Recent findings show teenagers use social media increasingly in their daily life. There is also a consensus that social media have both pros and perils on students’ academic affairs. The objective of this study is to assess how Ethiopian secondary school students perceive the benefits and risks associated with social media use. Data were collected from 353 secondary schools students through self-reported questionnaire. The findings reveal that the leading perceived benefits of social media are recreational and relational purposes. The role social media play in students’ academic activities is likely less considered. As a pilot study in a developing country, this study may raise awareness of schools, teachers, and parents about the benefits and risks of using social media for teenager students. Thereby, there will be future researches that enable them to effectively monitor their students to use social media primarily for academic purposes.

The purpose of the study was to examine undergraduate students’ conceptions of inquiry and the relationship of inquiry conceptions to epistemic beliefs. Data were obtained from 107 university students (80 female, 27 male) using an open-ended questionnaire to examine their conceptions of inquiry and Schommer’s Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire to group participants as naïve or sophisticated in their epistemic beliefs. Data analyses revealed that participants with sophisticated epistemic beliefs had multidimensional conceptions of inquiry and provided conceptually rich definitions. Students with naïve beliefs, on the other hand, revealed more simplistic and indistinct conceptions of inquiry and either described it with few details or stated that they did not know about it. The study in general indicated the presence of a relationship between epistemic beliefs and inquiry conceptions, implying that any practical effort to change the way students conceptualize a phenomenon in general and inquiry in particular needs to take into account their epistemic beliefs.

There is a growing body of research on the impact of English-medium publication and associated higher education regimes on knowledge construction. However, not much is known about how academics outside the Global North make decisions about how and where to publish. Through a comparative case study, this article sets out to explore how academics in Ethiopia and Oman engage in writing for publication. Taking an academic literacies lens, the analysis reveals that their decisions were shaped by institutional values at the local level, as well as global hierarchies around knowledge construction. However, issues around identity, languages and disciplinary cultures also influenced how academics chose to position themselves in relation to local and international journals. The findings point to the need for new partnerships between journals in the Global North and South to prevent ‘publication drain’, and for universities to explore ways to address inequalities perpetuated through journal ranking and language hierarchies.

This study explored the extent of parental involvement (PI) in the education of children with disabilities (CwDs), focusing on the influence of parents’ socio‐economic status (SES) on their involvement, and guided by Epstein’s PI framework. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed to measure six dimensions of PI from 143 parents (n = 143) and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis revealed that among the six dimensions (parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision‐making and collaborating) 'parenting' is more prevalent than others. Further ranking of the means of dimensions proved that parental participation in ‘parenting’ was the top‐ranked one, while the ‘decision‐making’ and ‘volunteering’ were the lower ranked dimensions. Significant differences were observed in PI based on employment and income status. However, no significant difference in PI was found for parents at different levels of education. Thus, irrespective of SES, the study found parents appeared to have minimal involvement in their child’s education. Similarities and divergence from previous research are highlighted. Educative programmes designed to help parents discharge their multifaceted responsibilities and support their child's education is a key recommendation.

This study explores barriers to and strategies for parental involvement (PI) in the education of children with disabilities, using a qualitative case study design. Using the purposive sampling technique, five parents and five teachers were selected for interviews. Data obtained through semistructured interviews have been analysed thematically. The findings demonstrated that PI was hindered by various barriers related to parents (including parents' low level of education, income and negative attitudes), schools (such as principals' and teachers' negative attitudes, the lack of invitations given to parents, and the lack of a welcoming environment) and children (including their unwillingness to pass school invitations on to their parents). In addition, the study identified strategies to increase PI, including effective communication and partnership, training, a welcoming environment, sending invitations, and establishing and utilising resource centres and individual education plans. Overall, the study highlighted the barriers to PI and tactics to increase PI. It is apparent that educative programmes should be designed by schools and other relevant bodies to address the barriers to PI.