Suchergebnisse

This study examined Zimbabwean mothers' expression of maternal warmth as leaders of their young children aged one to three years in Masvingo urban. The study was informed by Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems theory. The study used a phenomenological descriptive survey design with an open-ended questionnaire and focus group interviews with thirty-eight purposefully selected mothers as data collection methods. The design facilitated to bring to the surface deep issues and to make the voices of the mother participants heard. To make sense of the collected data, the researchers applied the grounded theory of data analysis to identify five themes under which the results were presented and discussed. This study established that Zimbabwean mothers understand the provision of maternal warmth to young children as being extremely important. The mothers positively expressed warmth and love to their children under three years of age within a cultural perspective. The study established that the mothers created an upward parenting spiral by prioritizing things that made children feel loved and happy. It was established that children who feel loved were autonomous, happy, cooperative and lovable. Regarding strictness, the study found that mothers were firm and fare, displaying an authoritative parenting style where children's needs and support were met. This study recommends that parental education on expressing warmth to ensure holistic development for children aged one to three year is needed. The government through the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare should step up efforts to help capacitate mothers with entrepreneurship skills for them to acquire resources needed for their young children

this study examined the impact of technology on form one pupils" academic performance in two secondary schools in Masvingo urban. The study is informed by Bandura"s social cognitive learning theory and Vygotsky"s socio-cultural theory. The study used a phenomenological design with interviews with eight students (four from each school) and two teachers as data-collection instruments. The design helped to bring to the surface deep issues and to make the voices of the participants heard. To make sense of the collected data, the researchers applied the grounded theory of data analysis to identify themes and categories. This study established that the use of technology by children at both their homes and schools positively and negatively contributed to learning and academic performance. Technology allowed the dissemination of knowledge to be dispersed instantly and it allows for quicker and more effective communication. The study established that, if the technology is used in moderation and under adult guidance, it enhances language development, creativity, and problem solving skills while overuse and addiction to certain types of technologies can be disastrous. This study recommends that parents and teachers monitor children"s use of technology in order to reap benefits from various technological gadgets. The government and other interested parties should ensure that schools are equipped with relevant technologies. The study also recommends that teachers be in-serviced on ways of using technology in teaching and learning

This qualitative enquiry tried to find out ways in which policy could further assist orphans and vulnerable children to manage their cognition and learning crises. It is based on the policy issues of the Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP, 2006-2010), the National Action Plan for Orphan and Vulnerable Children (NAP for OVC 2006-2010), the Zimbabwe Education Act (Chapter 25:04) and the Zimbabwe Millennium Development Goals (2004). The triangulated data were collected through participant observations, open-ended questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions held at four secondary schools. The purposefully selected participants comprised 20 double orphans and vulnerable children, four headmasters, eight teachers, one Education Officer and one Social Welfare Officer, making a total sample of 34. The findings confirmed that even though some OVC reported occasional receipt of aid through donors and the government's facilities such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), not all OVC were lucky enough to remain beneficiaries up to the end of their secondary schooling. Orphanhood was found to be a psychological deterrent to cognition and learning. Therefore the local community, education administrators, policy makers, and children's rights advocates together with the children's representatives should map out life lines ideal for enhancing the cognitive learning of double OVC residing in CHHs. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n1p439

The case study was designed to examine the performance of 110 form 3 and 4 pupils who participated in a modified Piagetian Formal Operations Test (PFOT). Modification of the PFOT was necessary for more object familiarity on the part of the Zimbabwean learner. The PFOT was designed to find out how local learners would fare on selected cognitive tasks meant to test formal operations thinking. The mean score in the PFOT results was calculated at x ̅ = 39% with a standard deviation of 12, 19. The study revealed that 40, (9%) of the participants obtained a score below the mean whilst 59, (1%) obtained a score above the mean. Test data collected reflected that 82% of local learners rarely reached formal operational criterion in cognitive performance. A number of respondents still operated within the concrete operations of the Piagetian developmental stages of cognition. A number of variables influencing cognition of learners were unveiled, for example, domestic violence, politics, cultural practices and noisy neighbourhoods. The study reminded parents that they are their children's first and foremost teachers and they should work in collaboration with the schools in order to enhance performance on cognitive tasks among learners.