This paper reports on research work concerning the perceptions of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and heads of department (HoDs) regarding the roles of formal mentors in helping newly qualified teachers in selected secondary schools in Zambia. These NQTs could be products of a conventional teacher preparation programme through fulltime study, part-time or parallel study, or an Open and Distance Learning Programme. The purpose of the study was to establish what NQTs and HoDs believed to be key areas in which NQTs needed to be mentored in order to help them adapt to the requirements of their teaching roles in schools. It uses quantitative data that were collected from the NQTs and HoDs using self-administered questionnaires guided by Kram’s Mentor Role Theory. Data were collected from a sample of 191 participants that comprised 92 NQTs and 99 HoDs. Quantitative data were analysed using the Chi Square test. Quantitative results suggest that there was a huge discrepancy in the perceptions of NQTs and HoDs regarding the roles of a formal mentor in helping NQTs in their work. The paper proposes the development of a policy on mentorship of NQTs and a mentorship framework to ensure harmonization of understanding of mentorship and its effective implementation.
{"title":"The perceptions of teachers and heads of department on the roles of a formal mentor in a Zambian Secondary School","authors":"M. K. Banja","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.62","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports on research work concerning the perceptions of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and heads of department (HoDs) regarding the roles of formal mentors in helping newly qualified teachers in selected secondary schools in Zambia. These NQTs could be products of a conventional teacher preparation programme through fulltime study, part-time or parallel study, or an Open and Distance Learning Programme. The purpose of the study was to establish what NQTs and HoDs believed to be key areas in which NQTs needed to be mentored in order to help them adapt to the requirements of their teaching roles in schools. It uses quantitative data that were collected from the NQTs and HoDs using self-administered questionnaires guided by Kram’s Mentor Role Theory. Data were collected from a sample of 191 participants that comprised 92 NQTs and 99 HoDs. Quantitative data were analysed using the Chi Square test. Quantitative results suggest that there was a huge discrepancy in the perceptions of NQTs and HoDs regarding the roles of a formal mentor in helping NQTs in their work. The paper proposes the development of a policy on mentorship of NQTs and a mentorship framework to ensure harmonization of understanding of mentorship and its effective implementation.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124259819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The effects of violent conflict on education are enormous, and provision of quality education cannot be realised if teachers are not adequately trained to teach in conflict-prone areas. This reality prompted the study to investigate strategies to empower teachers in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Guided by the Conflict Transformation Theory which proposes to identify the root causes of a conflict, and the use of creativity to transform the causes based on relationships and sub-systems that surround the conflict over time, a cross-sectional mixed methods study was conducted in Mt. Elgon region, Kenya. The study found that: for teachers to participate in conflict transformation there was a need for training in peace education and implementation of Life Skills Curriculum through various methods including distance education. Since then the government has developed education sector policy on peace education which provides for policy and curriculum initiatives, collaboration and partnerships to address challenges in peacebuilding and violent extremism. Initiatives to train teachers and education officers in peace education and implementation of the Life Skills Curriculum have been instituted. However, despite the efforts, peace education is not effectively taught in many schools due to inadequate teacher training. Equally, life skills education, one of the main subjects to promote peace education, is not effectively implemented. To mitigate this, the government has made several efforts to identify best practices to promote peace education and implement life skills, among them, teacher training on how to enhance peace education through mainstreaming and implementation of Life Skills Curriculum. There is need for further investigation on the current gaps in peace education in the wake of the curriculum review to Competency Based Curriculum in Kenya.
{"title":"Teacher Empowerment Strategies for Conflict Transformation and Peace Building in Kenya","authors":"J. Ndiku","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.65","url":null,"abstract":"The effects of violent conflict on education are enormous, and provision of quality education cannot be realised if teachers are not adequately trained to teach in conflict-prone areas. This reality prompted the study to investigate strategies to empower teachers in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Guided by the Conflict Transformation Theory which proposes to identify the root causes of a conflict, and the use of creativity to transform the causes based on relationships and sub-systems that surround the conflict over time, a cross-sectional mixed methods study was conducted in Mt. Elgon region, Kenya. The study found that: for teachers to participate in conflict transformation there was a need for training in peace education and implementation of Life Skills Curriculum through various methods including distance education. Since then the government has developed education sector policy on peace education which provides for policy and curriculum initiatives, collaboration and partnerships to address challenges in peacebuilding and violent extremism. Initiatives to train teachers and education officers in peace education and implementation of the Life Skills Curriculum have been instituted. However, despite the efforts, peace education is not effectively taught in many schools due to inadequate teacher training. Equally, life skills education, one of the main subjects to promote peace education, is not effectively implemented. To mitigate this, the government has made several efforts to identify best practices to promote peace education and implement life skills, among them, teacher training on how to enhance peace education through mainstreaming and implementation of Life Skills Curriculum. There is need for further investigation on the current gaps in peace education in the wake of the curriculum review to Competency Based Curriculum in Kenya.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130259542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pupils with special educational needs require guidance and counselling services to overcome their social and psychological challenges. The study explored available guidance and counselling services in three special schools in Ghana. The concurrent triangulation mixed- method design was used. The samples of pupils (88) and staff (3), comprising administrators and guidance and counselling coordinators were purposively selected for the study. Data were collected with a questionnaire and an interview guide. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, specifically, frequencies and percentages while in the qualitative analysis, the thematic approach was used. The importance of guidance services was prevalent. The facility enabled discussions regarding pupils’ educational goal construction, career plan development and solving relationship problems among pupils, their staff and parents. Regional Education officers were subsequently recommended to liaise with their counterparts at the Guidance and Counselling and Special Education Regional offices to monitor special schools, which will enable them to ensure widened service access and effective implementation.
{"title":"Guidance and Counselling for Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Accra, Ghana: Implications for Inclusive Education","authors":"S. Ocansey, E. Gyimah","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.67","url":null,"abstract":"Pupils with special educational needs require guidance and counselling services to overcome their social and psychological challenges. The study explored available guidance and counselling services in three special schools in Ghana. The concurrent triangulation mixed- method design was used. The samples of pupils (88) and staff (3), comprising administrators and guidance and counselling coordinators were purposively selected for the study. Data were collected with a questionnaire and an interview guide. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, specifically, frequencies and percentages while in the qualitative analysis, the thematic approach was used. The importance of guidance services was prevalent. The facility enabled discussions regarding pupils’ educational goal construction, career plan development and solving relationship problems among pupils, their staff and parents. Regional Education officers were subsequently recommended to liaise with their counterparts at the Guidance and Counselling and Special Education Regional offices to monitor special schools, which will enable them to ensure widened service access and effective implementation.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"101 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124141181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Epimaque Niyibizi, E. Sibomana, Aloysie Uwizeyemariya, Sylvestre Ntabajyana, Cyprien Niyomugabo
Research findings pertaining to language education and distance education point to the lack of online reading materials written in African languages and reflecting African contexts. Such a shortage is a challenge to literacy skills development in Africa. In Rwanda, although there are some graded readers to support the teaching of reading in Kinyarwanda, there is a shortage of enjoyable storybooks on which children can practice their reading skills. This paper contributes to addressing this challenge by investigating the partnership between the University of Rwanda-College of Education and South African Institute of Distance Education’s (Saide) African Storybook Initiative, which provides a website of digital storybooks in Kinyarwanda and other languages for early grade reading. Data were collected from 32 Rwandan teacher educators who participated in a workshop. Participants created online picture storybooks in Kinyarwanda, translated some from other languages and published them on the African Storybook website. The researchers firstly observed their activities during the workshop, then, all participants filled in the questionnaire and ten teachers were interviewed on opportunities offered and challenges encountered during the translation process. The key finding is that teachers’ experiences with translation revealed differences in story reading levels between the original Kinyarwanda folktales and English translated versions. They found special features of African agglutinating languages in determining reading levels, and foreignization of translated stories based on cultural clashes. Differences in length between the original and the translated stories were observed, as well as the specificity of English versions in reinforcing more critical thinking than the translated Kinyarwanda versions. The paper recommends teacher educators and translators to bear in mind that adaptation to African languages requires care and a high level of ability to maintain the meaning and moral lesson of the original tale and make it enjoyable for children. Translating and adapting stories from English into agglutinative African languages have implications for early grade reading interventions in African schools since children stories on African storybook website are available in more than 100 African languages.
{"title":"From an African Oral Tale to an English Picture Book: Rwandan Teachers’ Experience with Online Translation of South African Institute of Distance Education’s African Storybooks","authors":"Epimaque Niyibizi, E. Sibomana, Aloysie Uwizeyemariya, Sylvestre Ntabajyana, Cyprien Niyomugabo","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.66","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.66","url":null,"abstract":"Research findings pertaining to language education and distance education point to the lack of online reading materials written in African languages and reflecting African contexts. Such a shortage is a challenge to literacy skills development in Africa. In Rwanda, although there are some graded readers to support the teaching of reading in Kinyarwanda, there is a shortage of enjoyable storybooks on which children can practice their reading skills. This paper contributes to addressing this challenge by investigating the partnership between the University of Rwanda-College of Education and South African Institute of Distance Education’s (Saide) African Storybook Initiative, which provides a website of digital storybooks in Kinyarwanda and other languages for early grade reading. Data were collected from 32 Rwandan teacher educators who participated in a workshop. Participants created online picture storybooks in Kinyarwanda, translated some from other languages and published them on the African Storybook website. The researchers firstly observed their activities during the workshop, then, all participants filled in the questionnaire and ten teachers were interviewed on opportunities offered and challenges encountered during the translation process. The key finding is that teachers’ experiences with translation revealed differences in story reading levels between the original Kinyarwanda folktales and English translated versions. They found special features of African agglutinating languages in determining reading levels, and foreignization of translated stories based on cultural clashes. Differences in length between the original and the translated stories were observed, as well as the specificity of English versions in reinforcing more critical thinking than the translated Kinyarwanda versions. The paper recommends teacher educators and translators to bear in mind that adaptation to African languages requires care and a high level of ability to maintain the meaning and moral lesson of the original tale and make it enjoyable for children. Translating and adapting stories from English into agglutinative African languages have implications for early grade reading interventions in African schools since children stories on African storybook website are available in more than 100 African languages.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"119 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114092763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The intermittent pedagogical support received by teacher-trainers from the central level makes it difficult to implement new practices in teacher training institutions in Uganda. This mixed-methods study investigated teacher-trainers’ perceptions of a pilot pedagogical support system implemented by college-based mentors. Qualitative and quantitative data were elicited using an online questionnaire completed by teacher- trainers (n=100) and video-records of interviews with selected college-based mentors (n=6) who reflected on their own experiences to propose ways of improving the system. The findings revealed that irrespective of years of experience, teacher-trainers appreciate the contribution of college-based mentors towards the adoption of learner-centred pedagogy. It also revealed that the opportunity for self-reflection and collegial critique afforded by video enhanced the practices of the mentees and greatly enriched the mentorship process. Nonetheless, the teacher-trainers expressed the need to broaden mentorship activities to include subject-specific pedagogical support.
{"title":"Strengthening the Adoption of Learner-Centred Pedagogies in Teacher Education in Uganda through Video-Based Self Reflection & College-Based Mentorship System","authors":"Kisalama Robert, Abdul-Majid Kibedi","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.70","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.70","url":null,"abstract":"The intermittent pedagogical support received by teacher-trainers from the central level makes it difficult to implement new practices in teacher training institutions in Uganda. This mixed-methods study investigated teacher-trainers’ perceptions of a pilot pedagogical support system implemented by college-based mentors. Qualitative and quantitative data were elicited using an online questionnaire completed by teacher- trainers (n=100) and video-records of interviews with selected college-based mentors (n=6) who reflected on their own experiences to propose ways of improving the system. The findings revealed that irrespective of years of experience, teacher-trainers appreciate the contribution of college-based mentors towards the adoption of learner-centred pedagogy. It also revealed that the opportunity for self-reflection and collegial critique afforded by video enhanced the practices of the mentees and greatly enriched the mentorship process. Nonetheless, the teacher-trainers expressed the need to broaden mentorship activities to include subject-specific pedagogical support.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"205 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"113991055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Philosophy of education in Kenya needs to be constantly reconstructed given the emerging needs of society and in light of global trends. Changes in the education system over time have not eradicated education challenges that result in unemployment and social evils in Kenya. There are also global and national goals to be met. The objective of this study was to examine the role of philosophers and suggest whether professional philosophers could reconstruct philosophy of education in Kenya to guide the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Kenya Vision 2030 Plan. The SDGs and Kenya’s Vision 2030 work in tandem, and if effectively and efficiently implemented, guided by a sound philosophy of education, lives of all Kenyans would be raised to international standards. This study was conducted as desk research that employed critical conceptual philosophical literature review. A recommendation was made that experts in philosophy of education could use Dewey’s philosophy of pragmatism to facilitate the reconstruction of Kenya’s national philosophy of education as a tool to steer attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Kenya Vision 2030.
{"title":"Reconstructing Kenya’s Educational Philosophy to steer attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and Kenya’s Vision 2030 Plan","authors":"Kisirkoi Florencea, Kariuki Michaelb","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.64","url":null,"abstract":"Philosophy of education in Kenya needs to be constantly reconstructed given the emerging needs of society and in light of global trends. Changes in the education system over time have not eradicated education challenges that result in unemployment and social evils in Kenya. There are also global and national goals to be met. The objective of this study was to examine the role of philosophers and suggest whether professional philosophers could reconstruct philosophy of education in Kenya to guide the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Kenya Vision 2030 Plan. The SDGs and Kenya’s Vision 2030 work in tandem, and if effectively and efficiently implemented, guided by a sound philosophy of education, lives of all Kenyans would be raised to international standards. This study was conducted as desk research that employed critical conceptual philosophical literature review. A recommendation was made that experts in philosophy of education could use Dewey’s philosophy of pragmatism to facilitate the reconstruction of Kenya’s national philosophy of education as a tool to steer attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Kenya Vision 2030.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126178909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Learning activities constitute a very important component of distance education materials. They are associated with active learning and learning by doing, which are widely accepted as effective learning approaches. Learning by doing is particularly significant in distance education because distance learners have to teach themselves or learn on their own through doing and reflecting. This article reports and reflects on research which focused on the distance education materials designed by the University of Rwanda’s College of Education to provide professional development opportunities for high school teachers of English in Rwanda. Findings from a textual analysis of the materials and from interviews with a sample of teachers who had used these materials indicate that most of the activities were designed solely for ‘assessment of learning’ purposes and encourage a surface approach to learning. It is argued that activities which encourage a surface approach to learning limit learners’ engagement with, and understanding of, the content in the materials and improvement in quality teaching, a key goal of teacher professional development.
{"title":"Learning activities in the University of Rwanda’s distance teacher education materials: Some lessons for designers","authors":"E. Sibomana","doi":"10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.68","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v1i1.68","url":null,"abstract":"Learning activities constitute a very important component of distance education materials. They are associated with active learning and learning by doing, which are widely accepted as effective learning approaches. Learning by doing is particularly significant in distance education because distance learners have to teach themselves or learn on their own through doing and reflecting. This article reports and reflects on research which focused on the distance education materials designed by the University of Rwanda’s College of Education to provide professional development opportunities for high school teachers of English in Rwanda. Findings from a textual analysis of the materials and from interviews with a sample of teachers who had used these materials indicate that most of the activities were designed solely for ‘assessment of learning’ purposes and encourage a surface approach to learning. It is argued that activities which encourage a surface approach to learning limit learners’ engagement with, and understanding of, the content in the materials and improvement in quality teaching, a key goal of teacher professional development.","PeriodicalId":335226,"journal":{"name":"Teacher Education Through Flexible Learning in Africa","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129667424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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