Research Articles (DAES)

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Research in Science & Technological Education
(Carfax Publishing, 2002) Kapenda, Hileni M.; Kandjeo-Marenga, Hedwig U.; Kasanda, Choshi D.; Fred, Lubben
This paper presents a study into science practical work conducted in Namibian classrooms. Lesson plans, task sheets, student work, lesson transcripts and observation notes were used to identify intended learning Outcomes. In addition, aspects of task design (inductive-deductive; open-closed; nature of student involvement) and the context of the practical task (duration; interaction patterns; types of task information and apparatus; nature of the student records were explored. A profile form was used and its usefulness evaluated for the analysis of 12 practical Tasks. The findings showed an emphasis on conceptual as opposed to procedural objectives, and a frequent change from an inductive to a deductive approach during the execution of the tasks pupil practical activity was rarefy Consolidated as a laboratory report but functioned as an enjoyable introduction to a set of general questions on the Content covered in the practical. Suggestions are made for the modification of the profile form, and for in-service.
Teachers' Use of textbooks: Practice in Namibian science classrooms
(Carfax Publishing, 2003) Kasanda, Choshi D.; Kapenda, Hileni M.; !Gaoseb, Noah; Kandjeo-Marenga, Utji
Incidences of prescribed textbook usage in science classrooms in Namibia have been analysed using an approach adapted from linguistic analysis. Aspects of pedagogic purpose, text genre, and the social interactions between teachers and learners were used to characterise teacher and learner engagement with textbooks, and thus categorise their usage in relation to a national policy of learner-centred education. Results indicate a reacher dominated textbook use and a low frequency and restricted range of texrbook references per lesson with some 40% of the Senior Secondary classes observed making no use of their textbooks in class. The major uses of textbooks in class were for diagrams and data, and to verify factual information Occasionally, questions in textbooks were used as homework to test and/or consolidate knowledge. Pupils rarely initiated a reference to a textbook. It is suggested that if learners are to benefit fully from the investment in textbooks then their teachers need to be helped to use the resource in more constructive ways.
The role of everyday contexts in Learner-centered teaching
(Routledge Publisher, 2005) Kasanda, Choshi D.; Lubben, Fred; !Gaoseb, Noah; Kandjeo-Marenga, Utji; Kapenda, Hileni M.; Campbell, Bob
This paper reports on the usc of out-of-school everyday contexts in Namibian science classrooms. This usc is portrayed against the backdrop of an explicit educational philosophy of learner centred teaching. Data were collt:cted through audio-taped teacher-learner interactions and non-participant field notes in 29 junior and senior science classes taught by 12 teachers in six schools. An existing typology was applied to classify episodes of use of everyday contexts and identify teachers' pedagogic strategies for their use. The results show that more everyday contexts are used in junior secondary than in senior secondary classes, that only a limited range of types of everyday contexts are used at both levels, and that their usc often follows theoretical exposition or teacher questioning. These findings are related to three interpretations of learner centered teaching. Recommendations for a fuller implementation of learner-centred teaching are made.
The impact of Mastep on the use of practical work in Namibian science classes
(University of Namibia and University of York, 2006) Kandjeo-Marenga, Hedwig U.; Kapenda, Hileni M.; Lubben, Fred; Campbell, Bob; !Gaoseb, Noah; Kasanda, Choshi D.
This article presents an investigation into the changes in the Teaching practices of practical work in senior science classes in Namibia. The teachers in this study are involved in training Programme, the Mathematics and Science Teacher Extension Programme (MASTEP). Pre- and post-intervention data were Collected from eight Biology teachers and four Physical Science teachers Lesson plans, worksheets and other documentation were Used to characterise practical activities using m1 established Taxonomy classroom interactions were audio-taped and Transcribed verbatim the findings i11dicate an increased focus on Practical activities aimed more at qualitative rather than Quantitative understanding of science concepts. In addition, the Post-MASTEP teachers favoured small group work and demonstrations. The changes in teaching practices arc attributed To the improved PCK that has enabled teachers to align their Practice with the assessment system
Implementation of the government of the Republic of Namibia’s language policy for schools in selected primary schools in Windhoek
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2008) Ashton, D.; Iijambo, Tangeni; Matengu, Marika; Kalenga, E.
This study investigated the implementation of Namibia’s Language Policy in Grades 1-4 in selected schools in the Windhoek area. Thirty-six teachers of Grades 1-4 in nine schools were individually interviewed. Seven principals were also interviewed. Namibia’s Language Policy states that English is the official language of the country and that instruction for primary learners Grades 1-3 be delivered in the mother language. The issues investigated in this study were: 1) how does this mother tongue implementation occur in a heterogeneous classroom where there are learners with a variety of mother languages and where the teacher’s mother tongue may not be that of the learner? 2) What are the social dynamics in a school where the learners and the teachers are from different ethnic groups? The findings indicate that only eight of the 36 teachers had a medium of instruction in one of Namibia’s native languages (six in Afrikaans, one in Khoe-Khoe and one in Oshiwambo). English supersedes mother language teaching as the default medium of instruction in many heterogeneous classrooms even though it is not a mother language. Furthermore, parents are requesting that their children be enrolled in the English medium of instruction streams as opposed to the mother language streams.
The development of early childhood education within an inclusive educational framework in Namibia
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2008) Naanda, Aune N.; Engelbrecht, P.
Using quantitative methods in research, this article describes the provision of early childhood education in Namibia within the context of inclusive education for all and lifelong learning. Research has shown that participation in early childhood education significantly contributes to a child’s success in later learning. However, the results of the research outlined in this article reveal that although efforts are in place to address early childhood education in Namibia, many children do not benefit from early childhood education, let alone quality services due to a number of factors such as poverty, HIV and AIDS and other special needs. This article formulates recommendations for developing an inclusive early childhood education approach for Namibia.
Educators' preferred forms of schooling for learners with special needs in Namibia
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2008) Mowes, Andrew D.
This paper is an abridged extract from one of the chapters of my dissertation which attempts to develop an insight into the preferred forms of schooling for learners with special educational needs in Namibia. A questionnaire was administered to a stratified sample of 616 Namibian primary, combined, and secondary school educators. Educators had to give their views regarding the inclusion of learners with special educational needs into regular schools. Educators also had to indicate the type of schooling that learners with predetermined categories of disabilities should receive. Some of the major findings were the following: • The majority of respondents felt that learners with special needs would be better off in special schools and that teaching of learners with special needs should remain a separate specialised field. • The results further showed that the majority of respondents suggested one of the following options for learners with disabilities: a regular classroom, a special class, and a special school. Very few chose a residential facility, a home or a hospital. • The results also showed that as the level of disability increased there appeared to be a decline in willingness amongst educators to include either a learner with hearing impairment, physical impairment, conduct impairment or learning difficulties in a regular classroom. In view of findings it becomes vitally important to address educators’ views and concerns before inclusive educational policies are implemented.
Needs assessment for colleges of education in Namibia
(University of Namibia, 2009-03) Kasanda, Choshi D.; Kapenda, Hileni M.; Nicol-Wilson, R.E.
There is a need to enable the four Colleges of education in Namibia to carry out their stated mandate to prepare effective teachers for the primary and junior secondary phases in our education system. Quality teacher training can only take place in an environment where management, academic and no-academic staff work together as a team and cooperate in all aspects related to their mandates. Educational institutions need to be managed as a business venture if stated goals are to be achieved. Management maybe defined as, " ... the process of setting objectives and coordinating the efforts of personnel in order to attain them''(Hodgetts, 1985, 4). Accordingly educational managers should ensure that " ... individuals can work together towards the achievement of stated goals" (Kroon, 1998, 3) in their institutions. Therefore, a conducive environment must exist, if individuals have to give of their best. Such an environment requires that management cadres display a variety of skills in several areas related to making their institutions effecf1ve and eff1cient. In carrying out these management tasks, managers may use one or a combination of the following management styles; autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. It should be indicated that often the management style adopted by an institutional manager may depend on the type of workers s/he has.
Practices of learner-centred mathematics curriculum in senior secondary schools in the Khomas Region
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2011) Kapenda, Hileni M.
This article is part of a larger study that investigated how secondary schools Mathematics teachers in the Khomas region are implementing Learner-Centred Education in their classrooms. It presents a qualitative research that involved eight weeks of fieldwork investigations. Three Mathematics classrooms were selected from three different schools in the Khomas Region. Using a video camera, classroom observations were carried out in order to capture maximum classroom activities and participation of both the teacher and the learners. The teachers were interviewed after lesson observations. The results revealed different types of classroom interactions in the three classrooms. These include among others, question and answer dialogue between the teacher and the learners; teachers giving instructions; learners asking for clarification, just to mention but a few. The findings suggested that Mathematics teachers at Senior Secondary schools used the expository method more often in their teaching than other teaching methods such as lecturing and discussions. The teachers also used the chalkboard quite frequently, especially when assigning class activities. However, the teachers endeavoured to implement Learner-Centred approaches in their teaching.
Can adoption of ICTs in schools assist in the war against poverty and underdevelopment in Namibia?
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2011) Matengu, Keneth K.
This article is part of a large study that investigates the issue of ICT and innovation adoption in Namibian schools. The main aim is not only to bring into focus the convegence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development and education, but also to highlight some of the major barriers to sucessful ICTs integration by schools. On the basis of a critical review of literature, claims about the role of ICTs in education are discussed and the synergies concerning ICTs for development interventions that can be identified are discussed. With the advent of ICTs, many people have claimed that ICTs have a pivotal role in development. Indeed, these tools are useful for different applications. However, there are certain factors that can prevent a country from utilising ICTs even if the devices and technologies exist. The challenges of considering educational institutions as development players and their preparedness to actually ‘throw decisive blows’ on poverty are emphaised and a conceptual framework encompasing critical success factors is mapped out. Reference is made to Namibian situation.
Indigenous knowledge of HIV/AIDS among High School students in Namibia
(BioMed Central The Open Access Publisher, 2011) Chinsembu, Kazhila C.; Shimwooshili-Shaimemanya, Cornelia N.; Kasanda, Choshi D.; Zealand, Donovan
The use of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) can help students to form schemas for interpreting local phenomena through the prism of what they already know. The formation of schemas related to HIV/AIDS risk perception and prevention is important for individuals to form local meanings of the HIV /AIDS epidemic. The objective of this study was to explore the indigenous names and symptoms of HIY/AIDS among High School students in Namibia
Reasons for code switching in upper primary classes in the Khomas Educational Region
(Namibian Educational Research Association (NERA), 2011) Mouton, B.D.; Mowes, Andrew D.; Zealand, Donovan
In this article, the views of upper primary school teachers in the Khomas educational region regarding code switching were investigated. A questionnaire and interviews were administered to a stratified sample of 13 schools with 44 participants that were aware of the occurrences of code switching within their classes. It was found that the main reasons for code switching were due to its usefulness in the teaching environment, such as transmitting of knowledge, clarifying concepts or meanings, and assisting learners who had a deficiency in the competence of the English language. Code switching was furthermore used in the classrooms when discipline problems arose and when learners were not paying attention.
The evolution of science and technology policy dialogue in post-colonial Africa
([s.l], 2012) Chinsembu, Kazhila C.; Kasanda, Choshi D.
This paper describes the dialogue around Science and Technology (S and T) policy in post-colonial African countries with a special emphasis on Southern Africa. It traces the evolution of S and T policy dialogue from several global and African conferences held in the 1960s. In post-colonial Africa, S and T policy dialogue was founded on the Monrovia declaration of 1979 and the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980. In the new millennium, African S and T policy dialogue has been driven by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). In Southern Africa, the S and T policy environment is guided by several treaties of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Although African S and T policies are well discussed and articulated, implementation of the S and T agenda has been poor, hence the authors recommend that NEPAD institutes an S and T peer-review mechanism to monitor performance of S and T indicators in member states.
Interpersonal relationships in organisations
(2012) Amushigamo, Angelina Popyeni
Factors impacting the implementation guidance and counselling services in secondary schools in the Ohangwena region of Namibia
(2016) Mbongo, Emilia Ndapandula; Mowes, Andrew D.; Chata, Charles C.
The study aimed to establish teacher counsellors’ views on the factors impacting the implementation of guidance and counselling services in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. The study was quantitative in nature and used a non-experimental design that involved a survey. The population of the study comprised of teacher counsellors in all senior secondary schools in Ohangwena region. Data were collected using questionnaires which were administered to a sample of twenty-six (26) teacher counsellors. Teacher counsellors were purposively sampled. The data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics using The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Based on the findings of this study teacher counsellors viewed inadequate training, high teaching loads and time constraints, lack of support given to teacher counsellors and lack of resources and facilities as key factors impacting the successful implementation of school guidance and counselling. It was thus recommended that the training of teacher counsellors in school guidance and counselling be improved, reduced work load for teacher counsellors, better resources and facilities for guidance and counselling, and for teacher counsellors to be supported in order for guidance and counselling to be successfully implemented in schools.
Reconceptualising teaching for quality learning at University of Namibia
(African Perspectives of Research in Teaching & Learning, 2017) Kadhila, Ngepathimo; Nyathi S.F.; Shanyanana R.N.; Iipumbu N.
Teaching approaches in contemporary universities around the world need to be underpinned by new theories of how students learn, and the role of academic developers in shaping and influencing institutional culture in this regard cannot be overemphasised. This study investigated the methods used by lecturers at University of Namibia (UNAM) in their teaching and what informs the choice of these methods. The study also gauged lecturers’ views on their involvement in academic development activities. This study employed a phenomenological research design; and a mixed-method approach was used whereby qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined. Structured interviews were conducted with at least 49 lecturers at various levels across 12 UNAM campuses. Participants were purposefully approached to be interviewed because we knew they have experience of the phenomenon explored. The study revealed that lecturers were more comfortable with using traditional lecturer-centred approaches in their teaching. They expressed the need to be equipped with skills that would enhance their ability to facilitate, manage and assess student learning using approaches that have been proven to be effective. Furthermore, they acknowledged the academic development interventions provided by the Centre for Professional Development Teaching and Learning Improvement (CPDTL) in the form of short courses and the recently implemented Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education for Academics. Only a handful of participants did not support the idea of offering a full academic programme through short courses. The study recommended that CPDTL should capitalise on the willingness of most of academics to engage in academic development activities to intensify its operations and make such activities compulsory in order to promote their effectiveness and fast track their impact
Strengthening internal quality assurance as a lever for enhancing student learning experiences and academic success: lessons from Namibia
(2019) Kadhila, Ngepathimo; Iipumbu, Nangula
Higher education plays an important role in the social, eco-nomic and political development of any given nation. In the Namibian context, quality assurance systems have been put in place at both national and institutional levels through the establishment of national quality assurance agencies and units responsible for quality in institutions. A critical literature analysis of quality assurance systems in higher education shows that although they claim to strike a balance between improvement and accountability, external quality assurance mechanisms tend to have an accountability and compliance focus and to promote managerialisation and bureaucratisation of academia. This article argues that internal quality assurance systems, built on a strong quality culture, tend to be more effective in enhancing the quality of student learning experience and academic success than externally driven quality assurance. Thus, to promote genuine quality, more energy must be invested in external quality assurance capacitating and strengthening internal quality assurance systems.
The resources available at home in Windhoek urban settings in Namibia and their implications for early literacy learning at school
(International Journal of Social Policy and Education, 2020) Hengari, Job Uazembua
The study explores data of a larger ethnographic-style research that followed three children in Windhoek urban pre-and primary schools and at home in Namibia to examine their early encounters with literacy and the implications of these encounters for their later development as readers and writers in schools, at home and in their communities. As parents and older siblings occupy home as a social space, they engage each other in literacy events, during which literacy learning is encouraged as a culturally valued activity. This paper presents a ‘slice’ of that larger study that followed three pre-and primary school home literacy encounters over a period of one year, focusing on the primary school phase. The writer suggests that the reading and writing practices of literacy are only one part of what children are learning at home in order to be literate. Home creates other literacy practices that cut across reading, writing and other forms of semiotic forms of communication. I want to suggest that Namibia endorse the sociocultural approach to literacy learning by way of a paradigm shift in order to create room for other literacy practices outside of school, in homes and in communities, to become recognized and made legitimate as they already are broadening what counts as literacy.
Children’s early encounters with literacy in Windhoek urban preprimary schools in Namibia
(International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2021) Hengari, Job Uazembua
This paper takes a socio-cultural approach as it analyze ways in which reading and writing is taught and learnt to define what counts as literacy in Windhoek urban preprimary schools in Namibia. The study explores data of a larger ethnographic-style research that followed three children in three Windhoek urban pre-and primary schools in Namibia. The writer examines their early encounters with literacy and the implications of these encounters for their later development as readers and writers in schools. As teachers and learners occupy the classroom as a social space, they engage each other in literacy events, during which literacy development is scaffolded and encouraged as a culturally valued activity. This paper presents a „slice‟ of that larger study that followed three preschool classrooms literacy encounters over a period of six months. The writer suggests that this “school literacy”, defines what counts as literacy, a specific kind of literacy that is planned and offered to learners in a classroom setting. In Windhoek urban preprimary settings, the „traditional‟ conception of literacy as a largely psychological ability – something true to do with our intellect, and thus a private possession – remains dominant. Literacy learning is taught as a mechanical activity by focusing on breaking the code rather than as sense-making and engagement. I argue that this approach helps learners to cope with early primary school curriculum while missing to lay the foundation necessary for literacy forms and practices demanded in later years of schooling.
Using digital technology in transforming assessment in higher education institutions beyond COVID-19
(Creative education, 2022) Haipinge, Erkkie; Kadhila, Ngepathimo; Josua, Lukas Matati
Purpose: This paper explores the dominant practices by integrating the use of technology to enhance assessment practices to better respond to the learning needs of the 21st century and the imperatives of the 4th industrial revolution. Objectives: 1) To explore how digital assessment could support diagnostic assessment in post-COVID-19 assessment practices. 2) To develop a digital assessment tool that supports the uptake and appropriate use of diverse digital assessment techniques. 3) To strengthen lecturers’ awareness of Constructive Alignment and implement it in digital-assisted assessment to promote the integration of graduate attributes in students. Method: The paper adopted the three elements of criticality, reflexivity, and praxis to address the use of digital technology to transform assessment of and for student learning within an institutional context. Criticality was used to provide a constructive reflection aimed at transforming the context; reflexivity enabled introspection and self-awareness regarding assessment as a pedagogical component that enhances student learning, and praxis helped to relate theories, concepts, and ideas to practice. The three elements informed the development of the model for enhancing and transforming digital enhancement assessment at the University of Namibia. Findings: The main findings revealed that higher education institutions could benefit from the forced COVID-19 migration to digitally-enabled assessment. The paper also revealed that for the digitally enabled assessment to be enhanced it requires collaboration between various institutional stakeholders. Conclusion: The paper concluded that there are opportunities for further collaboration among different institutional departments such as the faculties, quality assurance, innovation in learning and teaching, and research units, towards investigating, improving, and implementing new ways of assessing that are forward-looking and more supportive of student learning beyond their university careers

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