Perception of Teachers and Principal on the Extent the Innovations in Science Curriculum is managed to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals among Senior Secondary School in Ikwuano LGA of Abia (Published)
The study examined the perception of teachers and principal on the extent the innovations in science curriculum is managed to achieve sustainable development goals among senior secondary school in Ikwuano LGA of Abia. Two research questions and one hypothesis were raised to guide the study. The design for the study is a descriptive survey design, the area of the study is Ikwuano LGA and the population for the study consists of all principals and teachers in senior secondary school in Ikwuano LGA. The sample for the study consists of 100 teachers and 20 Principals. The instrument for data collection was a researcher structured questionnaire tagged “PTPISCMASDGQ” perception of teachers and principal on the extent innovations in science curriculum is managed to achieve sustainable development goals questionnaire. Content and face validity of the instrument was determined by administering the instrument to two lecturers in the department of Educational Management from the College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha and it yielded a coefficient 0.78. The data were analyzed using Mean and standard deviation while T-test. The results obtained from the study reveals that innovation in schools were no adequate for global competitiveness. It was recommended that process of planning educational change and innovation in science curriculum in Nigeria, should give the issues of training and retraining of teachers’ optimal consideration amongst others.
Keywords: Curriculum, Innovation, Science Education, Sustainable Development Goals
The Effect of Surveillance and Evaluation Expectation on the Creativity of Primary School Pupils (Published)
Creativity seems to be one of the determinants of perpetuation of species. Humans need to invent creative ways for dealing with the challenges of surviving in a continuously evolving planet. Creativity also has great implications for a nation’s development. Nurturing and enhancing creativity is a major concern for educators. This study focusses on finding the effect of surveillance and Evaluation, two factors identified as killers of creativity; on the creativity of primary school pupils. Piaget’s theory of creativity and Vygotsky’s theory of creativity were used to explain the possible relationships in the study. The research design is the post-test control group quasi experimental design. Thirty-five children from two intact classes were purposively selected for the study. Four research questions were asked and two hypothesis formulated for the study. Data was collected from creative arts classwork of the pupils and analysed using the Independent population t-test. Results revealed a significant effect of both surveillance and evaluation expectation on the creativity of primary school pupils. Recommendations were made.
Keywords: Creativity, Evaluation, Innovation, Self-reliance, Surveillance
THE MEDIATOR ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIVENESS BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS (Published)
Organizational culture and organizational innovativeness are viewed as important factors for improving the organizational effectiveness in institutions of higher education. The aim of this study was to examine the correlations among organizational culture, organizational innovativeness and organizational effectiveness. Moreover, the mediating role of organizational innovativeness between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness was studied.The method used in the study was survey research. Based on the cluster sampling method, all full time faculty members from five branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU), Pars Province, Iran, were included in the sample of the study. The number of respondents was 369 participants. For measuring variables, three questionnaires were employed. The findings indicated that the adhocracy culture, market culture and clan culture were found to have significant positive correlations with organizational innovativeness and organizational effectiveness. However, hierarchy culture showed no significant relationship with either organizational innovativeness or organizational effectiveness. Additionally, organizational innovativeness partially mediated the relationships among clan, adhocracy and market cultures with organizational effectiveness.Therefore, organizational culture not only directly influences both innovativeness and effectiveness but also influences effectiveness through innovation. The university administrators should be aware of the benefits from the implementation of a culture that supports innovation in order to assure the effectiveness of universities.
Keywords: Adhocracy culture, Clan culture, Hierarchy Culture, Innovation, Iran, Market culture
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (Published)
Recognizing the several roles that education can play in turning a country around had prompted the Nigerian nation to change from the system of education that was bequeathed to her by the British colonialist into an education system that was believed, could move the country forward and accelerate a rapid growth and development. The Nigerian nation needed a system of education that could favorably compete with its developing counterparts in the area of science and technology, good governance and in socio-economic advancement; a system that could create a national consciousness in the citizens and a holistic development in all spheres of life. There was the need to have an education system that is result-focused and development-driven.With this challenge, it became binding and fundamental to design an education system that could transform the Nigerian nation in all respects and a system of education that is capable of building a sound and virile society for the Nigerian nation state. It was the general belief therefore, that the 6-3-3-4 system of education could make a dramatic and the desired change that the nation had long aspired to have. The system has taken more than a period of three decades now in practice, it is not too early nor out of purview to assess the product or take stock of its successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses. It is with this in view, that this paper has tried to look at one of the cardinal components of the New National Policy on Education, its functionality, how much it has impacted or challenged the imaginative and the creative competence of the Nigerian child especially at the secondary school level and how much it has transformed the beneficiaries of the system and the entire sectorial life of the Nigerian nation. In doing this, the paper has tried to look at few of the core techniques of teaching that are used often by teachers and how the traditional teaching techniques could be assisted to provoke the latent imaginative and the creative ability of the child by teachers in our secondary schools so as to achieve the goals that were set for the 6-3-3-4 system of education. To address this impasse, the study has stressed how the traditional teaching techniques could be fostered and be better strengthened through the use of strategies that could help to transform theories and practices learnt by students in the classroom to functional assets. In addition, how the strategies could synchronize with the existing teaching techniques to make a change in secondary school teaching and make learning easier was given a pertinent consideration. Recognizing the preponderance of the challenges foisted on our education system, some recommendations were made to the relevant bodies that oversee the running of education in Nigeria and, to those who are suppose to complement the efforts of those vested with the responsibility of managing the education industry in Nigeria
Keywords: Creativity, Imaginative competence, Innovation, Self-actualization, Self-improvement, Self-realization