Constraints to UPE: More than a question of supply?

The traditional approach to universal primary education (UPE) in developing countries has emphasised supply factors of schooling systems, such as the construction of schools and teacher training facilities, revisions to curricula and improvements in teaching materials. No doubt all these factors have played an important part in encouraging the growth of enrolment ratios throughout the developing world during the past two decades. But the profile of absentees from school, and the disproportionate enrolment of boys and girls in school suggest that this approach is unlikely to achieve full UPE. This paper calls for consideration of demand factors which may prevent children from attending school. Focusing on the household as the relevant unit, it examines the costs incurred when a child attends school in the developing world, and the benefits to be gained from school attendance. The paper then goes on to consider the case of Botswana, where, within the context of the goal of UPE, the government is investing vast resources in the expansion and improvement of the primary school system. Yet substantial numbers of children, boys in particular, continue to be withheld from school. After an analysis of the demand factors which prevent children from attending school in rural Botswana, the paper concludes with a discussion of the additional policies the Botswana government might find necessary to employ in order to achieve full UPE.     

What lies behind deschooling?

In 1972, Prospects printed a critique of the school as an institution (‘Freeing Educational Resources’, Vol. II, No. 1, 1972, p. 48) by Everett Reimer, criticism which had gained currency among a growing circle of educators, mostly from Western industrialized countries. This debate was carried on in Prospects in several other issues: Paulo Freire, ‘Education, Domestication or Liberation’, Vol. II, No. 2, p. 173; J. Blat-Gimeno, ‘Should we Abolish the Schooling of Children?’, Vol. II, No. 4, 1972; the ‘Viewpoints and Controversies’ section of Vol. III, No. 1; R. Nassif, ‘The Theory of De-schooling between Paradox and Utopianism’, Vol. V, No. 3, 1975. The following is a new contribution by Professor A. Petrovsky of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, who proposes a defence of the school as an institution. The debate is as one can see by no means closed.     

Supervision in Schools: Building Pathways to Excellence

The authors summarize the special section in the journal of Counselor Education and Supervision (Vol. 45, No. 4, June 2006) on school counseling supervision and present implications to guide the practice of school counselor supervision. The implications for practice, training, research, and professional standards for school counselors are discussed.     

School administration and school reform in Botswana

This paper reports the results of a survey of post-primary school administrators in Botswana, and discusses the implications of the findings for the success of the current program of school reforms. The paper suggests that administrative authority will have to be decentralized and school-level administrators will have to be given additional training if the reforms are to maintain or improve the quality of education in Botswana's schools.     

New languages of possibility: early experiments in education as dissent

This paper reviews the work of four early radical educators: the cultural nationalist Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Asia’s first Nobel Laureate; Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), Cambridge mathematician and philosopher; the Irish educationalist and insurgent Patrick Pearse (1879–1916) and Leonard Elmhirst (1893–1975), co-founder of Dartington Hall school in England. Each represents a type of radicalism that is particular to his own era but resonates in twentieth-century educational provision and policy. Each articulated his political vision through the establishment of a school and all contributed to modern pedagogical practice. The paper argues that ideological and methodological similarities not only compel us to consider them as radical founders, whose ideas are in many ways identical, but to identify them as pivotal theorists in early conceptualisations of education as dissent and disengagement, as a means of decoupling thought and habit from the mainstream of educational practice, colonial imposition or curricular conservatism. In particular, the paper concentrates upon the work of the Irish educationalist and political radical Patrick Pearse and, employing his educational writings and practice as a template for dissension, demonstrates that it was both typical of and reflected the wider tone of early formulations of education as dissent.     

Noteworthy Events and Reforms

After our recent issue on vocational and technical education was published (WEE, Vol. III, No. 1), an important reform in this area took place in France. The new plans, adopted by the French government in June, give vocational and technical education an important place in the total educational system. Vocational training and technical education not only will be fully integrated with academic and general education, but also will receive strong financial support, both for the school level and for continued education for adults.     

Teacher migration to Botswana: causes and implications for human resources management in education

Abstract

Botswana has been a host country to migrant teachers from various countries and regions of the world for many years. This paper reports on the migration motives that prompted teachers from four countries to move to Botswana to work in junior and senior secondary schools, and their attitudes towards human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in these schools. The teachers completed an 87-item questionnaire which measured four dimensions of migration push-pull factors, and HRM policy and practice issues. Multiple factors were revealed, linked to economic issues, personal circumstances, community and school-related conditions in both the home and host countries. However, the influence of each factor is related to migrants’ gender and countries of origin. As a follow-up to the above, a small, qualitative investigation was conducted. The reactions of five Botswana school managers to the HRM issues raised in the first phase were investigated by means of interviews. The results reveal the unique challenges of a diversified workforce for HRM in these schools.     

Guidance and counseling program development in Botswana

In this article the procedures utilized in developing recommendations for guidance and counseling programming in Botswana are discussed. Initially, the status of guidance and counseling was determined through numerous interviews with individuals in many locations in the country. In addition to the information gained from these interviews, a needs assessment was conducted through reviewing national documents and surveying primary and secondary teachers and secondary students. Questionnaires administered to 106 primary school teachers, 89 secondary school teachers and 405 secondary school students were analyzed.Data from these sources comprised the foundation for recommendations for a sequence of developmental tasks for Guidance and Counseling Program Development in the Botswana Educational System. Six primary counselor roles including 1) Counseling Service, 2) Consulting Service, 3) Information Service, 4) Referral Service, 5) Placement and Follow-up Service and 6) Evaluation and Research Service serve as the basis for these recommendations.     

überg?nge in die Ausbildung: Welche Rolle spielt die Ausbildungsreife?

Youth with no or only a lower secondary school degree (Hauptschulabschluss) are increasingly disadvantaged in terms of access to vocational education and training (VET). Their lower chances of obtaining a trainee are explained by the claim that an increasing number of them are ??not mature enough for VET??. These young people would not (yet) meet the training requirements??so the criticism. So far there are no empirical studies that have shown whether such immaturity can indeed serve as an appropriate explanation for differences in training chances of less-educated youth. This paper answers this question by analyses using a panel survey of school leavers after grade 9 from the Hauptschule in Lower Saxony. Central results are: About 45?% of the school leavers had successfully entered into an apprenticeship within three months. School grades in German and mathematics were less important than grades for work attitudes and firm-internships while still at school. In general, our analyses reveal that social behaviour and a firm??s opportunities to discover the strengths of low-achieving youths and not only their weaknesses are important factors for the chances of successful transitions into training.     

Quality Assurance Mechanisms and Processes in Teaching Practice: The Case of the University of Botswana

ABSTRACT

Teacher education in Botswana is offered at various higher education institutions (HEIs). Undergraduate pre-service teachers for the secondary school level are trained at the University of Botswana (UB) and the Botswana College of Agriculture, and both HEIs offer different and autonomous teacher-training programmes. The Faculty of Education at UB has its own quality assurance mechanisms for the Teaching Practice (TP) and Practicum. The purpose of the study reported on was to identify the quality assurance mechanisms and processes in place and then to establish their effectiveness. The research type adopted was the case study. Data for the study was collected through document analysis, an open-ended questionnaire and interviews with student teachers, TP coordinators and supervisors and those who have participated in moderation panels. Generally, the findings indicated that there are effective quality assurance mechanisms, structures, processes and procedures in place for the TP at UB.     

Provision of in-service training of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana: teachers’ perspectives

Teaching is a field that is dynamic, with innovations necessitating upgrading of skills and education of teachers for the successful implementation of reforms. The behaviour and attitudes of teachers towards teaching and learning and their knowledge banks are the result of the impact of in-service training. This study investigated the perceptions of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana towards in-service provision by the Department of Mathematics and Science Education In-service Training unit (DMSE-INSET), whose mandate is to improve the quality of teaching by supporting teachers through training programmes that enable them to take ownership of their professional development. Data were collected from a sample of 42 senior Mathematics and Science secondary school teachers, using structured interviews with open-ended questions, which were analyzed qualitatively. The findings show that teachers’ concerns included the lack of impact of current in-service training programmes on the education system, no regular follow-up activities to support the one-off workshops and insufficient skills acquired to sustain the implementation of the strategies solicited by the workshops.     

Maintaining the status quo—A response to Fred Wilson and John Wilson

This article concludes theInterchange debate on the author's own “A Possible ‘Orality’ for Science?” (Interchange, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 227–244). The author contrasts two movements in science education: Science for Scientists and Science for All. The author maintains that we need to review the language of science to the end of producing a more palatable school science curriculum for all of our pupils.     

Perceptions of Botswana primary teacher educators on selected teaching skills

This study investigates the levels of confidence of several categories of educators in some selected teaching skills. The educator categories comprise of primary school teachers, tutors at the Primary Colleges of Education, education officers and unqualified teachers in the colleges' catchment areas. The results are based on a questionnaire survey involving 504 educators. The educators are seen to influence to some extent the outcomes of the preservice training of teachers at the Primary Colleges in Botswana. The findings firstly suggest that about one-third of the respondents are not at all satisfied with teaching. The majority of education officers and principals of schools are the ones satisfied with their jobs. These differences among educator categories are statistically significant. Secondly, the analysis by location, rank and experience of the educators shows several trends. The analysis by location shows that educators in the urban setting are more confident in the selected skills than those from the rural areas. However, these differences are constant but not significant. The results by rank suggest the education officer respondents as being the most confident group. The college tutors and primary school teachers are more confident than the last category of unqualified teachers. The Pearson chi-square values for the analysis by rank suggest that these differences are significant. The results consistently show that longer experience in years does not lead to higher levels of confidence. The findings are also consistent in showing that there is a drop in levels of confidence with experience of twenty-six years and more. The paper discusses the implications of these results for professional skills training within the primary college catchment areas.     

Treatment Effectiveness of a Self-Help Manual for Dating Anxiety

The treatment effectiveness of a self-help manual for dating anxiety was evaluated with college males. Forty-six males reporting dating anxiety were divided by a median split into two groups of high and low frequency daters and randomly assigned to a treatment group or a delayed treatment group. The dating frequency of the low frequency daters in the treatment group. The dating frequency of the low frequency daters in the treatment group increased significantly in comparison to the low frequency daters in the control group. Self-perceived heterosexual avoidance in the treatment group decreased significantly in comparison to the control group. A delayed treatment control group after receiving the dating manual also significantly increased their dating. An 8 month follow-up indicated treated subjects were able to maintain their gains. No differences were found on self-report measures of general social anxiety or number of casual interactions. The changes on dating frequency and self-perceived heterosexual avoidance suggested that this self-help manual can provide assistance for males with dating anxiety who want to resolve this problem by themselves.     

Inclusive educational leadership to establish a co-operative school cluster trust? Exploring perspectives and making links with leadership for learning

ABSTRACT

One remarkable feature of the contemporary school landscape in England is the number of schools that have chosen the co-operative framework to shape their work and relationships. When a group of schools decides to become a co-operative trust, leadership challenges arise both in the process of establishing an inclusive collaborative cluster and in living out co-operative values. To add to the limited literature on co-operative school leadership, a study in a school cluster trust explored headteachers’, governors’ and teachers’ perspectives and beliefs through interviews, group discussions and questionnaires. These data sources revealed some of the motivations for, benefits of, and strategies to support inter-school collaboration guided by the co-operative values of democracy, solidarity, equality, equity, self-help and self-responsibility. Importantly, a range of perspectives on the extent to which leadership was viewed as, and appeared to be, an inclusive practice undertaken by all members of the cluster was identified. A particular contribution of this work is that it exemplifies resonances between the values and principles of the co-operative movement and those of the Leadership for Learning framework. Since these two models are being increasingly adopted and integrated into a variety of educational settings, the research findings may inform leadership practice more widely.     

A Social Constructivist Approach to Preparing School Counselors to Work Effectively in Urban Schools

In this article a social construction framework is used to improve the capacity of school counselors and trainees to work effectively with African American and Latina/o students in urban schools. Three key theoretical tenets of the social construction worldview are presented as a new lens for thinking about the meaning-making process of students in an urban school setting and how school counselors can support it. We offer activities to operationalize this theoretical point of view and implications for school counselor training and practice.     

Environmental education in southern Africa: a case study of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana

This study explored the extent to which teachers integrate environmental education and local environmental knowledge into the curriculum of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. In doing so, the study explored the potential value of place-based education in redressing concerns brought to light in postcolonial critiques of education in southern Africa. The study found that teachers sought to integrate environmental education into the curriculum through lessons that included references to local place names and local flora and fauna, lessons addressing issues related to environmental resource management in the region, and the acknowledgment and celebration of traditional lifestyle activities in the schools. The study also found that efforts to integrate environmental education into the curriculum were limited by a lack of educational resources needed to support these endeavors as well as a lack of adequate teacher training promoting this educational goal. The results also illustrate the potential value of place-based education in redressing the legacy of southern Africa’s colonial past in schools in Botswana and southern Africa.