feasible option. This simplest of ways discourages good workers and makes bad workers costly. Spence proposed to use educational attainment as the indicator of the labor force's capability to solve this problem. Since workers are randomly distributed in terms of their ability, Akerlof would lead us to believe that the level of educational attainment should be proportional to the individual's ability, which is not valid, practically. This study strives to find the determinants of educational inequality, where income inequality of the household is the prime suspect, and other indicators include gender, household size, and age. GMM instrumental variable approach was used to study the effect of income inequality on educational inequality. The results showed that it is income inequality, which restricts people from attaining higher education.

Effect of Using Theory X and Y as Motivational Strategy in a Nigerian Public University

2020-07-10T08:30:41+02:00

Public service is regarded as the working hand of government, but it has recorded downward trends in its onerous responsibility of delivering services to the people in recent times. The performance crisis of public service perhaps explains the proliferation of literature on how to address the seeming impasse in the sector. However, there has to date been little systematic evaluation of the prevalence of X or Y theory as a motivational strategy, whereas X is assumed to enforce ethics while Y calls for participation. This study assessed the effect of the application of motivational strategies suggested by theory X and Y and its outcomes on employees’ performance at Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA) by using mixed-method techniques. The study found critical evidence that there was a concomitant relationship between ethics, motivation, and employees’ performance and that the AAUA applied more of X than Y strategies for the motivation of its employees. Consequently, strained relationships have been witnessed between the unions and the university management, thereby impelling employees’ performance. Therefore, it is recommended that the university must apply more participative Y type techniques than X type ethical codification as a strategy towards enhancing employee performance. The findings are relevant for understanding the dynamic role of ethics and motivation in the performance analysis of any public organization and for providing the necessary strategies for performance enhancement of public organizations.

Interactive Effect of School principals’ Leadership Styles and Teacher Characteristics on Curriculum Implementation at Public Secondary Schools of Punjab

2020-07-10T15:19:12+02:00

The research was conducted in the positivist paradigm to determine the interactive effect of school principals' leadership style and the teaching characteristics (traditional Vs. Progressive) of school teachers on curriculum implementation. The research further explores how teaching characteristics mediate between school principals' leadership style and curriculum implementation. Higher secondary school teachers' perceptions were collected from 600 teachers teaching at secondary schools in six districts of Punjab. Multistage sampling was used to draw a sample from a large and diverse population. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine the relationship among various constructs leadership styles, teacher characteristics, and strategies used for the curriculum implementation at secondary schools of Punjab. Path analysis using Structure Equation Modeling with AMOS yielded unique relationships among leadership styles of school principals and teacher characteristics for curriculum implementation. Democratic style of school principals was found to exert maximum direct influence on curriculum implementation with no teacher characteristics mediation. However, it is found that both teacher characteristics play a significant mediating role in curriculum implementation; the visionary style was best mediated through progressive characteristics, and 2) commanding style was mediated through traditional characteristics. The research draws attention to existing gaps in developing teacher expertise for curriculum implementation, which need to be addressed to prepare future teacher leadership in Pakistan.