Tonic Maruatona - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Tonic Maruatona

International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2019

International Journal of Lifelong Education

United Nations University, 2009

provided support for the translation of documents. The UNU Office of Communications managed copy ... more provided support for the translation of documents. The UNU Office of Communications managed copy editing and overall coordination of the design, production, and printing of the report, with the support and assistance of Mori Design Inc. (and, most specifically, Haruki Mori).

The Palgrave International Handbook on Adult and Lifelong Education and Learning, 2017

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) currently employs lifelong learning to advance ... more The Southern African Development Community (SADC) currently employs lifelong learning to advance social and economic improvement within its member states. Although a few challenges such as poor connections of learning options, lack of uniform qualification framework across member states, neglect of early childhood care and development (ECCD) and poor funding continue to plague the project, prospects for success do exist. To actualise this prospective success, SADC needs to invigorate the current traditional practice of ECCD within its member states by injecting a quantum of modern approaches into it. Additionally, the lifelong learning aspects of traditional African education need a review so that current SADC lifelong learning project may learn about these aspects and ultimately improve its lifelong learning nature in a cost-effective manner.

This paper is a critique of planning in the Botswana National Literacy Program, it outlines activ... more This paper is a critique of planning in the Botswana National Literacy Program, it outlines activities of the program and demonstrates how it reproduces social inequality and suggests participatory strategies to strengthen literacy education in Botswana. Introduction The paper provides a critical analysis of planning in the Botswana National Literacy Program (BNLP), it concludes that the program reproduces social inequality and it is not transformative and suggests some participatory strategies that could be used to strengthen the practice of literacy education in Botswana. First it provides an overview of the conception and the process of planning literacy Botswana, discusses the country’s socio-economic situation and the activities of the literacy program to demonstrate its limitations. The paper argues that as presently planned, the BNLP reproduces the status quo and does not represent the cultural context of the minorities, women and the poor who are its main participants. Final...

The issue of hegemony in the process of curriculum development and implementation in Botswana is ... more The issue of hegemony in the process of curriculum development and implementation in Botswana is explored in terms of how it facilitates ideological, social and cultural domination by those who possess both political and economic power in society. The argument is that curriculum development is presented as a 'neutral' undertaking by the state and its functionaries in curriculum development even though it places one set of values over others in society. The thinking behind the composition of the commissions is examined in terms of who is involved or not and why? The activities of the Curriculum Development Division and its relation to the teachers is also considered. Suggestions are made for an alternative course of action that would reduce the hegemonic domination of the current elite over the curriculum in Botswana.

This paper discusses a gender analysis of the perceptions of the Basubiya in North Western Botswa... more This paper discusses a gender analysis of the perceptions of the Basubiya in North Western Botswana towards participation and utilisation of the Botswana National Literacy Programme (NLP). The need to determine the effects of the National Literacy Programme on the lives of the learners continues to be a major concern. The paper identifies reasons for participation in the programme among the minorities from a gender perspective. It explores the effects of the programme on the lives of men and women in Chobe in terms of how they utilised the literary and practical skills to improve their lives. Finally. the study examines the teaching and learning and general problems they had as learners in the National Literacy Programme.

Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2015

Training adult literacy facilitators is essential for in the delivery of quality literacy program... more Training adult literacy facilitators is essential for in the delivery of quality literacy programmes. Such training underscores a commitment to literacy as a human right, a source of equity and social justice. Since the 1990s, Southern Africa has attended to literacy as part of regional commitment to the ideals of the Jomtien Declaration on education-for-all. This paper provides an overview of the region’s literacy facilitator training policies. Based on the premise that facilitators are the fulcrum of quality literacy, the paper argues that it is regrettable that despite policy rhetoric, literacy facilitators receive little remuneration, are not considered as professionals and lack job security. The paper examines the nature of their training and concludes that they receive minimal training that is inadequate for transforming them into professionals and, as such, this compromises the quality of their service delivery. The paper recommends the use of participatory training methods, ...

This article assesses how the Freirean pedagogy can be used to combat the problems of poverty, un... more This article assesses how the Freirean pedagogy can be used to combat the problems of poverty, unemployment, lack of political voice, economic deprivation and illiteracy besetting rural South Africans. The basic assumption is that the Freirean method can be used by underprivileged sections of any society to enhance their consciousness and transform their lives. This is more so in South Africa where people have been entrapped by apartheid for several decades. However, this will also depend to some extent on the commitment of the political leadership, non-governmental organisations and the private sector to transform rural South Africa. It is concluded that the South African context may be viewed as conducive because there are both governmental and non-governmental organisations that can facilitate the process of change and transformation among the rural people if they adopt this approach.

International Journal of Agricultural Extension, 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of farmers regarding the adoption of... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of farmers regarding the adoption of new technologies in arable farming. This was a phenomenological qualitative study conducted in the southern district of Botswana. Data was gathered from 16 purposively selected arable farmers who adopted improved technologies to enhance productivity in arable agriculture. Semi-structured interviews on a face to face survey and personal records kept upon a visit to farms were used to collect data. Both qualitative and quantitative sets of data were gathered during a visit to the farms. The study found that the majority of the arable farmers inherited their farms from their parents and were influenced by parental role models, individual family members, credit availability of social interactions, commercialisation as well as extension training workshops to adopt improved technologies. This study has shown that farmers’ perceptions regarding improved technologies to enhance productivity in ...

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 2017

This article offers a re-examination of the period leading up to independence in Botswana, former... more This article offers a re-examination of the period leading up to independence in Botswana, formerly known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, between 1960 and 1966. With the use of original archival material from Botswana and the United Kingdom, it aims to explain why the Bechuanaland Democratic Party overwhelmingly defeated the Bechuanaland People's Party in the March 1965 elections for self-government. Botswana's post-colonial transition was unusual for being without a mass, social movement for national self-determination. The Democratic Party, led by Seretse Khama, favoured close cooperation with the British colonial authority and a gradualist transition to independence, while the People's Party closely adhered to the ideology of anti-colonialism and demanded immediate independence. This article will argue that the Democratic Party won independence due to its sacrifice of anti-colonial credentials, in the short term, in favour of a political platform that addressed the long-term challenges of Bechuanaland's quest for viable statehood. The research helps to explain why Botswana was slow to develop closer relations with fellow independent African states. As a provincialised history of decolonisation, this article shows the potential for variance within the wider anti-colonial movement, which incorporated diverse actors, agendas and geopolitical conditions.

Studies in the Education of Adults, 2004

This article explores how planning the Botswana National Literacy Programme aided the state in ma... more This article explores how planning the Botswana National Literacy Programme aided the state in maintaining its power and control over the past two decades. Using critical educational theory as the theoretical framework, it demonstrates how the planning of literacy education promotes conventional views of literacy and perpetuates state hegemony. It analyses how educational planners addressed competing choices of language, audience, and instructional design based on issues such as social status, gender, ethnic differences, and geographical location. The state views planning as a non-contested exercise representing different interests and common concerns. It has, however, met with some defiance from planners and facilitators who engaged in overt and quiet dissent from its hegemony. Consequently, the article explores ways to decentralise decision-making and devolve power to the district levels through using a participatory approach to involve all stakeholders in planning for the programme to respond to the learners' life tasks.

Journal of the African Association For Literacy and Adult Education, 1995

Pula Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2005

Despite Botswana's commitment to the ideals of democracy and equity, abject and relative poverty ... more Despite Botswana's commitment to the ideals of democracy and equity, abject and relative poverty are widespread among the country's rural populace. Since Botswana's independence, its rates of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy have increased. The situation necessitates fundamental changes in the lives of Botswana's rural residents. Such change can be achieved by adopting the Freirean method for Botswana's National Literacy Program. Botswana's present literacy practice does not facilitate criticism of adult learners' current situation or their assumption of the role of agents of change. Freire's methods would enable Botswana's rural literacy learners to engage in democratic practice as Botswana's other citizens do. It has been argued that Botswana's government has skillfully chosen some nonpolitical aspects of the Freirean approach for the Botswana National Literacy Program. Adult educators in Botswana must challenge their students to address the problems in their world. Since its independence, Botswana has had several viable democratic institutions, including the community meeting place and the tradition of farmers working in groups, that can be mobilized to address the social and economic plight of the country's rural residents. Through such institutions, the Freirean approach may be used to empower rural people. (29 references) (MN)

Adult Education Quarterly, 2016

comprehendible, for adult educators that extend beyond formal adult higher education settings. In... more comprehendible, for adult educators that extend beyond formal adult higher education settings. In the final analysis, I would strongly recommend ShopTalk to adult educators who seek to improve their skills of facilitation by providing more culturally relevant learning opportunities for adult learners. Although Majors’s work was situated in an urban setting, I believe her framework offers insight on research and practice that affect teaching and learning with regard to cultural-minority-group adult learners.