اسلامی اخلاقیات واقدار کے فروغ میں خاندانی ماحول کا کردار؛معاصرانہ چیلنجز اور لائحہ عمل The role of family environment in the development of Islamic ethics and values, Contemporary challenges, and action plan

Islamic rules and moral values are unique in all aspects. The members of Muslim Ummah have always tried to promote them. At the national level, this duty was carried out by people at different levels whether they were teachers, businessmen or lay man of the society. At international level, some rulers, business professionals and religious leaders played their role. Man's first relationship is with family. This relationship is the cornerstone in the development of a personality.  There has been a lot of change taken place in the family system. In the past, due to the limited necessities of life the financial responsibility was limited to a few people. Media was not that advanced and bold and family members were loving and respectful. With the beginning of advance era, human needs were widened and to satisfy them, women started participating in economic activities along with men. Due to which the child was shifted from his home to day care centre, while the media gave birth to the social media, the stories of compassion and care in home became the past. In the present era, there is a dire need to remove these barriers that hinder the development of Islamic values through balance between income and expenditure, positive and moderate use of media and positive attitude in family. These issues will be discussed under the answers to the following questions. What is the role of family in the development of Islamic ethics? What are the problems faced by the family in the development of Islamic moral values? What are the solutions to the present-day problems?  

Exploring Secondary School Students Conceptual Understanding of Selected Concepts of Genetics

This study aimed to explore secondary school students' conceptual understanding of the selected concept of genetics including cell division, fertilization and reproduction and genetic relationship between cells within an individual. Another aim was to explore the difference in conceptual understanding of the children across government and private schools. A total of 370 children of grade nine were recruited through multistage cluster sampling approach from both government (n=182) and private (n=188) schools from district Ghanche and Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan. Genetic Conception Assessment (GCA) tool adapted from a previous study was administered to explore children's conceptions about selected topics of genetics. The content validity of GCA was established through expert review. Internal consistency of the assessment tool was found to be satisfactory (0.78). Results demonstrated that children scored only 34% of the total score exhibiting a weak conceptual understanding in selected concepts of genetics. On average children performance for MCQs was comparatively better (50% of the total marks). However, children's achievement remained marginal (13% of the total marks) in CRQs which aimed to identify some of the prevailing misconceptions. Results followed almost the same pattern for the three concepts focused in GCA-cell division, fertilization and reproduction, and ceil focused in GCA. A comparison of GCA scores across school system showed that the children from private schools outperformed their government counterparts (p<0.001, r=0.58). Similarly, private school children maintained their better performance both in MCQs (p<0 001 r=0.46), CRQs (p<0.001, r=0.58) and across the sections of GCA. This study provides significant insight into an under-researched area. Keeping the results of the study in view, the role of quality instruction in developing conceptual understanding of students at secondary level could be emphasized. The adapted 16 item GCA questionnaire would make a valuable contribution in indigenous literature. Those who want to take the same line of inquiry can use this tool to conduct large scale studies.