Journals

The education industry is strategically important to the African classrooms in the new global village. Teachers required for the modern classrooms must be capable of producing graduates at all levels of education suitable for the required economic realities of nations. Only teachers who are dynamic will be able to survive and contribute to the different requirements of industries. Appropriate and relevant training and retraining of teachers remain the solution to the current crisis of bringing teachers at par with the technological explosion which has enveloped all aspects of life in the global village. Development, dissemination and diffusion of appropriate and relevant resources across geographical locations on the national and international levels will not only save costs but also make education more effective and efficient. 

This study was designed to examine Mathematics teachers' workload vis-a-vis class- size and parental involvement as a correlation of senior secondary school students' performance in Mathematics. As a descriptive study, it consisted of three research questions. The study sample comprised of twenty public secondary schools from which thirty- two Mathematics teachers and one thousand, two hundred SS2 students were purposively selected for the study. Three instruments, a Mathematics Performance Test (MPT; r = 0. 78), Mathematics Teachers' Workload Questionnaire (MTWQ,· r = 0.83) and Parental Involvement Questionnaire (PIQ; r = 0. 68) were used for the study. Data were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics, Pearson Product Moment correlation Coefficient (PPMC), t-test and one way ANOVA at 0. 05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between class size and students performance in Mathematics (F- cal < F-ratio, df= {4, 11943;p>0.05}. !twas alsofound out that there was a significant relationship between Mathematics teachers' workload, parental involvement in students activities and student performance in Mathematics (F- cal > F- ratio, df= {1198,· p 0.05) . The implication of the findings was discussed and it was suggested that Mathematics teachers should be made to teach Mathematics only. They should be excused from teaching additional subject(s), as this would give room for concentration of achievement of stated objectives.

This research was carried out in the context of the government's current efforts to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning, in secondary schools which appears to be a major challenge. The study was exploratory and descriptive in nature where the problem that has not been clearly defined or understood was addressed. Activity theory underpinned the study because of its dynamic perspective. The essence of activity theory stems from a view of learning where individuals actively construct their understanding of the environment while engaging in goal-oriented activities. The findings show that while the South African government has made the commitment and efforts to integrate ICTs in schools, there is no logical and detailed strategy to support the usage of these ICTs in teaching and learning activities. For example, some schools do have the right technologies and infrastructure, but teachers and learners do not know how to use and adopt them appropriately. Lack of (and inadequate) teacher training and development also adds to the challenges regarding the JCT-integration in suburban secondary schools.Apartfrom reviewing the curriculum of teacher training in South Africa accommodating JCT skill development it was also recommended that there should be development of an effective strategy to support the usage of ICTs in the secondary school. 

History is to a nation what memory is to an individual. A nation without a knowledge of its past will not only suffer from collective amnesia but will also grope blindly into the future without any guidepost of precedent to shape its course. Adequate knowledge of the past is a ‘ sine qua non’ in understanding the present and projecting into the future. The greatness of any nation is tied to the nature and quality of its educational system, hence, there is always the need to periodically and critically assess how well such a system is meeting the goals, yearnings, needs and aspirations of any nation that wants to be great and be counted among the comity of developed nations. The conclusion is that our education system is characterized by“Growth without Development”. There is quantitative growth and qualitative decline. Specifically, we need to adopt an educational policy of “Developmentalism” which, according to the late Awokoya and Fafunwa, has embedded in it the basic ingredients of Technopolitics, Technolysis, Technogenesis, Absence of Technomanagement, and Technocracy.