There is an obvious shift of paradigm from the near unproductive method of teaching known as the traditional method that centers teaching around the teacher, to constructivism, which is a conglomerate of teaching methods that centers learning experiences on the learner. Constructivists believe that knowledge is not just handed down to the learner from the teacher, but, that knowledge is actively constructed by the learner. New information is consciously built into the cognitive structure of the learner for meaningful learning to take place. This contrasts markedly from rote learning that dwells so much on memorization and recall of facts otherwise known as rote learning. In this paper, research efforts at innovations are highlighted. However, the critical issue is whether or not these efforts have benefited the teaching service. The paper attempts to answer the question whether or not the teachers at the point of implementation are adequately aware of these innovations, and to find out if there is any mechanism in place for their enlightenment. A 10 item Research Awareness Questionnaire (RAQ) was used to elicit information from 300 teachers randomly selected from secondary schools in three Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State of Nigeria. Results show that a vast majority of secondary school teachers are out of contact with research efforts. A majority neither read research reports in journals nor engages in any form of research, and there is no formal link between researchers and teachers in the secondary schools. From the results obtained, suggestions and recommendations are made.

It is expected that all children of primary school age should be enrolled in primary schools. It is however, obvious that the government cannot provide enough primary schools to cater for the exponentially growing populations, hence, the need for private participation. Regrettably, a larger part of the populace is not beneficiaries of private participation in the provision of basic education. This study discovered that private providers of primary and nursery schools are concentrated in urban centers that represent a minute part of the population. It was also seen that the fees charged by these private providers are above the reach of the peasant majority in the Nigerian socio economic settings. From the findings, recommendations are made.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges in teaching composition writing in Kenyan secondary schools. This was accomplished through the study objectives which were to: establish the challenges encountered in teaching and learning of composition writing, investigate if there are adequate resources to teach composition writing and find out the techniques teachers use to teach composition writing. The study was based on Selinker’s (1975) Interlanguage Theory and Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis Theory. The Inter-language theory posits that learners develop an Inter-language in the process of second language acquisition; and teachers should view errors made by students as a step towards the target language. The Input Hypothesis stresses on the role of input (teaching) on mastery of a second language. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The research was undertaken in Pokot County.. The researcher used stratified random sampling to select the three categories of schools; 3 boys, 2girls and 3 mixed schools. Systematic random sampling was used to select 20 form three students from each of the selected schools. This formed about 30% of the accessible population, which Kerlinger (1973) recommends as being a representative sample for a descriptive research study. A total of 160 students and 16 teachers participated in the study. The teachers were selected purposively. Frankel and Wallen (2006) recommend at least 100 subjects in a descriptive study and176 respondents were used in this study. Data was collected through student and teacher questionnaires and a writing task for the students. Both close-ended and open-ended questionnaires were used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that writing is not taught effectively in schools. It was also evident that both teachers and students face challenges which include inadequate resources, heavy work load on the part of the teachers, and lack of motivation, mother tongue influence and limited use of English both in school and at home. The study recommends that, teachers should give learners tasks that motivate them, use techniques that are learner centred such as dramatization, role- play and group writing. The schools management should provide adequate resources and develop school language policies that will encourage the use of English in the school compound. The teachers Service Commission should post more teachers to the schools to curb the issue of work load so that language teachers can have sufficient time to train learners on writing skills.

The objective of this research is to analyze the effect of principal leadership and achievement motivation on teaching competence of public school teacher in Manado city. The used research method is survey method and regression analysis by doing the prerequisite test first, i.e. data normality and linearity test. Then, data analysis using simple regression and multiple regressions are conducted, and after that significance test is conducted. The result of data analysis shows that: (1) the principal leadership positively affects teaching competence of public school teacher in Manado city; (2) achievement motivation positively affects teaching competence of public school teacher in Manado city; (3) simultaneously principal leadership and achievement motivation positively affects teaching competence of public school teacher in Manado city.

Administering medication via enteral tube is predominantly a nursing responsibility across countries. It is important to identify what nurses actually know and do when giving enteral medication for critically ill patients to ensure patient's safety and prevent complications. The aim of this study is to assess the nurses’ knowledge and practices about administration of medications via nasogastric tube (NGT) among critically ill patients at Cairo University Hospitals. Sample consists of sixty bedside male and female nurses who are working in the different Critical and Intensive Care Units. Descriptive/exploratory research design was utilized in the current study. This study was conducted at the different Critical and Intensive Care Units at El-Manial Specialty Hospitals affiliated to Cairo University. Three tools were utilized to collect data pertinent to the study; Nasogastric medication administration nurses' knowledge questionnaire schedule, Nurses' opinionaire sheet and Nasogastric medication administration observational checklist. The nurses were interviewed for answering the knowledge questionnaire schedule and opinionaire sheet then each nurse was observed during administration of medication via NGT for three different times using nurses' observational check list. The mean of the three observations was calculated. Findings of this study shows that the majority of the studied sample were females, married and having diploma qualification as well, more than two third of them their age ranged between 26 – 45 years. More than half of them had more than 10 years of experience. All of them were having an unsatisfactory level of knowledge and practices. Results of the present study indicated that there is a gap between nurses' knowledge and practices as compared to the standard guidelines about medication administration via nasogastric tube. The study recommended that enrichment of the Critical Care nurses at El-Manial Specialty Hospital knowledge and practices related to administration of medications via nasogastric tube according to the standard guidelines will be helpful to ensure patient safety and provide cost effective care. Also replication of this study on larger probability sample at the different geographical location at Egypt is highly recommended.

This study which centres on the impact of HIV on workers’ job performance in organizations briefly introduced the effect of HIV to the worker and its prevalence in Nigeria. It reviewed the origin and meaning of HIV, the relationship between HIV and job performance and the impact of having HIV positive workers in an organization. This study also concludes by analysing various ways the impact of HIV can be cushioned towards both the worker and the organization.

The study investigated the types of score used by University lecturers for assessing students. A sample of 6000 lecturers was randomly selected from 12 universities in Nigeria. A questionnaire indicating raw score, percentage, Z-score, T score, percentile and stanine was administered to the lecturers. Data analysis involved the use of percentage and chi-square. Results showed that most of the university lecturers use raw score in assessing students’ achievement after their semester examinations. There was the need to correct measurement error by transforming raw score of students to Percentile, Z-score, and T-score. These have implications for educational measurement. Recommendations on the appropriate score for assessing students by their lecturers were made.

This study investigated the relationship between the responses of Biology and English teachers on extrinsic motivational factors provision to teachers and students’ academic achievement in Adamawa State. The design of the study was survey research design. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 64 Biology and English teachers and 182 Biology and English students’ selected by stratified random sampling technique from the five educational zones of the State. Data were collected with Relationship Between Teachers’ Extrinsic motivation Questionnaire (RBTEMQ) and Biology and English Achievement Tests (BAT and EAT). The RBTEMQ was constructed by the researchers on five point scale while BAT and EAT were multiple choice objective tests. The RBTEMQ was face validated while BAT and EAT were both face and content validated. The reliability coefficient of RBTEMQ was estimated with Cronbach alpha method which gave an internal consistency reliability coefficient of 0.74; that of BAT and EAT were estimated with Kuder – Richardson formula 20 which gave internal consistency reliability coefficients of 0.75 and 0.76 respectively. Data were analyzed with mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while Pearson Product Moment Correlation method was used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that the provision of extrinsic motivational factors to Adamawa State teachers was low but there is significant relationship between the responses of Biology and English teachers on the provision of extrinsic motivational factors for teachers and students’ academic achievement. It was recommended among others that Adamawa State government should provide adequate extrinsic motivational factors for teachers.

Emergent reading refers to the reading related developments that occur before formal reading instruction. Although research on this concept exists in other countries, It is a relatively new concept in Kenya and for this reason has not received much attention in research. Recent studies in Kenya are consistently reporting poor reading achievements among children in primary school. These studies show that most of the reading difficulties begin from early childhood years and continue impacting on children’s reading attainment in their later school years. This implies that there is need to establish issues surrounding reading development from children’s early years. The study from which this paper draws investigated the current status of caregiver perceptions and practices with 30 to 42 months old children around print. The study found that caregivers largely lacked knowledge about children’s emergent reading development and their role in it. Caregivers’ perceptions about their role in children’s emergent reading development were largely negative. These findings implied that children are receiving little or no stimulation to enhance their early reading development. Consequently, they may start preschool with little or no interest and motivation to read. This may explain the reading difficulties that recent research has reported. Important recommendations arising from the study include the need to sensitize caregivers’ and to help them redefine their role in children’s emergent reading development are the key recommendations discussed in this paper.