Effective Supervision of Instruction in Nigerian Secondary Schools: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward.

Every organisation either corporate or otherwise including the school exists essentially to achieve certain stated objectives. There is no way the goals and objectives of an organisation can be achieved without putting in place certain mechanisms towards ensuring its success. In the school system, one of the mechanisms to be put in place towards achieving the goals of the school is supervision. This paper therefore examined the meaning of supervision, instructional supervision and the role of supervisor. The paper also, examined major challenges of instructional supervision in secondary schools and the way forward. Recommendations were made on how to ensure effective supervision of instruction in secondary schools. Keywords: Supervision, Instructional supervision and Secondary education

Online Teaching Platform and Effective Teaching and Learning of Science Education in Nigerian Public Universities

The study investigated the online teaching platform and effective teaching and learning of science education in Nigerian public universities. A survey research design was adopted for the study, and it was carried out in three public universities committed to science education courses in Nigeria. Sixty-five teaching staff and sixty students were selected using a stratified random sampling technique to respond to questionnaires from the three tertiary institutions. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires titled: Science Education Students Online Questionnaire (SESOQ) and Science Education Lecturers Online Questionnaire (SELOQ). The questionnaires gathered information from both lecturers and students based on the online teaching and learning platform. Mean, and standard deviation (SD) were used to analyze the data generated in the study. Results from the study revealed that the teaching and learning platform of science education in Nigerian public universities need a dramatic turnaround on the part of the lecturers and students, among other. Therefore, the study recommends, among others, that stakeholders in education should help to resolve problems confronting science education lecturers’ effective teaching and students’ effective learning using the online platform in Nigerian public Universities

New Directions for African Security

African security, particularly conflict-related political violence, is a key concern in international relations. This forum seeks to advance existing research agendas by addressing four key themes: domestic politics and peacekeeping; security sector reform programs; peace enforcement; and the protection of civilians. Each of the articles in this forum makes a case for analyzing African agency when it comes to African security. As a way of introduction, this short article sets out the main debates and concludes by providing further directions for future researc

FUNDING AND EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AS DETERMINANTS OF UNION-MANAGEMENT DICHOTOMY IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN EKITI STATE

The study examined funding and educational facilities as determinants of staffmanagement dichotomy in tertiary institutions in Ekiti State. 450 subjects consisted of 390 members of unions were selected using proportional stratified sampling techniques and 60 top management staff of the selected institutions was selected purposively. Two self-designed instruments namely; “Trade Unions and management of Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (TUMTIQ) and “Management of Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (MTIQ)” were used to collect relevant data from the subjects. The face and content validity was done by experts in Educational Management and Test and Measurement in Ekiti State University. Also testretest method of reliability was adopted with reliability coefficient of 0.66 and 0.72 respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential Statistics and the two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that there was significant relationship between trade Unions’ disharmony with funding and management of tertiary institutions. The study also revealed that there was significant relationship between trade unions’ disagreement with provision of educational facilities and management of tertiary institutions. Base on the findings of this study, it was recommended that government (at all levels) should increase the budgetary allocation to education. Besides, Tertiary institutions in the state should find means of boosting their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to complement government’s subvention to the institutions. With increase in funding, the problem of inadequate educational facilities will be a thing of the past

Does European Union Studies have a Gender Problem? Experiences from Researching Brexit

On International Women’s Day 2017, EU Vice-President Frans Timmermans and High Representative Federica Mogherini claimed, “the European Union stands by women in Europe and around the globe today, as it did at the time of its foundation.” Indeed, (gender) equality has long been used as a foundational narrative of the EU (MacRae 2010). If we take these claims seriously, then gender-sensitive analysis should have a central place within EU studies. So, why do (gender) equality and the insights of feminist scholarship remain largely marginal to the EU studies canon? And how has the United Kingdom’s decision to exit the EU (Brexit) amplified this marginalization? By drawing on our experiences of researching and writing about the gendered impact of Brexit, we draw attention to significant blind spots at the heart of our discipline. This analysis ultimately highlights disparities in focus that reproduce disciplinary hierarchie

Description and Composition of Tree Species in a Tertiary Institution Agricultural Faculty Arboretum, Ibadan, South-West Nigeria

The Arboretum of the Agricultural Faculty of a tertiary institution in Ibadan is known for its rich diversity of trees. Therefore, the study investigates the tree growth variables in the arboretum such as diameter at breast height (dbh), diameter at the base, middle and top of the bole, total height, merchantable height and crown diameter. The basal area and volume were then calculated per species and per family. Several models were fitted for the height – diameter relationship and crown diameter – diameter relationship and crown diameter – dbh relationship. Positive linear relationships were observed among the growth variables. The fitted models showed that cubic models exhibit a more reliable function than quadratic and linear models for crown diameter – dbh predictions as it has R2 above 0.75. Endangered species were observed too and this was indicated through the diversity index obtained. The highest basal area encounter belongs to myrtaceae family (9.61m2) while the lowest belongs to pinaceae family (0.24m2). The total basal area obtained at (31.72m2) from the faculty trees indicates that they are exhibiting better growth and yield

Heart-type Fatty acid-binding protein in Acute Myocardial infarction Evaluation (FAME): Background and design of a diagnostic study in primary care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Currently used biomarkers for cardiac ischemia are elevated in blood plasma after a delay of several hours and therefore unable to detect acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a very early stage. General practitioners (GPs), however, are often confronted with patients suspected of ACS within hours after onset of complaints. This ongoing study aims to evaluate the added diagnostic value beyond clinical assessment for a rapid bedside test for heart-type fatty-acid binding protein (H-FABP), a biomarker that is detectable as soon as one hour after onset of ischemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participating GPs perform a blinded H-FABP rapid bedside test (Cardiodetect^®) in patients with symptoms suggestive of ACS such as chest pain or discomfort at rest. All patients, whether referred to hospital or not, undergo electrocardiography (ECG) and venapunction for a plasma troponin test within 12–36 hours after onset of complaints. A final diagnosis will be established by an expert panel consisting of two cardiologists and one general practitioner (blinded to the H-FABP test result), using all available patient information, also including signs and symptoms. The added diagnostic value of the H-FABP test beyond history taking and physical examination will be determined with receiver operating characteristic curves derived from multivariate regression analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reasons for presenting the design of our study include the prevention of publication bias and unacknowledged alterations in the study aim, design or data-analysis. To our knowledge this study is the first to assess the diagnostic value of H-FABP <it>outside </it>a hospital-setting. Several previous hospital-based studies showed the potential value of H-FABP in diagnosing ACS. Up to now however it is unclear whether these results are equally promising when the test is used in primary care. The first results are expected in the end of 2008.</p

A 20-year prospective study of mortality and causes of death among hospitalized opioid addicts in Oslo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To study mortality rate and causes of death among all hospitalized opioid addicts treated for self-poisoning or admitted for voluntary detoxification in Oslo between 1980 and 1981, and to compare their mortality to that of the general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective cohort study was conducted on 185 opioid addicts from all medical departments in Oslo who were treated for either self-poisoning (<it>n </it>= 93, 1980), voluntary detoxification (<it>n </it>= 75, 1980/1981) or both (<it>n </it>= 17). Their median age was 24 years; with a range from 16 to 41, and 53% were males. All deaths that had occurred by the end of 2000 were identified from the Central Population Register. Causes of death were obtained from Statistics Norway. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed for mortality, in general, and in particular, for different causes of death.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During a period of 20 years, 70 opioid addicts died (37.8%), with a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) equal to 23.6 (95% CI, 18.7–29.9). The SMR remained high during the whole period, ranging from 32.4 in the first five-year period, to 13.4 in the last five-year period. There were no significant differences in SMR between self-poisonings and those admitted for voluntarily detoxification. The registered causes of death were accidents (11.4%), suicide (7.1%), cancer (4.3%), cardiovascular disease (2.9%), other violent deaths (2.9%), other diseases (71.4%). Among the 50 deaths classified as other diseases, the category "drug dependence" was listed in the vast majority of cases (37 deaths, 52.9% of the total). SMRs increased significantly for all causes of death, with the other diseases group having the highest SMR; 65.8 (95% CI, 49.9–86.9). The SMR was 5.4 (95% CI, 1.3–21.5) for cardiovascular diseases, and 4.3 (95% CI, 1.4–13.5) for cancer. The SMR was 13.2 (95% CI, 6.6–26.4) for accidents, 10.7 (95% CI, 4.5–25.8) for suicides, and 28.6 (95% CI, 7.1–114.4) for other violent deaths.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The risk of death among opioid addicts was significantly higher for all causes of death compared with the general population, implying a poor prognosis over a 20-year period for this young patient group.</p