The University of Zambia Journals
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Exploring the Effectiveness of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Through Lesson Study for Secondary School Teachers of English in Lusaka, Zambia
Get PDFLesson Study is a problem solving process of professional development for teachers which has been practiced in Japan from as far back as 19th century and is still being implemented by teachers in Japanese schools (Jung et al, 2015). In this approach, groups of teachers regularly meet at school level to plan, implement, evaluate and improve lessons collaboratively as their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity. In 2005, The Ministry of Education contextualized this practice to the Zambian Primary and Secondary teaching context of Mathematics and Science (Mumba and Hama, 2014). Its successful implementation led to the Ministry of Education adapting the practice as a tool for continuing and professional growth for teachers across all subjects (MOE and JICA, 2010). Using a mixed methods study design, this study sought to investigate the views of teachers of English on the effectiveness of Lesson Study in teaching English among teachers in secondary schools of Lusaka District. The findings showed that continuing Professional Development through Lesson Study improved teaching skills and learners’ performance. However, the study showed that some respondents found the programme difficult to organize and attend because it was not time-tabled and without incentives, and that there was lack of adequate English teaching materials such as learners’ textbooks. Arising from the findings, the study recommends that school head teachers should ensure that the Lesson Study programme for teachers of English is included in the weekly timetable in order to make it easier for the teachers to gather and plan for the programme within school hours. Further, the Ministry of General Education should provide adequate teaching and learning materials to schools so as to ensure the smooth running of the programme.
 
Parents and Teachers Experiences of Managing Peculiar Psychosocial Behaviours of Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Selected Special Units in Lusaka, Zambia
Get PDFThis paper focused on the experiences of parents and teachers in managing peculiar psychosocial behaviours of learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A qualitative phenomenological research design was applied riding on a purposive sample of 18 participants consisting six special education teachers; six parents and six learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Emerging from this study was a cluster of peculiar psychosocial behaviours in learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder manifested in social interaction disorders, social-communication challenges and social-emotional problems among other behaviours. The study also revealed that parents experienced Psychological problems such as anxiety, disbelief, stress and sleep deprivation. Some of the strategies parents used to manage peculiar behaviours included being security conscious; acceptance; unconditional love and care for the child. The study further revealed that teachers too faced both positive and negative experiences. Teachers managed peculiar psychosocial behaviours of Autism Spectrum Disorder by being security conscious; sharpening own knowledge and skills training about Autism Spectrum Disorder; using both negative and positive reinforcements; collaboration with parents, teamwork, tolerance; patience; acceptance, peer to peer support, and practicing unconditional positive regard. Thus, among others, this study recommends that learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder need a supportive learning environment enriched with a variety of modern computerized programmed technological materials
Teaching Integrated Science to Junior Secondary School Learners with Hearing Impairment: Teachers’ Perceptions in Selected Special Schools of Chipata and Lusaka Districts
Get PDFThe study aimed at establishing the perception of teachers on teaching Integrated Science to grade eight and nine learners with Hearing Impairment. A case study design comprising a purposively selected sample of five teachers of Integrated Science from four special schools in Eastern and Lusaka Provinces of Zambia. In-depth interviews were employed to generate data from teachers. Thematic approach was used to analyse data. The study revealed that although the teachers were qualified to teach Integrated Science, they lacked specialized training which negatively affected the teaching of Integrated Science to learners with Hearing Impairment. Additionally, the study revealed a number of barriers to teaching Integrated Science to learners with Hearing Impairment including: inadequate instructional materials, ill-training of teachers, inappropriate syllabus, communication barriers and inappropriate Integrated Science facilities. Based on these findings the study recommended specialized training for teachers in teaching Integrated Science to learners with Hearing Impairment, curriculum review to ensure that delivery of Integrated Science is inclusive, and provision of specialized materials to support Integrated Science education for learners with Hearing Impairment
From Curriculum Guide to Classroom Practice: Teachers’ of English Language Narratives of the 2013 Revised Curriculum Implementation in Zambia
Get PDFCurriculum is a backbone of any education system across the universe as it guides learning institutions, teachers and educational authorities on the planned and unplanned learning experiences to guide the teaching and learning processes. Curriculum implementation is a critical parameter that dictates the success and failure of an education system. It is impossible to conceive of curriculum implementation without implying the existence of principle implementers. Teachers, instructors and learning facilitators are among the principle implementers of any curriculum as they interpret it conscientiously at a designated level. The focus of this paper was to establish the experiences encountered by teachers of English Language when implementing the 2013 revised Senior English Language curriculum in Zambia. The qualitative mode of inquiry was utilised as data was collected through face to face interviews with 44 in-service teachers. Data was analysed thematically. Findings revealed that teachers of English Language in Zambia faced multiple challenges in the process of curriculum implementation. These included insufficient teaching and learning materials, poor work culture by some teachers, the backwash effects, inadequate school facilities, pupil absenteeism and co-curricular activities. Most principle implementers of the curriculum such as teachers were not consulted when developing the 2013 curriculum. The study recommended that school authorities and the government should prioritise the procurement of teaching and learning materials. Schools and educational officials should also ensure that co-curricular activities such as sports, clubs, fundraising events and others that involve pupils, take place at their appropriate time without interrupting the running of the formal curriculum. The study further recommended that wide consultation with curriculum implementers needed to be taken into consideration when developing or revising a curriculum
Self-Directed Learning: A Paradigm Shift for Physiotherapy Education
Get PDFTraining physiotherapists to a level where they can influence the standard of health care practice could be a complex process. Entry-level physiotherapy education in Ghana is a continuum between academic and clinical training during which they have to integrate the application and development of skills in communication, collaboration, advocatory and leadership. Self-directed learning is considered by many as one of the appropriate methodologies to allow practitioners to stay up-to-date and knowledgeable of the current literature. A teacher-centered approach is characterized by lecturing and hands-on skills training as the main or only way of facilitating student learning. Students who qualify as physiotherapists from teacher-centered tertiary institutions need to be self-directed life-long learners to be able to meet the demands of a complex work environment in the field of physiotherapy and professional health care delivery. The teacher-centered traditional approach to teaching and learning appears to be the predominant form of teaching among most universities in Ghana. Since a student-centered teaching approach has been widely recommended as the approach of choice, especially in the education of health care professionals, there is a need to determine if it is possible to design and implement physiotherapy based modules that include student-centered approaches such as Self-directed learning which may address minimal guidance that is usually associated with teacher centered tertiary training in Ghana
STANDING IN THE CIRCLE: Images of Old People in African Literature
Get PDFA lot has been written about the portrayal of women in African literature, but very little has been written on how the old are portrayed. This work focuses on portraits of old men and women in African literature. Are they positive or negative? What factors influence the portraiture of the old? Is there a correlation between the portrayal and treatment of elderly characters in African fiction and society? Are the old portrayed the same in African literature as they are in Western literature
Locative Inversion as an Alternation Phenomenon in Setswana: The Case of Lexical Functional Grammar Theory
Get PDFThe paper has examined locative inversion constructions in Setswana, showing that the pre-posed locative phrase in these constructions is not the subject as it is viewed by other linguists in the literature. It has been argued, in this paper, that locative phrase occurs in the sentence initial position to perform the topic function which sets the scene for the focused noun phrase that alternates with it (locative phrase). The analysis has been achieved through information structure approach, showing the locative phrase that occurs in sentence initial position is a discourse phenomenon showing given information, and that the focused post-verbal noun phrase is new information that is emphasised on. Also, an appeal is made to Lexical Functional Grammar Approach to explain different ways of representing syntactic structures such as constituent structure and the functional structure
“Sexing African Time and Space”: The Fetish of the Colonial Gender
Get PDFThis article examines how Alain Mabanckou uses sexual allegories in his novel
Broken glass (2010) to express (neo)-colonial realities in which Africa is charmed
by the West into assuming the role of the sexual subaltern. Mabanckou appears
to reinvigorate the sexual allegories of rape and prostitution for expressing the
penetrative tendencies of colonialism by affixing their connotations of exploitation to
the harsh socio-economic and political realities of (neo)-colonialism, thus creating
a motif which is termed in the article as the fetish of colonial gender. Its coalescent
value might be of great interest in postcolonial studies since it reveals how neocolonialists ascribe the subaltern’s time and space with exploitable sex through the
charm of the global economy. The critical discussion is built on textual research methods
and it highlights on the fabric that holds the neo-colonial relationship between the
West and Africa
The Cultural and Historical Significance of Kalanga Place Names in Midlands Province of Zimbabwe
Get PDFThe discipline of onomastics is still at its infancy yet it constitutes a very important aspect of the day to day survival of a people in the society. Naming is part of oral tradition in African societies, people were never used to write and record things but rather their names. This means that names are a historical record that would carry some aspects of a people's way of life which include their history, beliefs and customs among others. On the same note, Midlands Province constitute of people from different backgrounds mainly Shona and Ndebele. Of interest to this research is the presence of the Kalanga people through some toponyms that are found in the area. In light of this view, this study therefore seeks to identify and unlock the culture and history embedded in these names by looking at the significance of Kalanga place names in Midlands Province. The study argues that place names or toponyms of any people carry with them a history, meaning and significance to particular people that name the places, thus studying the place names in this community can be a valuable tool of unpacking the history surrounding the Kalanga people in Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. Guided by the Afrocentric paradigm, specifically nommoic creativity tenant, the study seeks to explore the cultural and historical significance of Kalanga toponyms in Midlands Province
Diagnostic Accuracy of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Thyroid Nodules at Two Tertiary Hospitals in Zambia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Thyroid nodules are one of the common surgical presentations in Africa and are of great concern because of their potential to be malignant. Zambia is not excluded from these common surgical conditions. However, there are no preoperative cellular or intra-operative tissue diagnoses of the thyroid nodules done before thyroidectomy making it challenging to plan optimal and definitive management. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is known to play a pivotal role in the screening and managing thyroid swellings. This study assesses the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC on thyroid nodules in patients at two tertiary hospitals in Zambia to establish a basis of introducing its use in the management of thyroid nodules at the institutions. Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy of FNAC, as compared to histopathology, in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and Ndola Central Hospital (NCH) in Zambia.
Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted in UTH and NCH surgery department from June 2014 to March 2015. Seventy-three patients, who presented with palpable thyroid nodules and underwent thyroidectomy, were enrolled in the study. The FNAC diagnosis of the patients was compared to the histopathology finding following thyroidectomy.
Results: Females made up the majority of the patients (n=67, 91.8%). The ages of the patients ranged from 18 to 78 years. The mean age was 44.3 years, and the peak age of incidence was in the fourth decade. All patients were clinically euthyroid at the time of enrolment. The FNAC findings included 23 cases reported as unsatisfactory (31.5%); 29 cases benign (39.7%); 2 cases atypical (2.7%); 6 cases suspicious (8.2%); and 13 cases malignant (17.8%).Histopathology findings were available from all 73 tissue samples of participants, of which 55 (75.3%) and 18 (24.7%) were reported as benign and malignant respectively. Of the 18 malignant cases identified by histology, the most common cancer was follicular carcinoma (n=9, 50%), followed by papillary carcinoma (n=6, 33.3%) and undifferentiated carcinoma (n=3, 16.7%). In this study, FNAC had sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values, and accuracy of 83.33%, 89.09%, 94.23 and 71.42%, and 87.67% respectively.
Conclusion: In this study, FNAC of thyroid nodules had a high sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and accuracy, and can therefore be recommended to be adopted as a preoperative tool for screening of thyroid nodules