Vol. 11 No. 2(V) (2020)

This study determined if the practical work instructional approach (PWIA) affects senior secondary school students’ academic performance and retention of mathematics. The population of the study was 2709 SSS III students in the public secondary schools in the Nsukka zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested at p  .05 level of significance. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted, through which 133 subjects were randomly sampled and used for the study. Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) instrument containing essay items and developed by the researcher was used for gathering data. The MAT was subjected to experts in Mathematics Education and Measurement and Evaluation areas for face validation and its reliability estimate was determined using the Spearman-Brown proficiency formula which yielded 0.85. The MAT was used for data collection. Data collected with the MAT were analyzed using mean and standard deviations (S.D) to answer the research questions while ANCOVA statistic was used to analyze the hypotheses (p  .05). Results of the study revealed that the practical work instructional approach is effective in teaching and learning Mathematics. Gender was found not to be a significant factor of variance in mathematics performance when PWIA is used in mathematics instruction, among other issues found in the work. It was recommended to teachers to infuse PWIA in mathematics instruction for enhanced science/technology and entrepreneurship development and sustainability in Nigeria, among other issues.

In this research on Enterprise Resource Planning Tools Management in Private Higher Education in South Africa, the study objective was to determine critical issues influencing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools selection in academic management in Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa. A mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) research methodology was used to triangulate the results of the research from an interpretive position. The research analyzed and reported on subjective and quantitative data to ascertain knowledge about the participants’ recognition of critical issues affecting the management of ERP tools in academic management in PHEIs in South Africa. In this study, the following groups of participants were purposefully sampled: students, lecturers and management staff working in the three PHEIs in Gauteng. The study found that academic attainment in PHEIs could be enhanced through ERP tools management in ICT integration. The research outcomes suggest that there is enhanced coaching and students' personal interactions through online conference tools, a practice that may be backed up and carry the same weight and recognition as physical learning contact hours. Issues of integration in the selection of any robust, dynamic PHEI tools may call for a firm’s financial readiness and company-wide consultations with potential users of the system. Any HE ERP system that does not have a student portal, without integrated online issues of applications, checking of results, enhancement of teaching and learning but partly integrating one or two departments in isolation to others, may not be considered fit or robust as a higher educational ERP tool.

Nepal universities are in a delicate transition now. The enrolment of students is not encouraging; rather it is declining over the years particularly in public universities. Consequently, the outflow of Nepalese students has got momentum over two decades; and nearly a half-million Nepalese students are currently enrolled in foreign universities. The quality education in Nepalese universities is crucial for the return as well as the significant inflow of Nepalese students in the universities of their homeland. However, higher education requires a sustainability plan particularly for the resource generation and promotion of scientific research/publications. Long-term vision, mission, and strategic measures are particularly lacking in Nepal universities. This requires setting objectives and attainable milestones along with specific strategic measures and financial planning that are missing now. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes a monitoring framework in the form of a regression model to use as a tool and observe the improvement in higher education in the country. Secondly, it has proposed a typical Sustainability Plan considered appropriate to Nepal; however, it might be equally replicable to other universities of the developing world. Moreover, it has also suggested measures to make such a plan a success.

The research paper aims to obtain the perceptions of lecturers on the influence of General Education in enhancing the Self-efficacy of accounting learners. Interviews with lecturers from Durban University of Technology (DUT) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) were conducted to tap into their views on the aspect of General Education and establish any impact on learners’ Self-efficacy. The researcher has observed, over many years of lecturing experience at the university that some learners are eager to learn and can address new tasks, while others appear uninterested or unmotivated. Many learners display a high degree of faith in their skills, while others appear uncertain of themselves. The question then arises: What strategies can a classroom teacher or lecturer use to increase learners’ confidence to learn new material? There is an opportunity for the improvement of General Education skills that can enhance learner performance. Hence, the main strategy would be to incorporate General Education Modules into the curriculum. Similar to General Education skills, there is also a lack of Self-efficacy in current learners. Further attention must be devoted to General Education skills, as these are essential. Moreover, these skills appear to be very poor amongst current learners and respondents believed that Self-efficacy could have a positive effect on the academic performance of learners. Methods for enhancing Self-efficacy reveal that the main strategies should revolve around innovative teaching, learning and research methods; increasing skills development such as critical thinking and computer skills; and promoting more Self-efficacy based workshops and programs.

Consumer perceptions of quality, satisfaction, and brand credibility are critical ingredients for developing healthy brands with high value in a competitive market. However, few authors have looked into the brand credibilitys intervening role in the effect of quality and satisfaction on brand equity in the nonconventional health industry. Hence, this paper sought to evaluate the mediating role of brand credibility in the effect of quality and satisfaction on brand equity in the non-conventional health industry. A covariancebased structural equation model was the analytical tool employed to evaluate the hypotheses stated in this paper. Data were gathered from 265 customers using a systematic sampling technique. The research confirmed that brand credibility contributes partially to the impact of quality on brand equity and completely to satisfaction on equity in the non-conventional health industry. Accordingly, this paper contributes to expanding the current brand management literature by demonstrating the brand credibilitys intervening role in the path between satisfaction, quality, and equity, particularly in the non-conventional health industry. This paper also adds to the brand managers knowledge of how to build and harness credibility, quality, and satisfaction to increase brand equity in the non-conventional health industry.