Evaluating the Impacts of Social Skill Instruction on Self-Efficacy of Junior Secondary School Students in Anambra State, Nigeria

This study examined effects of social skill instruction techniques on junior secondary school students’ self-efficacy esteem in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and 3 hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design of the study was non-randomized control group, pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted in which purposive sampling technique was used to select six co-education zones while simple random sampling was used to select one co-education school from each of the six education zones from the already stratified six Education Zones. Also, simple random sampling was used to select one in-tact class from each sampled co-education school from each education zone that make up 258 secondary schools in Anambra State. Total sample size was 57 junior secondary II students. The experimental group was 30 (14 males and 17 females) while the control group was 27 (8 males and 18 females). Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) was used as instruments for data collection. Experimental and control groups received six weeks of social skill training (SST) and no social skill training respectively. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level using SPSS version 23.0. Findings revealed that the use of SST significantly enhanced JS II students’ self-efficacy than the conventional. Gender of students was only significant factor on the effect of SST on students’ self-esteem. Based on the findings, it was concluded that social skill training is a good alternative technique to improve students’ self-efficacy. It is therefore recommended among other things that, social skill training should be formally adopted in secondary schools in for effective enhancement of students’ psychological wellbeing

Evaluating the Impacts of Social Skill Instruction on Self-Efficacy of Junior Secondary School Students in Anambra State, Nigeria

This study examined effects of social skill instruction techniques on junior secondary school students’ self-efficacy esteem in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and 3 hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design of the study was non-randomized control group, pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted in which purposive sampling technique was used to select six co-education zones while simple random sampling was used to select one co-education school from each of the six education zones from the already stratified six Education Zones. Also, simple random sampling was used to select one in-tact class from each sampled co-education school from each education zone that make up 258 secondary schools in Anambra State. Total sample size was 57 junior secondary II students. The experimental group was 30 (14 males and 17 females) while the control group was 27 (8 males and 18 females). Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) was used as instruments for data collection. Experimental and control groups received six weeks of social skill training (SST) and no social skill training respectively. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level using SPSS version 23.0. Findings revealed that the use of SST significantly enhanced JS II students’ self-efficacy than the conventional. Gender of students was only significant factor on the effect of SST on students’ self-esteem. Based on the findings, it was concluded that social skill training is a good alternative technique to improve students’ self-efficacy. It is therefore recommended among other things that, social skill training should be formally adopted in secondary schools in for effective enhancement of students’ psychological wellbeing

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPALS’ TRANSFORMATIONAL AND DIRECTIVE ETHICAL LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR AND TEACHERS’ JOB RELATED STRESS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ rating of principals’ transformational and directive ethical leadership behaviours and teachers’ job-related stress in secondary schools in Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were tested. The study utilized the correlation research design. The population of the study was 9764 teachers from the 330 public secondary schools in the state. A sample size of 1,380 teachers was used for the study. This was drawn from 66 out of the 330 secondary schools in the six education zones in Enugu State using the multistage sampling procedure which involved simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using two questionnaires entitled “Principals’ Transformational and Directive Ethical Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire (PTDELBQ)” and “Teachers’ Stress Inventory – Revised (TSI). The instruments were validated by three experts. The internal consistency of the instruments was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha. This yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.81 and 0.86 for PTDELBQ and TSI respectively. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions and to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that there is a low negative relationship between teachers’ rating of principals’ transformational ethical leadership behaviour and teachers’ job-related stress, and between teachers’ rating of principals’ directive ethical behaviour and teachers’ job-related stress. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that teacher training programmes should include training for teachers in the art of stress management and prevention as a requirement for certification in the teaching profession.  Article visualizations

Gender Equity Employment in Polytechnics in South East Zone Of Nigeria: Implication for Affirmative Action

This study was carried out on the Gender Equity Employment status in Polytechnics in South East Zone of Nigeria: Implications of Affirmative Action. The Study was guided by three research questions and one null hypothesis. The population of the study was eight (8) registrars of both Federal owned and State-owned polytechnics in South East Zone of Nigeria. As an ex-post factor type of study, the researchers provided a guided record-providing sheet for the collection of data required for the study. The result from the data analyzed among others revealed that 656 or 64.76 percent of academic staff in polytechnics were males while 357 or 35.24 percent were females. Also, 1,198 or 46 .94 percent out of 2,552 non-academic staff were males where 1,354 0r 53.06 percent were females. Based on these findings and implications for affirmative action, recommendations were made. African Research Review Vol. 2 (1) 2008: pp. 48-6

Attributional styles and self-esteem as predictors of psychological well-being of undergraduate students in Anambra State, Nigeria

The psychological well-being of undergraduate students has become a matter of utmost concern to stakeholders in the education sector given the concerns occasioned by increasing rate of depression and suicide in the country. This unsavoury trend has made inroads into the university system given that university education comes with attendant challenges such as having to live away from family, depression, suicidal ideation, dropout rate/dropout tendency, drug abuse and a host of others.Hanging on students’ consistent evaluative judgement on their academic issues and their self esteem, thepurpose of this study was to investigate attributional styles and self-esteem as predictors of psychological well-being of undergraduate students in Anambra State. Three research questions were raised for the study while three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 18, 326 second year undergraduate students for the 2021/2022 academic session in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and ChukwuemekaOdumegwuOjukwu University, Igbariam in Anambra State. The sample for the study comprised 720 second year undergraduate students for the 2021/2022 academic session obtained through multi-stage sampling procedure.  Three sets of questionnaire ‘Psychological Well-being Questionnaire (PWQ), Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and Self-Esteem Scale (SES) were used for data collection. The instruments for data collection were validated by three experts, two from Measurement and Evaluation, the other from educational psychology all in the Department of Educational Foundations, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.   The reliability of the instruments were established using Cronbach Alpha Method and the alpha co-efficient got were 0.82, 0.80 for and 0.84 for ASQ, SEQ and PWQ respectively. Statistical procedure used for data analysis was multiple regression analysis.The findings of the study revealed that attributional styles and self-esteem significantly predicted psychological well-being of undergraduate students. However, self esteem accounted for a greater proportion of variance in the students’ psychological well-being more than attributional styles.Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others thatFederal Government should ensure the employment and deployment of counsellors and psychologists to universities of the Nigerian federation. Such a step will help ensure that the psychological needs of undergraduate students are attended to especially as it concerns their self esteem and attributional styles. Additionally, suggestions for further studies were made

Re-examining John 13:1-17 in the context of Nigerian political leadership

John 13:1-17 presents a style of leadership that is quite different from the traditional understanding and practice of leadership. This model of leadership in John's Gospel is manifested in Jesus' symbolic example of servant leadership, also known as the feet-washing. Feet-washing, generally the responsibility of servants, was seen as a degrading job that even the disciples could not do for their own leader. For Jesus, however, feet-washing is an illustration of humility, genuine love, and service. This article, therefore, is an attempt to critically examine this symbolic act of leadership in the context of John 13:1-17, and its implication on the development of Nigeria. Using the historical-critical exegetical method of analysis, it was discovered that this symbolic act of leadership by Jesus as presented in Johaninne pericope is a challenge to political leaders in Nigeria today. The hermeneutics of the study showed that Nigerian political leaders have displayed leadership styles that are based on selfishness, tyranny, nepotism, and tribalism that are an impediment to peace, stability, and national development. From the findings above, it is recommended, among others, that Nigerian political leaders should see leadership as an opportunity to serve and not as a do-or-die affair. This will improve the attitude, quality of life and inclusive growth in Nigeria. CONTRIBUTION: This work critically investigates Jesus' exemplary act of servant leadership narrated in John 13:1-17 in juxtaposition with Nigerian political leadership. Such an exegetical work is designed so that the present and upcoming political leaders in Nigeria could learn and emulate Jesus' core qualities, strategies and attitudes that resulted in transforming and improving the lives and well-being of his followers.http://www.hts.org.zaNew Testament Studie

The upsurge of rape during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria and its effects on survivors

As one of the global measures for containing the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Nigerian government imposed a total lockdown from 30 March 2020 to 15 May 2020. This exposed a lot of women and children to a greater level of sexual violence such as rape, which has persisted even before COVID-19. On 14 July 2020, the Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, reportedly said that over 3600 rape cases were recorded across Nigeria during the lockdown. The sudden rise in cases of rape in the country calls for urgent attention. The article explores the effects of rape during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria using expository and phenomenological designs. It used data obtained from: (1) articles and commentaries on the websites of various newspapers in Nigeria, (2) existing works and (3) interviews with women and girls who were either survivors or connected to the victims of rape during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. The findings corroborate the notion that rape, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown, is a very traumatic experience that has negative effects on the survivors in a physical, psychological and sociological way. The data also indicate that the upsurge of rape incidences in Nigeria is an epidemic that should also be treated as a public health emergency. CONTRIBUTION: This research revealed diverse health and safety approaches that should be adopted to mitigate further escalation of rape, which includes enforcement of anti-sexual harassment bills, intensified orientation and awareness through campaigns.http://www.hts.org.zaNew Testament Studie

The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is characterised by symptoms confined to the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Confirmed diagnosis requires prospective monitoring of symptoms over two cycles, otherwise the diagnosis is provisional. We aimed to measure the point prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Methods: We searched for studies of prevalence using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and PubMed. For each study, the total sample size and number of cases were extracted. The prevalence across studies was calculated using random effects meta-analysis with a generalised linear mixed model. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by meta-regression and subgroup analyses. Pre-registration was with PROSPERO (CRD42021249249). Results: 44 studies with 48 independent samples met inclusion criteria, consisting of 50,659 participants. The pooled prevalence was 3.2 % (95 % confidence intervals: 1.7 %–5.9 %) for confirmed and 7.7 % (95 % confidence intervals: 5.3 %–11.0 %) for provisional diagnosis. There was high heterogeneity across all studies (I2 = 99 %). Sources of heterogeneity identified by meta-regression were continent of sample (p < 0.0001), type of sample (community-based, university, high school) (p = 0.007), risk of bias (p = 0.009), and method of diagnosis (p = 0.017). Restricting the analysis to community-based samples using confirmed diagnosis resulted in a prevalence of 1.6 % (95 % confidence intervals: 1.0 %–2.5 %), with low heterogeneity (I2 = 26 %). Limitations: A small number of included studies used full DSM criteria in community settings. Conclusions: The point prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder using confirmed diagnosis is lower compared with provisional diagnosis. Studies relying on provisional diagnosis are likely to produce artificially high prevalence rates

Genetic diversity and population structure of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.)Walp.] germplasm collected from Togo based on DArT markers

Open Access Journal; Published online: 20 Sep 2021Crop genetic diversity is a sine qua non for continuous progress in the development of improved varieties, hence the need for germplasm collection, conservation and characterization. Over the years, cowpea has contributed immensely to the nutrition and economic life of the people in Togo. However, the bulk of varieties grown by farmers are landraces due to the absence of any serious genetic improvement activity on cowpea in the country. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of 255 cowpea accessions collected from five administrative regions and the agricultural research institute of Togo were assessed using 4600 informative diversity array technology (DArT) markers. Among the regions, the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.19 to 0.27 with a mean value of 0.25. The expected heterozygosity (He) varied from 0.22 to 0.34 with a mean value of 0.31, while the observed heterozygosity (Ho) varied from 0.03 to 0.07 with an average of 0.05. The average inbreeding coefficient (FIS) varied from 0.78 to 0.89 with a mean value of 0.83, suggesting that most of the accessions are inbred. Cluster analysis and population structure identified four groups with each comprising accessions from the six different sources. Weak to moderate differentiation was observed among the populations with a genetic differentiation index varying from 0.014 to 0.117. Variation was highest (78%) among accessions within populations and lowest between populations (7%). These results revealed a moderate level of diversity among the Togo cowpea germplasm. The findings of this study constitute a foundation for genetic improvement of cowpea in Togo