Technical and Engineering Education and Training Publications
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- ItemNational STEM education framework: Teachers’ perspectives on the 2015-2022 curriculum cycle(Scientia Publica Media, 2024) Manokore, K.; Sibanda, L.Throughout the world, nations are busy investing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to prepare innovative minds that can spearhead the development and sustainable growth of their economies. Zimbabwe’s participation in the global economy is premised on the preference for STEM education system. The introduction of the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Zimbabwe meant a shift in the general aims and objectives of the education system. The transformation meant a move from an academic oriented and content-focused curriculum to one that is skills-based, giving prominence to continuous assessment over final examinations. To explore classroom practitioners’ perceptions of the first cycle of the CBC, 20 purposively selected STEM teachers participated in the study. A qualitative research approach and case study design were adopted as study methodology. Thematically analysed data were collected through focus group interviews with participants. The study focused on support systems available for STEM education in secondary schools and how the absence of the national framework affects its implementation. The study found that there were limited support systems for STEM education as some schools did not have adequate facilities and equipment such as science laboratories, apparatus, science consumables, computer laboratories, computer hardware and software among others. It came out from the study that the absence of national framework had negative effect on the implementation of STEM education in secondary schools. The study concluded that though the secondary schools experienced constraints in implementing STEM education there were noticeable pockets of good practices in some schools, for example, learners graduating with competences for life skills. The study recommended that the schools should engage stakeholders for support in provision of required resources. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should expedite the development of a national framework for the effective implementation of STEM education.
- ItemQuality Education for Sustainable Development in Zimbabwean Higher Education: Towards UNDP 2030 SDG(2020) Shava, G.N.The article explores the challenges and opportunities of achieving Agenda 2030 Global Goals on education for sustainable development in Zimbabwe higher education. The challenges posed by the need to provide for quality, sustainability, and development demand a renewed reflection on the nature and scope of the higher education systems in order to address current issues of education for sustainable development as stated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which proposes that education for sustainable development (ESD) should be addressed at all levels of education. ESD allows every human being to acquire the knowledge to shape a sustainable future including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning. The vision of Agenda 2030 is to transform lives through quality education, recognizing the important role of education as a main driver for development and achieving proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their vision which is fully captured by the proposed SDG4 “ Ensuring inclusive equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The aim of the study is to explore the complexity of raising higher education quality drawing from the structure and agency theoretical view point to offer deeper insights into the role that agency and structures in higher education may play in achieving the vision of Agenda 2030. In essence the qualitative study provides possible measures for enhancing the achievement of Agenda 2030 Global Goals. Findings from the study pointed to the lack of integrated ESD in higher education professional standards and into curriculum. The study recommends the need to update higher education curriculum, pedagogy, and educational resources to address the twenty-first-century context of teaching and learning.
- ItemEnhancing Students’ Self-Efficacy: Implication for High School Guidance and Counselling Educators(2020) Mathwasa, J.; Sibanda , L.As students enter high school, they face a myriad risk of adverse outcomes such as pressure to perform or drop out; peer influence to conform or be an outcast; drug and substance abuse; delinquency, poverty and possibly abuse and neglect. It is also at this stage where most teenage students experience identity crisis. As a result, students’ self-efficacy is then impaired, and their resilience diminished with every stress and trauma they experience. Thus far, there has been scanty research in utilising classroom guidance in understanding what factors impact or not, and how school counsellors choose to engage in classroom guidance. While much guidance and counselling in schools has focused on career choices, sexual and physical harassment, and perhaps, bereavement, abuse and neglect, very little is known on how detrimental lack of self-efficacy and resilience is to the high school student. Even though educators aim to cover the academic syllabus, it is also essential that operative guidance and counselling should also pay equal attention to the social syllabus. This chapter aims to explore the factors that are detrimental to students’ self-efficacy, resilience and coping mechanism; how classroom guidance and counselling can reduce the risk of the adverse outcomes in the society.
- ItemPrincipal leadership and school performance: Integrating instructional and transformational leadership in South African schools context(2021) Shava, G.N.This study aimed to examine the integration of instructional and transformational models of leadership in sustaining school improvement. The question of how the integration of instructional and transformational leadership in schools can influence learners' performance has received a significant amount of interest among researchers. Literature reviews have found two key approaches: educational and transformational leadership models to establish the most appropriate school leadership model. Therefore, this article reports on qualitative research used to arrive at an in-depth understanding of integrating instructional and transformational leadership in enhancing school performance. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with principals in one educational province. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select participants for the study. Findings from the study established that integrating the two models had the potential to enhance learner performance. This study has shown that the integration of instructional and transformational leadership models led to a climate that promotes a culture of teaching and learning, hence increasing quality learning outcomes.
- ItemConstraints affecting men's participation in early childhood education (ECE): Implications for intervention.(2020) Mathwasa, J.; Sibanda, L.A qualitative study grounded in the interpretive paradigm was adopted where four men, four women and four educators were purposively selected, responded to the semi-structured interviews. The aim of the study was to establish the constraints affecting men’s participation in the early childhood education of their children. The researchers observed all the ethical concerns. Data was analysed in easily understood themes. The findings revealed that although all stakeholders fully understood the importance of men in the early childhood education their participation was still minimal indicating that they still faced constraints. The constraints included work-related absence, broken relationships, lack of interest, traditional and cultural beliefs, stereotypes and mothers’ monopoly on the children. The study concluded that for the achievement of early childhood goals, men should improve their participation in early education of children. The study recommends that all stakeholders make a retrospect into how they have contributed to the constraints that men face in their endeavour to change the status quo.