The objective of this analysis was to provide the readers with a sound link on the policy, accessibility, and quality of education in the Kakuma Camp and with some arguments about the leadership of the refugee children’s education in the camp. There is a great belief that a creative leader will design, articulate, and put into operation in the school, visions that will help the school to bring about a new and better environment. As such, the leadership expectations have become the main focus of school affairs in every society. The fact is that the current school environments are complex and diverse and required a great vision which is supplemented by moral ethics. These leaders will use their skills in communication, collaboration and community building to ensure that their visions become a reality for the success of any school environment. And even though there has been some disagreeing arguments made against the leadership in the school environments, there is still no doubt that every success had a strong leadership behind it. The roles that the policy, accessibility and quality of education have played in the Kakuma Camp were a motivated reason for doing this interpretative research. Therefore, this analysis is an attempt to look at the policy, accessibility, and quality of education and how leadership has supported schooling in the Kakuma Camp. This analysis poses such question like: Were the refugee children satisfied with the education that they were receiving in the Kakuma Camp?

Total quality management (TQM) strives to improve organizational functioning by carefully studying the interface between an organization’s mission, values, vision, policies and procedures, and the consumer that the organization serves. Central to this approach to revitalizing economic institutions is the importance placed on client satisfaction. The maxim “the customer is always right,” or “the customer is the king’” are the driving forces in TQM efforts to increase performance and profits. Customers’ needs and desires are researched and analyzed, and product design, sales and service are modified to produce higher levels of customer satisfaction and, in turn, greater profitability for the company. Can the concept of “student-as-customer” readily fit into the context of education and learning in higher institutions as a jointly negotiated process? The main focus of this paper is to analyze the debate between the two opposing views: some concede that similarity exists between a university student and a more traditional customer at, say, a local department store, while others argue that this kind of comparison is without merit. A good number of university educations are indeed similar to business, and for these, the TQM emphasis on the customer rings true. In many ways, university students are customers. Universities should make every reasonable effort to satisfy students in such areas and to attempt to gather student input in assessing how well these needs are being met. However, applying the concept of student-as-customer in its fullest scope may run the risk of placing the teacher/instructor in the position of merely responding to what the students want, sacrificing any personal autonomy and professional responsibility. This could, if taken to its ultimate end, mean that the teacher would have very little part to play in decisions regarding the aims, content, methods and evaluation of the learning and educational processes. The major challenge for today’s universities is to strike the balance between the “student-as-customer” and the “student-as-learner.”

This paper provides reflections on Decentralization-by-Devolution in planning process at grassroots level by investigating the manner in which grassroots level is involved in preparing the three years strategic plan; and its implications towards solving socio-economic problems at grassroots level. The study employed a combined research design where case study design and mini –survey designs were used. Questionnaires, In-depth interviews and intensive documentary reviews were done for data collection purposes. The findings from the Kizota ward in Dodoma municipalityrevealed that although, the government has done a commendable work in implementing D-by-D, its contribution in planning process at grassroots level is still minimal and ineffective. The Mitaa residents were not involved in the planning process; rather they were involved in the implementation of the centrally made plans that did not include their priorities. The paper further suggests for the need of elected leaders at local government level to undergo training on their responsibility to get involved in the planning process at their very level of structure among others.

In all societies, boys and girls are assigned different societal roles and experience different perspectives of life as a result of their being male or female. Such differences have a gigantic impact on their lives. The importance of gender perspective is very important in understanding the convolution of child labour. Gender, as opposed to sex, refers to the social differences and relations between boys and girls that are cultured and vary widely within and between cultures and change over time. While education in itself is clearly significant for the development of an individual and for the well being of the society, it may be less noticeable why education is important in the context of child labour. How are the two linked? Does child labour have an impact on children’s school attendance? Can education play a role in combating child labour? If so, how can it be improved? These questions are dealt with in this paper.

The aim of this study is to explore whether there is a difference between the student teachers’ opinions about in-class teaching skills before and after applying micro-teaching. This study was carried out with the participation of second-year students of the Child Development Program of a Vocational School in the full term of 2005 - 2006 academic years. The opinions of the student teachers about in-class teaching skills were obtained via a questionnaire consisting of 31 items. In the opinions of the student teachers, regarding 25 items out of 31, significant differences were observed before and after micro-teaching applications. Following micro-teaching activities, while self-confidence of the student teachers and their in-class teaching skills increased, their concerns about classroom management were observed to dissipate.

New or beginning teachers are well received by the education profession, yet for a large portion of new teachers the assessment of how successful their transition into the first year of teaching tends to be overtly negative. Research reports indicate that the often traumatic and difficult nature of new teachers’ experiences is not a new phenomenon and is a problem shared by many new teachers nationwide and in the western world. Consequently, the retention rate for new teachers is decreasing at an alarming rate and is currently reported that 33% of beginning teachers in New South Wales do not expect to be teaching in public schools within the next 10 years. While literature about how to teach is prolific, yet according to new teachers, managing the real life situation is often more daunting than first envisioned. This paper reports on the experiences of education graduates of the University of New England teacher in their first year of teaching based on their postings to an on-line support network launched by the University of New England in 2005, entitled the Professional Development Support project. Analysis of the postings revealed that these beginning teachers sought support from the network on a number of specific topics at different times of the school year. This paper presents the findings of this analysis in terms of the categories of their inquiries and the variations in their experiences. The paper provides recommendations for teacher education programmes in response.

This essay discusses the linguistic and cultural factor that has acted as impediments to Nigeria’s breakthrough into the knowledge era. It identifies language deficit in English by most Nigerians, under- developed state of most Nigerian languages, absence of creative education and the presence of certain cultural taboos which stifles the flourishing of creative thinking as barriers to sustainable development in Nigeria. The essay observes that a paradigm shift from the present rote system of education, transparency in government, drawing up a road map for cultural change as barrier breakers to Nigeria’s inability to break through into the knowledge era.

The world is in a state of flux occasioned by profound natural forces, social, economic, and political changes and rapid scientific and technological advancement. The nations of the world, of which Nigeria is a part, are also becoming more interconnected and interdependent. To avoid possible “future shock”’ nations must respond quickly, preferably and proactively to these rapid changes. Regular curriculum renewal, which must consider new competencies, standards and trends, regional and international, is increasingly becoming a must in most educational systems of the world as a means of coping with these changes and challenges. Effective management is a sine-qua-non to the successful implementation and institutionalization of curriculum change in order to achieve the desired goals. This paper examines systematically the important issue of managing curriculum reforms to enhance effectiveness and efficiency, equity and relevance in a globalize economy.

Learning to read in English still developing literacy in one’s mother tongue is a challenge facing many young English language learners (ELLs) around the world. Reading progress of six young language learners was followed in a second grade classroom in an urban English-immersion school in Lebanon. Two of the six children were identified as at-risk, not only because of their low reading levels but also, because of their negative attitudes toward reading. An individualized reading program comprising trade books (‘real books’) and homogeneous small-group instruction in specific reading strategies was implemented in the class. At the beginning of the school year, the six children observed in the study were reading at levels ranging from mid 1st grade - 3rd grade. The two lowest readers, the main focus of this paper, were reading at low first grade level. After eight months of explicit strategy instruction, children’s reading levels ranged from 2nd - 6th grade level, the two lowest readers reaching mid and high second grade levels. Children’s perceptions about reading and themselves as readers also changed considerably during the eight months. Findings have implications in contexts where young ELLs must learn school subjects in English.

Many graduates of various levels and disciplines appear unable to practically apply their knowledge in problem solving situations. However, few education systems are adopting modern education practices such as visualization skills that intrinsically motivate and engage learners and are at the same time flexible enough to consider students’ aspirations and interests. Such systems make learning more relevant, meaningful and enjoyable to the learners and improve exit performances. In such a system, the role of the teacher is that of a facilitator and not instructor. The purpose of this study was to identify three-dimensional (3D) visualizations that could aid comprehension and perception of cytoplasmic structure, geo-referenced graphical data and understanding of spatial relationships in Biology. A qualitative research approach was used to ascertain from university lecturers (n = 13) what convictions, beliefs and experiences they have had with their students that related to the use of visualization skills. Skills most required included interpretation of 2 and 3D structures as well as their rotation in space. A survey was also carried out among cell biology first year students (n = 145) and second year students (n = 45) of the School of Life and Environmental Studies at the University of Natal in order to precisely determine aspects of three-dimensionality and visual skills suspected to cause conceptual difficulties. Quantitative data analysis (the non parametric Mann-Whitney U - Wilcoxon Test at a confidence level of 0.05) showed that the most deficient skills in the learners included pattern folding (projecting 2D material into 3D objects), orientation of form (identifying 3D objects that are oriented differently) and rotation (identifying 3D objects from top and front views). These findings corroborate qualitative analysis of lecturers’ opinions and convictions. An educational computer game is proposed with the aim of ameliorating these problems. It is recommended that visualization skills should be incorporated into the Biology curriculum for all undergraduate students within the first year of the course.