Page Number
Article Information
(Dis)Enablers of Democratization of Secondary School Governance in Zambia
Eunifridah Simuyaba and Onoriode Collins Potokri
DOI: 10.15604/ejss.2022.10.03.001
Abstract
This study sought to explore the functioning of school governing bodies (SGBs) with a view to understand how SGBs enable or disenable democracy in selected secondary schools in the Southern Province of Zambia. The study utilized a qualitative research approach and was underpinned by the conceptual framework of decentralization. The sample comprised members of SGBs (2 chairpersons, 2 head teachers, 2 parent governors, and 2 teacher governors). Data collected from interviews were analyzed thematically, while observations and document review data were analyzed using content analysis. The study established the existence of both enabling and disenabling elements in SGBs. The study concluded that the SGBs were, in the main, democratic and had implemented the principle of decentralization with participation by all eligible stakeholders. Despite the presence of democratic features, certain undemocratic elements were identified in the SGBs. The study further revealed that the SGBs’ lack of adequate preparation impacted negatively on effective delivery by members, and this was in part attributed to some of the disenabling elements found among SGBs. The study, among other things, advocates for the training of school governors if they are to act more democratically.
Keywords: School Governance, School Governing Bodies, Enablers/Disenablers in Democratic School Governance, Democracy, Decentralization, Zambia
Pre-Covid Mortality in North Ossetia-Alania
Gregory Brock
DOI: 10.15604/ejss.2022.10.03.002
Abstract
North Ossetia-Alania (NOA) regional mortality over thirty years of transition is described in detail for the first time. Though NOA and other Caucasus regions are perceived to have higher life expectancy than Russia overall, we find that, like the rest of Russia, men live much shorter lives in both rural and urban areas. Urban mortality is lower for most causes of death than rural mortality with women in particular showing improvements in lowering mortality and higher life expectancy at birth. Male mortality across all ages is better in the 21st century than the 1990s but has not improved recently relative to the early 2000s. Sigma and beta mortality divergence reveal little improvement in male mortality relative to female mortality with the gender gap unchanged since the Soviet era which is unusual at the regional level. Nostalgia for Soviet era health systems is misplaced as health has improved since then especially like other regions in the area of infant mortality and deaths before the age of 5. Policy recommendations include moving some health care out of the capital of Vladikavkaz to take advantage of relatively lower rural mortality as well as promoting more rural economic development.
Keywords: North Ossetia-Alania, Public Health, Mortality, Divergence
Faculty Initiative and Level of Experience in a U.S. University in Internationalizing their Curriculum to Foster Student Glocal Competence
Joseph Kolawole Abon and Emmanuel Jean-Francois
DOI: 10.15604/ejss.2022.10.03.003
Abstract
This study contributes by informing on the strategies that faculty uses to internationalize and integrate their curriculum to foster student glocal competence. Phenomenological processes such as epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis were developed to recognize, appreciate, and derive meaning from the perceptions faculty hold while internationalizing their curriculum. We expound on classroom activities and diverse curriculum contents that are utilized to internationalize in classroom settings. Purposive sampling and snowballing were used, and the sample size is based on the largeness of the sample while the selection of participants included a purposeful selection of 16 faculty members. Also, the “open coding” technique was used to identify instances of interviewees’ perceptions of faculty nternationalizing their curriculum at the glocal level. The study adopts a phenomenological qualitative single case study that used individual interviews using open-ended questionnaires and document analysis for data collection. The sample focused on tenured track and instructional faculty only in internationalizing their curriculum. Findings revealed that most of the faculty mentioned the importance of involving students in the nternationalization of the curriculum. Participants also state that student involvement cannot be taken away because student background, and previous and current experience from their different locals around the globe, will enrich internationalization.
Keywords: Internationalization, Glocalization, Curriculum, Experience, Higher Education
A Description of Small-Scale Farmers’ Indigenous Household Livelihood Strategies in Dikgale Communıity in Limpopo
Sejabaledi A. Rankoana
DOI: 10.15604/ejss.2022.10.03.004
Abstract
The current research examines the degree to which indigenous crop and livestock production are still practiced and relied upon as sources of household income in a rural community in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. The study is motivated by observations that indigenous knowledge contributes to rural economies by ensuring household food security and generating income. A total of 61 small-scale farmers, purposely sampled were interviewed through semi-structured interviews. The study findings show that indigenous subsistence crops and livestock production continue to be the primary sources of food and income in the studied community. In subsistence
crop production, maize and groundnuts are the most often produced crops in the home-gardens. The fresh fruits are consumed with surplus maize exchanged for maize meal at the local milling company. Like maize, groundnuts are consumed fresh while surplus is sold in the local market. Additionally, the farmers raise cattle as a source of revenue, with the stock being sold for cash to supplement family income. Fewer farmers keep livestock, particularly cattle as a result of scarcity of stock feed and water to raise and maintain the stock. This mode of subsistence has withstood the influence of Western knowledge systems and the adverse effects of climate change.
Keywords: Rural Community, Indigenous Knowledge, Livelihood Strategy, Small-Scale Farmers,
Livelihood Outcome, Sustainable Livelihood
Contact
Eurasian Publications
(Esra Barakli)
Aksemsettin Mah. Kocasinan Cad.
Erenoglu Is Merkezi
Fatih – Istanbul, TURKEY
Email: [email protected]
Copyright 2013-2024 © Eurasian Publications | Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.