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The paucity of English teachers in Namibia's research output as well as practicing the scholarship of teaching and learning has been noticed and noted. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the views of English teachers in the Kalahari Circuit in the ||Kharas Region in Namibia on the effect of an intervention to enhance their willingness to conduct research and publish. The study used a questionnaire to collect qualitative and quantitative biographical data from the participants. The quantitative data were analysed using simple description while qualitative data were analysed using Renner and Tylor-Powell's five steps for analysing narratives. The study revealed that, after participating in the research workshop, English teachers showed confidence to conduct research and publish their work. Furthermore, the participants suggested that the workshop should include all teachers, who need support from the agents in education. It was also found that the duration of the workshop should be extended and resources should be availed to teachers to conduct research for publication. The study recommended that this training should be rolled out to other regions while broadening the target scope.

This study examines the role of Namibian secondary school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers' interest in STEM education and self-efficacy in implementing STEM education in science education curricula. Furthermore, it aimed to distinguish male and female Namibian teachers' interests and self-efficacy regarding STEM education and investigate how different teaching subjects affect them. To achieve this goal, a survey was completed with (n=200) secondary school teachers, both males and females. Data were analyzed quantitatively using exploratory factor analysis and analyzed covariance. The results show that most teachers were highly interested and confident in implementing STEM subjects into science curricula. While Namibian teachers indicated a high level of interest, they also revealed a high lack of interest in STEM, implying that at least some teachers felt bored and meaningless in implementing STEM education. However, gender plays a significant role in teachers' negative self-efficacy, with male teachers being less confident than female teachers in implementing STEM education. Moreover, teachers in the present study have high positive and negative self-efficacy levels regarding implementing STEM education. Therefore, these findings highlight the need for a paradigm shift, especially in the Namibian science curricula, to promote STEM subjects and to improve science education. Potential implications from this research also suggest that teachers' participants benefit significantly from learning within a community by engaging in solutions to real-world problems. [Note: The page range (297-311) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 297-312.]

This paper describes and compares primary school students' perceptions of science learning skills in a teacher-centered approach (TCA) and in inquiry-based science fieldwork (IBSF). This comparison was prompted by primary school students' perceptions of science learning skills, which has recently gained momentum, and the Namibian primary schools' recent curriculum shift from TCA to IBSF. The study utilized quantitative cross-sectional data (n = 237) collected from two primary schools in the Oshana region of Namibia. The data were gathered via an online survey and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the TCA and IBSF groups. The results revealed that the students had positive to fairly positive perceptions of science learning skills in IBSF and very negative to negative perceptions of science learning skills in TCA, with the difference between the two perceptions being statistically significant. This may indicate that Namibian primary school students find it hard to develop science learning skills under TCA. Therefore, the current study provided evidence for the need to focus more on supporting students' science learning skills, particularly problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills. This implies that the IBSF teaching approach, which allows students to become aware of the importance of science learning skills, must be adopted in Namibian primary schools. The paper also discusses the benefits of IBSF of science learning skills in students.

Studying towards a postgraduate qualification is viewed as a booster that may usher employees towards management positions. We have found common mistakes in research proposals for master's degree students in a department at the University of Namibia. Our presentation shows the shortcomings in the research proposals of postgraduate students and proposes interventions to address the challenges. We collected qualitative data through the observations of nine (9) Master of Education research proposals, which were conveniently selected. Our analysis showed shortcomings in research proposals submitted to the Department of Education at the University of Namibia. Moreover, there is a need for the introduction of a writing unit at the university to supply writing services such as academic writing, proof reading and editing. We recommend that regular practical training is offered on effective academic writing to postgraduate students. We also show the need for postgraduate students to be oriented towards the plagiarism policy and referencing style of the university. This calls for the re-thinking of ways that enable effective postgraduate student supervision, which may address the quality of student research output.

Background: The need to examine teachers' learning activities in reading literacy instruction arises from concerns about reading proficiency levels in the Namibian Junior Primary phase, where reading literacy is a fundamental skill crucial for academic success. Aim: The study examined the learning activities used for reading literacy instruction in selected Namibian Junior Primary (JP) schools focused on Grade 3 teachers. Setting: The study was conducted in selected Oshana region JP schools focused in three diverse classroom settings. Methods: The study used secondary qualitative data that were collected by the Oshana Regional Directorate of Education through interviews and classroom observations to examine the teaching practices Grade 3 teachers were using for reading literacy instruction. The study explores the reading literacy practices of teachers that they have adapted from continuous professional development programs and ministerial policies. Results: The findings indicate that the participants in this study were utilising a variety of learning activities to enhance reading literacy skills. These activities are phonological activities (phonics, phonological awareness activities, and the Jolly Phonics programme) and interactive activities (shared reading and reading corner activities) for reading literacy instruction. Conclusion: In conclusion, participants employed a range of methods to enhance reading instruction. They utilised phonological strategies like phonics and the Jolly Phonics programme to develop language skills, alongside interactive practices such as shared reading to improve fluency and foster a love for reading. Contribution: The findings can inform educational policies, curriculum development, and initial teacher education programmes, ultimately improving reading literacy outcomes for learners in Namibia and beyond.

Background: Although students in teacher education programmes in Namibia study through the medium of English, their academic language (AL) proficiency remains a challenge for most of them. In the Junior Primary Education programmes, they are not only required to master AL for their own studies, but they must also learn how to teach emergent academic AL in the primary school. Aim: This study aimed to address this dual challenge, a practitioner research study was undertaken to assess and compare students' AL proficiency skills in English cross sectionally in 2020. Setting: The study was conducted online with (N = 78) student teachers at one of 12 campuses of the University of Namibia during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods: A standardised test compiled by Uccelli et al. was administered to 78 randomly selected students to measure their core AL skills. Results: The assessment results revealed distinct gaps in students' AL proficiency. In addition, the findings demonstrated a statistically significant variance in assessment outcomes across different year groups. Conclusion: The university, despite provision of several courses, has taken note that AL should ideally be integrated across the curriculum. Contribution: The study revealed usable evidence about students' AL proficiency, indicating patterns across cohorts.

Contemporary science teaching pedagogy in Namibia places a strong emphasis on fostering inquiry-based instruction and practical work in secondary school science education. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to move beyond traditional, rote-based methods towards more learner-centred approaches that encourage active inquiry and critical thinking. Teachers are encouraged to design lessons that promote inquiry, where learners actively investigate scientific phenomena, ask questions, and develop solutions through hands-on experimentation. Science practical work, which involves conducting experiments and investigations, is considered a cornerstone of this approach as it provides learners with opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge, develop laboratory skills, and gain a profounder understanding of scientific concepts. This sequential explanatory mixed methods study explored Namibian secondary school teachers' conceptions of teaching science practical work through inquiry-based instruction to provide a comprehensive understanding of teachers' perspectives and practices. Findings from this study revealed that many teachers held traditional views of science practical work, emphasizing cookbook-style experiments and memorisation. These teachers often faced challenges in implementing inquiry-based instruction due to a lack of training and resources to facilitate science practical work. However, a subset of teachers who embraced inquiry-based methods reported increased learner engagement, critical thinking, and in-depth understanding of scientific concepts. Additionally, the findings underscored the importance of aligning teacher conceptions with contemporary pedagogical approaches for effective secondary science education in Namibia. The study thus, highlighted the need for professional development and support to help more teachers transition to inquiry-based instruction and improve science education in Namibian secondary schools.

With the push to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) from kindergarten to twelfth-grade levels comes a need for equipped teachers. However, there needs to be more initiative in professional learning opportunities, which demands the required effort to ensure teachers learn the AI content they will be teaching. To design an effective professional development program, understanding teachers' existing knowledge, interest and disposition towards AI is crucial to devise strategies that could best support the teachers. As a result, this study aims to investigate in-service teachers' perspectives of teaching AI in schools from the perspective of planned behavior theory. Using a 7-factor scale of AI Anxiety, AI Readiness, AI Relevance, Attitude towards using AI, AI for Social Good, Confidence in AI and Behavioral Intention. This study sampled 159 in-service teachers in Namibia. The teachers' responses were analyzed with SmartPLS using Structural Equation Modelling and various Multigroup Analysis techniques. This study found that teachers' behavioral intention to teach AI depends on a combination of factors, including the relevance of AI, attitude towards using AI, the use of AI for social good and confidence. Meanwhile, AI Anxiety and readiness could not be linked to the intention to teach AI. We discussed our findings, highlighted the study implication, and suggested future directions.

This paper used graduation statistics of the Namibian secondary higher education over two decades to determine linkages to human capital of the youth and its multiplication into economic development. The paper assessed the effect of regional differences to show historic educational discrimination and why the education reform was required to correct the skewed past. It was hypothesized that the educational reform would result into improvements of the academic levels within the disadvantaged regions and anticipated that the correction will partly have negative effects on the previously advantaged regions. By applying panel data, the paper attempts to simultaneously address the complex relationships of development, education, and the underlying causalities within the economic system of Namibia. Concepts in the testing of socio-economic components are done by looking at confounding logics, stochastics, and the use of latent variables to determine linkages by using the canonical correlation method. This approach could be extended in future as guide for decisions on education. Our study shows that the implementation of the Namibian education reform resulted into increased enrolment numbers, but unfortunately also into the declining of academic levels, combined with the narrowing of learners' outputs. The reform response in the previously disadvantaged regions was slower than expected. Findings of the longitudinal data show that education levels in Namibia partly contributed towards human capital formation to multiply into economic development. The study shows that the method of analyzing linkages between cause and effect by means of causality provides advantages for analysis. The results confirm findings that human capital formation has a positive effect on the country's economic status, but for efficacy analysis of policy, we need regional information.

Digital technology in primary education can both be distracting and increase attentiveness. Many students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have difficulties with skills that address attention, and teachers are expected to provide support. Such skills are referred to as Executive Function (EF) in neuroscience, relating to self-regulation, attention shifting, and inhibition of behavior. This systematic literature review outlines research on primary education during 2000-2022 that relates students' EF and digital technology through empirical data and suggested SEN-inclusive educational interventions. 288 full-text journal articles were assessed, and 26 were included for analysis. Findings include common game-based solutions for EF and SEN support, enabling explicit goals, short teaching activities, and recorded outcomes. Other examples include EF skills training and classroom management with digital monitoring devices. A substantially increased research interest during 2021-2022 was observed. Aspects needing further research are discussed, such as more special education views with cost-effective behavioral approaches.

The poor academic performance and literacy level of deaf learners in Namibia are a major concern, and it is necessary to understand the center of the situation. Even though deaf learners can become proficient readers and writers, the challenge remains in finding an appropriate instructional approach to attain these results. This presents an even greater challenge, as deaf learners not only differ from their hearing peers, but also significantly differ from one another in terms of their various familial and social contexts, language use, and overall holistic development. The Bilingual-Bicultural approach is considered a good approach for teaching deaf learners, and it offers them the chance to become biliterate; therefore this study explored the impact of a Bilingual-Bicultural literacy program on 41 d/hh learners (age = 7-13 yrs). Through a one-group pre-test post-test design, a group of participants were pre-evaluated, followed by an intervention and post-evaluation. The intervention's main goal was to implement practical teaching strategies using a Bilingual-Bicultural teaching approach that can reduce the delay and gap in language learning and literacy for deaf learners. Results from t-tests calculated to determine the statistical significance of the pre and post-test with regard to the total scores and all the sub-tests for NSL as well as Written English skills indicated significant results (p<0.05). The study offers insight into the psychology of teaching deaf learners while also advancing the theory and application of the Bilingual-Bicultural approach. Additionally, it promotes debate of the best practices for ensuring that deaf learners receive a quality education and full participation in society.

Learners' underperformance in primary schools in informal settlements is a concern worldwide. Families living in urban informal settlements of Windhoek, Namibia face overwhelming social and economic challenges, which affect children's academic performance. A qualitative inquiry was informed by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory with reference to the microsystem, mesosystem, and the exosystem, which emphasizes the complex interactions between individuals and their environment. Three primary schools were selected in the informal settlements of the Khomas Region, Windhoek, Namibia and a purposive sample of participants was chosen comprising school teachers, principals, school board chairpersons, parents, and Grade 7 learners. Data were collected by semi-structured individual interviews and analyzed according to themes. Findings indicated that challenges in the microsystem (poverty and socio-economic context), mesosystem (parental engagement and peer pressure), and exosystem (school infrastructure) were the main contributory factors to poor learner performance in the selected schools. The interconnectedness between learners and their ecological systems and how these systems interact have a direct bearing on learner performance.

Student profiling on the use of technology for teaching, learning and assessment has the potential to enable educators to enhance their transformational teaching strategies. Therefore, this study explored the views of students on use of technology to facilitate online learning during COVID-19. The study employed a quantitative approach to collect data using a Google Form questionnaire. Nineteen conveniently sampled respondents (38%) were drawn from a population of 50 students registered for first-year BSc Microbiology and BSc Environmental Biology in 2021. The collected data was analysed through descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel 2010. The findings revealed that during online learning some students (63%) experienced challenges related to subject knowledge acquisition. A majority of the students (84%) preferred face-to-face or blended teaching learning and assessment to ensure pedagogic access. It is concluded that students' exposure to online learning helped improve skills, such as typing (79%), internet information searching (95%) and general computer skills (89%). Thus, it is recommended that academics and students should be assisted with training, and higher education curricula should encourage the use of digital technology, which prepares students to be relevant in the digital society.

Background: The need to meet the demands of education in the 21st century has seen Namibia move, after democracy in 1990, from a segregationist educational system to an inclusive one in a bid to develop students' capacities to think critically, particularly in science. Research indicates that cultural taboos can impact on how science knowledge is transmitted to and acquired by students. Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate whether and how cultural taboos impact on the teaching of science in a Grade 4 class in Namibia. Method: Using a single case study design, we investigate the impact of cultural taboos on students' acquisition of concepts relating to sexual reproduction and excretion, focusing on the extent to which cultural taboos influence talk as a mediating tool. Results: Findings indicate that cultural taboos silence students and impede the teacher's ability to unpack sensitive concepts in science, potentially creating misunderstandings. Conclusion: Cultural taboos impact how effectively sensitive science concepts are mediated in this context. Contribution: This article adds to the knowledge of cultural taboos in science teaching but also develops a view of science teaching in a disadvantaged rural area where children are being taught in English, not their mother tongue. The use of cultural historical theory, we feel, also adds a fairly tale lens to the understanding of how scientific concepts must be linked to everyday concepts for student acquisition.

Background: By Grade 4, learners should be able to read fluently and comprehend reading materials at their grade level. However, many learners in Africa, particularly in the Namibian context, seem to go through the primary phase with poor reading skills. Aim: This article examines the overall reading growth of Grade 5 learners, and then disaggregates performance according to grade age level and older Grade 5 learners in intervention and control schools. Setting: Data for this study were collected from four low performing schools in the Zambezi Region of north-eastern Namibia. Methods: Data are drawn from a quasi-experimental study in which teachers in intervention schools were provided with ongoing support over 4 months to enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge about reading, with the ultimate goal of improving Grade 5 learners' reading outcomes. Results: While reading scores were generally low across the schools, differential effects in terms of age clearly emerged. Significant differences emerged between grade-appropriate age groups (10 and 11-year-olds) and older learners (12-16-year-olds) in all the assessments, with older learners, expected to be cognitively more mature, showing the least progress. The results also showed better progress across age groups in intervention schools than in control schools. Conclusion: The findings indicate that explicit reading instructional practices can lead to significant gains in reading even among learners showing low reading scores in poor schooling contexts. Contribution: This study contributes to the knowledge of the factors that influence reading progress and learning among children in low-performing schools in low socioeconomic contexts.

The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to higher education institutions worldwide. As governments announced lockdown measures that placed restrictions and mandatory closures on establishments that traditionally required gatherings, universities worldwide cancelled face-to-face classes and adapted their mode of offering to online teaching and learning. Using an interpretive study based on a single case, this paper presents the author's most profound experiences with online teaching and learning of the Data Structures and Algorithms course at the University of Namibia (UNAM). Throughout the teaching of this course, the author kept an up-to-date reflective practice journal, and required her students to engage in reflective practice. The author also had an opportunity to engage and discuss her experiences with other lecturers in the School of Computing. The paper therefore presents a narrative of reflections on the meaning of teaching and learning as adapted to emergency online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that reflective practice during emergency online teaching presents an opportunity for educators to experiment with new delivery approaches, as well as to monitor how their interventions can impact the achievement of learning outcomes.

In the rapidly changing atmosphere of the global economy, productivity has become a very important concept for long-term economic growth, development, regional and global competitiveness, raising social living standards and increasing the level of welfare for countries. In the 21st century, when scientific knowledge, technology, innovation, R&D and entrepreneurship manifest themselves in every stage of the production process, human capital has come to the fore as an important and determining factor that increases productivity. In the current study, the effect of human capital, one of the most important outputs of education, on country productivity was analyzed for 24 developing countries, including Turkey, which are in the upper middle income group. In the application part, a panel data set was created for the 24 countries included in the study with the series obtained from the database of PWT10.0 for the period of 1980-2019. The Human Capital Index was used to reveal the human capital status of the countries included in the analysis and the Total Factor Productivity Index was used to reveal the productivity status. The Granger Panel Causality Test was employed to determine whether there is a short-term relationship and the Westerlund Panel Cointegration Test was employed to determine whether there is a long-term relationship between the two variables. As a result of a bilateral causality relationship was found between human capital and productivity in the short-term and a cointegration relationship in the long-term. The study is important and different from other studies in that it focuses on the concepts of human capital and productivity, which have a very limited place in the education literature, although they are directly related to education, and it is grounded on an interdisciplinary approach (bringing together education, sociology and econometrics).

Children in sub-Saharan African countries face higher exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) compared to their counterparts in other world regions (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2014). When GBV occurs in schools, it severely endangers access to education. Using the third round of data of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) from over 60,000 Grade 6 learners across 14 countries, we examined the relationship between GBV in primary schools and learners' absenteeism. Findings indicate that sexual harassment perpetrated by teachers significantly increases learners' absenteeism. In contrast, effects were less clear when the perpetrator was a fellow learner. Effects found are similar in magnitude for girls and boys. Violence prevention education programmes and stricter punishment for offenders are needed to establish a safer school environment and overcome harassment-related barriers to learning.

Success in higher education relates in part to competence in the medium of instruction. But the academic literacy literature provides compelling evidence that competence in the medium of instruction is insufficient to ensure success. Crucially, students need to take on the literacy practices of the discipline or field. This study offers a thematic analysis of the mandatory support courses that have been developed at the three universities in Namibia to enhance students' chances of success. The data comprised course documents, interviews with academics, and classroom observations. In all three institutions the courses introduced to support student success were offered in an 'autonomous model'. Higher education success was seen to rest on English competence, conceptualised as the correct use of standard grammar. In making a call for better induction we also ask: how might we enable access to practices of the academy while providing space for challenging the norms and values?

The COVID-19 period ushered in a paradigmatic shift towards exponential growth of ubiquitous e-learning. Despite the well-documented benefits of e-learning, which received unprecedented attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, little has been reported on factors influencing student dropout rates in courses delivered via e-learning. In this paper, the authors explore the factors contributing to student discontinuations in nonvolitional postpandemic conditions. Adopting a multimethod qualitative research design, the authors investigated the factors leading to increased student dropout rates from e-learning programs. The researchers used thematic analysis to interpret the data, resulting in the emergence of five themes. The findings reveal several factors contributing to failure to complete studies on programs delivered via e-learning. Although not exclusively conclusive, the study's findings indicate skills gap solutions and resource concerns which need to be addressed to convert market demand and enrolment into optimum completion rates, thereby increasing e-learning's success.

This study explored the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) attitudes and self-efficacy of secondary students identifying as Black South African, multi-racial or Afrikaans South African, or Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe nationals who participated in a non-formal STEM education camp programme. Using Bandura's social cognitive theory for self-efficacy and attitude, this study sought to document participants' STEM self-efficacy and attitudinal factors related to the camp experience. Survey data were collected before and after participants' participation in the camp and a delayed post-measurement after 18 months of exposure. Results indicated a significant increase in the self-efficacy concept of "conceptual understanding" over time between the pre-test and delayed post-test; however, there were no indicated differences over time for the other self-efficacy constructs of "Higher Order Cognitive Skills," "Practical Work," "Everyday Application" and "Science Communication." Analyses of the STEM attitude constructs showed differences between the "Twenty-first Century Skills" (increase over time from pre-test to delayed post-test) and "Your Future" (decrease over time from pre-test to delayed post-test) constructs with no differences for "Mathematics," "Science" and "Engineering and Technology." Furthermore, there were no detected differences of self-efficacy and attitudes from pre-test to post-test. These findings suggest that participating in a singular, non-formal STEM learning event may not be sufficient to document changes in self-efficacy and attitudes from the pre- to post-learning experience; however, the experience could have been one of many learning events that may have provided an opportunity for supporting South African students' self-efficacy and attitude growth, especially in "Conceptual Understanding" and "Twenty-first Century Skills."

Previous studies have paid considerable attention to the impact on a child's primary education of attending pre-primary school. Researchers have asserted that early educational intervention can compensate for the effects of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. This study analyzes the relationship between pre-primary education and student reading and mathematics achievement in the sixth grade, focusing on disadvantaged children, in countries that participated in the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) III project. The results show that the achievement of children who attended pre-primary education is higher than that of those who did not. The achievement of children who have many home resources for learning is better than that of children who have a few such resources. In almost all countries, disadvantaged children's achievement is increased when they attend pre-primary education. However, the contribution of pre-primary education to ameliorating social inequalities is different in the various contexts of different countries. These findings contribute to the discussion on the importance of early childhood care and education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The state of early learning provision remains elusive in Namibia. This study aimed at determining the provision of early learning to children aged between 0-8 years; caregivers' capabilities; and the resources availability in the country. The study used a mixed methods approach in collecting data from a sample of 32 ECD centres and caregivers. The convergent parallel mixed methods used a questionnaire, observation check list, photography and interviews with caregivers. Thematic analysis was applied to augment the qualitative data. The results showed that achieving inclusive, equitable and quality education for all children in Namibia was a pipe dream in the prevailing education, economic and social situation in the country. Factors contributing to the non-attainment of quality and equitable ECD for all children included; overcrowded ECD centres; inadequate learning environments and poor physical facilities. This study recommends a comprehensive training programme, a better learning environment, and the use of locally available materials for teaching at ECD centres.

Purpose: The study compares how work-integrated learning (WIL) placement positioning, duration, assessment strategies and environment at three Southern African universities influence engineering students' academic and employability outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a qualitative case study approach that drew on the principles of collaborative autoethnography (CAE). The researchers reflected on WIL placement practices, structure, assessment, environment and outcomes at their universities and then analysed the reflections using comparative descriptive techniques. Findings: The study reports no uniformity among the universities in positioning WIL placement in the curriculum. It is done during end-of-year vacations, between the penultimate and final year or in the last year. The study found WIL placement positioning does not influence academic outcomes; however, the influence on employability outcomes needs further investigation. Components of WIL placement assessment are similar, presentations, logbooks and reports. However, there are differences in the weightings of the various assessment components and the contribution of the industry supervisor. There is a growing trend towards placing students within universities to mitigate the challenges of limited opportunities of placements available in the industry. The impact of this also needs to be further investigated. Lastly, there are policy-related challenges in placing international students. Work restrictions on student visas limit international students' access to WIL placement. Southern African universities need to lobby the waivers to student visa restrictions that limit their participation in WIL programs if there are to succeed in their internationalisation efforts. Originality/value: The study highlights the gaps in understanding Southern African universities' WIL placement practices, particularly relating to the positioning of WIL placement in the curriculum, the assessment methods used and the theory to work integration and employability outcomes.

In this article, a team of teacher educators collectively think through the many possibilities of how concepts such as decolonization, abolition, and fugitivity intersect with and are taken up by teacher education programs. To do so, we undertook a critical interpretive synthesis of scholarly literature spanning 2000 to 2020 to locate, examine, and organize existing examples of teacher education programs that work to transgress hegemonic colonial models of education. We revisit de Oliveira Andreotti et al.'s social cartography as a framework for comparing the theoretical foundations and social implications of each teacher education program.

The scope of the paper is to analyse Namibian mainstream primary teachers' practices in the multilingual context they work in. As teachers have a central role in implementing language policies, their practices either support or impede learning as well as learners' multilingual identities. Multilingual practices entailing rich scaffolding and translanguaging strategies are supposed to be beneficial for content and language learning and the learners' identity development. The methodological approach adopted in this study is ethnographic, and the theoretical framework is linguistically responsive teaching and multilingual education. The data consist of teacher interviews and focus group discussions, a questionnaire and classroom observations. The analysis method is qualitative content analysis. The data were collected in two Namibian government primary schools in the beginning of the 2020 school year. The analysis shows that translanguaging strategies such as peer translation or explaining concepts in home languages are used, but rarely as pre-planned pedagogical strategies. Scaffolding is provided mostly through visual aids. It may be concluded that the translanguaging strategies already in use should be encouraged further, and multilingual pedagogies should be included in both pre-service and in-service teacher education.

Access to youth-friendly services is critical to ensuring Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and the psychological well-being of adolescents. This qualitative study explored the innovative teaching approaches to adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights education during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Oluno circuit. A sample of 10 Life Skills teachers was purposively selected and individual face to face interviews were conducted. Data was analysed using a thematic approach. The findings revealed that the radio, WhatsApp, recorded audios and handouts were used to engage learners on sexual reproductive health information when schools were closed. It is further established that WhatsApp and the radio were the mainly used methods because they were appropriate and user friendly. The findings also indicate contradictions in the Life Skills teachers' experiences on the use of social media approaches due to poor internet connectivity in remote areas. The study suggested the provision of free data to learners and teachers to enable the timely teaching and learning of the right and age-appropriate Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights information (SRHR). That underscores the urgent need for schools to adopt modern learning to be proactive in training of both teachers and learners on the use of various technological devices in case another pandemic hits the country in the future.

This study intended to analyze IUM Nkurenkuru student's perceptions on the use of e-learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study employed a quantitative methodology whose data was collected from a sample of 115 respondents, using the Google form which was sent to students via WhatsApp application. Probabilities value was used to analyze how students' confidence influence e-learning use by the students. The findings indicated that WhatsApp and learning management system (LMS) platforms were the most used by students to access educational materials and tutorials. Students faced more challenges using e-learning. The study concluded that the education sector, ICT sector, community, and other education stakeholders should corroborate to enhance and encourage online learning to achieve successful online learning.

The main purpose of this study was to identify the challenges distance education students experience during their education degree studies. The specific objectives studied included the following: to investigate the technical and technology limitations, limited interactivity between lecturers and students and among distance education students, and lack of support from administrative staff. The research design employed in this study was the survey research design. The distance education students were asked to complete an online survey to determine their experiences doing their studies on a distance mode. The target population for this study included all distance education students (1675) who are enrolled at the Centre for Open, Distance and eLearning (CODEL) at the University of Namibia in 2020. The questionnaire instrument was administered via google form, 354 responses were received in spreadsheet formats, and chats generated from the responses, the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) file, the descriptive and reliability statistics for all the variables. Based on the findings of this study, this study concludes that the University of Namibia needs to improve slow internet speeds, limited internet access, lecturer student interaction, collaboration between distance education students, lack of computers, among others. Some of the recommendations made by this study include: increased funding in ICT infrastructure for distance education students, better training for lecturers on how to deliver pedagogy and the CODeL administrative staff to better support distance education students.

Since challenging behaviors are present in classrooms, it is imperative to understand how teachers acknowledge and respond to these unwanted actions within their schools. The overarching purpose of this study is to understand schoolteachers' perspectives on the causes of students' unwanted behaviors and their responses in the classroom. The study was also designed to explore schoolteachers' perspectives on the relationship between the students' challenging behavior and disability. A total of 1,056 Ghanaian (n=502) and Namibian (n=554) schoolteachers were surveyed to identify their understanding of causes of their students' challenging behavior and how they addressed the behaviors. Results of the study indicated that the teachers perceived challenging behavior as related to discipline and not disability. Most teachers also believed that both home and school environmental factors influenced challenging behavior. Furthermore, most schoolteachers from both countries did not believe that physical punishment was an effective way to address challenging behavior and did not support its use in schools. Teacher training programs in both countries need to emphasize the use of evidence-based proactive strategies to address students' challenging behavior in order to minimize the use of punitive strategies such as physical punishment.

This article focuses on the outcome of a tracer study of former NAMCOL TVET trainees who completed their training in 2017, 2018 and 2019 in the following trades: automotive mechanics, welding and metal fabrication, office administration and plumbing and pipe-fitting in terms of their employment profile, and opinions on the quality and effect of training they received in light of their employment experiences. The study adopted a mixed methods design, and it is based on Prosser's Theorems on vocational education. The study revealed that former trainees were well equipped with relevant knowledge and skills needed by the job market. However, the majority were unemployed, and among the employed, others were employed outside their specialisation. Furthermore, the study revealed some challenges that former trainees encountered while studying with NAMCOL, among others, inadequate equipment, lack of job attachment opportunities, financial constraints, and the delay of equipment and material supply. The study further made recommendations that could improve TVET quality and delivery at NAMCOL.

Open educational resources (OER) are an innovation coined to bridge the educational divide by providing free quality learning resources. Consequently, this study explored the perception of the Namibian open and distance learning institutions' perception of the use of OER as a pedagogical approach. The study focused on faculty members from the three public ODL institutions in Namibia. Integrated theories with a qualitative case study and interpretivist paradigm underpin this study. Qualitative methodologies were used to collect and analyse data. This study showed an inconsistency between the faculty members' perceptions and OER use within the ODL institutions in Namibia. Although the faculty members displayed positive attitudes towards the use of OER, very little has been achieved in the use of OER within the institutions for the benefit of the Namibian ODL students. The study identified various challenges that impede OER adoption at the institutional level. Recommendations were formulated to address the identified challenges.

Teaching mathematics in primary schools using indigenous languages as the language of instruction may present a professional challenge for teachers in several ways. Whereas most studies focused on teachers' use of indigenous language in mathematics classrooms, there seems to be little done on the challenges experienced by pre-service teachers while teaching mathematics in indigenous languages. This study, thus, explored the challenges experienced by pre-service teachers teaching mathematics in indigenous languages at the primary school phase in Namibian multilingual classrooms. The study used a total population sampling technique and involved 90 pre-service teachers at the Rundu campus of the University of Namibia who voluntarily completed the questionnaires. The results showed that pre-service teachers faced difficulties with some concepts that were rather literally translated from English to vernacular. Thus, the translation led to ambiguous meanings. Another challenge was that some of the learners had problems in understanding the concepts in the language of instruction as they had a different mother tongue, for example the Chokwe and Nyemba speaking learners in classes where the medium of instruction is Rukwangali.

The study explored the e-teaching and learning experiences of lecturers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic at one of the University of Namibia satellite campuses. The study sample was 76 selected using the purposive sampling method from the population of 98. The study used a convergent parallel research design within a mixed methods research approach. A survey questionnaire and telephone interview were used to collect data. Data collected from open-ended questions and telephone interviews were analysed and categorised into themes while quantitative data were tabulated and analysed mainly by descriptive statistics with the use of Microsoft Excel. The study revealed that participants found using Moodle and other e-learning tools efficient as they save time and reduce the chances of spreading the virus since no gatherings were required. The study further revealed that participants had an opportunity to learn new skills despite not having prior experience in online teaching and learning as well as online course design. However, regular power outages and server incapacity to accommodate multiple devices caused many lecturers and students to miss virtual lessons. The study provided crucial information on the progress of lecturers and students' within the e-teaching and learning mode framework and recommended the campus server upgrading and the formal training of both lecturers and students on online teaching and learning tools to optimise learning.

This paper presents the benefits and challenges of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by educators at the Rundu Campus of the University of Namibia. Researchers used a structured interview guide to collect data from 14 conveniently selected lecturers from a population of 65. Findings of the study indicate that the benefits of using online teaching and learning include flexibility, ability to teach large classes; increased interaction and engagement between lecturers and students; and increased learning opportunities for lecturers. The study further found that some of the significant challenges lecturers experienced with online teaching and learning include lack of information and technology skills, internet connectivity and availability; poor student attendance; and loneliness. The study provided crucial information on lecturers' progress within the framework of online teaching and learning mode. The paper recommends that lecturers receive formal training on online teaching and learning tools to minimise the limitations. The study also suggests increased psychosocial support for lecturers to curb feelings of isolation and loneness during this time.

The learning gap between urban and rural areas is a persistent problem in many sub-Saharan African countries. Previous studies have found that the urban-rural learning gap is attributed to the fact that student characteristics and school resources are different in urban and rural areas. Our study updates this finding by using the latest dataset and further examines the changes in the attributed sources over time. Using 15 educational systems in sub-Saharan Africa, we examined 4 potential sources of the gap: student, family, teacher, and school characteristics. Our results reveal that the urban-rural learning gap in recent years is attributed mostly to differences in school and family characteristics. We also found that the attribution remains the same over time from 2004 to 2011 and that the attribution to family characteristics' differences became slightly greater than the one to school characteristics' differences.

The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) conducted a dropout survey in order to determine why distance students studying with the College, drop out of the subjects they enrolled for. Information was collected from learners who dropped out of subjects they enrolled for, tutors and Head of Centres. Online and telephonic interviews were used for learners, while questionnaires in hard copies were distributed to the tutors and Head of Centres. The majority of the learners who responded to the questionnaire indicated that the learner support from the College was good and that the study materials were useful. Even so, most learners indicated that job commitments, financial issues and sickness were the main reasons why they dropped out of the subjects they enrolled for. The subject that had the highest dropout rate for both grade 10 and 12, were English. Other reasons given by tutors and head of centres as to why they think learners drop out of subjects include lack of motivation from learners, lack of competency in English and some learners find employment or register at private institutions, centres are far from the learners. Some of the recommendations given by tutors and head of centres to reduce dropouts the College should decentralise the centres, clear, persistent and continuous information regarding examination dates, collecting timetables and venues should be given.

The level of quality reflective practice remains low among student teachers majoring in Mathematics education. This paper aims to identify the levels of reflective practice possessed by Mathematics education student teachers in a teacher training program at higher learning institutions in Namibia. The professional status requires that teachers become reflective practitioners to develop their effectiveness- a skill they can acquire during their training. A reflection framework was used to identify levels of reflective practices among Mathematics student teachers. This study is qualitative and employed a narrative inquiry approach to assess the effectiveness of reflective practice as experienced by student teachers. A total of ten third-year undergraduate students majoring in Mathematics Education participated in the study by generating reflective journals. The results show that student teachers have insufficient reflective skills which are limited to the first two levels of the reflection framework: technical reflection and reflection-in-and-on-action. This could be due to little guidance offered on developing reflective skills and its use by student teachers. This study's findings will be used to improve the rationality, social and educational practices among the student teachers.

The provision of education to children is a human right that most countries including Namibia are trying to achieve. Hence, through educational inclusion, educators strive for removal of barriers within education systems for all children to learn. The purpose of this study was to explore how the Namibian inclusive education (IE) policy responds to gender non-conforming learners. Drawing upon the Social Identity Perspective (SIP) and interviews with four education officers and employing a transformative case study, this study revealed that the Namibian IE policy does not clearly pronounce itself on inclusion of gender non-conforming learners. The study further discovered culture, religious beliefs, lack of training and lack of information on gender non-conformity as factors preventing teachers to interpret the IE policy statement in relation to gender non-conformity. The study recommends for the IE policy to have a clear statement and guidelines on handling of gender non-conformity issues in schools. The study further recommends for the programmes for in-service teacher training to integrate the content on sexuality and gender diversity. Moreover, through in-service teacher training, education officers should provide correct information on gender non-conformity to curb the discrimination towards gender non-conforming learners within the school communities.

Namibian preservice high school mathematics teachers' (N=4) and teacher educators' (N=3) beliefs about mathematics learning difficulties (MLD) were investigated to document the beliefs developed at the end of the teacher education program, the views and practices that might be emphasized in the program, and possible changes in these beliefs during the first year teaching. Preservice teachers were interviewed before they graduated from the teacher education program and during their first-year teaching. Teacher educators were interviewed once. Participants believed that the most important factor causing MLD at the high school was students' knowledge and beliefs. Teacher educators stated former unqualified teachers and preservice teachers stated curriculum and teachers' workload as other causes of MLD. Participants suggested individual support and mixed ability grouping to reduce students' MLD. The partial alignment of beliefs among the participants showed that preservice teachers might have developed some beliefs through the views and practices emphasized in the program. Preservice teachers elaborated more on MLD when they became teachers and stated similar beliefs with some stress on their MLD-related practices. Preservice teachers did not comment on how teachers' knowledge and practices might influence students' MLD in both times. Findings pointed that teacher education programs should focus on increasing preservice teachers' awareness of how their knowledge, practices and beliefs about MLD might affect students to improve their future practices. It is possible that teachers' beliefs about MLD could be related to their beliefs about the nature of mathematical knowledge and indicators of high performance in mathematics.

The purpose of this article was to find out social challenges learners residing in informal settlements in Katima Mulilo Town face. Informal settlements crop up as people move from rural settings to urban areas as they seek better facilities, a process known as urbanisation. However, not all who migrate into urban areas end up getting the required facilities. This result in some finding residence in informal settlements where conditions are deplorable and as a result brings some social challenges to learning. This article's objective is to explore the social challenges learners residing in informal settlements face in learning. The article also seeks possible ways to deal with the social challenges in order to make learning possible. To come up with response to the questions, the study adopted a qualitative research approach. Instruments used to generate data were observation and interviews. To support the data generated from the participants, the learners, the social capital theory and urban theories were used. Some of the social challenges found to impede learning include poverty, flooding, expensive water and electricity bills, limited sewage disposal system, unfair relocations, poor sanitation, unemployment and high crime rate. Solutions were also suggested on how to overcome these challenges.

Over the past two decades, e-learning has become an increasingly important field of study that has attracted scholarly and policy makers' attention. Many developing nations have embraced e-learning as a tool to enhance accessibility and affordability of higher education. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, many universities across the world were forced to embrace online teaching and learning to circumvent lockdowns, social distancing and other public health interventions put in place to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Consequently, this study sought to establish students' experiences with the e-learning mode during the COVID-19 lockdown in Namibia. The paper discusses the results of an online survey of 137 undergraduate students about their experiences using e-learning technologies during the COVID-19-induced university closures. An online survey instrument was created on Google forms and a link distributed to students through WhatsApp class groups. Quantitative data were presented through frequency tables and figures, whilst we adopted thematic content analysis to analyse qualitative data. The results of the survey indicate that mobile devices remained the primary computing device used to access academic information. An analysis of the study results led to the emergence of five themes, viz, e-learning system accessibility, e-learning platform layout, resources to access Internet and network, isolation and home environment that captured student challenges with online classes. This paper argues that e-learning is still faced by a myriad of challenges that need to be addressed if it is to be a success. Furthermore, we advance the argument for mobile learning as a viable option for Africa due to the ubiquity of mobile devices.

Interactive video technology (IVT) remains one of the common modes of teaching utilised by various higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe with an aim of catering to ever-increasing educational demands. The objectives of this study were to explore and describe the experiences of nursing students on the use of IVT as a mode of teaching General Nursing Science with a view to describing the aspects that affect their learning. The study was conducted at one of the satellite campuses of an HEI located in north-eastern Namibia. In this study, a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design was used. A total of fifteen nursing students from the Faculty of Health Sciences in the School of Nursing, purposively selected from the population of fourth-year nursing students who were taught via IVT, participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed by means of content analysis. Three main themes subsequently emerged: nursing students experienced the IVT as a beneficial mode of teaching; the use of IVT as a mode of teaching resulted in certain negative experiences for nursing students; and the presence of certain strategies that strengthen IVT as a teaching mode. The study identified both positive and negative student experiences resulting from the use IVT as a mode of teaching. It was therefore concluded that the School of Nursing should continue to use IVT as a mode of teaching, but should put certain interventions in place to strengthen it and to make the learning environment more favourable for students.

There is no consensus on how educational technology solutions should be integrated in practice. Although several related models exist, none of them covers how education digitalization should be implemented and managed in a collective manner at both organizational (school) and individual (teacher) levels, so that process improvements support teachers' daily work as well as school and education administration. In this study, one researcher organized the training program for 168 Namibian K-12 teachers to apply remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher also discussed the program with trainers, and based on participatory observations, created the collective integration of technology (CIT) model through grounded theory. A second researcher collected related theories together, such as models for digitalization of processes; individuals', and organizations' IT innovation adaptation; change management, and organizational learning; among others, for literature review and model comparison. Both researchers evaluated the CIT model that was developed and found that it covers rather well several aspects of different existing models and theories, and, as such, can be considered as theoretically validated, although it still needs empirical validation. Based on the findings, improvements are proposed, and a new version is to be tested in practice.

Using the TIPEC framework, this study undertook a critical literature analysis, and student survey to explore challenges experienced by higher education institutions during emergency online pedagogies because of disruptions from the COVID-19 outbreak. The study revealed that most higher education institutions are still grappling with getting technicalities in place such as reliable network connectivity, IT capacity, clear navigation to learning content, timetabling, and session scheduling, and reliable hardware and software required to access online learning platforms to keep teaching and learning afloat. However, little attention is placed on the provision of quality online learning. Therefore, there is a need to move towards enabling epistemological access through the use of online tools in a pedagogically sound and inclusive manner to enable students to develop critical thinking skills. The current quality assurance practices also need to transform to effectively respond to the learning needs of the new normal. Students also need to be equipped with skills that will empower them to effectively use the online system.

Using a blend of functional, distributed, and instructional leadership theories as a theoretical lens, this article presents the perspectives of Namibian principals, heads of departments (HODs) and teachers on the various leadership competencies that are required in their role of enabling school leaders to support their teachers' professional development. The study was approached from a pragmatist perspective employing a mixed-methods methodology. The sequential explanatory design employed combined quantitative and qualitative data obtained from school principals, HODs and teachers. Analysis entailed the generation of descriptive statistics using SPSS and open coding of qualitative data to generate themes. It was found that school leaders require multiple competencies, such as accountability, effective communication, good interpersonal relations, subject-matter competencies, administrative competencies, digital competencies and listening skills to be able to support their teachers' professional development efforts. This study provides insights into how school leadership competencies enable principals' and HODs to support teacher professional development within a Namibian context. The study also provides a new knowledge base for Namibian policy makers, political office bearers and administrators to avail human and financial resources to capacitate school leaders with much needed competencies to be able support teachers' professional development through training.