Browsing by Author "Shihomeka, Sadrag P."
Item A reflection on constructively aligned remote assessment for quality learning beyond COVID-19 pandemic: A case of University of Namibia(Creative Education, 2022) Neshila, Kashinauua Faustina; Joshua, Lukas Matati; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.To take a critical reflection on quality assessment used beyond remote teaching, learning and assessment at the University of Namibia. Objectives: 1) To encourage assessment tasks that promote critical thinking beyond remote learning period. 2) To promote constructively aligned assessment that enhances quality student learning. 3) To fulfill various purposes of assessment in higher education setting. Method: The paper adopted Donald Schön’s Reflection-in-Action as method to critique constructive aligned assessment for quality learning beyond COVID-19 era. Findings: The main findings revealed that for quality post-remote assessment to take place it should be aligned to curriculum, teaching and learning activities. Quality assessment promotes student lifelong learning and the assessment criteria should be explicit. Conclusion: The paper concluded that assessment is the heart of education and should be well understood by both lecturers and students. Effort should be made to ensure that culture does not constraint quality remote assessment. Recommendations: It is recommended that the university should organize capacity building training for lecturers in the ever-changing assessment practice. Finally, it is recommended that attention should be placed on demystifying remote assessment which enhances teaching and lifelong learningItem Adoption and utilisation of workplace e-learning practices in the public sector organisations: A systematic review(Journal of learning for developement, 2023) Serema, Marguerite Margie; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Shalyefu, Rakel KavenaThe e-learning concept is increasingly receiving attention in education butthere seems to be inadequate guidance in developing a formal programme for implementing e-learning, especially in the public sector. Hence, this study focuses on aggregating information on the adoption and utilisation of e-learning in the public sector and attempting the development of a conceptual model for understanding workplace e-learning implementation. A systematic search of the literature was conducted to collect all the literature addressing the adoption and utilisation of e-learning in the public sector. This review brought to light key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of e-learning amongst public sector employees, including attitude, satisfaction, behaviour intention, continuance intention, or behaviour to use e-learning. The adoption and utilisation of e-learning in the public sector requires a carefully thought-through and evidence-based approach, especially the development of the e-learning programmeItem Assessing staff digital literacy level vs attitude toward online teaching and learning quadrant(NAWA Journal of Language and Communication (NJLM), 2023) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.This paper aimed at positioning a staff digital literacy level versus attitude toward online teaching and learning quadrant in the curriculum transformation interventions of various institutions to ensure that their policy intervention with regard to online learning remains user-friendly and sector appropriate. Using a critical autobiographical narrative inquiry, this quadrant was developed to assist educational institutions, personnel, and other stakeholders with a unique tool to assess their staff digital literacy level and the position of their attitude toward online teaching and learning. The quadrants consist of 4 sections: High Digital Literacy Level-Low Attitude Toward e-Teaching & Learning; High Digital Literacy Level-High Attitude Toward e-Teaching & Learning; Low Digital Literacy Level-Low Attitude Toward e-Teaching & Learning; Low Digital Literacy Level-High Attitude Toward e-Teaching & Learning. The quadrant used staff attitude as a yardstick to effectively implementing online learning initiatives in the education sector. The quadrants also serve as an educational re-engineering intervention strategy for the society 4.0/5.0 curriculum professionalsItem Bioeconomy for sustainable environment management practices(Springer, 2024) Kadhila, Timoteus; Amesho, Kassian; Shangdiar, Sumarlin; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Shopati, Abner K.; Edoun, E.I.; Mohan, ChandraThe bioeconomy has the potential to play a key role in sustainable environmental management practices by utilizing bio-based resources, reducing environmental impact, and promoting biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this chapter, we explore the principles of sustainable environmental management practices and their application in the bioeconomy. We discuss the use of bio-based solutions for environmental challenges, the circular economy and its relationship with the bioeconomy, and the importance of social and environmental responsibility in the bioeconomy. Additionally, we examine current policy and regulatory frameworks related to bioeconomy and sustainable environment management practices and the future prospects for the fieldItem Characterization of online learners or students in Namibia(IGI Global, 2021) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.The purpose of this chapter is to present the characteristics of online learners or students in the Global South and specifically in Namibia. The characteristics were identified by using an autobiographical narrative enquiry of over 17 years of teaching experience in the field of distance education, secondary school teaching, university teaching, and online facilitation. The chapter presents four key characteristics of online learners or students that are likely to be found in the Global South. These characteristics should be taken into consideration before a final decision as to whether use online learning, blended learning, or offline learning. These are technologically-endowed (TE) student/learner, moderate technologically-exposed (MTE) student/learner, severe technologically disadvantaged (STD) student/learner, and acute technologically marginalized (ATM) student/learner. The chapter proposes that a rubric with grading criteria should be developed so that at the end the institution will be able to tell how many students/learners fall under each categoryItem Citizen engagement: Politics and digital media in Namibia(2019) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.SUMMARY: In recent years, several studies indicated that there is a downward trend in youth participation in politics and civic activities, in both the global South and the global North. Most of these studies were conducted in the West – only a few in the global South; and not all their authors are agreed on the subject of youth participation. Yet the general view that emerges is that the majority of young people are not taking part in national elections and other civic activities, a situation often characterized as pathetic disengagement from political life. There are also reports that, in various countries, quite a large number of youths are not members of any political parties. Namibia is no exception to this trend or to the corresponding claims. But an increase in mobile phone subscriptions in this country is perceived as a possible game changer: this gadget could switch on the right buttons for sparking an interest in political participation and civic engagement among the youth. This is the main idea to which the present study is dedicated.Item Effectiveness information communication technology systems and its impact on organizational performance: Case of the Evangelical Lutheran Church In Namibia(IGI Global, 2023) Hainane, Wilhelm; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.This chapter evaluated the effectiveness of the current information communication technology systems in use by ELCIN and its impact on overall performance in the administration of the church. The study utilised a quantitative approach with a randomly selected sample . The findings reveal that only 14% of ELCIN staff had PCs. On ICT skills competences, the digital illiteracy rates are high with databases (illiterate= 85%, literate=0%), PowerPoint (illiterate=87%, literate =13%), and Excel (illiterate=20%, literate=20%, not sure=60%). The study further reveals that there is generally non-usage (f=27, 90%) of specialised administrative software such as Oracle, Pastel, and SAP. The research also showed that there are varied reasons for the low adoption of ICT in ELCIN that include inadequate hardware and software and low skills capacitation among others. It is therefore recommended that ELCIN sends the staff members to refresher courses in basic ICT and to strengthen the digital literacy training. Also, proper system implementation should be accompanied by appropriate expertiseItem Effectiveness of higher order thinking scaffolding tool as a knowledge transfer instrument among University of Namibia science students(University of Namibia, 2017) Kapolo, Paulus; Sheimemanya, Cornelia; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Nghuumbwa, MalakiaThis paper presents the results of the study carried out at the University of Namibia on the extent to which high order thinking scaffolding tool can assist students to transfer knowledge. To examine the tool, a quasi-experimental design within the flipped-classroom was used in a mixed method study. Students were divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. These two groups were all approached in the similar manner and directed at different times of the day. The only difference was that the experimental group was provided with a scaffolding tool, while the control group had no scaffolding tool. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Higher Order Thinking as a scaffolding tool that can improve students’ knowledge transfer. When the means were compared, it was found that there is no statistical significant difference between the two means for the Higher Order Thinking Tool group (M= 4.89) and the control group (M= 4.27),Item Exploring grade 11-12 teachers’ use of instructional videos in natural science subjects at Ponhofi Secondary School(International Journal of Arts and Social Science, 2023) Nghuumbwa, Malakia; Shaimemanya, Cornelia Ndahambelela S.; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Kapolo, PaulusThis study explored Grade 11-12 teachers’ use of instructional videos in Natural Science subjects at Ponhofi Secondary School in Namibia. To explore the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of teachers’ use of instructional videos, 8 semi-structured interviews (pre and post) were conducted. The pre-semi structured interviews were about the teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and experiences and were held with individual teachers before the teaching intervention using instructional videos. After the intervention, the post semi-structured interviews were conducted with the same individual teachers to assess their attitudes, perceptions and experiences after the use of instructional videos. The findings revealed that most of the teachers perceive instructional videos as powerful tools to teach Natural Science subjects and good for the learners’ subject mastery. The results further showed that most of the teachers lack self-confidence and have a high level of technophobia. It also emerged that there are a lot of barriers that affect teachers’ ability to use instructional videos such as technology resources, technology support, knowledge and skills and these barriers negatively affect the use of technology in schools and prevent teachers from becoming frequent technology-users. Finally, the findings revealed that, most of the teachers use free downloadable videos from various websites such as Eureka, Make Me Genius, Smart Learning for All and YouTube. The study concluded that teachers should adopt the culture of using instructional videos in their lessons to make their lessons informative, interesting, and resourceful and enhance understanding, and knowledge retentionItem Facebook usage as a community engagement tool by residents in the Sauyemwa location, Kavango East region, during COVID-19 lockdown(NAWA Journal of Language and Communication, 2023) Leevi, Peter Ihalo; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore how residents in Kavango east used Facebook as a community engagement tool during the pandemic in Kavango East region, being the region with the lowest percentage of people with access to cellphones and internet. The study also aimed at assisting different communities to create new alternative ways on how to engage with each other using social media platforms like Facebook during the pandemic. The author used a qualitative method to randomly select 10 participants (8 males and 2 females) that were interviewed using a semi-structures interview. The findings reveal that, Sauyemwa residents used Facebook to communicate with others, to share and receive trending information around the world. Moreover, residents used Facebook Messenger for commenting on posts, liking and possibly sharing, to stream and share live videos and events. This study suggests that, Sauyemwa residents should use Facebook as an alternative mode of communication during the pandemic as it allows people to connect remotelyItem Green school leadership: Towards an effective leadership model for achieving sustainability in Namibian secondary schools(IGI Global, 2019) Shaimemanya, Cornelia Ndahambelela S.; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.The purpose of the chapter was to examine the leadership practices of school principals whose agenda is to green the schools in an effort to achieve sustainability in Namibia and build environmental knowledge of the Namibian secondary school learners. The study was qualitative and used a purposive sampling of eight teachers and environmental clubs at three selected schools in the Khomas education region. The results revealed that these teachers hold a non-remunerative position of coordinating for the Environmental Club as an extra-mural responsibility and they were doing it because of their natural love for the environment and interest in educating the young and future generations about sustainability/sustainable living. The chapter recommends that the school management should provide maximum support to the practicing and responsible green school project coordinators at various schools to motivate and guide them when necessaryItem Impact of employee benefits on teacher turnover in the public secondary education system, Namibia(2007) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.Over the last 5-10 years, the Namibian government has made positive efforts to improve the benefits and services offered to the teaching professionals in the public school education system. This followed heavy public criticisms about the deteriorating quality of the public education system and of its failure to meet the needs of the society as expected in the education act of 2001. The quality of the public education system suffers from a high rate of teacher turn-over largely benefiting the private sector and other parts of the public sector including some migraqtion to countries abroad. Some of the reasons given in teacher exit inetrviews include: terachers in the public sector are not well remunerated; they are not treated well, or taken care of. As a result of poor working conditions of the teachers, many of the young, educated, capable, experienced and skilled teachers left the education system and the gap is being taken up by poorly educated graduates from both the secondary education system and the tertiary education systemItem Investigating the factors influencing patient satisfaction at a Private Medical Centre in northern Namibia(2018) Moyo, Enos; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Chirimbana, MosesThe aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting patient satisfaction at a private medical centre in Northern Namibia. The study was guided by the following objectives: to explore the factors affecting patients’ satisfaction at the private medical centre; to investigate factors that can improve patient satisfaction at the centre and to suggest recommendations to management on how they can increase patients’ satisfaction. A quantitative research design was adopted in the study through the use of a closed-ended questionnaire which was on a five point Likert scale. Expectation Confirmation Theory was the underlying theoretical framework for this study. Data was gathered from 50 participants above the age of 18 years selected by systematic random sampling from all the patients above the age of 18 years who were attended to at the practice over ten working days. The findings showed that factors that affected patient satisfaction to a greater extent were waiting period before seeing a doctor, availability of doctor during and after working hours and thoroughness of doctor’s examination and care. The study concluded that further studies should be done using a larger sample across many organisations. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that an electronic filing system be used at the practice and practice cell phones should be available to doctors so that patients can be able to reach them for emergencies after working hours.Item Learning from students’ experiences of microteaching for numeracy education and learning support: A case study at University of Namibia, Southern campus(2017) Albin, Simon; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.The purpose of this study was to investigate, reflect and learn from experiences of undertaking microteaching in a Numeracy Education and Learning Support class of 153 students studying Diploma in Junior Primary Education Year 3 (DJPE3) at University of Namibia, Southern Campus. Microteaching is a platform for beginner teachers to improve teaching competencies, and this took place prior to students’ placement and evaluation of School Based Studies for 4 weeks (June/July 2017) in any Namibia’s primary schools of their choice offering class teaching from Grade 0 to Grade 3. Prior to microteaching, student teachers demonstrated nervousness and were scared to present a lesson before their peers. Literatures on microteaching were synthesized before data were analyzed by summarizing 91 written reflections of 91 student teachers who unanimously took part in a survey after completing and returning a questionnaire with four open-ended questions. Analysis of the data revealed that, microteaching is a learning platform for teaching practice, positive and negative factors influence student’ microteaching scores, and most students were satisfied with microteaching scores. The results of this study suggest that microteaching lecturers at the University level should be trained and equipped with student-engagement skills to be highly effective and supportive toward students.Item Leveraging social inclusion through the impact of customer services quality on organizational performance at a selected Commercial Bank in Namibia(2018) Uahengo, Simeon Panduleni; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.This paper investigated the impact of customer services quality on the organizational performance at a selected commercial Bank in Namibia as a social inclusion driver for economic growth within the banking sector. The objectives for the study were: to establish the relationship between quality customer service and organizational performance; to establish the impact of quality customer service on the overall organizational performance and to offer recommendations to the management and relevant stakeholders. A quantitative research approach was used with a simple random probability sampling. A closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data to leverage social inclusion through the impact of customer services quality on the overall organizational performance. 57 Closed ended-questionnaires were used to collect the data. By using descriptive statistics, data were recorded on excel spreadsheets. The results of the study were presented by using graphs and converting the data into percentage, mean values and percentages. The finding reveals that quality customer service contributes mostly towards an improved organisational performance. The results further established that majority of the clients including the customer service consultants’ staff strongly agreed that, quality customer service contributes to the sustainable organizational performance. The study recommends to the top management of a selected commercial bank to keep on investing in the customer service quality by increasing the numbers of ATMs at every business centre in the area as it provides convenient alternatives to the customers. Furthermore, investments in technological innovations and customer service help commercial banks to sustainably retain and attract more customers yielding much-needed profitability for the bank. The study recommends that future researchers should investigate the inclusive sustainability of customer services quality and how they affect the overall organizational performance at different commercial banks.Item Social media integration in educational administration as information and smart systems: Digital literacy for economic, social, and political engagement in Namibia(IGI Global, 2020) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Amadhila Helena N.The proliferation and access to social media platforms that allow easy access to information systems and services, content creation, and sharing, in a convenient form, has taken education administration and management by storm. Facebook is one of the many online media that can let education administrators and managers interact with each other or their subordinates by sharing information about themselves or any topical community issue via personal profiles or institutional profiles. Furthermore, it is noted that social media applications by their nature have the capabilities of educating, informing, entertaining (leisure), and socializing the audience. The research revealed that there are various groups on Facebook where youthful education administrators can use to post educational information and discuss pertinent issues concerning their institutions. Indeed, social media are being used as channels to foster economic, social, and political development education among Namibian educational administratorsItem Sustainable bioeconomy for next-generation industrial ecology(Springer, 2024) Kadhila, Timoteus; Amesho, Kassian; Shangdiar, Sumarlin; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Shopati, Abner K.; Edoun, E.I.The sustainable bioeconomy is becoming an increasingly important aspect of industrial ecology as we seek to reduce our dependence on finite resources and shift toward more sustainable production and consumption practices. In this chapter, we explore the principles of sustainable bioeconomy and their application in next-generation industrial ecology. We discuss the use of bio-based feedstocks in industrial processes, sustainable manufacturing processes, circular economy and industrial symbiosis, and the importance of social and environmental responsibility in the bioeconomy. Finally, we examine the future directions of sustainable bioeconomy, including technological advancements, policy and regulatory frameworks, and collaboration and partnershipsItem The impact of job satisfaction on employee retention in the power sector(IGI Global, 2024) Nghilalulwa, Jesaya Mutileni; Shihomeka, Sadrag P.The main subject of this research was to explore the impact of job satisfaction on employee retention in Oshakati Premier Electric. Forty-four respondents were selected for this research by employing a simple random sampling strategy. A self-administered survey questionnaire was designed to collect data from the respondents. The key findings from this research were that of extrinsic and intrinsic factors that impact employee job satisfaction on employee retention. Furthermore, the research reveals that factors such as training and developmental opportunities, employee benefits, rewards and salaries, conducive working environment, a good relationship with co-employees, and fair treatment from management and supervisors were ranked as the utmost important factors that led to employee job satisfaction and employee retention. It is recommended that management should afford an atmosphere for the attainment of high sensation of employee job satisfaction with the main responsibility of employee retention in the long-term period of the organizationItem The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles of managers in small and medium enterprises(IGI Global, 2023) Shihomeka, Sadrag P.; Nyathi, AshlyThis study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles of managers in small and medium enterprises at Dog Forces Security Services (DFSS), Namibia. The study used a quantitative correlation research design and a case study strategy. The results show a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and transformational (SD=2.06), transactional (SD=1.59), and laissez-faire leadership styles (SD=0.49). Further confirmation was done using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) by creating a path analysis, and to confirm the hypotheses where a comparative fix index of .748 between emotional intelligence and transformational, .770 between emotional intelligence and transactional, .183 between emotional intelligence and laissez-faire was found resulting in the acceptance of all hypotheses. The study recommended that DFSS management should strengthen leadership initiatives that promote emotional intelligence and leadership styles in order to achieve their goals and intentions