Discourses of education,protection, and child labor: case studies of Benin,Namibia and Swaziland

This article analyses discontinuities between local, national and international discourse in the fields of education, protection of children, and child labor, using Benin, Namibia and Swaziland as case studies. In Benin, child abuse and child labor are related to poverty, whereas in Namibia and Swaziland they are also interrelated with HIV/AIDS. In these countries, the notion of childhood is seen as continuous with adulthood, and the change from education to work is not abrupt and age-determined, but a smooth transition. The international discourse defines children in binary terms (child or adult), and promotes free and compulsory education for children, without recognizing the direct and indirect costs of education. Projects based on an international discourse may have little relevance in a poverty context where it is natural to make children work to ensure food safety. Local communities consider children from a logic of community survival; the external aid agencies consider them from a logic of individual children's rights. There is a need to find a bridge between these two interpretations of childhood.     

Perspectives on pedagogy in teacher education: The case of Namibia

This paper examines the conceptualization of pedagogical practice in the reform of a teacher education program in Namibia. Through an analysis of the views of knowledge, learning and teaching presented in government policy statements for educational reform and in beliefs and concerns expressed by a group of teacher educators, the study explores the perspectives on pedagogy. The possible obstacles to a radical shift in practice are discussed in light of these perspectives and suggestions for scaffolding the reform are made.     

Challenges associated with curriculum alignment,change and assessment reforms in Namibia

Aligning curriculum change and assessment reforms has been a topic of great concern in Namibia for over the past 23 years. This is because during the pre-colonial period and continuing in post-independence Namibia, national examinations have been used mainly for the certification and selection of learners at Junior and Senior secondary school phases. Despite this, there is great need to align curriculum changes, standards and assessment in Namibia, since this is viewed as critical for the effectiveness of any education system. Hence, this paper attempts to cross-examine the challenges associated with curriculum alignment issues, changes and assessment reforms in Namibia. This was done by reviewing and analysing relevant documents such as curriculum, policies and examination results among others. Particular attention is paid to the Junior and Senior secondary school levels due to the fact that at these phases there are two major national terminal examinations.     

Explaining learning gaps in Namibia: The role of language proficiency

In a multilingual context, this study investigates the role on mathematics achievement of the provision of instruction in the home language. It compares characteristics of 5048 Grade 6 learners in 275 Namibian schools. The outcome variable is the standardized SACMEQ mathematics score collected in year 2000. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. The results do confirm the significant role of low language skills on the overall low mathematics scores, which may question the effectiveness and equity of the current bilingual policy.     

Anatomy education in Namibia: balancing facility design and curriculum development

The anatomy curriculum at Namibia's first, and currently only, medical school is clinically oriented, outcome-based, and includes all of the components of modern anatomical sciences i.e., histology, embryology, neuroanatomy, gross, and clinical anatomy. The design of the facilities and the equipment incorporated into these facilities were directed toward simplification of work flow and ease of use by faculty, staff, and students. From the onset, the integration of state of the art technology was pursued to facilitate teaching and promote a student-centered pedagogical approach to dissections. The program, as realized, is comprised of three 16-week semesters with seven hours of contact time per week, namely three hours of lectures and four hours of dissection laboratory and microscopy time. Set outcomes were established, each revolving around clinical cases with integrated medical imaging. The design of the facility itself was not constrained by a legacy structure, allowing the School of Medicine, in collaboration with architects and contractors, to design the building from scratch. A design was implemented that allows for the sequential processing of cadaveric material in a unidirectional flow from reception, to preparation, embalming, storage, dissection, and maceration. Importantly, the odor of formaldehyde typically associated with anatomy facilities was eliminated outside of the dissection areas and minimized within via a high-performance ventilation system. By holistically incorporating an integrated curriculum, facility design, and teaching at an early stage, the authors believe they have created a system that might serve as a model for new anatomy programs.     

Universities responding to policy: Organisational change at the University of Namibia

In this article the development of the University of Namibia since itsestablishment (8 years ago) has been studied within the context of theformation of the newly-independent Southern African state of Namibia. Ahybrid framework, based on the major theoretical perspectives ofneo-institutionalism and resource dependency, has been utilized toanalyse the accounts of key respondents involved in these developmentsand hence derive an explanatory narrative of the changes involved inresponse to (government) policy.It is suggested that the major themes within this narrative may be ofexplanatory value when studying organizational change in small(developing) countries with relatively young institutions. Inparticular, the following concepts are worth highlighting: thenormatively strong but operationally weak state interacting with thenormatively weak but operationally strong institution; the commonpolitical elite, with institutional leaders sharing government values;and the relative informality of policy formulation and pluralism ofgovernment, with leading institutional actions having a policy sensingand shaping role.The loose set of themes devised from the interpretation ofsemi-structured interviews with a relatively small number of respondentscan also be considered as providing a conceptual framework for furtherresearch both within the specific institution and on a broadercomparative basis.     

Education for Human Rights Democracy in Southern Africa: A Pilot Project in Mozambique,Namibia and Zimbabwe

International Review of Education -     

Needs Assessment for INSET for Unqualified Primary Teachers in Namibia: An effective model

The literature endorses the critical role of needs assessment for effective INSET (In-service Education and Training). This view is not however, adequately supported by empirical research. There is also a dearth of literature on the process of needs assessment. The few studies that explore the process focus on the use of questionnaire and interview methods. The latter method was found to be inappropriate for the unqualified primary teachers participating in an INSET programme in Namibia (1995-97). This paper explores the process of needs assessment within this programme and presents an effective model of needs assessment which guided it. The model suggests the use of a multi-pronged qualitative approach to assessing needs.     

Planning Technical and Vocational Education and Training: the case of Namibia [1]

ABSTRACT

In 1991, shortly after independence, the government of Namibia established a Presidential Commission on Higher Education. The Commission's report contains almost 200 recommendations covering the whole field of post‐school education. The account presented here concentrates on technical and vocational education, access to higher education and inter‐relationships between the various levels of the educational system. Technical and vocational education at the time of independence was fragmented, inappropriate in a number of ways and not well supported. Fundamental change was necessary. Solutions need to be found around a set of baste principles, including: the need for a coherent system of linked qualifications, the importance of a national training policy enunciated by government, strategies which are responsive to employment requirements and which meet the needs of disadvantaged groups, special access routes for students who have missed out on educational opportunities, adequate provision for pre‐service and in‐service instructor training and teacher education.

     

The development of national standards for adult educators in Namibia

Since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, Namibia has placed considerable emphasis on education, including adult learning. As a means of improving the quality of adult learning, the Namibian Ministry of Education commissioned the development of national standards in 2010 to express competency requirements for adult educators. Particular attention was paid to the views of adult learners who participated through thirty focus groups. The participatory process revealed that the work of an adult educator is more complex and demanding than had previously been appreciated. The required competencies were categorised under four headings: (1) Knowledge as an adult educator, (2) Practice as an adult educator, (3) Relationships as an adult educator and (4) Ethics and professionalism as an adult educator. The Namibia Qualifications Authority, acting under its legislative mandate of setting occupational standards for occupations, jobs, posts and positions, approved the national standards in 2011.     

The inset strategies model: an effective inset model for unqualified and underqualified primary teachers in Namibia

The problem of significant numbers of unqualified and underqualified primary teachers is critical in some African countries. As INSET (In-service Education and Training) is the only training these teachers receive, effective INSET practice is of concern to INSET planners seeking to address this problem. This article explores effective INSET strategies: the criteria for effectiveness being implementation of the training in the classroom. It presents an effective cyclical INSET model, entitled the INSET Strategies Model, which was used to guide a three-year (1995–1997) INSET programme for 145 unqualified and underqualified primary teachers in Namibia. The programme sought to develop teachers' basic teaching, English Language Teaching (ELT) and learner-centred skills, in order to support their efforts to implement reforms related to ELT introduced in Namibia in the early 1990s. The article discusses the stages of the model, each of which corresponds to an INSET strategy: needs assessment, organisation, determination of content, training process, follow-up and evaluation. The underlying change framework of the model, particularly the extent to which it takes micro-implementation factors into account, is offered as one explanation for its success. These factors are the objective and subjective realities within which teachers work.     

Dialogic education as an approach to multiculturalism for social cohesion in Namibia

The paper explores approaches to cultural diversity and its relation to the concept of social cohesion in the context of a multicultural school community. It uses insights from an empirical research on multicultural education conducted in Namibia as context for a discussion on tools in educational practice that would support diversity while working towards a greater integration of a pluralistic society. Looking into the African concept of Ubuntu and the corresponding teachings of the philosophers of dialogue, this theoretical paper suggests dialogic learning as an approach to multiculturalism that can enhance tolerance among peoples and produce a society united through understanding.     

School experiences of HIV-positive secondary school learners on ARV treatment in Namibia

Although the provision of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment is central to the medical and policy response to the HIV pandemic, relatively little research in the SADC region and in Namibia particularly, attends to HIV-positive people's experiences and the social effects of taking ARV treatment, with children being least focused on. The study from which the paper is drawn contributes to this dearth by examining the experiences of HIV-positive high school learners on ARV treatment in Khomas Region, Namibia. The study adopted a qualitative case study design based mainly on individual interviews with a purposive, select sample of eight learners at the site school where one of the authors is a teacher-counsellor. Pervasive stigma and discrimination in school notwithstanding, learner journeys reflect shifts from deep despair towards the emergence of voice, positive self-concept, as well as resilient dispositions and behaviour.Using a theory of health-related stigma and discrimination, this paper does two things. First, it contributes to understanding the complex reciprocal relationship between cause and effect of stigma and the attendant discriminatory practices emerging from ‘othering’ and marking the ‘other’ as aberrant. Second, it raises pressing questions on the place and position of schools and teachers in high HIV prevalence contexts, characterized by pervasive stigma and discrimination and where stable family structures, parental oversight and ‘normal’ progression through school cannot be assumed. It raises questions on the nature and form of school support necessary to positively contribute to learner well-being and school completion for those HIV positive and on ARV treatment.     

Strengthening internal quality assurance as a lever for enhancing student learning experiences and academic success: lessons from Namibia

Higher education plays an important role in the social, economic and political development of any given nation. In the Namibian context, quality assurance systems have been put in place at both national and institutional levels through the establishment of national quality assurance agencies and units responsible for quality in institutions. A critical literature analysis of quality assurance systems in higher education shows that although they claim to strike a balance between improvement and accountability, external quality assurance mechanisms tend to have an accountability and compliance focus and to promote managerialisation and bureaucratisation of academia. This article argues that internal quality assurance systems, built on a strong quality culture, tend to be more effective in enhancing the quality of student learning experience and academic success than externally driven quality assurance. Thus, to promote genuine quality, more energy must be invested in external quality assurance capacitating and strengthening internal quality assurance systems.