Dickson Banda | University of Zambia (original) (raw)
Papers by Dickson Banda
Administrative decision making is a dynamic process that solves some organizational problems and,... more Administrative decision making is a dynamic process that solves some organizational problems and, in the process, often creates others. Decision making is a general pattern of action found in the rational administration of all functional and task areas in organizations. The rational decision-making model that happens to be the central discussion of this paper uses a strategy of optimizing to maximize the achievement of goals, but the model is an ideal rather than an actual description of practice.
Because of its appropriateness in educational administration, this paper adopts the rational model of decision making which also clearly excites the clearly outlined stages in its development process. Apart from its essential facet of decentralization, the rational model of decision making has also the aspects of appropriateness for accomplishing specific aims, goals and objectives of educational administration and the schools at large.
Counselling for children and young people is available to provide supportive help for many reason... more Counselling for children and young people is available to provide supportive help for many reasons. A counsellor needs to lower himself or herself to the level of children and young people in order to meet their needs. This involves using creative and non-threatening methods or techniques to explore sensitive issues and helping children express their feelings. To this effect, this essay attempts to critically identify ten types of counselling techniques that can be used in counselling children and further discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Students who are visually impaired can and should receive instruction in the core curriculum, jus... more Students who are visually impaired can and should receive instruction in the core curriculum, just as their sighted peers. The core curriculum is the knowledge and skills that all students are expected to know upon their high school graduation. Learners with visual impairments can successfully benefit from the general core curriculum with the effective implementation of the expanded core curriculum which is also enhanced by the strategies in its implementation. It is for this purpose that this essay attempts to critically analyse the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) for the visually impaired learners and further suggests the suitable strategies of implementing this curriculum in the Zambian context.
The psychologist and teachers of special education should acknowledge cultural factors in the ass... more The psychologist and teachers of special education should acknowledge cultural factors in the assessment process and the influence these factors have on the assessment of cognitive ability of learners with intellectual disabilities. It is important to also to acknowledge that, the guidelines for test interpretation among the dominant culture may not be pertinent to culturally diverse clients. It is of importance to note that psychologist and teachers of special education acknowledge how culture may influence the results of standardized tests. This is because; not understanding the role that culture plays could lead to inaccurate results and analysis. Moreover, conclusive decisions should never be based on the results of only a single test. Rather, a sampling of cognitive abilities will provide an adequate picture of strengths and weaknesses. To this effect, this paper attempts to discuss the cross cultural issues in assessment of intellectual in the context of Zambia.
The purpose of early identification is to determine which children have developmental problems th... more The purpose of early identification is to determine which children have developmental problems that may be obstacles to learning or that place them at risk. In so many cases, the process of identification is highly inconsistent, raising concerns about over, under, and mis-identifications. While some of this inconsistency occurs at the level of teachers and schools, there are striking differences even when identification rates are aggregated to the level of states. To this effect, this essay attempts to critically discuss the factors that can affect the accuracy with which children with special education needs can be identified.
This paper reports a study undertaken in 2014 on the general curriculum and its accessibility to ... more This paper reports a study undertaken in 2014 on the general curriculum and its accessibility to learners with Special Education Needs a case study of selected Special Schools and Units in Lusaka. Despite the implementation of sound policies documented in the 1996 educational policy document (Educating Our Future) that places emphasis on Education for All, the main curriculum is not standardized across the nation, more especially for learners with Special Needs. This makes it a challenge for Zambia to adequately educate its citizen and to even achieve education for all by 2015. The specific objectives of the research were to; investigate the provision of the general curriculum to learners with SENs, explore the factors that hinder curriculum accessibility to LSENs and examine the current Zambian policy on education and its facilitation of access to the general education curriculum to pupils with special educational needs. The significance of the study was to identify whether LSENs get access to the main curriculum and the reasons as to why learners with disabilities are not given the necessary attention they deserve in accessing the general curriculum. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as structured questionnaires. According to the findings, it was confirmed that, the majority of the teachers did not find the general curriculum relevant. It was also noted that there was the absence of relevant appropriate teaching and learning materials that would be a challenge for learners with special needs to successfully access the general curriculum. It was established in the research also that the current Zambian curriculum is not relevant to respond to the immediate needs of learners with Special Education Needs. The research also discussed on what the government could do to improve accessibility of curriculum to LSENs. The report further established that there was need for a legal framework and policy on the issue of curriculum accessibility in Zambia as a means and strategy of policy implementation. This is because the lack of a legal framework on education had also been identified as one of the barriers to successful curriculum accessibility to learners with special educational needs (SENs). The report however, recommended that, the current policy must be implementable and adjusted to allow all the pupils access the general curriculum. Furthermore, relevant, appropriate and necessary materials was suggested to be in place and available to all the special units and school so as to allow learners with special educational needs access the general curriculum. Pupils who are differently abled must be separated and grouped with pupils of similar disability and the curriculum to be flexible enough to accommodate learners with special needs. The curriculum for teacher educators also to be re-visited and modified with regards to its content in all Universities and colleges.
Administrative decision making is a dynamic process that solves some organizational problems and,... more Administrative decision making is a dynamic process that solves some organizational problems and, in the process, often creates others. Decision making is a general pattern of action found in the rational administration of all functional and task areas in organizations. The rational decision-making model that happens to be the central discussion of this paper uses a strategy of optimizing to maximize the achievement of goals, but the model is an ideal rather than an actual description of practice.
Because of its appropriateness in educational administration, this paper adopts the rational model of decision making which also clearly excites the clearly outlined stages in its development process. Apart from its essential facet of decentralization, the rational model of decision making has also the aspects of appropriateness for accomplishing specific aims, goals and objectives of educational administration and the schools at large.
Counselling for children and young people is available to provide supportive help for many reason... more Counselling for children and young people is available to provide supportive help for many reasons. A counsellor needs to lower himself or herself to the level of children and young people in order to meet their needs. This involves using creative and non-threatening methods or techniques to explore sensitive issues and helping children express their feelings. To this effect, this essay attempts to critically identify ten types of counselling techniques that can be used in counselling children and further discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Students who are visually impaired can and should receive instruction in the core curriculum, jus... more Students who are visually impaired can and should receive instruction in the core curriculum, just as their sighted peers. The core curriculum is the knowledge and skills that all students are expected to know upon their high school graduation. Learners with visual impairments can successfully benefit from the general core curriculum with the effective implementation of the expanded core curriculum which is also enhanced by the strategies in its implementation. It is for this purpose that this essay attempts to critically analyse the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) for the visually impaired learners and further suggests the suitable strategies of implementing this curriculum in the Zambian context.
The psychologist and teachers of special education should acknowledge cultural factors in the ass... more The psychologist and teachers of special education should acknowledge cultural factors in the assessment process and the influence these factors have on the assessment of cognitive ability of learners with intellectual disabilities. It is important to also to acknowledge that, the guidelines for test interpretation among the dominant culture may not be pertinent to culturally diverse clients. It is of importance to note that psychologist and teachers of special education acknowledge how culture may influence the results of standardized tests. This is because; not understanding the role that culture plays could lead to inaccurate results and analysis. Moreover, conclusive decisions should never be based on the results of only a single test. Rather, a sampling of cognitive abilities will provide an adequate picture of strengths and weaknesses. To this effect, this paper attempts to discuss the cross cultural issues in assessment of intellectual in the context of Zambia.
The purpose of early identification is to determine which children have developmental problems th... more The purpose of early identification is to determine which children have developmental problems that may be obstacles to learning or that place them at risk. In so many cases, the process of identification is highly inconsistent, raising concerns about over, under, and mis-identifications. While some of this inconsistency occurs at the level of teachers and schools, there are striking differences even when identification rates are aggregated to the level of states. To this effect, this essay attempts to critically discuss the factors that can affect the accuracy with which children with special education needs can be identified.
This paper reports a study undertaken in 2014 on the general curriculum and its accessibility to ... more This paper reports a study undertaken in 2014 on the general curriculum and its accessibility to learners with Special Education Needs a case study of selected Special Schools and Units in Lusaka. Despite the implementation of sound policies documented in the 1996 educational policy document (Educating Our Future) that places emphasis on Education for All, the main curriculum is not standardized across the nation, more especially for learners with Special Needs. This makes it a challenge for Zambia to adequately educate its citizen and to even achieve education for all by 2015. The specific objectives of the research were to; investigate the provision of the general curriculum to learners with SENs, explore the factors that hinder curriculum accessibility to LSENs and examine the current Zambian policy on education and its facilitation of access to the general education curriculum to pupils with special educational needs. The significance of the study was to identify whether LSENs get access to the main curriculum and the reasons as to why learners with disabilities are not given the necessary attention they deserve in accessing the general curriculum. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as structured questionnaires. According to the findings, it was confirmed that, the majority of the teachers did not find the general curriculum relevant. It was also noted that there was the absence of relevant appropriate teaching and learning materials that would be a challenge for learners with special needs to successfully access the general curriculum. It was established in the research also that the current Zambian curriculum is not relevant to respond to the immediate needs of learners with Special Education Needs. The research also discussed on what the government could do to improve accessibility of curriculum to LSENs. The report further established that there was need for a legal framework and policy on the issue of curriculum accessibility in Zambia as a means and strategy of policy implementation. This is because the lack of a legal framework on education had also been identified as one of the barriers to successful curriculum accessibility to learners with special educational needs (SENs). The report however, recommended that, the current policy must be implementable and adjusted to allow all the pupils access the general curriculum. Furthermore, relevant, appropriate and necessary materials was suggested to be in place and available to all the special units and school so as to allow learners with special educational needs access the general curriculum. Pupils who are differently abled must be separated and grouped with pupils of similar disability and the curriculum to be flexible enough to accommodate learners with special needs. The curriculum for teacher educators also to be re-visited and modified with regards to its content in all Universities and colleges.