The University of Zambia Journals
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The Understanding of Literacy by Selected University of Zambia Undergraduate Students
Get PDFThis paper emerged from a field research aimed at establishing the understanding of the term literacy by selected University of Zambia undergraduate students. Data was collected through face to face interviews with 24 students randomly drawn from ten schools of the University of Zambia. Although students were randomly selected, there was an exclusion criteria used where students who were studying on a literacy and language programme were not involved on this study as they knew much about literacy already. In qualitative research, interview is a method of data collection that require a researcher to ask direct questions to the respondents. The data collected was analyzed thematically with the help of the constructivist theory where emerging constructive information was treated as it was presented by respondents. The findings revealed that most students at the University of Zambia knew literacy as reading and writing. Very few mentioned other forms of literacies such as information literacy, computer literacy, financial literacy, legal literacy and functional literacy. The study recommended that, although students across the university were studying in various fields, they should find time to understand certain forms of literacies such as computer literacy, financial literacy and media
Teacher Collaboration in Curriculum Design Teams: Prospects and Challenges in the Zambian Education System
Get PDFCurriculum development is a task which must not be carried out by an individual or a group of curriculum specialists only since the process demands for collaborative efforts from various key stakeholders such as; teachers, teacher educators, Non-Governmental Organisations, religious leaders, learners, parents and community leaders. Based on research and the theoretical thinking of curriculum development across the globe and in Zambia inclusive, the authors in this paper sought to explore prospects and challenges of teacher collaboration in curriculum design teams in the Zambian education system. The reviewed literature especially from the Zambian perspective indicated that teachers were dissatisfied with the existing practice of curriculum development which insignificantly involved them. In addition, it was established that in most cases, the teacher education curriculum offered in teacher education institutions was not appropriately aligned with the curriculum offered in the school. This led to a number of consequences in as far as curriculum implementation was concerned because teachers who are the implementers of the curriculum were left in a dissonant condition. Consequently, most teachers’ encountered challenges when implementing the curriculum in schools given the fact that they were trained on a teacher education curriculum that was not aligned to the school curriculum. Additionally, upon graduation they were to implement a school curriculum whose development they did not participate in. It was thus recommended that the Ministry of General Education through Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) should broaden the scope of teacher involvement in curriculum development teams through extensive research and adequate communication channels. There was also need for colleges and universities to review their curriculum so that the teacher education curriculum was appropriately aligned to what teachers were to later on teach in schools
Students’ Perception of Empowering Nigerian Youth through Effective Learning of Indigenous Vocations
Get PDFNigerian curriculum planners, realizing the importance of entrepreneurial education to present situation of Nigeria where majority of the youth are all out in quest of white collar jobs, have upgraded the curriculum of basic education with the inclusion of entrepreneurial education into education in both junior and secondary schools. The problem of self-reliance has been a pressing issue that needs to be addressed especially among Nigerian youth, to the extent that vices are prevalent in the country because of unemployment. In an attempt to curb these vices, there is need to embrace the indigenous trade; an aspect of indigenous language which serves as a source of job creation and empowerment in the Nigerian society. Indigenous entrepreneurial skill is also a cultural aspect of a language which has been tried over the years and found reliable. This can be achieved by introducing its teaching to students in Junior Secondary School. This paper discusses the need for the teaching and learning of the culture of an indigenous vocations using Yoruba language as a case study. One of the cultural aspects of the Indigenous language is indigenous vocation of Yoruba language. Yoruba vocations are supposed to be taught in Junior Secondary School as from JSS One to JSS three among Yoruba speakers and some of the vocations are carving, drumming, hair weaving, dyeing etc. The effective teaching of indigenous vocations which will motivate meaningful learning of the students will serve as a linkage between the language andbeing self-reliant through self-employment, or enterprise. Thiswould serve as a panacea for solving the massive unemploymentproblem, prevent poverty and empower the majority of the citizens economically through the use of some of the indigenousvocations which they have acquired from Junior Secondary School. Questionnaires were administered to 320 junior secondary school students in two local government areas in Ijebu division. Data analysis involved mean, standard deviation and t-test. The result revealed the general perception of students on the effective learning of indigenous vocational skills Nigerian youth empowerment, gender difference had relationship with the effective learning of the indigenous vocations. Also, the location of school and the influence of environment (urban andrural) were related to students’ perception of effective learning of indigenous vocations for Nigerian youth empowerment. It is thus concluded that adequate instructional materials will enhance the effective learning of indigenous vocations. Also, male students find learning of indigenous vocational trades easier than female. School location or influence of environment (rural and urban) had significant relationship with students’ perception of effective learning of indigenous vocations for Nigerian youth empowerment. It is also suggested that resourcepersons should be employed as instructors in schools and adultprogram to be organized for the learning of Yoruba trade skills
Teachers’ Instructional Quality and Students’ Difficulty Level in Financial Accounting at Senior Secondary Schools in Lagos State, Nigeria
Get PDFThe performance of senior secondary school students in Financial Accounting had not been encouraging. Several factors could be responsible for the low performance in the school system. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the teachers’ instructional quality and students’ difficulty level in Financial Accounting at the senior secondary school level in Lagos State based on students’ and teachers’ perceptions. The study raised and answered three related research questions and also formulated and tested two relevant research hypotheses. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all students and teachers of Financial Accounting in the public senior secondary schools under Education District IV in Lagos State. Specifically, the population was two thousand four hundred and ninety-two (2492) senior secondary school 1 and senior secondary school 2 students of Financial Accounting and ten (10) teachers of Financial Accounting from the ten selected schools. The sample size for this study was three hundred and thirty-three (333) students, using Checkmarket Sample Size Calculator at five percent (5%) margin and ninety-five (95%) confidence level, but three hundred (300) was used eventually due to logistics challenge. All the ten teachers of Financial Accounting were used as sample due to their limited number. The research instrument used was structured questionnaire. The internal consistency of the research instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha correlation coefficient and it yielded an average index of 0.90. The research questions and hypotheses data were analysed using mean and standard deviation as well as t-test statistical tools respectively at 0.05 level of significance. The results, among others, show that most of the teachers were first-degree holders and had obtained adequate teaching experiences. However, most teachers had not obtained higher academic and professional certificates. Most of the teachers of Financial Accounting were not using activity-based pedagogical strategies. In addition, the findings show that most of the topics in the Financial Accounting syllabus were difficult to students. Therefore, it was recommended, among others, that more innovative and experiential learning strategies should be adopted; proper orientation should be given to students on how to succeed in Financial Accounting; and teachers should upgrade in order to acquire high-class professional qualifications for them to have a thorough understanding of topics, which gave serious challenges to their students
Rurality and Student Transitioning in Higher Education
Get PDFThe University of Zambia, located in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, has an enrolment system
which is open to all deserving candidates. Cognisant of the degree-attainment gap between rural and urban areas of the country, the university introduced a Rural Affirmative Policy that is envisioned at augmenting enrolments of rural applicants. This article investigated the scopes of rurality and its influence on the transition to higher education amongst students with rural backgrounds. Using unstructured interviews, sixteen conveniently sampled students were probed in order to obtain the most in-depth lived experience information on how their rural backgrounds influenced their settling down and learning at the University of Zambia. A categorical analysis of the data collected in the study resulted in five emerging themes: context of rurality among students, students’ transitioning, challenges faced by students, coping strategies adopted by students and established support systems for students with rural backgrounds and their progression and completion rates. Results of this study suggest that students from rural communities face additional challenges in order to adjust to the university compared to students from urban and sub-urban areas. Apart from the affirmative policy on admission, there are no mechanisms put in place to cushion the cultural shock such students face once on campus
ETHICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS NECESSARY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL ELECTIONS: Evidence from the Republic of Zambia
Get PDFThis article takes a cue from the ever-growing literature on governance and security issues in contemporary Africa. It postulates that elections, and the manner in which they are administered, are a major cause of political conflict in many of the continent’s 54 member countries. In addition to the unfavourable environment in which elections are generally conducted, election results are often discredited simply because the losing candidates opt to interpret technical irregularities experienced in election administration as acts of electoral fraud perpetrated by the victorious candidates, in connivance with the Election Management Bodies. This article uses evidence from the Republic of Zambia to illustrate that proper, effective and efficient institutional arrangements can promote and enhance the ethical and professional administration of national elections, and thereby reduce the high incidences of post-election conflict in Africa. From this perspective, the article presents seven such institutional arrangements
PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (ART) IN RELATION TO ENTRY AND RETENTION IN THE HIV CONTINUUM OF CARE: Findings from a Rural Setting of Chivuna, Zambia
Get PDFAs is the case with most of the countries in the sub-Sahara region with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, antiretroviral therapy has increasingly become available in Zambia. The way antiretroviral therapy (ART) is perceived by the users and potential users is important for its effectiveness. This paper is aimed at exploring how ART is perceived and how such perceptions influence people’s entry and retention in the HIV continuum of care. Data for this paper was derived from a large study in a remote rural setting of Chivuna in Southern Province of Zambia. A mixed methods approach was used and 653 participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to generate quantitative data while 24 focus groups, 67 in-depth interviews and 19 informant interviews informed the qualitative aspect of the study. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and Atlas.ti version 7 data analysis packages. Although people’s perceptions about ART were generally evolving from negative to positive, this study indicates that negative perceptions still exist among the rural population. These negative perceptions act as barriers to people’s utilisation of HIV and AIDS-related services. The study has shown a level of association between perceptions about ART and people’s entry and retention in the HIV continuum of care. In this regard, it is important for stakeholders to redress negative perceptions and harness the positive ones so as to enhance early entry and retention in the continuum of care for people living with HIV. This has the potential of contributing to reduced morbidity, reduced mortality and reduced transmission of new HIV infection case
PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS’ CONTRIBUTION TO POOR PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN ZAMBIA: POOR IMPLEMENTATION OR DEFECTIVE PROGRAMMES?
Get PDFThe ultimate goal of any public sector reform is always effective and efficient delivery of public services in the right quality and quantity. Amazingly, evidenceseems to suggest that not only have Zambia’s public service reforms failed to improve service delivery, but they are also at the heart of the problem. In some instances, these reforms have even rolled back the few positives of the pre-reform era. Pro-reformers contend that service delivery would have improved had the reforms achieved their intended objectives. However, it is the view of this article, that the reforms were a failure due to their inherent deficiencies of the pioneering reform programmes resulting from flawed programme designs and objectives which were out of touch with reality. As a result, current reform programmes are aimed not at improving service delivery, but rather, minimising the damage caused by the earlier reforms under privatisation and the Public Service Reform Programme
Inclusion or Exclusion? Critical Needs of Hearing Impaired Learners during an English Reading Comprehension Lesson
Get PDFDrawing on the social inclusion theoretical model, this study examines critical needs of hearing impaired learners during an English reading comprehension lesson. Some of the challenges that hearing impaired learners experience arise due to their exclusion from activities, participation and access. The study utilised qualitative approaches through semi-structured interviews. A total of twenty-six participants from three secondary schools located in the northern region of Malawi participated in this study as follows: seven regular teachers, two specialist teachers, two resource persons and fifteen hearing impaired learners. The results reveal that most hearing impaired learners do not manage to attain all reading comprehension objectives. Although teachers use a combination of strategies during a reading comprehension lesson, they do not utilise strategies that promote higher-order cognitive thinking skills. Finally, the results reveal that hearing impaired learners encounter several challenges some of which may be avoided if teachers embrace inclusive practices. The results have implications for stakeholders, teachers and researchers as follows: there is a need to improve the inclusive system of education by providing in-service training for teachers and employing competent specialist teachers and resource persons to facilitate the learning of hearing impaired learners. There is also a need to improve the learning and teaching facilities for inclusive schools as teachers and learners bemoan lack of teaching and learning materials suitable for hearing impaired learners. Teachers would be able to overcome some of the barriers to participation and learning which arise due to inadequate teaching and learning resources. Further research should be carried out to check people’s understanding of the agenda of inclusive schools