Wednesday, July 18, 2012

School Facilities Determines Students Academic Performance


The development of any society is dependent on the general level of education attained by its population most especially the youths. It therefore means that the educational system must be flexible, functional and optional enough to have something to offer to all members of the society including the youths, adults, privileged and the less privileged. The desire to meet the educational needs in particular those members of the under privileged is now a major challenge to the educators over the past years.

Education brings about a change in the manner of conduct of an individual which makes him to present himself as a responsible, sagacious and dependable member of his society. Education is regarded as an activity which gees on in the society with its aims depending on the nature of the society in which it takes place. It is a process through which an individual is trained to become useful to himself and the society at large with the acquisition of the cultural values and norms of the society. It occurs at all stages of life and can occur anywhere, but for the purpose of this study, the focus shall be on the type of education acquired in the school academic environment otherwise known as formal education. A school is a place like home where learning activities takes place and it comprises of individual from different cultural background which live and interact together as a cohesive community with a major common objectives and purpose for learning. It is a place where a learner acquires specialized knowledge and skills needed for their survival and to promote their innate capabilities for learning.

The school prepares an individual for future adult roles, the purpose of the school is mainly to serve as a channel for acquiring knowledge and skills and to enhance the full all round development of an individual. It is therefore necessary for instructors and school administrators to ensure that the school academic environment does not deviate from its main purpose in the sense that instructors control and maintain the type of activities that occur in the school environment in terms of extracurricular activities.

The schools exist because of the students. The quality of the student's performance depends on the quality of the school in terms of availability of required and adequate infrastructural facilities in such a school. Schools with well equipped facilities and well experienced personnel tend to produce brilliant students who show the ways for others students and lead them in various stages in Life. It could therefore be said that the performance of the students depends on the school facilities, which in returns determine their future lives. Parents and guardians should be encouraged to send their wards to schools with well-equipped facilities because it will result in better future for their children.

This fact has been proven to be true as the performance of some students from well equipped facilities schools differs from other students who are in school with less equipped facilities. Availability of required learning facilities in schools enhances student's academic performance. When learning materials are provided, learning activities proceed at a very fast speed. In a situation where the learning environment is not conducive, academic activities proceed at a low rate which then result in poor academic performance of students in promotional and certificate examine. And such is the case of four students of Ifako International School, Ifako, Ifako-Ijaye, Lagos State Nigeria.

Two of the students performed excellently in the competition as Olatide Wright and Torsho Dennis of the senor secondary school came second and fifth respectively in the Gessomate art competition. Adefoluso Orimalade and Soremekun Ibrahim of the junior secondary school came third and forth respectively. This level of performance does revealed the states of Ifako international school as a school with well experienced teachers and adequate faculties suitable for teaching and learning purposes and ideal school for parents who wants the best education for their children. The students are the image of the school and the school cannot exist without the students, the students produced by each school give or show the real image of the school in the society. The school should help provide the required materials and regulates the activities of all extracurricular activities within the school environment so that effective learning activities can occur.

Academic excellence is the desired of every school owner. The quality of teaching and learning that takes place in any educational establishment determines the level of academic excellence. In other for effective teaching and learning process to occur within the school academic environment. There must be provision of required learning aids such as conducive school physical environment, well painted classroom, adequate chairs, moderate distance from an industrial area to prevent unwanted noise and well experienced teachers. Things don't just happen; they are made to happen. All concerned bodies of education should ensure that all the aforementioned criteria are seriously considered so that the desired educational goals and objectives can be achieved and thus ensuring better future for our children.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Why Get An Online MBA?


First, let's understand the reason why most people are pursuing an MBA. Many don't have any education in business, but are stepping into careers or being promoted to new positions where they need to know more about the business. So, these people are pursuing higher education to continue in their field or obtain a new position. However, many of these people are not interested in stopping work to go back to school. Many want to pursue an MBA while they continue work. This is where online MBA programs come in handy.


Online MBA programs allow professionals to continue in their field and not lose great work experience or salary. Also, they keep professionals from relocating, which becomes a great hassle and added expense. Why get up and leave something good when you can pursue an MBA from the comfort of your home? Well, you don't have to because many schools are starting online MBA programs and they fit any schedule.

How does it work with your schedule? Well, it does require more discipline on your part. To commit to coming home in the evening and do some extra work for your MBA. You can take the program at the speed you prefer, which is one of the greatest advantages, and allows you to be flexible. Some people have more demanding careers and cannot handle much education, but want to pursue an MBA, and they can. Scheduling is one of the greatest advantages of an online MBA program.

Stay where you are in your career and where you live and get your MBA at the same time. That's what online MBA programs do for you. They don't require you to step foot on a campus or spend any extended time away from your career or home. This is perfect because you are trying to work hard, improve in your career, and gain more education. You don't need to move away for another year or two for education, just to move back. Stay at home, grab your computer, and get your MBA.

Many professionals are reporting that this program is extremely helpful and is increasing their ability to perform at work. Not only will it provide quality education and insight, but it could provide a promotion and increase in salary, which is always a bonus.

Get started by searching for online MBA programs. You will be surprised by how many are available. All it takes is you inquiring and signing up. Soon you will have an MBA and be on your way to greater accomplishments in your profession.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Free Appropriate Education - Really?


Our nation prides itself on providing a free and appropriate education for every child in the United States. The funny part is, the education is not free... technically our tax dollars are going to provide quality educational programs for our children. But, did you know that the United States was evaluated under the "Global Challenge 2012" on its education systems and ended up with a grade of 76.5? With all the school systems in the United States, Maryland was number 1, but the score was only 87.8... and Massachusetts coming in second with an 84.2 this really is not saying too much about the education system of the United States. Well, let's take an in depth look on what kind of education our tax dollars actually help to fund.

According to the dictionary, education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Now, in regards to this definition are our schools preparing our children for real LIFE in what we know as a traditional classroom setting? Now, don't get me wrong, I highly agree that the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic are vital parts of education because without them our children cannot convey and communicate their knowledge and ideas. But, society has taken away another vital part of education, and that is the part of experiencing culture and diversity through knowledge of the arts and music, developing social skills through play out at recess and taking out Physical Education (P.E.) therefore, creating obese children. So, is this an appropriate education? Does this type of education benefit all children?

Let's explore the traditional classroom learning experience... it is typically very direct instruction with drills, repetition, and the model of sit still and be quiet. However, not all students learn best in this manner. Every child has a specific learning style and the typical classroom does not necessarily accommodate how each individual child may learn. Not to mention, classrooms today are quite overcrowded and learning can be quite difficult for most students due to the fact that individualized attention is almost obsolete. Therefore, how do we close this learning gap?

I have to say, no matter how much learning is done in the classroom environment, the core of all learning begins at home. Therefore, I have to say communication between parents and teachers is a great necessity. Also, if the children experience issues not being able to adapt to the traditional classroom model, alternative methods should be considered. If a consensus cannot be agreed upon, then possible outside academic support such as a tutor might be necessary.

As you can see our education system has a lot of gaps and much room for improvement, but unless budget cuts cease, more teachers are hired, class sizes reduce, and they bring back music, art, recess, and P.E. our education system along with our youth are going to continue to decline. Please take this issue very seriously and do not let your child be left behind. Please make sure that learning does not stop in the classroom and continues in the home. And, if they are having any sort of problem, do not wait too long to get them the outside support that may be needed.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Steps to Carry Out the Research Projects (BTech)


Steps on: How to conduct a Research Work and complete a provisional Project Report?

EXERCISE-A 
I. Select a broad area of the study and of interest to the mankind. 
II. Preferably select the area from the areas of the Academic Discipline. 
III. Dissect the broad area (Selected) in order to identify the Sub-Areas for the study. 
IV. Further dissect the selected area into subareas as discretely as possible. 
V. Finally concentrate on on those areas/sub-areas which would probably be time constraint,finance constraint and expenditure constraint by the process of elimination. 
VI. Finalise a sub-area that could be managed within the known constraints.Keep in mind that there should be good scope for the study in that field. 
VII. Within the chosen sub-area,formulate the Research Questions for which there is a scope of getting/finding the answer(s). 
VIII. These questions finally form the basis for the research questions which could also be converted into a research statements.Formulate also the sub-objectives (if any). 
IX. Plan for the Literature Review,Instrument Construction,Data Collection,Data Analysis,Draft Report and finally Final Report. 
X. Double check at each and every stage of the work by comparing the theory and also the practice,

EXERCISE-A 
1) Broad Area of the Study 
2) Academic Discipline 
3) Sub-Area (After Dissection of the Broad area ) 
4) Constraints 
5) Specific Research Questions 
6) Specific Research Objectives /Statements 
7) Main Focused Areas of study 
8) Sub-Objectives of the study 
9) Relevance of the study & Practice 
10) Contributions to the Existing Bodies of the Knowledge 
11) Contributions to the Practitioners of the same Field 
12) Contributions to the Program Development 
13) Contributions towards the Policy Formulation

EXERCISE-B Variables Identification Procedure. 
1) Concepts 
2) Indicators(s) 
3) Variable(s) 
4) Units of the Measurement (s) 
5) Operational Definition of the Study -Population 
I. Literature Review 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s)

II. Instrument Construction 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s)

III. Data Collection 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s) 
IV. Data Analysis 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s)

V. Draft Report 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s)

VI. Final Report 
1) Literature Review 
2) Contents Involved 
3) Time FrameRequired 
4) Cost Involved (in Rupees) 
5) Technical Expertise Required 
6) Knowledge Gaps. 
7) Skill Gaps 
8) Any Other (s)

EXERCISE-C Construct the Hypothesis (Assumptions/Assertations/Ideas/Relationships/Situations) 
1) Objective(s)/Research Questions 
2) Objective(s)/Research Questions 
3) Hypothesis to be Tested 
4) Instrument(s) for the Testing 
5) Any Others(s)Remarks

EXERCISE-D Study Design Conceptualization 
1) Type of the Design-Cross Sectional Design,Longitudinal Design,Experimental Design,Comparative Designs. 
2) Reasons for the Selection, 
3) Strengths of the Design 
4) Strengths of the DesignStudy 
5) Population Details 
6) Respondents Identification 
7) Sample Selection Details 
8) Any Others(s)Remarks.

EXERCISE-E Develop a Research Instrument 
Rules for the Questionnaire Formation: 
Formulate the Questionnaire by 
1. Examining the sub-objectives. 
2. Examing the Research Questions. 
3. Examining the Hypothesis. 
4. Identifying the required Variables. 
5. Identifying the information required to be addressed. 
6. Formulating the scope/objective in-order to obtain the new information. 
1) Specific Objective(s) 
2) Specific ResearchQuestion(s) 
3) Hypotheses 
4) Type & Kind of the Information Required 
5) Identification of the Variables 
6) Formulation of the Questions for the Questionnaire.

EXERCISE-F Sample Selection 
1) Population Types 
2) Population Size 
3) Mode of the Sample (Population)Selection 
4) Strengths of the Selection 
5) Limitations of the Selection

EXERCISE-G Data -Analysis 
1) Software for the Analysis 
2) Variables for the Analysis 
3) Varibles Cross-Tabulations 
4) Statistical Procedure for the Variables (Selected ) 
5) Major Variables Construction 
6) Any Others(s) Remarks

EXERCISE-H Develop a frame of the analysis. 
1) Software for the Analysis 
2) Variables for the Analysis 
3) Varibles Cross-Tabulations 
4) Statistical Procedure for the Variables (Selected ) 
5) Major Variables Construction 
6) Any Others(s) Remarks

EXERCISE-I Develop an outline of the chapters. 
1) Main Theme of the study 
2) Task Objectives 
3) Chapter Headings 
4) Chapter Numbers 
5) Any Others(s) Remarks.

EXERCISE FOR EVERY STAGE (Self-Check Questionnaire) 
1) Relevance of the Scope of the study, 
2) Relevance to the Discipline /Interest of the study., 
3) Relevance to the Inter-Disciplines, 
4) Relevance to the Objectives of the Study, 
5) Relevance to the Research Questions of the study, 
6) Relevance to the pursuits of the study 
7) Relevance to the Adequate Resources, 
8) Available Relevance to the study populations, 
9) Relevance to the Conclusions/Discussions/Results.

Monday, July 2, 2012

The Unreliability of History


It is a truism to state that most of human history has not been written down--and that which has been has ordinarily been falsified, exaggerated, distorted and simplified for a variety of non historical purposes. Michel Foucault demonstrated how history up until the Enlightenment was basically monarchical, seeing everything in simple linear terms; the monarch was the ruling power and historians wrote with the intention of glorifying him. After the Enlightenment, Foucault suggests, our more modern concern with underlying trends appeared. However, according to Foucault, this was with the intention of empowering the aristocracy who had been sidelined by the church and the King. The aim of exposing this hidden history was to show the way in which, since the Frankish conquest, the Gaulish aristocrats had entered into the church, acquired knowledge of Latin and Roman law and become advisers to the King. The point of this new history was to call upon the First Estate to reclaim its birthright.


Today we have leftist history, rightist history, the history of the conquered and of the conquerors. We have Marxist history, bourgeois history and revisionist history. There is also the history of origins. According to this, everything has its starting point in a clear and well defined moment. For example there is the moment when spoken language first appeared and the moment when the first language was set down in written form. Most historians believe that Sumerian cuneiform was the first written language, but new discoveries in the Balkans cast serious doubt on this. The Vinca culture was Europe's biggest prehistoric civilization and 4000 years before the CE it had achieved high levels of sophistication in various areas including metalwork, pottery and urban planning. It seems the women were even highly fashion conscious and wore something akin to the modern mini skirt! Most interesting of all, a kind of proto-language appears on more than 1000 artifacts discovered. Was this a fully developed written language in every day use around 2000 years before the written script in Sumeria? (which bears no similarity to the Vinca script). Experts are in disagreement about this: some say, the Vinca script is no more than a primitive symbolic script, others are more ready to argue for the script's status as a language. In any case, it is certain that the vested interests of academia do not change long cherished ideas easily, so if the Vinca script should prove to be an early language, the proponents of this idea will have their work cut out to prove it.

Finally, the essential point is not whether the Vinca script predates the Sumerian one. Rather, it is to ask ourselves how many of the arbitrary points in time that we learn in history really represents "an origin". The human mind likes to think in easily manageable time periods and events. Long millennia, when change happened imperceptibly isn't exciting or sexy enough for the historical taste. However, it is likely enough that this is the way that things really happened.