Browsing by Author "Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana"

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    An analysis of a teacher education programme at a Namibian tertiary institution
    (Creative Education, 2022) Junias, Kristofina; Kambeyo, Linus; Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana
    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 enroll in 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
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    A critical analysis of the impact of research in education: A systematic review
    (Namibian Journal for Research, Science and Technology (NJRST), 2022) Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana; Kambeyo, Linus
    Many studies have demonstrated the impact of research in many spheres of life. With the scientific knowledge on the rise, we postulated that impact of research is evident in different scientific fields, which includes education. It is not easy to provide a scholarly definition of the term impact of research as it lacks a standard definition and has various applications. Its uses ranges measuring specific measures to measuring different phenomena. However, impact of research is a demonstrable contribution outside academia. It is a benefit that society gets because of research activities and one way of archiving this benefit can be through the addition of value and improvement of the quality of life as a consequence of research. From the education perspective, the meaning of the impact of research may include the development of skills, knowledge, values, and cultural norms of a people. It is equally alluded to the ability to transform the art of teaching, which might lead to useful lessons that explain the curriculum to the benefit of the students. The impact of research can also mean the ability to influence the modification of educational policies to align them with the global educational trends. This critical systematic review addresses the gap in knowledge about the impact of research in basic education. It further provides a broader understanding of how the research impact affects teaching approaches, education policy, and how it influences education management.
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    Investigating Mathematics teachers’ understanding and practices of learner-centered teaching in junior secondary schools within the Katima circuit in the Zambezi region of Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2023-07-01) Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana; Mwazi, Richard Salufu; Kambeyo, Linus; Garegae, Kgomotso Gertrude
    This study investigated mathematics teachers’ understanding and practices of learner-centered teaching (LCT) in junior secondary schools within Katima Circuit in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. A qualitative study method was used and purposeful sampling procedures were used to select participants. Research instruments included open-ended interviews and recordings from twenty mathematics teachers in selected junior secondary schools in the Zambezi Region. Results of the study indicate that teachers understand the concepts of LCT and have adequate training and knowledge on the benefits and teaching approach in LCT due to the inclusion of the LCT methods in teacher education and other training workshops. However, the study also found that most mathematics teachers use only cooperative learning during teaching and learning mathematics. The study also identified significant challenges teachers face in implementing LCT, including overcrowded classrooms, lack of resources, and learners’ lack of motivation. Considering the above findings, the study recommends that the government and stakeholders support teachers with resources and further staff development opportunities.
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    Language ideologies and the use of mother tongues as the medium of instruction and learning in junior primary schools: A case study of parents and teachers in a Namibian school
    (University of Namibia, 2023-07-03) Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana; Set, Beatha; Nyambe, John
    In the Namibian education system, teaching in the junior primary is supposed to be done in the learners’ mother tongue. However, there is always controversy on adopting a language to be used as a medium of instruction (MoI) due to the multi-ethnic and multilingualism of the Namibian society. To make matters worse, parents equally cast doubt on enrolling their children in schools that uses mother tongue as an MoI. Framed within the qualitative case-study orientation, this research investigated: parents’ and teachers’ language ideologies and beliefs; the factors that informed the embodied and expressed language ideologies and beliefs of parents’ and teachers’; and how these dominant language ideologies and belief systems informed parents’ and teachers’ choice of language of instruction and the general implementation of the language policy in a Namibian school. The study found that both parents and teachers harbored monolingual ideological belief systems that did not only construct and perpetuate an “English-only” language zone but also banished all mother tongue languages from the school premises. Not only do the findings point to the hegemonic positioning of the English language in the minds of parents, teachers, and school principals as the only language that can lead to success, but its violation was punishable in a derogatory manner. The study concludes that, among others, parents, teachers, and school principals’ language ideologies and beliefs were shaped and informed by the prevailing English language hegemony. The liberal and duality stance of the Namibian language policy, and its decentralization, partly resulted in parents, teachers, and school principals’ neglect of the multilingualism and heterogeneity that the very same policy purports to advocate. The study recommends raising parents’ and teachers’ awareness of embracing the heteroglossia of language practices and for the ministry of education to consider a more inclusive language policy
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    Scaffolding epistemological access in the context of forbidden discourses: A case study of a grade 4 Natural Science class in a Namibian school
    (Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd, 2023) Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana; Set, Beata; Nyambe, John
    Qualitative in orientation and using the case study methodology, the research drew upon Margaret Archer’s theory of agency to examine how, at the point of confluence of culture, structure and agency, the teacher’s agency was enabled or constrained in attaining the agential project of scaffolding epistemological access in a Grade 4 Natural Science classroom. The study found that when positioned into a face-to-face relationship, or a direct relationship, with the structural, cultural, and agential causal powers, the teacher’s agential project of scaffolding epistemological access in a Grade 4 Natural Science classroom was constrained than enabled. The teacher was placed into a pedagogical dilemma where on the one hand, structural causal powers (e.g., the curriculum, syllabus, school authorities) demanded the teaching of topics on human sexual reproduction and human excretory systems. At the same time, causal cultural powers exerted by cultural properties, which include values, norms, and taboos, render conversation with young children over sexual reproduction matters and human excretory system forbidden discourses. The study concluded that cultural factors are among the myriad factors that potentially lead to poor performance in Natural Science by Namibian learners and African learners in general. The study recommends that in teacher education programs, it is essential to interrogate the school curriculum regarding its sensitivity and responsiveness to the cultural contexts of both teachers and learners. Similarly, such programs should investigate developing appropriate agential powers of aspiring teachers to resist or circumvent causal cultural powers that obstruct or hinder meaningful science learning.
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    Teaching methods in Science Education in Finland and Namibia
    (University of Eastern Finland, 2018) Katukula, Kelvin Mubiana
    This study compares the teaching methods in science education in Finland and Namibia to understand the preferred teaching methods in both educational systems and the reasons underlying these preferences. It focuses on the preferred teaching methods of selected middle school science teachers of Biology/Life science, Geography, and Physical science (Chemistry and Physics). The study employs a case-based cross-national comparative approach, which investigates the nature of pedagogical practices as a set of human actions that are intentionally organised towards the transmission of a socially legitimated culture. Four schools were selected where three schools were in Namibia and one school in Finland. From the selected schools, eight middle school science teachers from each country were interviewed. The study takes a broader view of the classification of the teaching methods, which are grouped into six categories. These categories include experimental, small-group working, resource-based learning, creative problem solving, out of school informal learning and teacher-led large groups teaching methods. The main findings of this study are that Finnish science teachers tend to apply the use of experimental teaching methods more while Namibian science teachers tend to apply the use of small group working methods more. Because the experimentation methods require laboratory equipment, the differences in approach in the Namibian context are due to limited resources. In Finland on the other hand, the popularity of the experimental teaching methods can be explained mainly in reference to the availability of science teaching resources. In the Namibian context, the reliance primarily on the small working methods deprives learners of the opportunity to acquire some scientific skills that come with experimental activities. In light of these implications, science teaching in Namibia requires the government to invest more resources in middle schools that would enable teachers to use a variety of teaching methods. Finnish Middle school science teachers, on the other hand, must include teaching methods that involve more learner interaction and participation like small-group working.