Evaluation of the Assessment Criteria of English Language at Higher Secondary Level in Pakistan

The present research aimed to explore the weaknesses of the assessment criteria in relevance to the performance of the student in the subject English of grade XI-XII. The research was conducted to analyze the theoretical framework of assessment and practical pattern, practiced in public Examinations. The data have been collected from the handbook of National Curriculum document, 2006, up-to-date papers of the English subject (2007-2010), experts, teachers and students of respective classes. The mixed method approach was used for the interpretation of data. The major issues regarding the nature of assessment and its relevance with curriculum objectives has been studied. Comparison about the content, teaching methods, evaluation and objectives at intermediate level in the opinions of experts, teachers and student was analyzed. A descriptive and qualitative analysis was used. The findings of the study exposed that there is need to improve the quality of assessment to fulfill the desired learning outcomes. Assessment system suffers from multiple deficiencies like rote learning and assessing lower level skills. Methods of assessment have not been shifted from theory to performance in Pakistan. Key Words: Assessment, criteria, desired learning outcomes, Examination, English Language

Water Management for a Mega City: A Comparative Study of Selected Localities of Lahore

Pakistan falls in the category of water scarce countries. Lahore a major city of Pakistan, with a population of 12 million is likely to face serious water shortage in near future. The actual amount of water required for each domestic activity was pertinent in order to find the total consumption of water locality wise. One hundred families each from five selected localities were chosen for this survey. The Model town was selected as a model locality so that its findings and calculations can be generalized on other localities for comparison. It was found that for all daily indoor activities, 160.2 million liters (42 gallons) is the total quantity required. For all daily outdoor domestic activities, 487.92 million liters (128.9 million gallons) of water is to be made available. Results were examined and compared with other mega-cities, to learn from their experiences and plans to cope with the challenges in large cities

Authentic Leadership for Democracy in Schools

Authentic leadership is relatively a new concept. Extant literature puts forward the notion of authentic leadership as important trajectory of leadership in organizations. George (2004) argues that “leadership begins and ends with authenticity”. It is well established in literature that good leadership is essential for effective and better performing schools (Pashiardis, 2000). This paper argues that in the context of education authentic leadership is more important as it has the same set of values as democratic education. Objectives of the Study The main objectives of the study are: 1. To investigate the pattern of authentic leadership in schools in a developing country like Pakistan. 2. To propose a model for effective school leadership in to promote democratic practice in school

Relationship of Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy with Satisfaction of Dissertation Process among Ph.D. Students

 Stress and self-efficacy directly affects the satisfaction of Ph.D. students. This research was designed to examine the relation of perceived stress and self-efficacy with satisfaction of the dissertation process among Ph.D students in University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Two hundred and fifty doctoral students who were working on their dissertations participated in this study. For data collection, three instruments were used and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of internal consistency for Perceived Stress Scale was 0.75 and that of Dissertation Self-Efficacy Scale was 0.95. The results revealed that Ph.D. Students perceived low-level stress and had a high level of self-efficacy regarding dissertation structural tasks. Doctoral students were moderately satisfied with dissertation process. It was also found that females felt more stress and anxiety than males and both had the same level of self-efficacy and satisfaction. Study revealed significant difference in efficacy of completers and non-completers of dissertation. Self-efficacy and satisfaction had positive relationship with each other while stress was negatively related to satisfaction and self-efficacy. Ph.D. students with had high self-efficacy and less stress were satisfied with their dissertation than students having stress on them

Relationship of Organizational Culture and Personality Traits of Students of Public and Private Schools of Lahore

The influence of organizational culture on personality traits has paramount importance in adolescent phase. Main purpose of the study was to explore the role of culture in arousing personality traits of students. The sample of the study consisted of 288 teachers and 720 students of 10th class. Three instruments were administered on the sample for data collection. The collected data was analyzed through quantitative approaches. Main findings of the study revealed that different types of organizational culture have different impact on personality traits. The findings of the study indicated that positive relationship between culture and personality traits. Therefore, female students have higher levels of personality traits than male students. It was recommended that school culture should be improved for better results of students.&nbsp

Development and Validation of a Scale to Assess School Factors Contributing to School Refusal Behavior

School refusal behavior is a serious issue in Pakistan which has remained unnoticed.  In order to understand the intensity of the issue it is important to understand the school related factors for school refusal.  There was no tool available to study these factors in cultural context of Pakistan.  The aim of this study was to develop a scale to measure different dimensions of school factors involved in school refusal behavior among middle school students.  Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected for this purpose.  Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit the sample of 260 middle school teachers.  A series of exploratory factor analysis was conducted and four dimensions were extracted which were further reduced to three final including school environment, teachers’ classroom management and teacher-student relationship dimensions during confirmatory factor analysis.  The scale showed high internal consistency and reliability.  The Cronbach alpha reliability of the 26 items (five -Likert point) scale was 0.74.  This scale will help to study all aspects of school factors contributing to school refusal behavior in Pakistan which was not available before

Exploring Color Fastness and Color Transition Effects of Thermochromic Pigments on Different Cotton Fabrics via Screen Printing

ABSTRACT Purpose: The aim of this research is to analyze how thermochromic pigment interacts with different fabric types, including lawn, staple cotton, slub cotton, karandi, viscose, and cambric. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and durability of the pigment on each fabric type, taking into consideration factors such as color fastness to wash and spectrophotometer analysis. Researcher also examined and explored the artistic possibilities of textile design by developing two different seamless designs one is predicting colour transitions while other maintain complete look after vanishing of the color. Design/Methodology: Quantitative Experimental method was used in this study. To assess the effectiveness of the thermochromic pigment on the different fabric types, the researcher applied the pigment onto swatches of each fabric by using screen printing technique then subjected the swatches to various tests. Findings: The spectrophotometric analysis of printed samples revealed that Lawn, cambric and staple showed best result whereas all cotton samples showed good result to wash fastness. Implications: This paper offered valuable insight and depth of understanding which will be needed for development of dynamic pattern. Moreover, the knowledge got from this research, open new doors of innovation in textile and fashion designing industry