What Makes a Child Happy?

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The study examines self-rated happiness of 1382 eight-year-old children living in five different cities and provinces in Vietnam. The results show that Vietnamese children have moderate level of subjective well-being (mean 5.975 out of a scale from 1 to 9). This level is on average higher than their caregiver’s self-reported happiness (mean 4.461). Child and parent demographic characteristics, such as age, ethnicity, health status, educational attainment or intellectual capabilities, as well as child time use have little relationship with child happiness. The two most important predictors of child subjective well-being are household expenditure (a proxy for economic conditions) and caregiver’s well-being. Furthermore, children living in rural areas report significantly lower level of happiness. The results of this study suggest that improving households’ material conditions and caregivers’ subjective well-being may be meaningful to child happiness.

Librarian’s Computer Self-Efficacy as Correlate for Creation of Institution Repository in South-South Universities in Nigeria

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This study investigated librarian’s computer self-efficacy as correlate for creation of Institution Repository in South-South universities in Nigeria. The study employed the descriptive survey design of the correlational type and the population for the study consisted of 181 librarians drawn from public university libraries in south-south Nigeria. The instrument for data collection is the structured questionnaire titled “Librarians Computer Self-efficacy as Correlate for Creation of Institutional Repository Questionnaire (LCSCCIRQ)”. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and mean to answer the research questions. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and multiple regression statistics was used to test the Hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: (i) there was a high level of general computer self-efficacy among librarians towards the creation of IR in the universities in South-South Nigeria; (ii) librarians possesses high level of advanced computer-self efficacy skills towards the creation of IR in the universities; (iii) librarians are highly willing to create IR in their institutions; (iv) both librarians general computer self-efficacy and advanced computer-self efficacy influenced the creation of IR in South-South, Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that librarians should continue to improve on their current state of computer-self efficacy skills most especially the advanced computer-self efficacy in order to be fully equipped to fit into the 21st century technology, and be prepared at all times to take up new challenges as regards new inventions in the library (IR).

The Relationship of Democratic Implementation to Job Satisfaction of Civil Servants in Binh Duong Province – Vietnam

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This research investigates the impact of democratic principles on job satisfaction among civil servants in Binh Duong Province. The study uses qualitative methods such as interviews and surveys to identify a positive correlation between participatory decision-making, transparent communication, and heightened job satisfaction. Conversely, bureaucratic complexities, power imbalances, and limited civic engagement opportunities pose potential challenges. The findings contribute to understanding democracy’s role in public administration, offering practical insights for policymakers aiming to improve the working environment for civil servants. This qualitative approach provides a nuanced perspective on the subjective experiences of civil servants, emphasizing the importance of democratic principles in shaping their professional fulfillment and overall job satisfaction.

Questioning Work Engagement and Employee Engagement

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Research related to Work Engagement (WE) and Employee Engagement (EE) has been carried out by many previous researchers, both quantitative and qualitative studies. What is interesting about these studies is that some researchers do not sufficiently differentiate the concepts between work engagement and employee engagement, while other researchers use different terms between work engagement and employee engagement. However, not many studies have questioned whether the concepts of WE and EE are the same or different concepts. These findings prompted this study to conduct an in-depth literature review regarding the concepts of WE and EE and their measurements. The study was carried out using a Systematic Literature Review approach on various studies that researched WE and EE. The results of the literature review show that WE and EE are concepts that should be treated differently. Work engagement focuses on the energy employees devote to work. Meanwhile, employee engagement focuses on the energy devoted to work that has a positive contribution to achieving the organization’s vision and mission. The context of employee engagement is to promote innovative employee behavior towards their work that contributes to the organization’s vision and mission.

Coordination of Agencies in the Implementation of the Social Rehabilitation Program for Uninhabitable Houses in Surabaya City

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Social Rehabilitation of Uninhabitable Houses is a program to build houses that are no longer habitable based on community participation. The implementation of the Social Rehabilitation of Uninhabitable Houses program is carried out by the Surabaya City Social Service and the Poor Family Development Unit.

The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze the coordination of institutions in the implementation of the Social Rehabilitation of Uninhabitable Houses program. The theory used in this research is the theory of coordination from Inu Kencana (2011: 35) which includes, namely Regulation, Synchronization, Common Interests and Common Goals. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The data collection techniques used are observation, interview and documentation.

The results of this study have found that the implementation of Social Rehabilitation of Non-Habitable Houses in North Perak based on indicators of Arrangement, Synchronization and Common Goals has been carried out well, while the Common Interest indicator is not well implemented. This needs to be evaluated regarding the disbursement of funds for the implementation of Social Rehabilitation of Uninhabitable Homes.

Effects of Collaborative and Traditional Learning Strategy on Academic Performance of Social Studies Students in Upper Basic Schools in Delta State

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This study investigated the effects of collaborative and traditional learning strategy on the academic performance of Social Studies students in upper basic schools in Delta State. This study adopted the quasi-experiment of 2x2x2 pre-test post-test control group design. This study sample comprised one hundred and sixty (160) upper basic eight students from six sampled schools from urban and rural areas. The research instrument used for this study was tagged Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT). It consisted of 50 multiple-choice items drawn from JSSIII past questions. The validity of the SSPT was determined through face and content validity, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was used to ascertain the reliability index of the research instrument. The reliability index was 0.83. Mean, standard deviation, t-test (t) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the data collected. The results of this study revealed that collaborative and traditional learning strategy significantly facilitated students’ performance in Social Studies. The learning environment should be more friendly and accommodative. The school manager should identify and promote shared democratic values.

Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning of Political Theory Subjects at University of Transport and Communications, Campus in Ho Chi Minh City

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This article studies the current status of teaching and learning political theory subjects at the University of Transport and Communications Branch in Ho Chi Minh City. The author surveyed 11 lecturers and 500 students at the school to propose solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning of these subjects.

Teachers and School Administrators’ Assessment of their Classroom Management and Leadership Practices

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This study described school administrators’ leadership practices and teachers’ classroom management among purposively selected central schools in Cagayan de Oro City. Qualitative and quantitative research was employed utilizing a self-assessment survey questionnaire and focus group discussion method in gathering and collecting data. A simple random sampling technique was used to identify the number of classroom teachers, while purposive sampling was applied to determine the number of school principals as respondents. The data collected from the completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed and interpreted. At the same time, the results of the FGD were transcribed, and patterns of similarities and differences in leadership practices were identified and described.

The results of the self-assessment of the school principals on how they evaluate their administrative and supervisory practices revealed that most of them have excellent practices and management. The results of the principals’ assessment jived with the teacher’s classroom management assessment. The result of the focus group discussion revealed that on some items, the FGD respondents supported the assessment results of the principals; however, there were also notable and interesting responses made by the teachers that tended to invalidate the claims or responses of the school heads. Such incongruity is a clear manifestation of a problem, such as insufficient involvement of teachers in planning instructional programs, decision-making process, delegation of tasks and others, and inadequate staff and pupil development programs.

In light of the findings and limitations of the study, it is recommended that (1) a similar study that is wider and more comprehensive should be conducted to validate these findings, (2) create policies that will seriously involve teachers, especially in areas that concern them like but not limited to planning instructional programs, identifying and setting goals, involving teacher fully in all decisions related to their work, curriculum development, student development and staff development, and (3) school administrators should also use the Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEaD) Action Plan as reference to enhance leadership practices and classroom management.

Teaching Strategies Used In Government-Funded ECE Providers in Gaborone: Preliminary Pointers

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Appropriate teaching strategies are a vital aspect of any learning programme including Early Childhood Education (ECE). The Government of Botswana has invested greatly in the provision of ECE, and it thus becomes necessary to conduct a brief survey of the teaching strategies used by government funded ECE providers in Gaborone as a preliminary pointer of strategies that are utilized and their effectiveness, and those that are not used, and make recommendations for holistic development of the learners. Data collection and analysis used qualitative research method. The survey used questionnaires for data collection and interviews were conducted to triangulate data. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed into MS Word 15. The findings of the study revealed that out of the ten teaching strategies used in ECE provision, only three were used.

Harmonization of Protected Agricultural Land (LSD) Policy as an Implementation of Protection for Regional Food Security

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The agricultural sector has a very strategic role in the national and regional economy through its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), foreign exchange earnings, provision of food and industrial raw materials, poverty alleviation, provision of employment and increase in community income. The threat of food production raises concerns about the occurrence of a food crisis, as a result Indonesia will need additional food availability, especially the availability of food-supporting land. Protection of food agricultural land is an inseparable effort in order to control the function of food land which is increasing rapidly today as a result of increasing demand for land. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture through the Directorate General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities allocated the Protected Agricultural Land  Protection Recommendation activities to the District/City Agriculture Office in 51 districts/cities in 12 Provinces. The method used in this research uses normative research methods with conceptual and statutory approaches.