How University Education Student Teachers’ Achievement in General Methods of Teaching Course Relates with Their Performance in Teaching Practice

This study investigated the relationship between student teachers’ achievement of the general methods of teaching course and their performance teaching practice. It compared the scores in theory and practice. The study was conducted using a random sample of 200 Egerton University 2015/2016 cohort third year education students who had covered the general methods of teaching course and successfully completed their teaching practice. SPSS was used to analyze the data. The scores of the end of semester general methods of teaching examinations and teaching practice were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation at α=0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between achievement of the general methods of teaching course and performance in teaching practice at r=0.226, with p value=0.004. The study has implications for teacher training programmes in the refining of teaching practice performance. This means that the general methods of teaching course being a foundational course in student teacher preparation needs critical attention. The teacher educators should enhance the methods of teaching courses with use of current pedagogical strategies to ensure quality training of teachers. In addition, there is need to consider resource allocation for better training.  This will help the student teachers to effectively translate theory into practice during teaching practice. This is because teaching practice is an important tool of learning to teach as it promotes development of teaching experience and prepares students for the real world of work. The study recommends that Egerton University should ensure that student teachers are adequately prepared during the methods of teaching courses before engaging in teaching practice sessions and the university to consider increasing the allocation of resources both human and physical. This will ensure teacher effectiveness and quality. Keywords: Student Teacher, Achievement, General Methods of Teaching, Teaching Practice DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-5-05 Publication date: February 29th 202

Influence of Student Teachers’ Gender, Personality and Programme of Study on their Use of Learning Resources during Teaching. Case of Egerton University

One of the skills learned by student teachers before placement in schools for teaching practice is preparation and use of learning resources. The reason for this is that use of learning resources enhances communication in the classroom and may lead to active involvement of learners. This may lead to higher achievement of the intended learning outcomes. However, it is not clear how this skill is influenced by the gender and personality of the student teacher or the training programme they pursue. This study sought to shed light in this area. The survey used correlational research design. A sample of 86 student teachers was randomly selected from the teaching practice group of 2017/2018 academic year in Egerton University. Data were collected using the Teaching Practice Observation Instrument (TPOI). The instrument was validated by teaching staff of Egerton University’s Faculty of Education and Community Studies. Data were analyzed using t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results show that teachers’ personality has significant relationship to their use of teaching resources. In addition, gender influences how they use resources while programme of study does not. These findings may be used by teacher trainers during the preparation of student teachers

Investigations of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping Instructional Approach on Secondary School Girls’ Achievement in Physics in Nyeri County, Kenya

This study investigated the effects of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping Instructional Approach (ECCA) on girls’ achievement in Physics in secondary schools. The study employed Quasi- Experimental Research Design represented by Solomon Four Non-equivalent Control Group Design. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 8 Secondary Schools from girls’ alone and co- educational schools strata drawn from Nyeri County. A total of 334 Form Two students were involved in the study.  A validated Students Physics Achievement Test (PAT) with a reliability coefficient of 0.80 was administered. The experimental group I and III were exposed to ECCA while the conventional Method was used for the control group. Two groups were pre-tested prior to the implementation of the ECCA treatment. After five weeks, all four groups were post-tested using the Physics Achievement Test (PAT). Data was analyzed using ANOVA and ANCOVA at a significance level of alpha (?) equal to 0.05.  The results of the study revealed significant effect on achievement of girls when ECCA was used. However there was a significant effect in achievement on school type in favour of girls’ alone class performing better than girls in co-educational class when ECCA was used. The investigations concludes that ECCA is an effective learning strategy which physics teachers should be encouraged to use in their teaching/ learning process in order to address the current low girls performance. This may create an increased pool of scientific and technical female workers in the area where Physics is a requirement. Key words- Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping (ECCA), Conventional Methods (CM), Secondary School, Girls’ Achievement, Physics, Nyeri County

Effects of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping Instructional Approach on Secondary School Students’ Motivation in Physics in Nyeri County, Kenya

This study aimed at finding out the effects of Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping ECCM on students’ motivation to learn Physics. Solomon Four Non-equivalent Control Group Design under the quasi- experimental research was used. A stratified random sample of 12 Secondary Schools was drawn from Nyeri County. Four boys’ alone, four girls’ alone and four co-educational schools were randomly assigned to four groups with a total of 513 Form Two students. Students in all the groups were taught the same Physics content of Magnetic Effect of Electric Current. The experimental groups were taught using ECCM approach while the control groups were taught through Regular Teaching Methods (RTM). Two groups were pre-tested prior to the implementation of treatment. After five weeks, all four groups were post-tested using the Student Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ). The instrument was validated and pilot tested before use. The reliability coefficient for SMQ was 0.81.  The instrument was scored and data analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA at a significance level of alpha equal to 0.05.  The results of the study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the motivation to learn of students who were taught through ECCM and those taught through RTM. The researchers recommend the used of ECCM in addressing motivation of students towards learning physics. Keywords: Experiential Cooperative Concept Mapping (ECCM), Regular Teaching Methods (RTM), Secondary School students, Physics, Motivation, Nyeri County

Suicide in Kenyan Universities

This study examines the prevalence of suicidal thinking, planning, attempts and self-harm and the associated psychological stressors in two Kenyan universities. The participants are undergraduate university students aged (18 -29) years. A convergent mixed method study design was adopted to collect data. Self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions were carried out among 431 students and six university counselors participated in a three rounds delphi survey. The study instruments were adopted from the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation & Triage (SAFE-T), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Tool (NSSI-AT) and Emerging Adult Stress Inventory (EASI). A multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was performed. The prevalence rate of suicidal thinking was 17.1%, suicidal planning 5.9%, suicidal attempts 7.8% and self-harm 5.5%. Female students and private university students had high prevalence for all suicidal behaviors. Feeling hopeless and depressed, financial difficult, feeling anxious, family conflicts and academic challenges were psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviors. The prevalence for suicidal behaviors were similar to that found in other studies carried out in other countries. Suicidal behaviors are associated with mental illness symptoms. This should be taken into account by peers, parents and university counselors to prevent and intervene for suicidal behaviors

Suicide in Kenyan Universities

This study examines the prevalence of suicidal thinking, planning, attempts and self-harm and the associated psychological stressors in two Kenyan universities. The participants are undergraduate university students aged (18 -29) years. A convergent mixed method study design was adopted to collect data. Self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions were carried out among 431 students and six university counselors participated in a three rounds delphi survey. The study instruments were adopted from the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation & Triage (SAFE-T), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Tool (NSSI-AT) and Emerging Adult Stress Inventory (EASI). A multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was performed. The prevalence rate of suicidal thinking was 17.1%, suicidal planning 5.9%, suicidal attempts 7.8% and self-harm 5.5%. Female students and private university students had high prevalence for all suicidal behaviors. Feeling hopeless and depressed, financial difficult, feeling anxious, family conflicts and academic challenges were psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviors. The prevalence for suicidal behaviors were similar to that found in other studies carried out in other countries. Suicidal behaviors are associated with mental illness symptoms. This should be taken into account by peers, parents and university counselors to prevent and intervene for suicidal behaviors

Suicidal Behaviors Among Emerging Adults in Kenyan Universities

This study examined the prevalence of suicidal thinking, planning, attempts, and self-harm and the associated psychological stressors in two Kenyan universities. The participants were undergraduate university students aged (18 -29) years. A convergent mixed-method study design was adopted to collect data. Self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions were carried out among 431 students and six university counselors participated in a three-round Delphi survey. The study instruments were adopted from the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation & Triage (SAFE-T), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Tool (NSSI-AT), and Emerging Adult Stress Inventory (EASI). A multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was performed. The prevalence rate of suicidal thinking was 17.1%, suicidal planning 5.9%, suicidal attempts 7.8%, and self-harm 5.5%. Female students and private university students have a high prevalence of all suicidal behaviors. Feeling hopeless and depressed, financial difficulty, feeling anxious, family conflicts, and academic challenges were psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviors. The prevalence of suicidal behaviors was like that found in other studies carried out in other countries. Suicidal behaviors are associated with mental illness symptoms. This should be considered by peers, parents, and university counselors to prevent and intervene in suicidal behaviors

A systematic analysis of enabling conditions for synergy between climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries

AbstractThere is a growing quest for synergy between mitigation and adaptation due to concerns of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the compartmentalized approaches to climate change. However, little has been done to explore the necessary enabling conditions for synergistic design and implementation. This paper proposes an analytical framework to assess enabling conditions for synergies at the national level and applies it to developing countries to explore the potential move toward synergy. Four enabling conditions for integrating adaptation and mitigation, i.e. policies and strategies, programs and projects, institutional arrangements and financial mechanisms, were used to score developing countries relative to each other. We hypothesized that low income and vulnerable countries might more likely pursue synergy given the urgency for both adaptation and mitigation. Despite the relative infancy of the synergy concept, about half of countries studied exhibited good synergy potential, 80% of which were middle-income developing countries. The assumption of vulnerability as a precursor for pursuing synergy was supported by the fact that small island states possessed relatively high synergy potential. Income was weakly associated with the synergy potential with least developed countries having low synergy scores. Emerging economies possessed strong synergy potential which might be associated with better capacity available and/or potential for shaping their global images due to their growing emissions. In sum, the proposed analytical framework could be useful to identify areas of emphasis to promote holistic and efficient climate policies. As this study largely focused on the enabling conditions, further studies are needed to scrutinize and manage the mitigation-adaptation balances in countries possessing good synergy potentials

RELATIONSHIP AMONG TYPE OF SCHOOL, ACADEMIC RESILIENCE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

This study investigated the relationship among type of school, academic resilience and academic achievement among secondary school students in Kiambu County, Kenya. A descriptive correlational design was used. A randomly selected sample of 390 students in the third year of secondary education was involved. The participants were drawn from four categories of secondary schools: Boys boarding, girls boarding, coeducational boarding and coeducational day. Data were collected using a demographic form and the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) resilience scale. A significant mean difference (F (3,386) = 9.39, p < .05) was reported in the academic resilience scores when type of school was considered. The difference was in favour of girls’ boarding schools. The mean academic resilience and achievement for boys’ boarding was found to be significantly lower than that of girls’ boarding, boys’ day, and mixed day secondary schools.  It was recommended that educational stakeholders should shift from considering type of school as being peripheral to academic outcomes and instead regard it as a key contributor to the educational outcomes of secondary school students

Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure among Formulators, Repackers and Store Workers in Nairobi, Kenya

Though it is widely believed that adverse health effects occur among farm workers who handle pesticides, few studies have been done to quantify the extent to which pesticide formulators, re-packers and store workers are affected. The present study assessed the prevalence of signs and symptoms of illness due to pesticide exposure among factory workers in Nairobi Kenya using a descriptive cross- sectional study design on consenting factory workers. A questionnaire was administered enquiring about their biodata, work practices and occurrence of signs and symptoms associated with pesticide poisoning. Data was coded, entered into MS Access database and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Test for significance was done using chi-square to identify key variables associated with pesticide poisoning. Workers who had been in employment for less than one year reported a higher prevalence of signs and symptoms associated to pesticide poisoning such as burning skin (P = 0.004) and dizziness (P = 0.006). Workers who handled organochlorine pesticide had higher prevalence of burning of skin (P = 0.002), convulsions (P = 0.003), twitching (P = 0.004), painful swallowing (P = 0.004), dermatitis (P = 0.019) and headache (P = 0.028) among other pesticide exposure related symptoms. Workers who had handled pesticides for a longer period of time appeared to have less signs and symptoms of pesticide poisoning probably suggesting that long term exposure to pesticides either imparted some form of acquired immunity to pesticides or that their longer experience resulted in better risk perception and management. Keywords: pesticide, organochlorine, organophospate, formulator, poisoning