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With the ubiquitous presence of media devices, media multitasking has become prevalent in an educational context. Several authors have synthesized the literature on this topic, but no systematic review has been carried out so far. The present study fills this gap by examining the academic papers in the past decade to delineate the research trends, gaps, and directions for future research. Following the Standard Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), we analyzed 88 papers from various aspects including study focus, contexts, participants, and methods. Findings point to the necessity to focus on the reasons behind multitasking, include more K-12 learners, and adopt qualitative methodology. To support future work on the predictors of media multitasking, we propose a conceptual framework that includes nine variables in technology, personal, and environment domains.

The objective of this article is to reflect upon the relationships amongst health, disadvantage, educational opportunities, and higher education access and success. This is a reflective article taken from the literature review of a doctoral study on the relationship between health, access to, and success within, higher education. The importance of health in education and the practical implementation of programmes resulting in enhanced health and academic success amongst higher education students is reviewed. Literature for the doctoral study on which this reflection was based was sourced predominantly from Pub-Med Central, the U.S. National Institute of Health National Library of Medicine and The South African South-East Academic Library Services. From this discussion, the rationale for a holistic health promotion programme within the higher education setting, for students from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds, is given. The problem of educational failure of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education could be lessened by instituting a holistic health promotion programme within the first year of study. Evidence suggests that such a programme would have both health and educational advantages.

The number of students enrolled in higher education outside their countries of origin increased from 0.8 million in 1975, to 2.1 million in 2000, and to 3.7 million in 2009 (Ryan, 2012). This growing trend of student mobility leads to increased university competition for students around the globe. However, little is known about the experiences of international students in Africa. This lack of understanding could leave the continent at a disadvantage for attracting and retaining international students, while other parts of the world continue to benefit. To begin to address this gap, I conducted a qualitative phenomenological study at one private university in East Africa that attracts about 20% of its population as international students. As International Student Coordinator at this university, I interviewed 13 graduate students from various countries and conducted participant observations on campus for three years. I aimed to understand students' perceptions of their learning experiences. This article focuses on students' non-academic learning. Students' positive and negative experiences highlighted the difference that student affairs and administrative staff can make in the quality of students' educational experiences. A needs model shed light on students' non-academic experiences. Student affairs and administrative staff were essential in 1) providing pre-arrival information, 2) meeting students' initial basic needs, 3) connecting them with others, keeping immigration documents current, and 5) understanding the new academic system. Ecologically, students were required to make a variety of connections in their adjustment process on campus and beyond.If the university could adequately address international students' non-academic issues, then students would be better able to focus on their main purpose: their academics. It is recommended that the university revisit its procedures and develop more holistic international-student-friendly policies. Then, it could better support the learning of its present students and attract more international students, thereby more greatly impacting the world.

International comparisons of school-level geoscience education across the world had shown great variability in the amount and content of the geoscience materials and in the ways in which it was taught. When this situation was discussed at meetings of organisations concerned with international school-level geoscience education in 2012, the decision was taken to develop an international geoscience syllabus that could be used in future discussions with curriculum developers, many of whom have little geoscience understanding. The new syllabus that was developed was based on a holistic systems approach, as advocated in the literature, and is presented in ways most easily assimilated by non-geoscience expert curriculum developers. The more detailed content was determined through an analysis of the geoscience content of curricula of a range of countries, since it is easier to argue for material to be included if it is already being taught elsewhere across the world. The syllabus was published on websites in January 2014. It has the potential to enhance Earth science education across the world, increasing the Earth science literacy of all pupils involved, whilst encouraging some to become the geoscientists of the future.

Ubuntu-inspired leadership is substantial for responding, in an African way, to the needs of schools seeking to improve their performance. Evoking practices, such as letsema and social cohesion, underpins an African panacea in executing work for desired outcomes. With little extant research on the concept of ubuntu leadership, this article reports on a pioneering study that examined the extent to which infusing the value of ubuntu influences the practices of schools seeking to improve their performance. The objective was to explore measures that ubuntu leadership could take to instil values that would bring about the desired performance. Adopting an ethnographic approach, enquiring conversations were held with principals (individually), focus groups involving parents, other managers and teachers. This resulted in the triangulation of observations (formal and informal) and document analysis. The findings revealed three aspects epitomising ubuntu leadership, namely: holistic ubuntu deportment in leadership practice; cohesive oneness embodied by ubuntu and values within; and voluntarism as an enterprising exercise of letsema. The article concludes by chronicling a leadership charter towards harvesting the cliché simunye or esprit-de-corps.

Sarah McGee's major contribution to the profession of art therapy was her use of traditional African healing practices in her work with clients. Her immersive training as a ndeppkat (spiritual healer) and Lébou Ndepp rituals in Senegal offered a foundation for her approach to therapy. These rituals informed her work, even in secular settings, through attention to the whole client (bio-psychosocial) and community involvement. The significance and implications of McGee's pioneering efforts for contemporary art therapists include adopting a holistic perspective, involving the community for treating individuals, incorporating drumming, and collaborating with spiritual healers.

The higher education system in Africa and South Africa in particular, is still too academic and distant from the developmental challenges of African local communities. The integration of African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS) into the higher educational system could improve its relevance. This is due to the holistic, community-based nature and approach of AIKS to education and knowledge production. However, this requires an African indigenous theoretical framework of knowledge to guide the integration process. The framework should also clarify the relevance of African indigenous languages in knowledge production and sharing in the era of globalisation. There is also need for a strong institutional support system for a sustainable integration as shown by the experiences of some higher educational institutions in South Africa.

Drawing on the social theory concepts of Bourdieu (Field, Capital and Habitus) we explored and gained insights into the perspectives of sub-Saharan African refugee families and preschool educators regarding inclusive education of young children in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The study is informed by two curriculum frameworks: The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework [(VEYLDF) (0-8 years)]. These documents support a whole school approach to early childhood inclusive education and professional relationship with families to achieve common outcomes for all children in Australia. The findings point to marginalized identities which are induced by capital, field and habitus differentials, and have resulted in putting astray the achievement of successful early childhood inclusive education for the children of these families. We concluded with a call for teacher educators to engage preservice educators in what Freire called an "epistemological curiosity" to help them reconstruct their profession to facilitate the empowerment and development of all children and their families.

This paper makes a case for a revalorization of all indigenous knowledges in general and African indigenous knowledges in particular. It invites African policy makers and intellectuals to do a little more to bring indigenous knowledges within African educational stream with the view to increasing the potentials of development in Africa. Since there exists a variety of educational theories, including the functionalist, the conflict, the critical, the pragmatic and the afrocentric educational theories, the paper advises that the adoption of the pragmatic and afrocentric educational theories will integrate African indigenous knowledges and current educational systems and thereby promote the development of a holistic African educational system. Consequently, three recommendations have been proffered that will enhance the development of indigenous knowledges and integration of same within the current African educational system.

Purpose: This paper aims to present a new master's programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A transdisciplinary approach called "participatory integrated assessment of energy systems" (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance", which bring innovative concepts and methods. Findings: The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes. Practical implications: Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely critical because such a holistic view cannot be achieved through engineering curricula. Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate methods from "multi-scale integrated assessment" and "science for governance" in higher education curricula to train a new breed of modern-day energy planners in charge of coming up with solutions that are shared by all relevant stakeholders. Originality/value: This paper presents an innovative higher education curriculum in terms of the attention given to energy access and energy efficiency that affect the southern Africa region and the nature of the methodology adopted to face these issues.

Every aspect of a community's life and values in indigenous Africa provide the theoretical framework for education. The holistic worldview of the traditional system places a strong emphasis on the centrality of the human element and orature in the symmetrical relationship between life and learning. This article focuses on proverbs and the words that form them as important sources of, and foundation for, indigenous African education. The article analyzes proverbs and the power of the spoken word in indigenous African pedagogy. The analysis is used to argue for an increased articulation of indigenous African knowledge into the dialogue on the inclusion of non-Western traditions in the theoretical frameworks for adult education. The article uses the traditional contexts of Ogu and Yoruba of West Africa but draws examples mostly from Yoruba proverbs to present their epistemological significance in traditional African education.

In 2009 and 2010, the author was involved in two University of Botswana initiatives on graduate employability. The first was a university-wide task force exploring the attitudes of students and staff and recommending reforms both in learning and teaching and in support services for students. The second was a Faculty of Humanities tracer study, in which the author was part of a team traveling to major centers in Botswana to identify the employment destinations of recent graduates. Both initiatives grappled with the consequences of overspecialization in admissions and instructional policies as well as a lack of generic skills to enable students to adapt their qualifications to new environments. Both problems are compounded by the expectation that a degree automatically qualifies its holder for a government job, with a relatively high starting salary, high status, and extensive benefits. Rapidly growing enrollments in higher education throughout the continent, combined with structural reforms, which are shrinking the civil service, confound this expectation. Through both initiatives, and through his experience in higher education in South Africa, Uganda, and Botswana, as well as the United States, the author became aware that the specialized tertiary education, which promises government employment on graduation, is at the root of the problem. A liberal arts education that does not entitle its graduate to a particular job, but which supplies writing, analytical, lifelong learning, and creative skills that apply to a number of work environments, may be better suited to the human resource needs of the continent and the employability of its graduates. This article is therefore a contribution toward an expanded debate on higher education in Africa and on the need to explore other models in reforming existing institutions. The author is an advocate of the liberal arts, not as a panacea but as a component of reformed tertiary education systems throughout Africa. The liberal arts offer a more viable model, whether integrated into more specialized syllabi or as a broad-based first degree that aspires to wisdom for its own sake. As the first part of a longer project, this article seeks to demonstrate, through the history of the liberal arts on this continent, that African traditional, Islamic, and Christian models promulgated a broad education, which aimed to develop the whole person. In addition, Africa played a key role in the development of the liberal arts, and the detailed study of African thought and culture is integral to the study of humanity. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper develops and explores "lehae-la-rona" and its potential value in environment and sustainability discourse. It draws on African-centred concepts and critiques of dominant Eurocentric theoretical frameworks. In particular, Ani's concepts of "asili," "utamawazo" and "utamaroho" and Indigenous knowledge theory are applied to appreciate the nature of Indigenous knowledge in Lesotho. Against this backdrop, the concepts of revealed knowledge, "pono," and "pono-tebo" are applied to conceptualize "lehae-la-rona." It is argued that "lehae-la-rona" can enable a holistic conceptualization of environment and position it and the local language, Sesotho, at the centre of Education for Sustainable Development discourse to offer a more African centred worldview. (Contains 2 figures.)

Purpose: Tackling structural and emergent problems in the labour market, valorising skilled human capital (HC) for opportunity creation, economic development and growth, are some of the key drivers for graduate entrepreneurship. This paper aims to examine developments in Africa, focusing on the significance of improving human capital through graduate entrepreneurship to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a unique Education Partnerships in Africa (EPA) project the paper adopts a conceptual and exploratory approach to understand the institutional, cultural and economic dimensions of change and the specific role of graduate entrepreneurship education and training in enabling productive outcomes, using an illustrative case study of the project to develop the arguments. Findings: Knowledge creation lies at the heart of entrepreneurship development in developing economies such as Nigeria. Knowledge creation (KC) for entrepreneurship (E) is based on human capital (HC) development. In circumstances of uneven growth in developing economies HC development is the only constant. Harnessing HC for entrepreneurship can be based on three sets of propositions derived from an examination of the relationship between KC, HC and E, which locate graduate entrepreneurship's role within a holistic, institutional framework. Originality/value: The paper's originality lies in the development of a model for promoting and evaluating a holistic approach to graduate entrepreneurship in developing countries based on the targeting of MDGs. It offers new insights into the role of graduate entrepreneurship in economic and social development. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 2 notes.)

I am nurtured by indigenous African musical arts education philosophy and practice, and encountered literary music education and scholarship in adulthood. It is with dual musical sensibilities that I ponder the human mission of school music education. My reflections will derive from experiences of applying African indigenous musical arts in classrooms and practical research sites. The objective has been to awaken the instincts of students who are searching to know music for a fulfilling musical life. Researching the nature of the fuel (the innate musical disposition of learners) is critical for better determining the nature of the spark (knowledge content and actualization strategies) that will ignite innate capabilities into a fulfilling professional pursuit or amateur engagement with the music of life. (Contains 7 notes.)

The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) is an international institution whose mission is to promote lifelong learning as a necessary component for people to contribute creatively to their communities and to live in independent and democratic societies. In that sense, as an active member of the International Council of the World Social Forum committed to build proposals for "another possible world" on a sustainable basis, ICAE decided to hold its 7th General Assembly in Nairobi before the World Social Forum including, as a special issue, the interconnectedness of continuous learning in a holistic approach through different themes. This article describes the efforts made by ICAE in advancing the issues concerning environment, ecology, and sustainable development and environmental education for sustainable societies and global responsibility. (Contains 1 note.)

Describes the work of Australian and Eritrean early childhood educators to establish early childhood education in Eritrea. Discusses how Australian educators are learning about managing multicultural and multilingual communities; Eritrean educators are learning about a holistic approach to education to meet social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and developmental needs of Eritrean children. (Author)

Objectives: To formatively evaluate the HIGHER Women consortium’s Mentor Protégée Program (MPP) and derive lessons for successful African women scientist mentorship. Design: Desk review of program documents and cross-sectional surveys of mentors and protégées. Setting: All 10 regions of Cameroon Participants: Women working in health research participating in the MPP. Interventions: Building health research skills and providing support for women to cope within the African psychosocial environment using a holistic approach. Main outcome measures: Formed mentor-protégés duos applying the MPP with measurable accomplishments. Results: The consortium counted 121 members with 103 protégées and 18 mentors. Of 103 protégées, 35 responded to the 2018 survey, while 77 responded to the 2022 survey. Mentioned benefits of the program included an increase in scientific peer-reviewed journal publications and presentations at national and international conferences. In the 2022 survey, a Pearson correlation showed an r of 0.41, which, although not statistically significant (p = .592), suggests a positive correlation between the increased number of peer-reviewed articles and increased number of years as HIGHER Women protégées. Conclusions: Mentorship programs can help over time to bridge the gender gaps within Africa as well as the gaps between African-led research and the rest of the world while making a meaningful contribution to enhancing the quality, diversity, and productivity of researchers. A mentoring program such as the HIGHER Women MPP can be improved by leveraging local and international partners to foster the mentoring program’s sustainability, scalability, and expanded reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]