Problem Faced by Under Training Teachers and Their Solutions in Govt. Universities of Karachi

The current problems faced by under training teachers in government universities of Karachi has been investigated in this study. The study lies under the category of quantitative method as the quantitative data has been presented in a form of figures leading to some facts which has assisted the research to get precise results. The pattern of the article follows four major divisions. These divisions can be classified in a way that first division comprises of first two parts, i.e. introduction and significance of the study. Second division also comprises of two parts, i.e. the Hypothesizes and objectives of the study. Third division is the definition of some terms with respect to the study. Fourth division comprises of the methodology that has been applied through out the research. Then the fifth and final division is about the discussion and the last part comprises of conclusion from this study. Questionnaire has been used as the data collecting instrument. Considered population was the student teachers enrolled in different courses in government universities of Karachi. For statistical analysis of the data SPSS has been used to get more accurate findings. With respect to the findings, the conclusion has been made that teachers’ education department in government universities of Karachi are in a strong need of rapid changes, which can help to enhance the quality of training quality by overcoming the current issues. Keywords: Training Teachers, Pakistan, Govt. Universities DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-5-07 Publication date:May 31st 201

Leader-Member Exchange Quality and employee work behaviours: Mediating Role of Interactional Justice

The study aims to examine the mediating role of interactional justice between LMX quality and employee’s in-role behaviour and citizenship behaviour. Adam’s equity theory and social exchange theory are employed o explain the theoretical framework. Proposed mediation model is tested using time lagged data of 308 responses from service sector of Pakistan. To examine validity of the measures, confirmatory factor analysis has been done. The measurement model produced better indices for five factors. Structure equation modelling technique has been used to test mediation model. Results supported the hypothesis of mediation. Finally managerial implications and future research directions have been discussed. Keywords: LMX quality, Interactional Justice, Organization citizenship behaviour (OCB), In-role behavior (IRB)

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Teaching Practices

The present study was about factors affecting to effectiveness of teaching practices. The objective of the study was identifying factors which affect negatively on effectiveness of teaching practices. The quantitative method was employed. The population of the study comprised on B.Ed (Hon) four year student teachers of Sindh, Pakistan. The stratified random sampling was adopted. The size of sample was based on 250 student teachers of 4th and 8th semester. The questionnaire was used to obtain the data. Data were analyzed by using SPSS. Bar graphs and t-test method was adopted to present the findings. The major factors identified were practice school distance, lack of financial support, stress, managing students, insufficient guidance and lack of cooperation from school teachers The finding also revealed that there is no significant difference of opinion between male and female student teachers regarding factors which affecting to effectiveness of teaching practices

Work Stress of Teachers from Government Girls’ Secondary Schools Karachi

Teacher is a well-known profession all over the world. But now a days crisis of quality education can be prominently seen. Among elements effecting teachers’ productivity “Stress” is one of the core elements raising poor productivity by the teachers. Stress is expanding due to various issues. Although, stress is not always playing a negative role in person’s productivity, as at some levels stress tends to accelerate focus of a person, which makes the productivity better. But unfortunately, in secondary school teachers are confronting some common stress generating elements all over Karachi. Those elements are not impacting their professional life positively. The purpose of this study is to determine the common stress generating elements and their impacts on teachers’ productivity. Going through both qualitative by teachers interview and on the bases of interviews developed lickert scale closed ended questionnaire, distributed to 50 male and female teachers, among which 45 teachers responded. Data was analyzed by SPSS. According to the results there is a need of betterment of some policies on management grounds in order to overcome the stress generating elements. Keywords: Secondary school teachers, stress level, stressors. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-6-01 Publication date:March 31st 201

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Teaching Practices

The present study was about factors affecting to effectiveness of teaching practices. The objective of the study was identifying factors which affect negatively on effectiveness of teaching practices. The quantitative method was employed. The population of the study comprised on B.Ed (Hon) four year student teachers of Sindh, Pakistan. The stratified random sampling was adopted. The size of sample was based on 250 student teachers of 4th and 8th semester. The questionnaire was used to obtain the data. Data were analyzed by using SPSS. Bar graphs and t-test method was adopted to present the findings. The major factors identified were practice school distance, lack of financial support, stress, managing students, insufficient guidance and lack of cooperation from school teachers The finding also revealed that there is no significant difference of opinion between male and female student teachers regarding factors which affecting to effectiveness of teaching practices

School teachers and principals’ experiences during COVID-19 in Pakistan

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational activities were disrupted globally. In Pakistan, schools were also closed, and though some schools had started teaching online, the staff (including principals and teachers) and students\u27 readiness for education during the pandemic remained unexplored. An internet-based survey was conducted to explore the experiences of the teachers and principals during the lockdown. The survey included both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Responses were collected from respondents in different parts of Pakistan, with the majority coming from Sindh and coming from both the private and public sector. While the respondents from private schools reported that they could teach online, the respondents from government schools could not continue the teaching process during the lockdown phase. School principals focused on acquiring technology for online teaching and offering skills development sessions. They used a variety of methods to monitor teaching and learning. Teachers relied on a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Infrastructure issues posed numerous challenges. Findings highlight an urgent need for teacher education programmes to incorporate digital literacy development and enhance pedagogical understanding of engaging students in online teaching environments and exploring solutions such as blended learning. The findings also draw our attention to questions of equitable access to quality education for all in Pakistan

Association of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Val66Met) polymorphism with the risk of Parkinson’s disease and influence on clinical outcome

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease. Motor symptoms of rigidity, tremor, and bradykinesia and non-motor symptoms like the cognitive deficit, autonomic dysfunction, dementia, anxiety and depression all contribute to morbidity. Emerging shreds of evidence suggest the role of BDNF (Val66Met) polymorphism in PD risk and associated cognitive deficit. Hence, the current study is aimed to investigate the role of BDNF Val66Met in the risk of PD development and associated cognitive abnormalities. A total of 269 PD cases and 271 healthy, age, ethnicity and gender matched controls were recruited in the study. Genomic DNA was isolated, amplified and SNP was identified using the RFLP method and validated by Sanger’s sequencing. There was a significant association of BDNF Val66Met with PD risk in both Dominant and recessive models (GG vs GA+AA: OR: 1.47, CI: 1.04-2.09, P =0.03, GG+GA vs AA: OR: 2.32, CI: 1.07-5.00, P =0.02). The main nonmotor symptom i.e. cognitive impairment was significantly associated with the variant genotype of BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism (GG vs GA+AA: OR: 1.47, CI: 1.04-2.09, P =0.03, GG+GA vs AA: OR: 2.32, CI: 1.07-5.00, P =0.02).We found a significant association of variant genotype with disease severity, the activity of daily living as assessed by S & E score as it was found to better with wild genotype and a significant decrease in quality of life with homozygous mutant genotype. We did not find significant differences in disease duration, absolute levodopa response among the genotypes. Our results implicate BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with the risk of PD, cognitive impairment, poor quality of life and greater disease severity in PD