Teacher Education at the University of Zambia and Teacher Quality with Specific Reference to English Language (original) (raw)
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2011
Bishop (1985) cited Fafunwa as having stated that “of all the educational problems that beset African countries today, none is as persistent or as compelling as the one relating to the training of a competent teacher”. This comment, made in 1967, still remains true about teacher training in Africa generally and in Zambia in particular today. Indeed, teachers have an indispensable role to play in our education system. If we are to have quality education we need sufficient teachers who are well trained and motivated professionals. Professionalism is one of the most important characteristics that should identify teachers...... particularly primary school teachers who are the subject of discussion in this paper. This paper will attempt to give a perspective of the challenges facing basic school teacher training, recruitment and quality in Zambia. The paper will pay particular attention to how primary colleges recruit students, the nature of training offered, the deployment of the studen...
Journal of Lexicography and Terminology, Volume 7, Issue 1, 2023. pp.113-133 , 2023
The purpose of this study was to establish the relevance of the Zambian Languages Teacher Education programme at one of the public universities in Zambia to the needs and aspirations of Zambian secondary schools. The sample size of the study was fourteen (14) comprising six fourth year Zambian Languages students, two teacher educators from the Literature and Languages Department for the content courses and two teacher educators from the Languages and Social Sciences Education Department for the methods courses. The study also included four former students at the university who studied Linguistics and African Languages (LAL) programme at bachelor's degree level. Interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis were used to collect data from the participants. The study findings established that the programme was partially relevant as it equipped the trainee teachers with the right content, teaching methodology, revitalised cultural awareness and built teacher confidence in schools. However, the programme exhibited multiple weaknesses that included lack of programme harmonisation between what was offered at the University to what graduates taught in schools. Trainee teachers had inadequate time for peer teaching (microteaching) as well as teaching practice, lacked teaching and learning material. The programme had a biased instruction in one Zambian language and English instead of teaching in all the regional official languages which were to be taught by the teachers in schools.
An Analysis of a Teacher Education Programme at a Namibian Tertiary Institution
An Analysis of a Teacher Education Programme at a Namibian Tertiary Institution, 2022
Teacher quality is a crucial element of quality education, and it is dependent on the quality of teacher education. Thus, this study analyses the teacher training programme at a Namibian university to determine its quality. Four quality determining components were analysed: students and teacher educator qualities; curriculum materials; teaching and learning process; and teaching practice. This qualitative study employed a single case study design. Four research instruments were used to collect data: document analysis, focus group interviews, questionnaires, and observations. The sample comprised one hundred and sixty (160) pre-service students, one (1) focus group of fifteen (15) graduates, sixteen (16) teacher educators, and three (3) focus groups with a total of thirty (30) pre-service students. The significant findings of this study were that average students enrol for the teacher education programme because of extrinsic and other motives other than intrinsic and altruistic reasons. In addition, the teacher education curriculum was found to be overcrowded with fragmented modules. Further, the subject matter content was not aligned with the school curriculum; students exit with little subject matter knowledge. The study also found that the assessment of pre-service students lacked authenticity as assessment questions do not test the understanding and application of knowledge. Additionally, the lecture method dominated the pedagogies employed, promoting rote learning. Another factor was poor teaching practices characterised by inadequate time allocation and lack of mentoring support from the school. Thus, a lot is desired from the teacher education programme; hence, the study recommends a longitudinal study to be carried out involving all higher education institutions in Namibia that offer a teacher education programme to see if the findings would be the same.
The University of Zambia School Teaching Experience: Is It Effective?
Excellence in Higher Education, 2014
Teaching practice exercises serve the purpose of orienting the teacher into real classroom situations where the novice puts his or her skills into practice. Education students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) go through the school teaching experience after their third year of study. This comes after they have arguably completed enough content and methodology courses to teach. The purpose of this study was to establish the effectiveness of the UNZA school teaching experience. The research instruments used were interview guides, observation checklists, and focus group discussions. The respondents included 80 serving teachers, 80 student teachers, and 10 head teachers drawn from 10 high schools in the Lusaka District. In addition, 10 lecturers from UNZA were also sampled. The findings revealed that the design and delivery of the UNZA student teaching experience was not effective.
This was a study of pedagogical experiences of students on school teaching practice conducted on two teacher training institutions on the Copper belt and Central provinces of Zambia. For ethical reasons, we gave the colleges pseudonyms. The Copper belt Based College of Education Copper belt Based College of Education (Pseudonym) (CBCE) trains teachers at Diploma level while the Central Province Based College of Education Kabwe Based College of Education (Pseudonym) (KBCE) trains teachers at Degree level. The study was both quantitative and qualitative. It used the case study design. Comment sheets on observed lessons were collected from both lecturers and students for study and analysis to establish the students' experiences in teaching. The instruments used by lecturers (supervisors) as guidelines to observe students and award marks were also studied and analyzed. The main findings were that students adopted one common way of introducing lessons; the lecture and group discussions method of teaching were the most prominent methods of teaching. While students exhibited knowledge of their subjects, they had difficulties using the discussion and group work methods.
Quality Teacher Education in Botswana: A Crucial Requirement for Effective Teaching and Learning
Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal, 2014
This paper posits that there is a strong relationship between quality teacher education and the quality of teaching a teacher exhibits in the classroom. It discusses the indicators of quality teacher education and how effective teaching and learning matter. The paper examines the efforts made by Botswana government to improve the quality of teacher education, and also strategies being adopted by tertiary institutions in Botswana in terms of teacher education. Quality teacher education should involve a long preparation in terms of contact hours, curriculum design, planning, comprehensive preparation skills and competencies in real classroom teaching.
Journal of Education and Learning, 2016
<p>It is ideally expected that after student teachers have gone through comprehensive curricula contents, they should possess the necessary competences and skills to enable them deliver effectively as teachers. However, some student teachers in Tanzania have expressed their concerns that some of the contents found in the curricula for teacher training programmes do not link with the contents taught in secondary schools. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the congruency between the contents student teachers cover during their studies at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), one of the Tanzanian teacher training institutions, and contents taught in Tanzanian secondary schools. The study involved a randomly obtained sample of 181 third year students, pursuing various teacher education degree programmes. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design in which a set of questionnaire, which consisted of both open and closed-ended questions, was administered to the sampled respondents. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS in which frequencies and percentages of responses to the questions presented in the questionnaire were computed to answer research questions advanced for this study. The findings were as follows: First, the majority (66.9%) of student teachers felt that there was a congruency between the University contents and secondary school contents and about one third (33.1%) of student teachers felt that the congruency did not exist. Secondly, the majority (95%) of student teachers felt that the contents of education courses taught at the University were applicable in real school situations and the minority (5%) did not feel so. Third, the majority (91.7%) of student teachers felt that the teacher training programmes offered at SUA had enabled them to acquire sufficient classroom teaching skills and basic theories in education. Fourth, some challenges facing teacher training programmes offered at SUA, as reported by the respondents, included irrelevant contents in some university courses, inadequate infrastructures, and lack of opportunities for practice, to mention but a few. Based on these findings, it is recommended that whenever an opportunity to review the existing teacher training programmes comes, the exercise should be preceded with needs analysis to help determine if the existing programmes adequately address the needs of the teaching profession for which the student teachers are being prepared.</p>
International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, 2019
The quality and effectiveness of an education system depends heavily on the quality of its teachers. They are the key persons in determining the success in meeting the education systems goals. The education and wellbeing of school children depends heavily on the competence, commitment and resourcefulness of teachers (Mwanza, 2016). The quality of teachers depends on the training which they undergo. Training and professional development therefore, underpin what a teacher can accomplish in a school. The quality of teachers therefore is determined by the teacher education regiment experience that a prospective teacher goes through (Luangala and Mulenga, 2015). According to Zientek (2007) teacher quality is the responsibility of teacher education. Therefore, the teaching and learning of teacher education students is critical in building teacher candidates’ capacity to improve learners’ output. Teacher educators need to be knowledgeable and ready to take over the responsibility of traini...
In this study we deconstructed quality education in three public secondary schools through the lenses of 15 teachers in Lusaka District of Zambia. The study applied a qualitative research paradigm with a Narrative design to engage participants through a series of interviews and Focused Group Discussions. The findings of the study revealed fourteen factors that contributed to poor quality education among which were inadequate Teaching-learning materials, negative pupil attitude to schooling, heavy workloads and poor working conditions. Thus, for quality education to be provided to the children in public secondary schools, investment was needed in enhancement of Continuous Professional Development, quality school buildings and improvement of water and electricity access to schools. Furthermore, there was need for an improved teacher pay, supply of adequate and qualified teachers, supply of adequate teaching and learning materials, and provision of adequate grants to secondary schools among others.
Challenges Affecting the Implementation of Teaching Practice: The Case of the University of Zambia
Journal of Education and Practice, 2021
For many years, the process of training a teacher has been extensively studied and discussed in the scientific and academic community worldwide. However, very few studies have been conducted on teaching practice in the developing world, which include Zambia. Teaching practice affords student teachers an opportunity to translate theory into practice in a real classroom situation. This study investigated challenges that the University of Zambia faces in implementing teaching practice in schools. In addition, the study probed teacher educators, supervising teachers and student teachers' views on measures that can be taken to improve the implementation of teaching practice in schools. The theoretical framework for this qualitative study was the third generation activity theory. The sample was purposely selected and comprised eight teacher educators, 10 supervising teachers and 24 student teachers. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. The data were analysed thematically. The study established that the whole process of teaching practice faced many challenges such as lack of collaboration between teacher educators and supervising teachers and limited learning space resulting in inadequate learning and peer teaching time. Most of the study's findings are consistent with findings of earlier studies. This study is significant as it attempts to reduce the knowledge gap that appears to stem from a paucity of research on teaching practice in Zambia. One major recommendation is that School of Education should be separated from other schools.