Digumarti Bhaskara Rao

Bio: Digumarti Bhaskara Rao is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Public policy & Comparative education. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 856 citations.

The Road to Academic Excellence : The Making of World-Class Research Universities

Abstract: For middle-income and developing countries as well as some industrial nations a major challenge for building and sustaining successful research universities is determining the mechanisms that allow those universities to participate effectively in the global knowledge network on an equal basis with the top academic institutions in the world. These research universities provide advanced education for the academic profession, policy makers, and public and private sector professionals involved in the complex, globalized economies of the 21st century. In addition to their contribution to economic development, these universities play a key societal role by serving as cultural institutions, centers for social commentary and criticism, and intellectual hubs. The positive contribution of tertiary education is increasingly recognized as not limited to middle-income and advanced countries, because it applies equally to low-income economies. Tertiary education can help these countries to become more globally competitive by developing a skilled, productive, and flexible labor force and by creating, applying, and spreading new ideas and technologies. A recent study on how to accelerate economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa spells out the crucial contribution of tertiary education in supporting this endeavor (World Bank 2008). It observes that the key for success in a globalized world increasingly lies in how effectively a country can assimilate available knowledge and build comparative advantages in areas with higher growth prospects and how it can use technology to address the most pressing environmental challenges. The main chapters of this book are nine case studies that illustrate what it takes to establish and sustain research universities and help validate the analytical model outlined above, including the paths to building research excellence.

The Usefulness of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Methods in Researching Problem-Solving Ability in Science Education Curriculum

Abstract: Research in science education is to discover the truth which involves the combination of reasoning and experiences. In order to find out appropriate teaching methods that are necessary for teaching science students problem-solving skills, different research approaches are used by educational researchers based on the data collection and analysis used at a given time. Though qualitative and quantitative research methods lies on separate continuum, they all aimed at identifying educational problems using different approach. This study critically examined the usefulness of both qualitative and quantitative approaches in researching problem-solving ability in science education curriculum. In doing this, six articles relating to problem-solving were examined to show the usefulness of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to educational research. Advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses of both methods were discussed. Ethical consideration in relation to research in problem-solving instructions were discussed as well as suggestion for future research.

Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement : A Study of Academic and Professional Qualification on Teachers' Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Secondary Schools

Abstract: This academic work begins with a compact presentation of the general background to the study, which also includes an autobiography for the interest in this research. The presentation provides readers who know little of the topic of this research and of the structure of the educational system as well as of the value given to education in Nigeria. It further concentrates on the dynamic interplay of the effect of academic and professional qualification and teachers, job effectiveness in secondary schools in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. The aim of this study is to produce a systematic analysis and rich theoretical and empirical description of teachers, teaching competencies. The theoretical part comprises a comprehensive literature review that focuses on research conducted in the areas of academic and professional qualification and teachers’ job effectiveness, teaching competencies, and the role of teacher education with particular emphasis on school effectiveness and improvement. This research benefits greatly from the functionalist conception of education, which is built upon two emphases: the application of the scientific method to the objective social world, and the use of an analogy between the individual ‘organism’ and ‘society’. To this end, it offers us an opportunity to define terms systematically and to view problems as always being interrelated with other components of society. The empirical part involves describing and interpreting what educational objectives can be achieved with the help of teachers, teaching competencies in close connection to educational planning, teacher training and development, and achieving them without waste. The data used in this study were collected between 2002 and 2003 from teachers, principals, supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in the Rivers State of Nigeria (N=300). The data were collected from interviews, documents, observation, and questionnaires and were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses posited in this study. The data analysis involved the use of multiple statistical procedures: Percentages Mean Point Value, T-test of Significance, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Cross Tabulation. The results obtained from the data analysis show that teachers require professional knowledge and professional teaching skills, as well as a broad base of general knowledge (e.g., morality, service, cultural capital, institutional survey). Above all, in order to carry out instructional processes effectively, teachers should be both academically and professionally trained. This study revealed that teachers are not however expected to have an extraordinary memory, but rather looked upon as persons capable of thinking in the right direction. This study may provide a solution to the problem of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. For this reason, I offer this treatise to anyone seriously committed in improving schools in developing countries in general and in Nigeria in particular to improve the lives of all its citizens. In particular, I write this to encourage educational planners, education policy makers, curriculum developers, principals, teachers, and students of education interested in empirical information and methods to conceptualize the issue this study has raised and to provide them with useful suggestions to help them improve secondary schooling in Nigeria. Though, multiple audiences exist for any text. For this reason, I trust that the academic community will find this piece of work a useful addition to the existing literature on school effectiveness and school improvement. Through integrating concepts from a number of disciplines, I aim to describe as holistic a representation as space could allow of the components of school effectiveness and quality improvement. A new perspective on teachers’ professional competencies, which not only take into consideration the unique characteristics of the variables used in this study, but also recommend their environmental and cultural derivation. In addition, researchers should focus their attention on the ways in which both professional and non-professional teachers construct and apply their methodological competencies, such as their grouping procedures and behaviors to the schooling of students.