There is overwhelming evidence the world over on the pedagogical benefits of learning in the mother language. Zimbabwe recognized this significant role played by the mother tongue in education when a policy enshrined in the 1987 Education Act was enunciated. The language-in-education policy, which was amended in 2006, allows mother tongue usage up to Grade Seven. Contrary to the stated policy, primary school teachers continue to use English as the medium of instruction in primary schools. The purpose of this study was thus to explore the barriers that rural primary school teachers face in implementing the proposed policy in Masvingo District of Zimbabwe. Literature suggests that factors that inhibit implementation of a mother tongue education policy in ex-colonial African countries include state-related factors, uninformed language myths and language attitudes which support the dominant role of English. The postcolonial theory paradigm guided this study since the intention was to conduct the research as well as to contribute to how to generate teachers’ participation in mother tongue policy implementation in a postcolonial context. A qualitative case study was employed where semi-structured open ended questionnaires, focus group discussions and individual interviews were used to collect data. Fifteen rural primary school teachers, three school heads and two District Schools Inspectors were purposefully selected to participate in the study. It emerged from the study that all the participants were not knowledgeable about the stipulations of the 2006 language-in-education policy. The major barriers identified include inadequate policy dialogue, unavailability of educational material resources in the mother tongue, language attitudes and individual teacher concerns which contribute to low self-efficacy. A critical analysis of the barriers to implementation success indicates that they are mainly related to postcolonial mentality where language attitudes are deeply entrenched in people’s minds. Participants believed that the challenges they faced could be resolved and they proposed some intervention strategies. The study recommends that teacher education institutions should spearhead the designing of professional development modules that impart knowledge and skills on the implementation of additive bilingual education in primary schools. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

There is overwhelming evidence the world over on the pedagogical benefits of learning in the mother language. Zimbabwe recognized this significant role played by the mother tongue in education when a policy enshrined in the 1987 Education Act was enunciated. The language-in-education policy, which was amended in 2006, allows mother tongue usage up to Grade Seven. Contrary to the stated policy, primary school teachers continue to use English as the medium of instruction in primary schools. The purpose of this study was thus to explore the barriers that rural primary school teachers face in implementing the proposed policy in Masvingo District of Zimbabwe. Literature suggests that factors that inhibit implementation of a mother tongue education policy in ex-colonial African countries include state-related factors, uninformed language myths and language attitudes which support the dominant role of English. The postcolonial theory paradigm guided this study since the intention was to conduct the research as well as to contribute to how to generate teachers’ participation in mother tongue policy implementation in a postcolonial context. A qualitative case study was employed where semi-structured open ended questionnaires, focus group discussions and individual interviews were used to collect data. Fifteen rural primary school teachers, three school heads and two District Schools Inspectors were purposefully selected to participate in the study. It emerged from the study that all the participants were not knowledgeable about the stipulations of the 2006 language-in-education policy. The major barriers identified include inadequate policy dialogue, unavailability of educational material resources in the mother tongue, language attitudes and individual teacher concerns which contribute to low self-efficacy. A critical analysis of the barriers to implementation success indicates that they are mainly related to postcolonial mentality where language attitudes are deeply entrenched in people’s minds. Participants believed that the challenges they faced could be resolved and they proposed some intervention strategies. The study recommends that teacher education institutions should spearhead the designing of professional development modules that impart knowledge and skills on the implementation of additive bilingual education in primary schools. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Literature indicates that inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools is a complex process and that it has eluded many deaf practitioners and education systems for a very long time. New research is, however, pointing to the potential for sign bilingual education as a viable strategy for improving inclusivity of deaf children in mainstream settings. The purpose of the current study was, therefore, to interrogate how sign bilingual education was used as a strategy for inclusion of deaf children in Zimbabwe. The study was premised on Cummins Linguistic Interdependence theory and adopted the mixed methods paradigm which is informed by the philosophy of pragmatism. The sequential explanatory design was utilized and participants were selected using random sampling for the quantitative phase and purposive sampling for the qualitative phase. Questionnaires, face-to-face and focus group interviews (FGIs) were used to elicit data from participants. These data were presented on SPSS generated graphs and analysed using frequency counts, percentages and inferential statistics based on the analysis of Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation Coefficient at 5% level of significance (p=0.005). Consequently, qualitative data were presented as summaries and direct quotes and analysed using thematic and content analyses. The results revealed that the conception, hence the practice of sign bilingual was limited and had challenges, but that it had the greatest potential benefits for inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools in Zimbabwe. On these bases, the study recommended training of teachers and parents as well as staff development of the teachers and school administrators. The study also recommended adoption of best practices such as early exposure, co-teaching, co-enrolment, multi-stakeholder participation, turning special schools into resource centers for sign bilingual education and inclusion and embracing ICT. A further recommendation pointed to review of policy in line with best practices. Ultimately, the study proposed a framework for sign bilingual education as a strategy for inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools in Zimbabwe. / Inclusive Education / Ph. D. (Inclusive Education)