Teachers and Learners’ Gender Perceptions and ESL Classroom Practice in Nigeria

Autistic individuals face increased risk during police interactions in the United States, including injury and death. Research shows police behave inequitably during interactions with marginalized communities and may behave even more inequitably toward individuals with multiple minoritized identities. Many autistic people also identify as gender diverse. However, it is largely unknown if or how autistic adults' perceptions of police differ by gender identity. We examined autistic adults' perceptions of policing, autism, and gender using an online questionnaire. Results revealed significant differences across gender groups (cis women, cis men, gender diverse) in perceptions of justice, comfort in disclosing diagnosis, helpfulness of diagnostic disclosure, influence of gender, and concern that one's autistic traits would be misperceived as dangerous. These findings align with widespread calls for police reform and suggest current policing practices likely do not meet the needs of all autistic individuals, particularly autistic cis women and gender diverse individuals, who are more likely to report their gender has influenced police interactions and more concerned that their autistic characteristics are being misperceived, relative to autistic cis men. Reducing the harm marginalized groups face because of systemic inequities in the current policing system is a critical need that could enhance safety for autistic individuals.Lay abstractAutistic people in the United States are at a higher risk of injury or death when they interact with the police. Research has shown that police often treat people from minoritized communities unfairly, and this can be even worse for people who belong to more than one minoritized group, like being both autistic and gender diverse. Many autistic people also identify as gender diverse. However, we do not yet know if autistic people's views of police may differ across gender identities. In this study, we explored how autistic adults view police and if those views differ across different gender identities. We found that autistic adults with different gender identities have different views on things like justice, how comfortable they feel telling police about their autism diagnosis, whether they think telling the police about their diagnosis would be helpful, how they think their gender affects police behavior, and whether they worry that their autistic traits might be seen as dangerous. These results may indicate that the current policing practices may not take into account autistic individuals' unique perspectives and experiences, particularly when police are interacting with autistic women and gender diverse people. It is important that we make changes to reduce the harm that autistic people face because of unfairness in the current policing system using feedback from autistic individuals. This could make things safer for all autistic people. Our results suggest it could be beneficial for police officers to receive training that is inclusive of the gender diversity within the autistic community, so they can better protect and respect all autistic people.

This study investigated the relationship between undergraduate students’ perceptions of gender and female student leadership in higher education (HE) at a university in South Africa. It forms part of a study investigating gender in educational management and leadership. It employed mixed methods research to collect data from 328 respondents using a five-point Likert Scale. Data was analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman’s correlation tests through SPSS. Six interviews were conducted with students in leadership positions, and the data were thematically analysed. The study revealed that perceptions of gender among various gender identities did not differ significantly. Similarly, gender identities had an inconsequential effect on perceptions of female leadership. Nevertheless, it recorded a significant moderate relationship between students’ perceptions of gender and female student leadership (r=0.175**; p<0.001). While the study implied that embracing female students’ leadership could be influenced by one’s perception of gender, deconstruction of systematic gender is suggested to promote female students’ representation. It revealed that the aura of a gender-sensitive environment and women as role models in higher education leadership might motivate female representation in student leadership. It conclusively stressed the need to advance female representation in higher education student leadership. Although progress has been made, female students often face challenges that hinder their representation in student leadership. Higher education institutions should commit to research on the perception of gender and leadership dynamics in student leadership. This study might provide policymakers with insights into improving female student leadership. Extending this study to include more universities could provide a broader perspective. Keywords: Higher Education, Student Leadership, Gender Perceptions.

Malaria causes over 600,000 deaths annually, primarily among young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) are the primary vector control measure to prevent malaria. Currently, mass campaigns are the primary channel for distributing LLIN to achieve universal coverage, but fail to maintain high levels of intra-household access to LLIN between campaigns. Identifying ways to maintain consistent high rates of access and use are crucial to achieving declines in malaria burden. The aim of this thesis was to improve the evidence-based development of continuous ITN distribution strategies in malaria endemic countries, through a better understanding of the options for distribution channels, and through an improved understanding of determinants of net use and the impact of behaviour change communication. These results showed that for continuous distribution strategies, over a ten year period there is a significant amount of excess LLIN distributed through mass campaigns, and that program and overall costs can be made more efficient by distributing the optimal number of nets through a combination of continuous distribution channels that reach the majority of the at-risk population. In the case of Tanzania, ANC and EPI distribution plus a school channel delivering nets each year to pupils in every other class of primary and secondary school was most likely to sustain universal coverage. Qualitative data collected in Zanzibar and Bukoba (Tanzania) demonstrated that participants’ conceptualization of risk and aspects of comfort (getting a good night’s sleep, avoiding biting pests) appeared to play a large role in personal decisions to use nets consistently or not. Barriers to comfort were frequently cited as reasons not to use a net consistently. These data offer a strong way forward for messaging to maintain LLIN use even as malaria burden decreases, by focusing on the non-malaria benefits of LLIN use. We also applied the universal coverage indicators validated in 2013 to the Nigeria 2010 MIS to illustrate their utility for LLIN program planning. The analysis comparing actual against potential use showed that ITN utilization was good overall with only 19% of people with access not using the ITN, but with a significant difference between the North, where use was excellent (use gap 11%), and the South (use gap 36%). When we expanded the comparisons of intra-household (or population) access and LLIN use to 41 DHS and MIS surveys from 2005-2012, the median proportion of users compared to those with access was high, at 82.1%. Linear regression of use against access showed that 89.0% of household members with access to nets used them the night before, demonstrating that the gap was primarily driven by lack of intra-household access. We examined 14 household surveys from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and Uganda to assess intra-household re-allocation of nets, which was sensitive to current household net ownership and the time elapsed since mass distribution. Of the repurposed nets (<1% overall), the were already considered too torn, indicating they had already served out their useful life for malaria prevention. National programs and donor agencies should remain confident that overall, their investments in LLIN are being appropriately used. Finally, we evaluated a BCC intervention intended to promote care and repair behaviours to extend net life. Exposure to the intervention was strongly correlated with increased positive attitude towards care and repair, and increases in attitude were positively correlated with observed net repairs, and with the proportion of nets in serviceable condition. Estimated median net lifespan was approximately one full year longer for nets in households with a positive attitude compared to negative attitude towards care and repair. This thesis demonstrates that high rates of use of LLIN are the norm rather than the exception, and that use is primarily driven by intra-household access – that is, households having enough nets for their family members. Reaching and maintaining high levels of access will require concerted efforts to determine the best continuous distribution strategy based on a given country (or region’s) operational capacity to deliver nets, and mass campaigns are by no means obsolete. Program planners must take into account the best options for continuous distribution of nets through optimal channels, as delivering the correct number of nets will eventually lead to cost savings over time, as excess nets are minimized, and replacement occurs when nets are needed, rather than at pre-determined intervals. Behaviour change communication has already contributed to high LLIN use rates, and has been demonstrated herein to significantly impact median net lifespan. National plans that optimize both distribution strategies and accompanying BCC strategies will be necessary to ensure continuing protection of all individuals at risk of malaria, and to maximize investments.

There has recently been a shift in the portrayal of women in Indian media, from a domestic background and docile image to a more professional and empowered representation. This study explores whether such changed portrayals in the media are also positively perceived and if there is an impact on the status of women in the social reality of India. The study examined gender perceptions through focus group discussions with participants from Gen X and Gen Z cohorts. Gen Z, conditioned in an age of technology and liberalisation, was expected to have different gender perceptions than Gen X, conditioned in a pre-liberalised traditional India. The discussions revealed the participants’ complexities, dilemmas and compromises regarding gender stereotypes and the modern versus traditional portrayal of women in Indian media. While Gen X participants were bound to old gender structures and equations, the iconoclastic Gen Z participants appeared to be onsetting a change in gender perceptions of India.

ABSTRACTEarly school leaving is a serious problem for individual students, especially for students with special educational needs (SEN). This study tests predictors of early school leaving, using data collected among 1,047 students from 60 inclusive and regular classes in primary and secondary schools in Austria with 4th- and 7th-grade students aged 9–11 and 12–14 years. Multilevel regression analyses show that higher school wellbeing and a more positive student–teacher relationship reduce the intention of both 4th and 7th graders to leave school early. Additionally, for 7th graders, having a migrant background and more individualised instruction are predictors of a greater intention to leave school early. School grade, gender, socioeconomic background, SEN, social integration, class climate, school setting (regular class vs. inclusive class), and the heterogeneity of the class composition had no impact on the intention to leave school early.

Relevance. The relevance of the study in the field of youth gender awareness in the current conditions of Kazakhstan is conditioned by the fact that providing gender education and conducting gender policy is an important tool for the development of gender equality for any state in the world.Purpose. The objectives of the study include the investigation of the institution of gender awareness and its key components in the form of characteristics and features of functioning, analysis of the features of gender identity in the structure of self-concept among young people, and the study of modern approaches of the authors to the definition of gender identity.Methodology. The main methodological approaches used in the study include the theoretical methodological approach, the functional methodological approach, logical analysis, sociological analysis, deduction, etc.Results. The study revealed that there is currently ambiguity and unformed attitudes among young people regarding their distribution in marital roles; identified factors of self-concept development that serve as components of gender identity, and developed a model of gender identity in the structure of self-concept among young people; highlighted the main gender stereotypes that influence youth and may serve as a problem in their perception of gender identity.Conclusions. The gender policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in relation to the formation of teacher education on defining one's gender identity was analysed; appropriate recommendations for implementation in the gender policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan were developed to increase efficiency and avoid possible problems.

This research aims to determine the use of humor in Turkish classes in secondary schools. To this end, firstly, the humorous elements in the Turkish textbooks were examined, and then Turkish teachers’ views on these elements and their views and classroom practices regarding the use of humor in their classes were determined. The study was designed according to the case study method, one of the qualitative research methods. The humorous elements in the Turkish textbooks were collected through the document review method, and the views and classroom practices of the Turkish teachers regarding the use of humor were collected through a semi-structured interview form. In this context, interviews were made with 15 Turkish teachers working in public schools. The content analysis method was used to analyze the obtained data. According to the findings, most of the interviewed teachers included humorous elements in their classes through various classroom practices. In addition, it was determined that teachers consider humorous elements important because such elements increase students’ motivation and make classes more interesting. Finally, it was concluded that Turkish textbooks do not contain enough humorous elements.

This study examines the gap between curriculum design and classroom practice in Nigerian secondary schools, with a focus on understanding the challenges that hinder effective curriculum implementation and identifying strategies to bridge this gap. Using a survey research design, data were collected from 198 teachers and educational administrators across five selected secondary schools—Federal Government College, Enugu; Queen’s College, Lagos; Government Secondary School, Kano; Christ the King College, Onitsha; and Anglican Grammar School, Ibadan—through structured online questionnaires administered via Google Forms. The data were analyzed using frequency tables, percentages, mean, and standard deviation to determine trends in teachers’ understanding of curriculum objectives, classroom practices, and the challenges they face. Findings indicate that while teachers generally have a high understanding of curriculum objectives, the actual implementation of learner-centered and practical teaching methods is moderate, largely due to large class sizes, inadequate instructional resources, and limited professional development opportunities. Respondents highlighted the importance of strategies such as in-service training, provision of instructional materials, collaborative teaching, and regular monitoring to improve curriculum enactment. The study concludes that bridging the curriculum-practice gap requires coordinated efforts at both teacher and systemic levels to enhance the quality and effectiveness of education in Nigeria.

Change among the Gatekeepers: Men, Masculinities, and Gender Equality in the Global Arena

BackgroundPupils in secondary schools do not meet the targets for physical activity levels during physical education (PE) sessions, and there is a lack of data on the vigorous physical activity domain (VPA) in PE known to be positively associated with cardio metabolic health While PE session intensity depends on a variety of factors, the large majority of studies investigating these factors have not taken into account the nested structure of this type of data set. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between various factors (gender, activity type, class location and class composition) and various activity levels during PE classes in secondary schools, using a multi-level statistical approach.MethodsYear eight (12–13 years old) adolescents (201 boys and 106 girls) from six schools were fitted with accelerometers during one PE session each, to determine the percentage (%) of the PE session time spent in sedentary (SPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity levels. Two- and three-level (pupils, n = 307; classes, n = 13, schools, n = 6) mixed-effect models were used to assess the relationship between accelerometer-measured physical activity levels (% of class time spent in various activity levels) and gender, activity type, class location and composition.ResultsParticipants engaged in MVPA and VPA for 30.7 ± 1.2% and 11.5 ± 0.8% of PE classes, respectively. Overall, no significant association between gender or class composition and PA was shown. A significant relationship between activity type and PA was observed, with Artistic classes significantly less active than Fitness classes for VPA (5.4 ± 4.5 vs. 12.5 ± 7.1%, p = 0.043, d:1.19). We also found a significant association between class location and PA, with significantly less time spent in SPA (24.8 ± 4.8% vs. 30.0 ± 3.4%, p = 0.042, d:0.77) and significantly more time spent in VPA (12.4 ± 3.7% vs. 7.6 ± 2.0%, p = 0.022, d:1.93) and MVPA (32.3 ± 6.7% vs.24.8 ± 3.8%, p = 0.024, d:1.33) in outdoors vs. indoors classes.ConclusionsThe results suggest that class location and activity type could be associated with the intensity of PA in PE. It is essential to take into account the clustered nature of this type of data in similar studies if the sample size allows it.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) and the School-based Teacher Development (SbTD) programmes on classroom interaction in secondary and primary schools in Kenya. It was a case study which focused on four districts, and included holding interviews with 185 teachers, observing lessons and holding focus group discussions with pupils and students. It was established that, while teachers evaluated the two INSET programmes as having been effective in exposing them to a student-centred approach, this was not reflected in their classroom practices which were largely teacher dominated. This is partly attributed to large classes, the use of English as a second language and pressure to cover the syllabuses in preparation of the national examinations. It is however, recommended that the Ministry of Education mainstream INSET programmes in its policy for teacher development in the country.

The submitted report focuses on the results of research carried out for a bachelor’s thesis titled “gender socialisation and perception of gender by non-heteronormative people”, in which the author focuses on gender socialisation of interviewees of non-heteronormative gender and/or sexual identity, their narrative about gender identity (in general, as well as personal sense) and gender expression, social roles expected of them as a result of their gender assigned at birth and restrictions they face in their daily life due to their gender identity. Social constructivism points out that masculinity and femininity are not constant but able-to-be-modified fluid products of everyday interactions. The process of constructing one’s gender connotates strictly with domineering discourse defining norms of masculine and feminine behaviour, which become overwhelmingly restrictive in regards to an individual’s thinking and actions. For this research, data was gathered from nine individual in-depth interviews supported by a script. During those interviews, interlocutors shared their personal stories about their gendered upbringing, explained what it means to identify with gender on a spectrum, indicated it through appearance and described their coming-out experiences.

هدفت الدراسة للتعرف على واقع إدارة حصص الاحتياط بمدارس المرحلة الابتدائية بدولة الکويت من وجهة نظر المعلمين ورؤساء الأقسام, والمشکلات التي تواجهها, والکشف عن الفروق لاستجابات أفراد عينة الدراسة حول إدارة حصص الاحتياط بمدارس المرحلة الابتدائية والتي تعزى لمتغيرات الجنسية، المؤهل العلمي، سنوات الخبرة، وتکونت عينة الدراسة من جميع معلمي ورؤساء أقسام مدرسة أمية الغفارية الابتدائية بنات بمنطقة الجهراء بدولة الکويت، وقد بلغ قوامها (110) معلمة ورئيسة قسم واعتمدا الباحثان على المنهج الوصفي التحليلي لمناسبته لطبيعة الدراسة. وأشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى وجود خلل في إدارة حصص الاحتياط بمدارس المرحلة الابتدائية ووجود الکثيرمن المشکلات التي تواجهها. وأوضحت النتائج عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا تعزى لمتغيري المؤهل العلمي والجنسية بالنسبة لإجمالي إدارة حصص الاحتياط على الرغم من وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا تعزى لصالح الوافدين بالنسبة لمحور المشکلات التي تواجه إدارة حصص الاحتياط، بالإضافة إلى وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا بالنسبة لسنوات الخبرة تعزى لصالح أکثر من 10 سنوات. The present study aimed to identify the status-quo of managing extracurricular classes in primary schools in Kuwait from the viewpoints of teachers and heads of departments. The study also sought to depict the problems faced, and reveal the differences in the responses of the study sample concerning managing the extracurricular classes in the primary schools that are attributed to the variables of “nationality, academic qualification, years of experience. The sample of the study consisted of all the teachers and heads of departments at the UmayyahAl-GhafariPrimary School for Girls in the Jahra area in Kuwait. The sample members were 110 teachers and heads of departments. The researchers adopted the descriptive and analytical approach because it suits the nature of the study. The results of the study indicated that there is a defect in the management of extracurricular classes in the primary schools and that there are many problems encountered. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences attributed to the two variables “academic qualification and nationality” in relation to the total management of the extracurricular classes, despite the presence of statistically significant differences attributed to “expatriates” regarding the dimension of “problems facing extracurricular classes management”. Finally, there was a statistically significant difference related to the years of experience in favor of those with more than 10 years.

Studies investigating perception of speaker gender in children have mostly been conducted with adults as listeners in experimental tasks. Based on these adult judgments, results converge in showing that the gender of prepubescent children can be identified well above chance (even in the absence of reliable anatomical differences related to their vocal tract morphology) and that sentences provide more gender cues than do isolated syllables. Our previous work added that adults can utilize sociocultural cues in regional dialects in making their gender identification decisions (Holt etal., 2022). Here, we examine how children perceive gender in other children’s voices, and whether their judgments differ appreciably from adults. Children ages 8-11 years listened to various utterances (isolated syllables, read sentences, and spontaneous speech) of age-matched peers from three dialect regions in the US. Our provisional findings are that, overall, children are less sensitive to gender cues than the adults, and their judgments are more dependent on the talker’s age than on information in longer passages of speech in sentences and talks. Contrary to adults, regional dialect does not seem to influence children’s decisions, suggesting that perceptual attunement to a particular variety may not facilitate gender identification in other children.

The article is devoted to the solution of differentiated education problem at mathematics lessons in classes of general secondary school with the average number of thirty pupils in class. The relevance of the article is caused by the annual statistics of the state exams results confirming quite low level of pupils’ knowledge which prevents from achieving the main school purpose of preparing graduates being able to become the high-level up-to- date specialists. In this situation the problem of realization of differentiated education in general classes of secondary school seems to be important. The research mentioned in the article shows that the quality of teacher’s work is more important than the number of pupils in the class. It is noted that the appropriate choice of teaching methodology can improve the pupils’ knowledge under the conditions of limited resources of municipal general school. The term «differentiated education» means personally oriented approach which is based on the knowledge of each pupil’s personality and takes into consideration his or her individual features. The necessity of such approach is caused by the individual differences between pupils. The aim of the described methodology is to educate each of pupils according to the maximum level of his or her opportunities. The article suggests the option of individual education which provides the use of «intermediate» variant based on the division of pupils in the class in groups according to their abilities of learning new information. The realization of the proposed personally-oriented approach does not contradict to the main goal of the general education, which is to make every pupil learn the basic knowledge and skills of every subject and does not demand the school for additional resources. The article describes key stages of the realization of the proposed methodology such as the explanation of new information, the current theme tasks solving, daily monitoring and control. The description of the methodology is based on the personal practical experience of using this approach under the conditions of class-lesson’s system used in general school.