Higher Education in Pakistan: A Historical - Futuristic Perspective
The study examines the importance of Higher Education in the development of a nation. It looks at the provisions regarding education in the different Constitutions of Pakistan, and compares them with those in the Constitutions of some other countries. The conclusions are that Pakistan would be well advised to re-look at the constitutional provisions regarding education in the Constitution of Pakistan.
A detailed examination and analysis of major Education Policies / Commissions has been carried out. It covers an appraisal of the Five Year Plan outlays for education in general and in particular, Higher Education.
Various problems affecting higher education have been analysed, and suggestions offered for improvement. Lack of quality in education has been discussed at length. Financing of universities, both public and private, along with the Self-financing Scheme, has been examined. The potential of Higher Education through distance learning has been looked at.
The role of the University Grants Commission and a National Council of Accreditation and Quality Control has been discussed. The emergence of the Private sector in University education, along with its pitfalls, have been deal with. Finally, the thesis deal with plans for the future development of Higher Education in Pakistan. It presents policy proposals, and a critical ideological vision for the future, which is, none-the-less, realistic and pragmatic, in the tradition and spirit of Pakistan's founders, who were all Islamic ideological Pragmatics Visionary Futurists.
Job Satisfaction of Elementary School Head Teachers (Toba Tek Singh ) in the Punjab
The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study was to document intrinsic, extrinsic, general, and facet-specific levels of job satisfaction of the head teachers (Toba Tek Singh) in the Punjab as measured by the MSQ. Secondly, demographically intrinsic, extrinsic, general, and facet specific levels of job satisfaction and the influence of selected demographic characteristics on general job satisfaction was investigated.
A Study of Differential Moral Sense Development Through Modular and Traditional Approaches at Secondary School Level in Pakistan
The study addresses the differential moral sense development through modular and traditional teaching approaches at secondary school level. The effects of applying modular and traditional approaches were assessed in moral sense development of students and their achievement in general comprehension and in text understanding.
The study was experimental in nature. The data for the study was collected from sample of 9th grade students through the administration of defining issues pretest, defining issues posttest, general comprehension and textual based teacher-made (posttests) tests, The researcher delimited the study to assess students' moral sense development from their comprehension and reasoning level and not from their behaviour. Six hypotheses were formulated for the study Applying statistical package for social sciences tested hypotheses of the study.
Conclusions based on the results of statistical analysis showed the significant differences between the results of the modular approach and the traditional approach. Results conformed that students taught through modular approach straightaway reached to the postconventional level of moral sense development. The rapid change in moral sense development of students may have occurred due to the factor that the study was conducted in an Islamic culture and with reference to the teaching of Islamiat through modular approach unlike Kohlberg's study conducted in a European culture and with reference to general ethics_ Finding depicted good impact of modular approach in general comprehension of students. The same situation has been indicated by results that text understanding of students taught through modular approach become better than those who were taught through traditional approach.
Major findings of the study indicated differential influences of modular and traditional approaches in moral sense development and achievement where students taught through modular approach showed better results than students taught through traditional approach. Findings encountered no significant gender difference in moral sense development and textual understanding. Whereas a significant difference 'al gender was found in general comprehension where male proved better than female.
The study provides framework for development of teaching modules in all subject areas. At the same time it is beneficial for teachers, head teachers, students, education planners, policy makers, curriculum developers and educators.
A Study of Relationship Between Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction of Secondary School Teachers
The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between organizational climate and job satisfaction of government secondary school teachers. The data were collected from 785 teachers selected from all government secondary schools (192) in the district Sargodha.
Two questionnaires were used to determine the relationship between organizational climate and teachers' job satisfaction, which were (i) organizational climate description questionnaire and (ii) Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. The findings were drawn after the descriptive and inferential analysis, Means, Standard Deviation, inter-correlation, pearson correlation, ’t’ test, post HOC and ANOVA was run to test the hypotheses.
There was no significant relationship among organizational climate subscales which showed that subscales were independent Of each other. There was significant relationship between job satisfaction factors which showed that job satisfaction factors were dependent of each other.
Generally teachers were less satisfied with advancement, compensation and working conditions. Female teachers were more satisfied than their male counterparts. There was no significant difference between urban and rural teachers' job satisfaction. Art teachers were more satisfied than science teacher. Teachers having 6 to 10 years experience were less satisfied than teachers having more experience.
General conclusion that could be drawn from this study is that both principal behavior and teacher behavior are significantly related to teachers' job satisfaction as perceived by government secondary school teachers. The relationship between principal behavior and teachers' job satisfaction, however appeared to be relatively stronger than the relationship of teachers' behavior and teachers' job satisfaction.
Supportive principal behavior and directive principal behavior were found to be significantly correlated with job satisfaction, on the other hand restrictive principal behavior was found no significantly' correlated with-job satisfaction.
Collegial teacher behavior and intimate teacher behavior were found to be significantly correlated with job satisfaction, on the other hand disengaged teacher behavior was found no relationship with job satisfaction.
A Study of Differential Self-Concept Development of Adults
This study was undertaken to explore the self concept of adults. The study also explored the effects of different demographic variables like gender, socio economic status, education, locality, nature of job and employment of spouse on self concept of adults. Population of the study was all the 25 -45 years old citizens of Rawalpindi & Islamabad. Six hundred individuals including male and female were requested to participate in the study but only 453 responded back. The data was collected through an instrument originally developed by Jayne E Stake in 1994. Researcher translated the scale into Urdu and used it after pilot testing and getting formal permission from author.
The demographic portion of the instrument was developed by the researcher to sort out the demographic information. Forty nine null hypotheses were established to examine the effect of gender, socio economic status, education, locality, nature of job and employment of spouse on self concept. To explore differences between the means of two groups t-test was applied, one way ANOVA & post hoc LSD was applied for exploring the differences among more than two groups Major findings of the study showed that gender, age, education, locality nature of job and socio economic status all affect the self concept of adults, but employment of spouse does not affect it. Giftedness sub scale of self concept was scored lowest in each group of demographic variables while morality sub-scale was scored highest in each group of demographic variables.
A Study of the Education System as an Aspect of HRD in School / Colleges of Rawalpindi Garrison (Pakistan)
The present research was undertaken to study the contribution of some areas of education system towards the enhancement of human resource development (HRD) in schools /colleges of Rawalpindi garrisons (Pakistan). Sixteen major areas of education system were taken for the research study, which could affect the HRD in the sample region viz., primary education, secondary education, higher education, vocational education, curriculum development, examination system, drop out, physical education, IT education, female education, special education, adult education, teacher training, educational planning, private sector and educational research. The definition as given by UNDP (2000) and referred by Hyder (p.39) is taken as operational definition of the research which says, "HRD is a process of increasing the skills, stocks of knowledge and capacities of all human beings actually available for economic and social development in the community." The findings of the study will be of great support particularly for the educational planners, curriculum developers and the consultants of HRD in Pakistan.
Four major variables were taken in the survey, i-e., gender, age, sector of service and qualification. Sixty four null hypotheses were established to determine the role of the areas of education system in the enhancement of HRD in the sample region. The data were mainly collected from heads, teachers, and students of the Federal Government Educational Institutions (FGEIs) and Army Public School and Colleges (APS & Cs) located at Rawalpindi garrison. An opinionnaire was developed as an instrument of research which comprised 48 items. Findings were drawn after the descriptive and inferential analysis, and testing of the hypotheses. Chi Square test was used to find out the significance level of opinion differences between the variables of the survey and each area of education system mentioned above.
As a result of the study, it was accepted that all sixteen areas of education system taken for the study, mentioned above have yet to play a significant role in the promotion of HRD in the sample region unless lacunae in the educational system are duly detected and removed through research indigenously.
Constructivist Approach to Development of Criteria for Selection of Contents for Teaching English in Secondary School (Class IX_X)
The study was conducted to investigate the opinion of the parents (Class IX & X students), English teachers, students of secondary classes and experts in curriculum field about the purpose of studying English and selection of contents accordingly. In addition the experts in curriculum field were also consulted on the procedures and processes used at present for selection of content. The focus was on four major areas i.e. social forces in society /community values and purposes, knowledge and its treatment, the nature of learning and the learner and human growth and development that are fundamental to any curriculum.
Content and construct reliability and validity of the questionnaires were ensured through pre-testing as well as by obtaining experts opinion. For data collection a sample of 1000 English teachers, 2000 students, 2000 parents and 50 curriculum experts from all the four provinces and the federal capital was selected by adopting multi-stage random sampling procedure. It was ensured that the sample represents the population from rural and urban areas, Urdu and English mediums and public and private schools for both male and female in the right proportion.
The key conclusions based on the descriptive and statistical evidences indicated that the people of Pakistan attach great importance to values and purposes related to religious teachings and want to promote these through schooling. It also revealed that the people are very keen to learn English as it is the language of knowledge and higher learning in all fields. The findings of the study indicated that in the present textbooks of English speaking is least emphasized as compared to other skills. The findings of the study also gave a fairly good idea of themes and sub-themes that the majority of population wants to include as content of English for classes IX—X. Based on statistical analysis of the data, criteria for selection of contents for teaching English in Secondary Schools has been developed and weightage suggested for each which have been validated by the Textbook Boards and Curriculum Bureaus in the country.
Effect of Home Environment on Personality and Academic Achievement of Students of Grade 12 in Rawalpindi Division
The aim of the study was to examine the effect of home environment on the academic achievement and personality of students. Home environment has been identified as being an important contributing factor in child's educational development. Very few researches have dealt with this dimension' of education in Pakistan. The population of the study comprised 8533 Intermediate science male and female students of grade 12, who appeared in the Intermediate examination (part 1)2006, taken by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi. The sample of the study included 724 students, 410 were female and 314 were male.
Three research instruments were used for data collection. To determine the personality of students a Five Factor personality inventory developed by Dr. Tom Buchanan (2001) was used. The intra-familial environment as perceived by students was measured by using the Index of Family Relations (IFR). Researcher translated these instruments into Urdu and used them after pilot testing. A Demographic Variable Information Performa, developed by the researcher, was used to collect information relating to the demographic variables of the study. The information about the achievement was collected from the Result Gazette of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi.
Seventy null hypotheses were tested to find the effect of home environment, socio economic status, family relations, gender, parental education, income of the family, family size, birth order of the student and type of the family on students' personality and achievement. Data was analyzed by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and t-test. It was concluded from the study that with the exception of birth order and family type, all the independent variables of the study had a significant effect on the academic achievement of students. However students' personality was partially influenced by these variables
Redesigning M.A. International Relations Curriculum: Reorganization and Enrichment of Contents Through a Modular Approach (Vol.I) & (Vol.II)
This research examines the effectiveness of modular approach in delivering curricular objectives in the specific context of the University of Modem Languages, Islamabad. The validity of the concept was demonstrated through classroom trial of reorganized and enriched modular contents pertaining to one of the courses taught as part of M.A. International Relations programme. The trial was administered by the researcher, acting as the teacher, at two separate developmental stages; first at the level of pilot modules and then at the level of the final product. The intended objectives were secured to satisfactory degree of success through emphasis on relatively novel elements of the enhanced contents delivered through diverse teaching strategies. Statistical confirmation of learning gains was obtained in a test-retest cycle. The findings firmly established modular approach to curriculum as being contemporarily valid in the specific context of the University and, concomitantly, re-confirmed the findings of earlier researches by other NUML researchers pertaining to the effectiveness of modular approach.
The research design was geared to test the success of the modules through pretest-teaching-posttest cycle by assessing students' learned awareness of national and global concerns and his/her sensitivity to core cultural issues. The former domain was tested through a questionnaire seeking concurrence or rejection of posited opinions on selected concerns, and, the latter through assessment of student's ability in forming enlightened personal opinions and expressing the same in written form in a subjective report. The findings reassured the overall effectiveness of the modular approach in delivering intended curricular objectives. While the thesis is presented in Volume I of this document, the curricular material developed as part of the developmental study is organized into twelve modules that constitute Vol. II. These modules are intended to serve as an example for enthusiastic and dedicated teachers to follow in their grass-roots level endeavour towards further modular conversion of the curricula.
Effectiveness of Layered Instructional Strategy for Teaching English at Secondary Level
This study was designed to find out the effectiveness of Layered Instructional Strategy (LIS) based on the Elaboration Theory given by Charles M. Reigeluth on the learning achievement of secondary school students in the subject of English. He is of the view that layering approach of instruction helps students to learn better and improves retention. This layering has a zoom lens sequencing approach that proceeds from general to specific.
Main objectives were as follows: (i) To develop an understanding about instructional design. (ii) To ascertain the difference between layered instructional strategy and traditional method on learning achievement of secondary school students in the subject of English. (iii) To explore the difference of experimental treatment between high achievers of experimental and control groups. (iv) To calculate the difference of independent variable between low achievers of experimental and control groups. (v) To measure the degree of retention of treatment effects between experimental and control groups. (vi) To examine the retentiveness of the treatment between high achievers of experimental and control groups. (vii) To discover the retentivity of independent variable between low achievers of experimental and control groups. (viii) To compare the learning competencies/abilities of the students taught through layered instructional strategy and the students who received traditional instruction.
To achieve these objectives, the following null hypotheses were tested. (i) There is no significant difference between the mean scores on post test of experimental and control groups. (ii) There is no significant difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups. (iii) There is no significant difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups. (iv) There is no significant difference between the mean scores on retention test of experimental and control groups. (v) There is no significant difference between the mean score on retention test of high achievers of experimental and control groups. (vi) There is no significant difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups. Students studying at secondary level constituted the population of the study. The students of Federal Government Secondary School, 1-9/4, Islamabad were taken conveniently as sample of the study.
The sample was divided into two groups after equating them on the basis of scores on pre test. Each group comprised of 31 students. One group was randomly taken as experimental group and the other one as control. The treatment was given to the experimental group by the same teacher who taught the control group by traditional method. The experiment continued for 12 weeks. Post test was administered immediate after the treatment was over to the whole sample to obtain final data. Independent sample t test was applied through SPSS to analyze the data. The experimental group exhibited better results. The difference was statistically significant. To measure the retentivity of both groups a retention test was given after 15 days of post test. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 13.0 by applying independent sample t test. The analysis of data revealed that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. LIS was found statistically significant. The rate of retention in the experimental group was also significantly higher than the control group. The difference was found statistically significant.
A Study of the Most Basic Life Values of Teachers and Students in Pakistan
This study investigates the most basic life values of teachers and students. It limits itself to one type of such values, namely “conceived value” type. In other words it deals with the respondents’ personal “conception of the desirable” rather than the “desired” or “the desirable”.
The main objective of the study is to know the most preferred ways to live of the teachers and students in Pakistan. The research data was gathered through the responses on the Ways to Live Scale devised by Charles Morris (1956).The study also tells us whether the students and teachers have the same opinion on the ways to live or not. The sample used, was 2183 for the present study and it consisted of 740 teachers and 1443 students from all the Social Sciences departments of 20 public universities of Pakistan (from Punjab-8, Sindh-3, Baluchistan-2, NWFP-2, Northern Areas-1, ICT-3, and AJK-1).
The technique of simple random sampling and stratified random sampling were used for this purpose. The Ways to live scale was used as a tool for data collection. The research questions were answered and analyzed through finding the Means, Standard Deviation, Chisquare test, Kruskal-wallis test and One-way ANOVA .The statistical software like SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) and STATA (Statistical Analysis) were used for the analysis of data. Analysis of the data obtained and the study of ways clearly indicate that today’s students and teachers prefer way 8 which focuses on enjoyment over traditional self composure.
It seems to be due to changes in the environment which is more open now than it was as in 1960. Democracy, technological, development, open media, human watch agencies, cross cultural interaction and above all globalization have had their own effects .Truly all these were missing in 1960 and era before it. Traditional composed society of Pakistan is also breaking up and today increased numbers of students go to America and European countries. It is quite natural that these students are bringing traits of those societies which are characterized by openness, enjoyment and freedom of thought and actions. People in Pakistan are now interacting with outside world more than they did in 1960. Self-reliance and reducing dependency are also showing up and that teachers and students of today prefer enjoyment and independent life more than those who were studying or teaching in 1960.