Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

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Implementation of strategies used to maintain positive discipline in secondary schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province , Zimbabwe : Towards a holistic positive discipline management model
(2015) Mlalazi., Lwazi
The use of positive discipline management strategies in Zimbabwean schools has sparked debate among education practitioners, members of the civil society and other stakeholders. The arguments for and against the use of positive discipline management strategies has been triggered by the concerns over the use of negative discipline strategies in most schools in Zimbabwe. In the recent past, many stories have appeared on media showing the abuse of power by some education practitioners leading to this outcry. In response to this on-going debate, this study explored strategies used by educationists to maintain discipline in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province secondary schools in Zimbabwe, paying particular attention to the implementation of positive discipline management strategies. The study was located in the interpretive paradigm and it used the qualitative approach, and case study design to examine the issues under review. Purposive sampling technique was used to select participants who were rich informants and these included Education Officers, school heads, school counsellors, members of the disciplinary committees, prefects and School Development Committee chairpersons. Data was solicited through face to face interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The study established that positive discipline management strategies which comprised the code of conduct, guidance and counselling, teaching social skills, school-wide positive behaviour support, communication, positive reinforcement, modelling positive behaviour and training were implemented in the selected secondary schools but in varied ways. In contrast, the study revealed that selected schools faced challenges as some teachers still used traditional methods of disciplining learners which were unlawfully administered, there was also lack of qualified counsellors, insufficient financial resources which hindered the training of members of staff and parents, and limited transport services which impeded the monitoring of implementation of positive discipline management strategies in secondary schools by the Education Officers. Despite the hindrances experienced, this study found that there were pockets of good practices in implementing positive discipline management strategies. For example, during the implementation of the code of conduct strategy, the learners’ input was included in crafting the codes of conduct, discipline issues were also included in the parents’ meeting agenda, and learners who breached the code of conduct were counselled. In implementing the guidance and counselling strategy learners actively participated in clubs, peer counselling, accessed counselling services anytime regardless of the counsellors’ tight schedules, counselling facilities were improvised, and the school counsellors used multiple counselling methods to respond to the needs of individual learners. It was further revealed that in the implementation of the teaching social skills strategy learners were involved in community service. As for monitoring and support, the study found that the Education Officers organised workshops and facilitated in training of school heads and teachers regardless of the transport challenges they were facing. The study concluded that selected secondary schools used several strategies to maintain positive discipline and these included rewarding learners who have shown good conduct throughout the year, inviting parents to school if their children have shown unbecoming behaviour and use of prefects and members of staff as role models. Additionally, the members of school community were involved inthe implementation process in different capacities and roles. For effective implementation of positive discipline strategies, the study recommended that, there should be interactive participation of all members of the school community and integration of all positive discipline management strategies during the implementation process. Furthermore, based on the findings of the study and extensive literature search, the researcher proposed an alternative model for implementing positive discipline management strategies that may result in good practices in secondary schools.
Teaching Biology Practical Lessons in Secondary Schools:A Case Study of Five Mzilikazi District Secondary Schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
(De Gruter, 2017) Mwangu, Edson C.; Sibanda, Lwazi
The study examined how teachers teach Biology practical lessons at Ordinary Level in Mzilikazi District Secondary Schools of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. Qualitative approach and case study design were adopted. Data was collected using document analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted with purposively selected five Biology teachers, five Heads of Science Department from five schools, and one Science Subject Inspector. Data were thematically analysed. The study revealed that teachers used both teacher-centred and student-centred methods in teaching Biology practical lessons and various factors constrained the teaching of practical lessons. The study concluded that some Biology teachers in selected schools did not conduct practical lessons in line with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education expectations. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should continue equipping teachers with knowledge and skills of teaching Biology practical lessons through workshops and other staff development programmes.
Positive Discipline Practices in Schools: A Case of Mzilikazi District Secondary Schools in Zimbabwe
(2017) Sibanda, L.; Mpofu, M.
The study assessed factors constraining use of positive discipline practices in Mzilikazi District Secondary Schools. Qualitative approach and case study design were employed. Purposively selected participants from four secondary schools comprised four school heads; twenty members of the disciplinary committee, four school counsellors, forty prefects and four School Development Committee chairpersons. Data analysed thematically were collected using face to face semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. Results revealed that lack of role models, ineffective communication, not rewarding positive behaviour, ineffective monitoring and inadequate financial resources constrained use of positive discipline practices in selected schools. The study concluded that factors that constrained use of positive discipline practices in schools mainly emanated from teachers, learners, parents and the members of the community. It is recommended that schools should initiate training programmes for teachers and parents to positively influence their discipline practices in enhancing use of positive discipline practices.
Teaching Social Skills as a Proactive Discipline Management Strategy: Experiences of Selected Secondary Schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
(2018) Sibanda, L.
The study examined how secondary schools use proactive teaching social skills strategy to maintain discipline among learners in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The study was ingrained in interpretive paradigm, adopted qualitative approach and employed a case study design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select four secondary schools and participants who comprised two education officers, four school heads; four school counsellors, twenty members of the disciplinary committee, forty prefects and four school development committee chairpersons. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews, and were analysed thematically. The study established that learners were taught social skills during guidance and counselling lessons and club sessions which were part of the co-curricular programmes offered in schools. It was found that the topics taught during the teaching of social skills included conduct, relationships, community involvement; decision-making skills, communication skills, drug and substance abuse, career guidance, stress management, honesty and integrity, conflict resolution, assertiveness, self-awareness and health issues, among others. The study also revealed that some learners were engaged in community activities to reach out to underprivileged members of the society. The results further indicated that the teaching social skills strategy was effective because it taught learners to be responsible for their behaviour and contributed to the reduction of unbecoming behaviour cases in schools. Nevertheless, the teaching social skills strategy faced constraints mainly from some teachers’ and parents’ negative attitudes towards social skills activities. The study concluded that the use of proactive teaching social skills strategy yielded positive results as schools exposed learners to multiple activities that contributed to the modification of learner behaviour which created a safe teaching and learning environment. The study recommended that schools should intensify the training programmes for teachers and parents to positively influence their attitudes towards the teaching of social skills in order to reinforce positive behaviour among learners.
An Assessment of Strategies that Enhance the Teaching and Learning of Business Studies at Advanced Level in Imbizo District of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province
(2018) Moyo, C.; Sibanda, L.
The study focused on assessing strategies that enhance the teaching and learning of Business Studies at Advanced Level. Interpretivist paradigm, qualitative approach and case study design were adopted in this study. Purposively selected participants comprised four teachers and twenty-nine students. Data collected through semistructured face to face interviews and focus group interviews were thematically analysed. The study established that schools used case studies, collaborative learning, computer-aided learning and brainstorming to enhance teaching and learning. Nonetheless, the results revealed that the main challenges encountered in using the strategies included lack of finance and locally published textbooks. The study concluded that though schools faced numerous challenges, there were some elements of good practices that had positive impact on instructional delivery of Business Studies. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should encourage the Business Studies teachers to author local textbooks which are relevant to the students.
Influential Factors to Financial Management in Chegutu District Secondary Schools of Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe
(2020) Ndhlovu, J.; Sibanda, L.; Mathwasa, J.
The study explored factors that influence financial management in Chegutu District Secondary Schools of Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. The study was stimulated by the serious financial challenges in secondary schools as characterised by failure to follow laid down procedures, disagreements, inadequate training and lack of knowledge by both school heads and SDC members in managing finances. The interpretive paradigm and qualitative approach guided the study. A case study design was adopted and purposively sampled participants constituted five school heads, five School Development Committee chairpersons, five School Development Committee treasurers and five school bursars. Thematically analysed data was collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings revealed that manuals and policy circulars influence the way schools formulate their budgets as they give clear steps that should be followed. It also emerged from the study that the school finance committee is responsible for drawing the school budget after consultation with other stakeholders. It was found that training of school heads, School Development Committee members and bursars influence financial management to a larger extent and there is a very strong relationship between financial management training and effectiveness of financial management in secondary schools. The study concluded that good working relationship among stakeholders and lack of knowledge by both school heads and School Development Committee members in managing school finances greatly influence the way they execute their duty of managing school finances. The study recommends further research that explores strategies that can be established for improving the way schools manage finances.
Managing Learner Behaviour in a Virtual Classroom: Experiences of Selected Private High School Teachers in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
(2021) Sibanda, L.
The study examined experiences of private high school teachers in managing learners’ behaviour in virtual classrooms. The study was motivated by paradigm shift from physical classroom to virtual classroom in most educational institutions globally because of corona virus pandemic. A qualitative study, rooted in interpretive paradigm employed case study design. The participants who constituted ten teachers were purposively selected from two private high schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The data solicited through emailed openended questionnaire were transcribed, coded and thematically analysed. The findings revealed that there is a mixture of good and bad behaviour in a virtual classroom just like in a physical classroom. The results showed that private high school teachers have adopted diverse strategies to manage learners’ behaviour in virtual classrooms such as use of collaborative learning, ensuring that learners’ videos are on throughout the lesson, constantly referring to learners by their names to remain alert, punctuality in starting online lessons and marking attendance register. The study established that private high school teachers experienced innumerable challenges in managing learners’ behaviour in virtual classrooms. It emerged that some learners absent themselves from lessons although they have all resources supporting their learning, and there was lack of collaboration from some parents who were reluctant to guide their children in behaviour modification. The results further suggest that the private high schools support the management of learners’ behaviour through various ways which include providing timetable which is shared with learners and parents to ensure that learners do not miss the lessons and distributing school rules with consequences well spelt out, to learners and parents. It emerged that the school heads regularly engage learners to moral and values sessions. The study established that the parents are appraised of their children’s attendance and performance through a weekly summary report sent by the schools. The study concludes that the selected private schools apply whole school approach to manage learners’ behaviour in virtual learning. The study recommends that private high schools should train parents to acquaint them with roles they should play in assisting their children in virtual learning.
Perceptions of teachers and learners on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown on rural secondary school female learners in Matobo District, Zimbabwe
(2021) Sibanda, Lwazi; Mathwasa, Joyce
The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of teachers and learners on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on rural secondary school female learners in Matobo District. The study was qualitative in nature, entrenched on interpretivist paradigm and adopted a case study design. Data was collected using open-ended questionnaire and online focus group discussions from six teachers and eighteen learners who formed three focus group discussions. The participants were purposively sampled from three schools. The study found that a few teachers were able to conduct online lessons using WhatsApp platform during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the selected schools though there was no consistence as teaching was not programmed and participation of female learners was low. The findings revealed that most of the parents could not afford to provide online learning resources for their children because of economic hardships. The study further established that rural female learners were at risk during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as some of them were exposed to sexual abuse when they try to have access to smartphones and data bundles from some male adults. It was found that female learners have lost much of their learning time whilst on lockdown and many cases of pregnancy have emerged leading to dropping out of school. The study concluded that most of the rural secondary school female learners were excluded from education during lockdown due to poverty, unavailability of network or poor network coverage, lack of broadcast transmission services to enable them to access online lessons through the radio, lack of electricity, poor attendance due to lack of smartphones and data bundles, performance of all household chores including herding of cattle and lack of cooperation from some parents. The study recommended that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should collaborate with stakeholders to provide necessary resources to enable all learners to access online learning despite geographical location.
Provision of quality education in private schools: reflective practices in low-cost private secondary schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
(2021) Midzi, S.; Sibanda, L.; Mathwasa, J.
Quality in education has become a cause for concern to every stakeholder in education. The study sought to assess the provision of quality education in low-cost private secondary schools in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The study adopted the interpretivist paradigm in qualitative approach, using a case study design. Semistructured interviews and document analysis were used for collecting thematically analysed data from purposively sampled four school heads and six teachers from lowcost private secondary schools. The study established that in pursuit for quality education, selected schools employed qualified teachers who engage in continuous professional development programmes to sharpen their teaching skills. The findings revealed that the schools understudy are making efforts to offer practical science and computer lessons using the limited resources to ensure the provision of quality education. It emerged that selected schools use e-learning and multimedia resources which arouse learners’ interests and increase the retention rates. It came out that the schools understudy have environmental clubs which work together with school health departments in attending to sanitary issues. Whilst selected schools practiced heterogeneous grouping, the findings revealed that learners with physical disabilities are not enrolled in those schools due to lack of appropriate physical facilities and there are no teachers with relevant expertise to teach learners with special needs. The study revealed that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education provided guidelines in the form of policy documents and circulars to monitor the provision of quality education in the selected schools. Despite the efforts made by low-cost secondary schools in providing quality education, the study found that high staff turnover is negatively affecting the quality of education due to lack of continuity in learning. The findings indicated that inadequate learning resources and infrastructure such as libraries, computer and science laboratories, internet services, and lack of teachers with special needs expertise adversely affected the provision of quality education. The study concludes that lack of financial resources is a hindrance in the provision of quality education in low-cost secondary schools. The study recommends that a comparative study on provision of quality education should be conducted in private trust secondary schools.
The Competence-Based Advanced Level Mathematics Curriculum: Implications for Students’ Enrolment in one University in Zimbabwe
(2021) Chikusvura, N.; Sibanda, L.; Mathwasa, J.
The study set out to examine the relevance of the competencebased Advanced Level mathematics curriculum for entry into university mathematics-related degree programmes. The study adopted a qualitative approach ingrained in the interpretive paradigm which employed a case study design. Four A-Level mathematics teachers, eighteen Lower Sixth and six Upper Sixth mathematics major students were purposively sampled to respond to semi-structured face-to-face interviews and focus group interviews. The study found that the implementation of the competence-based Advanced Level mathematics curriculum was negatively affected by incompetent teachers and supervisors, lack of resources and lack of support from other stakeholders. The study concluded that these impediments impacted negatively on students who aspired to pursue mathematics-related degree programmes at university and that there is a mismatch on the mathematics units in the competence-based Advanced Level mathematics curriculum and university requirements for mathematics-related degree programmes. The study recommends ministerial corroboration fostering university degree programmes requirements to be taught in high school, stakeholder involvement and continuous professional development for mathematics teachers and supervisors.
TEACHERS AND LEARNERS’ EXPERIENCES OF IMPLEMENTING BLENDED LEARNING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN IN MANGWE DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE
(2023) Moyo, Mncedisi; Sibanda, Lwazi
Implementation of blended learning should be characterised by an array of strategies for effective instructional delivery to take place in the classroom. Hence, this study sought to explore the experiences of teachers and learners on implementation of blended learning in Mangwe District Secondary Schools, Matabeleland South Province during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This qualitative study was hinged on the interpretivist paradigm and employed a case study design. The participants who comprised eight teachers and twenty-four learners were purposively sampled from four secondary schools. Data collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were thematically analysed. The findings indicated that the flipped classroom, self-blend, and flex approaches were mainly used to implement blended learning during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in selected schools. The study further found that these strategies were implemented through the use of WhatsApp social media platform. The study concluded that in spite of the challenges encountered, selected schools made efforts to ensure that blended learning was implemented through the cited strategies. The study recommended that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should capacitate teachers on various learning management systems and online assessment tools through in-service training sessions to support implementation of blended learning.
Issue-Based Learning and Transformative Pedagogies: Zimbabwe
(2023) Sibanda, L.; Phuthi, N.
Strategies for Achieving Equity-Based Education: Towards an Equitable Education System
(2023) Sibanda, L.
This chapter focuses on strategies for achieving equity-based education. The concept of equity-based education has been examined. Factors that influence equity in education which include funding, access to high-level curriculum, teacher quality and discipline have been discussed. The discussion revealed that funding is a distinct indicator of equity in education, hence, establishing sustainable partnerships between the government and other potential funders is advisable. The chapter also revealed numerous equity strategies such as free and compulsory primary and secondary education for children, providing access to excluded groups of learners, improving the quality of teaching, adopting various forms of assessment strategies, increasing resource allocation, creating equitable learning environments, and creating an equity framework. The chapter suggests solutions and recommendations, and provides future research directions. Finally, conclusion is drawn from the arguments posed by literature observations.

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