Abstract:
This paper describes a qualitative study of Namibian teachers’ understanding of children’s learning in the most marginalized contexts. Interviews of nine teachers from three schools revealed the complex ways in which teachers predict development and make pedagogical decisions to support learning. The findings suggest that teachers rely on their folk pedagogies in solving dilemmas emerging at the
intersection of theory and practice. Neither pre- nor in-service teacher training equips teachers to situate new knowledge in the living context that poses complex problems in marginalized contexts. The study concludes that learning in the most marginalized contexts may be hindered by teachers’ limited competence to mediate points of
congruence between seemingly contradicting cultural and social norms. Enhancing competence in meta-cognition and cultural mediation to teachers’ professional development may help in providing more just and equal early education in the most marginalized contexts
