University Botswana Journals
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGRICULTURE TEACHER SUBSCALES AND COLLECTIVE TEACHER EFFICACY IN ESWATINI
Get PDFTeacher efficacy is central to educational reforms and research has probed teacher efficacy at teacher and school community level (collective teacher efficacy). Both constructs were framed from the social cognitive theory. The study explored the nature of the relationship between components of agriculture teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in the context of Eswatini senior secondary school. The study was descriptive-correlational using a census (N= 163) of senior secondary agriculture teachers with 5 years or less teaching experience. Agriculture teacher efficacy was measured using an adapted Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) and collective teacher efficacy (CTE) was measured using the short-version of CTE scale. TSES was adapted to the context of teaching agriculture at Eswatini senior secondary using 2 focus group discussion involving agricultural education experts. The instruments of the study were self-administered. Correlation analysis revealed a positive and low to moderate relationships between agriculture teacher efficacy components (classroom management, instructional strategies, student engagement and practical work management) and collective teacher efficacy. The conclusion from the study is that agriculture teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy share sources of efficacy information, hence moderately correlated. The study recommends that teacher training institutions and schools should closely collaborate to build both teacher and collective teacher efficacy
Historical Lessons for Rural Development in Botswana: Recollections on the Bamangwato Development Association, 1960s and Early 1970s
Get PDFUntil the very last years of the colonial period there were no Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)in Botswana, certainly none as we know them today. There were the Wayfarers and the Pathfinders, latertransformed into the Scouts and Guides, and the mission institutions, the hospitals at Mochudi, Molepolole,Kanye and Ramotswa (although this was very small), the few clinics and the secondary schools at Kgale;and Moeding and Francistown –both of which were established only in the early 1960s
Incidence, Virulence Potential and Genotypic Diversity of Fungi Associated with Ready-to-eat Street-vended Foods in Gaborone, Botswana
Get PDFFungi have recently come to the fore as important etiologic agents of infectious diseases, especially inimmunocompromised patients. While the role of food as an avenue of spread of foodborne fungal diseaseremains unclear, the virulence potential and genetic diversity associated with street food fungi remains tobe determined. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the occurrence of fungi in various foodssold by ambulatory and stationary street vendors at three geographical areas of Gaborone (BBS Mall, TrainStation and Bus Rank) from October 2018 to March 2019. From a total of 685 ready-to-eat street foodscultured, 480 (70.1%) tested positive for fungi. Statistical analyses revealed that the detection of differentfungal species was neither influenced by the three sampling areas studied in Gaborone nor the six foodcommodities analysed (p = 0.001). Out of the 28 strains pooled thereafter, virulence studies by activitiesof protease and lipase as well as biofilm formation suggested virulence potential of various fungi such asCandida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus. Assessment of genetic diversity of the pooled 28 isolatesdetected some genetic differentiation of the fungi studied herein especially Candida albicans, Aspergillusfumigatus, Rhodotorula glutinis and Aspergillus niger. The unprecedented levels of incidence of fungi infood, virulence potential and high genetic diversity warrant further investigations on source tracking offood-borne fungi and evaluation of the reasons of high genetic diversity to protect the vulnerable populationconsuming these ready-to-eat foods
My University of Botswana Days
Get PDFJust after Prof. Fred Morton’s retirement in 2020, I also left the University of Botswana’s History Departmentafter a long period. I first came here in 1993 and have been here ever since, except for a year teaching atChancellor College, Zomba. I have been here for just over half of the lifetime of independent Botswana,and more than two-thirds of the lifetime of the separate University of Botswana. I have spent my entireacademic career in Africa, and when people here asked me what was done in Western universities, Isometimes had to say I had no idea
The influence of attitudes and subjective norms on entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate business students. The case of University of Botswana
Get PDFThis paper investigates the influence of attitudes and subjective norms on entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate business students focusing specifically on Network Marketing (NWM) business. The study entails a survey involving a purposive sample comprising 264 undergraduate business students of the University of Botswana. The results of Multiple Regression indicate that both attitude and subjective norms have a significant and positive influence on undergraduate business students’ intention to engage in NWM business, with attitude exerting a much stronger influence. The findings also indicate that subjective norms have a significant and positive influence on attitudes towards NWM business. Furthermore, the findings indicate that while there is no variation in the influence of attitudes and subjective norms on entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate business students based on gender, there is variation based on the training in direct selling. In other words, while both female and male business students’ entrepreneurial intentions are similarly influenced by attitudes and subjective norms, those that received training in direct selling tend to be more inclined towards NWM business than those that have not received such training. The findings highlight the importance of attitudes, social influences and experiential training in the development of entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate business students. This study adds to the literature on direct marketing and entrepreneurship development among business students in institutions of higher learning. The study further affirms the applicability of the Theory of Reasoned Action in explaining entrepreneurial intention and behavior among business students
YORUBA TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS MODELS FOR ENGLISH PHRASAL STRESS ASSIGNMENT
Get PDFThis study investigated the (re)assignment of stress on English phrasal structures in the speech of Yoruba teachers of English language (YELTs) to determine their capability to model Standard English accentuation in Nigeria. The theoretical underpinning was Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Liberman and Prince’s Metrical Phonology. Fifty English language teachers were randomly selected from five Local Government Areas in Ibadan. A Briton served as the native baseline. Data was elicited from participants’ production of a prepared text into Speech Filing System (SFS/WASP). Extracted noun phrases were analysed statistically, metrically, and complemented with acoustic analysis. YELTs production revealed 7.5% conformity to the baseline stress patterns and 5.4% assignment of nuclear stress. YELTs shifted stress in 33.3% instances. YELTs’ metrical grids revealed preference of stronger than weaker syllables. Predominantly, YELTs did not assign nuclear stress. YELTs’ grid placeholders did not reveal expected reassignment of stress necessitated by iambic feet reversal for avoidance of stress clash. YELTs’ spectrograms lacked prominence variation between stronger and weaker syllables. Despite their academic competence, Yoruba English language teachers are not acceptable models of spoken English in Nigeria. They are advised to engage in constant speech practice and technology-enhanced learning of English prosody
Botswana’s Quest for Tribal Equality: 20 Years after the Balopi Commission and Kamanakao Case
Get PDFBy early 2020 it was almost twenty years since two historical events took place in as far as Botswana’squest for tribal equality is concerned. These two historical events were the Presidential Commission ofInquiry into Sections 77, 78 and 79 of the country’s Republican Constitution (‘the Balopi Commission’)and the Kamanakao I and Others v. The Attorney-General and Another 2001 (2) BLR 654 (HC) (‘the KamanakaoI Case’). In this series, we consider whether Botswana has, almost twenty years since these two historicalevents took place, made any significant strides towards the attainment of the needed tribal equality. This,we shall do by considering, inter alia, the implementation or lack thereof of the recommendations of theBalopi Commission and the judgment of the Kamanakao I case per Chief Justice Julian Nganunu, JusticeMaruping Dibotelo, and Justice Unity Dow J as they then were