LACK OF HUMAN RESOURCES AS BARRIERS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA, CAMEROON

This paper seeks human resources for students with special needs in the University of Bamenda compromises the implementation of inclusive education in the higher education setting. In order to answer to this objective, this study used as sample population of 315 respondents conveniently selected from 3 Departments in some schools in the University of Bamenda to answer questionnaires. For interviews, five students with visual and physical impairments were purposively selected. This study used a cross sectional survey design to assess different cohorts of the same respondent population such as sex, age, and educational levels. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the area of study and the schools while the convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample of 315 respondents for the quantitative approach. From data collected and analyzed using the chi square to measure the association between variables and testing of hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance, the findings revealed 73.4% (231) of the participants agreed that inadequate personnel is a challenge to the implementation of inclusive education while 26.6% (84) disagreed to this fact. Following the findings, it was recommended that training forums are organised to raise the awareness of staff, public officials, school administrators and teachers, to promote positive attitudes to the education of children with disabilities. This will increase sensitivity to the rights of children with disabilities thus enhancing the teaching-learning experiences of these students in the University of Bamenda.  Article visualizations

BREAKING THE WALLS OF PEDAGOGIC DISCREPANCIES IN CAMEROON SECONDARY SCHOOLS

This paper sets out to investigate profound pedagogic differences existing in the two sub-systems of secondary education in Cameroon. The problem identified here is that there are profound differences in the curricular contents of the two sub-systems of education in Cameroon. The central arguments in this paper have been articulated within the context of Von Bertanlaffy’s general system theory, John Dewey’s theory of democratic education, Rousseau’s social contract theory and James Banks’ multicultural education theory. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research have been used in this study. Questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions and participant observation constituted the research instruments. A thematic analysis supported by descriptive statistics was used within the context of interpretative approach of hermeneutic phenomenology. This research offers a different model for curricular organization in Cameroon taking into consideration perspectives of equity in democratic education. It argues that changes have to be effected in favour of a democratic conception of education. This is precisely because education is the means to construct the type of society appropriate for a harmonious relationship. Findings prove that pedagogic discrepancies obstruct the process of equity and quality education. This paper concludes that in order to ensure fairness and quality in the provision of educational values, a suspension of prejudices is imperative in order to establish a school curriculum proper to Cameroon irrespective of the colonial identities we assume.   Article visualizations

DEWEY’S PEDAGOGY OF INTEREST AND THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS: A SURVEY OF SCHOOLS IN BABESSI SUB-DIVISION, CAMEROON

John Dewey contends that interest plays a primordial role and determines a student’s performance in the teaching-learning transaction. This paper sets out to investigate this theory within the experience of students’ interests and performance in Mathematics. In order to attain this objective, we adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population of this study comprised all forms five students in government secondary (grammar) schools Babessi sub division. Purposive sampling was used to select the type of school and random samplings were used in selecting the schools and students. The questionnaires were administered to students as a means of collecting data. The accessible population was 138 students from the four selected schools. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The hypothesis was tested with the use of the Pearson product moment correlation at a 0.01 level of significance. The study found that students’ interests have a significant effect on their performance in Mathematics. The students generally have interest in Mathematics, though this alone may not significantly provide good performance as seen in their Mock results for the 2017/2018 academic year where they had 14% pass in Babessi Sub Division. There are other mediating factors including student effort and commitment that may connect interest and performance. Also, from the findings, the students’ interest in Mathematics did not reflect their performance. This could be attributed to other intervening variables which are not considered by this study. Based on these findings, we recommended that curriculum designers and teachers should articulate subject-integration where Mathematics is taught as an essential curricular value for all other career subjects. This is the basis to reinforce students’ interests and performance in the subject.  Article visualizations

THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN MATHEMATICS: A SURVEY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN TUBAH MUNICIPALITY, CAMEROON

This study investigated the effect of music on pupils’ academic performance in nursery and primary schools of Tubah Municipality. In order to achieve this objective, we used a quasi-experimental research design with both quantitative and qualitative research methods. From the total population of 3,070 pupils and 300 teachers in 45 schools, 120 pupils, 40 teachers and 04 schools were sampled using the non-probability sampling technique that is the convenient. The purposive sampling technique was used in deciding which part of the accessible population constitutes the sample population which in this case was made up of nursery school children, primary two pupils and teachers. The Krejcie and Morgan table was used to decide how many teachers and pupils make up the sample. Four instruments were used to collect data; a structured questionnaire designed using the likert scale, an interview guide for teachers, working memory test and participant’s observation guide. Descriptive statistics (in the form of frequencies, percentages, charts and tables) and inferential statistics were used for data analyses. Specifically, the two- way ANOVA and Regression analysis tests were used to test the hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. The finding revealed that there is a significant relationship between the use of music in the teaching and the pupils’ academic performance in Mathematics. That is, when music is used the pupils perform better in Mathematics. Based on these findings, it was recommended that more attention be given to ensure the employment of music pedagogy within the competence/project based approaches.  Article visualizations

EARLY GIRL-CHILD MARRIAGE PRACTICES AMONG THE MOGHAMO RURAL COMMUNITIES OF CAMEROON

The practice of early girl-child marriage continues to be widely prevalent in many parts of the world. The prevalence of the practice in different parts of the world has been attributed to a number of underpinning drivers which could be categorized as cultural, social, economic and even political. As a cultural phenomenon, early girl-child marriage is often driven by cultural belief systems, cultural norms and values systems, culture-specific socio-cultural perceptions and cultural practices native to indigenous cultures in patriarchy. This study was carried out among the rural communities of the Moghamo tribe of North West Cameroon. The aim of the study was to investigate the psychosocial and educational consequences of the practice of early girl-child marriage among the rural communities of the Moghamo tribe. The study employed a qualitative design and Key Informant Interviews and Focused Group Discussions were adopted as methods of data collection. Findings showed that early girl-child marriage practices in rural Moghamo communities are deeply entrenched in cultural belief systems, norms and values, social perceptions and cultural practices of the Moghamo people. The study found that the practice results in negative consequences to the health of the girl-child such as difficult child birth, stress, depression, trauma, physical depreciation due to hard labour, and maternal and child mortality. The study also found that the practice resulted in high rates of school drop-out, inequalities in schooling and education between boys and girls, low rates of literacy among girls in early marriages and an obstruction in the educational aspirations of the girl-child. From a socio-economic perspective, findings showed that girls in early marriages in rural Moghamo villages were more likely to suffer from low self-esteem, low social status, wife battery, husband domination, complete financial and material dependence on husband, poverty and hardship, and lack of opportunities for personal development. The study recommends that the practice be conceptualized as a crisis and that programs designed to address the rate of prevalence and bring about full decline should be sensitive to cultural specificities in driving factors across practicing indigenous cultural communities and such programs should be able to engage the stakeholders in the prevalence of the practice with the hope of transforming them from agents of its prevalence to making them agents of change.  Article visualizations

On the Dangers of Inert Ideas in Education: Reflections on Alfred North Whitehead’s The Aims of Education and Other Essays

In this paper we concur with Alfred North Whitehead that education with inert ideas is harmful and useless to the student and the society at large. Inert ideas constitute dead knowledge, that is, knowledge that does not relate to one’s day-to-day experiences nor to knowledge gained from other disciplines. Knowledge acquired by students should have an impact on their lived existential situatedness and it should have a link or correlation with knowledge gained from other disciplines. How do we avoid inert ideas in education? Whitehead admonishes us to keep knowledge alive. This, to him, is the central problem of education. We argue in this paper that in an age dominated by fake news, alternative facts and deep fakes, critical thinking and self-examination are no longer options in the process of education. Thus, the traditional banking system of education is outmoded and should be replaced by the cultivation of critical thinking skills in the child. To do this we must take seriously Whitehead’s two commandments of education; the rhythm of education which implies giving the child knowledge appropriate to their age; and the trilogy of freedom-discipline-freedom

Wonder, education, and human flourishing:Theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives

The premise that underlies this volume is that there are strong interconnections between wonder, education and human flourishing. And more specifically, that wonder can make a significant difference to how well one’s education progresses and how well one’s life goes. The contributors to this volume – both senior, well-known and beginning researchers and students of wonder – variously explore aspects of these connections from philosophical, empirical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The three chapters that comprise Part I of the book are devoted to the importance of wonder for education and for human flourishing. Part II contains four chapters offering conceptual analyses of wonder and perspectives from developmental psychology and philosophy (Spinoza, Wittgenstein, philosophy of religion). The seven chapters that form Part III contain a wealth of ideas and educational strategies to promote wonder in education and teacher education. This volume not only underlines and articulates the importance of wonder in education and in life but also offers fresh perspectives, allowing us to look with renewed wonder at wonder itself

Education as the Development of Human Potentialities in Maria Montessori’s “Education for a New World”

This paper focuses on how building human potentialities in education can enhance learning competencies in students for the development of the self and the society. Human potential refers to a possibility human beings are capable of achieving. Montessori believes that the traditional system of education directs students to learn through memorization and recitation techniques and does not lay much emphasis on helping students to bring out their maximum potential. What goal can we attribute to education today? Our focus shall be to answer the questions, what are the favorable conditions under which education can help to build human potentialities? Is Montessori’s view essential in enhancing creativity and building the necessary competencies of the learners in our society today? Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual. It is not what the teacher gives and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. Montessori opts that education should help the learners develop confidence in their emerging abilities and offer them the opportunity to gain independence in daily tasks. The pedagogic significance of this work serves as a guide for the educational system in Africa and Cameroon in particular. It serves as a guide for curriculum developers and policy makers to bring out programs that will enhance the building of individual competencies for eventual development. Thus Montessori’s idea of education to build human potentialities is indispensible to our educational system today

Wonder, education, and human flourishing: Theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives

The premise that underlies this volume is that there are strong interconnections between wonder, education and human flourishing. And more specifically, that wonder can make a significant difference to how well one’s education progresses and how well one’s life goes. The contributors to this volume – both senior, well-known and beginning researchers and students of wonder – variously explore aspects of these connections from philosophical, empirical, theoretical and practical perspectives. The three chapters that comprise Part I of the book are devoted to the importance of wonder for education and for human flourishing. Part II contains four chapters offering conceptual analyses of wonder and perspectives from developmental psychology and philosophy (Spinoza, Wittgenstein, philosophy of religion). The seven chapters that form Part III contain a wealth of ideas and educational strategies to promote wonder in education and teacher education. This volume not only underlines and articulates the importance of wonder in education and in life but also offers fresh perspectives, allowing us to look with renewed wonder at wonder itself