Demographic determinants of work deviant behaviors of rural community-based primary school teachers: A structural equation modeling approach.

Schools across the globe and especially in Nigeria have witnessed situations in which teachers work outside their work ethics. This situation breeds exhibition of work deviant behaviors among the teachers at different levels of education as evidenced in the literature. However, literature is scarce on the influence of teachers' demographic characteristics on their work deviant behaviors in primary schools. Thus, this study was necessitated to explore the determinants of work deviant behaviors of rural community-based primary school teachers in Enugu State, Nigeria. This study was anchored on the affective events theory propounded by Weiss and Cropanzano. Basing the study on the quantitative research approach, a correlational survey research design was adopted using a sample of 254 rural community-based primary school teachers. Necessary information for the study were collected using researchers' adapted questionnaire on work deviant behaviors with 28 items. The questionnaire items had an internal consistency reliability index of 0.87. Data collected were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis and the structural equation modeling approach. It was revealed that among the demographic characteristics (age, working status, qualification, marital status, gender, years of teaching experience, and location) of the teachers, only age and qualification were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) related to work deviant behaviors. The implication of this study, therefore, is that the age and qualification of rural community-based primary school teachers determine the nature of their work deviant behaviors. Thus, it was recommended that the age and qualification of teachers should be considered very paramount in the employment of teachers.

Validation of coronavirus-2019 phobia scale using preschool practitioners in urban and rural communities in Nigeria: Implication for educational sociologists.

ABSTRACT: Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019, causing significant changes in people's social lives and other human activities. The outbreak halted educational activities throughout the world. The Nigerian experience was unique in that most people were skeptical about the pandemic's existence. This practice contributed to the Nigerian people's fear of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, in Nigeria, there has never been a validated or established Covid-19 phobia scale, necessitating this study.This study was a pure validation study on COVID-19 phobia scale (C19PS). The study area was south-east states and a sample of 386 preschool practitioners in urban and rural communities of South East States, Nigeria participated in the study. The eligibility criteria include being a preschool teacher and demonstrating signs of COVID-19 phobia. The validation of the C19PS was done by subjecting the data gathered to principal axis factoring analysis with varimax rotation. The model fit for the data was tested using root mean square error of approximation and comparative fit index.It was found that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of .845 for the measure of the adequacy of the sample size. There was also a significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (P < .05). This implies that the correlation matrix for the C19PS is not an identity matrix. It was revealed that C19PS had good overall reliability (α = .896) and model fit (Root mean square error of approximation = .042, comparative fit index = .943) in a sample of Nigerian preschool practitioners.As a result, C19PS was recommended as a trustworthy tool for identifying persons who suffer from COVID-19 phobia.

Structural equation modeling of the influence of primary school teachers' demographics on their psychosocial work hazards.

Most workers, especially teachers experience one form of psychosocial work hazards or the other. In the Nigerian context, there is a high prevalence of psychosocial work hazards and no study has been conducted to ascertain the influence of teachers' demographics on their psychosocial work hazards. This study explored the influence of primary school teachers' demographics on their psychosocial work hazards using the structural equation modeling approach. Drawing from the tenets of Job-Demand-Control-Support theory, a correlational survey research design was used, using a sample of 254 primary school teachers, and the study was based on a quantitative research approach. The study's data were gathered utilizing a 28-item questionnaire adapted from the 30-item Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire developed by Kristensen and coworkers in 2005. The internal consistency reliability index of the questionnaire items was 0.74. The data were analyzed using a combination of frequency, percentage, chi-square test of independent samples, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling. It was revealed that demographic characteristics of teachers correlated with their psychosocial work hazards. However, it was found that only the age and location of the teachers had significant (p < .05) relationships with their psychosocial work hazards. The age and location of the teachers are significant determinants of their psychosocial work hazards. This our findings call for more research on the subject matter as some recent studies have documented that other demographics of teachers had significant relationships with psychosocial work hazards. It was therefore recommended that teachers' demographics should be considered as important factors in the recruitment of teachers.

Factorial validation of sense of community scale using Nigerian mathematics, science, and social science education students: Implication for educational administrators and evaluators.

The ugly occurrences of security breaches have made the Nigerian populace to be leaving in fear. The most affected are the teaming adolescents of the school-age who may not have a good sense of their community. Thus, this study carried out the factorial validation of a 36-item sense of community scale (SoCS) developed by Cicognani et al. since no such study exists in Nigeria. The instrument was adopted and validated. A sample of 357 students in South East Federal Universities, Nigeria, was used for this study using a simple random sampling technique. The instrument's factorial validation was conducted by subjecting the data obtained to factor analysis to determine its validity and reliability. Besides, the principal component matrix with varimax rotation was used to carry out the exploratory and confirmatory factors analyses, while the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and confirmatory factor index (CFI) were used to determine the data model fit. Findings of the study showed that SoCS demonstrated good reliability (0.89) and model fit (RMSEA = 0.041, CFI = 0.951) in the Nigerian context. SoCS is a reliable scale for measuring the in-school adolescents' sense of community.

Teachers' perspectives on the implementation of teenage mothers' school re-entry policy in Eswatini Kingdom: Implication for educational evaluators.

INTRODUCTION: In the global context, there have been high records of teenage girls drop out in schools than teenage boys. This ugly occurrence is attributed to teenage pregnancy and little or no concerns have been given to the school re-entry policy for such category of students especially in the Eswatini Kingdom, Swaziland. Thus, this study explored the perceptions of teachers regarding the implementation of the teenage mothers' school re-entry policy in the Manzini region of Eswatini. METHOD: A qualitative research approach was adopted for the study using a sample of 15 participants. Data collection instrument a semistructured interview guide. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: The findings indicated a lack of awareness and understanding of both the policy and its guidelines among participants. The results further showed that the implementation of the re-entry policy is crucial if a teenage pregnant girl child's education is to be realized in Eswatini. CONCLUSION: Without proper implementation of such a policy, the affected girls could end up, uneducated and poor. Thus, educational evaluators should come up with appropriate policy documents for girl child.

Effects of rational emotive occupational health coaching on work stress among academic staff of science and social science education in Nigerian universities: A randomised trial evaluation.

BACKGROUND: This study determined the effects of rational emotive occupational health coaching on the management of work stress among academic staff of science and social science education in south east Nigerian universities. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial experimental design was adopted for the study with a sample size of 63 participants who were randomized into an intervention group (n = 32) and control group (n = 31). Occupational stress index and perceived stress scale were used for data collection. The intervention program was administered for 12 weeks after which posttest was administered and a 2-month follow-up measure followed. Mixed-design repeated analysis of variance was used to determine the within-groups and between-groups effects. RESULTS: The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant difference between the baseline, and the nonintervention group did not change over time in their management of work stress. However, the mean stress of the intervention group decreased over time than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: Rational emotive occupational health coaching had significant effects on the management of work stress among academic staff of science and social science education.

Management of work stress in science education lecturers' population using rational emotive occupational health coaching: Implication for educational evaluators.

INTRODUCTION: Nigerian university lecturers face a lot of works in the day-to-day discharge of their responsibilities as academics. This constitutes a lot of stress for them as documented in the literature. However, literature is scarce on how these lecturers manage their work stress. Thus, the researchers explored the efficacy of rational emotive occupational health coaching (REOHC) on the management of work stress among lecturers. METHOD: A randomised controlled trial group experimental research design was adopted using a sample size of 84 lecturers in Science Education Departments of the sampled universities. An occupational stress index was used in the gathering of necessary data for the study. The REOHC treatment lasted for 12 weeks after which the participants were posttested and a follow-up measure followed after 3 months of the termination of the treatment. Repeated measures analysis of variance statistical approach was used to analyse the obtained data. RESULTS: It was revealed that REOHC was significantly (p < 0.05) effective in the management of work stress in a population of science education lecturers in Nigeria. CONCLUSION: REOHC enables science education lecturers to effectively manage their work stress to maximise their work outputs. This finding implicates the expertise of Educational Evaluators.

Impacts of cognitive behavior therapy on occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in open and distance learning centers and its implications for community development: A randomized trial group.

BACKGROUND: Extensive review of literature showed that no available study in Nigeria has explored the impact of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on the management of occupational stress among open and distance learning (ODL) centers science and social science education facilitators. Thus, this study determined the impacts of CBT on the management of occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in ODL centers in South-South Nigeria. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial experimental design was adopted for the study with a sample size of 68 science and social science education facilitators in ODL centers in South-South states, Nigeria. Perceived stress scale (PSS) and Occupational stress index (OSI) were used for data collection. Using Cronbach alpha method, internal consistency reliability indices of 0.81 and 0.85 for PSS and OSI respectively were obtained in the Nigerian context. A 12-week cognitive behavior therapy intervention was conducted after which the participants in both the intervention group and the non-intervention group were administered posttest, while a follow-up assessment was administered after 2 months. Data collected were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures analysis of variance for the within-groups and between-groups effects. RESULTS: It was found that CBT intervention led to a significant decrease in the occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in ODL in the South-South region of Nigeria. CONCLUSION: Cognitive behavior therapy is effective in the management of occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in distance learning centers.

Bullying experience of pupils in Nigerian primary schools.

Childhood bullying leads to life-long scars and hinders adult development. Schoolchildren involved in bullying are at risk of developing behavioural difficulties, physical health problems and suicidal ideation. This research aimed to evaluate the bullying experience of pupils in Nigerian primary schools.The study is a cross-sectional analytic survey conducted from June to November 2019. A total of 1080 pupils in participated in the study. A self-report questionnaire containing 3 questions was used for collecting data. Analysis of the collected data was done using percentage and Chi-Squared at 0.05 probability level.Results indicate that 51.4% of the male pupils and 50.8% of females reported being victims of bullying. 51.8% of the males and 49.5% of females were found to be perpetrators of bullying. 39.6% of the males and 42.9% of the females were bystanders of bullying. 35.1% of the males and 34.1% of females have experienced any 2 of the categories while 11.2% of the males and 12.4% of the females have experienced all the categories of bullying. Results show a non-significant difference between male and female pupils on bullying victimization (χ = .036, P = .849), bullying perpetration (χ = .589, P = .443), and bullying bystander problem (χ = 1.194, P = .275).In conclusion, school bullying is an increasing problem among Nigerian schoolchildren. Initiatives must, therefore, be taken by the Nigerian government to further prevent and counter bullying problem in Nigerian primary schools. Interventions aimed at helping schools to develop effective policies to reduce bullying behaviour among pupils should be initiated.

Effect of a critical thinking intervention on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a critical thinking intervention (CTI) on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs. METHOD: A total of 44 undergraduates were randomly sorted into experimental and waitlist control groups. We used the Perceived Stress Scale for data collection at the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. We used unpaired t and paired t-tests to analyze the data collected. SPSS version 22.0 was used for the data analyses (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). RESULTS: It was shown that the CTI was effective in reducing the mean stress of the participants compared to the control group both in the post-test (t[42] = -22.453, P < .001) and follow-up periods (t[42] = -34.292, P < .001). There were statistically significant changes in the mean stress of participants in the experimental group from the pre-test to post-test phases (t[23] = 26.30, P = .000, r = .08], and from pre-test to follow-up(t[23] = 37.10, P = .000, r = .30). The mean stress of the participants in the experimental group from post-test to follow-up signified the sustained positive influence of the CTI on the mean stress (t[23] = 2.41, P = .000, r = .46) of the undergraduates. CONCLUSION: This study adds to the literature by showing that a CTI is a valuable strategy for stress reduction in a university environment. Given that the CTI demonstrated the ability to reduce stress among undergraduates enrolled in adult education and extramural studies programs, we hope that similar interventions will be adopted to manage and prevent stress among students in other departments and disciplines.

Efficacy of music-based cognitive behavior therapy on the management of test-taking behavior of children in basic science using a randomized trial group: Implication for community development.

BACKGROUND: This study sought the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy-based music group (CBT-Music) intervention program on primary school children's test-taking behavior in Southeast Nigeria. METHODS: A pretest, posttest randomized controlled trial experimental design was adopted for the study using a sample of 53 primary three (3) children. A test-taking behavior questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by test development experts. Construct validation of the instrument was done by subjecting the instrument to factor analysis after trial testing. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test. RESULTS: The findings of the study revealed that CBT-Music had a significant effect on the management of test-taking behavior of among children. Furthermore, the test-taking scores of children in the music-based CBT group were significantly lower than those in the control group at the follow-up measure. This implies that the test-taking behavior of the children can be better managed using the CBT-music intervention program to enable the children to grow better academically and contribute to the community they belong to. CONCLUSION: Music-based CBT demonstrated significant efficacy in the management of children's test-taking behavior. Thus, primary school teachers should be enlightened on how to make use of CBT-Music in the management of test-taking behavior among children.

Effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy with music therapy in reducing physics test anxiety among students as measured by generalized test anxiety scale.

BACKGROUND: The study determined the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with music in reducing physics test anxiety among secondary school students as measured by generalized test anxiety scale. METHODS: Pre-test post-test randomized control trial experimental design was adopted in this study. A total of 83 senior secondary students including male (n = 46) and female (n = 37) from sampled secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria, who met the inclusion criteria constituted participants for the study. A demographic questionnaire and a 48-item generalized test anxiety scale were used for data collection for the study. Subjects were randomized into treatment and control groups. The treatment group was exposed to a 12-week CBT-music program. Thereafter, the participants in the treatment group were evaluated at 3 time points. Data collected were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The participants who were exposed to CBT-music intervention program significantly had lower test anxiety scores at the post-treatment than the participants in the control group. Furthermore, the test anxiety scores of the participants in the CBT-music group were significantly lower than those in the control group at the follow-up measure. Thus, the results showed a significant effect of CBT with music in reducing physics test anxiety among secondary school students. CONCLUSION: We concluded that CBT-music program has a significant benefit in improving the management of physics test anxiety among secondary school students.