Multicultural Education: Work Yet to be Done

This paper brings to the surface for review, discussion, and debate, some critical issues for which multicultural education specialists need to provide useful theoretical frameworks that may guide our explanations to these issues. With the embracing of the ideology of multicultural education in the United States, practically every institution of formal learning, from the grade school to the university, is rapidly subscribing or has already subscribed to multicultural curricula. By embracing the multicultural agenda, educational institutions are demonstrating a commitment to broadening students\u27 views of American subcultures (and world cultures). By exposing students to these subcultures, their histories, experiences and contributions to the U.S. society, it is expected that students will appreciate and celebrate cultural differences, and that ultimately, multicultural education will help eradicate all forms of bigotry, such as racial-ethnic bigotry, sexism, homophobia, etc. in the United States. While the intent of multiculturalism is positive, a critical examination of some aspects of this educational reform endeavor, reveal, at least theoretically, that certain issues in multicultural programming require the development of strong explanatory frameworks. Without adequate explanatory frameworks to explain the issues outlined in this study, these issues may pose great threats to the strength of multicultural education as an interventionist program against bigotry. The area of multiculturalism covered in this study is limited to racial and ethnic (cultural) diversity

Extraneous Effects of Race, Gender, and Race-Gender Homo- and Heterophily Conditions on Data Quality

This study comprehensively investigated the differences in response patterns of interview respondents by race, gender, and race-gender of both respondents and interviewers, to assess the impacts of response inconsistencies on data quality during survey interviews. The study focused only on Blacks and Whites in various interview phily matches. Interviewees (N = 491) responded to fully structured, closed-ended questions through direct interviews on support for affirmative action, and support for the 2009 America’s Affordable Health Choices Act as dependent variables. Findings showed various amounts of response differences to both dependent variables by differences in race, gender, and race-gender of respondents, vis-àvis those of the interviewers’, thereby constituting various amounts of data inconsistencies. The effects of race, gender, and race-gender of both interviewers and respondents constitute potential nonrandom errors that must be controlled in interview survey research, otherwise, research findings and conclusions may diverge from true relationships between variables

Data Analysis Made Easy: An Undergraduate Student\u27s Guide to Choosing Appropriate Statistical Tests for Social Research

This article is written as a guide for undergraduate students in using statistics in the social sciences. Some general guidelines are provided for deciding which statistic to use with different types of data (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio). Four sections are presented: identifying variables, choosing appropriate statistics, computation, and understanding results. This article is not written as a nuts and bolts guide to teaching all of statistics but instead is a guide to help students. Instructors of this material may also benefit from these discussions

The Game Theory and the Politics of Cross-carpeting in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Politics, no doubt is a game of number. Therefore, the support base of political parties in terms of quantity of supporters is a determinant to winning election. The study adopted the theory of games as a theoretical model to unfold the scheming mechanism embedded in the new dimension of cross-carpeting by Nigeria's political actors. Whereas the game theory is anchored on the rationality of the behaviour of the players participating in the game, such assumption may just be a theoretical construct against the backdrop of incessant cross-carpeting among Nigerians political actors. The study affirmed that, while cross-carpeting is a feature of multiparty democracy like Nigeria, it can only be relevant when elected office holders respect the "rules of the game'' that guide cross-carpeting. Therefore, indiscriminate cross-carpeting by the political actors is antithetical to democratic consolidation. Keywords: Game Theory, Political party, Cross-carpeting, Ideology, Conflic

An Exploratory Study of Job Satisfaction among Mail Handlers and Sorters in a Package-Delivery Organization

This is an exploratory study of the correlates and predictors of job satisfaction among mail handlers and sorters, in a package-delivery organization, used as case study. Job satisfaction has been widely studied, but most studies have largely neglected manual laborers. This study is a shift from traditional research participants (health care providers, the military, scientists) of job satisfaction studies to manual workers. A research framework consisting of a theoretical and a demographic model was used to establish correlates and predictors of job satisfaction. Findings of correlation analyses and three regression models (used for triangulation) showed that ten variables were correlated with job satisfaction in simple correlation analyses, but only four, “job rewards”, “distributive justice”, “job alternatives” (in the theoretical model) and “city tenure” (in the demographic model) emerged as reliable predictors of job satisfaction among study participants

IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEES'PERFORMANCE IN A PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA.

This study investigated the impact of conflict management on employees’ performance in a public sector organisation, a case of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). This study adopted the survey research design. A total of 100 respondents were selected for the study using stratified sampling technique. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Hypotheses were tested through regression analysis and correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that effective conflict management enhance employee’s performance in an organisation and that organisation’s conflict management system influences employee performance in the organisation. It was recommended that organisation should embark on training and retraining of its employees in area of conflict management so as to create a conductive working environment for the employees and that there should be efficient and effective communication between and among all categories of the employees the organisation. This will reduce conflicting situations in the organisation

Assessment of the Impact of Compensation on Employees Performance

The major objective of most employers is to obtain optimum result possible from employees. The employees aspire to obtain maximum level of compensation from their labour input. Any exercise of performance evaluation may therefore be an assessment of the level of effectiveness of compensation. This paper attempts to analyse the Impact of compensation on performance of the employees. Survey research method was used'" in the conduct of the study. The researchers used questionnaires as the instrument of data collection. The data collected were analysed using descriptive method and simple percentage. The hypothesis is proffered was tested with the use of chi-square. The study revealed that there a positive relationship between compensation and employees performance. That is, if employees were adequately compensated, they wiLL perform better than those that were poorly compensated

The Effects of Nonmetropolitan Net Migration Rates on Selected Demographic and Economic Characteristics

This study focused on the effects of net migration on employment in the non-metropolitan sectors of the Agricultural Western Plains Division of the West North Central Region between 1970 and 1980. The states that constituted the division are North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas

The Ogoni of Nigeria

The Ogoni are a minority ethnic people who live in the Western Niger Delta Region of southern Nigeria. During the 1970s, Ogoniland, or the Ogoni Nation, became part of the Rivers State of Nigeria. There are approximately 500,000 Ogoni who represent less than 0.05 percent of Nigeria\u27s 100 to 120 million people. The population density of this region equals 1,233 people per square mile, making it one of the most densely populated areas of Nigeria. Reliable information about the origin of the Ogoni is limited. Archaeological and oral historical evidence suggests that the Ogoni have inhabited the area for over 500 years. Presently, two theories exist about the origin of this people. First, the Ogoni may have migrated into their present territory from across the Imo River sometime around the eighteenth or the nineteenth century. Vestiges of this migration are two Ogoni villages, Warife and Utetuk, that still exist at the other side of the river. Warife still speak Khana, whereas Utetuk have adopted the customs and language of Annang, a neighboring tribe in the Akwa Ibom State. When they arrived in the region, the Ogoni did not find this area to be occupied. As a consequence, they were able to keep their identity from their neighbors-the Ibibios in the southeast, the Igbos to the north, the Ikwerres to the west, and the Andoni and Ijaws to the south. According to this theory, the first Ogoni settlement was in the Khana kingdom, followed by Tai, Gokana, and Eleme, respectively. The Ogoni Nation grew from these first settlements. The second theory claims that the Ogoni people came on the trading ships, which often visited Bonny, a small city-state island in the delta. They began to settle in Bonny until their population began to outgrow the little town. This necessitated their migration further inland. Once they arrived at Bonny, the resident Ibani people referred to the new arrivals as the Igoni or strangers. As time passed, the Ibani then became known as the Ogoni. Today, in Bonny, people say that the Ogoni and the Ibani are brothers. It is quite possible that Ogoni residence on this island in the delta prevented them from being captured during the slave raids that ravaged the mainland

Perceptions of Effective Behavioral Leadership Qualities, by Gender of Teachers, in the Schools for Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired in Nigeria

This study investigated gender similarities and differences in teachers’ perceptions of essential behavioral leadership qualities (EBLQ) for effective school leadership of principals, in the schools for children who are blind or visually impaired (SCBVI) in Nigeria. We, hence, attempted to answer three questions: 1) What were the perceived essential leadership qualities necessary for effective leadership in SCBVI in Nigeria? 2) How did men and women teachers in the Nigerian SCBVI differ in their perceptions of essential characteristics for effective leadership in their schools? 3) How did men and women teachers in the Nigerian SCBVI differ in their perceptions of effectiveness of their school principals as school leaders?The main catalyst for this study is the neglect of the Nigerian SCBVI in leadership studies, despite the importance of these schools in educating a segment of the Nigerian school children. By studying these schools, knowledge is produced about essential leadership qualities for successful leadership of the schools, as well as the perceived rates of leadership effectiveness of the principals by gender of their teachers.Findings revealed that except for one leadership characteristic (resource procurement skills) there were no significant differences, by gender of the teachers, in leadership qualities deemed essential for principal effectiveness. However, the qualities were differentially ranked based on mean scores, by gender of the teachers in the Nigerian SCBVI. This study concluded with the observation that the canon of knowledge on theories of leadership style preferences by gender did not adequately fit the leadership preference styles of the Nigerian SCBVI teachers by gender. Keywords: Leadership, EBLQ, Educational Leadership, Leadership Effectiveness, Special Education Leadership, Leadership in Schools for the Blin