scholarly journals Combatting the Imperativeness of Modernity in Students' Unrest: The Need to Decolonise the Minds through Ubuntu

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 310
Author(s):  
Bunmi I Omodan
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
University Management ◽  
Conversational Analysis ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Facilitative Leadership ◽  
Management Staff ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
The University

The trajectory of students' unrest in Nigeria universities has been linked to the underside of modernity. By responding to this, the study explores conditions necessary to decolonise the mindset of university authorities and students, against modernity as an offshoot of students' unrest. Ubuntu philosophy rationalised the study while Transformative Paradigm lensed the process with the use of Participatory Action Research design. The study involved ten co-researchers, three university management staff, three students' leaders, two security personnel and two university lecturers were selected using Convenient Sampling Technique. Focus Group Discussion was employed to generate data, and the data were subjected to Conversational Analysis to make sense of the data. Students' involvement in decision-making, democratic and facilitative leadership style, were found as tools to decolonise the space of students' unrest as an underside of modernity. The reconstruction of the university system against social unrest emanating from modernity becomes expedient through Ubuntu cum decoloniality.

scholarly journals A Decolonial Strategy to Reconstruct Student-Management Relationships in a University System

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Bunmi Isaiah Omodan
Keyword(s):  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
University Education ◽  
University Management ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
University System ◽  
Student Management ◽  
Security Personnel ◽  
Management Staff ◽  
The University

Despite the contributions of university education to nation-building, the potential of Nigeria’s university system to fulfil its responsibilities is frequently obstructed by crises. Among the prominent crises, according to observations and literature, are those linked to student-management dichotomies, which make it practically impossible for universities to actualise their aims. This study is framed by the theory of decoloniality, and aimed to formulate a strategy to enhance the management of crises involving students and universities authorities. Participatory Action Research was adopted as research design. Focus group discussion was used to collect data. Ten participants that acted as co-researchers, from Nigeria, representing university management staff, lecturers, security personnel and student union leaders, both past and present. The participants were selected using the expert sampling technique. Socio-thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The study revealed that a lack of modern communication, poor dialogue mechanisms, and students’ non-involvement in decision-making were major propellers of student-management dichotomies in the university system. The study recommends solutions, among which a mobile/electronic application designed as a strategy to decolonise the old ways of managing students in a university system.   Received: 18 November 2020 / Accepted: 2 February 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021

scholarly journals Deconstructing Social Unrest as a Response to Redefine Strained Relationships between Students and University Authorities

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Dr Bunmi I Omodan
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Student Leaders ◽  
University Management ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
Security Personnel ◽  
The Social ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Student Unrest

University system in Nigeria has been characterised by persistent social unrest majorly traceable to strained relationships between students and university authorities. Observations, experiences and literature confirmed that student unrest in the universities had become a compulsory devil affecting the speedy actualisation of university goals and objectives. The need to dismantle the social space for relative peace and tranquillity thereof become expedient. The study aims to redefine students-university authority relationships as a tool to deconstruct social unrest in Nigeria universities. Human Relations Theory of Management (HRTM) was used to theorise the study. Transformative paradigm as a stance to emancipate the existing unrest situation was used to lens the study. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was adopted as a research design for the study. The sample size for this study consists of 10 participants, namely, three students' leaders; one past student leaders, three university management members, two lecturers and two security personnel selected using expert sampling techniques. The Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was used to collect data from the participants, and the data collected were analysed using Socio-thematic Analysis. The study revealed that inadequate funding was a significant challenge resulting in student unrest. In contrast, the provision of Students' Personnel Services coupled with modern maintenance culture, transparency and accountability were found to be the dimension of peaceful university operation devoid of social unrest and therefore becomes a tool to deconstruct the strained relationship between students and university authorities.

Women In University Management: The Nigerian Experience

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Olayemi Abiodun-Oyebanji ◽  
F. Olaleye
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Technique ◽  
University Management ◽  
Test Analysis ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Management Positions ◽  
Southwest Nigeria ◽  
Nigerian University ◽  
The University

This study examined women in university management in Nigeria. It was a descriptive research of the survey type. The population of the study comprised all the public universities in southwest Nigeria, out of which three were selected through the stratified random sampling technique. Three hundred respondents who were in management positions were purposively sampled for this study. A questionnaire tagged Women in University Management Questionnaire (WUMQ) was used to elicit information from the respondents. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, t-test analysis and Pearson products for research questions and hypotheses raised for the study. Results showed that the level of women participating in university management in Nigerian University was dismally low; most of the high management positions were occupied by men. Results of the study further revealed that many women in the university system were being deprived of high management positions because they do not have the same opportunities for advancement as their male counterparts and also, the undue strictness of many women jeopardizes their chances of attaining high management positions in Nigerian universities. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the parochial belief of some people that women do not have what it takes to manage a university simply because they are women should be discarded. Women should also put a check on their undue strictness in the workplace and also, conducive working environments that will promote womens advancement should be promoted in Nigerian Universities.

scholarly journals "Everybody knows by hearing but not by seeing": Exploring the use of photovoice to document challenges of some inter-provincial students at the University of Danang, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Duc Tran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Research Process ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

<p>This research employed a Participatory Action Research methodology to work with minority inter-provincial students and unearth their lived experiences at the University of Danang in Vietnam. It focused on examining the undervaluation of inter-provincial students’ voices in the university’s policies – and to a wider extent, in most Vietnamese universities – by facilitating a process in which their challenges and ideas for change at university could be heard.  This research also sought to observe and analyse the influences of power dynamics within a Confucian-heritaged context on the participatory research process itself. Vietnam is believed to be a society in which hierarchical power takes its deepest roots due to the effects of Confucianism. By using Participatory Action Research with a variety of methods – photovoice, diagraming, group discussion, interviewing and exhibition – I sought to facilitate student voices and document some of the potential and constraints of the methodology within this cultural context.  The research involved eleven student participants and ten teacher participants over a period of six weeks. Data was collectively analysed and shared by student participants with invited teachers through an exhibition at the University of Danang. Throughout the process, I took extensive field notes of my observations and interactions with participants. Data analysis was then written and presented in this thesis based on what participants had provided. Key themes that this thesis explores are: (1) challenges that faced inter-provincial students, (2) the impact of Confucius hierarchical power on participants’ involvement and ownership in the research and (3) the role of language and emotion when undertaking Participatory Action Research in such a context.  The process generated clear evidence of the common challenges facing interprovincial students associated with limited finances, mentality/spirituality, and poor living conditions. From analysis of these challenges, the research provides recommendations for teachers, university administrators and policy-makers. These recommendations promote a more holistic pedagogy that better encourages students to develop themselves throughout their time at university.  The thesis also concludes that the use of Participatory Action Research within higher education settings in Vietnam can serve as a research model for the betterment of disadvantaged minority students. It could help minimise the effects of neoliberalism on the country’s higher education sector and foster better development outcomes for students and their home provinces.</p>

University of Ilorin Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Usefulness and Challenges regarding Computer-Based Testing

Mousaion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nafisa Rabiu ◽  
Adetola Kehinde ◽  
Halimah Odunayo Amuda ◽  
Kehinde Kadijat Kadiri
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
University Management ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Computer Based Testing ◽  
High Level ◽  
The University

This study investigated the perceptions of undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, of the usefulness and challenges associated with computer-based testing. The population for the study consisted of undergraduate students at the University of Ilorin. According to the data collected from the Directorate of Academic Planning at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, the population of undergraduate students for the 2017/2018 academic session was 43 983. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample. A questionnaire was used as data collection instrument. The findings from the study showed that using a web-based assessment system contributed positively to the undergraduate students’ academic achievements while the majority of them preferred taking all their exams with the web-based assessment system. The findings further revealed that to the undergraduate students, CBT is an interesting technique in examinations and makes the taking of examinations easier. Also, there is high level of competence among undergraduate students with regard to possession of the required skills for CBT examinations. Delays in the commencement of the exams, power failures at the CBT centre and overcrowding are major challenges encountered by the students taking CBT examinations. One of the study recommendations was that the university management should endeavour to eliminate the delays in the commencement of tests by providing assessment timetables which should be strictly adhered to.

Exploring lecturers' emotional challenges on their work performance at a rural university in Eastern Cape Province

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-31
Author(s):  
Newlin Marongwe ◽  
◽  
Shakespeare Chiphambo ◽  
Harry Kasumba
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
University Management ◽  
Emotional Challenges ◽  
The University

Lecturers' well-being is essential for successful education at any university. The paper seeks to explore the untold stories of emotional challenges faced by some lecturers in a rural institution of higher learning in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Today's universities are faced with myriad challenges, among them is lecturers' well-being. Lecturers‘ anxiety is now rampant but not enough attention is given to it since people assume that academics can cope with life's stresses. Exploring the problem and consequences on lecturers' work will provide strategies that could be implemented by the university management. The existential anxiety theory, qualitative-case study design and a purposeful sampling technique were used for the study. Interviews were utilised to collect data. Data presentation and analysis were done using verbatim quotations. The study established that university lecturers were overwhelmed by challenges such as job uncertainty, pressure to engage in research, supervision, frequent student unrest, dwindling resources, pressure to integrate information communication and technology in teaching and learning, and so forth. The study concluded that lecturers were facing a myriad of challenges that had a negative impact on the execution of their duties. The paper recommends that the university management should develop a model to address the lecturers' identified challenges.

Motivating Knowledge Sharing Among Undergraduate Medical Students of the University of Lahore, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 1750041
Author(s):  
Ghulam Murtaza Rafique ◽  
Mumtaz A. Anwar
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Survey Questionnaire ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Class Participation ◽  
The University

Objectives: This study aimed at exploring the factors that motivated and hindered the medical students to share their knowledge with each other. Method: A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data from 260 medical students selected by proportionate stratified simple random sampling technique from University College of Medicine of The University of Lahore, Pakistan. Results: A total of 252 (96.9%) questionnaires were received from respondents. Of the seven purposes for knowledge sharing (KS) (if grades/exams do matter), two obtained a maximum mean score of 3.88; while one got 4.02 if grades/exams do not matter. Four of the eight motivational factors got top mean scores of 3.59 to 3.88. Of the 11 barriers, “People only share with those who share with them” obtained a highest mean score (3.81). Conclusions: Major findings showed that medical students discussed exam-related matters and enhanced their own understanding by KS. Class participation and group discussion stimulated them to share knowledge with their peers. They considered give-and-take a big barrier of KS. The overall opinions of female students scored higher than males.

scholarly journals "Everybody knows by hearing but not by seeing": Exploring the use of photovoice to document challenges of some inter-provincial students at the University of Danang, Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Duc Tran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Research Process ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

<p>This research employed a Participatory Action Research methodology to work with minority inter-provincial students and unearth their lived experiences at the University of Danang in Vietnam. It focused on examining the undervaluation of inter-provincial students’ voices in the university’s policies – and to a wider extent, in most Vietnamese universities – by facilitating a process in which their challenges and ideas for change at university could be heard.  This research also sought to observe and analyse the influences of power dynamics within a Confucian-heritaged context on the participatory research process itself. Vietnam is believed to be a society in which hierarchical power takes its deepest roots due to the effects of Confucianism. By using Participatory Action Research with a variety of methods – photovoice, diagraming, group discussion, interviewing and exhibition – I sought to facilitate student voices and document some of the potential and constraints of the methodology within this cultural context.  The research involved eleven student participants and ten teacher participants over a period of six weeks. Data was collectively analysed and shared by student participants with invited teachers through an exhibition at the University of Danang. Throughout the process, I took extensive field notes of my observations and interactions with participants. Data analysis was then written and presented in this thesis based on what participants had provided. Key themes that this thesis explores are: (1) challenges that faced inter-provincial students, (2) the impact of Confucius hierarchical power on participants’ involvement and ownership in the research and (3) the role of language and emotion when undertaking Participatory Action Research in such a context.  The process generated clear evidence of the common challenges facing interprovincial students associated with limited finances, mentality/spirituality, and poor living conditions. From analysis of these challenges, the research provides recommendations for teachers, university administrators and policy-makers. These recommendations promote a more holistic pedagogy that better encourages students to develop themselves throughout their time at university.  The thesis also concludes that the use of Participatory Action Research within higher education settings in Vietnam can serve as a research model for the betterment of disadvantaged minority students. It could help minimise the effects of neoliberalism on the country’s higher education sector and foster better development outcomes for students and their home provinces.</p>

scholarly journals Information Literacy Skills of Management Sciences’ Students

2017 ◽  
pp. 52-73
Author(s):  
Ghulam Murtaza Rafique ◽  
Hina Asif Khan
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
University Management ◽  
Online Format ◽  
The University

The objective of this study was to determine the information literacy (IL) skills of Management Sciences students. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 254 currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students of two universities, one public sector and one private sector, situated in Lahore, Pakistan. An equal-sized stratified random sampling technique through random numbers was used for this purpose. The results showed that the majority of the students used the university library infrequently to locate their requisite information. Most of the students required a moderate level of information and preferred to get this information in an online format. The opinion of most of the students showed that they were proficient in using internet services (e.g. Google, Yahoo etc.) and different websites to identify their required information. The findings revealed that most of the students were unanimous in their skills to precisely recognize and describe the information they required. This study highlights the importance of IL skills, in order that students can become lifelong learners in retrieving, using, organizing, and presenting their information. The findings of this study would provide some insightful guidelines to university management, policy makers, and those concerned to augment and increase the IL training sessions and programs in Pakistan at the university level. These findings could be implemented on other universities with the same teaching and learning system, strategies, and circumstances.

scholarly journals A Study on Association between the Perceptions of Principals and Teachers Regarding College Principals’ Leadership Style in Perspective of Situational Leadership Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hina Munir ◽  
◽  
Mumtaz Akhter
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Situational Leadership ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Leadership Theory ◽  
Job Experience ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Post Facto ◽  
Situational Leadership Theory ◽  
Multistage Sampling ◽  
The University

The current study demonstrates the association between the perceptions of the designations regarding college principals’ leadership style in perspective of situational leadership theory. This article is quantitative in nature and ex-post-facto research design was adopted. The population was comprised of all colleges which are affiliated with the University of the Punjab in Lahore Division. Multistage sampling technique was adopted for selecting sample. Thus, the sample of the study was comprised of 74 college principals and 370 teachers on the basis of their job experience. The instrument of LBA-II Self/Other was adopted. The data was analyzed on SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. There was disassociation between the perceptions of the designations regarding the primary, developing and diagnosis leadership style, except the secondary leadership style where was association found between the perceptions of the designations. Whereas, there was no difference in teachers and principal’s perceived leadership style flexibility and effectiveness.

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