Development of Social Studies Learners’ Textbooks for Secondary Schools in Zambia

Learner’s text books are one of the most important teaching and learning resources in most schools in developing countries, Zambia inclusive. This study was triggered as a result of concerns by various stakeholders and scholars regarding the quality of Social Studies learners’ textbooks for the junior secondary school which were developed following the 2013 revised Zambian school curriculum. The embedded research design of the mixed methods research approach was employed for this study. Using interview guides and questionnaires for data collection, information was collected from book publishers and 91 teachers of social studies. The findings of this study revealed that privatization of textbook development resulted in the development of poor quality textbooks. Furthermore, failure to adhere to a specific national textbook policy to guide the development of learners’ textbooks also contributed to the development of poor textbooks. It was further revealed that there was lack of coordination between the Curriculum Development Center and textbook publishing companies. Additionally, findings pointed to the fact that secondary school teachers of Social Studies were not fully involved in developing learners’ textbooks and political interference in textbook development was found to have also contributed to poor quality textbook development. Researchers in this study recommended that the Ministry of General Education (MoGE) through the Curriculum Development Centre should thoroughly revise the textbooks in question, broaden the scope of teacher involvement and stop the privatization of textbook development in Zambia. Keywords: Textbook development, Quality, Social Studies DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-6-1

Policy and Practice: Roles of the Guidance and Counseling Teachers in the Implementation of the Girls’ Reentry Policy in Selected Schools in Lusaka, Zambia

The effectiveness of the guidance and counseling teachers in Zambia is partly determined by the extent to which the schools meet the established girl’s reentry policy guidelines, how they conduct their counseling sessions with the girls and what activities they put in place for the reentered girls so as to help them remain and perform well in school. This paper is based on the study which evaluated the roles of the guidance and counseling teachers in the implementation of the reentry policy from a management perspective in Lusaka, Zambia. The study’s main purpose was to find out the extent to which the school guidance and counseling was helping the reentered girls in reducing teenage pregnancies. The research method design was descriptive in nature and used a qualitative approach. The research population was all the public primary and secondary schools in Lusaka district in Zambia. Head teachers and guidance and counseling teachers were interviewed while information from the reentered girls was obtained through questionnaires. The results of the study indicated that school managements had strived to implement the policy through the help of guidance and counseling departments. It was revealed from the study that the girls who did not want to go through counseling sessions had a lot of problems and dropped out of school due to lack of skills to help them contain the pressure and stigma from their peers. The results of the study also indicated that there seemed to be less sensitization on safer sex and abstinence for the girls in schools. The guidance and counseling teachers did not have regular contacts with the reentered girls as a result the girls faced a lot of problems both at home and at school which they struggled with on their own. Lack of a curriculum for guidance and counseling had also contributed to less contact which the teachers had with the girls. The results of the study also showed that the schools did not have specific programmes meant to help the reentered girls and had no system of following them up when they went on leave hence, most of the girls decided to stop school. The study results had also established that the schools had inadequate qualified guidance and counseling teachers to effectively conduct the sessions with the girls. Keywords: Guidance and counseling, Teenage pregnancy, Reentered girl

Civic Education Teaching Resources and Teacher Preparedness for Secondary School Competency-Based Curriculum in Lusaka, Zambia

This study sought to investigate on Civic Education Teaching Resources and Teacher Preparedness for Secondary School Competency-Based Curriculum in Lusaka, Zambia. The study employed the mixed methods approach, particularly the embedded research design in which 120 secondary school learners and 40 teachers were sampled using stratified random sampling. In addition, 10 Heads of Departments, 10 Head teachers, 2 Education Standards Officers and 1 Civic Education Curriculum Development Specialist were purposively sampled and semi-structured interview guides were used to obtain qualitative data from teachers and school leaders while the questionnaire was used to obtain information from learners. The findings revealed that despite teachers of civic education having being in-serviced on CBC, they were not using recommended teaching methods. It was also revealed that teaching resources were inadequate and teachers lacked an in- depth understanding of how to use teaching resources for effective implementation of the CBC. The study therefore recommended that the Ministry of Education should seriously consider retraining teachers with skills required for competency-based learning. Moreover, during the in-service and pre-service training, teachers should be upskilled in learner centered approachers that are most likely to promote learners acquisition of appropriate civic skills, knowledge and attitudes. Additionally, the Ministry of Education should facilitate and provide adequate teaching and learning resources in secondary schools so as to address the 21st century competencies deficiencies among learners

SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM AT THE CROSSROADS: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM IN CHINGOLA DISTRICT OF ZAMBIA

Curriculum implementation is one of the key aspects of the curriculum development process. The success of any educational policy depends on the accomplishing of the objectives of the policy. However, despite the desire to make learning more relevant to the needs of the learners by bringing into context all the skills, attitudes, values and competencies from the three subject areas (Geography, History and Civics) into one (Social Studies). The implementation of the 2013 revised junior secondary school Social Studies curriculum still remain a challenge. The purpose of this study was to analyse the implementation of the junior secondary school Social Studies curriculum in Chingola district. The researchers used a phenomenological research design. 71 participants comprising of 40 teachers of Social Studies, 20 learners of Social Studies, 10 secondary school head teachers and the District Education Standards Officer were sampled for the study. Data was collected from the District Education Standards Officer, Head teachers and teachers using interview schedules. From the learners, data was collected using focus group discussion schedules and then a document analysis schedule was also used to collect data from policy documents and school-based curriculum implementation documents. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the time allocated to the implementation of Social Studies in schools was inadequate. Further, Social Studies was being taught through specialization by teachers who were trained in subject areas like Geography, History and Civic Education a scenario which contributed to the poor performance of learners. The researchers recommended that the Ministry of General Education through the Curriculum Development Centre should consider allocating more time (periods) to the implementation of Social Studies, expedite the training and recruitment of Social Studies teachers and encourage Continuous Professional Development (CPD) meetings both at district and school levels for the purpose of capacity building.  Article visualizations

Teacher Education at the University of Zambia and Teacher Quality with Specific Reference to English Language

This paper presents an analysis of the quality of teacher education at the University of Zambia by combining the findings of two PhD theses conducted at the University of Zambia and in secondary schools in the last two years. Using self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 191 and 200 participants respectively, comprising of students, newly qualified teachers (NQTs), heads of department (HoDs), deans, and lecturers. The findings in the two studies indicate that there are a number of institutional weaknesses in the provision of teacher education at the University of Zambia. Prominent among these weaknesses is the inadequacy of teaching practice experiences for student teachers and the mismatch between subject content offered at the University of Zambia and content taught at the secondary school level. The paper concludes that this combination of poor teacher preparation affects teacher quality, which in turn affects educational delivery by the teachers

TEACHERS PRESENT IN SCHOOL BUT ABSENT IN CLASS: UTILIZATION AND ‘SILENT EROSION’ OF LEARNING TIME IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRICULUM IN MONGU DISTRICT OF ZAMBIA

Curriculum implementation in Zambia is faced with a lot of challenges ranging from poor funding, lack of appropriate and adequate teaching and learning resources, lack of qualified teachers in some subjects such as computer studies and sciences, poor school infrastructure especially in most rural areas, low teacher morale and lack of specialized teaching and learning resources for learners with special educational needs. However, one important curriculum implementation resource that research seems to ignore is learning time is utilized. The purpose of this study was to examine secondary school teachers’ utilization of learning time in the implementation of the curriculum. The researchers used a concurrent embedded design of the mixed methods research approach. A questionnaire and interview guides were used to collect data from teachers and secondary school head teachers respectively. While a focus group discussion guide was used to collect data from learners. Data was then analyzed using themes and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that although teachers would be present in school, they spent most of the time attending to non-classroom teaching activities such as organizing learners in sports, staff meetings and invigilation of national examinations. It was also revealed that the times that they would be in class, teachers would most of the times start the lesson about eight minutes late. Researchers in this study concluded that several non-teaching factors affected effective utilization of learning time in the implementation of the curriculum. It was therefore; recommended that there should be proper review of how learning time was being managed in the schools in the province.  Article visualizations