A Directory of Open Access Journals For Educators and Other Professionals
Education problems in developing countries often share many similar issues with those in developed nations: increasing poverty, deteriorating quality of education, falling standards, etc. The presentations by many participants on their respective countries’ situations, presented through written reports, PowerPoint presentations, or simple pictures, showed how festering such problems are, yet also showed the courage and hope of ordinary people, school principals, and educators. While such reports may not provide comprehensive solutions for all education problems in developing countries, they did provide insights on the situation and the challenges. Many important lessons were also learned about the nature of education in such countries, which were previously unknown or ignored.
Some analysts have suggested that poor education outcomes are caused, in part, by the failure of governments to support them adequately in economic development. Another common theme was the lack of social support from locals and Law. These were problems that were not fully recognized or addressed by both the teachers and the governments. However, these and other arguments fall short of establishing the primary cause of education problems in developing countries.
Lack of adequate funding and low salaries as well as irregular payment and lack of follow-up and discipline led to corruption in education. A new development that arose in this field was the mushrooming of private schools, especially in remote areas where parents could not afford to send their children to state-funded primary and secondary schools. These private schools provided low-cost education, often free of cost, to poor people. They also maintained an effective and efficient teacher-student ratio. However, because of the shortage of critical staff and other resources, government-financed schools were unable to meet the needs of students, particularly those belonging to the poor sectors.
The most common problem identified was a lack of quality teachers and other staff. The Directory of Open Access Journal includes an alphabetical list of more than 800 peer-reviewed journals in science, technology, education, health, humanities, social sciences, agriculture, and international business. Based on editors’ criteria, this directory displays key information such as abstracts, authors’ names, articles, and book reviews. Based on a criterion of the publishing date, entries are presented in chronological order. In addition, the Directory of Open Access Journal includes the name, website, journal issues, abstract, citation, and date of publication.
This directory allows international higher education students to search for topics and modules relevant to their studies. It includes a concise definition and a detailed description of selected subject areas. Moreover, it offers information on authors, publishers, and other information relevant to the selected topics and modules. For example, if students are interested in the topics of digital business development and global education, then the directory provides key information such as author(s), title, journal(s), journal issues, date of publication, keywords, publishers, and key further research outcomes.
One of the main problems identified was the absence of texts that were clear and easy to read. The online education offered by distance education provided many opportunities for reading and writing. However, many people complained that they were unable to understand textbooks or tutorials because of poor text and graphics. Subsequently, it became necessary to improve the features that would make websites user-friendly for international students and teachers alike. The result is a directory of fully comprehensive texts in various subject areas such as education, economics, management, psychology, and other human resources, business development, and engineering.
The directory of open access journals (DOAJ) offers full-text access to over 4000 peer-reviewed journals in science, technology, education, health, humanities, and social sciences. Based on selective criteria, the database presents information on selected articles with selected keywords. One major feature includes “Bibliography”, which provides detailed information on the authors, publications, dates, abstracts, editors, and references included in the article. Another feature is the “Related Studies” which presents a list of related studies that evaluate the study and suggest improvements in future research.
The education sections of the site include a glossary of terms used in the subject, along with a short description. The site offers an application guide to help teachers design lesson plans and complete lesson plans using the thermoelectric modules. The thermoelectric modules are designed to be used in classrooms located in rural and remote communities. The directory of open access journals offers teachers and other professionals a convenient means of accessing current and up-to-date text on various topics that pertain to education in developing countries.