Undesirable Consequences of Practicing Corporal Punishment to Discipline Misbehaving Students in Schools

Despite corporal punishment is officially banned it is common practice in the Eritrean school system However there is an acute absence of empirical information about the impact of harsh disciplining techniques used by teachers and school leaders in Eritrea The paper mainly focuses on the consequences of the existing school based disciplining techniques on students educational behavioral psychological emotional and relationships mosaics in the secondary schools Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 526 participants of different groups of school community and stakeholders in Asmara Specifically 67 school teachers and 403 secondary school students involved through selfadministered questionnaire and 43 key informants took part in FGDs The study also used school based field observations to gather relevant data Corporal punishment is most commonly used students disciplining technique in the schools The finding revealed that punishment decreases students motivation and interests in learning by associating subject areas with the punishing teacher

Faculty Mentoring in Eritrean Institutions of Higher Education: A Missing Academic Ingredient for Early Career Academics

Cultivation of professionalism and dispositional values of junior faculty members/early career academic in higher education institutions is a global challenge. This paper explores how Graduate Assistants are mentored at work in the higher education institutions in Eritrea. The paper assesses the institutional significance and challenges of mentoring the Graduate Assistants in the context of Eritrean higher education institutions. The research involved the leadership of the colleges, the senior faculty members and the Graduate Assistants. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a Likert scale questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The findings show that Graduate Assistants receive poor professional mentoring at the higher education institutions. A large number of early career academic revealed a need of serious professional molding to effectively shoulder more responsibilities at the colleges. The early career academic are looking for genuine advisement for career aspiration and professional development opportunities. The colleges’ efforts to ensure recognition, delegation, accountability and encouragement of Graduate Assistants are not yet systematic and hardly materialized in practice. The higher education institutions are required of a firm institutional commitment to sharpen the junior staff’s professional competence in teaching and research through mentoring. Based on the findings, alternative mentoring strategies to mentor early career academic at the higher education institutions are forwarded. Keywords: early career academics, graduate assistantship, mentoring, stimulation, inspiration DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-01 Publication date:May 31st 2020

Disciplining Techniques Used by Teachers and Principals to Deal with Students’ Incivilities in Eritrean Schools

In the Eritrean school system, corporal punishment is officially banned, but teachers and principals are often observed using it. There is lack of empirical evidence about the disciplining techniques employed by teachers and school administrators in the literature representing the Eritrean context. However, students and parents complain about the way teachers and school leadership attempt to discipline students. The paper explored the repertoires of strategies schools employ to handle students’ misbehaviors and alternative mechanisms of disciplining to positively influence misbehaving students. The study used cross-sectional survey research method combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The study involved 513 participants comprising school management team, teachers, students, members of parent-teacher association, school discipline committee from five schools and college graduating students. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from multiple sources of information through questionnaire, interview and focus group discussions. In addition, experiential data were gathered in a field work of school based observation and relevant secondary data. The results are thematically presented following the major research questions. The main “disciplining techniques teachers and school principals use in school compounds are discussed in detail. The findings show that the disciplining techniques employed in the schools are corporal punishments that reflect the teachers’ and principals’ aggression rather than wisely guiding and disciplining misbehaving students. Keywords: corporal punishment, disciplining techniques, positive disciplining strategies DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-4-01 Publication date: February 28th 202

Induction and Mentorship of Junior Faculty Members: A Managerial Challenge in the Institutions of Higher Education in Eritrea

Cultivation of professionalism and dispositional values in junior faculty members in institutions of higher education (IHE) is a global challenge. Junior faculty members complain of the managerial inefficiency and lack of modeling in their career development. This paper explored how Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are inducted into the system and mentored at work in the IHE in Eritrea. It assesses the institutional significance and challenges of mentoring junior faculty members in IHE. The research was conducted in 7 IHE involving 165 participants. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through Likert scale questionnaire and in-depth interviews. A One-Way ANOVA was used to assess the GTAs’ knowledge of assigned duties and responsibilities, access to institutional information and resources, the quality of guidance and support provided and above all the mentoring state of affairs across the colleges. Results revealed that junior faculty shoulder vital responsibilities but they receive poor induction and mentoring at individual and institutional levels. A large number of junior faculty members revealed a need of serious professional molding to effectively shoulder more responsibilities in the colleges. Keywords: induction, mentoring, junior faculty members, Eritrea DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-13-01 Publication date:May 31st 202

Entrance of Prospective Teachers to Initial Teacher Education and Stereotypes Around the Teaching Profession: Experiences From Eritrea

The inquiry framed into an action research strategy was initiated in the College of Education (CoE) at the Eritrea Institute of Technology, a major Initial Teacher Education (ITE) center in the country. The paper tried to answer the question: How do prospective-teachers happen to attend in the CoE? The paper also sheds light on the prevailing stereotypes around the teaching profession. The methodological and analytical framework of the research lies in the premise of teaching as a reflective practice. Qualitative data were gathered through focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews involving 126 participants comprising the leadership, educators and students of the college in the academic year 2012/2013. The FGDs and interviews were audio and video recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed. The findings reveal that learning process in the CoE is influenced by a myriad of systemic, institutional and attitudinal issues that intersect and further complicate the already problematic nature of teaching. The nature of the admission of the prospective teachers to the CoE and the stereotyped public views toward the CoE vis-à-vis the teaching profession are among the major stumbling block that affect the classroom practice at the college and beyond. As part of the researchers’ commitment to follow a collaborative action research cycle, the findings were shared with educators and learner-teachers in ITE institutions. Areas of intervention were identified and the college is engaged in a number of collaborative activities involving its staff, local and international partners in ensuring the provision of quality teacher education in the country. Keywords: admission process, teaching profession, stereotypes, collaborative action research

The Perplex of Guidance and Counseling Services for Higher Education Students in Eritrea

Students’ wellbeing at colleges and universities lies at the center of higher education student services provided by the institutions. Personal, social, educational, and other mild mental and emotional problems are unavoidable and intertwined with the day to day college students’ life burdens. The paper explored the state of guidance and counseling services and the support system provided to students, the major functions of the center at the colleges, the attitudes of the college students towards the guidance and counseling service, and the students’ counseling needs in higher education institutions. The study involved 217 college students and 30 staff members from the College of Education, College of Engineering and College of Science. The study used descriptive survey design combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches using questionnaire and focus group discussion data collection techniques. The data are analyzed using thematic and descriptive ways of analyses. Coming from different socio-economic and academic backgrounds, the students are not receiving proper guidance and counseling services at the colleges. The study identified the core functions of the counseling center and the gaps of student support systems. The students’ counseling needs are prioritized according to the students’ ratings. However, counseling profession in the Eritrean socio-cultural context is very challenging task for multitude factors including the socio-cultural perspective towards the profession, the depth of the training of counselors, and challenge of conceptualizing and contextualizing the western theories of counseling to the Eritrean context

The Perplex of Guidance and Counseling Services for Higher Education Students in Eritrea

Students' wellbeing at colleges and universities lies at the center of higher education student services provided by the institutions. Personal, social, educational, and other mild mental and emotional problems are unavoidable and intertwined with the day to day college students' life burdens. The paper explored the state of guidance and counseling services and the support system provided to students, the major functions of the center at the colleges, the attitudes of the college students towards the guidance and counseling service, and the students' counseling needs in higher education institutions. The study involved 217 college students and 30 staff members from the College of Education, College of Engineering and College of Science. The study used descriptive survey design combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches using questionnaire and focus group discussion data collection techniques. The data are analyzed using thematic and descriptive ways of analyses. Coming from different socio-economic and academic backgrounds, the students are not receiving proper guidance and counseling services at the colleges. The study identified the core functions of the counseling center and the gaps of student support systems. The students' counseling needs are prioritized according to the students' ratings. However, counseling profession in the Eritrean socio-cultural context is very challenging task for multitude factors including the socio-cultural perspective towards the profession, the depth of the training of counselors, and challenge of conceptualizing and contextualizing the western theories of counseling to the Eritrean context