Higher education (HE) is considered to be the apex of all educational endeavours. Therefore, it is expected that student in various institutions of higher learning should be self‐motivated for individualized synchronous and asynchronous learning. Lamentably, it seems that such expectation within the HE spaced is yet to be achieved. While stakeholders in HE are in search for an approach to ensure that students have sufficient self‐directed learning (SDL) capacities needed for blended learning (BL), this article advance and propose the use of the constructivist framework to foster SDL to ensure that students develop their own understanding of learning, its meaning according to the context, and the ways to acquire it using BL as a mediator. Using the constructivist theory as a theoretical lens, we proposed the use of a three‐ring‐drag‐in approach as a model to fostering SDL among students in various institutions of higher learning. We, therefore encourage the adoption or adaptability of the three‐ring‐drag‐in approach as it promise to address and resolve the concerns and agitation of enthronement of SDL among students within the HE spaces.

Antenatal care (ANC) services provide access to integrated health management for several pregnancy related conditions. Unfortunately, deaf pregnant women remain vulnerable during pregnancy due to lack of access as well as communication barriers at antenatal clinics in Nigeria. The primary aim of this study was to explore the experiences and satisfaction of pregnant deaf women with antenatal care in Nigeria. This was a qualitative study, conducted among nine deaf pregnant women from two local government areas, attending both private and public health facilities for antenatal care in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were collected using semi-structured, video recorded one-on-one interviews, with sign language as the medium of communication. The interviews were conducted until saturation of the themes was reached. The recorded interviews were precisely transcribed and thematic analyses were conducted on the data obtained. The mean age of the participants was 29.5 years. Participants indicated that they had registered/booked for antenatal care in their second trimester. Registration at this stage was regarded as late registration of the pregnancies. Communication difficulties during their ANC (antenatal care) visits, distance and location of the clinics, knowledge and perception of what ANC entailed, finance/cost, and health care professionals’ attitudes towards the participants were the major themes identified for late ANC bookings. Participants who attended privately owned health care facilities for ANC had more satisfaction with ANC care than those attending publicly owned health facilities. Deaf pregnant women were knowledgeable about ANC but registered late for the service, largely due to communication difficulties, distance to the clinic, cost, and the perceived attitudes of the health care workers. There existed a variance in the level of satisfaction of deaf pregnant women who attended private or public health facilities.

This paper presents global evidence derived from a systematic review of the literature on the issues of D/deaf pregnant women and antenatal care. A comprehensive search through four bibliographic databases identified a dataset of 10,375 academic papers, from which six papers met the inclusion criteria for in-depth analysis related to D/deaf pregnant women’s use of antenatal care/clinics. Findings from the analysis revealed four major concerns for D/deaf pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics for care. These concerns were communication difficulties, satisfaction with antenatal care services, attendance at antenatal clinics, and associated health outcomes. Based on the identified issues and concerns, it is recommended that pre- and in-service healthcare workers should be trained on how to communicate through sign language with their D/deaf patients. In addition, there is a need to rapidly expand the body of knowledge on the issues concerning antenatal care for D/deaf pregnant women vis-à-vis their relationship with healthcare workers in antenatal facilities.

This study aimed to assess the role of self-esteem, self-efficacy and self-concept on intimate image diffusion among in-school deaf adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria. The theory of planned behaviour served as a framework for the study. Data was collected through structured questionnaire from 276 (male = 39.5%; female = 60.5%) in-school deaf adolescents from five senior secondary (3 integrated and 2 inclusive). Data generated were analysed with IBM SPSS 22 and IBM AMOS 26.0 packages. Mean age of participants was ±16.5, all participants use WhatsApp while 71.7% had Facebook profile. It was observed that all the fit measures of the SEM fell within the acceptable range (χ2 = 104.34, df = 39, χ2/df = 2.67, GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.91, NFI = 0.93, IFI = 0.91 and RMSEA = 0.54). According to the findings, self-esteem and self-efficacy had a positive and direct relationship with intimate image diffusion while a negative but direct link exists between self-concept and intimate image diffusion among deaf adolescents. Based on the finding, an appropriate recommendation was made.

This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of inclusive education of pre-service teachers in Nigeria and South Africa by surveying 217 Nigerian and 266 South African pre-service teachers using a cross-sectional survey research design. A self-developed questionnaire was used for the data collection. The questionnaire was pilot-tested among pre-service teachers from a public university in Tanzania. Data were descriptively and inferentially analysed (means and standard deviations) using a 2 × 3 factorial multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The study found a significant interaction between country and gender, with a significant main effect for gender as well as for country. The results indicated a significant MANOVA and a follow-up analysis of the variance test showed a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of pre-service teachers about inclusive education in terms of gender with female pre-service teachers having the highest mean score. The study also indicated a significant difference in the attitudes of pre-service teachers towards inclusive education in terms of their country, with Nigeria having a higher score than South Africa. The implications of a socially just society are discussed.

The concept, ‘scarce skills’ and learners’ performance in scarce skills subjects has been a subject of scholarly and political discussion, for more than three decades, especially in South Africa. Unfortunately, despite efforts to increase the population of qualified individuals with scarce skills, South Africa is yet to achieve the desired result. While the focus on development of scarce skills in South Africa has largely centered on citizens within the urban areas, less research has concentrated on the development of scarce skills in South African rural areas. Therefore, using choice theory as a framework, this study explored associated issues of retaining SST in the Mutale area, located in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province, South Africa. This study employed a qualitative research design comprising eight purposively selected participants. Data was gathered using a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The following themes resulted from the analysis: Availability; emigration; motivation; and limited production and supply of scarce skill teachers. Based on the findings, the study recommends an improvement in the production and deployment of qualified scarce skill teachers to rural secondary schools. Scarce skill teachers in rural secondary schools should be highly motivated and encouraged to stay as teachers in rural secondary schools.