Showing papers in "Africa Education Review in 2015"

Pro-poor primr: improving early literacy skills for children from low-income families in kenya

Abstract: Children from low-income families are at risk of learning outcome difficulties, particularly in literacy. Various studies link poor literacy results with performance later in primary and secondary school, and suggest that poverty, literacy skills and weak instructional methods combine to drastically limit the educational opportunities for many poor children. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative was designed to support the learning gains of Class 1 and 2 pupils in seven counties across Kenya. PRIMR uses a randomised controlled trial design to establish the effect of its intervention and employs basic literacy measures to estimate causal effects. This study shows that PRIMR has been effective for children from low-income families and that early literacy interventions can mitigate socio-economic effects. The findings suggest that efforts to improve literacy outcomes for the poor should begin early in primary school. Strategies for ensuring that instruction is equitable across socio-economi...

Pedagogical shift in the twenty-first century: Preparing teachers to teach with new technologies

Abstract: The expectation in education today is that pre-service teachers should graduate from teacher education adequately prepared to teach with Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) that have potential to enhance curriculum delivery, hence improving quality of education. However, research shows that pre-service teachers are graduating from teacher education underequipped to teach with ICTs. The aim of this study is to understand why, given the deployment of ICTs for teaching and learning in teacher education, the new teachers remain underprepared to teach with ICTs. Qualitative research approach was employed in this study, whereby randomly selected pre-service teachers were interview respondents. Written reflections on their preparation to teach with ICTs also formed part of the data collected. Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) theory was embraced to guide the study. Analysis of the data shows that the main contributing factor of the new teachers’ under-preparedness to teach...

Does Family Background Matter for Learning in East Africa

Abstract: The extent to which differences in family background characteristics explain differences in learning outcomes between children captures the extent of equality in educational opportunities. This study uses large-scale data on literacy and numeracy outcomes for children of school age across East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) to investigate the contribution of family background to learning differences. We find that learning differences between children from less-advantaged households and those from more-advantaged households equals around one year or more of effective learning on average. Even so, family background does not fully explain why children of school starting age display large differences in learning between countries.

A call to learning focus in east africa: uwezo's measurement of learning in kenya, tanzania and uganda

Abstract: From the late 1990s, education in East Africa started to be appraised on the basis of enrolment. The universalisation of primary education that started in Uganda in 1997 – and peaked in Tanzania in 2002, as well as in Kenya in 2003 – was politicised as the epitome of education reform. Yet, alternative voices called for consideration of improving quality and looking beyond numbers. Uwezo, an East African initiative, aims at contributing to the focus on learning outcomes for children aged 6 to 16 years in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and operates on a theory of change that envisions large-scale learning assessment Mugo et al A call to learning focus in East Africa: Uwezo's measurement of learning as critical for strengthening the quality voice. Evidence is viewed as public utility in which citizens participate as both actors and consumers, and build bottom-up pressure to improve education quality. This article situates Uwezo's assessment in context of education reform in East Africa and presents succi...

Economic shocks and children's dropout from primary school: implications for education policy in ethiopia

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of idiosyncratic and covariate economic shocks, on the likelihood of children dropping out of primary school. In this endeavour, an Accelerated Failure Time Hazard model was estimated using data from the Young Lives study of childhood poverty. The estimated results indicate that both idiosyncratic shocks and covariate shocks have a statistically significant effect on the risk of children dropping out of primary school. Considering the fact that both idiosyncratic and area-wide economic shocks are experienced at the household level, the study concludes that it is vital to link social protection programmes to education policy as well so as to reduce the vulnerability of households to the shocks and keep children from dropping out from school.

Lecturers’ perceptions: The value of assessment rubrics for informing teaching practice and curriculum review and development

Abstract: The assessment rubric is increasingly gaining recognition as a valuable tool in teaching and learning in higher education. While many studies have examined the value of rubrics for students, research into the lecturers’ usage of rubrics is limited. This article explores the lecturers’ perceptions of rubrics, in particular, its use and design, the role it can play in informing one's teaching practice and in curriculum review and development. The data shows that many lecturers use the rubric in a very mechanical and unconscious manner and view it mostly as a grading tool with limited instructional value. While acknowledging the rubric as a reflective tool for students, lecturers do not perceive it as having the same benefits for them. The findings, therefore suggest more conversations around the role that rubrics can play in informing one's teaching practice and course design. It also suggests further research into this area.

Educational infrastructure and resources for sustainable access to schooling and outcomes: the case of early literacy development in southern tanzania

Abstract: Following on the 1990 and 2000 World Conferences on Education for All, African governments increased their focus on access to schooling (but not necessarily on outcomes) by providing more facilities for increased enrolments. The learning outcomes that had been neglected led to a call to focus on more sustainable access – re-examining the quality of some of those facilities against the anticipated quality of educational outcomes. Studies in Southern and Eastern Africa, including the one under discussion here, indicate that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not rely only on school-based factors but also on the careful analysis of wider socioeconomic and cultural factors. This paper, through the results of the case study component of the Early Literacy Development project in the Lindi Rural District of Southern Tanzania, discusses why literacy development has lagged behind in Sub- Saharan Africa. The focus of the study and of this paper is on the relationship between lit...

The practices of student network as cooperative learning in Ethiopia

Abstract: Student network is a teaching strategy introduced as cooperative learning to all educational levels above the upper primary schools (grade 5 and above) in Ethiopia. The study was, therefore, aimed at investigating to what extent the student network in Ethiopia is actually practiced in line with the principles of cooperative learning. Consequently, data collected from 156 secondary and 315 upper primary school teachers revealed that the student network is rarely practiced in line with the principles of cooperative learning. And this was found with statistically significant differences between the upper primary and secondary schools. The upper primary schools seem better in practicing the student network in line with the principles of cooperative learning than the secondary school. Accordingly, the study concluded that, albeit the student network remained a canon strategy to improve students’ learning in Ethiopia and its practices are supposedly recommended to be in line the principles of cooperativ...

University as regional development agent: a counterfactual analysis of an African university

Abstract: The contribution of universities to regional development has in the last few decades gained significant currency. Inter alia, this contribution has been through steered national, regional, and institutional policies aimed at enhancing national development, good governance, human capital creation and innovation in an increasing knowledge-dependent economy, and through the universities’ core technologies of teaching and research. Based on empirical findings from an African case study, this article argues that other forms of contributions to regional development exist, which are neither from deliberate efforts nor steered by direct policies. This article proposes new forms of contributions termed ‘unintended contributions’, in which universities become growth poles by virtue of being located in a particular region. Using the counterfactual and ‘export and import substitution’ methods of analysis, this study shows the various ways in which a rural university in Cameroon has ‘contributed to regional de...

Towards a meaningful curriculum implementation in South African schools: senior phase teachers’ experiences

Abstract: Different sectors of society register complaints about schooling in South Africa. Given that curriculum reform has such a poor record of implementation in the country, there is clearly a need for research that identifies factors that hinder or facilitate curriculum implementation in South African schools and identifies strategies to address the challenges. A descriptive survey method was used in seeking the experiences of senior phase teachers in the implementation of the curriculum. Participants were identified through random sampling. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Support and resources remain central to the curriculum implementation process. In addition, lack of parental involvement, unavailability of follow-up visits from subject specialists and school leadership were cited as some of the factors that affect the implementation of the curriculum. The study advocates pre-implementation training and a concerted effort from all stakeholders to ensure successful curriculu...

Reflective journaling: a tool for teacher professional development

Abstract: This qualitative study explores the introduction of postgraduate education students to reflective journaling as a tool for professional development. Students were purposefully selected to keep a weekly journal in which they reflected in and on the activities (methodologies, techniques, strategies) they engaged in while executing a workplace assignment. Empirical results from the study demonstrate that while the students initially expressed reluctance and resistance to journaling, they subsequently became aware of the benefits of being consciously reflective; both for their own professional development and for the learners they taught. This outcome highlights the role of higher education institutions in the preparation of prospective teachers.

Providing basic education for all in africa: what we have learned

Abstract: (2015). PROVIDING BASIC EDUCATION FOR ALL IN AFRICA: WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED. Africa Education Review: Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 1-6.

Oral history research ethics: should anonymity and confidentially issues be dealt with on their own merit?

Abstract: A primary principle of ethical codes in research involving people is that of informed consent which ensures participants’ right to privacy, confidentiality and anonymity. A blanket application of the principle of anonymity to Oral History (OH) research could well be counterproductive to the purported aims of OH research. The research comprised a literature study. Four rationales for doing OH are discussed and positioned within the philosophical framework that informs the purpose of and methodological approach to the research. Examples are extracted to explain where the principle of anonymity could be at variance with the research aims. When OH research sets out to contribute to historical understanding, validate respondents’ lives, contribute to democracy and facilitate socio-political transformation, enforcing anonymity has the potential to denigrate the respondent and jeopardize research credibility. Researchers should question whether the unmitigated application of the principle of anonymity re...

Teacher educators professional journeys: pedagogical and systemic issues affecting role perceptions

Abstract: Teacher educators in many countries share similar concerns as they aspire to improve education for learners and stimulate interest in further study and careers. The roles and professional development of school teachers have been researched, but little attention has been given to teacher educators. Using a small-scale, illuminative study in England and South Africa, this paper examines pedagogical implications of progression from classroom teacher to teacher educator-tutor. Systemic issues include attitudes to personal scholarship in moving to high stakes academic environments requiring research. In both countries, there were issues of student teachers’ subject knowledge and their capacity to translate knowledge for learners. South African teacher educators were concerned about student teachers’ lack of appreciation of the integrity of conceptual understanding and sequencing of topic content. Implications for the professional development of teacher educators and their role identities are considered.

Cultivating Responsibility and Humanity in Public Schools through Democratic Citizenship Education.

Abstract: After more than a decade of democratic citizenship education in public schools in South Africa, the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) has still not produced sufficiently plausible ways for how democracy and citizenship ought to be taught in classrooms. I argue that the recent ‘practical guide’ on how to cultivate ‘responsibility and humanity’ in public schools is, firstly, an acknowledgement that democratic citizenship education has not as yet been adequately realised in schools; secondly, that the ‘practical guide’ itself does not adequately address the conceptual slippages regarding democratic citizenship education since the release of the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy, and thirdly, that an amended version of responsibility and humanity is required in order to enhance their cultivation in public schools. The thrust of this article involves a conceptual analysis of democratic citizenship education, how the concept has theoretically unfolded in policy texts, and how the concept c...

Do Learning and Teaching Materials Influence Learning Outcomes Amidst High Enrolments? Lessons from Uganda's Universal Primary Education.

Abstract: Education systems in third world countries are grappling with high enrolments of children in schools, amidst dwindling resources. In this article, the authors question whether learning/teaching materials influence learning outcomes in a context where policy is more concerned about enrolment than quality of service. This article is drawn from data collected by UWEZO Uganda in a nationwide household education survey across eighty Ugandan districts in 2011. It focuses on children from sixteen districts, across four regions in Uganda, attending primary level three under Universal primary education. The findings reveal that, although learning and teaching resources are distributed and made available to learners and teachers, they have minimal influence on learning outcomes of learners in both Mathematics and English. Educators and policy makers should therefore deeply engage with the diverse nature of learning and teaching materials in poorly-resourced schools if learning outcomes are to be improved.

Language anxiety caused by the single mode of instruction in multilingual classrooms: The case of African language learners

Abstract: Due to copyright restrictions, the full text is not attached to this item. Please follow the DOI link at the top of the record to access the official online published version of this article

Involvement of heads of departments in strategic planning in schools in the Pinetown District

Abstract: Strategic planning is crucial in facilitating sustainable development of schools. It enables schools to survive and cope with changes and challenges from government policies and market forces. There is broad agreement that all stakeholders need to be part of school strategic planning. In response to the lack of evidence suggesting stakeholders’ involvement – specifically that of Heads of Department (HOD) – in strategic planning in schools, and its value in ensuring that all stakeholders execute their duties, HODs’ experiences regarding their involvement in strategic planning were explored. Qualitative research was undertaken and semi-structured interviews were employed to generate data. The study reveals that the HODs were involved in some form of planning but there is no evidence suggesting their participation in substantive issues on strategic planning. Further, the study reveals that transparency-driven leadership and collaboration are key factors to ensure HODs’ participation in strategic plan...

Using manipulatives to support an embodied approach to learning trigonometry in a South African school: A case study

Abstract: Copyright: 2015. Taylor & Francis Online. Due to copyright restrictions, only the abstract is available. For access to the full text item, please consult the publisher's website. The definitive version of the work is published in Africa Education Review, Vol 12, No 3, pp 361-380.

Recruitment and selection strategies in optometric education towards addressing human resource disparities in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: The dire need for eye care services and a dearth of human resources (HR) in sub-Saharan Africa motivated the setting up of new optometry programmes. However, to make a meaningful impact, geographical, gender, economic and educational disparities must additionally be addressed.Aqualitative study utilizing purposive sampling to select academic leadership and students from optometry programmes in sub-Saharan Africa was conducted. Individual and focus group interviews produced data that were coded and analysed using a deductive thematic analysis approach. The themes that emerged as contributing to disparities in access through recruitment and selection were institutional barriers (student intake numbers, programme marketing, minimum entry requirements, absence of pre-medical programme) and socio-economic barriers (finance, poor secondary school education, lack of knowledge of optometry, geographic location of institutions, gender). To address equity, institutions should engage with communities, market...

Teacher Professional Development Programmes in MST for Developing Contexts.

Abstract: Since 1994, the democratic South African government has introduced change in all spheres of South African life in a bid to address some challenges such as the redundant, racialised curriculum, the poor results achieved by learners in Grade 12, and the fact that few black matriculants were entering science based careers. A key feature of these poor results was the large group of teachers who were inadequately ‘trained’ during the apartheid era: trained, that is, to teach for subservience and not for critical thinking. Current actions to address this crisis are being undertaken in a collaborative relationship between the Department of Education and Higher Education Institutions. Current initiatives in the professional development of Mathematics, Science and Technology teachers at a South African university are explored. The purpose of this article is to explore the challenges of designing an MST professional development programme in a developing context. The discussion is elaborated with reference t...

Factors Influencing Values Management in Rural Secondary Schools: The Role of Educators.

Abstract: This article explores factors influencing values management and in particular the way in which teachers and principals perceive their role in the inculcation of democratic values and moral principles with a view to managing schools more effectively within a democratic dispensation. In a small scale qualitative study, it was found that educators need more guidance and support as to how they should perform their duties in a democratic and multicultural dispensation. Ironically, this need is exacerbated by the lack of basic services regarding maintenance of school infrastructure by the provincial department. The main conclusion of the study is that a school should be regarded as an ecosystem which primarily functions through constant dynamic interactions with its community or habitat, where the relationship between the whole and the parts are key. Moreover, if a beneficial habitat exists where everyone feels safe and has a sense of belonging it can benefit education in a broad sense. Furthermore, if ...

A reconnaissance study as a sine qua non factor for status quo change among senior phase technology teachers

Abstract: This article is based on a preliminary action research (AR) study conducted with selected schools in Limpopo. It intends to report on the progress made and research problem identified during the reconnaissance/preliminary study. The aim of this preliminary research is to ascertain whether the findings conform to the main research question of the overall research. The study focused on senior phase Technology teachers at four identified schools, who are teaching grades 8 and 9 in Limpopo. This investigation entailed the administering of a questionnaire, conducting interviews and engaging in an observation activity. This was a small-scale study, for fact-finding purposes, before the main rollout of AR commences. It was evident from the study that teachers lacked capacity to teach Technology as a subject. The teachers lacked Technology pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) and were not confident in engaging with practical activities, in their assessment of the learners and with compiling Technology lea...

Financing tertiary education under fiscal stress in Botswana

Abstract: Developing countries place a high premium on education because it is believed to correlate with economic development. Similarly, Botswana adopted an education-for-development policy when it became independent in 1966. Providentially, it discovered and mined minerals, particularly diamonds, and funded education. Unfortunately, Botswana is a diamonds-led economy and suffered revenue losses due to the global economic crisis. Cutback budgeting became imperative and one of the questions that arose was; who should pay for tertiary education? While the government continues to fund it, calls for alternative financing models have arisen. While the call is legitimate in a resource-limited environment, this article argues that there is a need to interrogate the present financing model to improve it before embarking on new initiatives. Finally, while this case study is Botswana-specific, lessons can be drawn for resource- strained African countries. That is, it is vital to interrogate existing models before t...

Allocation of Academic Workloads in the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at a South African University

Abstract: This article reports on the results of a statistical analysis of the weekly working hours of academics in a Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at a South African university. The aim was to quantify, analyse and compare the workload of academic staff. Seventy-five academics self-reported on their workload by completing the workload measuring instrument. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the total working hours per week in terms of gender, schools, academic qualifications and positions. However, there were statistically significant differences in the hours spent performing core academic activities such as teaching and learning, administration and management, research and postgraduate supervision, and community engagement and services to the scholarly community. The results indicated inequalities in the workload allocation of academic staff, with some staff members being underutilized and others significantly over worked.

Benefit Incidence Analysis of Government Spending on Public-Private Partnership Schooling under Universal Secondary Education Policy in Uganda

Abstract: The study establishes whether government spending on private universal secondary education (USE) schools is equitable across quintiles disaggregated by gender and by region in Uganda. The study employs benefit incidence analysis tool on the Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS 2009/10) data to establish the welfare impact of public subsidy on different households. The results reveal that the richer households benefit more from the subsidy than the poor. Similar patterns are evident across gender and regions. However, the subsidy as a share of total household spending is higher (49%) for poor households than the richer (6%). The contrast in the findings could be because the richer seem to have more school going children and thus spend more on each student. The concentration curves reveal that there are minimal achievements by the state funding to redistribute incomes to the poor.

The Prevalence of Bullying at High Schools in Lesotho: Perspectives of Teachers and Students.

Abstract: This article seeks to explore the concept of bullying through the eyes of teachers and students. Although teachers are very important in monitoring and controlling students’ behaviour, they can also unwittingly reinforce aggression by the manner in which they react to students who are either perpetrators or victims of aggression. Similarly, students may ‘enable’ bullying by not reporting every incident they experience or by failing to be assertive. The study used the qualitative approach to collect and analyse data. Questionnaires were used for teachers and students to find out how participants individually and collectively view and deal with bullying in their respective schools. Quantitative data from questionnaires was first analysed using the SPSS descriptive (i.e. simple frequency counts expressed in percentages) methods before being interpreted qualitatively, while responses to an open-ended question from teachers were analysed qualitatively. The findings of the study indicate that verbal bul...

The integration of pedagogical aspects in environmental management systems in selected South African primary schools

Abstract: Environmental management systems implemented in schools are regarded by many as a mechanism for the integration of environmental matters in all the operational functions of the school. The links, however, between environmental management and curriculum practice have not been adequately addressed in the literature. This article reports on the results of a project aimed at integrating pedagogical aspects in environmental management systems in 60 primary Kanyimba, Richter and Raath The integration of pedagogical aspects schools in four provinces of the Republic of South Africa over a period of two years. A baseline survey and post-baseline surveys assessed the integration of pedagogical aspects in environmental management systems. The data were evaluated with the aid of Cohen's effects sizes. The results show that primary schools in this case study had succeeded in developing environmental management structures as part of the overall school management system. The pedagogical aspects, however, were no...

A philosophy for teaching in this strange place

Abstract: Lecturing can be positively regarded as a practice by which students can be treated with respect in educational processes which grant them freedom to pursue and acquire new knowledge that meets their needs. Lecturing can also be negatively conceived as a practice which others students and positions them as people who deserve to be chided and harangued towards new knowledge. This negative conception is magnified in this strange place where what is taught to overly large classes offensively propagates colonial and apartheid schemata, while failing to advance the development needs of students. My teaching philosophy is a humanistic response to the difficulties of teaching in this strange circumstance.

Post-Primary Education and Capabilities: Insights from Young Women in Rural Uganda.

Abstract: This paper presents findings from the third stage of a longitudinal, qualitative study involving nine female participants from a class cohort in a secondary school in rural Uganda. Since 2004–05, this study has tracked the progress of these young women's lives, and the present aspect of the study explores the ways in which they have found that post-primary education has impacted their adult lives, particularly with respect to employment-related factors. I draw upon the conceptual construct of Amartya Sen's capabilities approach (1999) to interpret and present data. Findings considered in this paper indicate that post-primary education has been crucial to the capabilities development and socioeconomic well-being of the participants’ lives.