Browsing by Author "Simasiku, Limbo Enock"

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    High school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in Khomas region, Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2015) Simasiku, Limbo Enock; Villet, Charmaine B.; Kapenda, Hileni M.
    This paper presents a case study of high school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in the Khomas region. A qualitative approach was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information, namely; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open-ended questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire was thematically analysed. The views of the teachers on reflective practice were transcribed, analysed, and presented in the descriptive form and the data from classroom observations? The findings revealed that most teachers at the selected school were familiar with the concept of reflective practice and they used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the teachers had different views on reflective practice in teaching. The majority indicated that reflective practice is a crucial component of teaching and learning and should be incorporated in daily teaching, while few teachers were of the opinion that reflective practice takes time away from valuable teaching time and as such, it should not be a component of the teaching process. It is recommended that further studies are needed
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    High school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in Khomas region, Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2015) Villet, Charmaine B.; Kapenda, Hileni M.; Simasiku, Limbo Enock
    This paper presents a case study of high school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in the Khomas region. A qualitative approach was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information, namely; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open-ended questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire was thematically analysed. The views of the teachers on reflective practice were transcribed, analysed, and presented in the descriptive form and the data from classroom observations? The findings revealed that most teachers at the selected school were familiar with the concept of reflective practice and they used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the teachers had different views on reflective practice in teaching. The majority indicated that reflective practice is a crucial component of teaching and learning and should be incorporated in daily teaching, while few teachers were of the opinion that reflective practice takes time away from valuable teaching time and as such, it should not be a component of the teaching process. It is recommended that further studies are needed to get a broader view of teachers’ perceptions in Namibia on reflective practice.
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    A study on Grade 12 teachers' understanding and application of reflective teaching and learners' performance in the Zambezi region
    (University of Namibia, 2021) Simasiku, Limbo Enock
    Grade 12 learners’ academic performance remains a concern in the Zambezi Region since 2010. The Region has lagged to the bottom of the national rankings in the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) level results consecutively in four academic years: 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016 (Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, 2010 - 2016). The (NSSCO) level results of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 were not different from this observed trend. This study identified the lack of reflective teaching as one of the factors that contributes to poor performance of leaners, among others. Reflective teaching should be viewed as a teachers’ tool for professional growth and development, rather than a stumbling block in the day to day teaching / learning activities. Though there are other variables that are known to influence learners’ academic performance, this study focused on the teachers’ understanding and application of reflective teaching and its influence on learners’ academic performance. Literature indicates the need for teachers to engage in reflective teaching in order to enhance learning and the academic performance of learners. The study followed a mixed methods case study design. In this study, the target population were all senior secondary school (Grade11-12) teachers in the Zambezi educational region. A purposively selected sample of five senior secondary schools out of ten was considered for this study. Stratified purposive sampling was applied in selecting the fifteen teachers to participate in this study. The school principals automatically constituted the sample of the study which implied that the inclusive sample of this study was twenty participants (teachers and principals included). In this study, the theoretical premises and the methodological solutions are influenced by three theories that align closely with reflective teaching, learners’ performance and view learning and teaching as a constructed phenomenon; namely the social constructivism theory, cognitive constructivism theory and the metacognition theory. Instruments that were used to identify teachers’ reflective teaching skills were: Reflective Teaching Closed and Open - ended Questionnaire (RTCOEQ) Appendix A for teachers, Reflective Teaching Lesson Observation Checklist (RTLOC) Appendix B for teachers and the Reflective Teaching Interview Schedule (RTIS) Appendix C for teachers and principals. In this study, common trends in the data collected were analysed by adapting the steps developed by Creswell and Clark (2018) for data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that teachers were not well trained to effectively execute reflective teaching in their classes. Teacher who endeavoured to apply reflective teaching complained that lack of time and equipment prevented them from effectively applying reflective teaching. Some school principals’ definition of reflective teaching confirmed the need to equip teachers with skills and knowledge in reflective teaching. This led to the conclusion that the current observed poor performance of grade 12 learners in the NSSCO examinations in the Zambezi region is directly or indirectly related to the absence of effective reflective teaching in that region. It was therefore recommended that opportunities be availed where teachers can upgrade their skills and knowledge on reflective teaching. In response to the identified needs of teachers’ in reflective teaching, this study produced a tool (a teacher’s guide in reflective teaching) to help guide teachers in executing reflective teaching. Further research is recommended into what evidence and criteria shape judgements about reflective teaching and how the school based staff may effectively incorporate reflective teaching in their daily learning and teaching activities.
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    Teachers' perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout high school
    (2013) Simasiku, Limbo Enock
    This study was carried out in order to investigate the perceptions of teachers on reflective practice and teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and how their perceptions may impact on teaching and learning. The following were the main objectives of the research: To investigate the views of teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School on reflective practice in teaching; to examine the application of reflective practice in teaching (by teachers) at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and to establish the overall engagement of teachers in reflective teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in order to recommend improvements where necessary. A qualitative approach to conducting research was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information. These tools were; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open ended questionnaire. The findings of the research revealed that most teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School are familiar with the concept of reflective practice. It was further found that some teachers were engaged in the process of reflective practice, which they viewed as a necessity to improve their teaching. The data also revealed that most teachers, who applied reflective practice in their teaching, used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. It was found that a certain number of teachers were not engaged in reflective practice. One of the participants stated that “there is no time to do reflections on the lesson presented because the syllabus is extensive and the time needs to be used to finish the syllabus’’. In this study, the following are some of the major recommendations proposed: The Ministry of Education and other relevant structures should enforce reflective practice in schools and in all teacher training institutions in order to encourage critical thinking in teachers. Prior to the official introduction of reflective practice in all schools, the researcher would like to recommend that; the management of Dawid Bezuidenhout High School should hire a specialist in reflective practice to conduct a workshop on reflective practice at the beginning of the year 2013 when the schools re-open. This would equip teachers with the skills necessary to engage in reflective practice. The researcher further recommends that universities and teaching colleges in Namibia and the world at large should consider introducing or emphasizing the inclusion of reflective practice in the teachers training programs. This would encourage professional growth in teachers. It is also recommended that, further research should be carried out in order to investigate the teachers training programs in order to find out how they prepare teachers to become critical thinkers, lastly to investigate the perceptions of teachers in any region in Namibia about reflective practice and teaching as well as how their perceptions affect teaching and learning. This would be necessary as it would provide a broader view of teachers’ perception on reflective practice.