RESUMO
The study investigates the issues of access, quality, and other major challenges to the online system of education for students in Balochistan during this pandemic of Covid-19. Using the mixed-method design, 100 participants from schools and 7 curriculum experts responded to the survey and the interview questions. Survey results suggested that majority of the schools have enough digital devices, and teachers, to some extent, have skills to use technology in teaching, but limited electricity, funds, weak internet connections, and teacher training were some of the major challenges for them. In interviews, the participants showed disappointment in terms of responsiveness of the curriculum because the textbooks have manifold deficiencies in responding to online education. Considering these deficiencies, proposals were suggested to cope with the existing situation. The findings of the study call for the need on the part of the academia, educational stakeholders, and elected representatives to start joint efforts with national and international donor agencies, technology benefactors and telecommunication operators in developing digital infrastructure to provide students with access to education, quality, and lifelong learning through various pathways. The findings can be generalized to other underdeveloped regions both within and across the country, as the public schools are confronting the same issues and the online system of education has not yet been initiated.
RESUMO
The interaction between environment and individual personality determines career. Over the past decades, the role of personality traits in explaining entrepreneurship cannot get much attention of researchers. To fill this gap, this study aims to investigate the effect of personality traits (extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness) on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) along with the mediating role of financial risk taking (FRT). Sample size consists of 500 students of business and management of different universities of Pakistan, out of which 466 useable questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The results of the study are consistent with conventional wisdom as explored by past studies. In line with past studies and proposed hypothesis, we found that both extraversion and openness to experience have a positive association with FRT, whereas neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness have negative association with FRT. The results also revealed that there is positive association between FRT and EI; however, FRT did not mediate the relationship between agreeableness and EI.
RESUMO
A positive leadership style can promote work engagement. Using social exchange theory, this study examines the impact of employee leadership styles on work engagement. In addition, the link also considered the mitigating role of trust in leaders. Preliminary data were collected from the educational and non-educational staff of the Business Management Sciences and Education Department at different universities. We collected responses from 242 employees from selected universities using the purposive sampling technique. We tested the proposed hypothesis using linear regression. Research has shown that there is a positive link between employee leadership and work engagement. When trust in leaders as facilitators was introduced, the relationship between leadership and work engagement was relaxed to increase trust in leaders. Practical and theoretical contributions to the study were provided with recommendations for further study.
RESUMO
The article investigates the response of the Pakistani curriculum to the Covid-19 outbreak. It also looks into the development of a curriculum that addresses the specificities of students' situations, while reminding them of global connectedness. The article is based on semi-structured interviews with 10 curriculum experts, 20 principals, and 35 teachers, as well as content analysis of the 2018 National Curriculum Framework of Pakistan. Its findings reveal participants' disappointment with the top-down, predetermined nature of the curriculum, which makes it inadequate for situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The curriculum was perceived as being highly rigid, with little room for alternative modalities. Participants believed the curriculum could not support children's learning in normal times, much less during a pandemic. Therefore, this article suggests a complete revamping of the curriculum and strengthening of teachers' capabilities. It also suggests curricular material be updated to make it context specific, responsive to the needs of learners, and supportive of independent learning.
