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Education plays prominent role in the development of nations considering that the progress of nations depends on the capability of its workforce which is informed by the quality of education offered its citizenry. Program for international students‟ assessment revealed the need to improve upon the quality of education across nations. This need was corroborated by the unimpressive performance of the secondary schools learners in Egbeda local Government of Oyo State. Ironically, secondary schools management in the local government have been found to have very little discretionary powers in the administration of their schools – a situation that could have contributed to the poor performance of the learners. The study thus focussed on the effect of school autonomy on learners‟ performance in Egbeda Local Government secondary schools of Oyo State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 72 Principals, 158 Vice Principals and 125 Heads of Departments from the 72 schools covered by the study. Thirty schools were excluded from the study for not meeting selection criteria of ten years of establishment. Sample size of 355 was purposively selected for the study. Response rate was 97.7%. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that school autonomy dimensions have statistically significant effect on learners‟ work quality (F5, 341 = 221.357, Adj. R2 = 0.761, p < 0.05); school autonomy dimensions have statistically significant effect on learners‟ affective performance (F5, 341 = 66.085, Adj. R2 = 0.492, p < 0.05); school autonomy dimensions have statistically significant effect on learners‟ character formation (F5, 341 = 553.982, Adj. R2 = 0.889, p < 0.05); school autonomy dimensions have statistically significant effect on learners‟ personal development (F5, 341 = 104.177, Adj. R2 = 0.599, p < 0.05); school autonomy dimensions have statistically significant effect on learners‟ social development (F5, 341 = 45.928, Adj. R2 = 0.394, p < 0.05). The study concluded that school autonomy affected learners‟ performance. The study recommended that education authorities should make policy provisions that will enhance school autonomy in both private and public secondary schools in the Egbeda Local Government of Oyo State to improve learners‟ performance. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)

Nigeria's educational environment has witnessed rapid and wide-spread changes within the last five years to the extent that enormous pressures are being put upon the practitioners. The introduction of universal free primary education in 1976 and the establishment of the national policy on education in 1977 are two of the major reasons for these changes. Educational critics have discussed issues affecting education in Nigeria generally and in Oyo State particularly. The practitioners have continuously come under severe attack for the apparent shortcomings brought by these changes. It was viewed that principals could speak out regarding the seriousness of such educational issues which the critics have repeatedly emphasized. The two purposes of this study were to determine the perceptions of secondary school principals regarding the seriousness of selected educational issues; and to determine whether there were significant differences in the perceptions that could be ascribed to zonal location of schools, age of principals, enrollment, and years of experience as principals.

Background Nigeria, with a population growth rate (2000-2005) of 2.5% and with 5% of the total population aged 60 years and above, has the potential for a rapid growth rate of the older population in coming years.1 The implication of this in a country with large population as reported by the National Population Census 2006, limited number of health care professionals and care homes, is difficulty in meeting the various needs of the elderly, hence, the importance of identifying the palliative care needs of the elderly. Aim The study was set out to assess the palliative care needs of and provision of care to elderly patients seen in the selected clinics of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Objectives 1. To describe characteristics of elderly patients seen in the selected clinics. 2. To explore the current use of the hospital palliative care team in the care of geriatric patient. 3. To explore the current use of the hospital palliative care team in the care of geriatric patient. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over a 3-month period using an interviewer administered questionnaire after full consent was given by participants. The questionnaire was a combination of the Africa Palliative Care Outcome Scale (APCA-POS), the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Hope Spiritual Assessment Tool. Demographic information regarding gender, age, nationality, abode and referral to the Care Centre was obtained. Scaled questions from selected tools were ticked with respect to physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs and expectations of palliative care. The validated data collection tools (APCA-POS, ESAS, HOPE) were used in the questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant organizations. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS statistics 21. Results 424 participants completed the questionnaire and most patients (330; 77.8%) were recruited from the geriatric wards with a 2:1 female to male ratio. Most participants fell in the 60 -69 year-old age group. The most common symptom was pain in 240 patients with moderate pain in single or multiple areas. A high percentage (45.8%) were moderately worried about their disease condition and only 66 out of 422 freely discussed this feeling with their family members. Other symptoms observed were nausea, vomiting, constipation and loss of appetite. Conclusion The study showed the palliative care needs of the elderly and calls for collaboration between the palliative care team and the physicians in the geriatric unit for better management of the needs of the elderly.

Given the general poor state of health care and the devastating effect of user fee, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was instituted as a health financing policy with the main purpose to ensure universal access for all Nigerians. However, since NHIS became operational in 2005, only members of scheme are able to access health care both in the public and in private sectors, representing about 3% of Nigerian population. The thesis therefore examines the design and implementation policy of NHIS in Oyo state, Nigeria. Key design issues conceptual framework guides the analysis of data. The framework identifies three health interrelated financing functions namely revenue collection, risk pooling and purchasing. Data was collected from the NHIS officials, employees of the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and the Health Care Providers (HCPs) using key informant interview. In addition, in-depth interview and semi structure questionnaire were used to gather data from the enrolees and the nonenrolees. Empirical findings show that NHIS is fragmented given the existence of several programmes. In addition, there is no risk pooling neither redistribution of funds in the scheme. Revenue generated through contributions from the enrolees was not sufficient to fund health care services received by the beneficiaries because of the small percentage of the Nigerian population that the scheme covers. Further findings indicate that enrolled federal civil servants have not commenced monthly contribution to the NHIS. They pay 10% as co-pay in every consultation while federal government as an employer subsidised by 90%. Majority (76.8%) of the respondents agreed that they were financially protected from catastrophic spending. However, the overall benefit package was rated moderate because of exclusion of some priority and essential health care needs. Although above half (57%) of the respondents concurred that HMOs are accessible, in the overall, (47.6%) of the respondents were not satisfied with their services. In the case of the HCPs, majority (61.9%) of the respondents claimed that there is no excessive waiting time for consultation. Furthermore, (64.3%) rated their interpersonal relationship with the HCPs to be good. However, more than half of the respondents (54%) disagreed on availability of prescribed drugs in NHIS accredited health facilities. For the nonenrolees, findings show that most of the respondents (72.9%) were willing to enrol, but significant proportion (47.5%) indicated financial constraint as impediment to enrolment. / Sociology / D. Phil. (Sociology)

This research examined the reasons for the differences in the academic performance of school learners, and makes reference to economic, social and cultural capital theory in explaining educational imbalances in society. Many researchers have conducted studies on the factors contributing to the academic performance of learners at various levels of schooling have been undertaken. These researchers have come to the conclusion that the academic performance of learners is affected by numerous factors, namely, gender, age, learners' schooling, family’s socio-economic status, residential area of learners, the medium of instruction in schools, tuition trends, hours spent on studying on a daily basis and accommodation in hostels (Petersen, 2010:15). There is a popular saying in south-western Nigeria, that “if the parents’ financial status is good, the reflection of it will show in the child”. This study is focused on the academic performance of learners at the secondary school level and investigates the influence of economic, social and cultural capital on their academic performance. This study aims to determine which factors contribute to the poor academic performance of rural secondary school learners in south-western Nigeria and then, based on the findings of the research undertaken to make recommendations regarding what could be done to improve the academic performance of these learners. The mixed-methods approach of combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches to accomplish the aims of the research were used. The population consisted of four secondary schools, four school principals, 16 teachers, 40 parents and 120 learners. According to the results of this research, we can see that the social, cultural and economic capital of parents is a powerful determinant with regard to motivating their children’s education. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

This thesis is an attempt to fill the gap in our knowledge about rural poverty and what it means to be poor. It has grown out of concerns that a lot has been said and written about poverty, yet poor people’s own understanding of their poverty is hardly ever included in policy and programs designed to reduce poverty. The rural poor are particularly marginalised in terms of voice as they are often represented by mere statistical figures. (For complete abstract open document)