Teaching and learning practical subjects in primary schools in Swaziland: The case of a school in the Hhohho region (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
This study explores the introduction of subjects whilst simultaneously changing the language of instruction. It focuses on the introduction of specialised concepts at Grade 4 level in a primary school where isiZulu Home Language learners switch to English as their Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). The study critically analyses the concepts, interactions and new academic words used by the teachers and learners, in the process of knowledge building, specifically in Natural Science (NS) and Social Sciences (SS) in Grade 4. Data was collected from Grade 4 teachers: one teaches NS and the other teaches SS. The researcher conducted lesson observations; interviewed the two teachers and also analysed the conceptual structure of Grade 4 NS and SS textbooks. For the purposes of this dissertation, the researcher also analysed the collected data in detail, looking for emergent themes, in order to obtain in-depth insight about the teachers' experiences of teaching Grade 4. The findings indicate that the NS and SS textbooks are working carefully and constructively between the concrete and abstract concepts and between high and low levels of complexity. However, discrepancies were, in most cases, displayed by the teachers who mostly did not focus on conceptual development; instead they wanted to ensure that learners learnt how to read well and have good pronunciation, thus paying particular attention to decoding the texts only. This study recommends that teachers in the Intermediate Phase require exposure to and explicit guidance in teaching methodologies that would enable cumulative knowledge building. Teacher inservice training or subject advisors' intervention programmes ought to empower teachers with approaches to teach specialised concepts explicitly in their learning areas. Teachers should enhance reading literacy development in order to improve the learners' English competency levels and teachers should also be aware of and equipped with an understanding of learners' background knowledge (which could be resulting in barriers to learning opportunities) as a lack of conceptual understanding results in learners' poor performance. Textbook authors ought to consider translating key concepts and new terminology from English to African languages in order to enhance learners' acquisition and effective conceptual understanding, especially in the scientific and mathematical subjects.
Exploring the feasibility of using Shona as a medium of instruction in teaching science in Zimbabwe
2014
The study explores the feasibility of using Shona as a medium of instruction in teaching Science in Zimbabwe. Although English has been the language of instruction since the advent of colonialism it has not been able to deliver for no tangible scientific and /or technological development has been seen in Zimbabwe. The research assumes that it is possible to achieve technical and scientific development in Zimbabwe using indigenous languages like Shona. It therefore seeks to find out if Shona can be effectively used to replace English as a language of instruction in the teaching of Science, achieving sound mastery of the subject in the process. In this research two grade four classes at Denzva School are studied. The classes are of the same size and academic potential. Their composition was systematical established after consulting the classes performance in the end of year grade three examinations. One group (the experimental class) is taught Science in Shona while the other group is taught Science in English. The two classes receive instruction in their usual classrooms and from one teacher, the researcher. In order to check mastery of content, the subjects write lessons and the researcher reviews tests in which individual pupil performance in the tests was recorded. The results of the two classes' performance are compared and commented upon. It is then deduced if Shona is effective and better than English as a language of instruction. Further the prevailing language policy in schools and government departments as well as the attitudes of parents and teachers are investigated through the use of questionnaires and interviews. Views gathered are commented upon and general recommendations made. KEY TERMS Language planning, medium/language of instruction, indigenous/African language, experimental class, control class, ideological orientation, language as right, language as problem, language as resource, language status, official language, mother tongue, language planning, status planning, corpus planning, acquisition planning and language policy. the financial aid I got from UNISA without which this study would not have been possible. Many thanks go to Mr P Masuka and Mrs Mwaramba who devoted much time typing the study's manuscript. Many thanks also go to the heads and teachers of secondary and primary schools in the Nyakuni Cluster in Makoni South Circuit as well as Heads of government departments in Makoni District. Indeed, without the aforesaid individuals, this research was not going to be a success. v
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2017
Studies have revealed that for the past four years a huge number of the grade seven learners in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland have performed extremely badly in the external examination compared to its counterparts, the Hhohho, Manzini and Lubombo regions. This study aims to investigate the perceptions of primary school teachers on the causes of high failure rate at grade seven level in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland. The study was qualitative with a phenomenological approach. Participants were 12 teachers representing grade seven teachers (n=6) and school principals (n=6). Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus groups and documents analysis. The major research findings revealed that the causes of the high failure rate was not a single factor but a multiple of factors from the home environment, the school environment, the teachers, the pupils and as well as the parental factors. The findings of the study concluded that environmental factors, teacher factors, pupils factors and parental factors are the causes of high failure rate at Grade seven level in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education should organise in-service workshop for teachers on the importance of educational policies. The teachers should be equipped with pedagogical competences to improve the academic performance of the pupils.
A critical realist exploration of the implementation of a new curriculum in Swaziland
2012
This study offers an in-depth exploration of the conditions from which the implementation of a curriculum called the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), later localised into Swaziland General Certificate of Secondary Education (SGCSE), emerged and the constraining and enabling conditions for the implementation of the new I/SGCSE curriculum. It derives its theoretical foundation from Roy Bhaskar's critical realism and Margaret Archer's concept of analytical separability. The study therefore offers explanations
Aspects of the Zimbabwean curriculum at the primary level that require planned change or innovation
MEDCA Tutorials - University of Zimbabwe, 2003
Primary education is the building block for further education and a nation's prospective socio-economic development. Its purpose is basically threefold, viz: to teach students basic cognitive skills; to develop attitudes children need to function in society and to promote in them a spirit of nation building (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991). It is nappreciation of the significance of primary education that at the attainment of independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe Government adopted a radical stance in addressing the issue of universal primary education. Colonial policies that inhibited Indigenous people's access to education were relatively dismantled. This saw unprecedented expansion in the infrastructural development of schools and an increase in learners’ enrolment. However, despite the unprecedented educational expansion, the quality of the Zimbabwean primary and secondary curricula is highly questioned by both educational connoisseurs and parents (Nziramasanga Commission, 1999). It is in the light of the above that this discussion attempts to identify and examine aspects of the Zimbabwean curriculum, at the primary level, that demand planned change. Tentative strategies are discussed that could be adopted to foster the suggested change to ensure that learners are effectively taught. Meanwhile, it should be noted that, in the context of this discussion, curriculum denotes all educational activities that are planned and guided by the school or central government (Oldroyd, Elsner and Poster, 1996). If student achievement rates are taken into account, particularly the annual percentage pass rates in the national Grade 7 examinations, curricularists concur that generally, the quality of Zimbabwe's primary curriculum has deteriorated. The deterioration is attributed to many factors, such as the inputs necessary for children to learn, school management inadequacies, shoddy instructional competencies of some teachers and weak revenue base. It is, therefore, necessary to suggest that student achievement, measured mainly through performance in tests or examinations should be improved. This can be realized if students are taught the rightful content at the appropriate time, in a properly designed scope and sequence. Since textbooks are the major determinants of curriculum content in Zimbabwe, as is the case with virtually most global south countries, their design should be improved. The recommendation is based on the realization that inappropriate curricula frustrate students and increase their failure rate.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Mathematics cuts across all the fields of human endeavours in its wide application and mind development. Hence, this study focuses on the learners' perception on the importance of utilizing teaching resources in mathematics. It adopted case study research design of qualitative approach. A purposive sampling technique was used to select two learners in a selected high school in East London Education District South Africa. A semi-structured interview was used to elicit information from the respondents and the data was analysed using thematic approach according to the themes from the research questions formulated. The study revealed the efficacy of teaching resources for mathematics and how it helps the educators and learners to achieve their target goals. It also revealed the type of resources available in teaching mathematics. The study concluded that effective teaching of mathematics is through availability of resources and recommended that the school should endeavour to provide more recent resources that are technologically inclined.
SAGE Open, 2018
Practical theories of teaching are critical for teacher effectiveness as they provide basis for their actions and choices of pedagogies, learner activities, and curriculum materials. This study explored the content of professionally unqualified practicing teachers' practical theories and the changes that occurred as they progressed through a school-based Postgraduate Diploma in Education program. Drawing on concepts around practical theories, qualitative data generated through interviews and photo elicitation from six professionally unqualified teachers in rural Zimbabwe secondary schools were inductively analyzed. Findings indicate that content of the teachers' practical theories gradually evolved and developed as they progressed through three stages in the program: (a) Survival or "self-concerns" where content was composed of mediocre pedagogy-relationship focus, lesson preparation and delivery, and classroom management; (b) "task-concerns," where content constituted effective performance of teaching tasks portrayed by thorough lesson preparation, learner-centered pedagogies, student assessment, lesson evaluation, collaboration, creating conducive teaching/learning environments, and teacher enthusiasm; (c) "pupil and teacher learning concerns" with content encompassing identification and handling of student diversity, student engagement, moving students from known to unknown, self-evaluation, reflection, and research. Data further indicate individualistic and dynamic nature of practical theories through the nonuniform elements of fully developed theories after completing the program. This article illustrates that emersion in practice can promote professionally unqualified teachers' understandings of and attendance to underlying principles of teaching/learning which enhances modification of their views of teaching and development of well-developed practical theories.
2018
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Exploring teachers’ instructional practices in literacy in English in Grade One: a case study of two urban primary schools in the Shiselweni Region of Swaziland This research study sought to explore teachers’ instructional practices in literacy in English in Grade One. The main focus of the study was to establish what instructional practices teachers used in their literacy lessons in classrooms, why they used those instructional practices, and how they experienced the teaching of literacy in English in Grade One. The study was based on the premise that literacy was a social practice that was essential for life-long learning, therefore mastering sound literacy practices at the foundation phase was critical for learning and social wellbeing. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory was used as a lens to understand teachers’ instructional practices in teaching Grade One literacy in their English classes. This research was a case study of two...
South African Journal of Education Copyright © 2007 EASA
2016
smsahcu @ puk.ac.za The majority of learners in southern Africa receive the ir education through the medium of a second language, English. Although teachers of English play a crucial role in helping learners to acquire language skills in the medium of instruction, we argue that subject con ten t teachers ' lack of attention to the tea-ching of the four language skills may be a raison d 'être fo r learners ' lack of academ ic achievement. A situation analysis conducted among three study popu-lations examined the extent to which subject content teachers took responsibility fo r the teaching of language skills in the content classro om, as well as possible reasons for not doing so. It also shed some light on the amount of language teaching that actually took place in a content classroom. The aim of the situation analysis was to determine whether there was a need for a specialised training course for English second language m edium of instruction teachers.