An evaluation of the implementation of the student teacher mentoring programme in Zimbabwe

The student teacher mentoring programme (STMP) has been an important feature of the Zimbabwean teacher education landscape since 1995. However, this programme has not been evaluated and thus the need for this article, which seeks to evaluate the implementation of the STMP in Zimbabwe. Data were collected through responses to checklists and questionnaires by ten lecturers and sixteen mentors; fifteen student teachers responded to questionnaires, and two school heads were interviewed. The main findings are that: (1) the STMP is being implemented through the key elements (mentors, student teachers and the mentoring context); (2) while the key participants are playing their part in the STMP, the latter is not being effectively implemented because of lack of funding. This has negatively impacted on the STMP, resulting in low mentor morale. In the recommendations it is urged that the status of the mentor is recognised, in a bid to boost the STMP

Women in organisational management in Zimbabwe: theory and practice

The study was premised on the truism that men have historically served in higher echelons of organizational management structures and women are under-represented. The principal objective was to explore the constraints faced by women in accessing higher leadership and senior management positions in public, private and non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe. This study adopted the triangulation method, that is, qualitative and quantitative approaches. These mixed research methods, were upgraded by the feminist research methodologies, thereby making a contribution in the field of research. The study found out that the constraints that mostly hinder women from accessing leadership and senior management positions in public, private and NGOs were cultural practices, which represent levels of power and control that in turn hinder reforms; and women's socialisation into feminised roles. The study also found out that in most organisations, most females work under male leadership, and this traditional organisational culture, needs to be deconstructed and reversed in order to achieve gender equality. The study recommended for a human centric and integrated organizational management strategy for public, private and NGOs in Zimbabwe. The adoption of a human centric and integrated management approach should aim at gender equity and reduce women's under-representation. A human centred organizational culture has to be practiced, that would create organisational ethos that guide organizational management. An integrated organizational management approach should integrate all systems and processes into one complete framework, enabling people to work as a single unit, unified by organizational goals, shared vision and common values. The system should depend on a balanced mix of the masculine and feminine attributes. The approach should put its weight towards adoption of measures to attract, advance and empower women so as to benefit from their qualifications, experience and talent in a highly competitive environment

Community Policing And Crime Prevention: Evaluating The Role Of Traditional Leaders Under Chief Madliwa In Nkayi District, Zimbabwe

Community policing is a strategic consideration for contemporary policing, especially when police organisations worldwide increasingly seek cost-effective and sustainable methods of combating crime. The principle of community policing recognises the community and its leaders as equal partners in the prevention and reduction of crime. Hence, there is a need for research to interrogate how different police organisations have considered community policing as a panacea to their policing challenges. This study sought to evaluate the role of traditional leaders in community policing and crime prevention in the community of Chief Madliwa, Nkayi District in Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe. Interviews were carried out with eight village heads, four headmen and three key informants. Four focus group discussions were conducted to collect the villagers’ insight on the role of traditional leaders in community policing and crime prevention. Participants were identified using purposive and convenience sampling. The findings revealed that community policing is an effective strategy for crime prevention and that traditional leaders play a pivotal role in the success of community policing and crime prevention. Traditional leaders play an integral role in the recruitment of members of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee, assist with organising the business community to cooperate with the police in the fight against crime and play an important role in organising the community to attend crime awareness campaigns arranged by the police.</jats:p

Can the restrictive harvest period policy conserve mopane worms in Southern Africa? A bio-economic modelling approach

Imbrasia Belina also known as the mopane worm, like other edible insects and caterpillars, is a vital source of protein to Southern African countries. The worms live and graze on mopane trees, which occupy agricultural land. With increasing commercialization of the worm, the management of the worm, which was hitherto organized as a common property resource, has degraded to a near open access. In this paper, a simple bio-economic modeling approach has been taken to show that, for some optimal land allocation, the restrictive period harvest season policy that is advocated by community leaders may not lead to sustainable harvesting of the worm.

Participation of Women in Developmental Issues in Nkayi District, Zimbabwe

The study sought to investigate the participation of women in development issues in Nkayi district, located in Matabeleland North of Zimbabwe. This study was carried out because of several questions on the role women played in development issues. The study mainly focused on three key objectives; to analyse women’s participation in community development, to explore effects of women participation in economic development and to trace development in the community through women participation in policy dialogue and decision making processes.  To answer the research question, the study used a qualitative research paradigm because it is culturally specific and contextually rich in the data that it produces. A sample of twenty-four (24) women participants and four (4) key participants were identified using the convenience and purposive sampling techniques respectively. Research instruments that were used in data collection were Focus Group Discussions, In-depth interviews and observations. Research findings reflected that agricultural projects are at the centre of community development and women are involved in poultry farming, animal husbandry and vegetable production in Nkayi. This has resulted in poverty alleviation, making it easier for the community to address its social needs. The community has been able to develop infrastructure, for example, construction of schools that are in a bad state in the district. The study also discovered that some women were not enjoying the benefits of their agricultural projects because of gender based violence, a factor attributed to less participation in policy dialogue and decision making processes. Basing on these findings, the study recommends the Zimbabwean government to prioritise women’s involvement in the implementation of development programmes that support farmers, for example the recently introduced Command Agriculture which supports farmers with inputs. The programme supports women who are involved in agricultural productivity by boosting their income. Women should also participate in policy dialogue and decision making processes that affect them negatively. Keywords: Community Development, Economic Development, Policy Dialogue and Decision making

Female Zimbabwean school heads as curriculum leaders in disadvantaged school contexts

D.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)Despite women’s status improving remarkably in the 20th century universally, they continue experiencing barriers to accessing positions of power and leadership. However, there has been an increase in the number of women in public leadership positions. In spite of women’s increased entry in leadership positions, those who have managed to break the “glass ceiling” have met with a number of challenges that include negative attitudes and stereotyping. This study focuses on female Zimbabwean school heads leading schools in disadvantaged communities and investigates the challenges they encounter. It also investigates the strategies that these female heads employ for curriculum leadership in their schools. A qualitative research approach was adopted through the use of a multiple-case study method. A purposive sample of 12 female school leaders in their capacities as school heads, deputy school heads and teachers-in-charge was used. Individual in-depth interviews were used as the main instrument for data collection complemented by shadowing, observation and document analysis. This study has established that female school heads encountered challenges such as dealing with negative attitudes and stereotyping. Working in a disadvantaged community was itself a challenge, especially because resources were limited and the communities themselves were poorly educated. The school heads had to work assiduously to improve the academic performance and the schools’ infrastructure. They used collaborative approaches and spent most of their time supervising and directing school activities to ensure the achievement of school goals. The study also establishes that initially the female school heads were not psychologically ready to take up their roles as curriculum leaders. In line with this finding, a headship support model was devised for the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to consider

Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?

This paper uses data from household- and plot-level surveys conducted in the highlands of the Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia to examine the contribution of sustainable land-management practices to net values of agricultural production in areas with low- and high-agricultural potential. A combination of parametric and nonparametric estimation techniques is used to check result robustness. Both techniques consistently predict that minimum tillage is superior to commercial fertilizers—as are farmers’ traditional practices without use of commercial fertilizers—in enhancing crop productivity in the low-agricultural potential areas. In the high-agricultural potential areas, by contrast, use of commercial fertilizers is superior to both minimum tillage and farmers’ traditional practices without commercial fertilizers. The results are found to be insensitive to hidden bias. Our findings imply a need for careful agroecological targeting when developing, promoting, and scaling up sustainable land-management practices.agricultural productivity, commercial fertilizer, Ethiopia, low and high agricultural potential, minimum tillage, propensity score matching, switching regression

The Impact of Development Finance Institutions on Economic Growth: A case of South Africa

The relationship between financial development and economic growth remains a crucial subject of exploration in the academic world. Although several therioes and studies have been conducted to assess casuality between these two economic indicator proxies, the results remain inconclusive as to whether financial development causes economic growth or the opposite is true. Furthermore, the link between development finance institutions and economic growth is yet to receive empirical examination in emerging markets such as South Africa. Since the emancipation of South African country from apartheid the government embarked on several strategies to boost economic growth, one of which is the outlay of funds from the fiscus to development finance institutions to boost capital formation, which in turn results in growth. Whether or not these institutions and the extensions they make results in economic growth is subject to research. This study explores the long and short run effect of development finance institutions extensions on economic growth in South Africa from 1995 to 2018. It utilises annual aggregated development finance institutions extensions and real GDP as proxies for DFIs development and economic growth respectively. The study employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds tests approach to co-integration developed by (M. Hashem Pesaran, Shin, &amp; Smith, 2001) to determine the relationship between development finance committments development and economic growth, along with Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests and Philip Perron tests to test for unit roots on the data. The data was obtained from SADC statistics, World Bank, South African Reserve Bank, Open Source Capital and OECD library. The results of the study found evidence to support a deterministic relationship between the DFIs development and economic growth after controlling for trade openness and stock market development. The long run effect of DFI_E on economic growth revealed that DFIs extensions show significant influence on economic growth in South Africa. It therefore recommendeds that South Africa's policy makers should focus on policies that allow proliferation and ease of capital movements for international DFIs in the country. Additionally, the study recommends that the South African government increase its funding to domestic DFIs from the fiscus to enhance economic growth