Research and Development

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Browsing Research and Development by Author "Dabengwa, I.M."

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    An Assessment of Digital Literacy Skills Among Secondary School Teachers Using the Digcomp Tool
    (POTRAZ/RCZ, 2024) Dabengwa, I.M.; Moyo, Sibonile; Gashirai, T.B.; Makaza, D.; Makoni, P.; Pasipamire, N.; Chademana, G.K.; Mufudzi, M.; Mandaza, D.; Mapfumo, S.
    The International elecommunications Union’s (ITU) Digital Skills Assessment Guidebook and the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp) were used to conduct the national assessment. The study used a mixed methods approach.The latest version of DigComp (2.2) was selected for assessing secondary school teachers. Data was collected from 2,263 conveniently selected secondary school teachers from 150 purposively selected secondary schools spread over 10 provinces in Zimbabwe. The selection included private, public, boarding, day, night, urban, peri-urban, rural schools, boys only and girls only and mixed sex schools. An ICT facility assessment was conducted at each school, 30 in-depth interviews ere held with teachers, and 15 focus group discussions with secondary school learners from each province. Qualitative data was analysed in MaxQDA 24 for themes, while quantitative data was analysed in SPSS 27 for statistical inferences. It was found that the Zimbabwean secondary school teachers have Intermediate digital literacy. Most of the digital skills were on Information and Data Literacy, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Content Creation, Problem Solving and Safety. There were differences in the way that males and females ompleted the questionnaire, especially on the Communication and Collaboration dimension. The absence of school learning management systems had led teachers to rely heavily on social media to conduct flipped classroom teaching and learning. However, learners saw the shortage of devices and restrictive school device policies as a challenge to integrate ICTs tools in classroom and when learning is flipped. Policymakers are encouraged to support teachers with adequate ICTs devices, supportive infrastructure and supportive policies that encourage the development of digital competences within this sector.
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    Leveraging microgrants to support capacity-building workshops in low- and middle-income countries for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals
    (2022-01) Saric, K.J.; Muziringa, M.; Eldermire, E.R.B.; Young, S.; Dabengwa, I.M.
    Twenty fifteen marked the year of assessment for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs that achieved the greatest success were those where evidence-based practice (EBP) interventions were implemented. The ability to practice evidence-based medicine is grounded in the creation of and access to medical literature that synthesizes research findings. The role that global health literature played in the success of the MDGs demonstrates that medical libraries and librarians have a role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Librarians can hold capacity-building workshops that provide instruction on how to access evidence-based literature and also train health professionals to conduct synthesis research. Research findings conducted by in-country health professionals are more likely to address issues being faced by local communities and will afford the possibility of obtaining the necessary evidence-based answers that can then be used to implement policies to resolve public health issues identified in the SDGs. This paper discusses how an international team of librarians leveraged funding from a Medical Library Association/Librarians without Borders/Elsevier Foundation/Research4Life grant to hold a capacity-building workshop in Zimbabwe and follow-up online trainings. The workshop focused on accessing evidence-based resources and conducting synthesis research. Outcomes included the creation and policy implementation of evidence-based knowledge products in alignment with local needs and galvanizing a multisectoral group of key individuals who have gone on to collaborate toward the vision of creating a Zimbabwe innovation hub. Looking ahead, such grants can be leveraged to conduct capacity-building to support knowledge translation and other local training needs.