The Impact of Family Type on Bhutanese Secondary Students’ Academic Performance

Family support has played an influential role in a child’s development, particularly in education and learning. However, little research is undertaken in developing countries related to student academic achievement and their family type. This current study aimed to study the differences and similarities in students\u27 academic achievement scores between broken and intact families. Family type in this study refers to either broken or intact. The broken family in this study has particular reference to children from divorced families only. This study used a quantitative approach to collect information about children’s family status, and a secondary source was used to collect the overall grade point average from respective schools. A total of 312 students participated in this study, and their age ranged from 11- 19 years. The findings showed that the Bhutanese Secondary students from broken families outperformed those living with both parents. There was a statistically significant mean difference of |28%| between the broken and intact families. The results of the Pearson correlation showed that there was no statistical relationship between academic achievement, gender, and age. However, a positive small-sized relationship was found between the family type and academic achievement |r=0.11, p=0.05|. Similarly, after adjusting for ‘age’ as a covariate, a one-way analysis of covariance showed no statistically significant difference in academic score. The stream and the effect size was |η2 = 0.001

Bhutanese Teachers' Pedagogical Orientation in the Primary Classes: A Factor on Quality Education

In recent years, Bhutan has taken huge steps to provide education to all Bhutanese children. However, the poor performance of the high school graduates in the Call Centre interview and their failure to get selected for employment due to their poor communication skills in English ignited widespread debate amongst the general public on the quality of education in Bhutan. Educators believe that this claimed decline is a misperception rather than the reality. Thus, this paper attempts to study this issue by examining the pedagogical practices in primary schools through teaching observations and interviews with a sample of teachers from different schools in western Bhutan. The findings indicate that teacher dominated lessons generally prevail in the primary classrooms with detrimental student learning outcomes. This situation has implications about teacher education programmes and other stakeholders. Thus, it sends a message that there is a risk of declining quality in education if appropriate measures are not adopted

Immigration medical examination at the Regional Referral Hospitals: strengthening health system capabilities

Bhutan has a three-tiered healthcare system with the majority of services remaining Thimphu-centric. At the height of public demand for Immigration Medical Examination services, the two regional referral hospitals put in their efforts to establish the services in Gelephu and Mongar. The Regional Referral Hospitals enabled accessibility to IME services and improved efficiency at the National Referral Hospital by decongesting the number of clients. In this article, we describe how the regional referral hospitals established IME services that meet the standards of the destination country

Preferred Learning Style of Students of Nangkor Central School, Bhutan

Students preferentially absorb and process information in diverse ways. Pedagogy should vary accordingly. The knowledge of teachers on the learners’ preferred learning styles plays a pivotal role in better teaching and learning processes, contributing to a better-quality education. Still, little is known about the preferred learning style of learners. In the present study, the VARK (visual, aural, read or write, kinaesthetic) model version 8.01 survey questionnaire was adapted and given to 215 middle and higher secondary students. Using descriptive analysis of correlation, frequency and percentage, the study revealed that the preferred learning styles of students are aural (A) and kinaesthetic (K) with the smallest preference given to visual (V). The findings showed that male and female participants’ preferences were the same, and that high-achiever learners prefer K. Recommendations from the findings apply to both the classroom and teacher training opportunities

New Herpetofaunal Records from the Kingdom of Bhutan Obtained through Citizen Science

Social media has, in the past decade, emerged unexpectedly as a powerful tool in citizen science (Liberatore et al. 2018). Whether unintended or formally integrated, it offers, among other benefits, mass participation in activities such as data collection in inventories, monitoring, or natural history observations (Tulloch 2013). It can be argued that such activities often do not consume taxpayers’ contributions, as formal research projects tend to do, and can provide a cost-effective means of data collection (Goldstien et al. 2014). The vast number of (and rapidly rising) online resources and virtual specialists available to identify samples serve as references and reviewers of such data, increasing the speed over traditional forms of data collection (e.g., scientific publishing) and providing the capacity to absorb multiple opinions. Nonetheless, challenges that remain in citizen science programs are directing the data towards priority scientific objectives and needs, and achieving high standards in data quality (Ambrose-Oji et al. 2014)

Teacher education for inclusive education in Bhutan:perspectives of pre-service and beginning teachers

Bhutan is in the preliminary stages of training teachers to support inclusive education. This study investigated teachers’ views on preparation for inclusive teaching using a case study that was conducted with twelve pre-service and twenty beginning teachers in six schools. Data were drawn from focus-group interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The application of Vygotsky’s social cultural theory and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory was appropriate and acknowledged the social systems surrounding learning. Socio-cultural theorisation was used to consider where people lived, and social and cultural factors; while self-efficacy theory enabled an exploration of teachers’ willingness to implement inclusiveness. Findings are presented in four key areas: education for all, barriers, policy and attitudes towards inclusion. This study contributes to inclusive education research in South-West Asia and policy goals and practice in Bhutan.</p