UNAM Open Access Journal University of Namibia
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Performance management as best practice for improving the Namibian public schools
No full textThis paper examines several important elements of measuring performance in primary and secondary education and its contribution to best practice in education. Education management has increasingly been dominated by the norms and requirements of general management ideologies that focus on performance controls and target achievements. Under this regime, solving the labour problem - relatively low productivity - has taken priority over all other forms of management. 'There are tendencies of individually grievance, absenteeism, increased instrumentalism and dull compliance in the job' according to Sugrue and Day 2002, p. xv. The application of tighter controls over performance will encourage development through the allocation of real and meaningful responsibilities to employees. Performance management can raise levels of performance to achieve better outputs and outcomes in education
Effects of socio-cultural knowledge on Science education
No full textScience education is of paramount importance to a better socio-economy. The curriculumthat conveys the teaching and learning of science is supposed to reflect on the students.Science education builds on prior existing knowledge of students. However, many African theorists feel that science education is entirely based on "western" ideas. The values and the norms of the "African" or "Nonwestern" students are basically neglected or come into contradiction with that of science
Making space for literacy learning: The impact of spatial and temporal organization in constructing a writing subject in the early years
Get PDFThe teaching of literacy is an embodied practice. Teacher’s pedagogical practices are directed onto children’s bodies. These practices are informed by teachers’ own knowledge, experiences and beliefs about literacy as well as constructions of literacy in the curriculum. These shape literate subjects children become. It is through these practices that children become literate subjects. This article explores how children become ‘writers’, by using Foucault’s work on power and the spatial as theoretical lenses. The article is underpinned by the view that everything happens in space. We construct space and space constructs us, social relations can only happen in space. But, because space and social relations are mutually constitutive, they can transform each other. Data is drawn from a research project using ethnographic methods in early years classrooms in South Africa. A spatial and temporal lens is applied to observations of the teaching of writing in two preschool classrooms (4-5 year olds and 5 to 6 year olds) and one Grade 1 classroom and illustrates how mundane practices are crucial to learning and teaching. It raises questions about how time and space across thevearly years produce literate subjects and the influence of globally of technicist approaches to literacy which have implications for teacher education
Addressing factors that contibute to indiscipline in secondary schools in Namibia: a case study
No full textThe study examined factors that contribute to secondary school learner indiscipline in Namibia and ways how to mitigate them. We employed a qualitative case study design. The population comprised of all teachers and parents in the Khomas Region in Namibia. A stratified purposeful sampling was used to select the respondents. Standardized semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. The findings of the study identified five categories of factors that contribute to indiscipline in secondary schools namely psychosocial factors, professional factors, learner performance, societal/environmental factors, and parental support. In order to mitigate the situation the study identified four strategies that could be employed in secondary schools, namely the point system, involving parents, counseling, and learner suspension and expulsion
Learners as leaders in Namibian schools: taking responsibility and exercising agency
No full textEducational leadership and management (ELM) research has, all-too-often, attributed a positional quality to leadership and equated school leadership with the principal at the top of the management hierarchy. We argue that leadership is not limited by formal authority and can be exercised by individuals and groups other than the principal. Of specific interest to us is the leadership of learners. However, research in this niche area is limited, and particularly so in African countries such as Namibia. Framed by the concepts of learner voice and democratic citizenship, this article focuses on the leadership development of Namibian school learners and argues that learners should be treated as people whose ideas matter. It draws on a Bachelor of Education Honours ELM elective which required Honours students (practicing teachers) to establish leadership clubs in their schools and involve learners in a change initiative in pursuit of leadership development. The research which informed this article was designed as a case study to explore learner voice and the development of leadership across extra-curricular leadership clubs in 32 Namibian schools. Data were generated from a number of different sources and analysed thematically. The purpose of this article is two-fold; first to give a broad overview of the 32 Namibian clubs and show, through the identification of the focus areas of their club projects for the year, ‘what mattered’ to learners, and second to discuss, in detail, one of these 32 clubs. On the basis of our findings, we argue that learners can indeed be developed as leaders through the introduction of learner leadership clubs in schools. Given the appropriate forum, learners are able to articulate what matters to them in schools; they are able to develop a voice. Given the right conditions and concomitant support, learners can enact leadership, particularly when they have conceptualised the school change initiative. Because learners are central to school life, they are well placed to bring about school change. Yet, we caution, the leadership development of learners is unlikely to be sustained without bold and continued leadership on the part of teachers and the school management team
Persistence of African languages and religions in Latin America since slavery
Get PDFThis paper examines the presence of African languages and spiritual practices of Candomblé, Santería and Vodou religions in Brazil, Cuba and Haiti respectively. The three religions are known to have been originated by African slaves that were mostly captured in- and transferred from West and Central Africa to Latin America. Currently, the three religions are not only followed by African descendants, but also by people of various ethnic backgrounds worldwide. Thus, people flock to the three countries regularly to be initiated into this African-based religions and cultures. On the other hand, similar spiritual practices on the African continent seem to be generally stigmatized if not demonized. Findings presented in this paper are as a result of direct observations and open interviews over a four months of fieldwork, as well as desktop reviews of existing literature. The findings demonstrate etymologies of terms and expressions that are of various African languages origin and are used in the three religions. The paper calls for integral comparative studies of parts in Africa with parts of Latin America to auxiliary identify linguistic and spirituality similarities, and significance roles of African slaves in maintaining African traditions
Using the Van Hiele phases of instruction to design and implement a circle geometry teaching programme in a secondary school in Oshikoto region: A Namibian case study
Get PDFDespite my positive views of geometry as one of the most interesting topics in the mathematics curriculum, others find it rather complicated and sometimes unbearable to successfully complete a geometry course. It is a common phenomenon that secondary school students globally struggle with simple geometric problems and their thinking and reasoning are generally below average. Although difficulties in geometric thinking and reasoning are prevalent in global educational research, problems in geometric conceptualisation still prevail. It is therefore the aim of this paper to report on the case study research that was conducted to examine, analyse and report on the findings of the experiences of selected mathematics teachers when they used the Van Hiele phases of instruction in designing and implementing a Grade 11 circle geometry teaching programme. The sample consisted of three selected Grade 11 mathematics teachers from the school where the researcher taught. The findings of this research revealed that teachers used and implemented all the five Van Hiele phases of instruction in their lessons whilst navigating quite freely from one phase of instruction to the next, but also returned to the earlier phases for clarification and reinforcement in their teaching. Teachers also saw the phases of instruction as a good pedagogical tool or template for planning and presenting lessons. The majority of the learners followed the instructions and seemed to obtain the answers faster than expected
Reproductive justice in the face of conservatism: youth attitudes towards abortion on demand
Get PDFThe right to life and reproductive health has been firmly established by a number of international human rights and gender equality instruments to which Namibia is a signatory. Human rights and reproductive justice frameworks affirm women’s right to bodily integrity and reproductive autonomy without violence, coercion or discrimination on the basis of race, class, ethnicity or disability. The restrictive Namibian abortion law infringes upon all these rights. It is particularly discriminatory against poor and mainly black women who do not have the means to seek safe and legal abortions outside the borders of the country. The high levels of morbidity and mortality related to unsafe illegal abortions show that criminllisation does not stop illegal abortions from taking place. Government has made some attempts at re-viewing the outdated law, but progress has been stymied by politically conservative attitudes and the lack of awareness of gender equality and reproductive rights. Although people (in this case youth) are aware of the risks of unsafe illegal abortions to women’s lives and health, they do not see a need for change. This raises broader questions about the status of women in our society and whether women’s lives matter
Ethnomycology of indigenous trametes mushrooms from northern Namibia
Get PDFTo date there is no documented data available on the Namibian indigenous Trametes mushrooms. The objective of this study was therefore to generate information for the first time, on the ethnomycology of Trametes species in Northern Namibia. A questionnaire was used and the data captured were analysed in SPSS. Results show that 83.9% of respondents included in this study knew Trametes mushroom but only 70.4% used it for medicinal purpose. Indigenous Trametes mushrooms in Namibia are mostly used as a tranquiliser to calm bereaved people who are crying hysterically at burials. Other uses include treating cattle from lung disease. These uses for Trametes species have not been reported before in literature
Investigation into health care worker’s awareness and implementation of policies for the prevention and control of hepatitis B infections in Namibia
Get PDFHepatitis is a viral infection that causes severe infection and death. The purpose of this study was to assess the current health care worker awareness and the implementation of national guiding documents, for the prevention and control of hepatitis B in Namibia. The study was qualitative descriptive survey conducted to establish baseline information on health care workers’ awareness and practices in preventing further spread of HBV in Namibia. Although health care workers are generally aware of hepatitis B disease burden in the country, their practices, availability and use of national guiding documents for effective prevention and control are insufficient