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Item Global simulation: Fostering students' pro-activism in the learning of French in Anglophone countries(University of Namibia, 2016) Zannier-Wahengo, AurelieLearning and teaching activities evolve together with the didactics research progress. In foreign language teaching, the communicative approach, developed in the 1970s, positioned learners at the epicentre of the learning-teaching process, exposing them to realistic and authentic communicative situations. New teaching activities and practices developed in order to answer the learner-centred approach needs, and simulation techniques found interest among many French foreign language experts. In the early 1980s, role-play activities were implemented in French foreign language classrooms and they became unavoidable activities in textbooks. They were eventually introduced as testing instruments in official certifications such as the French International Language Certificates DELF and DALF. The global simulation teaching technique, which appeared together with role-play, was more ambitious as it required learners to create and interact in a collective world of reference, in which they had to simulate fictional characters communicating with each other in a specific realist environment, and according to the on-going events and incidents occurring in this environment. In a global simulation, learners embark on a “realistic illusion” where they are actors as well as decision makers of the storyline. Unlike role-play, the global simulation teaching technique constitutes the core of the teaching content. This paper aims to define the Global Simulation process and its technicalities, and to analyse its potential pedagogical advantages and limitations. The paper will attempt to present origins and concepts of the Global Simulation in FFL to value its pedagogical advantages from teachers’ and learners’ points of view, and to underline the possible obstacles and/or limitations of this communicative tool.Item Addressing factors that contribute to indiscipline in secondary schools in Namibia: A case study(University of Namibia, 2016) Upindi, Ndapewa M.; Mushaandja, John; Likando, Gilbert N.The study examined factors that contribute to secondary school learner indiscipline in Namibia and ways how to mitigate them. We employed a qualitative case study design. The population comprised of all teachers and parents in the Khomas Region in Namibia. A stratified purposeful sampling was used to select the respondents. Standardized semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. The findings of the study identified five categories of factors that contribute to indiscipline in secondary schools namely psychosocial factors, professional factors, learner performance, societal/environmental factors, and parental support. In order to mitigate the situation the study identified four strategies that could be employed in secondary schools, namely the point system, involving parents, counseling, and learner suspension and expulsion.Item Interrogating paradoxes in the multingual provisions of the new 2013 Zimbabwean constitution(University of Namibia, 2016) Mazuruse, MicksonThe general understanding that goes with ‘officialising’ a language is that, its status is raised and its functions are diversified so much that it may be used in all facets of life. This study interrogates the possibilities of translating this official recognition into actual practice. The main issues to be discussed are; respondents’ awareness of the multilingual linguistic provisions in the 2013 constitution, respondents’ attitudes towards the multilingual provisions of the 2013 Zimbabwean constitution and the dichotomy between separate development of related varieties and harmonising related varieties. The study further looks at the practical possibilities of implementing these provisions by examining the conduciveness of the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe for such a change. The study also questions the commitment of the Zimbabwe government in promoting linguistic pluralism given its failure to implement the provisions of the 1987 Education Act on languages to be taught and used in schools. The study found that there are contentious issues to be considered. The first contentious issue identified by this research is on the need to maintain the unity in the country. The study argues that there is need to balance the desires of unity in diversity without getting lost in idealism. Although this may give these varieties space in the education sector, the problem is that, only a handful of varieties were chosen from a cluster of several such varieties in a similar situation.Item An investigation of the awareness and exposure of young transport and logistics professionals to continuos professional development in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2016) Madejski, E.A.; Shangheta, L.B.This paper investigates the awareness and exposure of the young professionals in the Transport and Logistics to Continuous Professional Development (CPD). The young professionals are students who are studying the Transport and Logistics professional qualification at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). This investigation is shaped by the school of thought that CPD should become integrated into the learning curriculum, before professional degrees are obtained and should be progressed after successful professional attainment. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key motivational factors why professionals need continuous improvement, and to understand exactly why a single qualification without further development no longer suffices. This paper further investigates whether CPD should be implemented in workplaces and made compulsory. Quantitative research will provide for more comprehensive findings, CILT students that have registered at the Namibian-German Centre for Logistics (NGCL) were chosen for this research. The sample size of 129 students studying part time at CILT were given questionnaires to complete. The results show that the majority of the young professionals at CILT were familiar with what CPD is. The investigation revealed that the students are aware that they are participating in CPD in one way or another. This study however shows that the students confuse professional bodies with universities, law and physical training institutions. The study shows that the intrinsic motivation for participation in CPD will propel Namibia forward as the students positively associate continuous learning with increasing skilled work force, reduce poverty and enhance innovative thought. Overall our research found a solid basis for the promotion and extension of a CPD culture and its principles in Namibian company HR departments, and the paper includes recommendations for in-company best practice in this respect.Item The role of rural school libraries on children's exposure to literacy in the Namibian context(University of Namibia, 2016) Lumbu, Simon D.The link between libraries and reading development has been found to be a determining factor in literacy development by scholars the world over. Based on the findings of a study on the constraints encountered by teachers in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in rural combined schools in the Oshana region, this paper analyses the role of school libraries in rural schools in Namibia. The study made use of the qualitative approach to investigate some of the causes of ineffective teaching and learning in rural schools. Each year, the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessments (DNEA) reveals poor academic performance in the National Senior Secondary Certificate examinations, particularly in the English subject. This study found that poor learner reading skills coupled with learners’ limited access to reading materials constrained the teaching of ESL. Although there were libraries at each school that participated in the study, physical set-up of the libraries often did not qualify them to be libraries in a prototypical definition of a library. It is introspection worthy to examine the role of these rural school libraries on children’s exposure to literacy in an environment of limited reading materials.Item Investigating the relavance of preparatory Mathematics in three selected Kindergartens in the Zambezi region of Namibia(University of Namibia, 2016) Ilukena, Alex M.; Musiba, Makando Autilliah; Simasiku, Muyumbano B.This paper is based on a qualitative case study which investigated the relevance of preparatory mathematics in three selected kindergartens in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. A snowball sampling procedure was used, were each successive participant was named by a preceding individual. Eighty – three (83) kindergartens children aged 5 – 6 years old and four (4) kindergarten teachers took part in the study. The data was collected by means of two methods namely documents analysis and semi – structured interviews which provided a degree of cross checking of claims. The main findings of the study were that the preparatory mathematics is unique, interesting and relevant to the kindergartens and further has basic elements of mathematics that is appropriately connects to the mathematics taught at junior primary, senior primary, junior and senior secondary and the tertiary institutions.Item Social media in educational contexts: Implications for critical media literacy and ethical challenges for teachers and educational institutions in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2016) Haipinge, ErkkieThe proliferation of social media and its use by students has raised a lot of research interest in attempts to seek ways of appropriating these new technologies for instructional and learning purposes. Critical media literacy deals with the critical analysis of various popular culture media in terms of their ideological and power implications, as well as the meaning of their messages. Although critical media literacy views new media as beneficial in their democratised nature, concerns remain about students’ ability to decipher and analyse the content that they both consume and create through social media. The two can be termed critical consumption and creation respectively. Similarly, social media poses potential ethical challenges for the teaching profession and for educational institutions. This is a qualitative research that employed the Phenomenography method where data was collected through focus group interviews. The paper sheds light on student teachers’ current social media practices. Analysing student teachers’ social media practices through the lens of critical media literacy, the paper highlights potential ethical challenges that are encountered while using social media in educational contexts. Recommendations include critical and ethically considerate approaches to using social media in educational contexts, as well as methods of incorporating the teaching critical media literacy skills in teacher education curricula.Item Learners as leaders in Namibian schools: Taking responsibility and exercising agency(University of Namibia, 2016) Grant, Callie; Nekondo, LinusEducational leadership and management (ELM) research has, all-too-often, attributed a positional quality to leadership and equated school leadership with the principal at the top of the management hierarchy. We argue that leadership is not limited by formal authority and can be exercised by individuals and groups other than the principal. Of specific interest to us is the leadership of learners. However, research in this niche area is limited, and particularly so in African countries such as Namibia. Framed by the concepts of learner voice and democratic citizenship, this article focuses on the leadership development of Namibian school learners and argues that learners should be treated as people whose ideas matter. It draws on a Bachelor of Education Honours ELM elective which required Honours students (practicing teachers) to establish leadership clubs in their schools and involve learners in a change initiative in pursuit of leadership development. The research which informed this article was designed as a case study to explore learner voice and the development of leadership across extra-curricular leadership clubs in 32 Namibian schools. Data were generated from a number of different sources and analysed thematically. The purpose of this article is two-fold; first to give a broad overview of the 32 Namibian clubs and show, through the identification of the focus areas of their club projects for the year, ‘what mattered’ to learners, and second to discuss, in detail, one of these 32 clubs. On the basis of our findings, we argue that learners can indeed be developed as leaders through the introduction of learner leadership clubs in schools. Given the appropriate forum, learners are able to articulate what matters to them in schools; they are able to develop a voice. Given the right conditions and concomitant support, learners can enact leadership, particularly when they have conceptualised the school change initiative. Because learners are central to school life, they are well placed to bring about school change. Yet, we caution, the leadership development of learners is unlikely to be sustained without bold and continued leadership on the part of teachers and the school management team.Item ICTs in teacher education: Enhancing quality language teaching and learning in Zimbabwe(University of Namibia, 2016) Gora, Ruth B.; Manyarara, Barbra C.Rapid advances in the development of ICT have been seen to offer new opportunities for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of language teaching and learning. The computer offers educators immense possibilities, and has been widely used, in computer assisted language learning (CALL). CALL has made significant advances towards finding a solution to and changing the way that language courses are conceived and taught. Although CALL developments tended to follow behaviouristic pedagogies that produced electronic imitations of drill and practice, for example, CALL now provides endless opportunities for interaction with a rich set of media types, characters and cultural information. However, educational institutions have lagged behind in fully recognising such opportunities. This prompts a call for re-orientation of education and training of language teachers. The paper therefore intends to guide teachers’ colleges on integrating ICT into their language learning and teaching activities. The guide is specifically aimed at language lecturers, lecturers-in-charge (LICs), heads of departments (HODs) and administrators in Zimbabwean teachers’ colleges while exploring the challenges of introducing ICT driven language education in traditionally face-to-face tertiary institutions in developing African countries.Item The perceptions and practice of learner centred teaching in Namibia: The case of Physical Science teachers in Omusati education region(University of Namibia, 2016) Awe, Grace A.; Kasanda, Choshi D.This study sought to find out the practice and problems encountered by Physical Science teachers in the Omusati Education Region in Namibia. It was found that there was a discrepancy between the teachers’ perceptions of their practice of learner-centred teaching and their actual practice in the classroom. It was also found that a number of problems hindered their practice of learner centred teaching. Possible solutions to these problems were also indicated.Item The evolution of management theories: implications for supervisory practices on the early childhood development programme in Zimbabwe(University of Namibia, 2015) Tafirenyika, Joice; Mandizvidza, ChristopherThis paper examines critically the evolution of management theories and how they have informed the supervisory practices of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme in Zimbabwe. The paper identifies a number of management theories that have influenced the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe. Theories that have been found to have greatly informed the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe include Scientific Management, Systems and Contingency. However, the Bureaucratic Management, Administrative, Human Relations, Total Quality Management, Learning Organisation and Re-engineering theories have had some influence on the supervision of the ECD Programme. The paper was a desk review. Unlike others, the study established that the Quantitative Theory of Management was not as influential in the supervision of ECD because of the view held by most supervisors that managerial decisions and the nature of the ECD Programme itself cannot be quantified. The paper concludes that supervisory practices at any given point in time are indicative of the influences of the management thought prevalent during such a period and the human element in place. An important issue that emerged is that, even when and where new theories tend to be more pervasive, the influences of the already existing ones remain visible and influential to some extent.Item Teachers’ use and integration of ICT in the teaching of Life Science: A case of two urban high schools in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2015) Simon, Wilhelmina Etuna; Ngololo, Elizabeth NdeukumwaMany developing countries recognised the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education for teaching and learning. In Namibia, ICT use and integration in the classrooms remains limited. This study has sought to investigate how Life Science teachers with access to technologies use and integrate ICT into their classroom through collaborative and creative teaching. The study was designed as a qualitative research using a multiple case study approach. The study was guided by activity theory as a theoretical framework. Two Life Science teachers were observed and semi-structured interview were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that Life Science teachers demonstrated use of ICT in their classrooms through smart boards connected to e-Learning Management Systems and collaborated with each other by sharing notes but did not co-teach nor developed their own teaching materials. The study recommends that teachers be provided with the necessary tools and be trained to develop teaching materials, and to co-teach for purposes of enhancing collaborative teaching.Item Exploring staff involvement in an organization development intervention in a school in the Kavango region, Namibia: A case study(University of Namibia, 2015) Rengura, Demetrius K.The study is to explore staff involvement in organization development (OD) intervention in one of a rural junior secondary school in Kavango region, Namibia and aimed at determining the level of participation in change initiative and probing in participants’ perception and experience of the intervention process. In a democratic country such as Namibia every citizen is expected to bring change and participating in activities to improve their own institution for example School. It is a common practice among teachers of Ntokota School that they are passive to take action in change initiative for improving working relationship and Organization. This study introduced an OD intervention to a School in order to inspire the mindset of staff to be active in change initiative for School improvement by using bottom-up approach strategy of staff participation in series of activities that would enable them to improve and eventually moving the School to the intended goal. OD concept Model of seven steps was used for intervention and it is a participant driven that encourages staff to release their potential to initiate change for improvement. The study is located within qualitative interpretive and critical paradigm. Observation and semi-structured interviews were the main data collection tools used in the study. The researcher transcribed, grouped similar data into category, coded and translated data into a real meaning and identifies themes that address the research goal. The paper reveals that the absence of staff cooperation, involvement in the decisionmaking processes, democratic leadership were the main factors perceived retarded the staff activeness in change initiative and participation. Staff viewed OD intervention as the most significance approach to change as it offers significant understanding and conception of change and embraced new approach of fostering democracy, inclusion of staff in the decision-making process, taking a decentralized decision and enhancing cooperation among staff. The study is of potential significance to educators and educational leaders to use OD approach for change to improve human working relationship and behavior in their own organization. It may motivate researchers to pursue OD studies and conduct OD projects with any organization of their choice.Item Challenges faced by student teachers when teaching through the medium of mother tongue during school based studies: A case for Katima Mulilo Campus Bachelor of Education 4 (Pre & Lower Primary) students(University of Namibia, 2015) Nzwala, KennethThis paper reports on a study that investigated challenges faced by Bachelor of Education (Pre and Lower Primary) final year University of Namibia students at Katima Mulilo Campus when they taught through the medium of mother tongue during School Based Studies (SBS). The study is located in the interpretive paradigm and is an intrinsic case study. It is shaped by the school of thought that supports the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in lower primary classrooms. Two students at two different School Based Studies support schools were studied. Data were collected by using interviews and classroom observation. One student teacher taught in Grade 2, and the other one taught in Grade 3. Both were interviewed and their lessons were observed. Interviews and observations were transcribed and translated into English. The results of the study show that Pre and Lower Primary Bachelor of Education final year student teachers faced various challenges with regards to the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction during SBS. The challenges ranged from their inability to express themselves fluently in the target language (Silozi in this case); difficulties in translating concepts from English into Silozi (mother tongue) since the curriculum is in English; writing words; planning lessons in the target language; a lack of materials in line with topics, more especially topics of integration. The study recommends that the Silozi orthography should be made available to all the schools in the region; teachers should receive intensive training on how to teach through the medium of Silozi; lessons that are taught through the medium of Silozi should be planned in Silozi and not in English; there should be Silozi dictionaries to assist teachers with translation. Finally, there should be relevant Silozi teaching and learning materials.Item The essence of English Literature in communicative based ESL classrooms: Reflections on Namibia’s state of affairs(University of Namibia, 2015) Nyathi, Sifiso F.; Simataa, Agnes A.This study is a depiction and portrayal of the views of Namibian Grade 11 and 12 teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) on the use of English literature in ESL classrooms. The study also presents the rationale and conceptualisation underlying the significance of the use of English literature in the quest to improve English proficiency levels of students. The study was premised on a Humanistic Communicative Approach which is anchored in the Learner Centered Philosophy; a vanguard of Namibia’s epistemology for language learning and teaching. A questionnaire that contained both qualitative and quantitative items was used to gather data. The respondents in general agreed that the study of literature could be used to enhance learner proficiency in the ESL classroom. They agreed that the benefits of literature in an ESL classroom are multidimensional. These benefits include among others; attainment of pragmatic skills, grammar and vocabulary expansion, extensive reading motivation, intercultural awareness, language skills and critical thinking skills.Item Parent-teacher empowerment and early years quality literacy development for lifelong learning(University of Namibia, 2015) Ngwaru, Jacob MarrioteChildren’s’ literacy development starts very early in life through participation and experience in the home well before school. It grows more consistently during pre-school and school years as children explore their socio-cultural world more and more. Early years represent children’s important formative stages of growth when they learn the language and the world that they will grow to establish a life-long relationship with. When children learn and develop their Mother tongue or primary language therefore, they are learning the foundation of learning itself, a process of language and meaning making that is a continuous process from birth, through infancy and childhood to adolescence an d adult life. The majority of young children in Sub-Saharan Africa are unable to readily access sustainable early literacy development and childhood care and education and their educational achievement trajectories are hugely compromised. Lack of viable parental participation in their literacy development, encouragement and support from teachers and availability of learning materials at school are some of environmental factors that make up their early social world. Meanwhile, rural homes and communities are well endowed with cultural resources and a stock of practices, knowledge, and skills relevant to the promotion of literacy development waiting to be tapped into. This paper uses analysis of data from two qualitative and one mixed methods studies in three different countries to discuss the factors that influence literacy development based on the interplay of language (learning), literacy (development) and school education out comes in low resource communities and how best they could be overcome. The paper concludes that low performance in general is a result of a combination factors that require concerted efforts at all levels if the situation can be reversed.Item Investigating factors that lead to school dropout in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2015) Mbukusa, Nchindo R.; Tjiramba, Emmy; Beukes, Florida; Nekongo-Nielsen, HaavesheAlthough schools report a variety of reasons why learners leave school prematurely, these reasons do not reveal the underlying causes, especially multiple factors that influence learners’ attitudes, behaviours, and performance prior to dropping out. In order to understand the underlying causes behind learners’ decisions for dropping out, using a quantitative approach through document analysis this study first analysed the Education Management Information System (EMIS) reports for 2005 to 2009. The findings revealed that Kavango, Kunene and Omaheke regions were the regions with the highest dropout rates in the country. Using a qualitative approach, with a phenomenological design, the researchers interviewed school principals, school counsellors and teachers at randomly selected 20% of schools with the highest dropout rate for each region. This resulted into 58 schools in the Kavango region, 10 schools in the Kunene region and 5 schools in the Omaheke region. At the same schools, and using the snowball sampling procedure, the researchers selected and interviewed learners who have dropped out at some point during their schooling days but came back to school. The study found that, for all the learners interviewed, 50% of learners dropped out due to pregnancy, 20% dropped out due to economic factors, 15% due to system factors, 11% due to lack of parental involvement, and 4% due to cultural factors. On the basis of the findings a number of recommendations are made to mitigate the dropout phenomenon. Keywords: dropout, teenage/learner pregnancy, child labour, parental involvement, childheaded householdsItem Lesson planning for teacher effectiveness(University of Namibia, 2015) Manyarara, Barbra C.Well planned lessons enable learners to learn better and to develop better attitudes towards their work. The paper emanates from formal observations of the University of Zimbabwe Graduate Diploma in Education (Grad. D. E.) student teachers on three months teaching practice attachment. Many student teachers were found to be clearly on the path to becoming effective teachers but a sizeable portion, about 20-25%, were thought to be experiencing problems. In their planning of lessons, a wide range and variety of problems were noted. These include lack of real appreciation of the need to plan lessons, lack of the understanding that in order to be effective teachers they had to deploy different pedagogic approaches to meet the learning needs of the subject, inability to address lesson objectives and to match the maturity and social milieu of the learners in their care. Thus it is hoped that this paper may stimulate more interest in educators and student teachers alike beyond these student teachers passing or failing the teaching practice component to preparing really effective practitioners.Item Teachers’ understanding of the use of everyday contexts in the teaching of Mathematics at three selected urban junior secondary schools in Windhoek, Namibia(University of Namibia, 2015) Kapenda, Hileni M.; Kasanda, Choshi D.; Naweseb, TsadagoThe primary aim of this study was to gain insight into how effectively BETD teachers used everyday contexts to facilitate a meaningful understanding of the Mathematics content by the learners. The study used a qualitative research approach conceptualized within a constructivist framework. Nine Mathematics teachers from three junior secondary schools were purposively selected for the study. The data were collected using questionnaires, and interviews with the teachers. The results revealed varying levels of integration and effectiveness of everyday contexts used by the teachers to facilitate meaningful conceptual understanding of mathematics by the learners. The findings suggested that preference of procedural mathematical skills over conceptual understanding impeded the effective integration of contextual teaching. The teachers also regarded the use of everyday contexts as time consuming. From this study, it can be concluded that the teachers had a clear understanding of the essence of contextual teaching of Mathematics and its advantages. Nonetheless, several factors seemed to affect their use of everyday contexts in the teaching of Mathematics. There is a need to change the perceptions of the Mathematics teachers toward the use of everyday contexts as a waste of time if teachers are to use everyday experiences in their Mathematics classrooms.Item 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