Exploring self-directed continuous professional development for English Language teachers in selected Namibian secondary schools
- Authors: Amakutuwa, Hilma Ndesheetelwa Mwalengwa
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: English language Study and teaching Namibia , English teachers Namibia , Continuing professional development , Self-managed learning , Reflective practice
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/463538 , vital:76418
- Description: Continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers, with all its diverse notions, has been noted and articulated in various policy documents in Namibia, and is understood as in-service training and professional development for teachers to improve learning outcomes. In Namibia, challenges have been experienced with the performance of learners in English as a Second Language (ESL) at the national level, and teacher professional development could be one way of changing the status quo. However, in answer to the call from the Namibian Ministry of Education Arts and Culture for a more idiosyncratic orientation, limited literature was found on how ESL teachers use self-directed learning (SDL) to shape their CPD activities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to address this gap by exploring the self-directed CPD needs of English Language teachers in selected Namibian secondary schools. The study was oriented to theoretical insights from SDL, reflective practice and social constructivism. Through the use of a qualitative approach, the study employed an exploratory case study research design. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to generate data from eight selected Grade 8 to 12 ESL teachers in the Khomas region of Namibia. The data gathered were analysed using an inductive thematic framework. The findings of the study indicate that ESL teachers are faced with a myriad of challenges ranging from classroom experiences, the type of learners they work with and the support system available at school, regional and national level. The study found that due to changing education paradigms, ESL teachers need to broaden their knowledge base in specialised education and systematic professional interventions at school level. They indicated that this would help learners with challenges in reading, writing and comprehension to improve their skills in ESL classrooms. They further emphasised the necessity for mentors, education specialists, systematic schools and circuit based collaborative CPD, as well as more support from school heads and regional ESL senior education officers, which is an area that is inadequately managed. Finally, they pointed out that in order to make their ESL classes engaging and enjoyable, teachers needed to have a strong foundation in ICT education. This foundation can be leveraged to create resources that are now lacking. The findings have implications for ESL teachers, school administrators, education specialists and policymakers, as they provide insights and recommendations for enhancing ESL education practices. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
The role of local level agency in a just green transition: the case of Rhodes University
- Authors: Nel, Vanray
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Green economy , Just Transition , Clean energy South Africa Makhanda , Rhodes University , Triple bottom line , Sustainable development South Africa Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/419643 , vital:71662
- Description: The research uses a richly contextualised case study of Rhodes University to explore the role of local level agency in a just green transition. The central concept of the thesis is mainstreaming sustainability. Sustainability has become a core objective both at the macro and micro levels. The just green transition and triple bottom line are shorthand for these macro and micro concepts. At the macro level, there is increasing evidence suggesting that transitioning to a sustainable economy can be a key driver of economic development. At the micro level, the elements of the triple bottom line increasingly overlap, with sustainability no longer a separate goal, or a ‘nice to have’, but integral to organisational success. However, this potential is clearly not being realised, and sustainability often remains ‘niche’. Lack of progress at the macro-level reinforces the importance of bottom-up, local level agency. In keeping with the broader micro-level literature, the case study strongly suggests that mainstreaming sustainability would have multiple benefits. These include reducing dependence on unreliable state-provided services and enhancing Rhodes University’s standing as a genuinely transformative institution. The evidence suggests that there is a pure financial case for green investments, such as the construction of a solar farm at Rhodes University, even before accounting for the social and environmental benefits of such an initiative. This shifts the focus to why institutions like Rhodes University have not been proactive in mainstreaming sustainability. The document analysis and the interviews showed that there is an awareness of the importance and potential of mainstreaming sustainability. However, the funding squeeze is often misperceived as a binding constraint, and there is an absence of innovative thinking about how to finance projects with high returns, such as a solar farm. A theme amongst several of the interviewees was that the university should embrace a policy of enhancing small changes as a way of mainstreaming sustainability gradually. Even here, there are doubts about whether the organisational structure of the university will allow this. On the other hand, there are positive signs that the increasing sense of crisis means management and other key stakeholders are gradually shifting towards seeing the crucial importance of the university embracing a more proactive stance. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Economic History, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
Prosecution of forced marriage by international courts and tribunals in light of the principle of legality
- Authors: Okeyo, Julian Rebecca Atieno
- Date: 2023-03-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/420720 , vital:71772
- Description: Thesis embargoed. Probable release date in 2024. , Thesis (LLM) -- Faculty of Law, Law, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-03-29
An evaluation of the impact of the Rhodes University Master of Education in Mathematics Education Programme in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates
- Authors: David, Johannes
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Master of education degree Namibia , Rhodes University. Department of Education , Mathematics Study and teaching , Critical thinking , Master of education degree Evaluation , Career development Namibia , Educational change Namibia , College students Attitudes
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191942 , vital:45181
- Description: Rhodes University (RU) has been offering a MEdME (Masters in Education, Mathematics Education) degree in Namibia for over 12 years without evaluating its success and impact. This study aimed to evaluate the MEdME programme’s impact on the graduates and on mathematics education in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates. The study also evaluated the factors that enabled or limited the impact of the programme from the perspective of RU staff members. A three-phased research study was implemented to achieve this. Phase I was a MEdME theses audit to analyze what each graduate researched which then guided the sampling process. Phase II was a distribution of a questionnaire to willing MEdME graduates to elicit their views about the programme's impact. In Phase III, selected graduates were interviewed to follow up on the questionnaire. The RU academic staff members were also interviewed about the programme's design and rationale, as well as their perspectives on its impact on graduates' professional lives. The study found that graduates believed that the programme made them more critical reflexive practitioners (CRPs) who: are now self-introspective, can reflect in context and are competent researchers. This is a sign of the programme attaining its objectives of developing and growing CRPs and graduates, who have advanced in their fields, including their ability to do research. The programme also created opportunities for graduates to study further and/or publish papers. The programme further opened up opportunities for graduates’ promotion into positions of influence in the Ministry of Education where they can positively impact on mathematics education transformation in Namibia (METN). The graduates consequently noticed improvements in some areas but they also noticed room for improvement in other areas of mathematics education in Namibia. This study therefore suggests that more mathematics teachers study further, improve their research capacity and contribute more to METN. The study also suggests a national campaign to increase mathematics teachers' content knowledge. Furthermore, the programme should reintroduce coursework to address students’ subject content knowledge. RU is also advised to explore offering a Professional MEd in Namibia for students who want to focus more on improving their mathematics content knowledge. It is also proposed that Namibia establish a research bank where researchers can upload their theses for wider dissemination. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Biton’s Lost Siege Engine: Experimental archaeology in Classical Studies
- Authors: Rademan, David John
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Pergamum (Extinct city) , Dimensional analysis , Engineering History To 168 B.C. , Fluid mechanics History To 168 B.C. , Byzantine literature History and criticism , Siege warfare History To 168 B.C. , Biton of Pergamon , Isidorus of Abydos , Poliorcetics
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192330 , vital:45216
- Description: This thesis entails an examination of several problems inherent in placing a technical treatise by the Hellenistic Greek engineer, Biton of Pergamon, at a siege of 156-154BCE, with a view to galvanising the existing case of previous scholarship through a combined approach of literary, textual, geographical, and technical analysis. Particular focus is given to the following problems: technical errors in current translations of the treatise of Biton; technical considerations in scholars’ reproductions of a particular engine in the treatise; an assessment of the practical implications of the treatise in situ at the physical site of the ancient city of Pergamon in the second century BCE, as evidenced by archaeological findings and surveys; assessment of those implications by way of historical records of similar conflicts from the Hellenistic period; and suggesting a procedure of dimensional analysis for testing a hypothesis regarding the feasibility of the ancient engineer’s recommended engines as a stand-in for the city’s original defenses, in a manner that harmonises the methodologies of historicism and experimental archaeology with sound and appropriate modern engineering practice from the field of Fluid Mechanics. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages and Literatures, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29