(2023). Teachers' Attitude Towards and Experiences with e-Learning Tools at Two Universities in Different Phases of e-Learning Implementation. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, v7 n4 p571-599. The current paper focusses on the teachers' attitude towards and experiences with e-learning tools at two universities in different phases of e-learning implementation. The study population comprises teachers at university level and a simple random sampling method was used. A total of 45 teachers in bachelor programmes from the Faculty of Agriculture of Kabul University (KU) in Afghanistan filled out the survey. For this study, secondary data on Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in the Netherlands was also used from a survey which was recently conducted by Banihashem et al., (2023) in which 307 teachers participated. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and the two settings were compared in general terms. The results showed that the majority of the respondents at KU and WUR had a favourable attitude towards e-learning tools and that this attitude is an important enabling or disabling factor in the adoption of technology. The findings also indicated respondents'… [PDF]
(2024). Teachers' Well-Being, Home Learning Environment and Children Learning Outcomes in Emergencies: A Case of Afghanistan. Cogent Education, v11 n1 Article 2335839. Teachers' well-being and a conducive home learning environment play a pivotal role in improving children learning outcomes, but little is known about this in a humanitarian setting. This article assesses the role of teachers' well-being and home learning environment on children learning outcomes in Afghanistan. A cross section endline survey was conducted among 1407 primary school children, 1407 parents and 315 teachers in seven provinces of Afghanistan. Population-based two stage-cluster sampling was used. Children taught by teacher's who received professional development support were 3.19 and 4.0 times more likely to attain higher literacy and numeracy levels. Children taught by teachers with adequate teaching and learning materials were 1.60 and 1.83 times more likely to achieve higher literacy and numeracy levels. Children from teachers with ability to voice up and be consulted by school management attained higher social-emotional learning competencies. Children experiencing… [Direct]
(2022). English Medium Instruction in Higher Education of Afghanistan: Students' Perspective. Language Learning in Higher Education, v12 n1 p291-308. The study investigated students' views of reasons for the adoption of English medium instruction (EMI) in Afghan Higher Education, EMI effects on official languages and students' preference of medium of instruction. It also explored whether students' gender, first language and English proficiency had any significant impact on their responses. The data were collected from 840 students by means of an online questionnaire from four public universities based in northeastern Afghanistan. The dataset was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that students had a positive attitude towards EMI in higher education. They believed that the universities should adopt EMI for various reasons, e.g., internationalization of universities. They were aware of the negative effects of EMI on the official languages of Afghanistan. They were more likely to select a combination of English and official languages for the medium of instruction. Students' gender and first… [Direct]
(2021). The Double Whammy of Pandemic and War: A Systematic Review of India's Education Diplomacy to Address Educational Inequities in Afghanistan. Education Sciences, v11 Article 651. Higher education is considered an important tool for the overall development of any country, and it holds true in the context of Afghanistan as well. At the same time, a good eco-environment in terms of political will, leaders' farsighted vision, a fair budget, good infrastructure, and a good teaching community are some of the basic requirements for higher education to move in the direction of new and higher horizons. However, due to the ongoing war during the last couple of decades, the country's education system has become out of reach for a substantial part of the population due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, refugees and internally displaced, digital division, etc., critically affecting the education equity. This systematic review examines India's education diplomacy in addressing the inequities in Afghanistan's education system and making them more equitable. Education was further dilapidated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Afghanistan is caught between a war… [PDF]
(2019). Science Classroom Learning Environments in Afghanistan: Assessment, Effects and Determinants. Educational Practice and Theory, v41 n2 p5-23 Dec. Although the field of classroom learning environments has undergone remarkable expansion and internationalisation, no study in Afghanistan in any subject area or at any educational level has ever adopted a learning environment framework or involved the assessment and investigation of classroom environments. Our study in Afghanistan included seven learning environment scales from the widely-used What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, together with two scales assessing the student attitudes of Enjoyment and Self-regulation. After minor modifications to suit the Afghani context, scales were translated into Dari (one of the two dominant languages in Afghanistan) and then independently back-translated to check the accuracy of the original translation. Analyses of data from 1619 grade 10-12 science students supported the validity and reliability of the Dari-language scales. Past research in other countries was replicated in Afghanistan in that positive and… [Direct]
(2021). Exploring the Potential of Adult Literacy Facilitators: An Ethnographic Study in Herat, Afghanistan. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, v51 n5 p690-705. This paper argues that part-time adult literacy facilitators (ALFs), who are often employed in large numbers, have the potential to become agents for a wider approach to development, especially through involvement with the adult learning targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing on international ethnographic-style research into adult literacy facilitators in Africa and elsewhere, the paper reports the findings of a project examining in depth the profiles of six adult literacy facilitators in Afghanistan. The paper identifies the diversity of experiences they bring to their teaching and their potential for national development goals, and draws some lessons about the training and support systems required to help them become more effective in their teaching. It attempts to provide insights into ALFs in Afghanistan which will be of interest to the international community of academics and practitioners…. [Direct]
(2022). Higher Education, Gender, and Empowerment in Afghanistan: A Nation in Conflict. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Lehigh University. This dissertation examined the contribution of higher education to the understanding and practice of women's empowerment, as perceived by adult Afghan men and women living in the city of Kabul who attended universities either in or out of Afghanistan. While studying the concept of women's empowerment, this work defined empowerment through its core concepts of power, agency, functionality, and capability via the lens of Rowland's typology of different forms of power, Stromquist's model of empowerment, and the capability approach. This study investigated women's empowerment not as a women's issue, but as a societal issue. I collected data through qualitative methods by conducting interviews with 22 male and female Afghans. The collected data were analyzed by applying a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. The results showed a shift from a traditional mindset to a gender-equality mindset. Education and knowledge-based empowerment were recognized as… [Direct]
(2023). Endorsement of Intimate Partner Violence among Afghan Women: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2015 DHS Data. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, v5 n3 p700-721. There are ongoing global efforts to mitigate intimate partner violence (IPV); nevertheless, IPV is extensive in conflict-affected countries like Afghanistan. This study examined disparities in IPV endorsement among Afghan women using data from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey of 20,793 ethnically diverse married women. We adopted intersectionality and social entrapment theories to account for various socio-cultural factors that explain IPV endorsement in the Afghan context. The results revealed that over 80% of respondents endorsed physical IPV in various circumstances. Hierarchical logistic regression estimated over threefold effects of broader social and cultural factors with a Nagelkerke R Square value of 0.131 (13.1%) variance in the IPV endorsement than the commonly found socio-demographic risk factors with a Nagelkerke R Square value of 0.041 (4.1%) variance. According to our multivariate analysis, the most significant predictor was fear of husbands, which… [PDF]
(2024). EFL Students' Empowerment Using Servant Leadership: A Look through the Lens of Students in Afghanistan. Cogent Education, v11 n1 Article 2334877. In recent years, many studies have paid attention to servant leadership in different fields and occasions, yet few studies have paid attention to higher education in Afghanistan. The current explanatory study examined to what extent university teachers use the four principles of servant leadership (empathy, awareness, conceptualization and foresight) in EFL classrooms and investigated the effects of each principle on EFL students' development and learning. This study used a mixed-method technique, collecting data from 116 students through a questionnaire and 9 students via semi-structured interviews. Both sets of findings indicated that all EFL teachers mostly have used the four principles of servant leadership in their instructions and classrooms. Also, inferential statistics unveiled that no robust difference exists between students' reported experiences of their teachers' use of servant leadership principles and various genders and years of schooling. Besides, qualitative findings… [Direct]
(2023). Lecturers' Perceptions of English Medium Instruction in Afghanistan's Public Higher Education. Issues in Educational Research, v33 n1 p247-265. The study investigated university lecturers' attitudes towards English medium instruction (EMI), reasons for EMI adoption, effects of EMI on official languages and lecturers' preference for language of instruction. It also examined the impact of gender, English proficiency, country and medium of instruction of lecturers' highest educational degree as well as their education level on their responses. A survey questionnaire was employed to collect data from 234 lecturers at four public universities based in the northeast of Afghanistan. The author used both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the data. The results showed that lecturers had strong positive attitudes towards EMI. They were in favour of EMI adoption at universities for various reasons, such as preparing students for national and international job markets. Although the lecturers were aware of the negative impacts of EMI on official languages and challenges against EMI implementation, the vast majority… [PDF]
(2021). Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Afghanistan: Exploring Sensemaking and Sensegiving in Policy Implementation. Quality in Higher Education, v27 n1 p99-122. This research investigated the implementation of accreditation at public teaching and research universities in Afghanistan. A qualitative multi-case study design was used to interview 46 individuals from five universities. The findings revealed that participants conceptualise quality assurance and accreditation as organisational sensemaking that emphasises contextual circumstances in exploring meaning construction. Accreditation is a community effort at research universities while engagement with accreditation seemed partial at teaching universities given that only the leadership and quality assurance units were involved in the process. The implications are that (a) a serious involvement of senior leadership in the process maximises employees' engagement with accreditation and (b) factors such as limited budget and autonomy, scarce resources, lack of awareness and resistance of academic staff challenge accreditation in Afghanistan universities. The study recommends an increased… [Direct]
(2023). Information Provision and Preferences toward Tuition Introduction in Public Universities: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Afghanistan. Education Economics, v31 n6 p649-663. Public higher education is chronically under-funded in developing countries, making private investment necessary for human capital development. We investigate if information provision mobilizes support for private investment in public higher education by employing an online RCT in Afghanistan. We find that information cues impact respondents' support for how education should be financed. Respondents that received information about the current amount of funding devoted to different levels of education (including tuition amounts for private tertiary programs), became more partial to prioritizing public funding for primary and secondary education over tertiary education but also became more supportive of tuition introduction in public universities…. [Direct]
(2024). Dean Leadership Efficacy and the Faculty Teaching and Research Efficacy: A Case Study at Herat University, Afghanistan. International Journal of Leadership in Education, v27 n4 p857-874. As a pioneer study on academic leadership efficacy in university context, this mixed-method study aimed at exploring the association between dean leadership efficacy in the areas of action efficacy and self-regulation efficacy and the faculty level of self-efficacy in terms of teaching and research at a public university in Afghanistan. The study employed a mixed-method design to collect the required data in two different phases. First, two sets of questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six faculty members to investigate their perceptions of dean leadership and the faculty efficacy so as to triangulate the quantitative results. The total participants of this study were 126 faculty members (120 for quantitative and 6 for qualitative). The results showed the dean leaders were perceived to have a medium level of leadership efficacy and the faculty were also reported with almost the same level of teaching efficacy… [Direct]
(2023). Implementation of 21st Century Skills in EFL Classroom: Perceptions of Lecturers and Students. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, v5 n3 p536-559. Twenty-first century skills refer to a broad set of skills that are critically important in the educational system to meet the complex and rapid changes around the world. Of particular concern in the context of Afghanistan is the failure to produce graduates with the essential competencies necessary for success in the workplace. In education, incorporating these skills is important to meet the current and future demands of society. This study investigates Afghan lecturers' and students' perceptions toward the implementation of 21st century skills in EFL classrooms. Quantitative approach was used, whereby data were collected through questionnaires from 197 participants at three public universities in Afghanistan. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 was used for descriptive and inferential analyses. The findings revealed that all of the eight 21st century skills were implemented to some degree in the EFL classrooms. In addition, the level of implementation… [PDF]
(2023). The Cost of Change: How Ideological Shifts Impact Afghans' Investment in Learning English. TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, v57 n4 p1041-1065. The role of English in Afghanistan has always been contentious, but in 2001 English acquired symbolic capital that provided people with a motive to invest in learning the language. To better understand this investment, this study employed Darvin and Norton's Model of Investment along with the notion of Linguistic Entrepreneurship to investigate how dynamic shifts in the global era can influence people's willingness to invest in a new language, and how this investment is tied to issues of ideology, capital, and identity. Narrative data were collected via frames and interviews to present the experiences of people who had lived through a relatively prosperous time in Afghanistan's recent history, yet who also faced uncertainty due to the sudden shift in power that threatened the conditions which had allowed them to align themselves with more global ambitions. The study reveals how government and western support was influential in Afghans investing in English, which allowed them to… [Direct]