University Botswana Journals
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VOCATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION: AN EXPLORATION OF BUSINESS SUBJECTS’ STUDENT CLUBS IN BOTSWANA SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Get PDFThis paper examines the usefulness of business subjects’ student clubs. It shows that Botswana secondary education system fails to take advantage of possible educational benefits of such programs. Policy documents provide very little information on subject clubs on their composition and how they should be effectively operated. The paper also identifies some of the benefits of clubs accrued towards learners which include increased academic engagement, civic, engagement, career self-efficacy and employability skills. Teachers also benefit in that they get opportunities to build rapport with learners in a less formal environment that rewards effort without punishing mistakes. They also get opportunity to learn new topic, network with other professionals and have access to more resources that can enrich their business classrooms. Furthermore, the paper invokes Astin’s theory of involvement, recommending its use in the operation of business clubs in a way that harnesses their potential benefits.KeywordsAstin’s theory of involvement, Business Education, Business subjects’ student clubs, vocationalisation, vocational education
IN-SERVICE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS EXPRESSED BY BOTSWANA SECONDARY SCHOOL AGRICULTURE TEACHERS
Get PDFThis study reports on exploratory study designed to identify the In-service Professional Development (IPD) needs of agricultural science teachers in Botswana. Positioned in the context of decentralized reforms of the teachers’ IPD by the Education Ministry (Republic of Botswana, 2006, the study aims to voice the teachers’ own views of their IPD needs. A questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data from all the secondary agriculture teachers in the Central Region of Botswana (N =247). Categories of teachers’ IPD needs identified included those relating to: Teaching Strategies; Subject Matter Aspects; and Personal Needs. Data revealed teachers’ views of their IPD needs and demographic patterns that lead to recommendations for more targeted IPD activities. The findings of the study have implications at regional and national levels in Botswana in ensuring targeted IPD provisions for the teachers. Further work is recommended so that agricultural science teachers’ IPD needs are better understood nationwide
A STUDY ON THE CAUSES OF LEARNERS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ON TOPIC TIME IN GAMODUBU PRIMARY SCHOOL
Get PDFThe study aimed at finding out the causes and effects of learners’ academic performance on topic time in Mathematics. The study also sought to establish the strategies that can be used to improve academic performance on the topic, as the topic was performed at an average of 39.2 % ABC from 2016 to 2018. The purpose of the study was to find out if factors relating to learner efforts; support by parents and support by the school contribute to low academic performance on the topic time. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent at which home, learner and school factors contribute to academic performance of topic time in Mathematics and strategies which could be used to improve topic time on academic performance. The study used mixed method approach and explanatory research design. Purposive sampling technique was used for the selection of the sample of 50 learners, 10 teachers and 10 parents. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires and individual interviews. Data collected were analyzed using simple mean and percentages. The findings show that factors such as lack of commitment; lack of time and poor methods of teaching contribute to poor academic performance on question time. Some of the interventions suggested include having special training on teaching the topic time; establishing the Mathematics club and having Mathematics quiz competitions
The Setswana Independent Pronoun, an Integral Constituent or a Resumptive Appendage to Lexical NP Topic?
Get PDFThis paper examines the pronoun occurring in verb complex in Setswana declarative sentences, showing their referential agreement with externally occurring topic noun phrases. It has been found out that this pronoun has the same distribution as a lexical object noun phrase, and thus giving the impression that it is the grammatical subject of the sentence. Similarly, when the pronoun occurs in preverbal position, there is a tendency for it to be viewed as a canonical subject pronoun. The paper argues that the pronoun in this position is an independent resumptive pronoun which agrees with its referent which is a Lexical topic NP
OVERHAULING OF BOTSWANA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM: WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNT FROM OTHER COUNTRIES?
Get PDFBotswana attained its independence from the British colonial administration in 1966, and to date the country has made significant strides in its effort to increase access to basic education for all children. In the more than fifty years that the country has been independent, there has been implementation of a series of government policies. These policies articulate goals and strategies that need to be pursued to ensure access to education and the provision of the resources and materials required for quality education to be realised. In this article we argue that while government has invested heavily in the current education system to enable an increase in the number of students into basic education, the education provided has been predominantly academic. The system which is a legacy of mission and colonial education is perceived as benefiting mainly the academically intelligent students, at the exclusion of students with high learning abilities in other fields of education such as technical or vocational. The article argues for an overhaul of the current education system due to its failure to cater for many children with different learning abilities and styles. Comparison is made between Botswana, and its two neighbouring countries of Zimbabwe and South Africa, whose education systems went through radical transformation following independence. It is therefore recommended that Botswana should, like the two neighbouring countries consider overhauling its education system in the interest of all students, including those who are not academically gifted.Keywords: Basic education; quality education; education system; colonial education; vocational education; Botswana
MY HANDS ARE MY EYES: THE USE OF TACTILE AND MODEL REPRESENTATIONS
Get PDFLearners with visual impairments (LVI) in most education systems worldwide do not receive the attention theydeserve. That happens in contrast to the call by international bodies to have specialised educators in place tocater for their needs in order for them (LVI) to be able to function in society. This study explored teachers’experiences with strategies for teaching LVI in special and inclusive classrooms in Oshana region of Namibia.The study employed a phenomenological design emanating from a qualitative approach. The sample of thestudy consisted of fifteen secondary school teachers that teach LVI. Individual interview was the predominantmethod of collecting data, augmented by classroom observation and document analysis. The findings of thestudy revealed that; although teachers were willing to use appropriate teaching strategies, in some cases, theylacked the skills to create, develop and use tactile materials correctly. The findings also revealed that, schoolshave a shortage of ready-made tactile materials. As a result, LVI were made passive, for they could notparticipate actively in the classroom activities. It is therefore important for teachers to receive training on howto create and develop teaching materials such as tactile and model representation for LVI
FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND INTEREST IN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT
Get PDFAcademic achievement of students in the various subjects they are enrolled in at school is influenced by various external factors. It is therefore of utmost importance to investigate students personal and behavioural characteristics towards Design and Technology throughout the three year transitional junior certificate (JC) programme. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that influences student’s attitude and interest in the Design and Technology subject and how this affect their academic achievement. A focus group discussion with (N= 40) Design and Technology students from (N= 10) different Junior Secondary Schools in the Central Inspectoral Region was carried out to establish the views of the students towards the subject and how various elements they are exposed to in their average schooling life impact on their performance. A detailed discussion of the external factors indicated the selection criterion used for enrolment, assessment criterion and location of schools and language of instruction as some factors that influences the student’s behavioural characteristics. The results show that the overall attitude of the students is positive towards the role of Design and Technology in their lives
A COMPARISON OF THE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS AND SUBJECT PAIRS ANALYSIS WHEN RANKING SUBJECT DIFFICULTY
Get PDFThis paper describes the application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Subject Pairs Analysis (SPA) for evaluating subjects’ difficulty. The study assesses the difficulty of National Senior Certificate (NSC) subjects for the Grade 12 exit examination and aimed at providing information on the actual performance of learners in different subjects. The study further intended to determine subjects which were consistently more difficult relative to other subjects. The study used data provided by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on learner performance in the Grade 12 NSC examinations during the 2014 to 2018 academic years. The study was quantitative in nature and used R and SAS software for the statistical analysis. Two techniques, namely AHP and SPA were compared in the analysis of data to identify subjects that were consistently difficult across the years
Language and Broad-Based Socio-Economic Development in Africa: Authenticity and Scale.
Get PDFThe place of one’s first language in contributing towards authentic scholarship cannot be over-emphasised as attested to by countless studies in this area[1]. Africa has numerous first languages and while this diversity is colourful and must be celebrated and preserved, on its own it is not really working for Africans. In “communication-for-development” circles scale matters – a language is as useful, important and effective as a tool for development as the number of people who use it. The question that arises is: how can we scale up these indigenous languages so that they work for broad-based development on the continent