Factors that cause poor examination passing rates and high dropout rates among primary school girls in Malawi were analysed. First hand data was collected by conducting a survey in all the three regions of Malawi. The respondents to the questionnaire were girls (402) who are repeating the last class in primary schools (Standard 8), primary school…

School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) refers to "acts of sexual, physical, or psychological violence inflicted on children in and around schools because of stereotypes and roles or norms attributed to or expected of them because of their sex or gendered identity. It also refers to the differences between girls' and boys' experience of…

In Malawi, in spite of a number of gender equity policies and initiatives that encourage females to pursue careers within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), research indicates that they are under-represented in these fields. One initiative recommended to address the factors contributing to this…

This article draws data from two complementary studies in sub-Saharan Africa to highlight the problem of religious misrepresentation in (multi-faith) Religious Education (RE) at school in Malawi and Ghana. Employing Michael Apples' conception of selective tradition, the article is critical of the confrontational disputation inherent in the RE in…

We re-examine a Malawian teacher's lessons which, using the framework of mathematic problem-solving developed by Polya, the typology of levels of task demand from Stein and colleagues and Malawi's description of learner-centred education (LCE), were described as teacher-centred and evaluated as 'not good'. We studied seven video-recorded circle…

Purpose: The sector-wide approach currently dominates as the strategy for developing the agricultural sector of many African countries. Although recognised that collaborative agricultural research is vital in ensuring success of sector-wide agricultural development strategies; there have been few efforts to understand the dynamics of national…

Purpose: The limited uptake of improved agricultural practices in Africa raise questions on the functionality of current agricultural research systems. Our purpose is to explore the capacity for local innovation within the research systems of Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a…

Providing access to higher education for people in marginalized communities, in particular for refugees, requires to re-think the traditional ways of teaching and learning in higher education institutions. The challenges of these circumstances both in terms of access to learning materials and the opportunity to collaboratively learn with others…

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the FIFA 11 for Health programme in increasing children's knowledge about communicable and non-communicable diseases in five countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Method: A prospective five-cohort study was implemented in schools in Ghana (17), Malawi (12), Namibia (11), Tanzania (18) and Zambia (11). The…

In the present article, we explore beliefs and attitudes towards research ethics among graduate students in the two south-central African countries of Zambia and Malawi. The participants were 11 mid-career professionals studying graduate business programs delivered in-country in partnership with a British university. We conducted semi-structured,…

It is understood that microblogging (tweeting) which is a form of Web 2.0, has been a centre of attraction in some institutions of higher education. However, despite its hype and pomp as reported by some scholars in developed countries, integration of Twitter in a classroom environment in developing countries is just beginning to flourish. In…

Purpose: The aim of the study is to better understand how lesson study (LS) contributes to challenging teachers' views of mathematics teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach: This study is part of a wider ongoing project aiming at improving primary mathematics teaching in Malawi through professional development (PD) of teachers using a…

Over the years, several frameworks and lesson observation protocols have been developed to ensure objectivity and consistency when determining the quality of a mathematics lesson. Frequently, the frameworks do not agree on the benchmarks for assessing and describing the quality of a lesson. This puts mathematics education researchers in a dilemma…

US Agency for International Development (USAID) believes that education is a foundational driver of development and fundamental to achieving self-reliance. When children and youth attend school and build skills they can use in the workforce and to navigate life, they are able to build more hopeful and prosperous futures for themselves, their…

This article offers 10 guidelines for conducting international group work research. These guidelines include the importance of establishing relationships, conducting a needs assessment, co-constructing the research questions/design, determining the approach, choosing culturally relevant instruments, choosing culturally responsive group…