AJIE

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.11.1.1

Amanda Ajodhia^a

^aMandala Educational Therapy

(Received 22 September 2022, Final revised version received 31 March 2023)

As the educational system recovers from destabilization following the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia gradually progresses toward sustainable and equitable education. Yet, inclusive educational access remains challenging for many rural Cambodian students with disabilities, especially those with neuro-developmental disabilities (NDD) (e.g., autism spectrum disorder [ASD], Down syndrome [DS]) due to lack of resources, teacher attainment and retainment, insufficient professional development in disability and inclusive education, teacher efficacy, and shortage of professionals specializing in inclusive and disability education. This paper explores how 19 general and special education teachers support ASD and DS students’ learning and sense of belonging across five rural primary schools in Kampot, Cambodia. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach with in-depth focus group interviews, participants shared understandings and experiences of working with ASD and/or DS young people, shedding light onto the essence of school belonging within the phenomenon of inclusive education. Emerging thematic findings highlighted (1) cultivating a climate of inclusion within schools; (2) ways of enhancing inclusive education; (3) navigating dilemmas of inclusion. Within this particular Southeast Asian context, participants conveyed insights regarding the complex terrains of inclusive education, raising questions about suitability of inclusion ideals in light of Cambodia’s socio-cultural/political/historical context.

Key Words: autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome, inclusive education, neuro-developmental disability, primary school teachers, Cambodia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.11.1.2

Hemendra S. Mistry^a, S. C. Panigrahi^b

^aUniversity of Salamanca, Spain

^bThe Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

(Received 02 February 2023, Final revised version received 02 April 2023)

Higher education has its own importance in terms of employability, political power, and national development. The Right to Persons with Disabilities Act (formerly the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995) (2016) indicates that persons with disabilities should have access to education at all levels, and efforts have been made to improve the status of higher education for the disabled. Despite initiatives by the government of India, the enrollment of students with disabilities in higher education institutions is still very low, and this group is lagging far behind in comparison to the 3% of reservations that are available to them. This article reports on the status of students with disabilities in higher education and various initiatives taken by the government of India for the higher education of students with disabilities. The paper also highlights the issues affecting the higher education of students with disabilities in India and possible ways in which the issues could be addressed.

Keywords: Higher education, Inclusion, Students with disability, India, Issues, Suggestions

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.11.1.3

Tahmina Hoq^a, Mehedi Hasan Anik^b

^aUniversity of Dhaka, Bangladesh

^bUniversity of Dhaka, Bangladesh

(Received 22 March 2023, Final revised version received 01 August 2023)

The COVID-19 situation compelled the preservice student-teachers (PSTs) of the Institute of Education and Research (IER), Dhaka University Bangladesh, to complete their practicum online. As such, the challenges and opportunities of online practicum needed to be explored. A qualitative study was undertaken and a conceptual framework was developed combining an ‘offer-and-use’ model of teaching practicum (Helmke, 2008), based on the ‘source-position-performance’ framework (Day & Wensley, 1988). Purposive and convenience sampling were used to collect data through a semi-structured questionnaire from 28 PSTs, and a thematic analysis helped to identify their opportunities and challenges. Identified challenges were gender and cultural biasness, lack of financial and technical support, improper guidance and training, a lack of motivation as the practicum is non-paid, a lack of information and technological literacy, cognitive development, and inefficiency in cost management. This study recommends reconsidering a blended mode of Micro-teaching and Simulation courses, and providing soft loan and internet cost-related support from the institution level.

Keywords: Online Practicum, Cultural and Economic factors of online practicum, Educational Factors, Cognitive and Motivational Factors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.11.1.4

Md. Tarek Hasan^a, Farhina Akter^b, Sabrina Alam^c, Mahady Hasan^d

^aIndependent University, Bangladesh

^bIndependent University, Bangladesh

^cIndependent University, Bangladesh

^dIndependent University, Bangladesh

 

(Received 18 April 2023, Final revised version received 30 August 2023)

The integration of quality assurance (QA) metrics into a hypothesized Learning Management System (LMS) designed for higher education is critically examined in this study. This investigation’s main goal is to evaluate the crucial elements required to guarantee students’ educational excellence, accessibility, and operational efficiency. The paper carefully assesses current LMS systems, identifies important difficulties, and suggests useful improvements to address these problems using a thorough research process. The results highlight the critical value of a thorough QA framework that supports rich learning opportunities, creates equitable chances, and improves skill acquisition. For students to receive a top-notch education and efficient service, the incorporation of QA metrics into LMS systems becomes essential. This work emphasizes the importance of ongoing research projects to look into the use and effectiveness of the suggested model in the real world, with the ultimate goal of continuously raising the standard of online learning.

Keywords: QA, Learning Management System, Non-Functional Testing, Testing, Education, Equality

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.10.2.2

Hoi Nga NG^a, Kam Weng BOEY^b, Chi Wai KWAN^c

^aCaritas Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong, China

^bCaritas Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong, China

^cThe University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

 

(Received 29 June 2022, Final revised version received 01 September 2022)

 

In recent years, an increasing number of students with special educational needs (SEN) continue their studies into tertiary education. Students with SEN undergo a transition process that reveals more vulnerabilities and make additional efforts to cope with the challenges in higher education. This study investigated the self-esteem and psychological distress of students with SEN in higher education, drawing on secondary analysis of data gathered by the Annual Student Survey of one higher education institution in Hong Kong that included background information (e.g., demographic characteristics, SEN status, family income, etc.) and measures of self-esteem and psychological distress of depression, anxiety, and stress. Students were assessed at the beginning of an academic year (designated T1) and again at the beginning of the following academic year (designated T2). The results showed that the self-esteem of students with SEN deteriorated significantly at T2. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress also increased. The findings strongly suggest that supportive services should be provided for students with SEN to help them face the challenges of transition from secondary to tertiary education and assist them in coping with the challenges of higher education.

 

Keywords: Inclusive education, psychological stress, self-esteem, special educational needs, higher education

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.10.2.3

 

Roshni Mukherjee^a, Santoshi Halder^a

^aDepartment of Education, University of Calcutta, India

^bDepartment of Education, University of Calcutta, India

 

(Received 28 June 2022, Final revised version received 1 November 2022)

 

The study aims to explore the teaching milieu through the lens of special educators during the pandemic when students with autism shifted to online mode in special schools. This survey was done on 100 special educators from in and around Kolkata City (West Bengal, Eastern part of India). Graphical univariate exploratory data analysis is used to interpret the results. The results reveal the challenges (viz., from the behavioral problems of students to network issues) and facilitators (viz., software used for the effective Online evaluation or assessment) of the online mode of teaching extensively during the pandemic time. The future directions for the online mode concerning teaching-learning for learners with autism are also suggested.

 

Keywords: Online Mode of Teaching, Special Educators, Autism, Challengers, Facilitators

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.10.2.4

 

Shnaoli Chakraborty Acharya^a

^aDepartment of Education, West Bengal State University, Barasat, Kolkata, India

 

(Received 31 July 2022, Final revised version received 15 November 2022)

 

As the world experienced the outbreak of COVID-19, the education system encountered a sudden shutdown. The reconfiguration of the higher education system was evident in global institutions due to the sudden impact of the pandemic resulting in the unprecedented shutdown of face-to-face teaching. The limited opportunities for a group of learners were now further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, higher education institutions could frame their strategies to address issues of equity within the “capability approach” (Sen, 2015). This research proceeded using a qualitative approach adopting a critical ethnographical study based on the content analysis of the two data sources comprising of unstructured interviews separately with academic leaders, a group of teachers, and a group of students from each of the five higher education institutions of West Bengal. Three broad areas were identified to understand the actual situation prevailing in the institutions. These include- i) Knowledge development of socially and economically disadvantaged learners through online teaching, ii) Evolving capabilities for learners with disabilities to make reflexive choices in learning, and iii) Evaluation of meeting racial equity goals to confirm individual autonomy of marginalized learners.  The study highlighted the salient premises that higher education could follow through the ideology of the Capability Approach, to deal with the issues of equity, as it considers the contingent circumstances of learners, and not merely their societal background. The research findings could serve as a structural framework as it considers the opportunities along with the invisible hindrances that learners come across during the pandemic closure.

 

Keywords: Higher education, West Bengal, Equity, Inclusion, Pandemic closure, Capability Approach

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.10.2.5

 

 

Stephen Tizhe Kojigili^a

^aDepartment of Educational Foundations, Adamawa State University Mubi, Nigeria

(Received 15 June 2022, Final revised version received 01 December 2022)

This study investigated the influence of socio-cultural factors on the girl-child education in Mubi Education Zone of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study was a causal comparative research by design. The population of the study comprised all the female students of secondary schools in the five Local Government Areas of Mubi Education Zone. From the population, four out of the five Local Government Areas of the Education Zone were sampled using balloting method of simple random sampling technique and from each; two secondary schools were also randomly selected making a total of eight schools. Then from each of the eight secondary schools, fifty female students were sampled making a total of four hundred students. Three research questions and four hypotheses were postulated for the study. A set of structured questionnaire was the instrument used for the data collection where the data was analyzed using t-test statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). From the results of the findings of the study, it revealed that: socio-cultural factors contributed significantly to the influence of girl-child education in the zone; the challenges facing the girls to some extent differ between rural and urban areas; there was significant difference between the mean scores of the factors hindering the girl-child education based on religion; just to mention but a few. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that there is the need for cross cultural, interfaith and social integration as a way of encouraging parents to bring education to the doorstep of the girl-child in Nigeria; that the government and other stakeholders especially in women affairs in the study area should endeavour to constantly promote positive  socio-cultural integration by preaching peaceful coexistence among people of differently socio-cultural background; and ways of creating favourable conditions which can discourage societal preference for male children and the traditional belief that the position of a woman is  in the kitchen.

 

Keywords: Influence, Education, Socio-Cultural factors, Tradition, Girl-Child

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.10.2.6

 

 

Devjani Chakravarty^a, Geeta Shinde^b

^aDepartment of Education & Extension, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India

^bDepartment of Education & Extension, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India

 

(Received 01 August 2022, Final revised version received 10 December 2022)

 

The SDG 2030 Goal 4 emphasized Inclusive Education. This paper focuses on the Inclusive Teaching Competency (ITC) Model. ITC Model is a framework that represents the structure of inclusive teaching competency by defining its areas and individual competencies that are consist under each area. The ITC Model specifically deals with the competencies required for school teachers while teaching an inclusive classroom that includes children with or without disabilities. The purpose of this research paper is to elaborate on the applicability of this ITC model. The method of research is the survey method and the findings are in the form of quantitative data. The finding reflects the status of teachers with respect to inclusive teaching competencies. The model will be helpful for teachers for self-assessment of inclusive teaching competencies. Furthermore, it will assist school administration in designing need-based courses for school teachers towards in-service teacher training and orientation in inclusive teaching competencies.

 

Keywords: Inclusive Teaching Competency Model, Inclusive Education