International Journal of Educational Studies | IJES | Volume 13, Number 2, 2016 by FSSH Scholarly Journals

ISSN 1682-4377

IJES Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016

Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016

EDUCATIONAL STUDIES International Journal of Educational Studies

Volume 13, Number 2, 2016 Editorial Board Adam P. Howard City University of New York/Hostos Community College, United States Jeremy J. Edward East Stroudsburg University, United States Jamil M. Sharif Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates Dennis R. Edgar Centre for Education and Research, University of Northampton, United Kingdom Editor in Chief Nicole A Hansen Florida International University (FIU) Editors Jeremy J. Edward, East Stroudsburg University, United States Jamil M. Sharif, Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates Dennis R. Edgar, Centre for Education and Research, University of Northampton, United Kingdom Alfredo U. Santos, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development -ULHT, Lisbon, Portugal Jung-Hyun Kok, Utah Valley University, United States Muhammad Ataf, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates A Huang Min, Central China Normal University, China Patrick O. John, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom Suraphong Soepwongli, The Political Science Association of Kasetsart University, Thailand Hamid Ali Abed Al-Asadi, Faculty of Education for Pure Science, Basra UniversityBasra, Iraq Professor Jacob M. Jaffe, College of Technology Education,Tel Aviv Jordyn R Holbrook, North Carolina Central University Mark L Bowden, The University of Melbourne, Australia Stephen A Horn, University of Michigan Nicole A Hansen, Florida International University (FIU) Professor Jamie R Kirstin, University of Edinburg Logan P. Munroe, Ph.D., School of Advanced Study, University of London Martin P Atkinson, Faculty of Medicine | Imperial College London Dr. Francis Kyambo William, The University Of Dodoma, Tanzania, United Republic of Logan P. Munroe, Ph.D., School of Advanced Study, University of London

Professor Jacob M. Jaffe, College of Technology Education,Tel Aviv Professor Jamie R Kirstin, University of Edinburg Baila R. Ayelet, Ph.D., The Interdisciplinary Center |Herzliya Professor Catrina J. Cameron, College of Law and Business | Ramat Gan Massood Yazdanimoghaddam, Islamic Azad University,South Tehran Branch, Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Generoso Nielo Mazo, Leyte Normal University, Philippines Rosa Branca Tracana, Institute Polythecnic of Guarda, Portugal Huei-Chen Yeh, St. John's University, Taiwan, Taiwan, Province of China Claudiu Mereuta, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania Kester O. Lauchlan, Ph.D., College of Management Academic Studies (COMAS) Dr Awwalu Muhammad Inuwa, Department of Educational Foundations Faculty Education and Extension Services Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto,Sokoto State Nigeria, Nigeria Dr Atieno Kili K'Odhiambo, University of Nairobi, Kenya Mr. Stephen Asatsa, The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya Cittoor Girija Navaneedhan, Indian Institute of Technology , Chennai, India Dr Ayuba Guga, Department of Educational Foundation and Curriculum, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Dr Evelyn Roach, East Tennessee State University and Tusculum College, United States Omayma Aboulella Hamed, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University- Egypt, Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER- Philadelphia- USA - Faculty of Medicine- King Abdulaziz University- KSA, Saudi Arabia Dr. Adena B. Avigail, University of Haifa Dr. Samsiah Mohd Jais, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia Mr Pir Irfan Rashdi, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Pakistan Prof. Kamel Hussein Rahouma, Currently: Qassim University, Saudi Arabia Permanently: Minia University, Egypt Dr. Supriadi MP.d., Indonesia University of Education, Indonesia Dr. Rommel Lagutan Verecio, Leyte Normal University Paterno St., Tacloban City, Philippines, Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editorial ........................................................................................................................................ i – vi The Venture of a Philippine Local Government Unit into the Higher Education: The Establishment of Sibonga Community College | Ronald A. Pernia ................................................................................................................ 1 – 24 Analysis of Motivational Strategies Used by Principals to Solve the Challenges in Management of Support Staff in Public Secondary Schools, Nyamira County, Kenya | Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, and Prof. Joseph Bosire ........... 25 – 36 Accreditation of Academic Programmes and Quality University Education in South-South Nigeria | C. P. Akpan and C. R. Etor ........................................................................................... 37 – 54 The Effectiveness of Stress Management Training on Hardiness in Patients with Breast Cancer | Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, and Parisa Peyvandy ........................................................................................................ 55 – 68 Important Elements of Private Dormitory Spaces (Case Study: Girls Dormitory University of Science and Technology) | Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, and Ahmad Ekhlasi ........................................................................................................... 69 – 82 Different of Conflict Resolution Styles and Behavioral Problems of Girls in Employed Mothers with Housekeeper Mothers | Leila Seifollahi.................................................................................................................... 83 – 96 Derivation of Pharmacokinetic Rates and Orders of Reactions in MultiCompartment Model | Zharama M. Llarena ..................................................................................................... 97 – 106

ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING

The articles in the FSSH Scholarly Journals will be indexed and abstracted by the following database.

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

EDITORIAL Taking my own country as an example, we noticed that, at the start of the 21st century, the Netherlands has transformed from a secular and depillarised society into a plural, postmodern society. That society is not only multilingual, multicultural and multiethnic, but it is also very prominently a society that has changed in religious appearance and has become multireligious. This last change is one of the consequences of the stream of immigration that has started as early as the sixties of the 20th century. The presence of Islam is one of the most striking and visible examples of this development. Especially after '9/11', most of the debates on religion have been triggered by this particular presence, and unfortunately enough, mostly in a negative way. Another remarkable fact is that religion has been more persistent in society and in the public domain than was expected on the basis of the developments in the sixties and seventies of the previous century. Religion and reason were, for a long time, diametrically opposed to each other, with secularisation characterised as a victory of reason over religion. This oppositional stance has been undermined in the postmodern era. However, from this perspective, we should also take seriously the third form of secularity that Charles Taylor (2007) distinguishes when pointing to: A move from a society where belief in God is unchallenged and indeed, unproblematic, to one in which it is understood to be one option among others, and frequently not the easiest to embrace. (...) Secularity in this sense is a matter of the whole context of understanding (i.e. matters explicitly formulated by almost everyone, such as the plurality of options, and some which form the implicit, largely unfocussed background of this experience and this search) in which our moral, spiritual or religious experience and search takes place. (p. 3) In most of the societal structures in which we now live, we notice that both religions and worldviews are characterised by a strong post-traditional tendency towards individualisation, and religions and worldviews which still have all the identity marks of traditionality - such as a strong connectedness to a community - are all at the same time part of plural and multi-religious societies. Taking this make-up of societal constellations as a starting point, pedagogically speaking, the interesting question is whether there is a place for worldview education in schools. To be even more precise, we can ask whether there is a place for worldview education in all denominational and i

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all state schools. If the answer is positive, the next issues to be addressed have to do, respectively, with the aim of worldview education, how this mode of education could be part of a general conception of the aim of education and whether a fruitful relationship with civic or citizenship education is possible. To follow this train of thought, the first focal point in this contribution is the allembracing pedagogical aim of personhood education. The second focal point deals with worldview education and its relationship to the aim of personhood education. The third focal point deals with the question of whether a fruitful link is possible between this view on worldview education and (a particular conception of) citizenship education. Finally, I will focus on an example of good cooperative practice in the area of Amsterdam South-East, embodying a promising joint practice in which three elementary schools are cooperating: a state school, a Christian school and an Islamic school. The aim of the example is to show that the particular identity of the schools - be it Christian, humanist or Muslim - can be preserved and in the very process of cooperation even be strengthened due to growing awareness of communalities and differences (including the different truth claims regarding particular worldviews) within schools as well as among schools. Christian schools might interpret such cooperation as being part of their ecumenical task. Such a task could mean presenting and representing the Bible and the Christian tradition in the midst of such a partnership to staff, students and parents from different religion(s) and/or worldview(s). That means putting the light of the Gospel on a stand so that the light can be perceived by all who are in the three cooperating schools (see Mt 5:1415). A presupposition for entering into such a process of cooperation with different denominational and state schools for both staffand parents is openness and respect, in principle, for the worldview of others. The same of course holds for the students. A real dialogue and encounter between representatives of different worldviews is only possible on the basis of strong and acknowledgeable worldview positions on the part of the participating schools. Pedagogically speaking, however, the focus will be both on organised worldviews, in terms of bringing in parts of the particular worldview traditions, and the personal worldviews of the teachers. These will form the 'educative stuff' for the students, allowing them to get acquainted with their own worldview tradition and the other worldview traditions at institutional as well as personal level. It will also allow them to be stimulated in the process of their own worldview formation on the basis of worldview education. Students also learn to live together with students adhering to different worldviews within the polis of the school. ii

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THE AIM OF PERSONHOOD EDUCATION It is my pedagogical contention that personhood education for students should be the pedagogical aim of schools. Schools should assist students in the double process of socialisation and individuation, of becoming competent members of communities of practice. The presentation and representation of information, norms and values must always be seen in the light of how it can be transformed by students into elements of their own participation, in the process of the formation of their own personhood. This transformation is an active and dynamic process on the part of the student in which the subject matter, being the starting point, becomes the personal property of the student. The transformation is an activity authored by the students and necessary for them in order to acquire their own personhood. In this respect, it is a problem rather than an asset that schools have developed into practices in their own right, separated from the social practices into which they are supposed to introduce students because learning to participate is best done by participating. My transformative view rests on a conceptualisation of how human beings act in the world. The basic image is that of humans as signifiers. Humans in most cases do not make explicit decisions for action based on objective knowledge of the alternatives. Instead, by being bodily in the world and transacting with it, they form images and meanings on which they act. There is thus a continuous interplay between action, signification and reflection. Meanings are never 'objective' but are always the result of the momentary and creative relationship between the human being and its environment, a relationship that may be characterised most adequately as 'a moving whole of transacting parts' (Dewey 1980:291). According to Dewey (1980), not all transactional relationships: ... ask to be known, and it certainly does not ask leave from thought to exist. But some existences as they are experienced do ask thought to direct them in their course so that they may be ordered and fair and be such as to commend themselves to admiration, approval and appreciation. Knowledge affords the sole means by which this redirection can be effected. (p. 296)

Knowledge is therefore not aimed purely at the continuation of action as such but at the problematical in the broadest sense of the word. Knowledge has a function for the other domains of experience (e.g. religious, moral and aesthetic). From this perspective, knowledge is 'a mode of experiencing things which facilitates control of objects for purposes of non-cognitive experiences' (Dewey 1980:98). Defining education in school in terms of participation and transformation implies that learning is seen iii

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neither as exclusively cognitive nor as an individualistic act. On the contrary, all domains of human potentiality and ability (be it cognitive, creative, moral, religious, expressive, etc.), that is, the development of the whole person, should be taken into account by the schools (see also Wardekker & Miedema 2001). No human being, however, ever finds herself or himself in a position in which they can signify at will and is then able to coordinate the created meanings with other humans at a later time. Humans are born into a culture, which means that the whole world already has a meaning. New-born humans have to acquire these meanings in order to be able to participate. Mostly, this acquisition process is, at least initially, not made explicit (in fact, the ability to 'learn' meanings in an explicit way, as in schools, has to be learned in itself); learning to participate develops by participating in sociocultural practices. Although no two human beings construct exactly the same life-world, enough of it is shared to make communication and coordination of actions within practices possible. In fact, cultural practices may be interpreted as culturally pre-defined meaning systems that enable coordinated activities. Such meaning systems encompass interpretations of the world (including other human beings) and abilities for interacting with it in order to obtain intended results, values and norms. They are shared by the group of people that engage in the practice and thus form its associated community of practice. Thus, growing up may be described as acquiring the abilities to participate in practices or as becoming a competent member of several communities of practice. The process of socialisation, however, includes a process of individuation, the process of personhood education, for its necessary reverse side: One cannot become a fully competent member of a community of practice if one does not contribute at an individual level. This process of individuation rests on the fact that cultural meanings have to be appropriated, transformed into one's own personality. In this process, personal elements like genetic make-up, emotions and unique experiences gained in past and present circumstances play a significant role, so that no two persons grow up to have exactly the same personality. It is precisely these interpersonal differences that make for changes in cultural practices. Some of these changes simply occur because of the different views participants bring to the practice; at other times, changes are intended. Ultimately, no practice can stay 'alive' without change; and being able to contribute to changes that are perceived as necessary is a structural element of the competence of participants. This implies that participation is never merely technical, manipulative or instrumental but always has a normative side because choices have to be made concerning the direction in which a iv

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given practice should develop (see Mead 1934:200ff.). Just like other meanings, the foundation upon which this normative side rests, like goals, ideals and values, comes into its own within the context of acting. PERSONHOOD EDUCATION AND WORLDVIEW EDUCATION 'Worldview' is defined here as 'a more or less coherent and consistent whole of convictions and attitudes in respect with human life' (Dekker & Stoffels 2001:33). It regards a more or less systematic meaning-giving or orientation in life. A distinction can be drawn between a more limited and specified sub-classification of institutional worldview traditions that deal with a God concept (e.g. Christianity and Islam), and these are thus religions or 'worldviews in the narrow sense', and others that do without a God concept (for instance humanism, atheism,), which are worldview traditions in the broad sense of the term. In relation to a worldview of a person, that is, a personal worldview, different perspectives can be at stake: a perspective on life and death, on sense or meaningfulness and nonsense, on good and evil, on suffering and on the ultimate aim of life. The personal narrative of meaning-giving and making is characterised by: 1) a certain sense of symbolic content 2) commitment to or involvement in the person's own life 3) the selection and use of sources of meaning-giving 4) the cultivation experiences

profound

meaning-giving

and

existential

5) and a certain spin-offin other areas of the life of the person. (Hijmans 1997:33) In line with this, worldview education can be conceptualised as that part of personhood education of children and youngsters that focuses on the more or less systematic intentional as well as non-intentional meaningmaking processes, relationships and practices. Here different aspects come into play, be it cognitive, affective-emotional, volitional or aspects dealing with action (see Miedema 2006a). All personhood education in schools is inherently worldview-laden because it has to do with meaning-presenting, meaning-giving, meaningmaking, meaning-taking and meaning-in-action.

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Fostering worldview education can, from a pedagogical perspective, be considered as an integral part of personhood education and can form a substantial and integral part of the curriculum of every school. Worldview education should not be conceptualised exclusively in knowledge-based or cognitive terms. In that case, schools organise standalone activities which only provide so-called neutral or objective information about a worldview or about different worldviews, for example in a teaching and learning-about approach, or a religious studies approach. In my view, the 'learning-about approach' does not provide optimal conditions for active and dynamic personhood education as was outlined earlier in the article (see Wardekker & Miedema 2001). Besides, in worldview education, the acquisition of worldview experiences and worldview attitudes should not be separated from the wider processes of obtaining other experiences and attitudes. Any artificial distinction between the domain of worldviews and other domains of experience should be precluded (see Miedema 1995). The explicit presentation and representation of a rich and plural array of worldview 'subject matter' in the form of frames of reference, models, practices, rituals and narratives is an essential prerequisite for making individuation possible on the basis of socialisation processes. These presentations and representations are not intended simply to be transmitted by the teachers and internalised by the students in their presented or represented form, but they can be offered to the students as potentially transformative material. Such interaction between the presented material and the students is characterised by a non-dogmatic, noncompelling 'openness' which offers students multiple possibilities for the formation of their own personhood. Contrary to the notion of the school as an institution for the linear transmission of knowledge, skills, beliefs or worldviews, schools should function as communities of diverse practices and as communities of learners. In such schools, the students can learn to see each other as citizens of the embryonic society which the school community is (see Dewey 1972). The students of this embryonic society can learn that they are responsible for one another and must pursue their common goals through dialogue and cooperation (see Strike 2000:143). Personhood formation through worldview education can be supported by the encouragement of a critical-evaluative attitude on the part of the students. Unquestioning acceptance or non-reflective, full identification with the views of the teacher is, to put it euphemistically, not the most appropriate practice for the development of successful personhood formation on the basis of personhood education. Rather, the focus should be upon the growth of the potential for an active and critical reconstruction of different and differing perspectives, be they ideals, norms, values, vi

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knowledge, narratives or beliefs. Such practices and processes in school will enhance the capacity of the students to integrate these perspectives into their own personality, promote the ongoing organisation and re-organisation of their perspectives and form resources for the reconstruction of the self, for selftranscendence (see Joas 2004). WORLDVIEW EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION Citizenship education and development for citizenship have been and still are seen globally as an important issue in the political and public debate in the first decades of the 21st century; this is also the case in the Netherlands (see Miedema & Bertram-Troost 2008). In 2005, the Dutch Minister of Education proposed a change in the Law on Primary and Secondary Education in terms of the obligation for state schools as well as denominational schools to stimulate active citizenship and social cohesion for all students aged between 4 and 16. On 01 February 2006, this change became manifest in the law Stimulating Active Citizenship and Social Integration. A flanking brochure, to this law, bearing the title A Basis for Citizenship (Bron 2006), was published by the Dutch National Institute for Curriculum Development. It is quite remarkable that in this brochure for the very first time, the particular profile and identity of the schools are also taken into account. It also raises the question of how citizenship education, worldview education and the identity of the school can be adequately related to each other, and schools are invited to deal with this. The following core concepts are mentioned in the brochure, aiming at the relationship of citizenship and worldview education: the recognition of different views, tolerance and openness for encounters with persons holding different views and opinions. We may conclude that, from a Dutch governmental perspective, fruitful possibilities can now be distinguished to further link citizenship education and worldview education. From a historical point of view, this is remarkable to say the least because the separation of state and church since the 19th century resulted in the abstentionist situation in which the state did not deal with religious or worldview matters whatsoever (see De Ruyter & Miedema 2000; Miedema & Biesta 2003). It is my contention, however, that, in addition to the possibilities available, there is also the need to link worldview education and citizenship education in the secular age for the purpose of adequate worldview formation. One option here is to strengthen the view that every student's personal worldview should flourish in every school. A full concept of 'citizenship education' may imply that worldview education is part and parcel of citizenship education and should form a vii

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structural and necessary element of all citizenship education in all schools. Worldview formation is then interpreted as an integral part of the concept of personhood formation and stimulated by worldview education. Such a view is fully compatible with inter-worldview education too when the aim is no longer educating into a worldview but rather combining educating about worldviews with educating from worldviews. The aim is then to enable students to develop their own point of view in matters of worldview in the context of plurality via encounter and dialogue. My argument here is that the education of 'worldview citizens' is based on the formation of students through processes that require them to negotiate with the perspectives of 'others' and to integrate such perspectives into their own actions and reflections in order to make sense of this personally. Educating for worldview citizenship is not just an unrealistic dream but is rather a pedagogical, theological, societal and global necessity as I will show later in the article. So, there are fruitful possibilities to now further link worldview education and citizenship education. Terrence McLaughlin's notion of a maximalist interpretation of education for citizenship may be helpful here. He points to the necessity of a full educational program in which the development of a broad critical understanding and a much more extensive range of dispositions and virtues are seen as crucial in the light of a general liberal and political education (see McLaughlin 1992). His view on education for citizenship offers the possibility to include worldview education as part of such an educational program, making it even more comprehensive by combining democratic education for citizenship and religious education in schools. It is my contention that this combination could appropriately be coined as 'worldview citizenship education'. This is fully reconcilable with what I have earlier stated as the aim of education in schools, that is, that every student in every school should be able to develop her or his personhood. Worldview education is then to be interpreted as an integral part of an all-embracing concept of personhood education. An all-embracing concept of citizenship education should imply that worldview education is an inclusive part of citizenship education. It should form a structural and essential element of all citizenship education in all Schools - thus including state schools as well as denominational schools - based on a transformative pedagogy stressing the actorship and authorship of the students. The aim is the steady growth of students' self-responsible self-determination regarding worldview(s). It is widely recognised that, in liberal-democratic societies, citizenship education is the responsibility of each country's government. However, if viii

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governments should take their responsibility for an inclusive concept of education for citizenship seriously, this could mean that, without any preference per se on the part of the government for a particular worldview or religion, each government could take the political-pedagogical responsibility to stimulate the policy and practice in schools for fostering worldview education as part of an integral conception of citizenship education (see Doedens & Weisse 1997). States can therefore provide support by encouraging democratic citizenship and worldview education at the same time. Following the train of thought of the philosopher and pedagogue John Dewey (see Dewey 1972; 1916), it is, in my opinion, desirable, pedagogically speaking and from a societal perspective, that, already in the embryonic society of the school, students gradually and in respect to their development experience or are confronted with other students' worldviews, backgrounds, ideas, experiences and practices and, in this way, become acquainted with it. In this way, they learn to deal with cultural, ethnic and worldview diversity and difference. Seeing the impact of a worldview on political, cultural and economic areas, they can also benefit from such experiences and insights when they encounter 'others' with a different worldview in society at large. So, from a societal as well as a pedagogical point of view, all schools should be obliged to foster a worldview dimension to citizenship and thereby bring about mutual respect and understanding and stimulate the development of the personal worldview formation of students in school (see Miedema 2006b). AN EXAMPLE OF INCLUSIVE PRACTICE Personhood education, and thus personhood formation, have their own rights sui generis and should not be used in an instrumental way for societal goals. The students may of course profit from the experiences, knowledge and insights gained by participating in school practices when they later take part in and contribute to society at large and its cultural practices. In this section, I shall describe a concrete example of a cooperative school practice in Amsterdam South-East. It is also an example of learning to live together with different worldviews. In the 'Bijlmer' district in the south-east of the city of Amsterdam, three primary schools belonging to different denominations - that is a state school, an Islamic school and an open Christian school - practice what they preach and preach what they practice: living together in difference. In these three schools, teachers, students and parents represent different ix

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nationalities and a variety of worldview commitments. The pedagogical approach used here has been coined the 'Bijlmer Conversations', and emphasise the need to draw each other into the conversation continuously. Although the teachers play a central role in the 'Bijlmer Conversations', the focus is on the needs of the student who is raised and who will also live in a multicultural and multi-religious society. As such, this model is close to the model the Juliana van Stolberg school - the only state-recognised interreligious school in the Netherlands until July 2003 - had used, focussing also on the educational needs of the student (Ter Avest & Miedema 2012). The three elementary schools in the Bijlmer have made a decision for close cooperation because the problematic situation of most of the students in this poorer area of Amsterdam, where more than seventy different nationalities and over twenty denominational backgrounds are represented, is perceived by the principals of these three schools as a shared problem. This background forms the main focus of their pedagogical task. In the team meetings, the abovementioned 'Bijlmer Conversations', the teams of the three schools (individually and jointly) develop their own way of responding to the diversity of their student population and the complexity of the acculturation and adjustment of the students. The voice of the teacher, the variety of sources of inspiration, the voice of the student and the need of the students to be equipped to live alongside one another in the multicultural and multi-religious society are combined in the pedagogical approach of 'learning in difference' of the 'Bijlmer Conversations'. The different pedagogical strategies of each of the three teams are rooted in the personal, that is, the religious or secular, worldview of the members of the team. Religion is seen as something you have to know about and you can learn from, provided that there is a certain sensitivity towards, and recognition of, situations and experiences of awe, of practices that render speechless. Diversity in religious and secular worldviews is regarded as a given, as a societal fact and as a challenge rather than a problem. Creating social cohesion as a network of teachers and parents from different cultural and religious backgrounds is seen as a challenge. For the creation of such networks, each of the partners is of equal importance, or to put it differently: The schools are not able to develop their own identity without the contrasting or confronting encounters with the other schools. The slogan of the schools is: The Plural of Togetherness is Future. The schools' characteristic approach to difference is cemented in classroom activities stimulating the development of social competencies and is based on the respectful encounter of students of different religious backgrounds. Respect and tolerance are a main focus of citizenship education. x

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The three teams have agreed upon teaching and learning according to the pedagogical strategy of Peaceful Education, a pedagogical strategy of stimulating the development of social competencies for learning to live alongside and with each other. According to the principals of these schools, Peaceful Education contributes to good citizenship. They aim to elaborate on this approach, which should result in a so-called 'pedagogical constitution'. This pedagogical constitution is meant not only for the school community but also for the schools' environment in which the children live: the neighbourhood, including sports clubs and other organised leisure activities. The objective is to thus to establish a basis for post-pillarised education in the Netherlands. Central to the 'Bijlmer Approach' is the teacher's pedagogical approach of 'guided openness'. This pedagogical approach, rooted in the interreligious model developed in the last decade of the 20th century and further developed and articulated in the first decade of the 21st century, is characterised by four aspects represented in the concepts of knowledge (of religious and secular traditions) and literacy, recognition (of similarities and differences), further exploration (of similarities and differences) and knowledge construction emerging from the dialogical encounter with the other: â&#x20AC;˘

The first aspect, of knowledge and literacy, emphasises knowing how to do things, how to participate in a context of religiosity: the kind of knowledge a student constructs by imitation and participation. At schools, this tacit knowledge, obtained by observation and imitative actions, is made explicit.

â&#x20AC;˘

The second aspect, of recognition, points to the student sharing her or his impressions and knowledge with other students he or she meets in his or her and in the other two schools. She or he recognises what the impressions and knowledge have in common with others as well as the similarities in the rituals at her or his friends' house. The student also notices what is different - a difference that makes the child aware of its own uniqueness and the other's difference. In his or her own the child feels at home in the world; in school the child becomes a literate in the world.

â&#x20AC;˘

The third aspect, of exploration, points to the possibility of a change in perspective: The child leaves her or his own world to enter into the world of the other and sees the world through the eyes of the other. In entering the world of 'the other', classmates provide knowledge about the other's worldview and its meaning in the life of a member of the xi

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peer group. In addition to acquiring knowledge, the student is guided into the comparison and assessment of contrasting or even conflicting ways of interpreting religious or worldview traditions and different ways of giving meaning to life. This change in perspective is not at all easy. The child needs caring guidance to let go of her or his own point of view and to strengthen the will to meet 'the other'. In school, it is the teacher's approach of guided openness that encourages the student to explore and question the other's point of view as well as her or his own worldview. â&#x20AC;˘

The teacher, in her pedagogical strategy of guided openness, is a role model for the student and holds out the perspective of the fourth characteristic aspect of the Bijlmer Approach: the real encounter with the other, an encounter that makes a difference to the student. In this encounter, new perspectives change the students' position towards their own tradition as well as the position towards the traditions of others. Prejudices are cut down and mutual understanding is established, being a precondition for living together as citizens in a plural society. The pedagogical strategy so characteristic for the Bijlmer Approach, and elsewhere coined as 'provocative pedagogy' (Ter Avest & BertramTroost 2009), is an approach that makes a difference for students and that makes students different. The participants in this project, the principals of the three schools as well as the teachers, are convinced of the necessity of their pedagogical strategy, pointing to the shared theme of the need for social cohesion in a future world - a world that distinguishes itself in many respects from today's world. Principals, teachers and parents support this model, not because they want the students to solve all the problems in society, as they all know that school cannot fully compensate for society, but because they want the school to act as an interspace for the students. This interspace constitutes a space between socialisation at home and later taking part in society at large. The adults committed to this model reflect upon the aspects of today's society that are worthwhile to pass on to the next generation in order to stimulate the students' development as future citizens of a different world (Berding 2009).

CONCLUSION In pleading for inclusive worldview education in all schools, I have dealt with a couple of issues. My first focal point was the aim of personhood education. The second point focussed on the question of whether worldview education can find a place in personhood education of students. xii

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The third main point dealt with the question of whether a fruitful link is possible of such a view on worldview education with a particular conception of citizenship education. Finally, I focussed on an example of cooperative practice in Amsterdam South- East as an example of a promising partnership in which three elementary schools are cooperating: a state school, a Christian school and an Islamic school. It is my contention that such forms of cooperation could be and possibly will be realised at a local level in many other countries too, with separate school management and budgetary responsibilities, or in the form of a complete partnership. The prerequisite for such practices of inter-worldview education in the school setting is that both the participating denominational schools as well as the state schools interpret worldview education as an integral part of an all-embracing concept of personhood formation and combine this with a transformative pedagogy, stressing the actorship and authorship of the students regarding their worldview formation.

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International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

THE VENTURE OF A PHILIPPINE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT INTO THE HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SIBONGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE RONALD A. PERNIA Assistant Professor of Political Science and Education University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu)

Abstract This paper documented the experiences of the local government of Sibonga, a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines in establishing the Sibonga Community College, a local public higher educational institution as perceived by local government officials and local line agency heads, teachers and program coordinators of the local college, graduates and students of the said local college using key informant interviews and focus group discussion. Pertinent secondary documents were also examined. This research was anchored on Political Systems Theory developed by David Easton (1957, 1965) as it aimed to understand the dynamics of the creation of the local college and the community it is situated. It was revealed that while the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)—the Philippines’ main agency on higher education, has a set of standard processes in establishing a local college, the establishment of the college was political in nature. It was the municipal mayor who initiated the creation of the college even with the opposition of the members of the municipal council. There were flaws in the processes undertaken by the local government of Sibonga in establishing their local college. The paper concluded that while the intention was noble, the political processes observed in the establishment of the college as educational venture of the Local Government of Sibonga had flaws inconsistent with the system view of the practical application of David Easton’s Political Systems Theory and with the pertinent legal bases i.e. Local Government Code of 1991 and CHED Memorandum No.32 Series of 2006. Keywords: Local Colleges and Universities (LCUs), Local Government Unit (LGU), higher education, political system.

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INTRODUCTION Education, especially college education, occupies a central place in Philippine political, economic, social and cultural life. It has always been strongly viewed as a pillar of national development and a primary avenue for social and economic mobility (Philippine Education for All 2015:2). Thompson (2008), also stated that higher education or tertiary education plays a necessary and an increasingly important role in human, social and economic development. Over the years however, higher education remains only for the children of the financially privileged few (Dayrit, 2005:1). Families from the lower strata and the middle class would find it extremely difficult to send their children to college even for children who do exceptionally well in high school (Tan, 2012). However, the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No.7160), has provided local government units (i.e. a barangay, a municipality, city, or a province) an opportunity to venture into the tertiary level of education system by establishing local colleges and universities financed directly from its local treasury. This democratic space allows LGUs a free rein in guiding the path of their local development (Saloma et.al 2013:86; Dayrit 2005). Several LGUs then after have ventured into putting up their own public higher education institution. Availing of this legal opening, eight LGUs out of the 53 LGUs in the Province of Cebu have taken the steps to establish their own local colleges (CHED, 2015), one of it was the Municipality of Sibonga which created a public college named Sibonga Community College in 2008 deemed as affordable and accessible to its constituents. “In a town where farming is the main livelihood, only about 30 percent of the graduates from high school can go to college, students don’t need to spend too much for transportation (Campo, 2008).” Sibonga is a third – class municipality with an annual average income of 35 million pesos to 45 million pesos (NSCB, 2013), with fishing and agriculture as its main source of income. Sibonga may be considered one of the pioneers in setting up a local college from its own resources to widen access to tertiary education in their locality, it is worthy to inquire into the “processes” undertaken by the LGU in arriving with the decision to establish a local public higher educational institution. It is interesting also to ask why the town decided to venture into the higher education and financed a school despite its limited resource in terms of income classification. In addition, there exist a need to look into this matter especially in the light of the news with regard to the country’s Senate's education committee pushing for a law regulating LCUs all over the country, a revelation came about that only a few of the courses offered in these schools has permits from the government. The Commission on Higher 2

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Education (CHED), the agency that oversees the local colleges, said that “out of 450 degree programs offered by some 93 LCUs, only around 42 have permits to operate” (2011 as cited in Chua, 2011). Interestingly enough, under the Local Government Code, LGUs are only allowed to create community colleges offering vocational and technical courses. “HEIs offering degree programs must be subject to government accreditation and regulation or else we will add to the number of diploma mills to which many of the poor send their kids to those schools and they're being short changed right now (Chua, 2011)”. In the same report, the senate chair of the local government committee believed that while some LCUs exist for "commercial benefit," others may be sincere. "We also have to recognize that some are an honest response to a perceived need, perceived lack of facilities, of teachers, of good schools that can take all of those who are willing to take another 4 years to get a degree (Chua, 2011).” Given this background, this paper aimed to document the experiences of the local government of Sibonga, in the province of Cebu, Philippines in establishing the Sibonga Community College, a local public higher educational institution. Specifically, this paper sought to be informed about the following: a) The matching of the socio-economic profiles of the municipality of Sibonga as a local government unit and that of the Sibonga Community College as an education institution; b) The matching of the standard requirements for establishing an educational institution match and the actual status of Sibonga Community College; c) The compliance of the Municipality of Sibonga as an LGU in observing the processes required in establishing a local college. This paper attempts to address the academic dearth on existing scholarship and documented studies on the venture of local government units into the higher education which: “…in the past several years, public education in the higher-education sector has been characterized by the proliferation of local colleges and universities (LCUs) set up by provinces and cities exercising their autonomy (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2008).” FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY This paper will engaged on David Easton’s Political System’s Theory which provides a practical lens to study conflict between a system (in this study the local government units) and its environmental forces, in its desire to provide tertiary education to the community. It is concerned about the roles of the political system in decision-making on behalf of society and with performing actions that implement the decisions and allocate scarce resources (Fisher, 2010:73). It is a scientific approach to politics to which its 3

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salient features can be summarized as follows: The Political system is delimited i.e. all political systems have precise boundaries and fluid process of decision making. Changes in the social or physical environment surrounding a political process produce “demands and supports" that act on the status quo. These demands and supports are input in the political system (Ahmad, 2011:190; Olomu, 2011:333). These demand and support groups stimulate competition in the political system, leading to decisions or output, directed at some aspects of the surrounding social or physical environment. After a decision or output is made (e.g.) specific policy, it interacts with its environment, and it produces change in the environment called as “outcomes”. When a new policy interacts with its environment, outcomes may generate new demands or supports and groups in support, or against the policy, will bring new input (feedback) or a new policy to the related issues (Olomu, 2011:333). To illustrate further Easton’s theory, see Figure 1.

Figure 1. Political Systems Theory (David Easton, 1966) Source: Ahmad, Rana Eijaz (2011). Demands, Capabilities, Decisions and Outcome. International Journal of Business and Social Science. Vol 2 No.15; August 2011. pp. 190-198

Since the research paper is also interested in the compliance of the municipal government of Sibonga in terms of the requirements for the establishment of educational institution, this paper will also make use of CHED Memorandum No.32 Series of 2006 which contains the Policies, Standards and Guidelines on the Establishment and Operation of Local Colleges and Universities from the Commission on Higher Education—the main agency task to oversee the higher education system of the country.

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Under Article V Establishment of Higher Education Institutions by LGUs; Section 2: All LCUs shall be established or created and/or operated through an Ordinance duly enacted for that purpose by the Sanggunian (Local Council) concerned provided that before the enactment of the same an LGU establishing a higher education institution shall consult and coordinate with the CHED Regional Office having jurisdiction of the place where the institution is intended to be established to ensure full compliance with the requirements for review and notation of the Regional Director which includes chiefly a feasibility study. (See Table 2 for the whole set of requirements). Much of the data in this paper came from field observations, conducted key informant (KI) interviews among local government officials, local line agency heads, administrators and selected teachers of the college to know their experiences, views and opinions in the establishment of the community college. DiCicco‐Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006) pointed out that interviews are among the most familiar strategies for collecting qualitative data. Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006) noted that: “…in-depth interviews or key informant interviews are useful when you want detailed information about a person’s thoughts and behaviours or want to explore new issues in depth. Interviews are often used to provide context to other data (such as outcome data), offering a more complete picture of what happened in the program and why.” (p.3)

A focus – group discussion was also conducted among Fourth Year students of the college. The Focus Group Discussion (FGD), which is also referred to as group interviewing, is essentially a qualitative research methodology. It is based on structured, semi-structured, or unstructured interviews. It offers qualitative researchers the opportunity to interview several respondents systematically and simultaneously (Babbie, 2011 as cited in Boateng, 2012). Many authors subscribe to the notion that FGD is advantageous because of its purposeful use of social interaction in generating data (Merton et al., 1990, Morgan, 1996 as cited in Boateng, 2012). Focus group methodology is useful in exploring and examining what people think, how they think, and why they think the way they do about the issues of importance to them without pressuring them into making decisions or reaching a consensus. (Liamputtong, 2011; Gibbs, 1997) Secondary data and documents were also reviewed and analysed. RESULTS Profiles of the Municipality of Sibonga and Its Local College Sibonga is a town in the Southern part of the province of Cebu. Sibonga has a population of 43,641(NSO, 2010). It is composed of 25 barangays, four of which are classified as urban barangays (villages), and 21 5

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are rural. The town center (poblacion) has the largest population of 5,597 (NSO 2010). It has a total land area of 13, 345 ha. The town center is located about 50 km. southeast of Cebu City, the provincial capital. The travel time from the capital to Sibonga is about 2 hours. The municipality can be reached by public buses or V-Hires (vans) from the Cebu South Terminal in Cebu City with an estimated travel time of about 1 1/2 hour. The Municipality of Sibonga is a third-class municipality based on income classification (on a scale of 1 to 6 with 1 being the richest).The municipality “exists for the general welfare of its people in their quest for a better quality of life. It aims to provide its people with a stable economy through the utilization of modern applicable technologies, access to quality of education, health services, job opportunities, peaceful and ecologically balanced environment while preserving its cultural heritage”(Vision-Mission of the LGU of Sibonga 2014). The municipality is predominantly agriculture-based type of economy with 50% of its people engaged in agriculture. The two major agricultural crops regularly produced in Sibonga were rice and white corn. About 79.19% of its employment were in agriculture farming, while 8.96% were in fishing. Non-agriculture employment like industrial workers, including those in trade, commerce and services, accounted to 4.9% of the total workforce. The remaining workers were either in the professional groups or in government sector. Farming is the most common occupation in 21 out of the 25 barangays (Municipal Government of Sibonga 2014).

Figure 2. Location of Sibonga in Cebu (Data from ‘Sibonga, Cebu. 2014. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org

There are eight high schools in the town, six are public and two is privately-run (Municipal Government of Sibonga 2014). There is no tertiary 6

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education institution in the town neither in the private or public, until in 2008. However, it is interesting to point out that the neighbouring LGUs i.e. Carcar City and Argao have tertiary educational institutions which its clientele are mostly students from the southern part of Cebu including the town of Sibonga. Despite this, the LGU of Sibonga decided to create a public college financed directly from the municipal funds in 2008. The Sibonga Community College is a local public higher educational institution established in 2008 by the Municipality of Sibonga, Province of Cebu. It is located in the outermost part of the town center adjacent with the public market and the town’s central elementary school—a five minute travel distance with the local transport service i.e. trisikad or pedicab (a cyle rickshaw called as variously as pedicab in Northern areas of the country or trisikad in most parts in the Visayas region from the town center. The municipality took the step to establish a college which is affordable and accessible to its constituents. The establishment of the local college was

deemed to indubitably go a long way in helping those Sibonganhons who cannot afford to study in private colleges and universities. It was created through a local ordinance entitled Resolution No. 043 series of 2008, Ordinance No. 2008-01. Figure 3. Some images from the local college. On the left side, showed the front gate of the college bearing the school name and logo; however the image on the right side showed the unfinished school building while corrugated bars are not properly cleared out. Photos taken by the author.

Table 1. The Organizational Structure of the Sibonga Community College • • • • •

A. Board of Trustees (9 Members) Chairman, Local Chief Executive Vice-Chairman, School Director President of the Faculty Association President of the Supreme Student Council/Government President of the Alumni Association

Relevant powers and duties • • •

To prepare the annual budget for the operation and maintenance of the College to be submitted to the SB for approval; To fix the tuition, miscellaneous and other fees; To appoint all college officials, personnel

Ronald A. Pernia • • • • • • • • • • • •

and members of the teaching staff and fix their compensation within the legal standards; • To create such other offices necessary for a more effective and profitable operation of the College • To decide on the courses to be offered B. College Administration

Chairman of the Sanggunian Committee on Education Accredited business or industry sector Accredited NGO Association of Private High Schools

School Director Dean Secretary Registrar Treasurer Librarian Academic Council composed of the School Director as the Chairman; Dean, Registrar, and the Department Heads Other College Officials composed of (a) Head of the Student Affairs; (b) Department Heads; (c) Physician; (d) Dentist and (e) Nurse

Table 1 showed the organizational structure of the local college which is composed of: a.) Board of Trustees (BOT) headed by the local chief executive and eight other members, and, b.) College Administration. Any academic decision reached upon by the College Administration is subject to the approval of the BOT first. The college offered a tuition of P 90 per unit and P 1,500 for the miscellaneous fees. In terms of student population, over the years the college had an increasing enrollment. In school year 2008-2009, there were 288 students, 444 students in school year 2009-2010, 763 students in school year 2010-2011, 827 students in school year 2011-2012, 957 students in school year 2012-2013, and, 1,312 students enrolled in the different programs in school year 2013-2014. The local college offered the following degree programs: Bachelor of Elementary Education; Bachelor of Secondary Education majors in English, Mathematics and Biological Science; Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Over the years, the number of students also gradually increased across the degree programs offered. In the School Years 2008-2009 (159 students out of 288 or 55%) and 2009-2010 (159 students out of 444 or 36%), the degree program Bachelor of Science in Business Administration had the highest number of enrolled students. However, for the succeeding School Years— 2010-2011 (268 students out of 763 or 35%), 2011-2012 (289 students out of 827 or 35%), 2012-2013 (378 students out of 957 or 39%), and 20132014 (508 students out of 1,312 or 39%) the course Bachelor of Elementary Education had more students than the rest of the courses. 8

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In terms of faculty profile, as of School Year 2013-2014, there were 25 instructors at the local college. All of them were not tenured and were hired on contractual basis. While majority were full-time instructors (68%), 32% were part-timers and were tenured and full-time public school teachers at the nearby Sibonga National High School—the town’s main public secondary high school. Many of the faculty (40%) finished their graduate degrees, including the only one who had a doctorate degree but only a parttime instructor as she was likewise a public school teacher in the abovementioned national high school. While some of the faculty (23%) earned units in graduate studies including the School Director—who had not finished his graduate study, the rest of the pool of faculty of about 36 percent only had undergraduate degrees. The local college produced its first batch of graduates on March 27, 2012. There were 62 graduates with which 25 (40%) of them from the Information Technology, 10 (16%) from Business Administration, 16 (26%) from Elementary Education and 11 (18%) from Secondary Education. The following school year, the college produced 73 graduates with which 21 (29%) of them from Business Administration, 19 (26%) from Information Technology, 18 (25%) from Elementary Education and 15 (21%) from Secondary Education. Despite being a six- year old college at the time of study, the Sibonga Community College made marks in the field of education. The local college generally performed well (67.77%) for the three consecutive professional licensure examination for teachers. Although it had not send takers on the April 2012 LET examination, the local college sent 17 graduates to take the LET exam on September 2012, and 10 (55.88 %) of them passed the test. For the April 2013 licensure examination, it had send 10 takers and all of them passed the test. For the September 2013 Licensure Examination, it had send 22 takers and 10 (45.45%) of them passed the test. The Establishment of the Sibonga Community College from the Perspective of David Easton’s Political System’s Theory All of the interviewed local government officials and heads of local line agencies said that the local chief executive initiated the establishment of the Sibonga Community College. It was the administration’s priority program. The mayor also said that the idea to create a local college started when he was still a Municipal Councilor wherein many poor and less fortunate parents would come to his office seeking financial assistance for their children’s education. The mayor mentioned in an interview on January 7, 2014 in his office that: “Every time they would bring the report cards of their children, most of whom had good grades, I felt that it would be such a waste if they would not pursue college education. And so when I was elected mayor, I 9

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promised my constituents to establish a public college to cater to those poor but deserving students.”

This idea was realized when he was elected Mayor of Sibonga in the 2007 local elections. The establishment of the local college transpired in a manner how the political scientist David Easton described how a political system operates and functions. He noted that the reason why a political system emerges in a society at all—that is, why people engage in political activity—is that demands are being made by persons or groups in the society that cannot all be fully satisfied. In all societies one fact dominates political life: scarcity prevails with regard to most of the valued things. In this manner, the political system emerged to allocate authoritatively these scarce resources to members of the system who need it most—be it in the form of the aspirations of the people for an educational service as the case of the Municipality of Sibonga. The case of the venture of the local government of Sibonga to establish a local college can be argued as a function of the municipality—i.e. the political system, to respond to the demands of its members and authoritatively apportioned the limited resources at its disposal. This stressful political act in responding to the wishes of its political constituents is what David Easton called as “inputs” in a political system. Inputs are any event that alters, modifies or affects the system in any way (Fisher, 2010:71). Inputs are of two types: demands and supports. As noted by David Easton (Ahmad and Eijaz, 2011:191), demands are aspirations of the people. The political system is asked to cater to the demands of the people. To add a coercive force behind demands, supports are needed. “Supports may consists of actions promoting the goals, interests, and actions of another person (Easton, 1957:390).” These demands and supports are input in the political system. These demand and support groups stimulate competition in the political system, leading to decisions or “output”, directed at some aspects of the surrounding social or physical environment. The Mayor explained in an interview on January 7, 2014 in his office the following steps that they undertook to create the local college. Firstly, he coordinated with the Regional Office of the Commission on Higher Education regarding the requirements for setting up a local college and how to go about them. Secondly, he tapped the assistance of local educators from the municipality in terms of the compliance with the legal requirements and documents from the CHED, the courses & programs to be offered. However, it was the mayor who decided what courses were to be offered. Third, they had to secure a local ordinance or a resolution from the Municipal Council. However, majority of the members of Municipal Council (composed of members from the opposition party) were against the 10

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creation of the local college. One municipal councilor remarked in an interview on September 9, 2014 in her residence that the proposal to establish a local college was “haphazard” and lacked “full and solid documentation” of the necessity of the creation of a local college. This councilor revealed in an interview conducted in her residence on September 9, 2014. “There was no feasibility study conducted. I am not really against the proposal to build a local college, but I am only asking for some supporting documents. My question to them was that how did you come up with these courses and what are your bases for offering these courses here and how these courses are really needed in the LGU. They cannot give a feasibility report.”

In response, what the Office of the Mayor did was that he sent people to the barangays and consulted each of the 25 barangays, the local stakeholders e.g. community, parents, public officials asking them if there was really a need to establish a local college; and asked them to make a resolution expressing and signifying their intent for the creation of a local college. Later on, 19 out of 25 barangays (villages) responded positively of which one municipal head of office remarked in an interview on September 9, 2014 in her office as a “response” to the “sentiments” and “demands” of the people. It was then presented to the Council and after much-heated debate and political negotiations; the Municipal Council reluctantly approved the creation of a local college after their initial opposition. During the course of the negotiation, a representative from the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office was invited to speak to the council to convince the members of the Council to approve the request to create a local college. Thus, on May 27, 2008 the Municipal Council carried the local ordinance establishing Sibonga Community College and it was subsequently approved by the Municipal Mayor. Resolution No. 043 Series of 2008, Ordinance No. 2008-01 “On Establishing the Sibonga Community College” was the resulting local ordinance. The municipality anchored the local legislation on important provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the Republic Act 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code. The local college was created upon the notion of providing an affordable and accessible college education primarily but not exclusively only to its local constituents. Moreover, the ordinance stated that the municipality shall appropriate funds for the operation of the local college. The barangay resolutions made by barangay councils, the assistance provided by local educators and the CHED regional representative can be viewed as supports or consents of the demand to create a local college initiated by the local chief executive and it proved instrumental in securing a 11

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municipal local ordinance that subsequently established the Sibonga Community College. “Without support, demands could not be satisfied or conflicts in goals composed. If demands are to be acted upon, the members of a system undertaking to pilot the demands through to their transformation into binding decisions and those who seek to influence the relevant processes in any way must be able to count on support from others in the system (Easton, 1957:391).”

With the case of Sibonga, to secure the municipal ordinance to support the realization of a program initiated by the local chief executive was not easy because the Mayor and majority of members of the local council were not of the same party. This is a usual scenario in Philippine politics wherein elected leaders cannot transcend beyond party lines even after elections sacrificing noble projects initiated by one group ( David, 2001: 171; Hutchcroft and Rocamora, 2003; Tuazon, 2007). However, leaders with strong political will find other solution to realize its project just like the case of Sibonga where the mayor rallied the grassroots to “pressure” the local council to approve the ordinance that legalized the creation of the Sibonga Community College. Eliciting “support” expressed in barangay resolutions, the persuasive presence of the CHED representative and political negotiations between this competing centers of power i.e. the mayor and the council, the “output”—which is resolution that created the local college was subsequently attained. “The essence of a policy lies in the fact that through it certain things are denied to some people and made accessible to others. A policy therefore consists of a web of decisions and actions that allocates values (Easton, 1957:137).”

Furthermore, the decision of the local chief executive to build a local college and to choose courses to be offered is viewed as an authoritative allocation of values. “When individuals or groups dispute about the distribution of things considered valuable…every society provides some mechanisms, however rudimentary they may be, for authoritatively resolving differences about the ends that are to be pursued, that is, for deciding who is to get what there is of the desirable things, an authoritative allocation of some values is unavoidable (Easton, 1957:137).”

The opposition of most members of the Municipal Council to the creation of a local college can be regarded generally as legitimate claims of members of the political system to define what to be considered as valuable demands that need much attention. “Demands and supports have a stress upon the political system and these two kinds of inputs pass through a conversion box. In the conversion box,

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political elite and other different structures discuss those inputs and make decisions and formulate policies for running the political machinery successfully (in Ahmad and Eijaz, 2011:191).”

The politically-charged tussle between municipal legislators, who stood in opposition to the creation of the local college, and, the local chief executive, who upon heeding to the interests and demands of its constituents decided to establish a tertiary institution in the municipality reflects the nature and context of the Philippine political environment. In the Philippines, local governments have been long described as the milieu of local political elite in the form of political dynasties. "Key to the dynamics of governance at the local level are the power relationships between the local elite such as the political families (Rivera 2001, cited in Saloma et.al, 2013:86; McCoy, 1993; Miranda et.al., 2011).”

The current mayor of the town when the study was conducted is the son of former Municipal mayor who served for 38 years in public service both as mayor and a councilor of Sibonga. He was defeated by another political elite whose family owned local hardware stores, coconut milling and fishpond industries. This economic and political elite served the town for the next nine years until he was defeated during the 2007 mayoralty elections by the current mayor—who is now serving his third term. During the 2010 mayoralty election, the incumbent mayor was allied to the Nationalista Party whose presidential nominee was then Senator Manny Villar, while his opponent the defeated mayor was previously allied to the Lakas–CMD (Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats) whose presidential nominee was then Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. The incumbent won and so was he in the next local election. Against this backdrop of political families and dynasties at the local government units, the decision to create a local college was negotiated protractedly. The outcome in the form of a social policy establishing a local college—despite its manifest delivery of social service to its local constituents has transpired in an environment of political strife and bickering not uncommon to the nature of politics itself and the Philippine political arena (Teehankee, 2002; Aceron, 2009; Tuazon, 2007). In this regard, David Easton noted that whatever kind of input that enters the political system is a reflection of its environment. He said that: “…it may be argued that most of the significant changes within a political system have their origin in shifts among the external variables… The members of every society act within the framework of an on-going culture that shapes their general goals, specific objectives and procedures that the members feel ought to be used (1957: 137).”

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On Compliance to Requirements of Putting up a Local College Table 2 showed the steps and requirements stipulated by CHED for LGU in establishing a local college. The table also revealed that while the municipality was able to produce the necessary local ordinance from the Sanggunian, the LGU did not conduct a feasibility study, the school started classes without a school building and all of its faculty members are not tenured. However, the LGU has able to appropriate a start-up fund of Php 2,000,000 for the operation and maintenance of the local college, which, in essence, also is the best expression for the support of the existence of the local college. Though fund support from the LGU was an important factor in the realization of the local college despite opposition from other local politicians, it does not ensure the smooth operation of the college. The question of authenticity of the school as expressed by its constituent may have stemmed from the fact that the LGU had skipped some of the requirements to create the local college. The lack of feasibility study did not only affected of how people viewed the authenticity of the school and its course offerings but also raised the questions of the viability of the programs and of whether it has contributed to the development goals of the municipality. Yet in spite of all of these, the LGU went on to commence the school operation however cognizant of the issues and concerns with regard to its birthing. Below features the extent how the LGU obeyed with the institutional requirements of CHED. What is apparent are some of the actions taken by the former in abiding with the latter’s prerequisites. That despite of the challenges and problems to the whole educational enterprise, the local authorities attempted to remedy the situation all in its noble intention of providing access to tertiary education for its local constituencies e.g. when there was no school building, the local college hook up with the town’s central high school campus, and they sourced out funds from various levels of government. Table 2. Compliance of the LGU vis-à-vis CHED requirement Requirements for Establishing a Local University and Colleges as per CHED Memorandum Circular 2006 No.32) • All LCUs shall be established or created and/or operated through an Ordinance duly enacted for that purpose by the Sanggunian concerned provided that before the enactment of the same an LGU establishing a higher education institution shall consult and coordinate with CHED

Remarks •

Resolution No. 043 series of 2008 Ordinance No. 2008-01 establishing a Sibonga Community College, unanimously carried and approved by the Mayor on May 27, 2008.

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 Regional Office having jurisdiction of the place where the institution is intended to be established •

•

Feasibility study that shall contain among others the following: a) need for a local higher education institution in the area; b) human resources requirements of the industry to determine proposed program offerings, target clients, availability of qualified administrators, faculty and non-teaching personnel, and, c) financial capacity of the LGU to establish and sustain the operation of an LCU Certification of availability of funds by the treasurer of the LGU concerned as provided by the pertinent provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991 A project development plan to show that the LGU allocated a school site with appropriate size and location pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Building Code of the Philippines, blueprint of architectural design for its buildings and other physical facilities and provisions for acquisition of instructional materials and equipment that comply with CHED Memorandum Orders (CMOs) pertinent to the program to be offered

•

A five-year institutional development plan duly approved by the Sanggunian which shall include but not limited to the following: a) annual budgetary allocation; b) organizational structure and composition of governing board; and c) plantilla of positions as provided for in the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU) Unified Merit System duly approved by the Civil Service Commission

•

• •

•

There exist no other tertiary education in the municipality. However, there are existing higher education institutions in its neighboring areas i.e. CTU Argao and Saint Catherine’s College, Carcar City; There was no feasibility study conducted, only thru a barangay resolution expressing their consent to establish a local education institution; As per record from the Office of Municipal Treasurer, the LGU has appropriated P 2,000,000.00 to start up the school operation; There was no school building when the local college started in 2008; Section 5 of Article XVI Resolution No. 043-2008, Ordinance No. 2008-01 states that the temporary site of the College shall be at the Sibonga National High School Campus in Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. The funds used to build the school building in 2011 was sourced out from donations of politicians outside of the municipality e.g. Congressman Eduardo Gullas. Teachers are not tenured—only casual and job-order staff. The plantilla (permanent) of positions has not yet been released.

In addition, under the CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 32 Series of 2010 (See Table 3 below) on the Moratorium on the opening of all Undergraduate and Graduate Programs which prohibited certain courses 15

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from being offered by colleges and universities nationwide, it is interesting to note that all of the courses offered at the local college are viewed as “oversubscribed programs”. However, the college was spared from the moratorium since it has just been in operation for two years prior to issuance of the CHED Memo. This, however, does not erase the question on the relevance of the local college offerings. Sibonga Community College may, if not addressed, be producing graduates whose skills are not needed by the local as well as international market. Moreover, the minimal tuition fees of Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) like the Sibonga Community College and the Local Government Units (LGUs) fiscal and capacity constraints can be viewed to have limited the local college to comply with CHEDs (CMO 32) minimum standards, which are infrastructure, laboratory, library, and a faculty or masters/doctorate degree holders (Chao, 2012: 39). Table 3. CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 32 Series of 2010 on the Moratorium on the opening of all Undergraduate and Graduate Programs COURSES 1. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION a. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) b. Master in Business Administration (MBA) c. Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) 2. NURSING a. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) b. Master of Arts / Master in Nursing (MAN/MN) c. Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhDN) 3. TEACHER EDUCATION a. Bachelor of Elementary Education b. Bachelor of Secondary Education c. Master of Arts in Education (MAED) d. Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) e. Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Ph.D. in Educ.) 4. HOTEL AND RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT a. Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM) b. Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management (BSHM)

REASON/S FOR SUSPENSION •

•

There is already a proliferation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) offering Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in Business Administration, Nursing, Teacher Education, Hotel and Restaurant Management and Information Technology Education which allow to continue unabated would result to deterioration of the quality of graduates of these five (5) higher education programs. The validation of the outcome of the Evaluation of Graduate Program in the Philippines (EGEP) confirmed the weakening state of the quality of graduates from Business Administration and Teacher Education programs all over the country. The result of the Licensure Examination for Teachers and Nurses administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) also showed graduates indicating the worsening state of the programs. The problem of mismatch that is currently being experienced by

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 c.

Master of Science in Hospitality Management /Hotel and Restaurant Management (MSHM/MSHRM) Doctor of Hotel and Restaurant Management (DHRM/DHHM)

significant number of business administration, hotel and restaurant management and information technology.

5. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY a. Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) b. Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) c. Master in Information Technology (MIT) d. Doctor of Information Technology (DIT)

On the Relevance of the Courses Offered Most of the interviewed key informants noted the courses offered at the local college were needed by existing establishments in the locality like banks and schools and even in the municipal hall. These courses were also in-demand abroad. As explained by one student in an FGD conducted on September 4, 2014 at Sibonga Community College: “The demand for teachers is very high, business demand is likewise neverending, and Information Technology (IT) is very significant and relevant especially information technology is very ubiquitous—and as the technology rises so as the demand for IT programmers.”

It is interesting to note that most of the graduates said that the relevance of the courses offered is measured by the fact that they have become professionals and have found jobs. Taking into account the agricultural and coastal context of the town of Sibonga, one BSED graduate explained in an interview on September 3, 2014 in the Sibonga Community College campus that courses offered at the local college were responsive to the needs of the locality. “The course Bachelor of Science in Business Administration is relevant to a small fishing and farming municipality like Sibonga as graduates can apply their know-how if they wished to start a business like fishery or livestock raising.”

She elaborated further that: “The course Bachelor of Science in Information Technology is important especially for the people of Sibonga not to be left behind in terms of technology, and, the course on Education is much needed to serve as teachers (public or private) in the municipality.”

However others thought differently. One government official noted in an interview on September 11, 2014 in his office that “the courses being offered were not necessarily the relevant courses because Sibonga should 17

Ronald A. Pernia

have courses like Fisheries and Agriculture – but instead, the courses being offered were practical”. Moreover, the School Director who was also one of the municipal councilors during the creation of the school said in an interview on January 7, 2014 in the college campus that no feasibility or any form of research was conducted in order to determine the possible courses to be offered by the local college. Instead, they have chosen these courses upon the concept that people will still enrol and that these courses are still attractive to the clienteles. Most importantly, the local chief executive decided on these courses. The mayor explained in an interview on September 7, 2015 in his office that: “I choose these courses because they are in demand but did not think that our constituents would like to work here in our municipality which is agricultural and coastal. Their future seem bleak because there is not much job opportunities in our place. Unlike if one is to work in the city or abroad.”

However, despite the fact that there was no feasibility study being conducted, the School Head added that: “…the creation of such courses was still justified. The increasing number of students who were enrolled in the school each year proved to be an evidence that college is still at its good condition for a normal operation. The local college started with only a few students and now they have reached a population of around 600 students or more.”

ANALYSIS This paper documented the experiences of the local government of Sibonga, Cebu in establishing the Sibonga Community College, a local public higher educational institution as perceived by local government officials and municipal heads of offices, teachers and program coordinators of the local college, graduates and students of the said local college using key informant interviews and focus group discussion on January 2014 to September 2014. The socio-economic profiles did not match between Sibonga as a local government unit and SCC as an educational institution; and between the standard requirements in establishing an educational institution and the SCC actual status as an educational institution. The courses offered by the college were oversubscribed programs as identified in CHED Memorandum 2010. While the college course offerings like Education, Business Administration, and Information Technology were highly employable courses, it did not directly cater to the needs of the local economy which was farming and fishing. Sibonga is a third class municipality with an economy predominantly based on farming and fishing. Its local college served a mandate not directly related to its local economy base. It relied on inadequate budget as provided by the LGU and from collection of students’ fees. 18

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Furthermore, there were flaws in the processes undertaken by the local government of Sibonga in establishing their local college: no feasibility study was made to determine the need for tertiary education and what courses to be offered, and, it started its operation despite its inadequate capacity to meet the standard of operational requirements. While CHED has a set of standard processes in establishing a local college, the establishment of Sibonga Community College was political in nature. It was the municipal mayor that initiated the creation of the college even with the opposition of the members of the municipal council who were then from the opposition party. The mayor however, rallied the support of the barangay and community to establish his claim for the need to create a local college. The said initiative by local chief executive convinced the local council to approve the ordinance legalizing the establishment of the Sibonga Community College. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS While the intention was noble, the political processes observed in the establishment of the Sibonga Community College as an educational venture of the Local Government of Sibonga had flaws inconsistent to the system view of the practical application of David Easton’s Political Systems Theory and of pertinent legal bases resulting to demands and calls for need of support that stimulated responses and decisions directed to particular aspects of action stimuli in the social and physical environment of the local college. Given this, there is a need for the municipal government of Sibonga to seriously take note of these flaws. Since it is not necessarily the mandate of local government units to venture into the tertiary education, the municipality of Sibonga has to justify its spending to the local college. An LGU spending on tertiary education can only be justified if caters to the community training needs as identified in its local development goals. Therefore, there is a need to undertake the following actions to make the local college sustainable: a) direct link of the courses offered to the development goals set forth by Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) – the agency responsible for economic development and planning for the country and its immediate socioeconomic context (e.g. coastal resources management courses, fishery and agriculture –main industry of the locale); b) ensure increased and higher budgetary appropriation to the local college to attend the growing number of students; and

Ronald A. Pernia

conduct an in-depth tracer studies and impact studies to measure the development impact of the local college on its graduates and its constituents. Since the prospect of a change in local administration in every periodic election looms as an apparent political reality, it is hoped that future local administration would seek to address these structural concerns and relevance issues and institutionalize mechanisms that responds best to sustain the existence and operation of the local college. After all, the threat of closure of programs or revocation of school permit from CHED is always a callous reality which may prompt government officials to act fast. In the meantime, the local government’s effort have been insufficient not necessarily for the lack of sincerity, but due to budgetary constraints and local political dynamics. The venture to higher education may indeed be borne out of good intention, but in the case of local-government funded colleges like Sibonga Community College, it is not immune to the practical truths of local political dynamics—which now may very well decide the future of this well-intentioned educational undertaking. Acknowledgments The author would like to thank Prof. Henry Francis B. Espiritu (UP Cebu) for his guidance and encouragement throughout this study. The author also extends gratitude to the Mayor, local government officials of the municipality, the teachers and students of the local college which is the site of this study.

REFERENCES A. Bibliography Aceron, Joy. 2009. “It's the (Non-) System, Stupid!: Explaining 'Maldevelopment' of Parties in the Philippines” in Reforming the Philippine Political Party System: Ideas and Initiatives, Debates and Dynamics. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input (pp. 3-7). Watertown, MA: Pathfinder International Boateng, W. 2012. Evaluating the efficacy of focus group discussion (FGD) in qualitative social research. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7). Campo, Liv. 2008. Sibonga Open Community College. Online: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/64604/sibonga-open-communitycollege Date accessed: October 8, 2013. 20

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Corpus, Manuel. 2003. “Historical Perspectives of the Philippine Quality Assurance System,” Journal of Philippine Higher Education: Quality assurance, Vol. 1, No. 1, AACCUP, January 2003. CHED Memorandum Order No. 32 Series of 2006. http://www.ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CMO-No.32s2006.pdf. Date Accessed: October 13, 2014. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Strategic Plan For 2011-2016. http://ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CHED-Strategic-Plan-20112016.pdf. Date Accessed: October 13, 2014. Commission on Higher Education. 2013. http://www.ched.gov.ph/chedwww/index.php/eng/Information/List-of-HigherEducation-Institutions-HEIs/REGION-VII. Date accessed: September 23, 2013. http://www.ched.gov.ph/chedwww/index.php/eng/Information/CHEDPublications/Republic-Act-7722. Date accessed: September 23, 2013. Chao, Roger. 2012. Democracy, Decentralization and Higher Education: The Philippine Case. Asia – Pacific Social Science Review 12:1, pp. 31-44. DiCicco‐Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitative research interview. Medical education, 40(4), 314-321. Dayrit, Nenita M. 2005. The Local Government Unit's Venture into the Philippine Educational System: The Establishment of Local Colleges and Universities. Network of Asia-Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG) Annual Conference 2005. Beijing, China December 5-7 2005 http://www.napsipag.org/pdf/Dayrit.pdf Date Accessed: August 20, 2013. David, Randolph. 2001. “Political Parties in the Philippines.” In Raldolph David, ed., Reflections on Sociology and Philippine Society. Manila: University of the Philippines Press, 2001, pp. 170-178. Durban, Joel and Ruby Catalan. 2012. Issues and Concerns of Philippine Education Through the Years. Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. Vol 1. No. 2 May 2012 pp 61-69. Easton, David.1957. The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science. By. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ______. An approach to the analysis of political systems. World politics, 9(03), 383-400. ______.1965. A framework for political analysis (Vol. 25). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Fisher, John R. 2010. Chapter 9 Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism. Northwest Missouri State University. pp. 71-80. 21st Century Political

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Science: A Reference Handbook. Volume 1. Edited by: John T. Ishiyama and Marijke Breuning, University of North Texas. Sage Reference. Gibbs, A. (1997). Focus groups. Social research update, 19(8), 1-8. Hutchcroft, Paul and Joel Rocamora. 2003. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strong Demands and Weak Institutions: The Origins and Evolution of the Democratic Deficit in the Philippines.â&#x20AC;? Journal of East Asian Studies 3: 2003. Liamputtong, P. (2011). Focus group methodology: Introduction and history. Focus Group Methodology: Principle and Practice, 224. Licuanan, P.B. 2012. Challenges in higher education. Commission on Higher Education p1-36 http://www.aaccupqa.org.ph/Challenges.pdf Date Accessed: October 9, 2013. Local Government Code of 1991 or the Republic Act No. 7160 http://www.gov.ph/1991/10/10/republic-act-no-7160/, Date Accessed: October 13, 2014. Miranda, Felipe, Temario Rivera, Malaya Ronas and Ronald Holmes. 2011. Chasing the Wind: Assessing Philippine Democracy, Quezon City, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and United Nations Development Program. McCoy, Alfred W. ed., 1993. An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines. Madison: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Municipality of Sibonga. 2008. Municipal Planning and Development Office. Vision-Mission Statement. Sibonga, Cebu. National Statistics Coordinating Board (2013) http://www.nscb.gov.ph/ggi/details.asp?strMunicipality=Sibonga&strProvince= Cebu&flag=1 Date Accessed: October 9, 2013. http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/municipality.asp?muncode=0722460 00&regcode=07&provcode=22 Date Accessed: October 9, 2013. Olomo, Augustine. 2011. Managing Large Classes: The Application of David Easton's System's Theory. Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Change (c) International Association for Teaching and Learning (IATEL), pp 333-338. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2013. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20080531139879/Higher-education-mess. Date accessed: October 8, 2013 Philippine Education for All 2015. http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Philippines/Philippines_EFA_MDA.pdf. Date Accessed: October 13, 2014. Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform (HERA). http://www.ched.gov.ph/index.php/projectsprograms/programs/roadmap-topublic-higher-education-reform/. Date Accessed: October 13, 2014.

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Ruiz, Adela and Cecilia Sabio. 2012. Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Philippines. Asian Journal of Distance Education, Vol 10, no 2, pp 63-70. Saloma, Czarina, Maria Elissa Jayme Lao and Leslie Advincula-Lopez. 2013. How to make local government institutions work: some lessons on social change. Philippine Political Science Journal, 2013 Vol. 34, No.1, 83-96. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Tan, Edita A. 2010. What's Wrong with the Philippine Higher Education. University of the Philippines School of Economics, Diliman, Quezon City, 2010. Tan, Michael. 2012. College. Online: http://opinion.inquirer.net/30223/college Date accessed: October 7, 2013 Teehankee, Julio C. 2002. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines," in Croissant, A., G. Bruns, and M. John, eds. Electoral Politics in Southeast Asia and East Asia. Singapore: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, pp. 149-202. Thomson, Andrew. 2008. Exploring the Relationship Between Higher Education and Development: A Review and Report. Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace. Tuazon, Bobby M. ed. 2007. Oligarchic Politics: Elections and the Party-List System in the Philippines. Quezon City: CenPEG Books. b. Interviews Bacaltos, Lionel. Municipal Mayor of Sibonga, Cebu. 2014. Interview by author, 7 January. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Saniel, Gilmore. Municipal Administrator of Sibonga, Cebu. 2014. Interview by author, 7 January. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Patalinghug, Gina. Municipal Councilor of Sibonga, Cebu. 2014. Interview by author, 9 September. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Codilla, Thomas. Municipal Councilor of Sibonga, Cebu. 2014. Interview by author, 11 September. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Retes, Desideria. Municipal Treasurer. 2014. Interview by author, 9 September. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Maratas, Hazel. Teacher at Sibonga Community College. 2014. SCC. Interview by author, 3 September. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. Camomot, Antonio. School Director of Sibonga Community College. Interview by author, 7 January. Poblacion, Sibonga, Cebu. c. Focus Group Discussion Sibonga Community College, Sibonga, Cebu, 4 September 2014 Basali, Joana Erica. BSBA IV Dela Cerna, Kyle Lara. BSEd English IV 23

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Flores, Ivy Mae. BSBA IV Flores, Ma. Lourdes. BSBA IV Mangubat, Carlo. BSEd Math IV Manos, Catherine. BSIT IV Maratas, Grace. BSEd Biology IV MondaÃ±ido, Emily. BSEd English IV Regodon, Lemuel. BSEd Biology IV Suico, Shalie Grace. BSIT IV Yordan, Michael. BSEd Math IV

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES USED BY PRINCIPALS TO SOLVE THE CHALLENGES IN MANAGEMENT OF SUPPORT STAFF IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NYAMIRA COUNTY, KENYA NYABOGA NYAGAKA EVANS Doctorate Student, Department of Curriculum and Educational Management, School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kenya

Dr. JACK AJOWI School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology. Bondo, Kenya

PROF. JOSEPH BOSIRE School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology. Bondo, Kenya

Abstract Secondary school support staffs are less satisfied with their posts in general, their contracts and conditions of employment, working arrangements for their post, training and development opportunities available to them are always demoralizing them. Going by the foresaid conditions of work, this study was set to determine motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools in Nyamira County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The specific objective of the study was to: determine motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools. The study population consisted of 170 public secondary schools, 170 principals, 172 deputy principals and 170 BOM chairpersons with 1020 support staff, totaling to 1532. Simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 16 secondary schools, out of which one principal, six support staff, one deputy principal and the BOM chairperson from each of the sampled schools were selected, making a total sample of 144 respondents for the study. The main coping strategy that were motivating the support staff were to engage in small scale businesses, carrying tools from home, renting houses at nearby market centers and 25

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

taking loans. The principals were partly offering financial assistance to the support staff. Keywords: Public secondary school, staff motivation and support staff.

INTRODUCTION To improve supervision in support staff affairs, Winston and Creamer (2001), recommend that supervision be dealt with in an open and explicit manner and be systematic and ongoing. Bakhda (2004) suggests that members of support staff should be given further training adding that they should be sent for in-service training to improve their skills and knowledge. Schools should create a working environment that stimulates productivity by constantly giving proper recognition to the support staff for accomplishments (Rush, 2002). Recognition demonstrates that one needs and appreciates peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution. Recognition motivates people to volunteer their services. Giving recognition stimulates people to use their creativity to achieve the groups or organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goals and objectives. When people are recognized publicly for their contributions and achievements, others are more willing to work at the same job because they also can expect recognition (Rush, 2004). Republic of Kenya (2006), recommended that public universities should strategize on how to improve the working conditions of staff through provision of the necessary infrastructure such as computers, office space and furniture. To attract the best brains into the teaching profession better terms of service need to be provided as well as removing any element that will harm the status and lower the morale of teachers (Simatwa, 2010). A study carried by Atieno et al (2012), on the challenges faced by newly appointed principals in the management of public secondary schools in Bondo District, it was noted that support-staff had poor morale and are demotivated at work. Here they looked only the challenges faced by newly appointed principals. Hence there was a gap here. The current study on the other hand determined motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools in Nyamira County, Kenya. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY This study focused on achieving the following objective: to determine motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools. 26

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study used descriptive survey research design. The major purpose of descriptive research was description of the state of affairs as they exist (Kombo & Tromp, 2006). Orodho(2003) defines descriptive survey as collection of information by interviewing or administering a questionnaire to a sample of individuals. It is used to gather data from a large population at a particular point in time with the intention of describing the nature of existing situations. It can be used when collecting information about people’s attitudes, opinions, habits or any of the variety of education or social issues (Orodho&Kombo, 2002). Kothari and Garg (2014) define descriptive research studies as those studies which are concerned with describing the existing characteristics with specific predications, with narration of facts of a particular individual, or of a group or situation. Descriptive survey design was chosen for this study because it gave the opportunity to assess the relationship between the principals’ leadership styles and motivation among support staff in public secondary schools in Nyamira County, Kenya. The locale of this study was in Nyamira County. The Latitude and Longitude of Nyamira County is 0º56ʹS34º93ʹE respectively. The target population comprised of the 170 secondary schools in Nyamira County, 1020 support staff, 170 principals, 172 deputy principals, 170 BOM chairpersons, making a total target population of 1532. A sample is a small portion of a study population. Sampling means selecting a given number of subjects from a defined population as representative of that population. Any statements made about the sample should also be true of the population (Orodho, 2004). Nwana (1982), commenting on sample size observed that there are certain non-definite practices among social workers that the beginner can adopt. One such practice suggest that if the population is a few hundreds, a 40 percent or more sample will do, if many hundreds a 20 percent will do, if a few thousands a 10 percent sample will do and if several thousands a 5 percent or less will do. Kerlinger (1973) indicated that a sample size, 10% of the target population is large so long as it allows for reliable data analysis by cross tabulation, provides desired level of accuracy in estimates of the large population and allows for testing for significance of differences between estimates. Kothari et al (2014) observed that the size of the sample should be determined by a researcher keeping in view the nature of the universe. Universe may either be homogenous or heterogeneous in nature. If the items in the universe are homogenous a small sample can serve the purpose.

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

This study therefore used 10% of the population because of the large number of the study population. Stratified and simple random sampling as in table 1 below was used to select 16 secondary schools, of which a principal, six support staff, a deputy principal and BOM chairpersons comprised the sample. In total, there were 144 respondents for the study. The BOM chairpersons are active participants in the school culture, are currently involved in school management. Table1. Sampling Frame Sub-County

TPSS

T H/T

T DH/T

T BOM C

TSS

Nyamira North

258

Nyamira South

264

Masaba North

192

Manga

168

Borabu

138

N=170

n=16

N=170

n=16

N=172

n=16

N=170

n=16

N=1020

n=96

Total

TPSS = Total Public Secondary Schools SS = Sample Size T H/T = Total H/T T DH/T = Total DH/T T-BOM-C = Total BOM Chairpersons TSS = Total Support Staff

RESULTS AND DISCUSIONS The objective was to establish motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools. The research question responded to was: how do the principals motivate the support staff to help solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools? The respondents were asked to rate the contributions of the stakeholders to quality leadership, their responses were as shown in Table 2.

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Table 2. Strategies used to Cope with the Challenges Principals f % 16 100 16 100 16 100 15 94 14 88 12 75 11 69 10 63 9 56 4 25

Strategies Working extra hours Engage in small businesses Staying in the Village Rent house at market Procure/advancing loans Engage in manual works after work Waking up earlier Bicycles for going to work Working in shifts Carry tools from home

Support Staff f % 96 100 96 100 96 100 96 100 90 94 86 90 84 88 80 83 68 71 46 48

Working extra hours as a coping strategy was widely used as was established from all principals and all support staff who filled the questionnaires. Support staffs also engage in small businesses as was established from all principals and all support staff. Support staffs also do stay in the village as a coping strategy as was reported by (100%) principals and most (100%) support staff. Renting house at market as a coping strategy employed by support staff was mentioned by (94%) principals and (100%) support staff. Table 2 also reveals that support staff does procure loans as a coping strategy as established from (88) principals and (94%) support staff. Engage in manual works after work was also mentioned by (75%) principals and (90%) support staff. The study equally established that support staffs do wake up earlier to start work earlier as mentioned by (69%) principals and by some (83%) support staff. Using bicycles for going to work as a coping strategy was established by the study from (63%) principals and from (83%) support staff. The study also established that support staffs were working in shift as was indicated by some (56%) principals and (71%) support staff. Carrying of tools from home was also mentioned by some (25%) principals and (48%) support staff respectively. During interviews all principals acknowledged that support staffs were working extra hours to help cope with too much work load. The principals also maintained that support staffs were working extra hours only when there was too much work backlog and this was only for a short period that does not warrant compensation. Some (64%) principals also maintained that they were giving support staff some days off whenever they work for extra hours. However they maintained that support staffs were never interested on the off days but wanted financial gains. 29

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

31% Support Staff Working Extra Hours Support staff not working Extra hours 69%

Figure 1. Support Staffs’ Response on Working Extra Hours (n =96) On their part, all support staff pointed that they were made to work extra hours which were never compensated as the principals were citing lack of finances. This the support staff noted was leading to low morale and low work performance. Most (69%) support staff maintained that they were always being made to work extra hours forcefully by their schools’ administration as none of them were willing to do extra job. They added that their morale was low as much as they were seen to be using the extra work as a coping strategy. Some (37%) support staff blamed inefficiency at work place due to forceful overtime. This they noted was making them more tired before the following day’s work. The fact that some support staff engage in small businesses was pointed out by all principals who noted that this was a way of coping with low salaries. The principals also noted that they were however cautioning the support staff not to neglect their duties as they were conducting their business after work. Some (25%) principals revealed that they advanced soft loans to their support staff so as to open small businesses.

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22% Support staff with businesses Support Staff without Business 78%

Figure 2. Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Response on Advancing Loans to Support Staff to Start Business (n=16) Most (100%) support staff also mentioned during interviews that they were running small scale businesses to help subsidize the low salary they were earning. They further pointed that their businesses were helping them to solve their financial problems whenever there were delayence of salaries. They also maintained that their businesses were helping from the problem of going for imprest from their principals. This coping strategy was also helping them to settle on their jobs and do improve their work performance. The study also established during interviews that support staffs were staying in the village. All principals pointed that majority of the support staffs in schools were from the schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; neighboring communities. This they noted was saving on the transport cost as support staff come to work. This was also helping schools not to build houses for support staff. Most principals also noted that this was helping to bring good relations between secondary schools and the surrounding communities. Most (100%) support staff were in agreement that their stay in the village was helping them not to pay rent, reduced transport cost and also helped them to be at their work station at the right time. Most (100%) support staff maintained that they were coming from the communities around the schools as such staying in the village was also a coping strategy for support staff in addressing the challenge of inadequate housing. Most schools in the county lack funds to put up houses for support staff. Most (94%) principals also pointed that some of support staff in their schools were renting houses at market near the school compound. They also attributed this as a way of coping with inadequate staff houses in secondary 31

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

schools. The principals were however quick to note that most of those who rented houses were from other communities or were coming from regions far from their working stations.

11%

Providing loans for Support Staff Not providing loans to Support Staff 89%

Figure 3: Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Response on Loans (n =16) According to most (88%) principals, support staffs were taking loans from the schools and banks to help them cope with poor remuneration and delay in salaries from the government. The principals also noted that support staffs were trying to improve their financial status which in turn was helping to improve work performance. Most (94%) support staffs were in support with the views of principals that loans were enabling them to solve their financial problems and were making them to work without stress. Most support staffs were engaging in manual work after official working hours was established by the study from some (75%) principals. They further noted that this was also meant to help solve the challenge of low salaries earned by support staff. The principals also maintained that financial stability was making the support staff to improve their work performance. Most (90%) support staff agreed that they were engaged in manual work after official working hours. This they noted was making them to be economically stable and was enabling them to improve their work performance. They however pointed out that this strategy was making them tired as they were already exhausted after working for the official eight hours. Waking up earlier was established during interviews with principals to be another coping strategy employed by support staff. Most (69%) principals noted that support staff were waking up early to cope with the heavy workload that are existing due to lack of enough personnel among support 32

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staff in secondary schools. The principals also maintained that the duties of support staff required that they work longer hours to enable the schools run their activities smoothly during the day. According to most (88%) support staff, they were waking up earlier because they were having too much workload during the day. They also pointed out that they were using the coping strategy to improve their work performance as starting to work earlier do enable them to do a lot of work during the day. Using bicycles for going to work was established by the study to help solve the problem of lack of commuter allowances as was explained by some (63%) principals. The principals also noted that using bicycles was helping support staff to be efficient as it was making them reach their work place in time and when not exhausted. The principals further explained that this coping strategy was also helping the schools to solve the problems of lack of housing for support staff. According to some (83%) support staff, the strategy of using bicycle was introduced by support staffs to enable them reach their working stations in time and to enable them go back home faster after work. Some (83%) support staff also explained that using bicycle was helping them to solve the challenge of lack of commuter allowances. Some (83%) support staff also explained that using bicycle was helping to solving the challenge of working past normal working hours during which other means could not be found.

37%

Support for the use of Bicycles to Work Place Not in Support for the use of Bicycle

63%

Figure 4. Principalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on use of Bicycles to Work Place (n =16) Most (63%) principals also agreed with the sentiments of support staff that using bicycle was helping to solve various challenges which support staff were facing at their working place. They further revealed that bicycle helped to reduce lateness among most support staff they were reporting on time 33

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

and were able to be more efficient at work. The principals also got relieved of the need for commuter allowances which they were demanding when they were using other means for coming to their workplace. Working in shift was established during interviews with most (56%) principals to be existing among the support staff who were performing essential duties that required 24-hour services. The principals also noted that the shift system was also used where workers were fewer than the number required. Some (56%) principals also noted that working on shifts was making the support staff not to feel tired and be inefficient. According to all support staff, working on shift was meant to help solving too much work load and working for longer hours. They also noted that working on shift was helping to solve the challenge of working past normal working hours.

Respondents for working on shifts

44%

Respondents against working on shifts

56%

Figure 5. Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Response on the Effects of Support Staff Working on Shifts (n =16) Carrying tools from home was established from some (25%) principals that it was helping to solve the challenge of lack of working tools. They added that support staffs were only coming with tools occasionally when there was need but not that they were bringing tools constantly for their routine duties. According to some (48%) support staff, they were bringing tools as their schools were not keen in purchasing the tools they needed for them to perform their duties. Support staff also added that their school administrations were not bothered on how they were going to get tools once they were assigned duties. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter presents a summary of the research findings, conclusions and recommendations. The study was necessitated by the need to analyze motivational strategies used by principals to solve the challenges in management of support staff in public secondary schools in Nyamira 34

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County, Kenya. The following summary of the findings, conclusions and recommendations were made: (1) The study established that principals and support staff employs a number of strategies that enable them to cope with the challenges they face, such motivational strategies are as follows. (2) Support staffs were encouraged to own the schools and were asked to assist the school by carrying tools from home. (3) Staff members were being motivated to wake up very early to go work by being offered all the meals in school starting with break-fast. (4) Support staffs stayed in their villages and helping their schools in addressing the problem of housing. (5) Support staffs were being requested to double up duties because staff shortage in the schools. (6) The main coping strategy that were motivating the support staff were: engaging in small scale businesses; carrying tools from home, renting houses at nearby market centers and taking loans. The principals were partly offering financial assistance to the support staff.

REFERENCES Atieno, M.E (2012). Challenges Faced by Newly Appointed Principals in the Management of Public Secondary Schools in Bondo District, Kenya, An Analytical Study http://www interesjournals.org/ER Bakhda, S. (2004). Management and Evaluation of Schools. Nairobi: OUP. Kathuri, C. R (1985). Research Methodology; Methods and Techniques, New Delhi Willey. Kerlinger, F. N. (1973).Foundation of Behavioral Research, Administration Today Columbus Charles Merril Co. (2nd Edition)> Holt Rinlialt and Winston Inc New York. Kombo, K.K. (2007). Proposal and Thesis Writing â&#x20AC;&#x201C;An Introduction. Makuyu: Paulineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Publications Africa, Nairobi. Kothari, C.R and Garg, G. (2014). Research methodology: methods and techniques. New age international publishers, New Delhi Orodho, A. J. (2004). Statistics Made User Friendly for Education and Social Science Research. Masola Publishers ________. (2003). Essentials of educational and Social Sciences Research Method.Nairobi:Masola Publishers Republic of Kenya, (2011). Diploma in Education Management for Secondary schools. Nairobi: KLB. ________. (2006). Transformation of Higher Education in Kenya. Report of the Public Universities Inspection Board. Nairobi: Government Printer. Simatwa, M.W.E (2010).Job satisfaction and dis-satisfaction among teachers in Kenya Proceedings of the first national workshop for the 35

Nyaboga Nyagaka Evans, Dr. Jack Ajowi, Prof. Joseph Bosire

Educational Management Society of Kenya held at Migori Teachers College.

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

ACCREDITATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES AND QUALITY UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA C. P. AKPAN & C. R. ETOR Department of Educational Administration and Planning Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract The study was aimed at finding out the relationship between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education. The study area was South-South Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Simple random and accidental sampling techniques were used to sample 4 federal universities, 400 academic staff, 300 final year students and 200 employers for the study. Three types of instrument titled: Adequacy of Requirements for Accreditation of Academic Programmes Questionnaire (ARAAPQ), Quality University Education Questionnaire (QUEQ) and Employers Rating of quality University Graduates questionnaire (ERQUGQ) were used for data collection. All the items on the three instruments were weighted on a 4-point response type scale. Each of the three instruments had a reliability coefficient of 0.82, 0.77 and 0.80 respectively, using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive (means and standard deviations), Pearson Product moment correlation and independent t-test statistics. The finding of the study revealed that the level of adequacy of requirements for accreditation of academic programmes was moderately adequate and the quality of university graduates was rated as being moderate. There was a significant relationship between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education in terms of quality inputs and quality processes. There was also a significant difference between lecturers and students in their perception of quality university education. Premised on the findings of the study, it was recommended that institutional administrators should ensure that the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes be sufficiently provided in universities to enhance quality education. Government should adequately fund university education to enable institutional administrators to provide the necessary physical, human and

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

material resources for the enhancement of quality university education in Nigeria. Keywords: Accreditation, academic programmes, quality, University Education. INTRODUCTION Education in Nigeria is viewed as an instrument for national development and social change. It is essential for the enhancement of quality life. Perhaps, it is on the basis of this that the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2013) state that Nigeria aims at providing education that is qualitative, comprehensive, functional and relevant to the needs of the society. This calls for quality education at all levels in the country to meet the aspirations of individuals and the society, especially in this era of knowledge driven society and global competitiveness. University education in Nigeria is aimed at producing high level manpower to man the various sectors of the Nigerian economy. To achieve this goal, the universities need to carry out quality studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; intake, quality teaching/learning processes, quality research and provide quality infrastructural facilities, services and resources. They need to provide quality and adequate studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; support services to enhance quality learning outcomes. One way of stimulating authorities of universities to provide these services is through accreditation because no university wants to be denied accreditation. Accreditation of academic programmes is one of the quality assurance mechanisms initiated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to regulate academic standard and enhance quality university education in Nigeria. But the dwindling quality of our university education has become a matter of great concern to the nation, whether the accreditation exercise actually achieves its purpose. Accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities dated back to 1990 when the first accreditation exercise was carried out. Since then, accreditation of academic programmes has become a culture and a continuous process to ensure that the provision of the minimum academic standard by NUC is adhered to. Okebukola (2006) described accreditation as a process of examining the availability and adequacy of resources, merit rating of resources and programmes in order to enhance quality of output. This means that accreditation involves the process of ensuring that curricula, physical facilities, personnel, funds and so on meet the needs of the university to achieve its stated philosophy and objectives. Hence, it is a measure of quality of academic programmes and it is aimed at strengthening academic programmes for quality assurance and quality improvement. According to Obadara and Alaka (2013), 38

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accreditation is a process that aids institutions in developing and sustaining effective educational programmes and assuring the educational community, the general public and other organizations that the accredited institution has met high standard of quality and effectiveness. It is a measure of the quality of academic programmes on acceptable minimum standard provided by the accrediting agency. The objectives of accreditation of higher institutions/programmes as outlined by the NUC (2012) include. 1. To ensure that at least the minimum academic standards documents are attained, maintained and enhanced. 2. To assure employers and other members of the community that Nigerian graduates of all academic programmes have attained an acceptable level of competency in their areas of specialization. 3. To certify to the international community that the programmes offered in Nigerian universities are of high standard and their graduates are adequate for employment and further studies. A cursory look at these objectives reveals that accreditation focuses on the production of quality graduates with needed skills, technical and professional knowledge that would enable them to contribute to national development and compete favourably in employment market. Therefore, accreditation enhances the provision of resources in order to achieve these objectives. The NUC (2012) outlines the criteria for accreditation of academic programmes to include: philosophy and objectives of the programme, the curriculum, teaching staff (quality and quantity), students’ admission and graduation requirements, standard of degree examination, financial support, status of physical facilities, administration of department and employers rating of graduates. It can be deduced from these criteria that accreditation of academic programmes is all embracing and involves assessing the appropriateness of programme philosophy and objectives, the adequacy and relevance of the curricula to the students in their specific areas of study and the world of work. It involves examining the adequacy of students’ admission and graduation requirements, quality and quantity of teaching staff, support staff, teacher/student ratio, external examiners’ reports on moderation of degree examination questions and scores, adequacy of budgetary allocation and other sources of funds to support the programmes. It also involves evaluating the status of physical facilities in terms of office accommodation, lecture halls, library facilities and the report of employers’ assessment of graduates in their employ. Accreditation therefore, is a process that involves a peer review and rating of these resources in relation to the accreditation criteria.

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

As earlier stated, the purpose of accreditation of academic programmes is to enhance quality of university education in Nigeria. The concept of quality in education is multidimensional and embraces all functions and activities in the academic system. It involves quality of students, academic personnel (teachers), instruction, curriculum, facilities and equipment, academic programme and studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance assessment (Akpan, 2009). Viewed from this perspective, quality university education involves quality of educational inputs, processes and output in its entirety. Quality educational inputs include quality resources necessary for universities to achieve their diverse objectives and provide quality services. The quality indicators here include quality studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; intake, quality teaching staff recruited, quality facilities and equipment, quality supply system, good recruiting policies and procedures and competent teaching staff. The quality process in this study is viewed in terms of quality strategic plan and management, quality instructional delivery, quality research by lecturers, lecturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; commitment to community service etc. Similarly, quality university outputs (graduates) can be assessed in relation to oral/written expression in English Language, leadership quality, commitment to job, selfmanagement, self-discipline and so on. Obadara and Alaka (2013) maintained that quality in education means the relevance and appropriateness of the education programmes to the needs of the community for which it is provided. Uvah (2005) submitted that the quality of university education could be measured on how well the students have been prepared for life and for service to the society in various spheres of human endavour. This means that the quality of university education can be viewed in terms of quality of lecturers, adequacy and accessibility of facilities and materials required for teaching and learning, and preparation of students to meet life challenges and solve societal problems. Kis (2005) points out that the key indicator of quality higher education is the success of graduates in joining the labour market. However, the quality of university education in Nigeria seems to continue to deteriorate as the years passed by, despite the effort of government to improve the university learning environment and the effort of the NUC in monitoring and accrediting academic programmes. Tunde and Issa (2013) in their study attributed this to poor funding of education in Nigeria which makes university administrators unable to provide adequate and quality infrastructural facilities and equipment for effective teaching and learning. They further stated that the noncommensurate of funding with other growing indices in Nigerian universities have negative impact on the quality of education as the universities are constantly being shut down as a result of staff unions agitating for one form of demand or the other. Otokunefor (2015) reported that the poor quality of our university graduates is due to the interwoven nature of the infrastructural 40

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deficiencies of the universities. According to him, magic facilities spring up overnight before accreditation exercises and disappear soon after. Sometimes, spaces allocated to and used by other departments are simply relabeled for the sake of accreditation. After the exercise, the facilities revert to the original owners and the struggle for survival continues (Otokunefor, 2015). Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) in their study reported low status of infrastructure in our universities and they attributed this to funding challenges despite the monitoring and compliance driven mechanism. This finding was in line with an earlier report by Alechenu (2012) that low status of infrastructural facilities has led to a sharp decline in scholarship. In support of this, Mufuyai (2012) noted that Nigerian universities are characterized by lack of basic technology, poor funding and operating environment. The quality of teachers determines to a great extent the quality of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning outcome. Hence, no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers. The instructional delivery effectiveness depends greatly on the quality of the teachers, their qualifications, experiences, professional exposure and morale (Akpan, 2011). The adequacy of academic personnel to handle the various courses of a given programme is equally important because this helps to determine the teacher/student ratio. Bamiro (2012) reiterated the importance of universities to pay attention to the quality and quantity of academic staff. Alechenu (2012) reported disparities in academic staff/student ratios between Nigerian universities and some western universities. According to the report, in Harvard University, the teacher/student ratio is 1:4, in Cambridge University, it is 1:3, and in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it is 1:9. Whereas in Nigeria, the NUC Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) of 2007 stipulated the following teacher/students ratio: 1:20 in science; 1:15 in Engineering and technology; 1:10 in medicine, veterinary medicine and pharmacy, 1:15 in agricultural and environmental sciences and 1:30 in education, management science, social science, law and arts. Even though these teaching staff/students ratios are provided by the benchmark based on carrying capacity, some universities admit students above the carrying capacity, thereby increasing the teacher/student ratio. This has a negative effect on the quality of university education in Nigeria. In support of this assertion, Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) reported a moderately adequate teaching staff in universities in south-west Nigeria, but the teacher/student ratio was poor. The researcher attributed this to the inability of universities to meet the standard laid down by the NUC-BMAS. Another factor that affects the quality of university education is the extent of adequacy and relevance of the curricula contents to the learners in effecting positive changes in them. Thus, no matter how rich, relevant and innovative the curricula of an academic programme may be if the instructional 41

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

facilities and the teaching personnel are not available in adequate quantity and quality, instructional delivery becomes difficult (Akpan et al., 2009). In a study carried out by Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014), it was found that the current Nigerian university curricula were adequate based on its relevance to the 21st century work place. This finding was attributed to the efforts of the NUC in ensuring that academic programmes were accredited and that they must meet the NUC benchmark. The study also reported a significant relationship between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education in Nigeria. This finding could be due to the effort of NUC in monitoring and evaluation of academic programmes to ensure minimum standard and appropriateness of philosophy of the programmes. However, the finding was at variance with the research finding of Oribabor (2008) who reported that accreditation had no impact on administrative structure, efficiency of university staff and quality output. One dreaded development in our universities and other higher institutions is the high rate of examination malpractice which seems unstoppable. Students are no more serious with their studies. They get involved in one form of examination malpractice or the other in order to get their desired grades. Some students are interested in getting the paper degree certificates. When this happens, they are released into the labour market with degrees they cannot defend. This invariably affects the quality of our university graduates. Although, many universities have put in great effort to stop examination malpractice, but this menace still persists. Otokunefor (2013) lamented that it appears some of the processes that culminate in the award of degrees are of no interest to the accreditation officers. According to him, sharp practices are rampant in the computation of degree results in some universities. Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) stated that it appears that the infrastructures, curriculum, learning environment and academic personnel are not adequate to bring out the best in students to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigeria as a nation. The curriculum contents of our universities have been highly criticized as not being relevant to the needs of the students and the labour market. Obadara and Alaka (2013) in their study reported a significant relationship between accreditation and resources inputs into Nigerian universities, quality of output and quality of process, but no significant relationship between accreditation and quality of academic content. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC, 2006) in a study reported that school leaders believed that accreditation positively impacted on the quality of education, school improvement and quality of classroom instruction at their schools. Although a lot of studies have been done on this topic in the western countries and in some parts of Nigeria, but little or no research has been 42

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carried out on this topic in south-south Nigerian universities. This study therefore, sought to fill this gap. It is against this backdrop that the researchers were motivated to find out the extent to which accreditation of academic programmes relate to quality university education in South-South Nigeria. The study also examined the level of adequacy of the requirements in meeting the criteria for accreditation of academic programmes, lecturers’ and students’ perception of quality inputs into and quality process in universities and employers’ assessment of the quality of university graduates in the study area. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In recent times, there is an increasing concern about the quality of university education in Nigeria by stakeholders and the general public. Observation has shown that some Nigerian graduates are deficient in communication skill and the ability to apply technical and professional knowledge in solving personal and work- related problems. Some of them are poor in oral and written expression in English language. They lack leadership competence and good sense of judgment. Some of them are deficient in the proficiency for time management and self control. This shows that the quality of university education and/or graduates is deteriorating. This has been blamed on the politics and poor manner in which accreditation of academic programmes are carried out in Nigerian universities. In some universities, management does not release money on time to affected departments to prepare for the exercise. It seems our Ivory towers are plagued by inadequate infrastructural facilities and teaching personnel for quality instructional delivery. In some institutions, facilities and equipment are borrowed and used for accreditation and the selection of members of the accreditation team is handled only by NUC. Similarly some academic programme contents are inadequate and not relevant to the needs of the students and the labour market. Therefore, it seems accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities does not yield any meaningful results. At this point therefore, it is pertinent to raise the question, “To what extent does accreditation of academic programmes relate to quality university education in south-south Nigeria?” This study is poised to provide answer to this question. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Specifically, the purpose of the study is to find out 1) Academic staff assessment of adequacy of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes in south-south Nigerian universities. 43

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

2) Employers rating of the quality of university graduates. 3) The difference between academic staff and students in their perception of quality university education in terms of quality inputs and quality processes. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. How do academic staff assess the adequacy of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes in south-south Nigerian universities? 2. How do employers of labour assess the quality of university graduates? HYPOTHESES 1. Academic staff assessment of adequacy of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes does not significantly relate to quality university education. 2. There is no significant difference between academic staff and students in their perception of quality university education. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study because the study involved the use of representative sample from a population and the drawing of conclusion based on analysis of data. The population of the study consisted of all academic staff and final year students of federal universities and employers of labour in south-south Nigeria. The simple random technique was used to sample 4 federal universities out 6 and 400 academic staff from the 4 universities sampled for the study. Accidental sampling technique was used to select 300 final year students from the four universities and 200 employers of labour from both private and public sectors in 4 states in the study area. Three instruments namely, Assessment of Adequacy of Requirements for Accreditation of Academic programmes Questionnaire (AARAAPQ), Assessment of Quality Inputs and Processes Questionnaire (AQIPQ) and Employers Rating of University Graduates Questionnaire (ERUGQ). The AARAAPQ and AQIPQ were developed by the researchers based on the nine criteria outlined in the NUC-BMAS of 2012 for the accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities. The AARAAPQ consisted of two Sections, A and B. Section A sought personal and demographic information from the respondents (lecturers) while Section B consisted of 40 items that measured eight criteria for the accreditation excise. Each criterion was measured using 5 items and each item was weighted on a 4-point response type scale which ranged from Very Adequate (VA), Adequate (A) to Inadequate (I) and Very Inadequate (VI). The respondents were required to 44

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tick one of the 4 response options against an item to express their opinion about the level of adequacy of each item. The second instrument AQIPQ was a 4-point response questionnaire for both academic staff and students to assess the quality of university education in terms of quality inputs and processes. This comprised 6 items for quality inputs and 14 items for quality process which gave a total of 20 items. Each item had 4 response options ranging from strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A) to Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The third questionnaire, ERUGQ was also a 4-point response type scale and comprised 12 items that measured quality university graduates as rated by their employers. The instruments were validated by two experts in measurements and evaluation in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar. The reliability estimates of the instruments were determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability method and the reliability coefficients of 0.82 for AARAAPQ, 0.77 for AQIPQ and 0.80 for ERUGQ were obtained. The instruments were administered on the academic staff and students in their various institutions and on the employers in their various work organizations. The mean rating decision was based on the weight of each item. The criterion measure was a mean score of 2.50. A means score below 2.50 was regarded as poor or inadequate, a mean score of 2.50 -2.99 was regarded as moderate, while a mean score of 3 and above was taken as good/highly adequate. RESULTS Research question 1: How do academic staff assess the adequacy of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes in south-south Nigerian universities? The data for research question 1 were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations). The result was as presented on table 1 Table 1. Lecturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ratting of adequacy of the requirements for accreditation for academic programmes

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Variables

Decision

Philosophy and objectives Curriculum contents/relevance Physical facilities Teaching personnel Students admission and Graduation requirement Standard of degree

3.58 3.55 3.67 2.88

1.08 2.02 0.85 0.89

good good good moderate

3.68

1.56

good

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

7. 8.

Examination Financial supports Administration of Department

3.50 2.75

1.04 0.92

good moderate

3.85

0.82

good

Grand Mean

3.56

1.0

Table I shows that teaching personnel and financial support with mean scores of 2.88 and 2.78 respectively were rated as being moderately adequate by the respondents. But the overall mean of 3.56 depicts that respondents assessed the adequacy of requirements for the accreditation of academic programmes as being adequate or good. Research question 2: How do employers of labour assess the quality of university graduates? The result of data analysis for research question 2 was as presented on table 2 Table 2. Employers rating of the quality of university output (graduates) Items 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Employee ability for oral/written expression in English language Ability to work under pressure Capacity for sound judgment/decision making Leadership capacity Ability to apply technical Knowledge in solving work-related problems Ability to readily accept responsibilities and discharge them creditably Capacity for good human relations Ability to be punctual to work Commitment to job and the work organization Ability for time management Ability for self-management Capacity for self-discipline Grand Mean

Decision

2.56 2.83

0.070 0.86

Moderate Moderate

2.90 2.67

0.74 0.82

Moderate Moderate

2.60

0.78

Moderate

2.52

1.02

Moderate

2.65

0.75

Moderate

3.25

0.92

Good

2.75 2.57 2.85 2.70 2.72

0.89 0.76 0.81 0.73 0.75

Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate

Table 2 revealed that graduatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to be punctual to work was rated as being good by employers. All other items on table 2 were assessed as being 46

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moderate. The grand mean score and standard deviation of 2.72 and 0.75 respectively indicated that the quality of our university graduates was adjudged as being at moderate level by their employers. Hypothesis I: There is no significant relationship between academic staff assessment of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education. To test this hypothesis, Pearsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product moment correlation was used for data analysis. The result is presented on table 3. Table 3. Correlation analysis of the relationship between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education as assessed by lecturers. (n=400) Variables

Accreditation of academic programmes (x)

75.35

3.55

Quality inputs (Y1)

20.23

2.55

0.54*

Quality processes (Y2)

36.65

2.72

0.68*

*p< .05; df= 398; criticalâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;r = .098

The data on table 3 showed that academic staff assessment of the adequacy of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes was significantly related to quality university education in terms of quality inputs (r = 0.54) and quality processes (r = 0.68) at an alpha level of less than .05 with 398 degrees of freedom. The observed correlation coefficients were greater than the critical r-value of .098. With this results, the null hypothesis was therefore, rejected while the alternate hypothesis was upheld. This meant that there was a significant correlation between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education in terms of quality inputs and quality processes. The positive nature of the correlation coefficients depicts that the more accreditation of academic programmes was carried out, the higher the quality of university education. Hypothesis 2. There is no significant difference between academic staff and students in their perception of quality university education. The data for this hypothesis were analyzed using independent t-test statistical technique. The result is presented on table 4. 47

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

Table 4. Independent t-test analysis of the difference between academic staff and students in their perception of Quality University Education Quality inputs Group

Academic staff

400

20.23

2.55

Quality processes t

36.65

2.72

5.10* Students

300

19.21

2.61

2.45* 36.11

2.80

*p< .05; df= 698; critical–t = 1. 965

The data on table 4 showed that the calculated t-value of 5.10 for quality inputs and 2.45 for quality processes were greater than the critical t-value of 1.965 at less than .05 level of significance and 698 degrees of freedom. With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis upheld. This meant that there was a significant difference between academic staff and students in their perception of quality university education in terms of quality inputs and quality processes. Table 4 also shows that academic staff perceived quality inputs (X = 20.23) and quality processes (X =36.65) significantly better than the students. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS One of the findings of this study revealed that the level of adequacy of requirements for accreditation of academic programmes in the universities under study was adequate or good, although the quality of teaching personnel and financial support were found to be moderately adequate (table 1).The finding shows that the level of adequacy of programme philosophy and objectives, curriculum contents and relevance, physical facilities, students’ admission and graduation requirements, standard of degree examinations and administration of departments were adequate or good. The finding was not surprising, considering government recent renewed commitment in funding university education particularly in the area of infrastructural facilities and institutional administrators’ effort in meeting the criteria for accreditation of academic programmes. The procurement of quality teaching staff and provision of financial support though moderately adequate enhanced effective implementation of programme curricula. This finding could also be attributed to the NUC continued effort in monitoring and evaluation of academic programmes to ensure that the provisions of the minimum academic 48

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standards are attained, maintained and enhanced (NUC, 2012). This finding is in consonance with the research finding of Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) who reported that the current Nigerian university curricula were adequate based on its relevance to the 21st century work place. They also reported a moderately adequate teaching staff in universities in south west Nigeria. The present finding was at variance with Mufuyaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2012) report that Nigerian universities were characterized by lack of basic technology, poor funding and operating environment. Another finding of the study showed that the quality of university graduates was adjudged to be at moderate level by employers of labour. The overall mean score was 2.72 with a standard deviation of 0.75. Item-by-item analysis revealed that 11 items out of 12 items that measured quality university graduates had a mean score of above 2.50 as shown on table 2. This finding could be attributed to improvement in curricula content and its relevance to the needs of the students and the world of work. It could also be attributed to improvement in quality of the teaching and learning process as well as the quality of teaching personnel resulting from accreditation of academic programmes. Thus, the quality of university graduates depends on how adequate and relevant the curriculum is to the learners in effecting positive change in them. The finding was in agreement with the research finding of NEASC (2006) that accreditation positively impacted on the quality of education, school improvement and quality classroom instructions in their schools. However, this finding disagreed with the research finding of Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) that infrastructure; curriculum, learning environment and quality of academic personnel in Nigerian universities were not adequate to bring out the best in students to meet the yearning of Nigeria as a nation. The third finding of the study showed that there was a significant relationship between academic staff assessment of the requirements for accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education. Accreditation of academic programmes significantly correlated with quality inputs and quality processes. This meant that the more accreditation of academic programmes was carried out, the higher the quality of university education in Nigeria. This could be explained on the ground that accreditation exercise stimulates university authorities to provide adequate quantity and quality resources to meet the requirements for accreditation because no universities want to be denied accreditation. The provision of these resources enhanced quality teaching that gave rise to quality graduates. The finding could also be attributed to the effort of NUC in ensuring that academic programmes were accredited and that they must meet the NUC benchmark. This finding was in line with the work of Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) who discovered a 49

C. P. Akpan & C. R. Etor

significant correlation between accreditation of academic programmes and quality university education in Nigeria. The result of the present study was also in agreement with the work of Obadara and Alaka (2013) that found out a significant relationship between accreditation and quality resources inputs into Nigerian universities and quality of processes. However, the present finding was at variance with the research finding of Oribabor (2008) that accreditation exercise had no impact on administrative structure, efficiency of university staff and quality university education. The study also reveals a significant difference between academic staff and students in their perception of quality university education. Academic staff perceived quality resource inputs and quality processes better than the students. The reason for this finding is not far fetch. The academic staff are closer to university management than the students and therefore can assess the quality of inputs such as recruiting policies and procedures, funding of the university as well as admission policies and procedures better than the students. The academic staff are also better disposed than the students in assessing the quality of students projects, provision for staff training and development, strategic plan and management, university leadership/management and university commitment to community service. However, the finding of this study was in agreement with the research finding of Akomolafe and Ibijola (2014) who reported a significant difference between lecturers and students on their perception of quality of curriculum content and its relevance, quality of infrastructural facilities, learning environment and learning situations. IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE The findings of this study have implications for the management of universities in Nigeria. University administrators can get an insight from the findings of this study that quality university education can be enhanced through adherence to the criteria for accreditation of academic programmes by ensuring that curriculum contents are adequate and relevant to the needs of the students and the labour market. Academic programmes offered in the universities should meet the NUC benchmark by providing adequate quantity and quality teaching staff, physical facilities and other resources. Assessment of academic programmes through accreditation is an important quality assurance strategy that greatly impact on quality education in relation to quality resource inputs, processes and outputs. RECOMMENDATIONS Premised on the findings of the study, it is recommended that 1. Institutional administrators should ensure that adequate qualified teaching personnel are employed and quality infrastructural facilities are provided in 50

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universities. The quality of instructional delivery depends greatly on the provision of these resources for quality output. 2. Accreditation committees should be constituted in both the faculties and academic departments to monitor the operation of academic programmes and to assess periodically the extent to which academic programmes are in conformity with NUC benchmark. In this way the quality of university education would be enhanced. 3. The NUC should intensify effort in ensuring that accreditation of academic programmes is carried out regularly in order to assure improvement in quality university education. 4. Government should adequately fund university education to enable institutional 5. administrators to provide the necessary physical, human and material resources for the enhancement of quality university education in Nigeria. CONCLUSION In the light of the findings of this study, it could be concluded that accreditation of academic programmes significantly correlated with quality university education. In other words, accreditation of academic programmes enhances quality university graduates as rated by employers of labour. Also there is a significant impact of accreditation on the quality of infrastructural facilities, human resources, adequacy and relevance of curricula contents and programme philosophy and objectives. This depicts that accreditation greatly improves the provision of these resources for quality teaching and learning and performance effectiveness. Therefore, accreditation as a quality assurance practice is imperative for the sustenance of academic programmes and improvement of quality university education.

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REFERENCES Akomolafe, C. O. & Ibijola, E. Y. 2014. Accreditation of academic programmes and quality assurance in universities in South-West Nigeria. Available from: www.global-conference.eu/proceeding/vol.1. pdf [Accessed 10 August, 2015]. Akpan, C. P., Ntukidem, P. J., Ekpiken W. & Etor R. 2009. The challenges of teachers education in Nigeria. International Journal of Internet Education. 4, 169-178. Akpan, C. P. 2009. Enhancing quality in open and distance education through effective utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria. In: Ofulue, C. I., Gefu, T. T., Gbenoba, F., Olakulehin, F. K. & Olufemi, G. (Eds.) Open and distance learning for sustainable development. National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, 8-11 July, 2008. National Open University of Nigeria. pp: 539-549. ISBN: 978-058-139-1. Akpan, C. P. 2011. Quality assurance management in higher education. In: Bassey, S. U. and Bassey, U. U. (Eds.) Management of Higher Education in Nigeria. Uyo: Abaam Publishers, pp: 216-229. ISBN: 978-485-684-5 Alechenu, J. 2012, November 13. Nigerian universities lack enough lecturers. The Punch Newspaper. p: 43. Bamiro, O. 2012, June 26. Dean canvasses increased education funding. The Punch Newspaper. p: 41. Federal Republic of Nigeria 2013. National policy on education. 6th Edn., Yaba, Lagos. Nigeria: NERDC Press. ISBN: 978-054-216-7. Kis, V. 2005. Quality assurance in tertiary education: current practices in OECD countries. Available from: www.oecd.org/daraoced.org. [Accessed 10 September, 2015]. National Universities Commission 2012. Manual of accreditation procedures for academic programmes in Nigerian universities. Available from: www.dspace.funai.edu.ng. [Accessed 20 August, 2015]. New England Association of Schools and Colleges. 2006. The impact of accreditation in quality of education. Available from: https://www.neasc.org/downloads/SURVEY_REPORT_IN_FULL.pdf [Accessed 5 July 2015] Obadara, O. E. & Alaka, A. A. 2013. Accreditation and quality assurance in Nigerian universities. Journal of Education and Practice. 4, 13-41. Okebukola, P. 2006, January 26. Okebukola counts blessings of varsity system. Vanguard, p: 27. 52

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Otokunefer,T. 2015. NUCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sham Accreditation. Available from: www.alphaedufoundation.org/index.php. [Accessed 7 October 2015]. Oribabor, O. A. 2008. Impact of national university commission (NUC) accreditation exercise on university administrative structure. African Research Review: An International Multidisciplinary Journal. 2, 222-235. Tunde, O. K. & Issa, A. 2013. The quality of Nigerian higher education and the funding of library resources. Ozean Journal of Social Sciences. 6, 43-53. Uvah, I. I. 2005. Quality assurance and institutional stability in the Nigerian university system. Nigerian Journal of Educational Administration and Planning. 5, 1-11.

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International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING ON HARDINESS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER ELHAM EGHTEDARY NAEINI Master of Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University , Karaj, Iran

BEGHER SANAEI ZAKER Professor, Department of Guidance & Counseling , Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

PARISA PEYVANDY Assisstant Professor, Department of Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University , Karaj, Iran

Abstract Objective: Since the stress management program can train necessary skills to cope with stress; therefore, the aim of the current study is to examine the effectiveness of stress management training on the hardiness of breast cancer patients. Method: This quasi-experimental research designed with the pretest-posttest control groups. 60 women with breast cancer in the recovery period after chemotherapy were selected based on accessible sampleing from cancer charity â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sepasâ&#x20AC;? in Tehran and randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group, during 8 weekly 2-hour sessions were trained in stress management. Hardiness experimental and control groups once before and once after the program was evaluated using a questionnaire Kobasa hardiness. Results: Results showed that the experimental and control groups before the intervention of the variables are not significantly different. Multivariable analysis of covariance showed that there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test score in the experimental group. Finally, the results indicated that stress management training increases the hardiness and its components (such as commitment, control, and challenge) in women with breast cancer. Conclusions: Therefore, stress management training for women with breast cancer can be used as an effective way to improve psychological care for this group of women at health centers.. Keywords: Stress management, hardiness, breast cancer. 55

Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, Parisa Peyvandy

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer ranks third in terms of burden of disease and the leading cause of death by more than 4 hundred thousand in the fifth position among the Iranian women (Annual Report on Cancer Registration in Iran, 2009).continued negative impact on the treatment and follow-up by then, threaten the survival of these patients (Neipp, Lopez-Roig, & Pastor, 2007; Holland et al, 2010; Traeger et al, 2012). Cancer patients experienced many stress and symptoms during the course of the disease, diagnosis and treatment. Some symptoms of stress include fear of return, concerns about weakness and physical deterioration during treatment (such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy side) (Spencer, 1999). Women with breast cancer have psychological distress during diagnosis and treatment (Dedert et al, 2012). Psychological symptoms in breast cancer patients are depression, anxiety, and anger (Hoffman et al, 2012) Many studies indicated that negative effects of chemotherapy and psychological symptoms influence function and quality of life of breast cancer patients (Smith et al, 2013; Fagunde et al., 2012). According to the prior studies quality of life in breast cancer patients is less than the normal group (Engel, etal, 2014). In other words, fear of disease progression (Melchior et al, 2013), fear of being separated from family (Drageset et al, 2011), fear of complication (Garcia-Ortega et al, 2011), impairment of body image (Falk Dahl et al, 2011), decreased sexual desire (Ussher, Perz, & Gilbert, 2012) and fear of recurrence (Koch et al, 2013) cause distress in breast cancer patients. These stress sources contribute to low self-esteem (Wong-Kim & Bloom, 2005), feeling of disappointment and helplessness (Levine et al, 2007). Inappropriate and ineffective actions to these conditions can lead to depression, reduction of social interaction and support, hostility, substance and acceleration the progression of the disease. One research showed that psychological pressure and stress associated with cancer, decreased immune responses for several years. In this case, we are dealing with a disease that creates distributed cycle in patients and accelerates the progression of the disease (Anderson et al, 1998). Since the harmful stress reduces the individual, social and organizational performance. Therefore, several efforts were accomplished to identify the techniques and skills that are useful in managing stress. Personality characteristics is one of the relationship demographic variables between stress and illness. Kobasaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concept of hardiness tried to show that one of the variables that influences mental stress, is their personality 56

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characteristics (Kobasa, 1970), these characteristics include commitment, control and challenge (Kobasa & Maddi, 1982). Commitment to being aware of the importance and value of their significant activities and control to influence the events of one's faith and challenge ability to cope with life changes and readjustment refers to them (Maddi, 2006). Past research shows that the impact of hardiness in preparation for a healthy character (zhang, 2010), Hardiness have a positive impact to cope with cancer and hardiness increase people's tolerance in the face of disease (Carol, 1999). The hardiness has mediating role between stress and disease (Deborah, Wiebe, & Debora, 2009), the hardinee people act better in the face of difficulties and cope with life issues (Delahaija, Gaillard, & Dam, 2011). So Kobasa claimed that hardiness makes specific inner attitude that affects the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approaches to life issues; so, that person is more realistic to stressful factors (Kobasa & Maddi, 1999). Different treatment methods can be used to increase the hardiness of and one of them is stress management training. Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) is one of the proposed interventions in patients with cancer, specifically breast cancer. It can reduce anxious thoughts and physical pressures thus it can reduce the negative experiences and increase positive experiences. As well as skills, reduce stress, increase awareness to the source of stress and stress factors, positive experiences and replace negative thoughts and cognitive and interpersonal coping skills training to improve the patient's ability to manage stress and maintain support networks, training (Antoni et al., 2006). Prior studies indicated that psychological interventions such as; cognitive behavioral therapy (Duijts et al., 2012), modification of dysfunctional thoughts (Khan et al., 2011), problem-solving therapy (Tsuchiya, Horn, & Ingham, 2012), hypnosis (Jensen et al., 2012), guided imagery techniques (Hosaka, 2000) and stress management (Loprinzi, et al., 2011) have effective roles to reduce the psychological symptoms . Antoni (2009) in study showed that CBSM through relaxation (reduces anxiety), cognitive restructuring, coping styles and interpersonal skills training in a support group, incresed psycho-social adjustment of women with breast cancer and changed parameteres of Bio-behavioral that indicated the health. Antoni (2006) in other study showed that cognitivebehavioral stress management was successful in reduction anxiety, distress on women with breast cancer. In another study by Antoni (2009) conducted the stress management technique have significantly increased at psychological adjustment (increase mood, quality of life and reduce individual problems) in patients with breast cancer. In the same study other Mac Gregor and Antoni (2009) showed that cognitive-behavioral stress 57

Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, Parisa Peyvandy

management techniques, psychological distress (negative affect, concern about breast cancer using the scale of the event and the perceived stress) decreases in women within high risk of cancer. Phillips (2008) showed that cognitive-behavioral stress management techniques can reduce cortisol levels and enhance the ability of relaxation perceived women with breast cancer. Safarzadeh (2014) in the study evaluate the effectiveness of stress management and relaxation training on negative affect and quality of life of women with breast cancer payments, results demonstrated the effectiveness of stress management and relaxation in reducing negative affect and enhance the quality of life in women with cancer breast. Safarzadeh (2013) in another study have shown the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral stress management on reduction anxiety, stress and depression in women with breast cancer. Khodabakhshi (2015) in their study also showed that stress management training to improve the quality of women with breast cancer. Accordingly, this intervention provides training to increase awareness of sources and indicators of stress, training to notice and replace negative thoughts, and training in cognitive and interpersonal coping skills to improve the ways patients manage stressors and maintain their social support networks (Yanez, etal, 2015). Accordingly as noted above, the aim of the current study is to examine the effectiveness of stress management training on hardiness of patients with breast cancer. METHOD The aim of the current study is to examine the effectiveness of stress management training on the hardiness of breast cancer patients. The present study is a quasi-experimental research with pre- post test design and control group. The study population included all women (n = 120) diagnosed with breast cancer have improved after the chemotherapy and member of the cancer Instituteâ&#x20AC;? Sepasâ&#x20AC;? in 2015 in Tehran. The sample group was composed of 60 women with breast cancer in the recovery period after chemotherapy were selected based on accessible sampleing. The subjects were assigned to experimental and control groups randomly. The sample size was 30 participants in each group. Samples were selected with the following criteria: Entery criteria: minimum age of 20 years, at least high school education and want to work in groups. Exclusion criteria: physical and spiritual sickness, absence involve members more than 3 session- unwillingness to cooperate. Kobasa PVS questionnaire were completed by experimental and control groups to measure the hardiness of women with breast cancer before the implementation of stress management. The stress management plan was implemented in the 2-hour time 8 weekly sessions for experimental group and the control group have been waiting in this period. 58

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Stress management was implanted in 8 sessions (two hours for each session) for the experimental group. So the appropriate techniques of stress management designed to help patients to cope with their stress of disease problem. Group stress management training session Protocol of stress management session with cognitive behavioral approch was written based on Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) that were desinged by Antoni in Florida University (Antoni, 2003). Training Session First session

Second session Third session Fourth session

Fifth session

Sixth session

Seventh session

Eighth session

Content of session o Introducing participant and a brief description about 8 session, welcoming, saying aim and rules, necessory do the home work o Express definitions and descriptions of stress, Description of the sources of stress and physiological and psychological of stress, training exercises, deep breathing and relaxation techniques. Identify negative automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions, Training coping skills with stress includind muscle relaxation Discover the automatic negative thought and replace positive thought instead of negative thoughts, training problem solving skills. Teach healthy lifestyles, have a healthy diet and adequate sleep and exercise, physical methods for coping with stress, training muscular relaxation with 7 muscles Teach anger management training (anger definition, correct and effective communication styles, , teaching them how to control anger),Time management training(priority on important tasks, split tasks into smaller part). Practice diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation. Social support (need and maintain social support and interpersonal relationships and communication networks for coping with stress), express their feelings to others during times of stress and sadness, solve the problem by the good negotiation. Expressiveness education (addressing self-esteem, self-confidence,selfimportance. Increased personal relationships, empathize with others, express feelings to others, training muscular relaxation with 4 muscles Analysis what you learned up to now and review previous session and techniques. Ensure that ambiguous points are solved, get the feedback and comments from the participant, done the past test.

MEASURMENT Kobasa hardiness questionnaire has 50 items and three subscales control (17 articles), commitment (16 females) and fighting (17 articles) that has a level scale of 4 degrees is the 11 question positively and 39 questions the reverse is the case. Zero indicates that the item is not true in terms of subjects and the number 3 indicates that the subject is absolutely correct 59

Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, Parisa Peyvandy

statements. Higher score in one component shows that characteristic is less in him. The total score for the hardiness and three separate scores for each components were obtained (Kobasa, 1984). The reliability test have been reported in 0.70 commitment, control 0.52 and challenge 0.53 and 75% for the entire scale (Maddi, 1990). In the research was conducted to determine the validity of personal opinion, the relation between this questionnaire and sub-scale pathological criteria of the Minnesota multifaceted questionnaire was between 16% and 53% (Skau, 2001). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained 78% in this study. Then collected data was analyzed by SPSS-20 software. Data was analyzed by multivariable analysis of covariance. RESULT According to Table 1, results showed that the experimental and control groups before the intervention of the variables are not significantly different. In the control group mean hardiness and scales in patients with breast cancer in pre-test was obtained 68/19 and in post-test was obtained 68/80, so there is no significant difference between means of hardiness and its subscales between pretest and past test in control group. In the experimental group, hardiness and scales in patients with breast cancer in pre-test was obtained 54/22 and in post-test was obtained 67/20. The mean hardiness experimental group in pre-test was 12/98 score higher than pretest. The results in Table 1 showed the significant difference of hardiness between pretest and past test in experimental group. As shown in Table 1, there is a significant difference between two groups in hardiness and its subscales in the past-test after the intervention so the stress management has influence on the hardiness in the experimental group. Table 1. Descriptive summary of the results of pre- and post-test scores Group

Amount

Hardiness Experimental Control

30 30

Mean 54.22 68.19

Pretest St.deviation 7.793 17.622

Mean 67.20 68.80

Posttest St.deviation 9.004 12.677

Analysis of covariance was used for quasi-experimental design pretestpostest to obtain the effects of pretest. Befor analyze the assumption, levens test is used for homogeneity of variance in first step. According to levenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s test, the test value F (1.700) and the signification level is greater than 0.05 (sig = 0.197), this assumption of homogeneity of variance is approved. According to Table 2, the test value F (35/655) and df = 1, with acceptable error of less than 0.01 (Sig = 0/000) and the degree of confidence 60

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could be the result of more than 99/0 there was no significant difference between the average hardiness. The null hypothesis (‫ܪ‬଴ ), indicating no relationship be rejected and, therefore, this hypothesis is confirmed. The stress management training increases hardiness dimensions (control, commitment, challenge) on patients with breast cancer. Multivariable analysis of covariance showed that there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test score in the experimental group. These results demonstrate that stress management has major influence on the hardiness in breast cancer patients. Therefore, there is a significant difference between the subscales after intervention. Table 2. Covariance test for investigating the effect of stress management on hardiness after education Source Corrected model Intercept Group Error Total

Df 1

Mean square 2528.071

1 1 58 60

221166.531 2528.071 70.903

F 35.655 3119.275 35.655

Sig. .000 .000 .000

DISCUSSION The findings of this study showed that stress management training increases the hardiness of women with cancer. The result of other research Antoni (2006, 2009), MacGregor and Antoni (2009), Philips (2008), Safarzade (2012, 2013) and Khodabakhshi (2015) showen the effectiveness of stress management training to improve the quality of life and mental status of women with breast cancer. Finally results show a positive effect on hardiness, stress management training for patients and also in women with breast cancer. In fact, stress management contributes to women with cancer that adapt better to their life stressors. Hardiness is one of the most important topics in positive psychology, recent research indicates not only a link between hardiness and disease, but also the hardiness and longevity, and even the best predictors of mental health. Maddi and Pagna also note that hardiness provides flexibility and protects public health (Maddi, 1990; Pagna, 1990). Therefore, people who have hardiness are physically and mentally healthy, and this causes their satisfaction with their lives. In addition, it is more likely that hardiness people assess the stressful situations positively. Strong people mainly see life events interesting, varied, informative and challenging. They consider life events realistic or with generosity, so they are optimistic over the total life events. Therefore, may be this optimism makes

Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, Parisa Peyvandy

strong people more resistant to unpleasant and unexpected incident and illnesses (Delahaija, Gaillard, & Dam, 2011). Given that there is no research on the effectiveness of stress management to increase the hardiness especially women with breast cancer, this research is innovative and fresh. Previous studies showing a positive effect of hardiness on the lives (zahng 2010), hardiness, major predictor of psychological adjustment and physiological variables (Pollock & Duffy, 1990), and increase tolerance in the face of disease (Brooks, 2003), the role of hardiness effective in regulating stress(Wiebe, 1991) and coping with the stressors (Judkins & Furlow, 2006). Dupont (2014) showed that intrusive thoughts increased pain, depressive symptoms, and physical function. Training coping strategy with cognitive distortion and negative automatic thoughts can help the patients to replace them with rational thoughts. Then this method influence on the interpersonal relationships and social skills. Also, stress management influenced social life and increased self-esteem with training anger management skills and increased assertiveness. Considering these results, we can say hardiness is an effective stimulus to encounter patients with cancer and increase the commitment and ability to control them so one can go up to the believe that the change is a normal aspect of life. Fighter identify consider Positive and negative situation, such as cancer that need readjustment, as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a threat to their safety and security. Hardiness people do not give up in stressful situations like cancer disease did not attempt to deal with the disease and that will boost the immune system, people are trying to cope with the disease. They are not a threat to its security (Florian, Mikulincer, & Taubma, 1995). Another positive feature of hardiness can be said that a person with characteristics such as hardiness even fatal disease, cancer decides to live therefore welcome to life at home, at work, or in game. In person, the desire to live and the emergence of the specific reasons for being there. He simply wants to overcome problems, good life and be successful, optimistic attitude towards life and has found himself and expects his favor before the events of life. As a result of frustration, anxiety and depression sees safe. Having a sense of control over the situation, an active stance in times of difficulty, resistance against it, its holding in critical situations and adversity as an opportunity for growth and development of knowledge, all of the things that helps people to achieve progress. Therefore stress management training is one of the strategies that will help people in this way. Stress management offers new viewpoints to patients which can be used to reach the quality of life and challenging the problems of sickness.

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Melchior, H., Buscher, C., Thorenz, A., Grochocka, A., Koch, U., & Watzke, B. (2013). Self-efficacy and fear of cancer progression during the year following diagnosis of breast cancer. Psycho-oncology, 22(1), 39–45. doi: 10.1002/pon.2054. Neipp, M. C., Lopez-Roig, S., & Pastor, M. A. (2007). Control beliefs in cancer: a literature review. Anuario de Psicologia, 35(3), 333-55. Pagna, K. D. (1990). The Relationship of Hardiness and Social Support, Student Appraisal of Stress in an Initial Clinical Nursing Situation, Nursing Education, 29, 255-261. Phillips, K. M., Antoni, M., Lechner, S. C., Blomberg, B. B., Lubre, M. M., Avisar, E., Gluck, S., Derhagophian, R., & Carver, C. S. (2008). Stress management intervention reduces serum cortisol and increases relaxation during treatment for Nonmetastatic breast cancer. Psychosomatic medicine, 70, 1044-1049. Pollock, S. E., & Duffy, M. E. (1990). The health-related hardiness scale: Development and psychometric analysis. Nursing Research, 39, 218222. Safarzade, A., Roshan, R., Shams, J. (2014). Effectiveness of Stress Management and Relaxation Training in Reducing the Negative Affect and in Improving the Life Quality of Women with Breast Cancer. Research in Mental Health, 8(4), 21-35. Safarzade, A., Roshan, R., Shams, J. (2013). Effectiveness of Stress Management Training in Reducing anxiety, stress and depression of Women with Breast Cancer. Clinical psychology Studies Journal, 6(2), 123. Skau, M. (2001). Hardiness as predictor of coping and jab satisfaction a mong predoctoral interns. University at abbany, State University at New York. Smith, E. M., Pang, H., Cirrincione, C., Fleishman, S., Paskett, E. D., Ahles, T., & et al. (2013) Effect of duloxetine on pain, function, and quality of life among patients with chemotherapy-induced painful peripheral neuropathy: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 309(13), 1359–67. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.2813. Spencer, S., Lehman, J., Wynings, C., Arena, P., Carver, C., & Antoni, M. (1999). Psychosocial well-being. Health Psychology, 18, 159-169. Traeger, L., Greer, J. A., Fernandez-Robles, C., Temel, J. S., & Pirl, W. F. (2012). Evidence-based treatment of anxiety in patients with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 30(11), 1197-1205. Tsuchiya, M., Horn, S., & Ingham, R. (2012). Information provision and problem-solving processes in Japanese breast cancer survivors with lymphoedema symptoms. Scand J Caring Sci, 26, 53–60. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00903.x.

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Ussher, J. M., Perz, J., & Gilbert, E. (2012). Changes to sexual well-being and intimacy after breast cancer. Cancer Nurse, 35(6), 456–65. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0b013e3182395401 Wiebe, D. J. (1991). Hardiness and Stress Moderation: A Test of Proposed Mechanism, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 89-99. Wong-Kim, E. C.; & Bloom, J. R. (2005). Depression experienced by young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Psycho-oncology, 14(7), 564–73. . doi: 10.1002/pon.873. Yanez, B., Bustillo, N. E., Antoni, M. H., Lechner, S. C., Dahn J, Kava, B., & et al. (2015). The importance of perceived stress management skills for patients with prostate cancer in active surveillance. J Behav Med. 38(2): 214–23. doi: 10.1007/s10865-014-9594-1. Zhang, L. F. (2010). Hardiness and the Big Five personality traits among Chinese university students, Learning and Individual Differences, article in press.

Elham Eghtedary Naeini, Begher Sanaei Zaker, Parisa Peyvandy

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 http://fssh-journal.org

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF PRIVATE DORMITORY SPACES (Case Study: Girls Dormitory University of Science and Technology) ELHAM HAJI KHODAVERDI KHAN Master of Science in Architectural Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology

SEYYED ABBAS AGHA YAZDANFAR Faculty member, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

AHMAD EKHLASI Faculty member, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract Now in student dormitories, observing confidentiality in sort of the plummet had worked and days Increasing discontent and insecurity faced by students regarding non-compliance with privacy are. Having a sense of privacy in all spaces, the most important needs that in dormitory as a second home there. The problem is the lack of a sense of privacy female students that we face today in student dormitories. This study aimed to identify the important elements Muharram is the girl's dormitory spaces. For in this analytical-descriptive study, 28 females architecture dormitory girls were chosen University of Science and Technology. The reason for choosing architecture students more than others because they were confidential and architecture issues in hostels were familiar. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire based on the theoretical framework extracted from the review of the literature was made. Validity, the validity based on Elite judgment was confirmed. 0.633, respectively, were confirmed. Data from field studies in quantitative methods were analyzed. The results of this study showed that from the perspective of female students using the software SPSS. The distinction between the public sphere and the private sphere, the interstitial spaces between the public and private spheres indirectly into space, the need for confidentiality in different spaces with different quality and quantity, yard enclosed, controlled outlets, respecting the hierarchy of access to space in small size, large. The dimensions or size dimensions, respectively, and are the most common causes of privacy in dorm room.

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

These issues should be further considered by the designers of the university dormitory for girls are. Keywords: Dorms, girls, confidentiality. INTRODUCTION Student dormitories as a physical base in various countries including Residential dissatisfactions that in most cases it come to life, but the fact that the Iran, many dormitories available, regardless of user-friendliness and design students' needs or have made of the existing buildings without the user hostels for students of settlement Is used, it is more significant. Rooms with low area and many people together have taken the services, living and kitchen, which all students are required to use a shared dormitory they are the ones that measures such as privacy, relaxation and comfort, etc. Living in a dorm is like life: influence (Ali Abadi et, 2010). Apartments or homes public are affected by similar architecture. Normally students in dorms roommate be someone who may be a complete stranger. It is also doubtful that the dorm rooms Bathroom, kitchen and other facilities are. In addition, dormitories should also study and socialize. The progress of science: activities that are often at odds-easy (T Mc Andrew, 1991). Due to the spread of the psychological dimension of human existence in the physical needs of him. Today, this issue has gained a special place in architecture. Efforts to enhance the feeling positive people in society, especially students, one of the most important in shaping the country's future are the greater the importance of this issue. For many students, the university New phase of life and campus life experience is part of the experience. Changes in Dormitory living environment would be one of the factors determining the emotional state of people are. This in turn impacts on academic performance and behavior of students who have (Behbahani, Ali Abad, Saman and pour a rare, 2011). After the issue of education in the twenty-first century, accommodation: Students at the University are of priority importance. This hostel should meet the needs students, changes in academic, social life, the demands of the students and their parents be held accountable. Futuristic design ideas can be practical and appropriate solutions to the problems and Dormitories difficult situation today. One of the special features that confidential space. (Female students and it has a significant impact on freedom of behavior (Ali Abadi, et al., 2010). Remove the nobility, creating space and privacy control the view, the conditions for the development of moral, social, cognitive and physical Girls has obtained and will allow them accommodation in the private sphere, Out 70

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of sight unrelated, freely operate girls dormitory in addition to the existing problems in the dorms, Another major problem is also faced with the issue of privacy in a hostel girls. Unfortunately, officials when dormitory buildings do not consider it the characteristics of this building for a broader and to be built and after lodging female students, contends that the hostel girls must see the public kept confidential. For this purpose, the windows are mosaics, color them, the thick curtains for Prevention of nobility dormitory boys to girls in their bedrooms and balconies front wall Killing them. Due to this aristocracy is sometimes possible to walk and walk among the simplest outdoor activities the hostel is 18 and is the only room pitch black girls stripping for young girls 24 year-old remains. Rooms with fixed windows that have been painted in order to comply with ethical rules and for a bit of light transmission, adds the missing students. As brewing sufficient understanding of the needs of Student, lack of systematic quantitative and qualitative standards for the design of campus spaces, lack of attention to Dormitories for girls in terms of respect for privacy in all spheres, the issues that need study makes bold. The aim of the present study, important elements in intimate spaces of the dormitory is from the perspective of female students at the University of Science and Technology. Based on the above, this study aims There is the need for confidentiality in a hostel for girls, the factors leading to recognize privacy and in order of importance to prioritize and address the application of each in design and construction and can also provide answers to problems in the dorms, to intimate physical space pay dorms. Confidentiality is one of the basic principles governing the universe and its phenomena that impact the physical structure -Iranian traditional architecture is undeniable. Have always thought of architecture as a framework for development Thinking, attitude and thoughts are nation. The trace of principles and worldview of the dominant culture Land is best seen in Iranian traditional architecture and architecture was expressed as our past includes fundamental change is necessary to have originated from the sky in the heart of traditions. These principles As long as civilization emanating from the tradition of folk who leads the ruling principle for them is stable and survival And will last stop, even when his physical survival to all submitters will not die was. At the same time, earth's shadow will disappear, his own and his spiritual traditions inherent in fact the source. (Returns heavenly Ardalan, 2001). One of these principles is the privacy that so many traditional and artistic index in the post-Islamic architecture. Iran has body. In addition to the privacy principles such as unity, which must be for the entire art Islamic civilization is, order, hierarchy, symmetry and proportion and so on in the 71

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

form of traditional buildings Prospecting And since they have common roots and are facing a primordial truth, the existence of any form And supplements the other. The systematic hierarchy of public and private space and the maintain confidentiality of leads and applying proportionality and order and geometry, shapes, showing unity the same source and root of traditional principles. It seems to know what is in the past and we recognize the principles and standards of our traditional architecture and on their body language, the way for to achieve what is intended, pave and individual duty architects to refer to original sources valuable examples of the way forward. The principles of confidentiality, hierarchy, coordination and fitness, bond with nature, geometry etc. All of those who today are truly obsolete and surely the recognition. Since talk of confusion and lack of architectural identity in Iran today, perhaps the greatest problem in addition to the west-oriented, non-planning, lack of strong ideas and a lack of understanding create contemporary architecture, in a break with the architecture of the past. Since the principles, values and strategies presented the thoughts and beliefs of our culture we have excluded and the blind imitation (Seifi and Mahmoud, 2008). Confidentiality is one of the basic principles governing the universe and its phenomena that impact the physical structure Iranian traditional architecture is undeniable. Have always thought of architecture as a framework for development Thinking, attitude and thoughts are nation. The trace of principles and worldview of the dominant culture Land is best seen in Iranian traditional architecture and architecture was expressed as our past includes fundamental change is necessary to have originated from the sky in the heart of traditions. These principles As long as civilization emanating from the tradition of folk who leads the ruling principle for them is stable and survival and will last stop, even when his physical survival to all submitters will not die was. At the same time, earth's shadow will disappear, his own and his spiritual traditions inherent in fact the source. (Returns heavenly, Ardalan, 2001). One of these principles is the privacy that so many traditional and artistic index in the post-Islamic architecture. Iran has body. In addition to the privacy principles such as unity, which must be for the entire art Islamic civilization is, order, hierarchy, symmetry and proportion and so on in the form of traditional buildings prospecting and since they have common roots and are facing a primordial truth, the existence of any form And supplements the other. The systematic hierarchy of public and private space and the Maintain confidentiality of leads and applying proportionality and order and geometry, shapes, showing unity the same source and root of traditional principles. It seems to know what is in the past and we recognize the principles and standards of our traditional architecture and on their body language, the 72

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way for to achieve what is intended, pave and individual duty architects to refer to original sources valuable examples of the way forward. The principles of confidentiality, hierarchy, coordination and fitness, bond with Nature, geometry etc. All of those who today are truly obsolete, and surely the recognition. Since talk of confusion and lack of architectural identity in Iran today, Perhaps the greatest problem in addition to the West-oriented, non-planning, lack of strong ideas and a lack of understanding Create contemporary architecture, in a break with the architecture of the past. Since the principles, values and strategies presented the thoughts and beliefs of our culture we have excluded and the blind imitation (Seifi and Mahmoud, 2008). LITERATURE REVIEW In case their indices in terms of physical space, and that space definition, what the meaning of Inside and outside induce, can be internal or external features such as the index being investigated Contract, including: closeness, Customer; these, some features Religious sources considered and privacy characterized by a religious law or religious morals. By comparison, five Rappaport index was noted as behavioral spatial features are: the extent of the house, active regions of the realm, the realm of temporary, personal space (Rappaport, 1977). Continue to study the nature and type of communication they deal with confidentiality. The ratio between privacy and confidentiality Altman privacy defines "individual control over other access to him or his group" defined two is an important part. The first part, that means the ability to privacy or remove resign from others defines. And in fact refers to the concept of privacy. Another important dimension Altman refers to it, the ability of the privatization of spaces to supply information about themselves. Therefore, privacy setting a dynamic process open or closed than others (Altman, 2004). The right to privacy of being alone, development of personality, a kind of self-control and personal affairs Westin quiet considers four types: (1) isolation, free from view by (Moore, 2003) others; (2) kinship, relationship with another person and be free from outside; (3) obscure, unknown among total; and (4) tolerance, psychological barriers to control nuisance unknown to deploy. In fact, privacy, cited by respondents include isolation and affinity and tolerance is observed (according to the objective curls, 2004). Providing optimum privacy in residential spaces, the satisfying sense of security, self-actualization and self-esteem will was. Private supply less than optimal congestion and much more desirable, and withdrawal will Led, in both the psychological stress factor that should be specifically designed 73

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

architectural space. Architects and designers take into consideration residential space (Kazemipour, 2008). The ratio between the territory and confidentiality the concept of space theme is not only territory but also a social phenomenon. In fact, the territory can be knew the location of a community space (Lawson, 2002). We will find a historical look from the beginning of human settlement and shelter, forming mark is a kind of purposeful conscious environment which owned the area. The evidence suggests Mark Location and importance, its tales (Rappaport, 2003). Privacy policy and determine the scope of the first humans (Rappaport, quoting an objective process, Mr. Latifi, 2011). Additional privacy of confidential private sphere or territory and local communities relevant to the public domain. The So how to organize and spatial relationships between them can meet the level of privacy that cultural trait. (The influence (Marglyvs, 2003). The ratio between introversion and confidentiality Introversion feature residential units in Muslim societies, where the sanctity of the family and introversion Particular, is fully consistent with our culture and influenced it more or less to modern day (Continued Raymond, 1991). The characteristics of an introvert houses are as follows: 1. The lack of direct visual relationship between spaces within the outside urban space itself. 2. The different spaces of the element such as yard or indoor gallery Has organized in such a way that Rosen and openings are open to the elements (ARCHITECT, 2005). The ratio between the hierarchy and confidentiality Hierarchy to two important answers: a gradual merits and that conditions should not such that man and adverse mental and spiritual impact on him not to (Naghizadeh, 1999). With regards to housing, hierarchy can be contemplated in two aspects: external and internal. The hierarchy of external communication with other areas and functions around it deals with housing, while hierarchy within the domestic housing elements together, focused on exploring the relationship between S & T (g walk Naghi, 2012). We observe that preserve the secrecy and hierarchy can be seen in the private space completely private. Private spaces to separate children from their parents and from each other, which is derived from the teachings of Islamic higher even for parents for the child's entry into the space is also deemed it necessary permission (Saifi, Mahmud, 2007). The ratio between the hierarchy and confidentiality Hierarchy to two important answers: a gradual merits and that conditions should not such that man and adverse mental and spiritual impact on him not to With regards to housing, hierarchy can be contemplated in two aspects: external and internal. (Naghizadeh,2009).

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The ratio between the input and confidentiality Religious dignity and privacy have been caused to Muslims from their homes in the structure input indirectly to slide into the courtyard from place to relax and emancipation of women and their families. Each room and the hierarchical arrangement of one or more activities to the confidential and non-canon Does not harm normal family life. Study residential architecture elements and components fixed Muslims which has been part of the religious architectural elements commonly used in order to respect and have established security and privacy (Karimian, Atarzadeh, 1999). Bagheri and Shahroudi (2014) in a study of attachment to modeling construction in-house and public space Use it applied in the design of public space student housing for students. The case studies Suite 50 female students in the dormitories of Mazandaran University who Inventory Positive and negative emotions completed. In this study, in order to increase public interest in space home, student use of natural materials and indoor living areas such as small, enclosed The collective space, use cool colors and neutral, using large openings and high consideration And based on the physical, public space was designed for students in student housing. The results show that most of them designed to make public space as their own collective space, elected. Storm (2011) in cross-sectional study to determine the pattern of the examples of architecture The relationship of women's privacy creation in the architecture of the input space. The results showed that in architecture Islamic hierarchy in the formation of physical-spatial attention is confidentiality. Ali Abadi, et al (2010) in a study to determine the parameters of environmental psychology in between Campus students and their relation to gender, educational level and type of their accommodation. Sample This study consisted of 201 students from eight dormitories of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in fields and sections education is different. Among these, 81 were male students and 120 female students. To collect data, a questionnaire with four parts including questions about satisfaction Students of the present dormitories. The results showed a significant relationship between psychological factors cognitive, gender, educational level and type of dormitories there. In summary, In conclusion, gender, educational level, including design elements that must necessarily hostels be considered as the elements of the student's psychological parameters such as feeling relax, feel the rush, feel the enjoyment of privacy, a sense of opportunity, sense at home, etc., is effective.

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

METHOD In this descriptive study -an analysis 28 of the student dormitory girls University of Science and Technology were selected as examples. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire based on literature review was built. The questionnaire items were assessed through 4 is confidentiality. Immunity domestic housing spaces in the eyes of strangers, lead to privacy. The distinction between the private sector and general, provides privacy. The nobles adjacent buildings on each other, providing maximum privacy and leads. Different spaces, privacy is necessary to varying degrees. Solitude is measured through 4 items be. Autonomy over personal matters provides individual privacy. Right only for the individual, his privacy Provides. Control by a person's relationship with others, to create an atmosphere leads retreats. The people various different need for privacy. Territory is measured through 4 items private space for The user provides personal territory. Territory, border and encompasses certain amount of privacy of the individual. Geographical area owned by the user, providing personal territory. The owner, within its territory in many ways, markup and specifies measured by four items: opening, rosen to the courtyard, not outward, inward to provide. Storage spaces around the yard or courtyards, the place is introverted. Visual communication mediated (indirect) between interior urban space leads to introversion culture, on how to achieve effective introversion. Hierarchy input is measured through 4 items input in determining the relationship between spaces plays an important role. In reaching from outer space to inner space, observing the necessary hierarchy. Indirectly, to the lack of visual communication outside the immediate result enables the interior. The questionnaire, based on the judgment of the validity elite was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire were obtained by Cronbach's alpha of .633 which the SPSS was confirmed. Quantitative data obtained from field studies using software analyzed. RESULTS As of contents table 1 shows the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation were calculated for each of Components and finally each batch of Components on their scores were ranking.

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Table 1. Mean, median, mode, and standard deviation Intimatement component Out bodies Pores controllable Deference between arena public and private Existence spaces median arena public and private Entry to space from way indirect Regard hierarchy on access space Intimatement In various spaces with various quality and qualify Limited court Dimension open

Average

Median

Mode

3.09 2.87

3 3

Standard deviation 0.77 0.55

3.15

0.80

3.06

0.80

3.06

0.80

2.84

0.76

3.03

0.73

3 2.62

3 3

3 2

0.80 0.75

As table 1 shows the contents of components by high levels of confidentiality agreements with their dormitory residents are as follows: 1. The distinction between public and private sector 2. Foreign bodies interstitial spaces between the public and private 3. Log into space indirectly 4. The need for confidentiality in different spaces with different quality and quantity enclosed yard pores can be controlled 5. Observe the hierarchy in access to space 6. Rosen and drop dimensions In the second question, the concepts mentioned in the literature relating to confidentiality and privacy are, territory, introversion, hierarchy and input, along with statements from each of the concepts presented. The results, ranking them based on the importance of girls' dormitory show.

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

Table 2. Ranking based on the importance of girls' dormitory Concept Intimatement

Privacy

Territory

Introspection

Incoming hierarchy

Description First sentence: immune of inner house spaces of seeing strange people, leading to intematement Second sentence: different between arena public and private, secure intimatement Third sentence: nought gripe adjacent structure on together, redoud to secure maximum intimate. Fourth sentence: for various spaces intimate is request various balance First sentence: for personal tasks redounded own privacy Second sentence: for personal tasks redounded own privacy Third sentence: control balance relation to rest from single leading to create privacy space. Fourth sentence: in various people, various needs is to privacy. Firs sentence: intimate space for user, redounded personal dominion Second sentence: dominion include clear bound of single personal sanctum Third sentence: geography confine under ownership user is redound personal dominion Fourth sentence: owner denote confine own dominion from various ways First sentence: opening ? to court, no to out redound Introspection Second sentence: siting spaces around court Introspection place. Third sentence: visual relation by psychic between inner space and city space leadind to Introspection Fourth sentence: culture social is effective way acce to Introspection First sentence: Input, plays an important role in determining how the relationship between spaces.

3.00

2.37 2.71

Ranking First sentence Third sentence Second sentence Fourth sentence

1.90 2.50 2.46 2.78

Third sentence First sentence Second sentence Fourth sentence

2.25 2.53 3.31 2.25

Third sentence First sentence Second sentence Fourth sentence

1.90 2.43 2.53 2.34

Fourth sentence Second sentence First sentence Third sentence

2.68 2.53

Second sentence First sentence Third sentence Fourth sentence

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377 Second sentence:In reaching from outer space to inner space, observing the necessary hierarchy.

2.56

Third sentence: Coming from outer space to inner space Fourth sentence Direct input, enables the interior to be

2.56 2.34

Table 3. Ranking of the importance of girls' dormitory Intimatement

Privacy

Territory

Introspection

First rank

Being safe spaces within the home In the eyes of others

Control of communication by individual

Boundaries of individual privacy

Under the influence of culture

Second rank

The nobles built on each other

Autonomy in Personal affairs

Intimate spaces for user

Spaces wrapping around the yard

Third Rank

The distinction between public and private The degree of confidentiality appropriate to the needs of each space

The right to be alone

Geographical area owned by the user

Stomatal opening to the courtyard

Different people need to different privacy

Marking territory by owner

Indirect visual connection between the interior space with urban space

Fourth Rank

Incoming hierarchy Observe the hierarchy of reach from outer space to inner space indirect input to the lack of visual communication outside to inside Input important role in determining how the relationship between spaces Direct input, enables the interior

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

CONCLUSION In terms of the overall privacy and confidentiality mainly internal spaces seen as part of strangers, in First priority. While the distinction between public and private as well as the confidentiality of Space, the next degree is of paramount importance. This reflects the important role of physical space designed to provide Is confidentiality. In terms of privacy, control the person's relation to others, has a decisive role. The Respect the privacy of individuals in relation to others, mainly private function depends mainly software. Mainly refers to the belief of a community boundary, providing realm is individual in society. Culture and subcultures, introversion and extraversion in the community has a decisive role. From the physical structure is influenced by the intense cultural communities. The hierarchy in the functional components of the physical input in the form of physical structures, The general performance and this important debate to ensure confidentiality major role is the same. Finally, we can say that culture is the main determinant of introversion and extroversion in compliance with the degree of physical pop-up, arrangement of spaces, etc., in the development and promotion of the anatomic structures of privacy in dorm. REFERENCES Ali Abadi, M., Behzad behbahany, a., Pournaderi, H., (2010), Evaluation of environmental psychology in the design of student dormitories, Psychological Methods and Models, Volume 1, Issue 2, Pages 1-11. Al-Qaradawi. Yusuf, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, Indianapolis, American Trust Publication, 1960. Norberg Schulz, Christian, (1976), Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, New York. Ardalan, and., Bakhtiar, L. (2001), "Unity", translation Shahrokh Hamid, publishing of Khak, Isfahan. Bagheri, or. (2012). The concept of emotional design. Behbahani, b., Aliabad, M., Saman, SA., And Pournader, H. Journal of Fine Arts, 51-60, Bagheri, R. M., The Judiciary, AS., (2012), Assessment and intervention in public space preferences of the user's emotion, Contemporary Psychology, Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 63-76. Storm, S., (2011), To investigate the relationship of women's privacy creation in the architecture of the input space, Woman and Family Studies, Volume 4, Issue 14, pp. 119-142. Rapoport, Amos, (1977), Human Aspects of Urban Form, Pergamon Press, UK.

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Saifi, MK, Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi. (2007), Privacy in traditional Iranian architecture, City Identity Journal, Issue 1. Soltanzadeh, H., (1993), Entry space in traditional architecture Iran, Tehran Municipality Cultural and Social Affairs, T-Mac Andrew, F., (1991), Environmental psychology, translation Gholam Reza Mahmoudi, publications Zarbaf principle.

Elham Haji Khodaverdi Khan, Seyyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar, Ahmad Ekhlasi

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DIFFERENT OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION STYLES AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS OF GIRLS IN EMPLOYED MOTHERS WITH HOUSEKEEPER MOTHERS LEILA SEIFOLLAHI Master of Clinical Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract The purpose of this research was to compare styles of conflict resolution and behavioral problems of girls in employed and housekeeper mothers. In this research that was done using casual-comparison method (after events) 200 employed mothers and 200 housekeeper ones of girls of high schools in Tehran (Iran)were selected as the sample based on cluster-random method. Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (ROC-II) and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavioral problem questionnaire (parental form, 1994) were used for information collection that was previously normalized in studies conducted in Iran and its validity has been confirmed. In this research, reliability of the questionnaire was assessed through Cronbach alpha and was confirmed with a high reliability of 0.80. The t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that there is a statistically significant difference between employed and housekeeper women in all styles except conflict resolution style. And integration conflict resolution style and avoiding conflict resolution style in employed women are more than those in housekeeper ones and also, required conflict resolution style in housekeeper women is more than that in employed ones. Also, the results showed that there is a statistically significant difference between girls of employed and housekeeper women in hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, disorder, and lack of attention. This research confirms that employment of women results in enhancement of behavioral disorder among children. It is suggested that policy makers and planners in the country must pay attention to this point. Keywords: Conflict resolution styles, behavioral disorders, mothers, employment.

Leila Seifollahi

INTRODUCTION Family is the first location of social communication for a child and essentially, a child knows the expectations of his/her own social life in the framework of family environment in terms of the type of his/her parental educative methods. So, education and training of the child and the formation of child growth dimensions that are reflected in occurrence of the child behaviors undoubtedly will be affected by parents. Studies have shown that behavioral problems are of the most common problem that children and adolescents associated with it (Halahan and Kafman, 2008). On the other hand, if some problems such as lack of attention, hyperactivity, behavioral disorder, comprehensive anxiety, depression, disobedience, fear, and etc that can be occurred in the form of beating, fight, yelling and screaming, sabotage, threat, escape from school, educational failure, and delinquency are not be paid attention, can result in behavioral problems (Halahan and Kafman, 2008). The studies have shown that behaviors such as seclusion and physical complaints are also behavioral disorders that after the second year of the school have gradually increased and it reaches considerable and worrying level in fifth and sixth years. Indeed, when a child achieves cognitive ability he/she will be able to remember and predict negative and stressful events and imagine them (Fanti, 2007). Many factors such as parenting (Farzadfar and Hooman, 2007), anxiety and mother depression (Mohammadzadeh and Najafi, 2010), exciting atmosphere and matrimony satisfaction (Soltanifar and Bina, 2007), factors related to school and attitude of teachers (Fortin et al., 2010), understood family relations by children, mutual and dynamic interactions among persons, multiple levels of environment and supportive relations of family members (Lubenko and Sebre, 2010) are effective on creating children behavioral problems. Also, according to determined studies, each of children behavioral problems can underlie the other problems and occur in various forms in adulthood. On the other hand, there is the possibility of occurrence of conflict in every onesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; life. That how people react at time of the occurrence of conflict and what approaches they select to resolve the conflict are important. Conflict is inevitable part of human being. Both in personal life and in social life, there is a possibility of occurrence of conflict whenever and wherever people are social (Babapour, 2006).

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The conflict resolution methods are behaviors that the person shows them facing with a conflict situation to can overcome that situation (Dibaji Foroushani et al., 2008). Studies have shown that the way of parental communication with children is the strongest factor affecting family interaction patterns, especially during periods of children life that essential changes of mental growth are gone and since mother is the first person that a baby communicates with her, therefore, she plays the most important role in educating mental and emotional properties of baby and is considered as health or illness center (Godarzi et al., 2010). Today, women employment especially in Tehran (Iran) has had a growing trend so that many women spend less time at home. Nevertheless, despite importance of job and family, limited studies have been conducted in the form of attention to interactions between job and family (Godarzi et al., 2010). This research aims to compare conflict resolution styles and behavioral problems in employed and housekeeper mothers and answers these questions that can employment of women due to restricted presence at home effective on children behavioral problems? And has employment resulted in difference in women conflict resolution styles?

METHOD The present study is of a comparative-casual or after event type. Statistical population in this research was the mothers of high school girls in Tehran (Iran). 200 employed mothers and 200 housekeeper ones in tehran (iran)were selected using cluster-random method. The most important data collection tool in this research was Rahim Organizational Conflict InventoryII (ROC-II) and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavioral problem questionnaire (parental form, 1994). Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (ROC-II) Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (ROC-II) is a questionnaire with 28 questions that was created by Rahim et al. (2004) for the first time and it was normalized by Haghighi et al. (2012) for first time. Sine this questionnaire is standard, there is no need to investigate its validity again in this research and only its reliability was calculated using Cronbach alpha after completion of 30 questionnaires by research samples. The reliability for integration conflict resolution, required conflict resolution, the dominant 85

Leila Seifollahi

conflict resolution, avoiding conflict resolution, and reconciliation conflict resolution was obtained 0.82, 0.84, 0.81, 0.80, and 0.82, respectively indicating acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavioral problem questionnaire (parental form, 1994) This questionnaire includes 31 items and issues related to health and children habits. Scoring in this questionnaire is in a three-scale form including: ture=0; partly true=1; and completely true=2. Rother (1994) did a wide study about 10- and 11-year old children. In this study, 1536 children were investigated using Rotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s questionnaire and also the relaibility of this questionnaire was assessed. Rother reported reliability of retest and questionnaire 0.74 in a pretest-posttest study within two months. In Iran also reported reliability of correlation parental form 0.74 in a pretestposttest study within two months. (quoted by Bardideh et al., 2010). Sine this questionnaire is standard, there is no need to investigate its validity again in this research and only its reliability was calculated using Cronbach alpha after completion of 30 questionnaires by research samples. The reliability for hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, social incompatibility, anti-social behaviors, and attention deficit disorder was obtained 0.83, 0.86, 0.80, 0.84, and 0.82, respectively indicating an acceptable reliability of the research questionnaire. Also, SPSS software and t-test were used to analyze data and to test hypotheses, respectively.

FINDINGS In this research, 200 employed mothers and 200 housekeeper ones in tehran (iran)were studied. For employed women, the average of styles of integration conflict resolutions, required conflict resolution, the dominant conflict resolution, avoiding conflict resolution, and reconciliation conflict resolution was obtained 24.76, 20.04, 19.92, 24.72, and 14.72, respectively. For housekeeper women, the average of styles of integration conflict resolutions, required conflict resolution, the dominant conflict resolution, avoiding conflict resolution, and reconciliation conflict resolution was obtained 29.92, 26.08, 16.44, 15.48, and 15.88, respectively. The average of behavioral disorder of employed women girls in hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, social incompatibility, anti-social behaviors, and attention deficit disorder was obtained 2.68, 1.87, 1.83, 1.89, 86

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and 2.20, respectively. The average of behavioral disorder of housekeeper women girls in hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, social incompatibility, anti-social behaviors, and attention deficit disorder was obtained 1.90, 1.72, 1.81, 1.80, and 1.80, respectively. Hypothesis 1: Conflict resolution styles are different among employed and housekeeper mothers in Tehran (Iran). This hypothesis has been tested using t-test and the results are given in Tables 1 and 2. As can be seen in Table 1, the significance level of t-test in all styles except reconciliation conflict resolution is lower than 0.05. Consequently, there is a statistically significant difference in conflict resolution styles (in integration, dominant, required, and avoiding conflict resolution styles) between employed and housekeeper women, but there is not any difference in reconciliation conflict resolution style between employed and housekeeper women.

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Table 1. Investigating the difference of average of integration conflict resolution styles between employed and housekeeper women t-test of equality of averages Confidence interval of 95% Upper Lower limit limit -3.425 -6.895

Average Difference

Significance level

-5.16

0.000

198

5.902

-3.425

-6.895

-5.16

0.000

178.50

5.902

1.892

0.932

3.48

0.001

198

0.675

1.892

0.932

3.48

0.001

196.247

0.675

3.102

-4.978

-5.68

0.000

198

3.102

-4.978

-5.68

0.000

178

3.589

0.091

8.840

0.039

198

8.545 8.545 2.088

3.589

0.091

8.840

0.040

91.97

2.088

-1.898

-0.502

-1.16

0.091

198

3.412

-1.898

-0.502

-1.16

0.091

171.50

3.412

Levene's test of equality of variances Significance level F

0.002

6.134

0.001

2.374

0.001

12.179

0.002

5.120

0.187

14.247

Variances are equal Variances aren’t equal Variances are equal Variances aren’t equal Variances are equal Variances aren’t equal Variances are equal Variances aren’t equal Variances are equal Variances aren’t equal

Integration

Dominant

Required

Avoiding

Reconciliation

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Table 2. Average and standard deviation of conflict resolution styles in employed and housekeeper women Standard deviation 5.328 3.135 3.790 3.308 2.892 1.676 3.801 4.939 2.801 2.939

Average

Number

24.76 29.92 19.92 16.44 20.04 26.08 24.72 15.88 14.72 15.88

200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women

Integration Dominant Required Avoiding Reconciliation

As can be observed in Table 2, the average integration conflict resolution style in housekeeper women is more than that of the employed women. The dominant conflict resolution style in employed women is more than that of the housekeeper women. The average required conflict resolution style in housekeeper women is more than that of the employed women. The average avoiding conflict resolution style in employed women is more than that of the housekeeper women. But there is no difference in the average reconciliation conflict resolution style between employed and housekeeper women. Hypothesis 2: The extent of behavioral problems is different among girls of employed and housekeeper mothers in Tehran (Iran). This hypothesis has been tested using t-test and the results are given in Tables 3 and 4.

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Table 3. Investigating the difference of average of behavioral disorders in girls with employed and housekeeper women t-test of equality of averages Confidence interval of 95% Upper Lower limit limit

Average Difference

Significance level

Degree of freedom

1.808

0.128

0.780

0.048

1.722

1.808

0.128

0.780

0.048

97.48

1.722

1.132

0.708

0.15

0.000

4.701

1.132

0.708

0.15

0.000

77.80

4.701

1,125

0.715

0.05

0.129

4.701

1.125

0.715

0.05

0.129

81.50

4.701

1.081

0.814

0.09

0.128

2.401

1.081

0.814

0.09

0.128

80.11

2.401

1.002

0.808

0.4

0.000

4.701

1.002

0.808

0.4

0.000

77.22

4.701

Levene's test of equality of variances Significance F level

0.020

0.001

0.121

0.001

10.220

10.917

11.801

11.427

9.823

Integration

Dominant

Required

Avoiding

Reconciliation

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According to Table 3, the significance of t-test in all behavioral disorders of girls except social Incompatibility and anti-social behaviors is lower than 0.05 and thus there is a statistically significance difference in behavioral disorders (hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, social incompatibility, and attention deficit disorder) of girls of employed and housekeeper mothers. Table 4. Average and standard deviation of behavioral disorders in girls in terms of employment status of the mother Standard deviation 1.02 1.01 1.42 1.12 1.32 1.20 1.32 1.12 1.32 1.02

Average

Number

2.68 1.90 1.87 1.72 1.83 1.81 1.89 1.80 2.20 1.80

200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women Employed women Housekeeper women

Hyperactivity and aggression Anxiety and depression Social incompatibility Anti-social behaviors attention deficit disorder

As can be observed in Table 4, the average hyperactivity and aggression in girls with employed women is more than that of the girls with housekeeper women. The average anxiety and depression in girls with employed women is more than that of the girls with housekeeper women. The average attention deficit disorder in girls with employed women is more than that of the girls with housekeeper women.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study showed that the average integration conflict resolution style in housekeeper women is more than that of the employed women and it seems employed women have learnt the skills of problem solving better than housekeeper women that this point can be resulted from their more presence in the society due to their employment and this can lead to face with more opportunities in the society and learn skills to use them in their life. In this research, the average dominant conflict 91

Leila Seifollahi

resolution style in employed women was more than that of the housekeeper women and this is because of more competitive environment for women in the society due to their employment. Also, the average avoiding conflict resolution style in employed women is more than that of the housekeeper women. But there is no difference in the average reconciliation conflict resolution style between employed and housekeeper women, maybe because of their absence in home tasks, because when a woman is employed in the society it is expected since she works outside home, her husband help her in family environment and sometimes due to lack of husband cooperation, avoiding conflict resolution style can be taken place in women. The results showed that employed women self-controlling is more than that of the housekeeper women and this is due to excitement management and emotion management of employed women because of more presence in the society and facing with various opportunities and utilizing the othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences due to more communications with the others. The results showed that hyperactivity and aggression of girls with employed mothers are more than that of the girls with housekeeper mothers. Attention deficit disorder in girls with employed women is more than that of the girls with housekeeper women. This can be resulted from the fact that employed mothers due to their employment in the society, allocate less time for their family and children with respect to housekeeper mothers and this causes children may be more likely to interfere with attention deficit disorder. Sometimes, due to high pressure of work, employed women experience more stress and anxiety that this stress and anxiety are transferred into the home environment and finally children. Sometimes, employed mothersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; impatience can result in less attention to children and finally their depression. Previously, research has shown that domineering methods are determined by threatening orientation. In accompaniment method, information exchange and investigating differences are to achieve an acceptable solution for both sides. This method is in relation with problem solving and it can result in creative problem solving (Sorenson, 1999). Also, studies have shown that required conflict resolution style or kind method indicates attempts for decreasing differences and emphasizes similarities for achieving expectations and the othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; issues. The reconciliation method is located in middle point of

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attention to expectations and needs of others and refers to division of scores among both sides (Sorenson, 1999). The results of studies have shown that avoiding method is in relation with seclusion opportunities, giving responsibility to others, incriminating others, and receding own self (Sorenson, 1999). In families where the shapes of social behaviors are improper, inconsistent children are grown up. And even if these children can show consistency to some extent outside of the house and among their friends, they will probably have inconsistency in many social activities (Yavouzar, 2003). Finally, avoiding style is determined with properties such as evading, behaving passively or not acting, and dependence (Dezorila et al., 2011). In this field, studies have shown that training the skills of conflict resolution and communications to couples leads to mental health improvement (Askari et al., 2013). Improving their mental health is accompanied by better training of children and the latter is accompanied by less behavioral problems and disorders. Findings of the present study determine the necessity of preventive programs and therapeutic interventions for children in families with employed mothers. However, treatment of behavioral disorders is very important, but the necessity of preventive programs for preventing the occurrence of behavioral disorders is more vital. Preventive programs can be focused in four aspects of training children, family, school, and society (planners and authorities). Undoubtedly, helping children with behavioral disorders is necessary because the continuation of behavioral disorders within life with the onset of childhood determine the importance of early intervention not only for decreasing suffering of children and adolescents but also for preventing a wide range of psychological problems in adulthood.

REFERENCES Babapour, Kheir Aldin, J. (2006), Investigating the relationship between conflict resolution practices of communication and psychological health of students, Scientific-Research Journal of Psychology, University of Tabriz, 4, pp. 27-46. Beverly J. W. Holly P., Jenna Y., Kathleen K., Jessica B., Lindsey K.& Diana C.(2014), Parental Emotion Coaching: Associations With Self93

Leila Seifollahi

Regulation in Aggressive/Rejected and Low Aggressive/Popular Children, Child & Family Behavior Therapy. Vol 36, Issue 2, p.p.: 81106. Byrne BA, Haddock CK, & Poston DC, (2002). Mid American Heart Institiute: Parenting style and adolescent smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, (30)6, 418-425. Duman, S. & Margolin, G. (2007). Parents’ Aggressive Influences and Children’s Aggressive Problem Solutions With Peers. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(1), 42–55 Dustin A. Pardini, Rebecca Waller, Samuel W. Hawes(2015), Familial Influences on the Development of Serious Conduct Problems and Delinquency, The Development of Criminal and Antisocial Behavior,p.p. 201-220. Fanti, K.A. (2007), Trajectories of pure and co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems from age2to12: findings fromthenichd. Study of the requirements for PhD degree. Georgiastste University. Farzadfar, Z., Homan, H., (2008), The role of the role of parenting skills on reducing maternal stress in mothers and behavioral problems in children, Journal of Iranian Psychologists, 4 (15), pp. 277-292. Fortin, L;lessard, A;&marcotte, D.(2010),Comparison by gender of students with behavior problems who dropped out of school. Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2. Goudarzi, Z., Bakhti, O., Yousefi, F., Shamshiri, A., Mahmoudi Gharaei, J., Atef Vahid, M., Voskouei Ashkouri, K., Abbasi Marei, F., Etaati, Z., (2010), Investigating the relation shift work with abilities and behavioral problems in 7 to 12 year old-children of employed parents with shift work, Research and Nursing, 5 (18), pp. 42-50. Hallahan, de, Kauffman, J, (1944), Exceptional children: An introduction to special education, translated by Mojtaba Javadian, (2008), Mashhad: Astan_e_Qods_e_Razavi Press. Khazaei, T., Khazaei, M.M., Khazaei, M., (2005), The prevalence of behavioral problems in Birjand children, Birjand University of Medical Science Journal, 12 (1&2), pp.71-96. Kumru Asiye, Thompson, Ross A.(2003). "Ego Identity Status and Self Monitoring Behavior in Adolescents", Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 18 No.5, pp, 481-495. 94

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Lubenko, J; & sebre, S (2010), Longitudinal associations between adolescent behavior problems and perceived family relationships. Journal of Procedia Social and Behavior Sciences. 5. Mohammadzadeh, A., Najafi, M., (2010), The role of anxiety and depression in determining attention deficit disorders in high school children, Clinical Psychology Journal, 1 (4), pp. 59-66. Rahim, A, Kaufman, S & Psennica, C. (2004). A Model of the style of Handling conflict, Marital satisfaction, and Instability. Available online at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Data_Integrity_Notice.cfm?abid= 602765 Soltanifar, A., Bina, M., (2007), investigating the prevalence of depression symptoms in high school 9-11 year old-children in Tehran (Iran) and its relation with family function, Journal of Mental Health Principles, 9 (33&34), pp. 7-14. Stefan, C; &Miclea, M.(2010), Prevention program for children with emotional and social competencies. Journal of Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, p.p.:127-139. Tate,Brian(2008). "A Longitudinal Study of the Relationships Among Self â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Monitoring, Authentic Leadership, and Perception of Leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. Vol15, n1, p.p.: 16-29.

Leila Seifollahi

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DERIVATION OF PHARMACOKINETIC RATES AND ORDERS OF REACTIONS IN MULTICOMPARTMENT MODEL ZHARAMA M. LLARENA Ph.D. student, Gokongwei College of Engineering, De La Salle University Manila Manila, Philippines

Abstract Pharmacokinetic modeling is the representation of the mathematical equations in order to quantify the physiologic response of the body to the drug. This paper aims to describe the derivation of pharmacokinetic principles acting in multi-compartment model as the drug en-ters and exits the body. It explains the mechanism of clinical pharmacokinetics. Hence, human reactions can be understood mathematically by quantitative response. Keywords: Pharmacokinetics, reaction order, concentration rate. INTRODUCTION Pharmacokinetic modeling of the physical function of the body has discovered its global use in the pharmaceutical sciences and clinical pharmacy because it is a comprehensive, principle-based approach leading to a greater knowledge of pharmacodynamic, either therapeutic or toxic effects by quantifying tissue exposure. By attaining this, mathematical modeling of whole body function based on pharmacokinetic equations describe anatomic spaces as fixed volumes with mass transfer between compartments in reference of connectivity of the vascular system and physiologic blood flows. Each compartment may be further defined by drug-specific terms for tissue elimination, which are dependent on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion processes [1]. Pharmacokinetic principles and drug action all involve its passage across cell membranes. Principles by which therapeutic chemicals cross membranes and the physicochemical properties of molecules and membranes that affect this molecular diffusion are critical to grasp the fate of drugs in the human body. The drug characteristics that predict its movement and availability at various action sites are its molecular size and 97

Zharama M. Llarena

structural features, ionization degree, relative lipid solubility of its ionized and non-ionized forms, and its affinity to serum and tissue proteins. Majority of the cases, a drug must traverse the plasma membranes of many cells to reach its action site. Although barriers to the movement of drugs may be a single layer of cells (intestinal epithelium) or several layers of cells and associated extracellular protein (skin), the plasma membrane acts as the common barrier to drug distribution [2]. The response to a drug taken measurably is highly determined on the drug concentration at the action site. In common situations, one cannot measure concentration of a drug at the actual site of action. Rather, drug concentrations are quantified in an easily accesible site that is presumed to be in equilibrium with the action site. Blood acts as the most frequently sampled fluid utilized for characterization of drug pharmacokinetics. Concentration of drugs in the blood is the sum of several processes. At first, visual characterization of the processes determining the blood concentration can be done by construction of a drug concentration versus time profile. One of the primary aims of pharmacokinetic models is to develop a mathematical method to define the relationship of drug concentration or amount in the body as a function of time. The pharmacokinetic model complexity will vary with the administration route, the extent and duration of distribution into various body fluids and tissues, the elimination processes and the intended pharmacokinetic model application [3]. Derivation of mathematical equations involving pharmacokinetic models is the aim of this research. METHODS Kinetics Transport (Michaelis-Menten Equation) The substrate flux (transport rate) across a biological membrane via transporter-mediated processes is determined by saturability. The relationship between the flux, v, and drug concentration, C, in a transporter-mediated process is given by the Michaelis-Menten equation:

Where Vmax is the maximum transport rate and is proportional to the density of transporters on the plasma membrane, and Km is the Michaelis constant, which acts the drug concentration at which the flux is half the 98

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Vmax value. Km is an estimation of the dissociation constant of the substrate from the intermediate complex. When drug concentration, C, is small compared with the Km value, the flux is augmented in proportion to the drug concentration (approximately linear with drug concentration) [2]. Rate Processes After drug administration, the therapeutic chemical is subjected to a number of processes (ADME) whose rates determine the drug concentration in the elusive region known as ‘’action site.’’ These pharmacokinetic processes affect the onset of action, and influence the duration and intensity of pharmacological response. Knowledge of these rate processes is essential for a better understanding of the monitored pharmacological activity of the administered drug [4]. Zero Order Reaction Zero-order rate processes are mostly observed when an enzyme or transport system becomes saturated and the rate process becomes constant and cannot be augmented by an increment in the drug concentration. Zeroorder rate processes are common in constant-rate intravenous infusions and prolonged-release dosage forms [3]. Applications of zero-order processes include drug administration as an intravenous infusion, drug formulation and administration through controlled release dosage forms and drug administration through transdermal drug delivery systems [4]. First Order Reaction If the drug amount in the body is transformed to a metabolite at a rate that is a constant fraction of the drug amount in the body, the biotransformation of drug to metabolite is said to be a first-order reaction [3]. First-order elimination is highly important in pharmacokinetics since the majority of therapeutic drugs are cleared by this process. The elimination half life is sometimes called ‘’biological half-life’’ of a drug. At a time after dose administration, when equilibrium has been established, the biological half-life may be defined as the time (h, min, day, etc.) at which the mass (or amount) of unchanged drug becomes half (or 50%) of the initial mass of drug [4]. DISCUSSION The enzymatic process for metabolism of drugs may be explained by the relationship below: 99

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E + C <===> E C ——> E + Cprod K2

Where E is the enzyme and C is the concentration of drug. First, the drug interacts with an enzyme to yield a drug–enzyme intermediate. Then, the formed intermediate complex is further processed to generate a metabolite, upon the liberation of the enzyme. The released enzyme is recycled back to interact again with more drug molecules. The drug product concentration at a specific rate of time is equal to the product of third rate constant (K3) and the intermediate complex, which is now designated as v, or the transport rate. This equation is expressed below: d[Cprod] = v = K3 [EC] dt In this enzymatic process, bound and unbound enzymes are present in the system. Hence, total enzymes present in the interaction are noted as ET. Thus, the ratio of the total enzymes and the sum of bound and unbound enzymes with respect to the intermediate complex is exhibited below: [EC] = ___[EC] [ET] [EC] + [E] Upon rearrangement, the equation is expressed as: [EC] = __[EC] [ET] [EC] + [E] Since, the process of enzymatic metabolism of drugs can be depicted by the equation below: K1 [E][C] = K2 [EC] + K3 [EC] = (K2 + K3) [EC] Upon rearrangement, the equation above is expressed as: [E] = (K2 + K3) [EC] K1 [C]

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Let Km (Michaelis constant) be the new constant for the equation below: Km = (K2 + K3) K1 Hence, upon incorporation of the new constant, the developed equation is depicted as: [E] = Km [EC] [C] Upon rearrangement, Michaelis-Menten equation is formed and shown below: [EC] = [ET] [C] = Vmax [C] Km + [C] Km + [C]

Figure 1. Pharmacokinetic Model (Source: Gennaro, A., 2001. Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 20th edition, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.)

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Various pharmacokinetic models use determinants that are similar to rate constants in chemical kinetics. The chemical process reaction rate is the velocity with which the reaction occurs. Thus, if the amount of drug A is decreasing with respect to time (that is, the reaction is going from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration), then the reaction rate can be expressed by this general formula: _ da = k [a]n dt For zero-order reaction, if the amount of drug A is decreasing at a constant time interval t, then the rate of disappearance of drug A is expressed as: _ da = k [a]0 dt Upon rearrangement leading to integration, the equation is now expressed as: - â&#x152; da = - k â&#x2C6;Ť dt â&#x152;Ą [a]0 Upon integration, the reaction yields to: - a = - kt - c Thus, upon rearrangement, where c is the is the amount of drug A in respect to time [A]t and a is the amount of drug A at t = 0, the known equation is expressed below: [A]t = [A]0 - kt Hence, the equation given for zero-order kinetics can be plotted on an A versus t and can be graphed as shown below:

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Figure 2. Zero-Order Kinetics Plot (Source: Shargel, S., Wu-Pong, S., Yu ABC: Applied Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, 5th edition) In first order reaction, if the amount of drug A is decreasing at a rate that is proportional to the amount of drug A remaining, then the rate of disappearance of drug A is expressed as: _ da = k [a]1 dt Upon rearrangement for integration, the reaction is now depicted as: - ⌠ da = - k ∫ dt ⌡ [a] After integration, the equation generates to: c - ln lxl = -kt Upon rearrangement and substitution of values, the known equation is formed and is expressed as: ln [A]t = - kt [A]0 103

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Thus, if the equation is plotted as A versus t, the graph is exhibited below:

Figure 3. First Order Kinetics Plot (Source: Shargel, S., Wu-Pong, S., Yu ABC: Applied Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, 5th edition) The half-life (t1/2) is the time it takes for the plasma concentration to be reduced by 50%. Since it follows the first order reaction, the primary equation for half-life is shown below: _ da = k [a]1 dt This equation is integrated and rearranged as depicted below: - ⌠ da = - k ∫1/2 dt ⌡ [a] Upon integration, half-life is obtained by the following equations: ln lal = k 1/2t 1/2 t = ln lal k t1/2 = ln 2 k 104

International Journal of Educational Studies | Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016 ISSN 1682-4377

CONCLUSIONS Multi-compartment pharmacokinetic model is the development of mathematical method to explain the relationship of drug concentration in various compartments versus time. First and second order reactions follow the same general formula, hence, arriving at the same concentration plot (negative slope) after its mathematical integration. Elimination half-life can also be derived from the same general formula of first order reaction, since t1/2 is observed in this kind of order. Michaelis-menten equation can be derived from the enzymatic process of drug metabolism. Hence, the mentioned principles are aligned with human reactions through mathematical development. RECOMMENDATIONS This research suggests for application in formulation of various dosage forms. In addition to that, included principles may be used in clinical monitoring of patients. Furthermore, other theories may also be studied for possible development of equation.

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REFERENCES Brunton, L., Chabner, B., and and Knollman, B., 2011. Goodman and Gilmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 12th edition, McGraw Hill. Gennaro, A., 2001. Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 20th edition, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Jambhekar, S., and Breen, P., 2009. Basic Pharmacokinetics, 1st edition, Pharmaceutical Press. Thompson, M., and Beard, D., 2011. Development of appropriate equations for physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of permeability-limited and flow-limited transport, Springer Science+Business Media, J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn, 38(4): 405â&#x20AC;&#x201C;421

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