Investigating the link between Self-Concept and Job Performance of Agricultural Science Teachers in selected Secondary Schools in Namibia’s Zambezi Region (Published)

A teacher’s job performance is impacted by diverse components including, among others, the individual self-concept in teaching a particular school subject. The teacher’s self-concept is the perception or belief that he/she has about his/her psychological well-being and occupational satisfaction. The study investigated the job performance self-concept of Agricultural Science teachers in selected secondary schools in Zambezi Region of Namibia. A qualitative research design involving an individual face-to-face interview was used to collect data on teachers’ job performance self-concept from a sample of 12 participants. The study used purposive sampling to select the 12 participants made up of 6 male and 6 female Agricultural science teachers currently teaching in the study area. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the participants were proficient in both theory and practical skills, while a handful further indicated that they could identify the needs of the syllabus and that of the learners. These components were considered essential in nurturing learners’ achievement in Agricultural Science. The study further revealed that gender plays no significant role concerning teacher’s competencies in teaching Agricultural Science in the Zambezi region. However, it was found that the participants who had more years of Agricultural Science teaching experience were better equipped with subject content knowledge than their less experienced counterparts. 

Keywords: Agricultural Science, Competencies, Experience, Gender, Job Performance, Self-Concept

Empowering EFL Students with 21st-Century Skills at a Saudi University: Challenges and Opportunities (Published)

Citation: Ahmed Alghamdi (2022) Empowering EFL Students with 21st-Century Skills at a Saudi University: Challenges and Opportunities, International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, Vol. 10, No.3, pp.39-53

This study aims to examine students’ competencies of the 21st century 4Cs skills (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) among foundation-year students at a Saudi university. A twenty-one-item custom designed questionnaire was utilized to gather quantitative and qualitative data of 379 male and female students. This questionnaire includes two main constructs of self-report and close-ended as well as five open-ended questions. The close-ended questions were analysed through Man-Whitney U on-parametric statistical tests while the open-ended questions were textually analysed for particular themes or shared responses amongst the participants. The findings revealed no statistical significant difference between males and females competencies of the 4Cs skills. However, the frequency analysis of the responses revealed that the participants are still lacking the full potential of the 4Cs skills required to excel in their academic studies and the workplace after graduation. This study has practical implications for curriculum development reforms at higher educational institutions in different contexts to incorporate and integrate designated courses that promote the necessary skills students need to excel during their academic studies and after graduation to achieve current demands of and maintain sustainability in the workplace after graduation.

Keywords: 21st Century Skills, 4Cs Skills, Competencies, Foundation-Year Students, Saudi Context

Perceptions of Tamale Technical University Hospitality and Tourism Lecturers on Graduates Employability (Published)

Hospitality and Tourism (HT) higher education is a recent occurrence in Ghana. Issues of disparity in instruction and curriculum contents create problems for graduate’s employability. The industry demands graduates with employable skills and competencies, which lacks hospitality and tourism management students of higher learning put continuous pressure on educators. And can be corrected through higher education curriculum design. The study examines lecturers’ insights regarding students’ potential employability in HT sectors concerning course content, structure, relevance, adequacy and quality of lectures delivered. The results revealed that lecturers’ perceptions of skills and competencies developed by the graduate programme in Hospitality and tourism management (HTM) is inadequate and lacks employable skills. Lack of knowledge and understanding amongst students and lecturers of the hospitality and Tourism industry required skills such as generic hospitality required skills (interpersonal skills, communication skills, work ethics, professionalism, and emotional intelligence). The study adopted a qualitative approach. An in-depth semi-structured interview involving all 40 lecturers of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism of Tamale Technical University The study recommends lecturers and students having industry experience to be abreast with the industry’s needs for graduate’s employability.

Keywords: Competencies, Employability, Skills, hospitality and tourism

Effectiveness of B.ED Teachers Preparation Program Offered by Bahrain Teachers College (Published)

The teacher training program must be of paramount importance in order to establish a strong educational system that serves the objectives of the country’s educational policy. Bachelor of Education program (B.ED) in Bahrain Teachers College (BTC) at Bahrain University is specially designed to prepare an efficient teacher capable of implementing and achieving the educational objectives prepared by the Ministry of Education. This research aims to investigate the BTC graduates, senior teachers and school principals’ views of the B.ED program of BTC, and to what extent it prepared and trained BTC students to put theories into practice. Data was collected through a questionnaire. 183 participants took part in the study. The findings revealed that the program was effective in helping candidate teachers to acquire the necessary skills of instructional strategies, use of technology and effective communication. On the other hand, some of the participants responses demonstrated that some graduates are weak in content knowledge. Therefore, they suggest more training in the content knowledge for the specialization they have to teach.

Keywords: Competencies, Curriculum, Teaching, graduates