University Botswana Journals
Not a member yet
1168 research outputs found
Sort by
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN SELECTED PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFThe aim of school management is to create and maintain an environment that supports,promotes, and sustains effective teaching and learning. This is a daunting task which presentsmany challenges to the school administrators especially during a pandemic. This studyexplored School Management Team (SMT) practices in private and public primary schools inGaborone during the pandemic. This was done by determining if SMTs were trained for theirroles in the face of Covid-19, the challenges they faced, the steps taken to manage thechallenges, and the impact of their management practices on learners’ performance. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 24 members of the SMTs in two privateschools and two public schools. Data was analysed thematically. Although the majority of theparticipants were not trained before assuming their leadership roles, findings showed that theprivate school participants engaged in training to enhance their effectiveness during thepandemic. Challenges like absenteeism, lack of consultation, poor performance, and fear, wereencountered. Classroom shortage was observed in public schools, while private schools werefaced with lack of finance, resistance to change and stigmatization. These challenges weretackled through remote learning, engaging teachers through a government initiative calledTirelo Sechaba Programme (TSP), and the use of non-teaching staff for teaching and learning.Private schools showed more concern towards tackling fear by engaging in light physicalexercises and workshops involving staff from the Ministry of Health. The adoption of remotelearning exposed the inadequacy in the use of technologies in Botswana as they were notaccessible by learners. The study therefore underscores the need for improved educationtechnology and human resources in Botswana schools, and the need to remove the dichotomybetween private and public schools for improved performance
Water Provision, Governance and Management in Post-Colonial Botswana: Policy Development and Practice in a Semi-Arid Environment, 1966-2020
Get PDFThe continuities and policy shifts from the colonial to the post-colonial era inform the evolution of arid Botswana’s water sector. This paper examines the major trends in Botswana’s water resource governance from independence in 1966 to 2020. It evaluates the continuities and policy changes implemented by the government of Botswana in that period. The country’s water sector changed from seemingly no identifiable water policy during the colonial era to, with some exceptions, more tangible policies afterwards. The paper argues that the colonial administration was reluctant to develop the water sector beyond the areas occupied by white people such as Ghanzi and Tati. Therefore, post-colonial Botswana inherited a poorly developed water distribution infrastructure with no clearly stated policies despite water’s critical function to the future development of the country. The post-colonial era was thus characterised by significant efforts to change water provision and governance by the independence government. The government consistently sought to reverse and rectify the water management policies of the past for the benefit of present and future needs. In this effort, it was complemented by strategic development partners and other stakeholders, hence this collective effort led to transformative change for Botswana’s water sector in the post-1966 period
Nelson Mandela’s 1962 Movements in Botswana
Get PDFIn January 1962 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela left South Africa for the first time when he crossed into Botswana, then still the British administered Bechuanaland Protectorate (BP), at the Pioneer Border Gate near Lobatse. After spending a week in Peleng Township hiding from the South African Police (SAP) he departed by air from Lobatse airstrip for Dar-es-Salaam. Five months later, on the evening of 23 July 1862, Mandela returned to Botswana, landing by plane in Kanye. Having only briefly stopped at Peleng, Mandela crossed the border back into South Africa, arriving at the secret African National Congress (ANC) headquarters at Liliesleaf farm, Rivonia on the morning of 24 July 1962
Mosireletsi Mokalake, State Creation, Nationalism, Nationhood and Ethnicity in Southern Africa
Get PDFThis is an interesting book, clearly the result of considerable work, which puts forward a striking argument. Work like this shows the deep interest and commitment Batswana have to their history. However, it has significant flaws. In Africa, amateur history such as this book plays an indispensable role. However, the book illustrates why amateur and professional historians need to work together more. There are numerous issues with this book which could have been avoided if the author had been able to get assistance from professionals at an early stage, allowing him to produce a stronger case. The book is well bound, and the print is comfortable to read. However, it is badly edited and lacks an index
A QUEST TO INTERROGATE DELIVERY OF THE MULTI-RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN BOTSWANA SCHOOLS
Get PDFThis article argues that pedagogical strategies used for the implementation of the multi-religiousReligious Education (RE) curriculum in Botswana colleges of education need to be examined forefficacy and appropriateness. There is need to see whether these strategies are effective inpromoting religious tolerance in the classroom, which can later spill over to younger generationsand the world at large. The article discusses religious tolerance and intolerance, ethnic diversity inBotswana and the role of education in engendering religious tolerance. The article also presents anextensive discussion on phenomenological and interpretive approaches of delivery in RE classroomand attempts to argue that these delivery approaches need further examination to assess theirefficacy and appropriateness in the Botswana context
INTERTEXTUALITY AS A PRAGMATIC FRAME OF REFERENCE IN JESUS’S PARABLES IN SELECTED BIBLICAL VERSES
Get PDFThe theoretical foundation of lexical pragmatics posits that each word in an utterance embodies a range of meanings from which the interpreter is tasked to select the relevant sense which the word conveys in the context of use. However, extracting meaning from Biblical texts may pose a serious challenge to readers because some Biblical discourses, especially parables, are often fortified with metaphorical qualities and cryptic expressions which may be obscure to readers. This paper employs elements of pragmatic intertextuality to explicate Jesus’s parable contained in Matthew 13:33. To achieve this, the study explored the meanings of key expressions in the parables through the application of some macro elements of pragmatic intertexts such as presupposition, speech act, intertextual echo, exegetical intertextuality, and dialogical intertextuality and mapped the meanings through the inferential process of intertext to arrive at the central message of the parable. The data consists of keywords contained in the parables. The study revealed that meanings of expressions in the parables transcend the overt senses conveyed by the lexical items in the immediate semantic net of the utterances but are appended on other Biblical texts. Also, inference processes demonstrated that Jesus utilized the parables to forewarn the Church against infiltration of doctrinal errors through some agencies. Based on these findings, it is concluded that familiarisation with different but related texts in the Bible is crucial to unravelling the full meanings of words in their immediate contexts of use. Otherwise, the correct meaning and interpretation of Biblical parables may be elusive, with the implication that misinterpreted Biblical messages may lead to misleading and unbiblical applications
CONCEPT MAPPING AS A STUDY STRATEGY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFNumerous efforts have been made towards enhancing mathematics pedagogy in Botswana.However, despite these efforts, performance in the subject has remained abysmal. This studyexplored teachers’ views, ideas, and experiences concerning the use of concept mapping (CM)as a study approach and examined its influence on the teaching and learning of mathematics inJunior Secondary Schools in the Kweneng region of Botswana. The study adopted theconstructivist cognitive learning theory and used a quantitative research approach underpinnedby positivism. Both experimental and survey designs were used. Data was collected usingclosed-ended questionnaires and analysed using a two-tailed t-test for the experimental designand descriptive statistics for the survey design. The findings of the experimental design showedno significant difference (P>0.05) in the mean pre-test score of the control and experimentalgroups, while there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the post-test scores, with thetreatment group showing higher mean score than the control group. CM was able to improvethe performance of the learners in the experimental group. This confirms the applicability ofCM in improving performance in mathematics. Findings from the survey designs raisedconcerns about the use of CM in teaching and learning in Botswana. This has numerousimplications for policy and practice and underscores the need to include CM in the variousefforts aimed at improving learners’ performance in mathematics and other subjects
Place and Street Names in Tlokweng Over Time
Get PDFBatlokwa ba Moshaweng permanently settled in Tlokweng under the leadership of Kgosi Gaborone in the 1880s. The name Tlokweng itself signifies that it is the land of Batlokwa. Indeed, there are several other Batlokwa villages and wards in Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho with the name Tlokweng. These villages and wards are distinguished from each other by indicating their location, eg. Tlokweng ko (at) Moshaweng (Gaborone), Tlokweng ko Kolontwane (Motlhaputseng), Tlokweng ko Letlhakeng, Tlokweng kwa ga Montsana, Tlokweng ko Mokhotlong (in Lesotho), Tlokweng kwa ga Molatedi, Tlokweng ko Ntsweng (Tlokweng ward in Mochudi) etc. The Setswana name for Potchestroom in the North West Province of South Africa is Tlokwe indicating that Batlokwa settled in the area. The area inhabited by Batlokwa in Limpopo Province of South Africa is referred to as Botlokwa