The perceived value of work placements and part-time work and its diminution with time

This paper explores the perceptions of degree students at two UK universities regarding their work placement and part-time working activities, to assess if the two activities converge. The research comprises three stages: interviews for preliminary exploration of students’ perceptions towards work placement and part-time work; interviews to examine how placement opportunities link with career aspirations; a survey of students who had completed a placement, and those currently on placement. Students acknowledged part-time working helped their placement activity, providing transferable skills beneficial to both study and career aspirations. A significant finding was with respect to time: the closer to the placement activity the data was collected, the stronger the impact of appreciating the value of placement. The paper therefore highlights the value of timing in the assessment of work placement. It also offers value for universities’ by providing insight into students’ perceptions regarding embedded external work activities that can enhance graduate employability and career prospects.     

Multitasking,but for what benefit? The dilemma facing Nigerian university students regarding part-time working

Students working part-time while studying for a full-time university degree are commonplace in many Western countries. This paper, however, examines the historically uncommon part-time working activities and career aspirations among Nigerian university students. In particular, how working is perceived to contribute to developing employability skills, and whether it is influenced by their self-efficacy. Survey data from 324 questionnaires were collected from a federal university, although the data analysis used a mixed method. The findings indicate that despite low levels of part-time working generally among students, older, more experienced, higher level and female students place a premium on the skills that part-time work can develop. Moreover, self-efficacy and being female is a significant predictor in understanding part-time work and career aspirations. This study offers originality by focusing on students’ part-time work, the value working provides and its link with career aspirations, within a relatively unexplored context of Nigeria.     

Using Electronic Tools and Resources to Meet the Challenges of Anatomy Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Anatomy education forms the foundation of a successful medical education. This has necessitated the development of innovative ideas to meet up with current realities. Despite these innovative ideas, there are challenges facing anatomy education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Problems such as inadequate teaching experts and outdated curricula have made anatomy education in sub-Saharan Africa uninviting and disinteresting. Several interventions have been suggested, such as the procurement of teaching tools and upgrading of teaching infrastructure. However, in this age of information technology; anatomy education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa could benefit from the integration of electronic tools and resources. This article explores the electronic tools and resources such as three-dimensional printing, educational games, and short videos that are readily available for the teaching of anatomy in sub-Saharan Africa. The author concludes by discussing how these electronic tools and resources can be used to address many of the challenges facing anatomy education in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Human and social factors affecting the decision of students to accept e-learning

It is significant to highlight that educational technologies cannot improve academic performance if they are not widely accepted and used. Unfortunately, the decision not to accept e-learning continues to be a fundamental issue. The current research provided an alternative lens to view a decision to accept and use technology in a developing country landscape. Accordingly, the present study focused on the impact of human and social factors on the decision to accept e-learning. The undergraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) formed the contextual setting. The theoretical framework employed was a modified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Accordingly, a survey questionnaire was used to employ a dataset of 204 and 15 students in April 2015 for quantitative and qualitative data. Overall, the principal findings show that social influence, attitude and perceived usefulness, stress, satisfaction and fatigue are critical to behavioural intention to accept e-learning. Meanwhile, strong correlations between perceived usefulness and social influence; previous e-learning experience and average time spent using e-learning; previous e-learning experience and behavioural intention demonstrate how the human and social factors influence the e-learning acceptance culture. Ultimately, the contribution provided valuable insights on how to speed up the process of adoption, the use and continuance of e-learning by an understanding of human and social factors. Moreover, recognising human, social and cultural components make it possible to improve e-learning experiences of users. The implications suggest that a better integration of human and social factors to e-learning may help reduce forms of e-learning challenges and shed new insights for theory.     

Investigating the effect of imikode virtual reality game in enhancing object oriented programming concepts among university students in Nigeria

Education and Information Technologies - Learning object oriented programming (OOP) has been a daunting and challenging task for students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Various...     

Specific remedy for specific problem: measuring service quality in South African higher education

This study commences a process of developing a scale for the measurement of service quality in higher education in South Africa and also examines the relationship between the measures of service quality on the one hand and some other related variables such as intention to leave the university, trust in management of the university and the overall satisfaction with the university. Using structured questionnaires, survey data was collected from students (n = 391) in two South African universities. Findings indicate that the 52-item measure of service quality in higher education is a multidimensional construct loading on 13 factors with a high reliability coefficient (0.93) and some construct validity. Significant relationships were also found between service quality in HE and other study variables—intention to leave university, trust in management of the university and overall satisfaction with the university. Some further research directions were suggested and policy implications of findings discussed.     

Peer mentorship: a powerful buffer against those with legitimate right and power to bully subordinates

ABSTRACT

We used collective analytical autoethnography (CAAE) to investigate experiences of academic bullying and mobbing in our study. Specifically, four autoethnographers shared and analyzed personal experiences of being mobbed and bullied, described their perceptions of workplace bullying, its manifestations, and explored the emotional, social, psychological and career consequences associated with being bullied and mobbed at work. In addition, the autoethnographers reflected on different resources used to cope with mobbing and bullying experiences and revealed – peer mentorship and social support – as instrumental in helping them cope with both the physical and emotional distresses associated with the bullying and mobbing experiences. Implications from the findings and suggestions for future research are also presented.     

The effect of laboratory and lecture teaching methods on cognitive achievement in integrated science

A sample of 210 class-two (grade 8) students from six randomly selected classes from six Nigerian schools was divided into two (experimental and control) groups. Using materials from some units of the Nigerian Integrated Science Project (NISP), the experimental group was taught by a laboratory method while the control group was taught by the lecture method. Data were collected using an Achievement Test for Integrated Science Students developed by the authors and student ability was measured by tests secured from the Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan. In analyzing the data, an analysis of covariance was employed. T-test statistics were also used to determine significant difference between means of different groups. High achievers of both groups had identical achievement, but the low achievers in the experimental group performed better than their counterparts in the control group. While the study showed that males in this study prefer laboratory method to lecture method when compared with their female counterparts, the study also revealed that females in the control classes performed better than males of the same group.