International Journal of Education Research and Reviews

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (7), pp. 001-009, July, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century: Building a Foundation for Sustainable Human Development in Botswana
     
Paul Alan Mosheti, PhD

Gaborone University College of Law and Professional Studies Department of Early Childhood Education / Postgraduate Research. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Received 5 June, 2026; Revised 29 June, 2026; Accepted 30 June, 2026; Published 23 July, 2026

Early Childhood Education (ECE) is widely recognized as a foundation for sustainable human development because it enhances children's cognitive, social-emotional, and lifelong learning outcomes. This study examines the contribution of ECE to sustainable human development in Botswana through a conceptual study incorporating mixed-methods elements, integrating policy analysis, national education statistics, and qualitative insights from early childhood teachers. Guided by Human Capital Theory, the Nurturing Care Framework, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2, the study analyses Botswana's progress in expanding access to quality ECE while identifying persistent implementation challenges. The findings indicate that pre-primary enrolment reached 41,539 children in 2022, although significant disparities remain in teacher qualifications, rural access, financing, and curriculum contextualization. Qualitative evidence further highlights shortages of teaching resources, limited professional development opportunities, and the need for stronger community engagement. The study concludes that strengthening teacher professionalization, equitable financing, culturally responsive curricula, and systematic monitoring will enhance inclusive and sustainable ECE provision in Botswana. These findings provide evidence to inform policy, practice, and future research aimed at achieving equitable early childhood development.

Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Botswana; Sustasinable Human Development; Teacher Professionalization; Curriculum Contextualization; Human Capital Theory; Nurturing Care Framework; Sustainable Development Goal 4.2; Educational Equity.
 

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (6), pp. 001-006, June, 2026. 

Full Length Research Paper

Empowering Lower Secondary Students Through Scientific Reasoning

Wanida Pharanat¹, Prasart Nuangchalerm² and Kanyarat Sonsupap³

Faculty of Education, Mahasarakham University, Thailand.

Accepted 2 February, 2026

In this era, society needs young students to think and do what they should do in the 21st century. This research aims to promote reasoned argumentation in science for lower secondary students, which is relevant to prepare citizen in a world of change. The participants in this study were 33 lower secondary students. The findings found that instructional practices which promote reasoned argumentation as "CRABS MODEL"; they are choosing issue; reasoning; argumentation; brainstorming and summary. This can make students to have higher thinking in argumentation. Students could develop the reasoned argumentation by using problem analysis process, data gathering and reasoning, facts and opinions classification through argument, brainstorming of various choices and summary, which are higher than pre-test at the statistical significance level of 0.05.

Key words: Instructional model, argumentation, reasoned argumentation, pedagogy, science education, thinking, Thailand.
 

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (5), pp. 001-007, May, 2026. 

Full Length Research Paper

Teacher Competence and Attitude as Determinants of Student Achievement in Nigerian Secondary Schools

A. A Adediwura and Bada Tayo

Department of Educational Foundations and Counselling, Faculty of Education Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Department of Educational Technology, Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Accepted 10 Marh, 2026

The study investigated the relationship/effect of students’ perception of teachers’ knowledge of subject matter, attitude to work and teaching skills on students’ academic performance. The population consisted of senior secondary three (SS.III) students in the South West Nigeria senior secondary schools. The study sample consisted of 1600 purposively selected SSS III students from 15 selected secondary schools. A questionnaire with four sections was developed and administered on the subjects. It is a test battery with section A containing the demographic data and the remaining three sections containing twenty items each. The instrument has a test-retest reliability of 0.64 over a period of two weeks (n = 40, r = 0.64, p = < .05) an internal consistency (K - R20) reliability of 0.72 (p < .05) and a Cronbach coefficient alpha 0.70. The collected data were analyzed using simple percentages, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and chi-square statistics to test the three hypotheses generated in the study. The result show that students’ perception of teachers’ knowledge of subject matter, attitude to work and teaching skills has a significant relationship on students’ academic performance.

Key words: Perception, Teachers' knowledge, attitude and teaching skills, Predictors of academic performance
 

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-006, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

Restoring the Niger Delta: Utilizing native plant abilities to combat crude oil pollution

Erakhrumen, Andrew Agbontalor

Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 28 October, 2026

The problem of environmental pollution has assumed an unprecedented proportion in many parts of the world especially in Nigeria and its Niger-Delta region in particular. This region is bedeviled with this problem perhaps owing to interplay of demographic and socio-economic forces coupled with the various activities that revolve round the exploration for and exploitation of large deposit of crude oil discovered there. Many methods and processes of preventing, removing and or correcting the negative effects of pollutants released into the environments exist but their application in this country for this purpose has either been poorly implemented or not at all, a situation that is worsening owing probably to claims of lack of virile regulatory bodies and overwhelming dependence of government on crude oil for income. Studies have shown that the livelihood of local inhabitants largely depend on renewable natural resources which is environment dependent, thus, it is imperative that the environment should be sustainably managed in order to continue serving this function through comparatively cheaper means, one of which phytoremediation is. The objective of this review is to discuss phytoremediation studies using in-situ techniques and their potentials as a remediation technique that utilizes the age-long inherent abilities of living plants to remove pollutants from the environment but which is yet to become a commercially available technology in many parts of the world including Nigeria.

Key words: Phytoremediation, environmental pollution, crude oil exploration, Niger-Delta, developing countries.
 

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-005, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Classroom Apprehension: A Case Study of Secondary Student Attitudes Toward Chemistry in Nigeria

S. A. Jegede

Department of Curriculum Studies Faculty of Education University of Ado – Ekiti, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 8 January, 2026

The study was designed to find out students’ anxiety towards the learning of chemistry, identify the factors that cause the anxiety, examine the disposition of sex towards the learning of chemistry and suggest ways to increase their taste towards the learning of the subject. Data for the study was obtained by administering a questionnaire to 300 respondents involved in the study. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and stanine test. The findings of the study revealed that the students, whether male or female, urban or rural based, show great anxiety towards the learning of chemistry and that the anxiety is higher in female and rural based students than male and urban based students. The cause of students’ anxiety as revealed by the study include: wide coverage of the syllabus, low awareness of career opportunities, their teacher and his teaching methods and lack of teaching aids / laboratory.

Key words: Anxiety, learning, performance, disposition, perception, prospect
 

International Journal of Education Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 14 (3), pp. 001-006, March, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Borderless Learning: Leveraging International Education to Accelerate Economic Freedom Across ECOWAS Nations

Idowu Biao

Department of Adult and Continuing Education-University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].
Tel.: 08056339065.

Accepted 19 November, 2025

The Economic Community of West African States was established in 1975 with the view to fast tracking economic development in the West African sub-region. However, thirty-three years after, ECOWAS is only struggling to rid itself of those obstacles that have prevented it from achieving its goal. Chief among those obstacles are illiteracy, wars, poor health care delivery, gender inequality and poverty. A number of steps have been taken in the past to see to it that the main objective of ECOWAS is achieved; these steps have not brought the expected result; ECOWAS therefore remains with its challenges. However, it is here suggested that if ECOWAS would employ a strategy that will bring its citizens to learn about themselves and about the potentials of their community, then, it will succeed in achieving its objective of functional integration. A process of learning such as this, is known as “international education”. In this specific sense, promotion of functional learning of French and English languages, development of traditional medicine, continuous research into indigenous and modern strategies of conflict resolution, promotion of gender equality and reduction of poverty through new cross border types of learning are activities identified as harbinger of opportunities that will lead ECOWAS citizens to learn more about themselves and eventually act in a way that will become beneficial to the generality of the members of this community. This is international education and the benefit thereof is the eventual functional integration of West African countries.

Key words: Ecowas, education, international education, poverty, development.