This article informs about the administrative support of schools heads to the novice teachers at the Public secondary schools in Zanzibar, particularly Pemba. The study draws an urgent need of effective school heads who can provide suitable administrative support to the novice teachers. The study employed a phenomenological research design embedded within a qualitative research approach to generate data from thirty six (36) novice teachers. Data were generated through FGDs with nine school heads and semi – structured interview with twenty seven novice teachers. The study unveiled that, major roles played by heads of schools in supporting novice teachers were the use of advisory committee in advising the novice teachers, provision of work facilities, assisting teacher to address their work related problems and attaching novice teachers to the panel leaders. Despite of the role played by heads of schools in supporting novice teachers, novice teachers faced several challenges such coping with educational reforms, teaching methodology, classroom management, workload, commitment, relationship with colleagues at work, relationship with students’ parents, students poor background, insufficient resources, students low motivation, the gap between theory and the actual practice, low salary and work under the pressure from the Ministry of Education. Following these findings, the study concludes that the novice teachers in Zanzibar do not get enough administrative support to address the myriad challenges they face in their transition from teacher colleges and universities to the teaching job. It follows from this conclusion that deliberate efforts are needed to help the novice teachers to bring effective teaching.

Abstract This study explored the ethnic quest for self-governance in the Ethiopian federal system focusing on experience from the Southern Regional State. The FDRE Constitution has created a positive interrelationship between practicing the right to self-governance and ethnic identity thereby recognizing it to ethnically defined groups. Therefore, it is justifiable and legitimate for all ethnically defined groups to claim the right to self-governance. The main objective of this study was to examine the ethnic claims for self-governance in multi-ethnic Southern Regional State within the context of Ethiopian ethnic federal system. This study was based on qualitative method approach and the study employed a number of data collection methods such as data from primary and archival sources and secondary literature.The findings of the study revealed that by merging very diverse ethno-linguistic groups into one federated unit, the Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, the existing political system has created minority-within-minority. As a result, those ethnic groups, who have been given their own sub-regional administrative units, have acquired political majority over the subsumed ethnic groups. This has created a feeling of being dominated and marginalized by the subsumed ethnic groups such as Oyda, Goffa, Danta, Tembaro and so on. This is the basic cause for continuing dynamics of ethnic claims for self-governance at Regional, Zonal and Woreda status in this Regional State.The study recommended two policy options: one is to restructure the Southern Regional State and, the other, easiest remedy, is to organize additional Sub-Regional Units for some of the subsumed ethnically defined groups.

The purpose of this study was to find out how task-based language teaching is implemented in ELT classrooms at Debre Markos College of Teachers Education. To conduct the study, exploratory research method that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods was employed on 108 third year English language students and six language instructors. Data were collected through interview, classroom observation, matrix-rate questionnaire, and document analysis, and were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Accordingly, the findings of the study revealed that there are teacher made pedagogic language tasks based on predetermined course contents and objectives where resource facility was not considered as a problem. In addition, student involvement in task design, planning, and selection was very little, because the college follows modular approach to language teaching. However, they were involved in task performance, reflection, and evaluation in several student-centered interaction patterns and self-paced performance options. The data also showed that the desired qualities of the tasks are significantly fulfilled, yet there are a number of form-focused language tasks and their components are obscured. Besides, both instructors and students were found to significantly play their roles in different communicative task phase; however, teacher domination still prevails in language classrooms. What is more, it was found out that a number of problems hinder the effective implementation of task-based language teaching and learning, though there were considerable attempts made to minimize them. Therefore, based on the findings, some recommendations were forwarded, and future research areas in the field were suggested.

Abstract Nowadays, a lot of studies are being done on Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Perceptual Learning Styles because these two have been considered as being extremely important. However, the relationship between these two has remained untouched. The primary purpose of the present research was to survey the relationship between WTC and Perceptual Learning Styles. In addition, the relationship between each of these variables with language proficiency was examined. Three hypotheses were formulated at the outset of this research: 1) There is no statistically significant relationship between WTC and language proficiency of Iranian EFL learners, 2) There is no statistically significant relationship between learning style and WTC of Iranian EFL learners, and 3) There is no statistically significant relationship between learning style and language proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. A Persian translated version of WTC questionnaire, a learning style questionnaire, and a sample of Oxford Placement Test were administered to 120 students in a high school in Shahriar, a city in the suburb of Tehran. Pearson Product and One-way Anova were run to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a relationship between WTC and language proficiency, but no relationship was indicated between WTC and learning styles. Moreover, learning styles and language proficiency was not shown to be correlated with each other.

Professional science organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) are promoting the use of more activity-driven, inquiry-based instruction in the teaching of science, particularly in the elementary schools. Inquiry-based instruction is instruction using hands-on activities that allow children to explore scientific concepts, as well as instruction in which the focus is on using process skills to gain deeper understandings of the connections in science. Studies have shown that an inquiry based, hands-on approach is the best way to teach science in a world where facts change frequently and the difficulty of the issues faced will only increase with time. In response to this need, many region school compounds in Ethiopia have adopted new science series in which the focus is on active learning type of instruction. Yet still, science literacy has been slow to show improvement in young children. This research was conducted to see how much of a role teacher's attitudes towards science itself, and science instruction in particular, plays in deciding to use an inquiry approach to teaching science. Surveys concerning science background, science training and instruction, and teacher attitude towards science were sent to Debre Markos town teachers currently in elementary classrooms teaching science.

The current study investigates the relationship between critical thinking skills and learning styles of mentally gifted students. The participants were 225 gifted students in Turkey attending Science and Art Centres which are after-school activity centers for mentally gifted students. Participants were 9-15 years old and were attending secondary schools and high schools. The data were gathered using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory and the Critical Thinking Scale and analyzed using Chi-Square, t test, ANOVA and regression analyses. The findings revealed that gender was not a significant variable for learning styles but it was a significant variable for critical thinking skills. Gifted students had high scores on the Critical Thinking scale. Relationships were also found between gifted students' learning styles and their critical thinking skills except in the analysis dimension of the Critical Thinking scale. Gifted students who achieved the highest scores on the scale had assimilating and converging learning styles.