Patriarchal societies, such as that of Pakistan, denigrate women’s participation in the field of education and technology. Addressing this denigration, my thesis orients from the proposition, which states that in contemporary technologically tuned world use of technology has a positive impact on women ESL tertiary level teachers. This usage grants them teaching-learning autonomy, which in turn, compels these teachers to inculcate the same in ESL learners. Hence, they play an imperative role in the development of ESL learner autonomy. The educated women’s practice of this teaching autonomy in classroom, a miniature of the social fabric of Pakistan, is a breakthrough the prevailing socio-political fences. This premise is contested through the critical review of the related literature. It reveals that the use of technology as positively affecting female ESL tertiary level teachers’ professional competence and pedagogical practices in Pakistani context is not well-researched. Nonetheless, this context helps to address and establish underpinning concepts of this study. Although for some projects that deal in isolation with either technology or learner autonomy or feminist perspective, description in literature or other documentary sources is both comprehensive and also in depth, yet no single framework caters to interface this study. For the purpose of study, I have adopted a technique of theoretical triangulation. The epistemological framework is delineated with (a) feminist pedagogical lens of Paulo Friere and a radical feminist pedagogue bell hooks1; (b) the soft technological deterministic view of Andrew Feenberg (2002); and (c) Phil Benson’s (2011) philosophy of the role of teacher and technology with David Little’s (1996) model of interaction with information system for the development of learner autonomy. My theoretical framework is, thus, based upon feminist methodology, furnished with the empirical tool: Technology and Development of ESL Learner Autonomy Survey. To administer the survey, ‘purposeful’ and ‘snowball’ sampling techniques were employed; accordingly, the response from 128 respondents formed the sample of this study. These sampling 1 Gloria Jean Watkins is known by her pen name bell hooks x techniques were employed to access those female teachers whose knowledge and expertise are substantial in utilizing technology. To evaluate the data, descriptive statistics are used. Moreover, the Pearson Correlation analysis correlates research variables. In addition, the findings of One Way ANOVA analyses tabulate the significant difference of means between variables under study. Elucidating female tertiary level teachers ESL teaching-learning autonomy by way of using technology, the findings of this study contribute to this field of research in Pakistan. The results depict that technology enables the female ESL teachers to perform beyond the customary social differences. In consequence, the emergent theory and praxis of Pyramid of ESL Techno-Feminist Pedagogy sketch the multifaceted philosophies of the impact of technology on women teacher autonomy in Pakistani ESL context. This pyramid, subsequently, delineates women ESL teachers’ critical awareness of the implications of use of technology in education as the embodiment of the active feminist movement in Pakistani educational institutions. These teachers, as highly qualified women reject the gender discrimination and disparage oppression that consummate women’s right to access means of education within the microcosm of social stratum especially in the higher education institutions. The female teachers’ pedagogical practices, in this way, are the conscious actions to liberate and gain teaching-learning autonomy. Moreover, teachers favour teaching as an engaged process rather than a stockpiling attempt onto learners. It also highlights that the women ESL teachers consider classroom a radical space of possibility. Thus, this feminist approach to education advocates voicing of the silent, freedom of the oppressed and autonomy of the restrained. Consequently, the future implications of this pyramid cannot be ignored besides its limitations in addressing the core ideology of educational domain. For example, in further research this framework will help to address the issues of social malignance in education sector and society.
ادواتِ استفہام سے مراد ایسے اسما و حروف ہیں جن سے سوال کیا جاتا ہے۔ قرآن مجید میں بھی ادواتِ استفہام کا ستعمال بکثرت موجود ہے۔ڈاکٹر عبد ہ الراجحی تحریر فرماتے ہیں:
"تمام ادوات استفہام اسمائے استفہام ہیں سوائے دو کلموں کے "ھل اور ھمزہ" یہ دونوں حروف استفہام ہیں اور مبنی ہیں اور اسمائے استفہام سب مبنی ہیں سوائے"اي" کے‘‘۔[[1]]
نحویوں نے ادوات استفہام کی دو اقسام بیان کی ہیں:
۱-حروف استفہام۲-اسمائے استفہام
[[1]] عبده الراجحى،التطبيق النحوى،دارالمعرفة، مصر، ۲۰۰۷ء، ص ۵۹۔
Adultery, immorality and sexual misconduct is a major crime, which has been condemned in all previous legislations sent by Allah, ancient nations, the bedouin tribes and in Islamic law. The religion of Islam not only forbids adultery, rather it prohibits going even near the causes leading to it. From medicinal point of view, adultery may cause AIDS, herpes etc. The word “zina” means to have sexual relationship without a marriage contract. Its synonyms in Arabic are: al bigha, al safah, al anat, and al fahisha. Islam imposes punishment on unmarried people committing adultery. According to Imam al shaf’i, the punishment is one hundred lashes for both man and the woman, and exile for one year. Whereas Imam Abu Hanifa only imposes one hundred lashes. For a married adulterer, the punishment is hundred lashes and death by stoning. Rest of the jurists unanimously agree that they will only be stoned to death. Majority of the scholars agree that if a concubine commits adultery, she will be giving fifty lashes. According to Saeed bin Musayyib, she will be beaten in order to teach her decent manners. In order to impose the punishment of zina on someone, it will be ensured that the adulterer is an adult, the woman should not be from a country who is at war with the Muslims, she is alive and the adultery has taken place in a Muslim country. Among the the repulsive results of adultery are spread of sexually transmitted diseases, increase in number of illegitimate children, lesser percentage of legitimate children and increase in crimes. One of the factors pointing towards the prohibition of zina is that it has been forbidden since early Islam and a severe punishment has been imposed on it. Of the vices of zina is the mixing up of lineages. Our society today is flooded with immoral behaviour, which is endangering our “iman” and “yaqeen” and is driving our society towards destruction. This wave of immorality has reached the elite of the society and it is obligatory upon every individual to put his share in stopping it.
The quality education is an indispensable and inevitable agent for change as education is a process of civilization and development. The issue of deterioration of quality in education in Pakistan, especially decline in quality of secondary education was the slogan of the day. The major purpose of the research was to compare the quality of education in public and private schools of Punjab. All the secondary schools, their heads, secondary school teachers and students of 10th class of public and private sector of the Punjab constituted population of the study. Punjab is generally distributed in three different stratus, which are North Punjab, Central Punjab, and South Punjab.Due to limited time and resources, the study was delimited to the nine districts of Punjab namely Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Attock, Lahore, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Mianwali and Sargodha. Two hundred and sixteen secondary schools (twenty-four secondary schools from each sample district) were randomly selected. The proportion of public sector schools and private sector schools, boys and girls schools was equal. All the heads of selected 24 secondary schools of public and private sector from each district (the proportion of public sector schools and private sector schools, boys and girls schools was equal i.e. fifty fifty) were included in sample. One thousand and eighty teachers (one hundred and twenty from each sample district) constituted the sample of the study. The proportion of the public and private, male and female teachers was fifty fifty. Four thousand, three hundred and twenty students studying in 10th class in public and private high schools of already sampled district of Punjab were randomly selected as the sample of the study. The proportion of public and private and male and female students was fifty fifty. Three questionnaires, one each for heads, secondary school teachers and students, prepared and validated through pilot-testing, were used as the research instruments of the study. The researcher visited the target areas personally, distributed the questionnaires himself, and got filled questionnaires back from respondents. The data obtained was tabulated and analyzed by using simple percentage and two way chi square tests. Main conclusions of the study were: that private sector schools had actually less number of students and teachers at secondary level as compared to public sector schools. The results of 10th class students in boards’ examinations of private schools were better than government schools. While with respect to ownership of building, almost 98% public sector schools had their own buildings and majority of private schools was running in rented buildings. In public sector schools student-teacher ratio was higher than private schools. Heads of private sector secondary schools were better than heads of public sector secondary schools regarding involvement of subordinate staff in decision making, keeping themselves as a part of team while leading them and carrying out the well- organized tasks. But the heads of public sector secondary schools were more qualified academically as well as professionally, having more administrative experience as compared to private sector secondary schools’ heads. Teachers of public secondary schools were more qualified academically as well as professionally having command over teaching methodology as compared to the teachers of private secondary schools. In public schools, in service training was provided to teachers and their selection was done on merit. They had also job security and their pay structure was well. In contrast, private sector was lacking these factors. Behaviour of teachers of private schools was motivating and they encouraged questioning and enhanced creativity among students, whereas public schools were lacking these factors. Availability of A.V. aids was excessive in public secondary schools as compared to private secondary schools but their use was more in private public secondary schools. Position of physical facilities was better in public secondary schools than in private secondary schools with respect to buildings, libraries, play grounds, furniture. While position of private sector secondary schools was better in availability of computer labs and gas. Respondents of both the systems were of the view that curriculum of both type of systems was not up-to-date, fulfilling emerging needs of neither society nor it was being revised regularly. The major recommendations are: more schools be established in public sector. School mapping be kept in mind before establishing new schools. The heads and teachers of school should take such necessary actions which may help to raise academic standard of their school. The heads of public schools should take seriously the problem of their low pass percentage. Teachers of public schools may be held accountable on showing poor result in examination. They must be given incentives for showing good results. Teachers of both systems be given opportunities to get training in order to improve their teaching skills. Libraries of public and private schools be kept well-maintained and all necessary treasure of books be present in them and students and teachers should be allowed to get benefit from library. Teachers should make more use of A.V. aids to make teaching process more effective.