THE ROLE OF STEM ENRICHMENT ON COURSE TAKING AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

The demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in education aligns with the need to advance society through innovation and research. Proficiency in STEM courses and curriculum is critical for nations to become global economic leaders. However, the majority of students in high school do not participate in STEM programs due to barriers to access and inclusion in these programs, particularly for underrepresented groups inferred to Students with disabilities (SWDs). The current study uses secondary data with a study population of 20,000 students from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS, 2009) to analyze the relationship between the independent variable (STEM enrichment program), as well as the dependent variables (math scores, number of STEM courses, and number of high school attendants). Overall, 8.2% of students responded as having a disability that affected their ability to succeed in STEM programs, while 91.8% indicated they had no disabilities. A bi-plots between STEM enrichment versus math scores, the total number of stem credits, and college attendants of students with disabilities and non-disabled were explored to see if the increased STEM enrichment programs significantly affected student math scores. The results showed that student math scores and the number of STEM credits generally increase as the number of STEM enrichment program offerings increases for disabled students. There is no significant relationship between STEM enrichment programs and the number of college attendants, however, because disabled students go to college for other courses in addition to taking STEM enrichment programs. Although STEM enrichment programs may offer useful experiences and skills, these programs—which frequently target high school students—might not address structural challenges students with disabilities have when trying to attend higher education. Results also showed that an increase in STEM enrichment programs has little effect on both student math scores and the number of college STEM credits taken by non-disabled students. Prioritizing STEM course offerings for students who are disabled, focusing on educational programs and policymaking, could potentially impact student performance in math for both students who are disabled and students who are not

Livestock farmers’ perception, perceived impacts, and adaptations to climate change in Koinadugu district, Sierra Leone

Climate change is having a negative influence on agriculture and livestock production systems. This study aims to assess livestock farmers’ perceptions and adaptive responses to climate change in the Koinadugu area of northern Sierra Leone. A sample of 126 livestock farmers was selected from four chiefdoms. The data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and meteorological time series data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and excel were used to analyze the data. According to the respondents’ socioeco­nomic characteristics, most farmers (93.7%) were males between 46 and 55 years. The majority of the farmers (58.7%) were married, and family sizes ranged from 5-8 individuals per household. Most of the livestock farmers (59.5%) in the study area had no formal education. Farmers attested to their awareness of climate change by essential indications such as increasing heat waves (77.0%), decreased rainfall (54.0%), and an increase in humidity (82.5%). Feed shortages (x̄ = 4.14), water scarcity (x̄ = 4.10), and higher veterinary care expenditures (x̄ = 4.25) are some of the impacts of climate change on livestock production. Numerous adaptation strategies include livestock reduction (87.3%), animal vaccination (95.2%), and Migration along with animals during the adverse climatic condition (75.4%), which the farmers employ. Lack of capital, inadequate information about climate change, and inadequate infrastructure impede adaptation. The study sug­gests that the government pursues strong policies to help livestock farmers adjust to climate unpredictability in the long run

Sierra Leone: from a war-torn country to a pathfinder for equitable and inclusive societies

Why is Sierra Leone, a low-income economy emerging from armed conflict and authoritarian rule less than two decades ago, assuming such a global leadership role? Mohamed Sesay, co-investigator with the Gender, Justice and Security Hub and Assistant Professor at the University of York looks at the nexus between gender, justice and development since the end of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war to argue that the country offers unique insights into the complexity of intractable challenges which persist beyond the implementation of legal-technocratic reform programmes in postwar societies

Youth Disability and the Post-conflict Justice Reform: A Case Study of Sierra Leone

Major Research Paper (Master's), Critical Disability Studies, School of Health Policy and Management,Faculty of Health, York UniversityDisabled youth encounter systemic social injustice, social exclusion, social inequality, bias, anti-discrimination, and unjust incarceration within society and the justice system. In Sierra Leone, a developing country emerging from a decade-long civil war (1991-2002), these challenges, attitudes, and perceptions towards disabled people have persisted, despite the implementation of a post-conflict peacebuilding agenda that included justice sector reforms. Although Sierra Leone ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability on October 4, 2010, and the Persons with Disability Act entered into force in March 2011, there remains a challenge in addressing issues affecting disabled people. To date, as a significant number of youth with disabilities roam the streets, the country still lacks an effective mechanism of restorative justice to help those with disabilities in conflict with the law. The MRP argues that the challenges have persisted in Sierra Leone because of a confluence of social, institutional, and capacity problems which were compounded by the civil war and neglected in post-conflict reform efforts. At the institutional level, Sierra Leone has a weak sociolegal and justice framework, incapable of addressing the welfare and concerns of people with disability, particularly youth who come in conflict with the law. While there are desirable policies and rules at the formal level, the justice system lacks the requisite training, facilities, and resources to uphold the rights of disabled people and its operation often exacerbates their plight. The failure to prioritize these concerns has also meant that societal prejudices, reinforced by poor socioeconomic conditions, have prevailed with little social assistance to families and communities. Since the war ended, successive governments have devoted their limited resources to the pressing issues of security and justice, often at the expense of the concerns and needs of disabled people. This lack of attention to the peculiar needs and circumstances of disabled people must, however, are placed within the context of a weak post-conflict economy, collapsed infrastructure, and the prevalence of discriminatory attitudes and practices in society. In this context, cultural belief systems and policies which stigmatize disabled people thrive as communities and families look for excuses not to devote their limited resources to society’s most vulnerable members

Effects of the addax bioenergy investment on female farmers´rights to land and their livelihoods in BombaliI District, Sierra Leone

Attempts to promote women’s rights to land in Sub-Saharan Africa have attracted attention in both academia and from an international development perspective. Female Farmers (FFs) in Bombali district in northern Sierra Leone gain access to farmland through male heritages under customary practices. This makes them dependent on maintaining connections with male lineages in order to gain rights to land, which include ownership, control, as well as access and use. The Swiss based company, Addax Bioenergy is involved in a sugarcane-biofuel-project in the district of Bombali, which has led to land ownership shifting legally to the company on a long-term lease. Land access and use have been limited in areas, which overlap the company’s project site. Proponents of the Addax Bioenergy project have assumed such investment would contribute to Sierra Leone’s development strides. This thesis examines three key concepts which include: ways of acquiring farmland and the Addax Bioenergy’s Large-Scale Land Acquisition (LSLA), the female farmers’ understanding of LSLA, and the impact on the rights to land and livelihoods. The thesis uses a mixed method approach together with Noam Chomsky’s (1999) theoretical framework on profit over people: neoliberalism and the global order, and Naila Kabeer’s (2005) Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment to analyse the data aimed at answering the research question

Pattern Project -Glove

The Pattern Project explores the process of developing visual patterns, intended for the built interior environment, through both hand and digital crafts. Inspirations evolve into pattern concepts that inform message and intention. The intended message then informs motif, color, density, composition, line, repetition, hierarchy, and texture. Drawing from history, designers assess the role of pattern within the built environment and its connection to architecture and building occupants. Traditional handcrafts have evolved and are now used in contemporary processes while new digital crafts have emerged as pattern-making tools. The patterns developed through the Pattern Project were produced to scale on paper or textile measuring approximately 24 wide x 60 long.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/pp/1010/thumbnail.jp