Predictive Effects of Sleep Deprivation on the Academic Performance of Grade 12 General Academic Strand Learners

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This study investigated the predictive effects of sleep deprivation on the academic performance and personal behavior of Grade 12 General Academic Strand (GAS) learners at Racman Pimping Maniri Dumarpa (RPMD) National Science High School during the academic year 2023–2024. Adequate sleep is a foundational physiological mechanism necessary for the human brain to function at its maximum capacity, whereas persistent sleep loss severely diminishes vital cognitive skills, alertness, memory, concentration, and general classroom productivity. To examine these complex dynamics within a localized Senior High School context, the researcher utilized a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design. The target population and respondent universe comprised sixty-two (62) officially enrolled Grade 12 GAS learner-respondents, encompassing both male and female. Data collection was systematically executed using a structured survey questionnaire explicitly divided into specific analytical blocks to assess the learner-respondents’ baseline demographic profiles, determine the underlying causes of their late-night habits, and measure the subsequent structural impacts of sleep loss on their academic performance and personal behaviors. To overcome environmental and field tracking difficulties, strategic local tracking methods were successfully employed. Statistical treatment of the gathered data utilized frequency and percentage distributions for baseline demographic sorting; weighted means, standard deviations, and statistical rankings for categorical appraisal; and the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient to establish the statistical significance of relationships between the variables. Preliminary demographic results indicated that the largest portion of the learner population clustered within the 20 to 22 years old bracket (46.77%), followed closely by the 17 to 19 years old cohort (43.55%), demonstrating a predominant late-adolescence profile with unique variations in academic entry age. The outcomes indicated that the subjects routinely endure sleep deprivation during late adolescence. Conclusively, the analytical computations established that the learner-respondents’ baseline profiles and the specific catalysts behind their lack of sleep yielded no statistically significant relationship with their academic ratings or behavioral tendencies. Crucially, the absence of a significant relationship demonstrates that sleep deprivation uniformly affects the entire learner-respondents pool, showing no variance based on demographic traits such as age or sex. This established dataset provides an empirical foundation for understanding the behavioral and cognitive vulnerabilities driven by severe nighttime sleep debt among specialized senior high school learners.

A Resource-Based and Local Wisdom-Based Approach to MBG Program Governance as a Strategy for Community Empowerment at the Local Level

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The Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG) is a government priority program aimed at improving the nutritional status of the community while promoting local economic empowerment. However, the MBG’s governance structure, which tends to be centralized (top-down), poses challenges in optimizing the utilization of local resources and local wisdom at the implementation level. This study aims to examine patterns of resource utilization and local knowledge in the MBG’s governance through partnerships between Nutrition Service Units (SPPG) and MSME actors in Makassar City. The study employed a qualitative approach using a case study design across ten SPPGs in Makassar City. Informants were selected using purposive sampling, including SPPG heads/managers and local business partners in the program’s supply chain. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation, with data validity ensured through triangulation of sources and techniques. The results indicate that the actors’ involvement is divided into three complementary roles: MSMEs as food suppliers, SPPG personnel as processors, and SPPG heads as quality controllers who actively source suppliers from traditional markets. This partnership has had positive impacts, including stable product demand, market certainty, and expanded business networks for MSMEs, although they still face challenges such as capital constraints, fluctuations in raw material prices, and supply delays. The study concludes that the success of integrating local resources and local wisdom into the governance of the Free Nutritious Meals program in Makassar City depends on strengthening organic partnerships at the SPPG level through mentoring, training, and consistent payment guarantees to local business partners.

The Role of Opinion Leaders in Advancing Teenage Education Through Behaviour Change Communication: Evidence from Mount Elgon Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya

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Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) plays an important role in influencing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that affect educational outcomes among teenagers. Within rural communities, opinion leaders can serve as important communication actors because of their familiarity with local contexts and the trust placed in them by community members. However, limited empirical evidence exists on how opinion leadership communication approaches contribute to advancing teenage education in rural settings such as Mt. Elgon Sub-County. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of opinion leadership communication approaches used by Restore A Dream Africa (RADA) in advancing teenage education in Mt. Elgon Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires administered to students, parents/guardians and teachers, while qualitative data were obtained through interviews with community leaders and RADA staff and focus group discussions with students and parents/guardians. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages, while qualitative data were organized thematically. The findings indicated that opinion leaders were perceived to play an important role in advancing teenage education through encouraging teenagers to remain in school, influencing education-related decisions, providing trusted educational information and helping to change attitudes towards teenage education. Questionnaire findings showed generally positive perceptions of opinion leaders, with agreement across the four indicators ranging from 73.6% to 78.7%. Community leaders were particularly identified as important links between RADA, parents and teenagers through community meetings, sensitization activities and direct engagement with families and young people. Religious leaders also communicated educational messages through sermons, worship settings and informal community discussions. The study concludes that opinion leadership communication approaches were perceived to provide an important mechanism through which BCC messages could be communicated, interpreted and reinforced within the community. The study recommends strengthening the involvement of trusted community and religious leaders in education-focused communication initiatives and enhancing their collaboration with RADA, parents, schools and teenagers to support continued school participation.

From Gatekeepers to Gatekeeping Systems: Rethinking Journalism Theory in the Age of Algorithms and Generative AI

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Gatekeeping has remained one of the foundational theoretical approaches for explaining how information becomes news. From Kurt Lewin’s conceptualisation of gates and channels to David Manning White’s study of the newspaper wire editor, traditional gatekeeping theory located considerable power in human actors who selected, rejected and organised information before it reached audiences. The contemporary news environment, however, complicates this model. News selection is increasingly distributed across journalists, newsroom analytics, search engines, social media platforms, recommender systems and generative artificial intelligence. This paper re-examines gatekeeping theory through an interdisciplinary synthesis of journalism studies, platform studies, artificial intelligence research and communication theory. Drawing on a structured conceptual review of more than 29 major scholarly contributions, it argues that contemporary journalism is moving from identifiable gatekeepers towards interconnected gatekeeping systems. Within these systems, editorial judgement has not disappeared; rather, it interacts continuously with computational selection, platform infrastructures, audience behaviour and generative systems capable of producing, summarising and reorganising information. The paper proposes a five-layer model of contemporary gatekeeping comprising source, editorial, algorithmic, platform and generative gates. It further distinguishes between selection power, traditionally exercised by editors, and visibility power, increasingly exercised through technological infrastructures. The study concludes that gatekeeping theory remains valuable but requires conceptual expansion from the question of who controls the gate to the broader question of how interconnected human and computational systems determine what information becomes visible, credible and socially consequential.

Investigating The Influence of TikTok English Video Clips on Improving Listening Skills of EFL Sophomores

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Listening comprehension plays a pivotal role in English language acquisition, many EFL learners often struggle with real world listening skills due to limited exposure to authentic materials. With the rapid growth of social media, TikTok has emerged as an engaging, accessible platform offering authentic, bite sized video content that can potentially support language learning. This study investigated the influence of TikTok English video clips on improving the listening skills of EFL sophomores at Nguyen Tat Thanh University quantitavely. It aims to examine how regular integration of TikTok video clips enhances learners’ listening performance, comprehension strategies, and motivation. Its participants were 35 sophomores. The qualitative data indicated that students hold positive perceptions toward using TikTok, highlighting its benefits in exposing them to natural speech rates, diverse accents, and contemporary vocabulary in low stress environments. Pedagogical implications are also discussed to offer practical recommendations for incorporating short form video platforms into tertiary EFL listening curricula.

Succession Planning Practices and Administrators’ Performance in Selected Government Aided Secondary Schools in Rakai District, Uganda

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This study examined the affiliation midst succession planning practices and administrators’ performance across Government aided Secondary educational schools in Rakai District. Specifically, this study sought to: examine the relationship between succession culture and administrators’ performance; analyze the relationship between bench building and administrators’ performance; analyze the relationship between talent development and administrators’ performance in selected Government-Aided Secondary Schools in Rakai District, Uganda. The study adopted a mixed-methods research approach employing a correlational research design. The study population comprised 121 teachers. A sample of 88 respondents was selected using simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and interview guides. The validity of the questionnaire was established through expert judgment, yielding a Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.88, the reliability of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha, with coefficients overall reliability coefficient of 0.844, demonstrating a high level of internal consistency. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results revealed a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship between succession culture and administrators’ performance (r = .500, p = .000). The study further established a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between bench building and administrators’ performance (r = .749, p = .000). In addition, talent development demonstrated a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship with administrators’ performance (r = .487, p = .000). The findings indicate that succession planning practices consequently with bench building emerged as the strongest predictor of administrators’ performance. The study concluded that succession culture, bench building, and talent development are important determinants of administrators’ performance. This study recommends that the Ministry of Education and Sports, District Education Authorities, Boards of Governors, and school administrators institutionalize succession planning succession culture, establishing structured bench-building mechanisms, and investing in continuous talent development through mentoring, coaching, leadership training, and professional development programmes.

Assessment of The Role of Teaching Methods on Students’ Learning Motivation at Hanoi Capital University

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Learning motivation is one of the key factors influencing students’ academic performance and overall development in higher education. In the context of educational innovation toward competency-based learning, the selection and application of appropriate teaching methods play a significant role in enhancing students’ learning motivation. This study aims to evaluate the role of teaching methods in influencing the learning motivation of students at Hanoi Metropolitan University. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 365 students. The teaching methods examined included classroom discussions, learner-centered teaching, the provision of learning materials, the use of real-life situations, field trips, documentary films, and scientific articles. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages. The findings indicate that students generally perceive teaching methods as having a positive impact on their learning motivation. Among the methods investigated, the use of scientific articles, the provision of learning materials, and field trips received higher levels of agreement than the other methods. Based on the research findings, several recommendations are proposed for lecturers, the university, and students to enhance the effectiveness of teaching method implementation, thereby strengthening learning motivation and improving the quality of higher education.

ESG Performance and Firm Value in India: The Moderating Role of Board Gender Diversity Under the Mandatory BRSR Regime

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Since the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandated Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) for the top 1,000 listed firms, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure has shifted from a voluntary signal to a regulatory requirement, renewing debate on whether ESG performance translates into shareholder value and how board composition conditions this link. Drawing on stakeholder theory and upper echelons theory, this study examines the relationship between firm-level ESG performance and firm value (Tobin’s Q) among 210 non-financial firms listed on the NSE-500, using unbalanced panel data for the financial years 2019–20 to 2023–24 (N = 1,008 firm-years). Fixed-effects panel regression shows that ESG performance is positively associated with firm value (β = 0.184, p < .01), and that board gender diversity positively moderates this relationship (β = 0.096, p < .05), such that the ESG–value link is stronger for firms with more gender-diverse boards. Results are robust to alternative performance measures (ROA) and a two-stage least squares specification addressing endogeneity. The study contributes evidence on how governance composition shapes the financial payoff of mandatory ESG disclosure in an emerging-market regulatory setting.

Enhancing Elementary School Teachers Competence in Ethnomathematics Based Geometry Learning through Banten Batik and Mangrove Leaves

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Geometry learning in elementary schools is often dominated by abstract representations and conventional instructional materials that rely primarily on textbooks and blackboards, making it challenging for teachers to connect mathematical concepts with students everyday experiences and local cultural environments. This study explored elementary school teachers’ experiences and perceptions of a participatory workshop on ethnomathematics-based geometry learning through Banten Batik and mangrove leaf ink. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed within a community engagement program involving 12 elementary school teachers in Anyar Village, Serang Regency, Banten, Indonesia. The workshop included conceptual instruction, demonstrations, hands on activities, reflection, and mentoring. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, photographs, and field notes and analyzed descriptively and thematically. The findings indicate that teachers responded positively and perceived the workshop as enjoyable, meaningful, and beneficial for developing their knowledge and pedagogical insights. Teachers were able to identify geometric concepts embedded in Banten Batik motifs, including squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, symmetry, and patterns. Mangrove leaf ink was perceived as having potential to connect mathematics learning with cultural heritage and the natural environment. The workshop also encouraged teachers to consider its implementation in classroom instruction. Further research should systematically examine changes in teacher competence and classroom practice.

Malaysia’s English-Medium Instruction Policy through Spolsky’s Language Policy Framework: A Critical Review

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English-medium instruction (EMI) has been promoted in multilingual education systems as a means of improving English proficiency, expanding access to scientific knowledge, and strengthening international competitiveness. In Malaysia, the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) policy represented a major attempt to pursue these objectives while generating tensions concerning national identity, classroom feasibility, and educational equity. This critical narrative review examines the implementation of PPSMI and the relationship between formal policy intentions and their enactment in educational settings. Relevant literature on Malaysian EMI and language-in-education policy was reviewed and analysed through a deductive-inductive thematic approach. Spolsky’s language policy framework guided the analysis of three interconnected dimensions: language practices, beliefs and ideologies, and language management, while policy-practice tensions, educational equity, and teacher agency were examined as cross-cutting themes. The review identifies recurring misalignment between English-oriented policy expectations and classroom language practices, competing pragmatic and nationalist orientations toward English and Bahasa Malaysia, uneven institutional and teacher capacity, and differences in learners’ access to EMI. Teachers’ bilingual adaptations further illustrate how formal language requirements were mediated in response to classroom conditions. The review concludes that sustainable EMI policy depends not simply on selecting English as a medium of instruction, but on aligning policy objectives with institutional readiness, stakeholder beliefs, multilingual classroom practices, and educational equity.