Use of Conventional Teaching Resources in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

Education is core to national development as it provides the human resource and intellectual capital to drive economies. Attaining this hence requires meaningful and gainful learning through the incorporation of a range of instructional resources that help develop learners skills, attitudes and practical competencies required in the ever changing market economy. However, in spite of the various government interventions to increase access to education, empirical research evidence shows that students continue to perform dismally in both formative and summative evaluation. The paper therefore sought to determine the dynamics existing in the utilization of conventional teaching resources in secondary schools in Bungoma County. The paper was guided by the Cognitive Theory of Instructional as propounded by Jean Piaget that emphasizes the significance of instructional resources in the teaching and learning process. The paper adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population consisted of teachers and students from public secondary schools in Bungoma County. In order to have a representative sample, this paper employed stratified random sampling to select schools. Questionnaires, interview and observation schedules and document analysis were used as data collection instruments. Validity was established through expert opinion. Reliability was established through piloting. Data was analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The findings showed that majority of teachers, students and principals were of the opinion that public secondary schools in Bungoma County had inadequate conventional instructional resources. It was further deduced that funding, number of students and teachers’ ease of use influenced the acquisition of conventional instructional resources in public secondary schools in Bungoma County. From the findings it was recommended that educational stakeholders should improve the quality of instructional through proper identification, selection and utilization of instructional resources. There is need for all stakeholders including the County Government, National Government and the Private sector to contribute financially and materially in the provision of conventional instructional materials and resources. Keywords:Convectional, education, teaching resources, teaching resources, utilization, DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-22-06 Publication date: November 30th 201

Effect of Learners’ Level of Utilization of Conventional Resources on Classroom Performance in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

Provision of quality education is a key concern for any nation. In Kenya, with the advent of Free Primary Education and Subsidized Secondary Education, schools are experiencing an upsurge in enrolment of students’ in both primary and secondary schools. This has put a strain on the existing facilities in the schools leading to the need to properly equip the schools to ensure provision of quality education. However with delayed capitation resulting from economic challenges schools face challenges concerning acquisition of instruction resources and this has consequences on students’ performance. There has been need to increase resources to match the rising students’ numbers but due to economic challenges, parity is missing effect of this is being seen in poor performance in examinations. There is need to establish how the utilization of the little available resources facilitate instructions and identification of strategies to enhance this process. The paper therefore sought to determine the effect of learners’ level of utilization of conventional resources on classroom performance in secondary schools in Bungoma County The study was guided by the Cognitive Theory of Instructions as propounded by Jean Piaget that emphasizes the significance of instruction resources in the teaching and learning process. Descriptive survey design was employed. The target population consisted of teachers and students from public secondary schools in Bungoma County. In order to have a representative sample, this study employed stratified random sampling to select schools. Questionnaires, interview and observation schedules and document analysis were used as data collection instruments.Descriptive and inferential data was analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study showed that majority of the students asserted that their teachers had frequently assigned them with both class and take away assignments which enhanced their utilization of the available conventional resources. The paper concluded that the level of students’ utilization of conventional instruction resources was below the average mean, therefore a unit increase in the utilization of resource persons could improve students’ classroom performance. There was a significant relationship between teacher training and students’ classroom performance which directly influence students’ class performance. It was therefore recommended that principals and officials of the Ministry of Education should ensure regular supervision to enhance effective use of conventional instruction materials and resources in enhancement of classroom performance in public secondary schools in Bungoma County. Keywords: class room performance, conventional resources, Effect, learners’ level of utilization, secondary school DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-33-05 Publication date: November 30th 201

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population