Journal of Culture and Values in Education

Impact and Influence of Teachers on the Lives of Migrant Children

Prachi Lahiri, Bishakha Bhattacharyya — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 06:58:32 +0300

Millions of Indians migrate from their homeland either lured by better prospects or just to survive the subsistence crisis. Poverty, lack of employment, dismal state of the economy, lack of opportunity, depletion of natural resources, occurrence of natural disasters, lack of cultivable land and low agricultural output are some of the ‘push factors’ from the place of origin. ‘Pull factors’, such as better employment options, higher earning facilities, and better working conditions, draw migrants to a new destination like the metropolitan cities. Education of the children of these migrant workers is severely compromised in this movement. The present education system of India is largely suitable for the settled population and does not cater to the underprivileged migrant children. Language, caste, religion and grade appropriate age are some of the other impediments faced by these children to acquire education. Civil Society Organizations and Non-Government Organizations run schools or day-care facilities to ensure continuity in their education. The teachers working with the children in these schools play an important role at the grassroot level to bridge the gaps in their learning. They provide them with a safe space to receive education. This paper highlights the challenges faced by these teachers and the possible reasons behind these difficulties. It also focusses on the opportunities created by the NGOs and CSOs to empower these teachers to provide a better environment for teaching and learning. Multiple perspectives from both teachers and CSO management representatives have been incorporated. It enriches the data triangulation by including diverse viewpoints and experiences. Quantitative data was gathered through questionnaires, and qualitative insights were obtained through interviews. CSOs and their dedicated team of teachers play a crucial role in providing education to children from migrant families, by raising the standard of primary education and provide an inclusive environment.

Culture for Education: Influence of Initiation Rites on the Behaviour of Male Learners at Schools

Abisha Kaseke, Loyiso Mennon Luvalo — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Understanding the effects of initiation rites and how they influence male students’ behaviour at school is an essential component of education. It is consistent with the idea that understanding the impact of circumcision rites on male students may encourage contact between initiates and teachers at school. If the reason for the negative side of behavioural change is not identified, it may persist or worsen, harming teaching and learning. The article contributes to the extensive debates around initiation and how it socializes young male students. Furthermore, even though initiation is widely practised worldwide and in South Africa, limited research has been conducted to determine whether initiation affects the behaviour of male students at school. The study used qualitative interpretive phenomenology to establish the perspectives on the behaviour of male initiates at school. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve participants, learners, educators from one high school, and four traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape province. Findings revealed that educators observed undesirable behavioural changes in some initiates. This information suggests that traditional leaders should work with schools to address the challenge of initiates’ behaviour.

Student Support Services in Postgraduate Education: Reflecting on My Personal Experience in My Doctoral Studies Journey

Thulani Andrew Chauke — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Student support services are critical to academic achievement, research competency, and prompt completion of postgraduate education, especially at the Ph.D. level. The degree of assistance provided by supervisors to Ph.D. candidates, as well as the support services provided by the faculty and institutional research office, are important elements determining the successful completion of doctorate studies within a specified timeframe. Effective student support services along the Ph.D. journey, help applicants overcome emotional and psychological problems while achieving their academic goals. This autoethnographic reflexivity study argues that the retention of doctoral candidates in South Africa’s higher education system hinges on the support provided to postgraduate students. To reflect on my personal experience and assess the support I received from my supervisor during my doctoral studies, which enabled me to meet my deadline at a South African institution of higher learning, the persistence that I had demonstrated during my doctoral studies, and effective strategies of supporting PhD students based on my personal experience, this study employs an autoethnographic reflexivity approach. Thanks to my supervisor’s assistance during my Ph.D., I was exposed to a broader research environment, enabling me to expand beyond my thesis and complete my work on time. To aid Ph.D. candidates in their studies, I present practical solutions based on my own personal experience in the concluding section of this study.

Investigating the Factors Contributing to the Underrepresentation of Female Lecturers in STEM Disciplines at a TVET College

Lucia Harmse, Mpho Dichaba — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

South Africa has prioritized science and technology studies as key sectors for national economic growth. Despite the increasing importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in today's world, gender disparities persist in these fields. This study aims to examine the underrepresentation of female lecturers in STEM fields at a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college in South Africa. STEM education in TVET colleges has the potential to support innovation, productivity, and economic development, yet women remain underrepresented due to ingrained biases that deter them from pursuing STEM-related careers. The study employs a theoretical framework based on social cognitive theory and gender stereotype threat, examining how gender stereotypes affect perceptions of capability and impact career choices. An active case study research design was used, involving one-on-one interviews with male and female lecturers, followed by three focus group sessions with lecturers and female engineering students. The analysis shows that gender stereotypes are prevalent in this context, with participants indicating that these stereotypes and associated biases are ingrained from an early age, shaping career decisions. The study findings reveal that gender norms and systemic barriers continue to hinder women's success in academia within the TVET sector.

Must know Grade 8 Technology Education Concepts and Vocabulary

Lucy Sibanda, Jabulani Sibanda, Theressa Madzingesu Zengeya — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:01:58 +0300

Explicit vocabulary instruction is key to building conceptual understanding as words carry domain concepts. The value of explicit vocabulary instruction is lost in the absence of a principled isolation of the right words to give focused attention. The key or ‘must-know’ vocabulary should find expression and resonance in all languages. The present study, a precursor to an empirical study on the extent to which African languages can handle concept vocabulary in the teaching of Technology, isolates the key must-know Grade 8 Technology Education vocabulary in English. Vygotsky’s (1986) theory of scientific concept development informed the distinction between scientific and everyday concepts. Ha and Hyland’s (2017) Technicality Analysis Model (TAM) and its five levels of technicality informed the judgment-based methods that were used to determine key Technology Education vocabulary at Grade 8 level. Over and above the model, some criteria emanated from the defining characteristics, the contextual clues, as well as Chung and Nation’s (2004) four-step rating scale. The criteria applied yielded 80 key vocabulary, largely technical and substantive and bearing threshold concepts. The study recommends combining the words of the Tier 3 with the more general academic vocabulary of the Tier 2 to narrow the instructional focus and increase the conceptual understanding of the teaching of Grade 8 Technology.

The Pathway to Full Professor: Associate Professor Women's Institutional Concerns

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:08:35 +0300

The route to tenure is often clear and well-defined, while the path to full professor is notoriously described as ambiguous and elusive, which raises questions and uncertainty on how to be promoted. In order to explore institutional concerns expressed by associate professor women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and social and behavioral sciences (SBS) regarding the pathway to full professor, interviews were conducted with members of the Belayers Network at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). The Belayers Network consists of STEM and SBS associate professor women and is designed to support their promotion to full professor through opportunities to come together for informational, tangible, and emotional resources. An instrumental case study with a pragmatic theoretical lens was employed for this study. Interviews were analyzed inductively and resulted in five themes: (1) Full professor promotion criteria are ambiguous; (2) Teaching and service expectations are too high; (3) Lack of research collaborators inhibits scholarly output; (4) Scarce research-related resources are a persistent struggle; and (5) Mentoring and support are absent. The academy may find it instructive to understand better associate professor women’s institutional concerns about the pathway to full professor and possible ways to offset the obstacles toward achievement. Additionally, pragmatic solutions and implications are offered to mitigate these concerns in the context of UCCS. This research is sponsored by a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Adaptation Award.