Educating through Television in Nigeria

In highlighting the nature of educational television in Nigeria, the author traces the development of television in Nigeria, discusses aspects of instructional and educational television and looks at their importance in Nigerian education and national development. Some of the educational programmes broadcast on Nigerian television are described and the major problems facing the television industry are discussed. The author proposes some recommendations for solving those problems.     

Self‐Injury,Gender, and Loneliness Among College Students

Several studies have demonstrated relationships between loneliness and numerous psychological and physical difficulties among college students. The purpose of this study was to examine whether loneliness might be a factor associated with increased risk of self‐injury among college students. The findings did not support the hypothesis that self‐injury would be associated with elevated levels of loneliness. The findings were significant but in the opposite direction than expected. Furthermore, the findings regarding gender are in contrast to findings of previous research.     

A Six‐Year Longitudinal Study of Texting Trajectories During Adolescence

This study examined growth trajectories of texting (and other media) over a 6‐year time period. Participants were 425 adolescents from Washington, USA (age 13 at Time 1, age 18 at Time 6; 48% male, 68% European American). Analyses suggested a curvilinear pattern for texting and social media use, with rates peaking during midadolescence. There was also considerable heterogeneity in trajectories of texting. A growth mixture model revealed four distinct classes of individuals: perpetuals (14%), decreasers (7%), moderates (68%), and increasers (11%). Higher levels of depression, being a male, and coming from a single‐parent family predicted being a “perpetual” texter. Perpetuals had the most problematic outcomes compared to other classes, including higher depression, anxiety, aggression, and poor relationships with fathers.     

Does Student–Teacher Thinking Style Match/Mismatch Matter in Students’ Achievement?

This study concerns the contingent nature of the relationships of student–teacher style match (or mismatch) to students’ academic achievement. Participants were 135 (59 male and 76 female) students (average age of 21.5 years) from three academic disciplines (mathematics, physics, and public administration) who responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and rated their own abilities (analytical, creative, and practical). The academic achievement scores in two subject matters for each student were also used. The students’ subject matter teachers responded to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory. Three major findings were obtained. First, the effects of style match/mismatch upon students’ achievement vary as a function of academic discipline and subject matter. Second, the statistical procedures used to analyse the data play an important role in the relationships under investigation. Third, students’ self‐rated abilities make a difference in the tested relationships. Findings have implications for both researchers and teachers.     

The Intersectionality of African American Mothers in Counselor Education: A Phenomenological Examination

Using phenomenological inquiry, this study explored the lived experiences and intersecting identities of 8 African American counselor educators who are mothers. Six themes were identified: race, professional strain, work–life balance, support, internalized success, and mothering pedagogy.     

The impact of colonial and postcolonial Ghanaian language policies on vernacular use in schools in two northern Ghanaian communities

Many ‘alternative primary education’ programmes operating in the developing parts of the world use children’s first language as the medium of instruction. Programme sponsors often base their vernacular language policy on literature that highlights the cognitive and other benefits that accrue from using children’s first languages as the medium of instruction during their early stages in school. Working within a postcolonial discursive framework the paper examines the attitudes of community members, parents, school authorities and schoolchildren toward the use of the vernacular as a medium of instruction in the Shepherd School Programme, an alternative primary education programme, that has been implemented to provide improved educational access for schoolchildren in seven rural northern Ghanaian agri‐pastoral communities.     

The Age Factor in the Prediction of Tertary Academic Success

This study examined the predictive power of age in the academic performance of Behavioural Science students at the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education. Other predictor variables included were study methods, Tertiary Entrance score, personal problems, satisfaction with college, self‐concept, locus of control and flexibility of thinking. 79 students, 93% of the total population, responded to the questionnaire containing scales measuring the above variables. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that the contribution of age outweighed by far that of any other variable. The next best predictors were study methods and environment factors. The contribution of personality traits and T.E. score was minimal. A high correlation between age and study methods was also noted. A greater acceptance of older age students into Behavioural Science courses was suggested.     

The Use of Behavioural Self‐management in Primary School Settings: a review

The present paper attempts to review the studies which employed behavioural self‐management technology as a means of improving aspects of children's academic and social behaviour. The review is limited to those studies which involve primary school children attending mainstream schools. Studies are divided into three categories: those where the treated target behaviour(s) is academic, those where it is behavioural, and those which combine academic and behavioural target behaviours or are collections of two or more studies, some of which are academic and some behaviour‐ally oriented. Special attention was given to the problem of the absence of a ‘common’ language underpinning this area of research, which is considered to be one of the reasons that some of the results reported are equivocal. Finally, the orientation of future research in behavioural self‐management is discussed.