Master of Education research portfolio

This Portfolio was submitted in 2005 to Rhodes University as a Research Portfolio presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in General Education Theory and Practice. The Portfolio consists of seven (7) key parts. The reader of this Portfolio is courteously informed that the structure of this portfolio is to some extent differ from the thesis structure. Thus, the reader should be attentive not to weigh against the two. Further more, I hereby declare that this portfolio is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of references indicated at the end of each part. Part 2 and 6 are the core parts of the portfolio. The focal point of part 2 is the contextual curriculum analysis of Grade 8-10 Oshindonga Curriculum in order to investigate its implementation in four educational circuits: Oshigambo, Onathinge, Onyaanya and Omuthiya in Oshikoto Region. Based on the findings of this analysis, lack of critical inquiry and reflective practice among Oshindonga teachers was identified as one of the major obstacles that preventing the effective implementation of the curriculum. Most of these teachers are Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) postgraduates. Thus, part 3 and 4 were developed as supplements to inform the main research paper (part 6) which is related to teacher's professionalism in the classroom. The focus of part 3 (literature review) was on the teacher as a reflective practitioner. This is in line with the Namibian Education Policy, which identifies reflective practice as the heart of teacher professionalism. In this part, I explored a variety of views related to the notion of professionalism in teaching. I have also focused on views related to teacher's professional development both on macro and micro levels. These views provided a clarification and an underpinning framework on which to base my analysis of reflective practice as professionalism in education. Part 4 (education theories) focused on the digging of understanding of knowledge as an important theoretical domain of behaviourist and constructivist theories. I have tried to establish how the two theories (Behaviourist and Constructivist) view knowledge and its acquisition and to gain an understanding of how the two theories have been informing the practice. Subsequently, part 6 meant to investigate and assess the extent to which Basic Education Teacher Diploma postgraduate teachers are autonomously applying the theory of critical inquiry and reflective practice in the classroom. Both part 2 and 6 have findings. There is much correlation between the issues and problems in the implementation of the curriculum as identified in part 2 and the findings of the main research paper (part 6). Though critical inquiry and reflective practice is the key journey towards a high level of reflectivity and one of the significant characters of teacher professionalism in the classroom, most issues and problems identified were related to the insufficient practice of critical inquiry and reflective practices. Low correlation was found between critical inquiry and reflective practice theory and teachers' practices in the classroom. Despite to the fact that various rationales were mentioned as to why critical inquiry and reflective practice successful implementation is not taking place, the study positioned an emphasis on team working at school, cluster and circuit base that could contributed to a great extend to making teachers more competent and supporting themselves in mastering the applicable critical inquiry and reflective practice skills

Interventions to Enhance English Teachers’ Participation in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Kalahari Circuit English as a Second Language Teachers’ Voices

The paucity of English teachers in Namibia’s research output as well as practicing the scholarship of teaching and learning has been noticed and noted. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the views of English teachers in the Kalahari Circuit in the ||Kharas Region in Namibia on the effect of an intervention to enhance their willingness to conduct research and publish. The study used a questionnaire to collect qualitative and quantitative biographical data from the participants. The quantitative data were analysed using simple description while qualitative data were analysed using Renner and Tylor-Powell’s five steps for analysing narratives. The study revealed that, after participating in the research workshop, English teachers showed confidence to conduct research and publish their work. Furthermore, the participants suggested that the workshop should include all teachers, who need support from the agents in education. It was also found that the duration of the workshop should be extended and resources should be availed to teachers to conduct research for publication. The study recommended that this training should be rolled out to other regions while broadening the target scope

An analysis of the impact of the public debt on economic growth of Namibia

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilmemt of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in EconomicsThis paper examined the impact of public debt on economic growth of Namibia for the period 2003 to 2016 using quarterly time series data on GDP growth as a proxy for economic growth; external debt and domestic debt. Time series properties were tested for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. Johannsen Cointegration test found no long run relationship among the variables under study. The study employed Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality tests following a VAR framework and results revealed a no causal relationship between public debt and GDP growth. The variance decomposition analysis shows that domestic debt exerts more pressure on GDP growth in Namibia. The findings of impulse response function show that the response of GDP growth to public debt was unstable. The study recommend that instead of borrowing, policy makers should develop and implement strategies that increase revenue for the government to fill the deficit gap. Government should only consider borrowing for very high. priority projects that are well appraised and self-sustained that can contribute to economic growth, generating enough returns to upset the debt servicing. Lastly, effective and efficient utilization of public resources is needed to ensure that the future generation's welfare or economic production is not being mortgaged in continuous indebtedness

Authoring the unspeakables, moralising the public sphere: A literary examination of social commitment and the artistic vision in Sifiso Nyathi's Oeuvre

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in English StudiesThis thesis critically analysed how Sifiso Nyathi, through his oeuvre commits to moralise the public sphere, by authoring the commonly unsaid and veiled societal matters. The oeuvre is comprised of five texts, three plays; God of women, The oracle of Cidino, and Tears of fears in the era of terror, a novel; The other presence, and an anthropology of poems; Ballads of insomnia. Each text of the oeuvre deals with a kind of overarching silence in society. The main purpose of the study was to analyse how the author enunciates, re-assesses, makes a judicious inquiry and articulates issues that defy articulation. The researcher evaluated the artistic vision used in the oeuvre to bare the “unspeakables” and the commonly controversial issues that are aggressive toward accepted knowledge. The study employed a qualitative approach and data was analysed using content analysis. Due to the broad nature of the study, the researcher adopted three theories; Maria Pia Lara’s illocutionary approach, The African worldview and Ecocriticism as lenses through which the “unspeakables” were analysed. The study’s major findings revealed that Africans are highly spiritual, superstitious and their belief in ‘another presence’ is undisputable. A patriarchal treatment of women is also bared in the oeuvre. Moreover, Nyathi’s artistic vision is engrossed of day to day life matters in the life of a typical African community which are expressed through various artistic visions. The author succeeded in authoring the “unspeakables” in the Namibian society, allowing imagined alternatives and wide-ranging shades of opinions to be explored. The study concluded that the author successfully employed various artistic visions in the three different genres in his quest to moralise the public sphere. Nyathi authors what society views as taboo, unutterable and forbidden, subsequently bridging the gap between literature and the “unsaid” social realities, opening up avenues for further inquiries and debates. The study strongly recommends further research on “unspeakables” in different genres of African literature to explore the extent of similarities or differences in “unspeakables” in other African societies

Baseline characterization of entomological drivers of malaria transmission in Namibia: a targeted operational entomological surveillance strategy

Abstract Background Namibia’s focus on the elimination of malaria requires an evidence-based strategy directed at understanding and targeting the entomological drivers of malaria transmission. In 2018 and 2019, the Namibia National Vector-borne Diseases Control Program (NVDCP) implemented baseline entomological surveillance based on a question-based approach outlined in the Entomological Surveillance Planning Tool (ESPT). In the present study, we report on the findings of the ESPT-based NVDCP on baseline vector species composition and bionomic traits in malaria endemic regions in northern Namibia, which has the aim of generating an evidence base for programmatic decision-making. Methods Nine representative sentinel sites were included in the 2018 entomological surveillance program (Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, Kavango West, Kavango East and Zambezi); the number was reduced to four sites in 2019 due to limited funding (Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East, and Zambezi). In the 2018 baseline collections, multiple sampling methods (human landing catches, pyrethroid spray catches, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps [CDC-LTs], resting boxes [RBs] and larval sampling) were utilized to evaluate indoor/outdoor human biting rates, resting behaviors and insecticide resistance (IR). CDC-LTs and RBs were not used in 2019 due to low and non-representative sampling efficacies. Results Overall, molecular evidence demonstrated the presence of three primary mosquito vectors, namely Anopheles arabiensis, rediscovered Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Anopheles funestus sensu stricto, alongside Anopheles squamosus and members of the Anopheles coustani complex. Vectors were found to bite throughout the night (1800 hours 0600 hours) both indoors and outdoors, with An. arabiensis having the highest biting rates outdoors. Low numbers of indoor resting Anopheles point to possible low indoor residual spraying (IRS) efficacy—with An. arabiensis found to be the major vector species resting indoors. The IR tests demonstrated varying country-wide resistance levels to the insecticide deltamethrin, with the resistance levels confirmed to have increased in 2019, evidence that impacts national programmatic decision-making. Vectors demonstrated susceptibility to the insecticides dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, bendiocarb and Actellic 300CS in 2018, with mosquitoes from only one site (Kavango West) demonstrating possible resistance to DDT. Targeted and question-based entomological surveillance enabled a rapid and focused evidence base to be built, showing where and when humans were being bitten and providing entomological data on long-lasting insecticidal nets, IRS efficacy and insecticide resistance, which the Ministry of Health and Social Services-Namibia can use to further build a monitoring and evaluation framework for understanding the drivers of transmission. Conclusion Identification and characterization of species-specific bionomic traits allows for an understanding of where and when vector human contact may occur as well as the potential impact of interventions. Low indoor resting rates as well as the presence of insecticide resistance (and the increase in its frequency) point to the need for mosquito-behavior-directed and appropriate interventions as well as the requirement for a resistance mitigation strategy. The ESPT-based question- and minimal essential indicator-based operational research strategy provides programs with directed and focused data for facilitating decision-making while requiring limited funding and capacity. Graphical Abstrac