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Student interest in studying history is in decline in Ghana, as it is in secondary schools in many other parts of the world. Can student interest be stimulated, and can they be better served, by a curriculum that includes a focus on community, belonging and co-creation? This article details a preliminary intervention of just such a learning unit in a high school in Central Region, Ghana. Using a framework aligned with the historically responsive literacy approach, this programme supported student-directed research into aspects of local and personal history. The evidence from this study suggests that student motivation did increase, justifying an expanded future study of greater length, with additional participants, and building on the lessons from this preliminary effort.

The core tool for measuring the sustainability of the Library and Information Science (LIS) discipline is the curriculum which has always been a source of concern within the Nigerian space. It was on this premise that the study systematically investigated the redesigning of LIS curriculum for sustainable environmental transformation among students of the Department of LIS, Lead City University (LCU). Findings of the study showed that the majority of students opined that the redesigned curriculum is promoting sustainable environmental transformation as it is equipping the ideal 21st-century librarian with the requisite skill set (70%); redefined curriculum promotes a socially oriented librarian (53.2%); curriculum emphasizes the economic implications of the library for sustainable environmental transformation (43.3%); curriculum broadens the horizon of students further into meeting the information needs of the present clienteles without compromising the future generations (55.7%). The outcome of the study is expected to inform policy in adopting the redefined LIS LCU curriculum in Nigeria.

This study aims to measure the significance of non-technical skills for integrating into metalwork technology curriculum of technical colleges in Nigeria. The data collected through questionnaire survey consisted of 283 responses. The findings revealed that the mean values for all identified components of non-technical skills indicated their importance and suitability for integration into the curriculum. The study developed models using structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The results from SEM indicated that the correlation matrix, factor loadings, composite reliability, and average variance extracted for the measurement and structural models were all confirmed fit and suitable. The study also revealed that the relationship among the components that made up of the structural model were statistically significant. Communication skills was ranked the highest among the eight components that were considered important while problem-solving skills were ranked the lowest. In order to achieve the integration, suggestions are made relating to policy structure for the development of non-technical skills in Nigeria technical colleges.

This study centered on the views of the professionals about the non-technical skills considered crucial as recruitment prerequisite among graduates of metalwork technology from technical and vocational institutions in Nigeria. It will also examine the possibility of integrating these skills into the curriculum. The study made use of the survey research design. One research question guided the study. The population for the study comprised metalwork technology professionals in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. A 36-item questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts from the University of Lagos (UNILAG). The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha and the reliability index which stood at 0.79. The data collected were analysed using mean statistic and standard deviation. The study revealed that professionals placed great importance on communication skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork skills and self-management qualities among others, as important recruitment prerequisite among graduates of metalwork technology from technical and vocational institutions in Nigeria. The study concludes with the suggestions that non-technical skills should be integrated into the curriculum particularly in the field of metalwork technology in technical colleges. Students should be familiar with the employers' recruitment criteria while they are still in schools in order to equip them with the necessary skills needed for employment.

Rapid development of communication tools has brought about contentious issues in communication management in distance learning (DL) programs. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between communication management indicators, namely, communication practices, communication tools, and students' cognitive engagement in distance learning programs. A conceptual framework for communication management was developed from Moore's Transactional Distance Learning Theory (TDLT) and other existing literature. This study was conducted using quantitative research design. A questionnaire (a survey method) was used to elicit responses from 450 randomly selected in-service teachers from three Malaysian Public universities that offer blended mode distance-learning programs. Data analysis was conducted using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software to test the structural path of communication practices, communication tools, and students' cognitive engagement. Tests of hypotheses provided evidence of measures of fit statistics. The findings provide evidences that effective communication practices and communication tools have strong positive influence on distance students' cognitive engagement.

The role of education is to be reflective (about what? Why? and how?) in preserving the civilization identity and human capability of a nation. This is particularly true because education is the cornerstone to building human capability and capacity that can develop a country. A well-formulated educational goal will serve as a moral compass for individuals in order to be fully aware of the reasons behind their existence. Education should lead a person to be reflective of his/her life, jettison vague norms or ideas and to chat the future on the right direction. Determining or articulating the goals of education have always been a challenge, be it present or in the past due to it multifaceted manifestation in a different aspect of society. This study provides a capsule representation of what should be the goal (s) of education by looking into arguments and opinions of past education philosophers and scholars. It is concluded that the goal of education is diverse along historically and civilization spectrum but the essence--as human development remains its nucleus.

The study determined dynamic pedagogies for effective training of youths in cell phone maintenance. The study was conducted in Enugu State of Nigeria. Four research questions were developed while four null hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study was 62 which comprised of all the 46 lecturers and 16 instructors of electrical/electronic technology from two government universities in Enugu State. There was no sampling because of manageable size of the respondents. A structured questionnaire titled dynamic pedagogy structured questionnaire was used for collecting data. The instrument was validated by three experts. Cronbach alpha reliability method was adopted to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire item; a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.84 was obtained. Sixty two copies of the questionnaire were administered. Fifty nine copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using mean while t-test was used to test the hypotheses of no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that 13 dynamic pedagogies in planning, 12 pedagogies in implementing, 16 pedagogies in evaluating activities were required for training youths in cell phone maintenance and 11 motivational strategies were required by trainers for their effective performance in training the youths in cell phone maintenance. It was recommended that all the pedagogies determined in this study should utilized by trainers when training youths in cell phone maintenance. It was also recommended that trainers should be motivated using strategies identified in the study.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of soft skill acquisition and the training methodology adopted on employee work performance. In this study, the authors study the trends of research in training and work performance in organisations that focus on the acquisition of technical or "hard skills" for employee training and evaluating work performance. This study was conducted to redirect the focus of employee training and development goals to the acquisition of soft skills, which have a very high and lasting impact on improving employee performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a quantitative research approach. Questionnaires were administered to selected managers and executives of a few Malaysian private companies. The questionnaire was specifically designed to examine the competencies of various Malaysian-based company managers, executives and supervisors who had undergone a soft skills training programme over a period of a few weeks or months. These soft skills training programmes were not conducted consecutively, but rather with a break or "time-space" in between each session. The target population in this study consisted of 810 employees from nine companies. The sample size was 260 trainees who were selected from the population with a 95 per cent confidence level within 0.05 risk of sampling error. Findings: Using regression analysis, this study estimated the relationships between employees' acquisition of soft skills, the training methodology adopted by the trainer, and work performance. The results indicate that the two predictors--soft skill acquisition and training methodology--significantly predict employee performance. The authors propose the need for employers to redesign the methodology for training employees in soft skills. Based on the findings, "time-spaced learning" is highly potent in undermining the hindrance associated with training transfer. Practical implications: The findings of this study help to raise the awareness of employers, human resource managers, professional and industrial experts and the government to rethink the need to improve soft skills training methodologies. Specifically, this can be achieved by giving the trainees "space" or breaks to practice, apply and internalise what they have learnt intermittently during the training programme. This will enhance employee performance, and consequently, organisational performance. These findings also inform company managers that the time-spaced learning method enables employees to acquire soft skills more effectively, which will invariably bring about positive behaviour changes in employees towards their work and co-workers. Originality/value: The originality of this research is based on the fact that the results are peculiar to Malaysia, whereas most of the literatures on training methodology especially the time-space and soft skill have focused on developed countries. Furthermore, the study emphasised that time-space learning training methodology helps employees in transferring knowledge acquired during training to their work. The research also emphasised that soft skills acquisition brings about increase in employee work performance. This research shows 14.5 per cent increased employee work performance in the selected companies because of their employees' acquisition of soft skills and a 27.9 per cent increase in employee performance is based on time-space training methodology. This makes the investigation on the effects of soft skills acquisition and the training methodology adopted on employee performance very important for organisational survival.

Purpose: As computer-mediated communication has diffused, successive technological variations raise new questions about interpersonal impressions and several standardized instruments have been advanced in literature to asses various aspect of interpersonal attraction phenomena. The purpose of this paper is to examine the claims for reliability and validity of the attraction scales by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the light of research since 1974 which has employed the scales, and then improve the measures if needed. Design/methodology/approach: Random sampling procedure was carried out in two kulliyahs (Faculty) at International Islamic university Malaysia (IIUM), in which 340 students were selected from a population of 2,000 undergraduate students. A total of 26 items were tested from an instrument that has been used in previous studies; each item is expected to measure one of the three orientations' dimensions. Findings: The analysis result confirms that the orientation of students towards interpersonal communication in online social network sites (SNS) is a multi-dimensional construct consisting of social attraction, physical attraction and task attraction. In addition, since substantial numbers of research studies have been reported to have employed one or more of these measures, this research was examined to evaluate their reliability and validity. Research limitations/implications: Since the reliabilities found in literatures have been highly varied, it was determined that improved measures should be used in the future. Thus, a revised and improved version of these measures, using CFA, are reported and recommended in this paper for future research. Originality/value: The paper has produced a second-generation measure with substantially improved internal reliability and validity. The paper's most important and obvious conclusion is that interpersonal attraction does appear to be a multidimensional construct. (Contains 2 figures.)

Previous research has demonstrated a female advantage, albeit imperfectly, on tests of object location memory where object identity information is readily available. However, spatial and visual elements are often confounded in the experimental tasks used. Here spatial and visual memory performance was compared in 30 men and 30 women by presenting 12 abstract designs in a spatial array for recall and recognition (visual memory) and spatial location ("object" location memory). Object location memory was measured via a sensitive absolute displacement score defined as the distance in mms between the position assigned to the object during recall and the actual position it originally occupied. There were no sex differences in either the visual or spatial location tests. Controlling for age and estimated IQ scores made no impact on the results. These data suggest an absence of a sex difference in purely visual and spatial aspects of object location memory.