Search results for: teacher empowerment
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1795

Search results for: teacher empowerment

1045 Development of People's Participation in Environmental Development in Pathumthani Province

Authors: Sakapas Saengchai

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Study on the development of people's participation in environmental development was a qualitative research method. Data were collected by participant observation, in-depth interview and discussion group in Pathumthani province. The study indicated that 1) People should be aware of environmental information from government agencies. 2) People in the community should be able to brainstorm information, exchange information about community environment development. 3) People should have a role with community leaders. 4) People in the community should have a role to play in the implementation of projects and activities in the development of the environment and 5) citizens, community leaders, village committee have directed the development of the area. Maintaining a community environment with a shared decision. By emphasizing the process of participation, self-reliance, mutual help, and responsibility for one's own community. Community empowerment strengthens the sustainable spatial development of the environment.

Keywords: people, participation, community, environment

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1044 Recognition of Spelling Problems during the Text in Progress: A Case Study on the Comments Made by Portuguese Students Newly Literate

Authors: E. Calil, L. A. Pereira

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The acquisition of orthography is a complex process, involving both lexical and grammatical questions. This learning occurs simultaneously with the domain of multiple textual aspects (e.g.: graphs, punctuation, etc.). However, most of the research on orthographic acquisition focus on this acquisition from an autonomous point of view, separated from the process of textual production. This means that their object of analysis is the production of words selected by the researcher or the requested sentences in an experimental and controlled setting. In addition, the analysis of the Spelling Problems (SP) are identified by the researcher on the sheet of paper. Considering the perspective of Textual Genetics, from an enunciative approach, this study will discuss the SPs recognized by dyads of newly literate students, while they are writing a text collaboratively. Six proposals of textual production were registered, requested by a 2nd year teacher of a Portuguese Primary School between January and March 2015. In our case study we discuss the SPs recognized by the dyad B and L (7 years old). We adopted as a methodological tool the Ramos System audiovisual record. This system allows real-time capture of the text in process and of the face-to-face dialogue between both students and their teacher, and also captures the body movements and facial expressions of the participants during textual production proposals in the classroom. In these ecological conditions of multimodal registration of collaborative writing, we could identify the emergence of SP in two dimensions: i. In the product (finished text): SP identification without recursive graphic marks (without erasures) and the identification of SPs with erasures, indicating the recognition of SP by the student; ii. In the process (text in progress): identification of comments made by students about recognized SPs. Given this, we’ve analyzed the comments on identified SPs during the text in progress. These comments characterize a type of reformulation referred to as Commented Oral Erasure (COE). The COE has two enunciative forms: Simple Comment (SC) such as ' 'X' is written with 'Y' '; or Unfolded Comment (UC), such as ' 'X' is written with 'Y' because...'. The spelling COE may also occur before or during the SP (Early Spelling Recognition - ESR) or after the SP has been entered (Later Spelling Recognition - LSR). There were 631 words entered in the 6 stories written by the B-L dyad, 145 of them containing some type of SP. During the text in progress, the students recognized orally 174 SP, 46 of which were identified in advance (ESRs) and 128 were identified later (LSPs). If we consider that the 88 erasure SPs in the product indicate some form of SP recognition, we can observe that there were twice as many SPs recognized orally. The ESR was characterized by SC when students asked their colleague or teacher how to spell a given word. The LSR presented predominantly UC, verbalizing meta-orthographic arguments, mostly made by L. These results indicate that writing in dyad is an important didactic strategy for the promotion of metalinguistic reflection, favoring the learning of spelling.

Keywords: collaborative writing, erasure, learning, metalinguistic awareness, spelling, text production

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1043 Efficacy of Teachers' Cluster Meetings on Teachers' Lesson Note Preparation and Teaching Performance in Oyo State, Nigeria

Authors: Olusola Joseph Adesina, Sunmaila Oyetunji Raimi, Olufemi Akinloye Bolaji, Abiodun Ezekiel Adesina

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The quality of education and the standard of a nation cannot rise above the quality of the teacher (NPE, 2004). Efforts at improving the falling standard of education in the country call for the need-based assessment of the primary tier of education in Nigeria. It was revealed that the teachers’ standard of performance and pupils’ achievement was below average. Teachers’ cluster meeting intervention was therefore recommended as a step towards enhancing the teachers’ professional competency, efficient and effective proactive and interactive lesson presentation. The study thus determined the impact of the intervention on teachers’ professional performance (lesson note preparation and teaching performance) in Oyo State, Nigeria. The main and interaction effects of the gender of the teachers as moderator variable were also determined. Three null hypotheses guided the study. Pre-test, posttest control group quazi experimental design was adopted for the study. Three hundred intact classes from three hundred different schools were randomly selected into treatment and control groups. Two response instruments-Classroom Lesson Note Preparation Checklist (CLNPC; r = 0.89) Cluster Lesson Observation Checklist (CLOC; r = 0.86) were used for data collection. Mean, Standard deviation and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the collected data. The results showed that the teachers’ cluster meeting have significant impact on teachers’ lesson note preparation (F(1,295) = 31.607; p < 0.05; η2 = .097) and teaching performance (F(1,295) = 20.849; p < 0.05; η2 = .066) in the core subjects of primary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study therefore recommended among others that teachers’ cluster meeting should be sustained for teachers’ professional development in the State.

Keywords: teachers’ cluster meeting, teacher lesson note preparation, teaching performance, teachers’ gender, primary schools in Oyo state

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1042 Entrepreneurial Creativity in Socio-Economic Context

Authors: Anna Czarczynska

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Creativity is taken as a requirement for a personal anti-fragile career path in the context of regional competitive advantage in the terms of socio-economics creative environment. At the personal level, the competence and value-based approach to creativity are proposed, is an elaboration of the resource-based view of the group of individuals selected from given country. Entrepreneurial creativity competence (measured by the Schein anchor questionnaire) is based on an independent way of thinking and empowerment presents one aspect of creative capability, however quickly verified by the market, that’s why we treat this as a basic exemplification of average creative attitude combine with the entrepreneurial attitude. This introductory instrument enables further scientific research based on the same group in the context of multi-cultural external creative or the non-creative environment.

Keywords: creativity, value-based approach, entrepreneurship, regional culture

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1041 Multimodal Rhetoric in the Wildlife Documentary, “My Octopus Teacher”

Authors: Visvaganthie Moodley

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While rhetoric goes back as far as Aristotle who focalised its meaning as the “art of persuasion”, most scholars have focused on elocutio and dispositio canons, neglecting the rhetorical impact of multimodal texts, such as documentaries. Film documentaries are being increasingly rhetoric, often used by wildlife conservationists for influencing people to become more mindful about humanity’s connection with nature. This paper examines the award-winning film documentary, “My Octopus Teacher”, which depicts naturalist, Craig Foster’s unique discovery and relationship with a female octopus in the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Storms in South Africa. It is anchored in Leech and Short’s (2007) framework of linguistic and stylistic categories – comprising lexical items, grammatical features, figures of speech and other rhetoric features, and cohesiveness – with particular foci on diction, anthropomorphic language, metaphors and symbolism. It also draws on Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) multimodal analysis to show how verbal cues (the narrator’s commentary), visual images in motion, visual images as metaphors and symbolism, and aural sensory images such as music and sound synergise for rhetoric effect. In addition, the analysis of “My Octopus Teacher” is guided by Nichol’s (2010) narrative theory; features of a documentary which foregrounds the credibility of the narrative as a text that represents real events with real people; and its modes of construction, viz., the poetic mode, the expository mode, observational mode and participatory mode, and their integration – forging documentaries as multimodal texts. This paper presents a multimodal rhetoric discussion on the sequence of salient episodes captured in the slow moving one-and-a-half-hour documentary. These are: (i) The prologue: on the brink of something extraordinary; (ii) The day it all started; (iii) The narrator’s turmoil: getting back into the ocean; (iv) The incredible encounter with the octopus; (v) Establishing a relationship; (vi) Outwitting the predatory pyjama shark; (vii) The cycle of life; and (viii) The conclusion: lessons from an octopus. The paper argues that wildlife documentaries, characterized by plausibility and which provide researchers the lens to examine the ideologies about animals and humans, offer an assimilation of the various senses – vocal, visual and audial – for engaging viewers in stylized compelling way; they have the ability to persuade people to think and act in particular ways. As multimodal texts, with its use of lexical items; diction; anthropomorphic language; linguistic, visual and aural metaphors and symbolism; and depictions of anthropocentrism, wildlife documentaries are powerful resources for promoting wildlife conservation and conscientizing people of the need for establishing a harmonious relationship with nature and humans alike.

Keywords: documentaries, multimodality, rhetoric, style, wildlife, conservation

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1040 The Importance of SEEQ in Teaching Evaluation of Undergraduate Engineering Education in India

Authors: Aabha Chaubey, Bani Bhattacharya

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Evaluation of the quality of teaching in engineering education in India needs to be conducted on a continuous basis to achieve the best teaching quality in technical education. Quality teaching is an influential factor in technical education which impacts largely on learning outcomes of the students. Present study is not exclusively theory-driven, but it draws on various specific concepts and constructs in the domain of technical education. These include teaching and learning in higher education, teacher effectiveness, and teacher evaluation and performance management in higher education. Student Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) was proposed as one of the evaluation instruments of the quality teaching in engineering education. SEEQ is one of the popular and standard instrument widely utilized all over the world and bears the validity and reliability in educational world. The present study was designed to evaluate the teaching quality through SEEQ in the context of technical education in India, including its validity and reliability based on the collected data. The multiple dimensionality of SEEQ that is present in every teaching and learning process made it quite suitable to collect the feedback of students regarding the quality of instructions and instructor. The SEEQ comprises of 9 original constructs i.e.; learning value, teacher enthusiasm, organization, group interaction, and individual rapport, breadth of coverage, assessment, assignments and overall rating of particular course and instructor with total of 33 items. In the present study, a total of 350 samples comprising first year undergraduate students from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT, Kharagpur, India) were included for the evaluation of the importance of SEEQ. They belonged to four different courses of different streams of engineering studies. The above studies depicted the validity and reliability of SEEQ was based upon the collected data. This further needs Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Analysis of Moment structure (AMOS) for various scaled instrument like SEEQ Cronbach’s alpha which are associated with SPSS for the examination of the internal consistency. The evaluation of the effectiveness of SEEQ in CFA is implemented on the basis of fit indices such as CMIN/df, CFI, GFI, AGFI and RMSEA readings. The major findings of this study showed the fitness indices such as ChiSq = 993.664,df = 390,ChiSq/df = 2.548,GFI = 0.782,AGFI = 0.736,CFI = 0.848,RMSEA = 0.062,TLI = 0.945,RMR = 0.029,PCLOSE = 0.006. The final analysis of the fit indices presented positive construct validity and stability, on the other hand a higher reliability was also depicted which indicated towards internal consistency. Thus, the study suggests the effectivity of SEEQ as the indicator of the quality evaluation instrument in teaching-learning process in engineering education in India. Therefore, it is expected that with the continuation of this research in engineering education there remains a possibility towards the betterment of the quality of the technical education in India. It is also expected that this study will provide an empirical and theoretical logic towards locating a construct or factor related to teaching, which has the greatest impact on teaching and learning process in a particular course or stream in engineering education.

Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis, engineering education, SEEQ, teaching and learning process

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1039 Using Teachers' Perceptions of Science Outreach Activities to Design an 'Optimum' Model of Science Outreach

Authors: Victoria Brennan, Andrea Mallaburn, Linda Seton

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Science outreach programmes connect school pupils with external agencies to provide activities and experiences that enhance their exposure to science. It can be argued that these programmes not only aim to support teachers with curriculum engagement and promote scientific literacy but also provide pivotal opportunities to spark scientific interest in students. In turn, a further objective of these programmes is to increase awareness of career opportunities within this field. Although outreach work is also often described as a fun and satisfying venture, a plethora of researchers express caution to how successful the processes are to increases engagement post-16 in science. When researching the impact of outreach programmes, it is often student feedback regarding the activities or enrolment numbers to particular science courses post-16, which are generated and analysed. Although this is informative, the longevity of the programme’s impact could be better informed by the teacher’s perceptions; the evidence of which is far more limited in the literature. In addition, there are strong suggestions that teachers can have an indirect impact on a student’s own self-concept. These themes shape the focus and importance of this ongoing research project as it presents the rationale that teachers are under-used resources when it comes to considering the design of science outreach programmes. Therefore, the end result of the research will consist of a presentation of an ‘optimum’ model of outreach. The result of which should be of interest to the wider stakeholders such as universities or private or government organisations who design science outreach programmes in the hope to recruit future scientists. During phase one, questionnaires (n=52) and interviews (n=8) have generated both quantitative and qualitative data. These have been analysed using the Wilcoxon non-parametric test to compare teachers’ perceptions of science outreach interventions and thematic analysis for open-ended questions. Both of these research activities provide an opportunity for a cross-section of teacher opinions of science outreach to be obtained across all educational levels. Therefore, an early draft of the ‘optimum’ model of science outreach delivery was generated using both the wealth of literature and primary data. This final (ongoing) phase aims to refine this model using teacher focus groups to provide constructive feedback about the proposed model. The analysis uses principles of modified Grounded Theory to ensure that focus group data is used to further strengthen the model. Therefore, this research uses a pragmatist approach as it aims to focus on the strengths of the different paradigms encountered to ensure the data collected will provide the most suitable information to create an improved model of sustainable outreach. The results discussed will focus on this ‘optimum’ model and teachers’ perceptions of benefits and drawbacks when it comes to engaging with science outreach work. Although the model is still a ‘work in progress’, it provides both insight into how teachers feel outreach delivery can be a sustainable intervention tool within the classroom and what providers of such programmes should consider when designing science outreach activities.

Keywords: educational partnerships, science education, science outreach, teachers

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1038 The Role of Professional Teacher Development in Introducing Trilingual Education into the Secondary School Curriculum: Lessons from Kazakhstan, Central Asia

Authors: Kairat Kurakbayev, Dina Gungor, Adil Ashirbekov, Assel Kambatyrova

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Kazakhstan, a post-Soviet economy located in the Central Asia, is making great efforts to internationalize its national system of education. The country is very ambitious in making the national economy internationally competitive and education has become one of the main pillars of the nation’s strategic development plan for 2030. This paper discusses the role of professional teacher development in upgrading the secondary education curriculum with the introduction of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in grades 10-11 grades. Having Kazakh as the state language and Russian as the official language, English bears a status of foreign language in the country. The development of trilingual education is very high on the agenda of the Ministry of Education and Science. It is planned that by 2019 STEM-related subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Computing and Physics – will be taught in EMI. Introducing English-medium education appears to be a very drastic reform and the teaching cadre is the key driver here. At the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the teaching profession is still struggling to become attractive in the eyes of the local youth. Moreover, the quality of Kazakhstan’s secondary education is put in question by OECD national review reports. The paper presents a case study of the nation-wide professional development programme arranged for 5 010 school teachers so that they could be able to teach their content subjects in English starting from 2019 onwards. The study is based on the mixed methods research involving the data derived from the surveys and semi-structured interviews held with the programme participants, i.e. school teachers. The findings of the study imply the significance of the school teachers’ attitudes towards the top-down reform of trilingual education. The qualitative research data reveal the teachers’ beliefs about advantages and disadvantages of having their content subjects (e.g. Biology or Chemistry) taught in EMI. The study highlights teachers’ concerns about their professional readiness to implement the top-down reform of English-medium education and discusses possible risks of academic underperforming on the part of students whose English language proficiency is not advanced. This paper argues that for the effective implementation of the English-medium education in secondary schools, the state should adopt a comprehensive approach to upgrading the national academic system where teachers’ attitudes and beliefs play the key role in making the trilingual education policy effective. The study presents lessons for other national academic systems considering to transfer its secondary education to English as a medium of instruction.

Keywords: teacher education, teachers' beliefs, trilingual education, case study

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1037 EFL Teachers’ Sequential Self-Led Reflection and Possible Modifications in Their Classroom Management Practices

Authors: Sima Modirkhameneh, Mohammad Mohammadpanah

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In the process of EFL teachers’ development, self-led reflection (SLR) is thought to have an imperative role because it may help teachers analyze, evaluate, and contemplate what is happening in their classes. Such contemplations can not only enhance the quality of their instruction and provide better learning environments for learners but also improve the quality of their classroom management (CM). Accordingly, understanding the effect of teachers’ SLR practices may help us gain valuable insights into what possible modifications SLR may bring about in all aspects of EFL teachers' practitioners, especially their CM. The main purpose of this case study was, thus, to investigate the impact of SLR practices of 12 Iranian EFL teachers on their CM based on the universal classroom management checklist (UCMC). In addition, another objective of the current study was to have a clear image of EFL teachers’ perceptions of their own SLR practices and their possible outcomes. By conducting repeated reflective interviews, observations, and feedback of the participants over five teaching sessions, the researcher analyzed the outcomes qualitatively through the process of meaning categorization and data interpretation based on the principles of Grounded Theory. The results demonstrated that EFL teachers utilized SLR practices to improve different aspects of their language teaching skills and CM in different contexts. Almost all participants had positive comments and reactions about the effect of SLR on their CM procedures in different aspects (expectations and routines, behavior-specific praise, error corrections, prompts and precorrections, opportunity to respond, strengths and weaknesses of CM, teachers’ perception, CM ability, and learning process). Otherwise stated, results implied that familiarity with the UCMC criteria and reflective practices contributes to modifying teacher participants’ perceptions about their CM procedure and utilizing the reflective practices in their teaching styles. The results are thought to be valuably beneficial for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers, who are recommended to pay special attention to the contributions as well as the complexity of reflective teaching. The study concludes with more detailed results and implications and useful directions for future research.

Keywords: classroom management, EFL teachers, reflective practices, self-led reflection

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1036 Psychometric Properties of the Social Skills Rating System: Teacher Version

Authors: Amani Kappi, Ana Maria Linares, Gia Mudd-Martin

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Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more likely to develop social skills deficits that can lead to academic underachievement, peer rejection, and maladjustment. Surveying teachers about children's social skills with ADHD will become a significant factor in identifying whether the children will be diagnosed with social skills deficits. The teacher-specific version of the Social Skills Rating System scale (SSRS-T) has been used as a screening tool for children's social behaviors. The psychometric properties of the SSRS-T have been evaluated in various populations and settings, such as when used by teachers to assess social skills for children with learning disabilities. However, few studies have been conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the SSRS-T when used to assess children with ADHD. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the SSRS-T and two SSRS-T subscales, Social Skills and Problem Behaviors. This was a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. This study included a sample of 194 teachers who used the SSRS-T to assess the social skills of children aged 8 to 10 years with ADHD. Exploratory principal components factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of the SSRS-T scale. Cronbach’s alpha value was used to assess the internal consistency reliability of the total SSRS-T scale and the subscales. Item analyses included item-item intercorrelations, item-to-subscale correlations, and Cronbach’s alpha value changes with item deletion. The results of internal consistency reliability for both the total scale and subscales were acceptable. The results of the exploratory factor analysis supported the five factors of SSRS-T (Cooperation, Self-control, Assertion, Internalize behaviors, and Externalize behaviors) reported in the original version. Findings indicated that SSRS-T is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the social behaviors of children with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD, children, social skills, SSRS-T, psychometric properties

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1035 Fusing Mentorship, Leadership and Empowerment Among Young Women In STEM

Authors: Anne Bubriski

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Despite improvements in gender inequalities, women and girls continue to face glass ceilings, underrepresentation, and harmful stereotypes that can limit their aspirations and opportunities in STEM. While girls are taking similar high school math and science classes, boys are more likely to take physics and six times more likely to take an engineering course. The gap becomes even larger for minority or low-income girls. This gender gap is not due to biology; rather, it is due to cultural, social, and institutional forces. As girls get older, these forces often ‘teach’ them ‘STEM is more for boys’. The STEM gender gap widens in college, with only 20% of engineering degrees being awarded to women, and by the time women enter the workforce, they only occupy about 13% of engineering jobs. At the University of Central Florida, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program has developed a unique mentoring program to address these issues, Science Leadership and Mentoring (SLAM). What is unique about the approach of SLAM is that we look to address this problem through leadership and STEM. We look to help girls make connections between leadership and STEM—that young women can be leaders as scientists and that scientists are leaders making a change. This is particularly needed and relevant to our community because while there are mentoring programs to our knowledge, SLAM is one of the only, if not only, mentoring programs pairing college women and 7th-grade girls that includes a focus both on STEM and leadership in the United States. SLAM is a curriculum-based mentoring program pairing one 7th-grade girl with one UCF undergraduate STEM major. SLAM empowers young women to be assertive, brave, confident, independent, inquisitive and proud leaders in STEM. SLAM seeks to promote young women’s inspiration and excitement into STEM fields and careers while also building leadership abilities such as problem-solving, teamwork and cooperation, cultural identity and ethnic pride, advocacy for positive change, and goals for the future. SLAM serves about fifteen 7th-grade girls for the academic year and about 20 UCF students. SLAM holds weekly mentoring meetings lasting about 90 minutes, covering topics on leadership, STEM majors and careers, and STEM leadership. This past year, SLAM received a Community Action Grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to run a sub-program, SLAM-Space. SLAM-Space focused on exposing SLAM participants to aerospace engineering and other space-related STEM fields, such as physics and astronomy, through guest speakers, workshops and field trips, including the Kenndy Space Center. The proposed paper presentation will present an overview of SLAM-Space and the data findings from pre and post-surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups from the SLAM participants' experiences in the program.

Keywords: gender, leadership, STEM, empowerment

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1034 Street Begging: A Loss of Human Resource in Nigeria

Authors: Sulaiman Kassim Ibrahim

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Human Resource is one of the most important elements in any country. They are very important in actualizing the potential of every sector in the country, i.e Agric, Education, Finance, Judiciary and all formal and informal sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the loss of human resource in Nigeria through street begging. The study used intensive literature review. Finding from the review indicate that a significant number of human resource are into street begging in the country undeveloped and untapped. The paper recommend that policy should be initiated to discourage street begging, develop this resource through education and empowerment, stop rural-urban migration by providing infrastructure in the rural areas and abolish informal (Almajiri or beggars school) and transform it into formal school.

Keywords: human resource, street begging, Nigeria, Almajiri

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1033 Efficiency of Information Technology Based Learning and Teaching in Higher Educations

Authors: Mahalingam Palaniandi

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Higher education plays vital role in the nation building process for a country and the rest of world. The higher education sector develops the change-agents for the various fields which will help the human-kind wheel to run further. Conventional and traditional class-room based learning and teaching was followed in many decades which is one-to-one and one-to-many. In a way, these are simplest form of learners to be assembled in a class room wherein the teacher used the blackboard to demonstrate the theory and laboratories used for practical. As the technology evolved tremendously for the last 40 years, the teaching and learning environment changed slowly, wherein, the learning community will be anywhere in the world and teacher deliver the content through internet based tools such as video conferencing, web based conferencing tools or E-learning platforms such as Blackboard or noodle. Present day, the mobile technologies plays an important tool to deliver the teaching content on-the-go. Both PC based and mobile based learning technology brought the learning and teaching community together in various aspects. However, as the learning technology also brought various hurdles for learning processes such as plagiarism and not using the reference books entirely as most of the students wants the information instantaneously using internet without actually going to the library to take the notes from the millions of the books which are not available online as e-books which result lack of fundamental knowledge of the concepts complex theories. However, technology is inseparable in human life, now-a-days and every part of it contains piece of information technology right from computers to home appliances. To make use of the IT based learning and teaching at most efficiency, we should have a proper framework and recommendations laid to the learning community in order to derive the maximum efficiency from the IT based teaching and leaning. This paper discusses various IT based tools available for the learning community, efficiency from its usage and recommendations for the suitable framework that needs to be implemented at higher education institutions which makes the learners stronger in both theory as well as real-time knowledge of their studies that is going to be used in their future for the better world.

Keywords: higher education, e-learning, teaching learning, eLearning tools

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1032 E-Learning Platform for School Kids

Authors: Gihan Thilakarathna, Fernando Ishara, Rathnayake Yasith, Bandara A. M. R. Y.

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E-learning is a crucial component of intelligent education. Even in the midst of a pandemic, E-learning is becoming increasingly important in the educational system. Several e-learning programs are accessible for students. Here, we decided to create an e-learning framework for children. We've found a few issues that teachers are having with their online classes. When there are numerous students in an online classroom, how does a teacher recognize a student's focus on academics and below-the-surface behaviors? Some kids are not paying attention in class, and others are napping. The teacher is unable to keep track of each and every student. Key challenge in e-learning is online exams. Because students can cheat easily during online exams. Hence there is need of exam proctoring is occurred. In here we propose an automated online exam cheating detection method using a web camera. The purpose of this project is to present an E-learning platform for math education and include games for kids as an alternative teaching method for math students. The game will be accessible via a web browser. The imagery in the game is drawn in a cartoonish style. This will help students learn math through games. Everything in this day and age is moving towards automation. However, automatic answer evaluation is only available for MCQ-based questions. As a result, the checker has a difficult time evaluating the theory solution. The current system requires more manpower and takes a long time to evaluate responses. It's also possible to mark two identical responses differently and receive two different grades. As a result, this application employs machine learning techniques to provide an automatic evaluation of subjective responses based on the keyword provided to the computer as student input, resulting in a fair distribution of marks. In addition, it will save time and manpower. We used deep learning, machine learning, image processing and natural language technologies to develop these research components.

Keywords: math, education games, e-learning platform, artificial intelligence

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1031 Increasing Student Engagement through Culturally-Responsive Classroom Management

Authors: Catherine P. Bradshaw, Elise T. Pas, Katrina J. Debnam, Jessika H. Bottiani, Michael Rosenberg

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Worldwide, ethnically and culturally diverse students are at increased risk for school failure, discipline problems, and dropout. Despite decades of concern about this issue of disparities in education and other fields (e.g., 'school to prison pipeline'), there has been limited empirical examination of models that can actually reduce these gaps in schools. Moreover, few studies have examined the effectiveness of in-service teacher interventions and supports specifically designed to reduce discipline disparities and improve student engagement. This session provides an overview of the evidence-based Double Check model which serves as a framework for teachers to use culturally-responsive strategies to engage ethnically and culturally diverse students in the classroom and reduce discipline problems. Specifically, Double Check is a school-based prevention program which includes three core components: (a) enhancements to the school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) tier-1 level of support; (b) five one-hour professional development training sessions, each of which addresses five domains of cultural competence (i.e., connection to the curriculum, authentic relationships, reflective thinking, effective communication, and sensitivity to students’ culture); and (c) coaching of classroom teachers using an adapted version of the Classroom Check-Up, which intends to increase teachers’ use of effective classroom management and culturally-responsive strategies using research-based motivational interviewing and data-informed problem-solving approaches. This paper presents findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the impact of Double Check, on office discipline referrals (disaggregated by race) and independently observed and self-reported culturally-responsive practices and classroom behavior management. The RCT included 12 elementary and middle schools; 159 classroom teachers were randomized either to receive coaching or serve as comparisons. Specifically, multilevel analyses indicated that teacher self-reported culturally responsive behavior management improved over the course of the school year for teachers who received the coaching and professional development. However, the average annual office discipline referrals issued to black students were reduced among teachers who were randomly assigned to receive coaching relative to comparison teachers. Similarly, observations conducted by trained external raters indicated significantly more teacher proactive behavior management and anticipation of student problems, higher student compliance, less student non-compliance, and less socially disruptive behaviors in classrooms led by coached teachers than classrooms led teachers randomly assigned to the non-coached condition. These findings indicated promising effects of the Double Check model on a range of teacher and student outcomes, including disproportionality in office discipline referrals among Black students. These results also suggest that the Double Check model is one of only a few systematic approaches to promoting culturally-responsive behavior management which has been rigorously tested and shown to be associated with improvements in either student or staff outcomes indicated significant reductions in discipline problems and improvements in behavior management. Implications of these findings are considered within the broader context of globalization and demographic shifts, and their impacts on schools. These issues are particularly timely, given growing concerns about immigration policies in the U.S. and abroad.

Keywords: ethnically and culturally diverse students, student engagement, school-based prevention, academic achievement

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1030 English Learning Motivation in Communicative Competence

Authors: Sebastianus Menggo

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The aim of communicative language teaching is to enable learners to communicate in the target language. Each learner is required to perform the micro and macro components in each utterance produced. Utterances produced must be in line with the understanding of competence and performance of each speaker. These are inter-depended. Competence and performance are obliged to be appeared proportionally in creating the utterances. The representative of competence and performance reflects the linguistics identity of a speaker in providing sentences in each certain language community. Each lexicon spoken may lead that interlocutor in comprehending the intentions utterances given. However proportional performance of both components in an utterance needed to be further elaborated. Finding appropriate gap between competence and performance components in a communicative competence must be supported positive response given by the learners.The learners’ inability to keep communicative competence proportionally is caused by inside and outside factors. The inside factors are certain lacks such as lack of self-confidence and lack of motivation which could make students feel ashamed to produce utterances, scared to make mistakes, and have no enough confidence. Knowing learner’s English learning motivation is an urgent variable to be considered in creating conducive atmosphere classroom which will raise the learners to do more toward the achievement of communicative competence. Meanwhile, the outside factor is related with the teacher. The teacher should be able to recognize the students’ problem in creating conducive atmosphere in the classroom that will raise the students’ ability to be an English speaker qualified. Moreover, the aim of this research is to know and describe the English learning motivation affecting students’ communicative competence of 48 students of XI grade of science program at catholic senior of Saint Ignasius Loyola Labuan Bajo, West Flores, Indonesia. Correlation design with purposive procedure applied in this research. Data were collected through questionnaire, interview, and students’ speaking achievement document. Result shows the description of motivation significantly affecting students’ communicative competence.

Keywords: communicative, competence, English, learning, motivation

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1029 From Clients to Colleagues: Supporting the Professional Development of Survivor Social Work Students

Authors: Stephanie Jo Marchese

Abstract:

This oral presentation is a reflective piece regarding current social work teaching methods that value and devalue the lived experiences of survivor students. This presentation grounds the term ‘survivor’ in feminist frameworks. A survivor-defined approach to feminist advocacy assumes an individual’s agency, considers each case and needs independent of generalizations, and provides resources and support to empower victims. Feminist ideologies are ripe arenas to update and influence the rapport-building schools of social work have with these students. Survivor-based frameworks are rooted in nuanced understandings of intersectional realities, staunchly combat both conscious and unconscious deficit lenses wielded against victims, elevate lived experiences to the realm of experiential expertise, and offer alternatives to traditional power structures and knowledge exchanges. Actively importing a survivor framework into the methodology of social work teaching breaks open barriers many survivor students have faced in institutional settings, this author included. The profession of social work is at an important crux of change, both in the United States and globally. The United States is currently undergoing a radical change in its citizenry and outlier communities have taken to the streets again in opposition to their othered-ness. New waves of students are entering this field, emboldened by their survival of personal and systemic oppressions- heavily influenced by third-wave feminism, critical race theory, queer theory, among other post-structuralist ideologies. Traditional models of sociological and psychological studies are actively being challenged. The profession of social work was not founded on the diagnosis of disorders but rather a grassroots-level activism that heralded and demanded resources for oppressed communities. Institutional and classroom acceptance and celebration of survivor narratives can catapult the resurgence of these values needed in the profession’s service-delivery models and put social workers back in the driver's seat of social change (a combined advocacy and policy perspective), moving away from outsider-based intervention models. Survivor students should be viewed as agents of change, not solely former victims and clients. The ideas of this presentation proposal are supported through various qualitative interviews, as well as reviews of ‘best practices’ in the field of education that incorporate feminist methods of inclusion and empowerment. Curriculum and policy recommendations are also offered.

Keywords: deficit lens bias, empowerment theory, feminist praxis, inclusive teaching models, strengths-based approaches, social work teaching methods

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1028 Immigration and Gender Equality – An Analysis of the Labor Market Characteristics of Turkish Migrants Living in Germany

Authors: C. Asarkaya, S. Z. Siretioglu Girgin

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Turkish migrants constitute the largest group among people with migration background living in Germany. Turkish women’s labor market participation is of significant importance for their social and economic integration to the German society. This paper thus aims to investigate their labor market positions. Turkish migrant women participate less in the labor market compared to men, and are responsible for most of the housework, child care, and elderly care. This is due to their traditional roles in the family, educational level, insufficient knowledge of German language, and insufficient professional experience. We strongly recommend that wide-reaching integration policies for women are formulated, so as to encourage participation of not only migrant women but also their husbands, fathers and/or brothers, and natives.

Keywords: empowerment, Germany, labor market, migration, Turkish, women

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1027 Re-Conceptualizing the Indigenous Learning Space for Children in Bangladesh Placing Built Environment as Third Teacher

Authors: Md. Mahamud Hassan, Shantanu Biswas Linkon, Nur Mohammad Khan

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Over the last three decades, the primary education system in Bangladesh has experienced significant improvement, but it has failed to cope with different social and cultural aspects, which present many challenges for children, families, and the public school system. Neglecting our own contextual learning environment, it is a matter of sorrow that much attention has been paid to the more physical outcome-focused model, which is nothing but mere infrastructural development, and less subtle to the environment that suits the child's psychology and improves their social, emotional, physical, and moral competency. In South Asia, the symbol of education was never the little red house of colonial architecture but “A Guru sitting under a tree", whereas a responsive and inclusive design approach could help to create more innovative learning environments. Such an approach incorporates how the built, natural, and cultural environment shapes the learner; in turn, learners shape the learning. This research will be conducted to, i) identify the major issues and drawbacks of government policy for primary education development programs; ii) explore and evaluate the morphology of the conventional model of school, and iii) propose an alternative model in a collaborative design process with the stakeholders for maximizing the relationship between the physical learning environments and learners by treating “the built environment” as “the third teacher.” Based on observation, this research will try to find out to what extent built, and natural environments can be utilized as a teaching tool for a more optimal learning environment. It should also be evident that there is a significant gap in the state policy, predetermined educational specifications, and implementation process in response to stakeholders’ involvement. The outcome of this research will contribute to a people-place sensitive design approach through a more thoughtful and responsive architectural process.

Keywords: built environment, conventional planning, indigenous learning space, responsive design

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1026 Elder Abuse Interventions: What We Know and What We Need to Know

Authors: Sepali Guruge

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Background: There is an increase in interest among health care professionals and social workers in understanding how best to identify, mitigate, and prevent elder abuse. Purpose & method: Based on a recently completed scoping review of related literature, this paper will focus on the current state of knowledge on elder abuse interventions. Results: The results will be presented in light of the fact that limited literature exists on primary prevention of elder abuse. The existing literature on interventions to reduce or stop abuse will be critically examined in terms of their effectiveness. Particular attention will be paid to interventions such as relocation of older adults experiencing abuse, in-home assessments, empowerment and psycho-educational support for older adults. Conclusions: Overall, multi-stakeholder collaborative, community-based interventions should be designed to identify, mitigate, and prevent elder abuse.

Keywords: elder abuse, interventions, scoping review, prevention

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1025 Promoting Class Cooperation-Competition (Coo-Petition) and Empowerment to Graduating Architecture Students through a Holistic Planning Approach in Their Thesis Proposals

Authors: Felicisimo Azagra Tejuco Jr.

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Mentoring architecture thesis students is a very critical and exhausting task for both the adviser and advisee. It poses the challenges of resource and time management for the candidate while the best professional guidance from the mentor. The University of Santo Tomas (Manila, Philippines) is Asia's oldest university. Among its notable program is its Architecture curriculum. Presently, the five-year Architecture program requires ten semesters of academic coursework. The last three semesters are relevant to each Architecture graduating student's thesis proposal and defense. The thesis proposal is developed and submitted for approval in the subject Research Methods for Architecture (RMA). Data gathering and initial schemes are conducted in Architectural Design (AD), 9, and are finalized and defended in AD 10. In recent years, their graduating students have maintained an average of 300 candidates before the pandemic. They are encouraged to explore any topic of interest or relevance. Since 2019-2020, one thesis class has used a community planning approach in mentoring the class. Compared to other sections, the first meeting of RMA has been allocated for a visioning exercise and assessment of the class's strengths-weaknesses and opportunities-threats (SWOT). Here, the work activities of the group have been finetuned to address some identified concerns while still being aligned with the academic calendar. Occasional peer critics complement class lectures. The course will end with the approval of the student's proposal. The final year or last two semesters of the graduating class will be focused on the approved proposal. Compared to the other class, the 18 weeks of the first semester consist of regular consultations, complemented by lectures from the adviser or guest speakers. Through remote peer consultations, the mentor maximized each meeting in groups of three to five, encouraging constructive criticism among the class. At the end of the first semester, mock presentations to the external jury are conducted to check the design outputs for improvement. The final semester is spent more on the finalization of the plans. Feedback from the previous semester is expected to be integrated into the final outputs. Before the final deliberations, at least two technical rehearsals were conducted per group. Regardless of the outcome, an assessment of each student's performance is held as a class. Personal realizations and observations are encouraged. Through Online surveys, Interviews, and Focused Group Discussions with the former students, the effectiveness of the mentoring strategies was reviewed and evaluated. Initial feedback highlighted the relevance of setting a positive tone for the course, constructive criticisms from peers & experts, and consciousness of deadlines as essential elements for a practical semester.

Keywords: cooperation, competition, student empowerment, class vision

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1024 The Impact of Female Characters on a Movie’s Return on Investment

Authors: Raghav Lakhotia, Sameer Ganu, Anshul Goel, Abhishek Kumar

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In the age and times where women’s empowerment is a significant topic of discussion, we aim to analyze the potential gender diversity influence on box office revenues. The following research is carried out by collecting data from 400 Hollywood movies between the years 2014-2017 and performing regression analysis to find a correlation between the presence of female characters in movies and their return on investment (ROI). The paper finds that there is a positive relationship between the performance of the movies (its ROI) and the gender diversity i.e. the more the number of female characters, the higher the revenue generated. Another factor such as Number of Votes also has a direct impact on the revenue of the movie. The research not only takes into consideration the mere presence of women on screen but also the exchange of at least one dialogue among themselves, which is presented by the Bechdel Score of the movie.

Keywords: Bechdel, diversity, Hollywood, return on investment

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1023 The Role of the Corporate Social Responsibility in Poverty Reduction

Authors: M. Verde, G. Falzarano

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The paper examines the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR), capability approach and poverty reduction; in particular, the local employment development (LED) by way of CSR initiatives. The joint action of LED/CSR results in a win-win situation, not only for the enterprises but also for all the stakeholders involved; in this regard, subsidiarity and coordination between national and regional/local authorities are central to a socially-oriented market economy. In the first section, the CSR is analysed on the basis of its social function in the fight against poverty, as a 'capabilities deprivation'. In the central part, the attention is focused on the relationship between CSR and LED; ergo, on the role of the enterprises in fostering capabilities development (the employment). Besides, all the potential solutions are presented, stressing the possible combinations, in the last part. The benchmark is the enterprise as an economic and a social institution: the business should not be combined with profit merely, paying more attention to its sustainable impact and social contribution. In which way could it be possible? The answer is the CSR. The impact of CSR on poverty reduction is still little explored. The companies help to reduce poverty through economic contribution, human rights and social inclusion; hence, the business becomes an 'agent of development' in order to fight against 'inequality'. The starting point is the pyramid of social responsibility, where ethic and philanthropic responsibilities involve programmes and actions aimed at personal development of the individuals, improving human standard of living in all forms, including poverty, when people do not have a choice between different 'life options', ranging from level of education to employment. At this point, CSR comes into play and works on two dimensions: poverty reduction and poverty prevention, by means of a series of initiatives: first of all, job creation and precarious work reduction. Empowerment of the local actors, financial support and combination of top down and bottom up initiatives are some of CSR areas of activity. Several positive effects occur on individual levels of educations, access to capital, individual health status, empowerment of youth and woman, access to social networks and it was observed that these effects depend on the type of CSR strategy. Indeed, CSR programmes should take into account fundamental criteria, such as the transparency, the information about benefits, a coordination unit among institutions and more clear guidelines. In this way, the advantages to the corporate reputation and to the community translate into a better job matching on the labour market, inter alia. It is important to underline that the success depends on the specific measures of the areas in question, by adapting them to the local needs, in light of general principles and index; therefore, the concrete commitment of the all stakeholders involved is decisive in order to achieve the goals. The enterprise would represent a concrete contribution for the pursuit of sustainable development and for the dissemination of a social and well being awareness.

Keywords: capability approach, local employment development, poverty, social inclusion

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1022 A Study of Status of Women by Incorporating Literacy and Employment in India and Some Selected States

Authors: Barnali Thakuria, Labananda Choudhury

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Gender equality and women’s empowerment is one of the components of eight Millennium Development Goal (MDG).Literacy and employment are the parameters which reflect the empowerment of women. But in a developing country like India, literacy and working status among the females are not satisfactory. Both literacy and employment technically can be measured by Literate Life Expectancy (LLE) and Working Life Expectancy (WLE).One can also combine both the factors literacy and working to get a better new measure. The proposed indicator can be called literate-working life expectancy (LWLE). LLE gives an average number of years a person lives in a literate state under current mortality and literacy conditions while WLE defined as average number of years a person lives in a working state if current mortality and working condition prevails. Similarly, LWLE gives number of expected years by a person living under both literate and working state. The situation of females cannot be figured out without comparing both the sexes. In the present paper an attempt has been made to estimate LLE and WLE in India along with some selected states from various zones of India namely Assam from the North-East, Gujarat from the West, Kerala from the South, Rajasthan from the North, Uttar Pradesh from the Central and West Bengal from the East respectively for both the sexes based on 2011 census. Furthermore, we have also developed a formula for a new indicator namely Literate-Working Life Expectancy (LWLE) and the proposed index has been applied in India and the selected states mentioned above for both males and females. Data has been extracted from SRS(Sample Registration System) based Abridged Life Table and Census of India. The computation of LLE follows the method developed by Lutz while WLE has followed the method developed by Saw Swee Hock. By combining both the factors literacy and employment, the new indicator LWLE also follows the method like LLE and WLE. Contrasted results have been found in different parts of India. The result shows that LLE at birth is highest(lowest) in the state Kerala(Uttar Pradesh) with 61.66 (39.51) years among the males. A similar situation is also observed among the females with 62.58 years and 25.11 years respectively. But male WLE at birth is highest (lowest) in Rajasthan(Kerala) with 37.11 (32.64) years. Highest female WLE at birth is also observed in Rajasthan with 23.51 years and the lowest is concentrated in Uttar Pradesh with 11.76 years. It is also found that Kerala’s performance is exceptionally good in terms of LWLE at birth while the lowest LWLE at birth prevails in the state Uttar Pradesh among the males. Female LWLE at birth is highest(lowest) in Kerala(Uttar Pradesh) with 19.73(4.77)years. The corresponding value of the index increases as the number of factors involved in the life expectancy decrease. It is found that women are lagging behind in terms of both literacy and employment. Findings of the study will help the planners to take necessary steps to improve the position of women.

Keywords: life expectancy, literacy, literate life expectancy, working life expectancy

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1021 Attitudes of Grade School and Kindergarten Teachers towards the Implementation of Mother-Tongue Based Language in Education

Authors: Irene Guatno Toribio

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This study purported to determine and describe the attitudes of grade school and kindergarten teachers in District I, Division of City Schools in Parañaque towards the implementation of mother tongue-based multilingual education instruction. Employing a descriptive method of research, this study specifically looked into the attitudes of the participants towards the implementation of mother tongue-based language in terms of curricular content, teaching methods, instructional materials used, and administrative support. A total of nineteen teachers, eight (8) of which were kindergarten teachers and eleven (11) were grade one teachers. A self-made survey questionnaire was developed by the researcher and validated by the experts. This constituted the main instrument in gathering the needed data and information relative to the major concern of the study, which were analyzed and interpreted through the use of descriptive statistics. The findings of this study revealed that grade one and kindergarten teachers have a positive attitude towards the integration and inclusion of mother-tongue based language in the curriculum. In terms of suggested teaching methods, the kindergarten teacher’s attitude towards the use of storytelling and interactive activities is highly positive, while two groups of teachers both recommend the use of big books and painting kit as an instructional materials. While the kindergarten teachers would tend to cling on the use of big books, this was not the case for grade school teachers who would rather go for the use of painting kit which was not favored by the kindergarten teachers. Finally, in terms of administrative support, the grade one teacher is very satisfied when it comes to the support of their school administrator. While the kindergarten teachers has developed the feeling that the school administration has failed to give them enough materials in their activities, the grade school teachers, on the other hand, have developed the feeling that the same school administration might have failed to strictly evaluate the kindergarten teachers. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that the school administration must provide seminars to teachers to better equip them with the needed knowledge and competencies in implementing the Mother-Tongue Based, Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE).

Keywords: attitude, grade school, kindergarten teachers, mother-tongue

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1020 The Mitigation of Human Trafficking through Agricultural Development: A Proactive International Approach

Authors: Brianna Douglas

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A literary Meta-Analysis was conducted in order to form a proactive solution to the systematic issue of international human trafficking stemming from the Asia-Pacific region. This approach seeks to resolve the low economic prospect for women in the region, along with other identified drivers, to mitigate human trafficking before it begins. Through the reallocation of aid in agriculture, implementation of an education-for-education model, and provision of access to market information to the women in rural regions, the retraction of both the supply and international demand curves of trafficked humans is possible; resulting in the shutdown of the market as a whole. This report provides a basic and adaptable proposal to mitigation the selling of Asia Pacific women within international trafficking schemes with byproduct effects of increasing food, sustainability and decreasing government spending.

Keywords: human trafficking, agricultural development, Asia Pacific, women's empowerment

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1019 Audio-Lingual Method and the English-Speaking Proficiency of Grade 11 Students

Authors: Marthadale Acibo Semacio

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Speaking skill is a crucial part of English language teaching and learning. This actually shows the great importance of this skill in English language classes. Through speaking, ideas and thoughts are shared with other people, and a smooth interaction between people takes place. The study examined the levels of speaking proficiency of the control and experimental groups on pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and fluency. As a quasi-experimental study, it also determined the presence or absence of significant changes in their speaking proficiency levels in terms of pronouncing the words correctly, the accuracy of grammar and fluency of a language given the two methods to the groups of students in the English language, using the traditional and audio-lingual methods. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed according to the stated specific problems. The study employed a video presentation with prior information about it. In the video, the teacher acts as model one, giving instructions on what is going to be done, and then the students will perform the activity. The students were paired purposively based on their learning capabilities. Observing proper ethics, their performance was audio recorded to help the researcher assess the learner using the modified speaking rubric. The study revealed that those under the traditional method were more fluent than those in the audio-lingual method. With respect to the way in which each method deals with the feelings of the student, the audio-lingual one fails to provide a principle that would relate to this area and follows the assumption that the intrinsic motivation of the students to learn the target language will spring from their interest in the structure of the language. However, the speaking proficiency levels of the students were remarkably reinforced in reading different words through the aid of aural media with their teachers. The study concluded that using an audio-lingual method of teaching is not a stand-alone method but only an aid of the teacher in helping the students improve their speaking proficiency in the English Language. Hence, audio-lingual approach is encouraged to be used in teaching English language, on top of the chalk-talk or traditional method, to improve the speaking proficiency of students.

Keywords: audio-lingual, speaking, grammar, pronunciation, accuracy, fluency, proficiency

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1018 Social Capital in Housing Reconstruction Post Disaster Case of Yogyakarta Post Earthquake

Authors: Ikaputra

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This paper will focus on the concept of social capital for especially housing reconstruction Post Disaster. The context of the study is Indonesia and Yogyakarta Post Earthquake 2006 as a case, but it is expected that the concept can be adopted in general post disaster reconstruction. The discussion will begin by addressing issues on House Reconstruction Post Disaster in Indonesia and Yogyakarta; defining Social Capital as a concept for effective management capacity based on community; Social Capital Post Java Earthquake utilizing Gotong Royong—community mutual self-help, and Approach and Strategy towards Community-based Reconstruction.

Keywords: community empowerment, Gotong Royong, post disaster, reconstruction, social capital, Yogyakarta-Indonesia

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1017 Empowering South African Female Farmers through Organic Lamb Production: A Cost Analysis Case Study

Authors: J. M. Geyser

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Lamb is a popular meat throughout the world, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. However, the conventional lamb industry faces challenges related to environmental sustainability, climate change, consumer health and dwindling profit margins. This has stimulated an increasing demand for organic lamb, as it is perceived to increase environmental sustainability, offer superior quality, taste, and nutritional value, which is appealing to farmers, including small-scale and female farmers, as it often commands a premium price. Despite its advantages, organic lamb production presents challenges, with a significant hurdle being the high production costs encompassing organic certification, lower stocking rates, higher mortality rates and marketing cost. These costs impact the profitability and competitiveness or organic lamb producers, particularly female and small-scale farmers, who often encounter additional obstacles, such as limited access to resources and markets. Therefore, this paper examines the cost of producing organic lambs and its impact on female farmers and raises the research question: “Is organic lamb production the saving grace for female and small-scale farmers?” Objectives include estimating and comparing production costs and profitability or organic lamb production with conventional lamb production, analyzing influencing factors, and assessing opportunities and challenges for female and small-scale farmers. The hypothesis states that organic lamb production can be a viable and beneficial option for female and small-scale farmers, provided that they can overcome high production costs and access premium markets. The study uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data involves semi-structured interviews with ten female and small-scale farmers engaged in organic lamb production in South Africa. The interview covered topics such as farm characteristics, practices, cost components, mortality rates, income sources and empowerment indicators. Quantitative data used secondary published information and primary data from a female farmer. The research findings indicate that when a female farmer moves from conventional lamb production to organic lamb production, the cost in the first year of organic lamb production exceed those of conventional lamb production by over 100%. This is due to lower stocking rates and higher mortality rates in the organic system. However, costs start decreasing in the second year as stocking rates increase due to manure applications on grazing and lower mortality rates due to better worm resistance in the herd. In conclusion, this article sheds light on the economic dynamics of organic lamb production, particularly focusing on its impact on female farmers. To empower female farmers and to promote sustainable agricultural practices, it is imperative to understand the cost structures and profitability of organic lamb production.

Keywords: cost analysis, empowerment, female farmers, organic lamb production

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1016 Development of Scale in Evaluation of Effectiveness of Motivation of Divine Leadership

Authors: Parviz Abadi

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Leadership is a key driver in organizational achievement. The research presented herein intends on providing the tools for assessing Divine Leadership, which imperative in quantitative evaluations of a leadership. The effectiveness of this leadership has never been examined. There are various tests that can be applied to this leadership, such as evaluation of it against follower motivation, or the impact it has on organizational success, etc. One of the common means of evaluation of a phenomenon is to conduct a quantitative study on the hypothesis related to the subject. The dimensions enacted in this leadership consisted of Humility, Integrity, Empowerment, Altruism, and Visionary. However, these elements of the construct of leadership are latent subjects and cannot easily be assessed. Therefore, it is necessary to develop tangible items that can relate to the construct. The study presented herein was conducted to develop the scales that were tangible and could have been applied in a quantitative study to assess this leadership. The study led to generating a detailed questionnaire, which consisted of 40 questions, that could be presented to participants in the survey.

Keywords: leadership, management, scale development, organizations

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