Secondary School Project Research Articles

Teachers’ Motivation in Enhancing Sustainable Management of School Projects: Case of Secondary Schools in Sumbawanga Municipality, Tanzania

The study on Teachers’ Motivation in Enhancing Sustainable Management of School Projects: Case of Secondary Schools in Sumbawanga Mincipality, Tanzania. The study aimed at examining the ways of teacher’s motivation on the sustainable management of the school projects in secondary schools. Specifically the study was conducted around by two specific objectives which were; firstly was to identify kinds of school projects implemented from 2017 up 2023 in Sumbawanga public secondary schools, and second was to propose ways of motivating teachers to enhance sustainability of school project management. The study based on ground of both research approaches which were qualitative and quantitative approaches. Hierarchy of Needs Theory by Abraham Maslow in 1954 was used to guide the study. The study took place in Rukwa region in Sumbawanga Municipal council. Twelve (12) public secondary schools were involved in the study. The sample size of the study was 234 whereby 12 of the respondents were heads of the school and 222 were ordinary teachers. Data from the respondents were collected using questionnaire, interview and observation. The obtained data were analyzed basing on both quantitative and qualitative information. Quantitative data were analyzed by percentage distribution and presented using table while qualitative data were analyzed by developing categories and subcategories. The findings of the study identified two major aspects that answer the purpose of the study firstly the finding revealed several implemented school projects for the period from 2017-2023 in Sumbawanga municipality; secondly, the findings indicate ways of teachers motivation that are needed to motivate teachers in order teachers to dedicate their effort in managing sustainably the school projects. Basing on the study findings, the study recommended that schools and government should motivate teachers not financially only but, recognition, team working and appreciation can also be used to motivate teachers, so that teachers can manage well the school projects for benefit of the current and future students.

The Relationship between Teachers Motivation Factors and Sustainable Management of School Projects: A Case Study of Secondary Schools in Sumbawanga Municipality

The study on the relationship between teacher’s motivation factors and sustainable management of school projects based on ground of both research approaches which were qualitative and quantitative approaches. Hierarchy of Needs theory by Abraham Maslow in 1954 was used to guide the study. The study was on examining the role of teacher’s motivation on the sustainable management of the school projects in secondary schools. Specifically the study was conducted around by two specific objectives which were; firstly was to identify teacher’s motivation factors for sustainable management of school and secondly was to identify the relationship between factors for teacher’s motivation and the school sustainable management of the school projects. The study took place in Rukwa region in Sumbawanga Municipal council. Twelve public secondary schools were involved in the study. This study employed a survey research design. The sample size of the study included 234 respondents in which, 12 heads of schools out of 19 and 222 teachers out of 563, in public secondary schools in Sumbawanga Municipality. The sample size of this study was obtained by using purposive random sampling for head of schools and random sampling for teachers Sumbawanga Municipality. Interview, questionnaire and observation methods were used to collect data. The obtained data were analyzed basing on both quantitative and qualitative information. Quantitative data were analyzed by percentage distribution and presented using table while qualitative data were analyzed by developing categories and subcategories. The findings of the study identified two major aspects that answer the purpose of the study firstly the finding revealed teacher’s motivation factors for sustainable management of school project in Sumbawanga municipality; and secondly the findings revealed the existing relationship between teacher’s motivation factors and the sustainable management of the school projects in Sumbawanga municipality. Basing on the study findings, the study recommended that, teacher’s motivation is very important in maintaining teachers working spirits in teaching and managing school projects sustainably.

You just have to take a big leap! Authentic teaching and learning in the technology program at an upper secondary school

AbstractIn literature, teaching for an authentic learning experience is seen as rewarding and interesting, promoting better understanding of for example sustainable development and fostering students’ independence. Some upper secondary schools emphasise authentic teaching and learning on their websites, showcasing how students engage in authentic tasks. We are interested in examining how authentic teaching is implemented in practice and what enables it. Therefore, we investigate a specific practice where authentic teaching occurs, and we follow students and teachers. We want to understand what may be required to implement authentic teaching. The research questions were: What characterises authentic teaching and learning when students on the technology program work on their design projects and individual pieces of work? How is authentic teaching and learning facilitated? Students in Year 3 of the technology program engaged in a project where they studied residential apartments’ resource use and climate impact using sensors. They visited the energy research team, learned about the technology and data collection, and completed own upper secondary school projects related to sensor technology, programming, and data analysis. These were meant to be characterised by authenticity according to the school’s procedures. Data was collected through interviews, observations, and analysis of video material, sound recordings, and field notes. The analysis revealed that the teaching exhibited characteristics of authentic learning, facilitated by early exposure, teacher empowerment, and strong support from management and resources. The results thus show both the characteristics of how the teaching is organized and how teachers handle students’ learning, as well as the organizational factors at the specific school that enable it.

A Work Breakdown Structure for Estimating Building Life Cycle Cost Aligned with Sustainable Assessment—Application to Functional Costs

The tools used for budgeting in the building design phase are still insufficient to address the life cycle of the building in terms of environmental and cost impacts. The main objective of this research is to define a model for extending existing cost databases to accommodate life cycle sustainability assessment. For this, current classification systems are reviewed and a case study has been analysed using the new approach. To this end, a new system of classification of construction information is proposed for the evaluation of early design costs, when data are scarce and the only information available refers to the gross interior area and the plot. The classification organizes the costs in a similar way to the sustainability assessment in EN-15643. A subcategory has been added for revenue, developer costs, and taxes at all stages of the lifecycle. The resulting classification is applied to the functional elements of a secondary school project. In the case study, construction costs represent 21% while the use stage accounts for 72% in a 100-year lifespan. The results show that, starting from generic cost bases, more complex costs and functional costs can be defined at different stages of the life cycle and adjusted to sustainability assessment standards.

Educating Youth to Civic Engagement for Social Justice: Evaluation of a Secondary School Project.

The positive effects of youth civic engagement can be felt both at the individual level (e.g., better emotional regulation, a greater sense of empowerment) and at the community level (e.g., a greater likelihood of participation in civic and political activities). They may also be a protective factor for at-risk youth in the short and long term and a valuable element for positive identity development in general. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to assess the impact of an educational intervention implemented in secondary schools to promote youth civic engagement (N = 508 at Time 1, N = 116 at Time 2). The study is divided into two parts: first, it examines the changes stimulated by the project, and second, it uses a path analysis model to explain the intention to participate. Results show that after participation, hostile and benevolent sexism, classic and modern ethnic prejudice, and social dominance orientation decreased, while trust in institutions increased. In addition, the path analysis showed that policy control, social trust, and civic engagement increased the intention of civic engagement at time T1. Despite some limitations, this study may provide useful guidance for those designing and implementing civic education interventions for young people.

Identity matters: Aboriginal educational sovereignty and futurity pushing back on the logic of elimination

This paper situates the context of the Aboriginal Voices: The state of Aboriginal student experiences in Australian secondary school project special issue of The Australian Educational Researcher in the wider context of First Nations educational research. It outlines the contribution to scholarship that each of the papers within the special issue makes towards developing a more nuanced, research-informed, and deeper understanding about the current state of Aboriginal education in Australia from the voices of those at the coalface. In doing so, this editorial overview highlights that while racism is still rampant across the education sector, and Aboriginal Peoples continue to face deficit discourses about their being and academic capabilities, a new era of sovereign activism is being mobilised by Aboriginal Peoples, and their allies, to drive educational change.

Sex Education in Italy: An Overview of 15 Years of Projects in Primary and Secondary Schools

School-based sex education is essential to improve the knowledge and behavior of young people. Unlike most European countries, sex education in Italy is not compulsory in the school curriculum. Therefore, to assess potential gaps, the main aim of this study was to explore Italian regional initiatives about sex education. A review of gray literature from 2006 to 2021 was conducted in December 2021 on national databases and institutional websites of each Italian region, during which official documents on regional sex education programs were selected. Moreover, a rapid systematic review was carried out in scientific databases to find more information. For both reviews, the sex education topics recommended by UNESCO were used for extracting and analyzing data. A total of 12 Italian regions out of 20 had at least one sex education program, for a total of 39 projects. Overall, all the topics identified by UNESCO have been covered, with considerable differences between northern, central, and southern Italy. Contraception, love, marriage, partnerships, and family were the main topics discussed (hosted in 92% of the regions). Only 25% of the regions discussed pregnancy and birth. Disability was the least debated topic (17%). The rapid systematic review showed that relevant improvements were achieved after sex education interventions. In conclusion, this study underlined important limitations to the implementation of school-based sex education in Italy. Hence, it is necessary to increase sex education interventions to reach adequate standards and flatten the differences not only between Italian regions but also between Italy and other European countries.

Monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement and implementation of service-learning projects within public secondary schools, Homabay County, Kenya

Service learning, an innovative learning technique that guarantees all learners are prepared for the labor market, has been trialed. Such a project needs continuous process monitoring and assessment, which has not occurred. The research has not only revealed the amount of transformation, the rates, the outcomes, and the problems faced by such a program. This study was taken purposefully to look at the influence of monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder involvement, and the implementation of service-learning pilot projects in public secondary schools in Homa Bay, Kenya. The guiding objectives was to investigate the influence of context, input, process and product monitoring on implementation of service-learning pilot projects; to determine the extent to which stakeholder participation moderates the link between monitoring and evaluation and the execution of service-learning pilot projects. The study employed an Ex post facto design, targeted a population of 17, 113, including: Board of managers, PTA, teachers, school administrators and learners within the secondary schools. Through the use of the CIPP model, a stratified random sampling technique with a sample size of 376 of the total population was reached. Semi-structured questionnaires and KII were used to collect primary data. The descriptive statistics and thematic analyses were done and the findings showed that the CIIP Model was found to influence implementation of service learning pilot projects. Where the context (ρ = 0. 266 < 1); Input monitoring (ρ = 1.196 > 1), while process and product evaluation were (ρ= 0.295 < 1) and (ρ= 9.621 > 1). Stakeholders engagement contributed immensely towards implementation, (p 0.00<0.05). In conclusion, CIPP model is application in monitoring and evaluation during project implementation. This study recommends integration of CIIP model in the project implementation.

Green Public Procurement and the circularity of the built environment

The case study presented in this paper is a demonstration of the success of a green public procurement (GPP) model that allows to build buildings in accordance with the principles of the circularity by ensuring sustainable consumption and production.The relevance of green procurement has lately become a focus of research because of public institutions’ growing interest in circularity for built environment investment. The case study of a school gym presented in this paper is emphasising the role the public authorities are playing in promoting the transition to the circularity of the built environment through sustainable procurement. Despite being a voluntary instrument, GPP also plays a significant part in the global efforts to develop a more resource-efficient economy. It can help to develop a critical mass of demand for more sustainable buildings that would be difficult to bring to the market otherwise.The challenge of convincing public-sector institutions to use GPP across nations, to become ‘normal practice’ continues and will drive the market for environmentally friendly buildings. The case study presented demonstrate that the GPP model is widely replicable and leads to positive outcomes. It has already been applied for the Brancati secondary and high school project built in Pesaro, Italy, that has been awarded by the International Jury of the Green Solutions Awards 2020-21, Construction 21, the Prize for the Energy for the Temperate Climate International Platform category.

The Influence of Level of Funding on Implementation of Physical Infrastructure Projects in Public Secondary Schools

The free primary education and subsidized secondary levels resulted to high enrolment in secondary schools in Kenya. This led to congestion on the existing facilities, especially in government aided secondary schools hence creating the need to construct more relevant physical facilities. However, in many government aided secondary schools, there are examples of faulty project implementation in terms of; incomplete buildings, inadequate instructional materials in some schools, poorly developed play grounds, laboratories with inadequate equipment, congested class rooms and lack of departmental offices. This study therefore aimed at establishing the influence of level of funding on physical infrastructure implementation: a case of Trans-Nzoia and West Pokot Counties, Kenya. The study adopted the Critical Chain Project Management theory while the descriptive survey design was employed. The target population comprised of the principals, the Board of Management (BOM) members, Sub County and County Directors of Education. Questionnaires and interview guides were used in data collection. The validity and reliability of the tools was done by use of the expert’s opinions and a test re-tests technique respectively. The quantitative data was analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented by using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was organized thematically and analyzed alongside the corresponding quantitative data. The findings revealed that; West Pokot County government allocated more funds towards infrastructure compared to Trans Nzoia. There was more donor support in West Pokot County than Trans Nzoia. Allocation and disbursement of funds from the ministry of Education and Constituency Development Funds delayed. As a result, schools in Trans Nzoia charged parents fees for infrastructure development. Allocation and disbursement of Funds from the ministry of education and the Constituency Development Funds delayed. The study recommended that there is need for more capacity building on outsourcing of resources to help implement projects in secondary schools in the two Counties. The findings from the study would be helpful to policy makers in developing informed policy in financing and implementation in education sector.

Effects of Stakeholders Engagement on the Implementation of Physical Infrastructure Projects in Public Secondary Schools: A Case of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia Counties, Kenya

Education sector globally has realized a huge rise in enrolment levels. In Kenya for instance, the continuous enrolment in primary schools and the hundred percent transitions as a result of the Free Primary Education (FPE) has imposed pressure on the already existing resources in Secondary section. This study aimed at assessing the effects of stakeholder engagement on implementation of physical infrastructure projects in secondary schools: a case of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia Counties, Kenya. The study adopted Critical Chain Project Management theory. This study employed a descriptive survey design which was suitable since the study sought to collect information from the respondents on their opinions. The target population was 479 which comprised of the Principals, Board of Management Members, County and Sub County Directors of Education. Using Yamane’s formula, a sample size of 218 respondents was attained. Questionnaires and interview guides were used in data collection. The quantitative data collected was coded to translate questions responses to specific categories and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), tabulated and presented using descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that in both Counties; stakeholders were highly engaged in secondary school infrastructure project development though at varied levels. The findings showed that indeed, school heads are being supported and trained by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in both counties on the capacity to handle projects. The study also found out that whereas the board of management in Trans Nzoia County was offering some good work in managing projects, the management in West Pokot County was ineffective. There was an indication that; despite the government banning the PTA component of financing schools, still schools in Trans Nzoia county charge parents this component in the fees as opposed to the West Pokot schools. It was also evident from the findings that teachers were not engaged in the development of the physical infrastructure in the two counties. The findings showed that in counties, professionalism and commitment from the contractors were upheld. The respondents in the research rated PTA’s participation in terms of expertise and financial support to having influence in school infrastructure project implementation in Trans Nzoia County. Respondents from both Counties agreed that there was commitment and professionalism from the hired contractors. The following recommendations were made: Participation by stakeholders in the whole process of infrastructure project implementation in government aided secondary schools should be encouraged. Given that the government banned PTA component of physical infrastructure funding, the government should provide enough budgetary funding to all secondary schools. The study recommends that teachers ought to be engaged in physical infrastructure development in secondary schools. The study also recommends that Parents Teacher Associations need to be empowered on project implementation in schools and due diligence should be followed in pre-qualifying, selecting and awarding of tenders to contractors.

Role of Boards of Management (BOM) in Monitoring and Evaluation of Constituency Development Funded (CDF) Projects in Secondary Schools

Role of Boards of Management (BOM) in Monitoring and Evaluation of Constituency Development Funded (CDF) Projects in Secondary Schools

Influence of Social Economic Factors on Completion of Construction Projects in Public Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

The aim of this paper was to establish the influence of social economic factors on completion of construction projects in public secondary schools in Bungoma County, Kenya. The study was informed by construction management and soft value management theories. In the study purposive sampling technique was used in choosing 461study respondents (Principals and Chairpersons of Parents Teachers Association) who were sampled to ensure homogeneity of the selected sample in ensuring that samples were drawn from each region encompassed in the target population, then followed by simple random sampling technique from each sub county. Questionnaires and interview schedules were the main data collection instruments. Data analysis involved use of statistical package for social sciences, SPSS version 21 tool where both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Cronbach Alpha of coefficient of 0.831 was attained on all constructs of social economic factors, which was above 0.7 as recommended by Cronbach (1951) implying the research instruments were reliable. The correlation coefficient (R) or the beta value β of 0.423≠0 at p=0.00 indicated that the hypothesis was accepted. The coefficient of determination, R-square of 0.422 implied that 42.2% of the variance in completion of construction projects was attributed to social economic factors. From the study findings, social economic factors namely; interpersonal skills of project manager, inflation, corruption and community involvement affects completion of construction project progress. The community should be involved directly in school projects. This will improve their perception and goodwill towards completion of construction projects in public secondary schools. The management need to be keen on price fluctuations that eventually have an effect on completion of construction projects. Future research is encouraged to cover other sectors other than education and compare the findings. The findings are of importance to the Ministry of Education in Kenya and other interested parties in future. Researchers in future have a basis for reference from this study. Keywords : Social economic factors, Completion of construction projects, Public Secondary schools. DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-12-05 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Barriers and facilitators to adoption, implementation and sustainment of obesity prevention interventions in schoolchildren\u2013 a DEDIPAC case study

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to explore the implementation of school based diet and physical activity interventions with respect to the barriers and facilitators to adoption, implementation and sustainability; supportive actions required for implementation and recommendations to overcome identified barriers. Two interventions rolled out nationally in Ireland were chosen; Food Dudes, a programme to encourage primary school children to consume more fruit and vegetables and Green Schools Travel (GST), an active travel to school programme in primary and secondary schools. Trained school coordinators (teachers) cascade the programmes to other teaching staff.MethodsMultiple case study design using qualitative semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders: primary and secondary school teachers, school coordinators, project coordinators/managers, funders and intermediaries. Fifteen interviews were conducted. Data were coded using a common categorization matrix. Thematic analysis was undertaken using the Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance elements of the RE-AIM implementation framework.ResultsGood working relationships within and across government departments, intermediaries and schools were critical for intervention adoption, successful implementation and sustainability. Organisational and leadership ability of coordinators were essential. Provision of participation incentives acted as motivators to engage children’s interest. A deep understanding of the lives of the target children was an important contextual factor. The importance of adaptation without compromising core components in enhancing intervention sustainability emerged. Successful implementation was hindered by: funding insecurity, school timetable constraints, broad rather than specific intervention core components, and lack of agreement on conduct of programme evaluation. Supportive actions for maintenance included ongoing political support, secure funding and pre-existing healthy lifestyle policies.ConclusionsSuccessful implementation and scale up of public health anti-obesity interventions in schools is dependent on good contextual fit, engagement and leadership at multiple levels and secure funding. Recommendations to overcome barriers include: capacity to deliver within an already overcrowded curriculum and clear specification of intervention components within a conceptual framework to facilitate evaluation. Our findings are generalisable across different contexts and are highly relevant to those involved in the development or adaptation, organisation or execution of national public health interventions: policy makers, guidelines developers, and staff involved in local organisation and delivery.

State of the integration of ICT in secondary schools. A case study

The aim of this paper is to analyse the adjustment of the equipment and use of technologies policies in the schools that participate in the Technological Innovation Secondary School Project of the Community of Madrid, the teacher training and the teachers’ beliefs about the use of ICT. For that, a case study methodology is carried out in three Secondary Schools. The results show that it exists some disconnection between the policies about use of ICT in the schools and the reality of them, only some aspects of ICT in education are in the teacher training, and only part of teachers is sensitive to the need of integrating the ICT in education. As conclusions, some uses of ICT and some training areas that should be further developed and that should be promoted from educational policies are identified.

Utilizing a discovery learning, real-world based fruit juice clarification experiment to enhance teaching and learning of biological enzyme concepts

Discovery learning is an approach that encourages students to become active participants in the learning process by exploring concepts and answering questions through experience. It is one of several inquiry-based learning techniques that seems particularly suited to the instruction of science since performing experiments is one of the key methods in discovery learning. However, the efficacy of discovery learning projects have not been explored much in Malaysia. In this study, an experiment integrated with real-world biotechnology industry example focusing on the function of the enzyme pectinase in the clarification of fruit (apple) juice was adapted and introduced to a group of urban, international secondary school science students who had undergone prior direct instructional guidance on the biological role and function of enzymes. The students were asked to complete a set of pre-experiment and post-experiment questions in order to analyse the impact of the experiment on their understanding of this topic. Results suggest that this discovery learning project do strengthen the learners’ prior knowledge and understanding of the function of biological enzymes through application of concept based on real world practice. High level of positive feedback was received (86.2%), with the students commenting on the “fun aspect”, being excited about being able to perform the experiment and expanding their understanding by linking their findings with a real-world, industrial application. Given the reported steady decline of Malaysian students enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses at secondary and tertiary levels, our findings suggest that developing and including more real-world, discovery type projects in secondary schools may help to effectively raise student interests in science subjects such as biology through new learning approaches.

2711 プロジェクトマネジメント中等教育への取り組み1 : 文化祭にPMを適用するPBLの実施(一般セッション)

2711 プロジェクトマネジメント中等教育への取り組み1 : 文化祭にPMを適用するPBLの実施(一般セッション)

2713 プロジェクトマネジメント中等教育への取り組み3 : PBLにおけるルーブリックによる学習成果の評価(一般セッション)

2713 プロジェクトマネジメント中等教育への取り組み3 : PBLにおけるルーブリックによる学習成果の評価(一般セッション)

Characterizing cross-professional collaboration in research and development projects in secondary education

Collaboration between practitioners and researchers can increasingly be observed in research and development (R&D) projects in secondary schools. This article presents an analysis of cross-professional collaboration between teachers, school leaders and educational researchers and/or advisers as part of R&D projects in terms of three dimensions: reasons for collaboration, the division of roles and tasks, and the communication structure. Data were collected in interviews with participants from 12 Dutch projects, from documents and from meetings with participants. The results show that the parties involved can have the same reasons for cross-professional collaboration but that the external educational experts may also have additional objectives. Roles and tasks were divided in different ways, depending on who directs and guides the research and development, and whether teachers were involved as teacher researchers in the project. The communication structure appeared to be linked to the division of roles and tasks, but also to the number of participants in the project. The three dimensions proved to be valuable viewpoints to study cross-professional collaboration in R&D projects in Dutch secondary education. Furthermore, we distinguished four types of cross-professional collaboration in R&D projects. These types differ in the extent to which the school or the external party direct and guide the project: (a) School-directed collaboration; (b) School- and researcher-directed collaboration; (c) School- and adviser-directed collaboration; (d) Researcher-directed collaboration. Our findings can support participants to consciously choose a particular type of cross-professional collaboration that fits their purposes and specific situation.

Participation and equality in school health promotion- challenges in a secondary school project<subtitle>Katja Gillander Gådin</subtitle>

Participation and equality in school health promotion- challenges in a secondary school project<subtitle>Katja Gillander Gådin</subtitle>