The objective of the dissertation is to prove that ELCZ contributed religious education in the Western Deanery. It is also to assess the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion, since they are the major religions in the Western Deanery they should be taught at schools. Prior to independence religion meant Christianity. Missionaries and a few chosen local teachers taught it. The aim was to Christianize as many students as possible. the abduction of students at Manama Mission in 1970 disurbed the teaching of religious and secular education. A new Manama was set up in Bulawayo but was not a success in reviving the teaching of religious education. There were numerous problems which hindered progress. After independence religious education was based on the child's personal experience not only Christianity. It accommodated all religions. Dissident disturbance interfered with the teaching of religious and secular education. Religious education gained momentum after signing of the Unity Accord in 1987. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

In this dissertation, research was undertaken to trace the development of technical, . education in Zimbabwe and evaluate its role in community upliftment. The colonial era ( 1890-1979) and the post-colonial era ( 1980-2000) were examined in this connection. This involved, inter alia, analysing findings and recommendations of commissions of inquiry, and provisions of national development plans. Empirical analysis of the status and role of technical education in community upliftment was also undertaken. Finally, on the basis of the historical data, findings and conclusions regarding the history of technical education, as well as its role in community upliftment in Zimbabwe were made. As a way forward, some recommendations were made which would, if implemented, enhance the role of technical education in the individual's attainment of meaningful adulthood and improvement of society's quality of life. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

In this study, we employ the theory of deconstruction to challenge and reject the contention that a knowledge paradigm was non-existent among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe before the arrival of the colonisers. This is necessary because the imposition of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm was premised on the supposed absence of an epistemology among the indigenous people. In defending the thesis that education and indeed an epistemology was in existence among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe, we submit that education is part of any given culture. In the light of this, it becomes untenable to deny the existence of education among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe before the arrival of the colonisers. Knowledge ceases to be the exclusive preserve of the colonisers. It must be noted that the imposition of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm was accompanied by the suppression and partial destruction of the epistemology of the indigenous people. The suppression and partial destruction of the indigenous people’s epistemological paradigm is called epistemicide. The epistemicide that the colonisers inflicted on the indigenous people led to the exclusive dominance of their knowledge paradigm in the school curriculum at the expense of that of the indigenous people. In the light of this status quo, we present transformation and Africanisation as corrective to the unjustified dominance of the present day curriculum by the epistemological paradigm of the colonisers. We argue that despite the commendable proposals contained in the Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (1999: 24) to change the curriculum so that unhu/ubuntu becomes its organising principle and to allow the co-existence of the indigenous people’s epistemological paradigm and others, in practice the dominance of the colonisers’ epistemological paradigm remains in place. We submit that the Africanisation of the curriculum is a matter of justice that demands the end of the dominance of the knowledge paradigm of the colonisers and the co-existence of the indigenous people’s knowledge paradigm and others / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Litt et Phil. (Philosophy)

The study sought to explore possibilities of using ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics in primary schools. The aim was to compare the use of English as a medium of instruction with ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. The other objective was to examine the people’s attitudes towards the use of mother tongue instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in Zimbabwe primary schools. A practical teaching experiment was used to investigate the feasibility of using ChiShona as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Mathematics to Grade 4 class. In addition a descriptive survey research design which used questionnaires and interviews as data collection methods was employed for its usefulness in exploratory studies. A total of 750 people participated in the research and these were 40 Grade 4 learners (used for teaching experiment) 260 teachers/lecturers, 250 parents and 200 college/university learners. Data gathered was subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis resulting in data triangulation for validation. Major findings of the research indicated that the use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics to primary school children is possible and that the use of the mother tongue instruction (ChiShona) impacted positively in the teaching of Mathematics to Grade 4 learners. The use of ChiShona as a medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics was effective and comparatively the learners who used ChiShona performed better than those who used English as a medium of instruction. However the research further concluded that people preferred that English remain the only medium of instruction from primary up to university level as English offers them better opportunities for employment compared to ChiShona. The study concludes that the continued use of English as medium of instruction means that African languages such as ChiShona will remain underdeveloped and fail to find their way in the classrooms as languages of instruction in education. The study finally recommends the need for an all-inclusive multi-lingual policy that uplifts the status of indigenous languages and their literature without annihilating English. / D. Litt et Phil. (African Languages)

The study investigated challenges in School Guidance and Counselling (SGC) services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools as a context for strategizing on overcoming them and proposing a model of School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities. The survey design, which was mainly quantitative in nature, was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Three hundred inclusive primary school administrators and three hundred school counsellors participated in the study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 11.0 was used to analyze data. Frequency tables, ratios and Chi-square tests were computed. The study revealed that Zimbabwean inclusive primary school counsellors lacked training in School Guidance and Counselling and Special Needs Education. The school counsellors also lacked experience in teaching children with disabilities and the stakeholders had negative attitudes towards School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities. It was further revealed that inclusive primary schools lacked materials and supplies, time, finance, physical and curricular resources. The study revealed that there was no mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, clear mission statement, School Guidance and Counselling Framework, school counsellor certification requirements nor a School Guidance and Counselling national model. These facilities, together with Special Needs Education, experience in teaching children with disabilities and staff development, were found to positively impact on SGC services provisions for children with disabilities. School counsellors’ training in School Guidance and Counselling, advocacy on disabilities, stakeholders’ collaboration, passing mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, adequate budgetary and time allocation were seen as strategies to overcome challenges in SGC services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools. It was recommended that School Guidance and Counselling services provisions for children with disabilities in Zimbabwean inclusive primary schools would improve if there would be promulgation of mandatory School Guidance and Counselling policy and legislation, school counsellors’ training in School Guidance and Counselling, requisition of adequate resources and development of positive attitudes among stakeholders. Recommendations for further research were made. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Listening for learning during lectures has been established to be a staged process. Listening's role during didactic andragogical events in the Bulawayo Polyte9hnic Business Studies Department's Business Communication lectures was investigated. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data gathered contributed to a statistical groundstructure and an ethnomethodological outline, which together combined into a balanced description of the listened learning .p rocess in that tertiary learning environment. Data sources included student and lecturer responses as well as observed learning during communicativeness skills development, and whilst learning in lectures and tutorials. The related literature was supported by the study's findings, confirming that individuals perceive, interpret and evaluate information directly in accordancewith their own lifeworld. This includes own learned technique which derives from inherent oral or literate culture base as well as from personal cameral preferences and endowments. The consequent individually different listened learning range constitutes a conventional normal dispersion. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The study sought to find out the determinants of academic performance of female students at a state university in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. This study was prompted by the fact that it was established through research that female students are lagging behind in academic performance especially in science subjects. The population comprised all part two to part four female university students at the state university and all the lecturers who teach the female students. A sample of 25 female students and 5 lecturers in four faculties was selected using the convenience sampling strategy. The study employed a case study research design which enabled the researcher to identify the problems, gather facts on factors that determine the academic performance of the female university student in a natural setting. Self-designed interview and focus group discussions were used by the researcher to collect data. Data were analysed in narrative form and thematically. The study revealed that the determinants of academic performance of female university students were gendered cultural codes, the female student’s family background, resources and lecturer attitudes and competencies. The study recommends that policies that emancipate women be put in place. The study also recommends that resources and services such as guidance and counselling be readily available. In addition, institutions of education need to cultivate and nurture positive attitudes in parents, teachers and students towards females. Furthermore, the training of lecturers who are holders of non-teaching degrees is recommended. Finally, a model for the improvement of the academic performance of female university students is proposed. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Listening for learning during lectures has been established to be a staged process. Listening's role during didactic andragogical events in the Bulawayo Polyte9hnic Business Studies Department's Business Communication lectures was investigated. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data gathered contributed to a statistical groundstructure and an ethnomethodological outline, which together combined into a balanced description of the listened learning .p rocess in that tertiary learning environment. Data sources included student and lecturer responses as well as observed learning during communicativeness skills development, and whilst learning in lectures and tutorials. The related literature was supported by the study's findings, confirming that individuals perceive, interpret and evaluate information directly in accordancewith their own lifeworld. This includes own learned technique which derives from inherent oral or literate culture base as well as from personal cameral preferences and endowments. The consequent individually different listened learning range constitutes a conventional normal dispersion. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The study sought to find out the determinants of academic performance of female students at a state university in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. This study was prompted by the fact that it was established through research that female students are lagging behind in academic performance especially in science subjects. The population comprised all part two to part four female university students at the state university and all the lecturers who teach the female students. A sample of 25 female students and 5 lecturers in four faculties was selected using the convenience sampling strategy. The study employed a case study research design which enabled the researcher to identify the problems, gather facts on factors that determine the academic performance of the female university student in a natural setting. Self-designed interview and focus group discussions were used by the researcher to collect data. Data were analysed in narrative form and thematically. The study revealed that the determinants of academic performance of female university students were gendered cultural codes, the female student’s family background, resources and lecturer attitudes and competencies. The study recommends that policies that emancipate women be put in place. The study also recommends that resources and services such as guidance and counselling be readily available. In addition, institutions of education need to cultivate and nurture positive attitudes in parents, teachers and students towards females. Furthermore, the training of lecturers who are holders of non-teaching degrees is recommended. Finally, a model for the improvement of the academic performance of female university students is proposed. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

As part of a drive to improve the quality of teachers, Zimbabwe introduced a school-based mentoring model in 1995, a move which regrettably seems not have borne fruit. Therefore, this study sought to propose an improved mentoring model for initial teacher training for primary school teachers. Efforts to improve the current mentoring could, however, be facilitated if they were informed by an empirically-based understanding of the shortcomings of the existing mentoring system for student teachers and teachers. In order to attain the above objective, this study adopted a multisite case study design, guided by the interpretive paradigm. A core of nine primary schools, drawn from the rural, urban and peri-urban areas of the Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe, was purposively selected to participate in the study. In the participating schools, key participants were student teachers and mentors, while school principals participated when they had time. A secondary group of primary schools were also identified to be used as validation of findings in a wider setting. An in-depth literature study on teacher education and mentoring was also carried out and this, combined with empirical data, illuminated the issues being investigated. The empirical data were primarily gathered through focus group and face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews, while participant observation (used in conjunction with informal unstructured interviews) and questionnaires were used to verify and triangulate data collected through the interviews. To safeguard the ethical integrity of the study, ethical approval from the relevant university committee, as well as the official consent of educational authorities, was obtained beforehand, as was the informed consent of individual participants. The research established that the support rendered to student teachers in the participating primary schools was largely inadequate and of a shallow mode, focusing primarily on facilitating the mastery of technical skills and the provision of psycho-social support, while being sorely deficient in empowering the student teachers with the skills and attitudes to reflectively and critically engage with their own and others‟ teaching practices. The mentoring was taking place in the context of field experience, organised along the apprenticeship model, hence located in an outmoded traditional paradigm of field experience, something which is regrettable at a time when international best practices seek to move towards a reflective-inquiry-oriented paradigm. Secondly, the research found that the participating schools were not structurally or culturally ready to take significant teacher training responsibility; hence the schools, in their present state, could be seen as constraining the smooth functioning of the mentoring model. Thirdly, some mentor-based factors also seemed to inhibit the functioning of the mentoring model. These included teachers who were attitudinally indisposed to accept student teachers as their professional colleagues, preferring to relate to them hierarchically and vertically, thereby limiting the emergence of a culture of professional collaboration and reciprocal learning relationships. In similar vein, the mentors‟ lack of training limited their capacity of mentors to perform the extended range of mentoring functions necessary for supporting student teachers trained in 21st century schools. The above conclusions and implications point towards the following recommendations: Mentor support for student teachers should be extended from the present superficial level to include functions that are oriented towards reflective practice. However, for this to happen, some adjustments will need to be made in the schools. These include, most importantly, making time available for mentoring activities. In order for the mentors to be able to perform their mentoring functions knowledgeably, they must be made fully aware of what they are supposed to do by providing them with the official documents spelling out mentoring expectations in schools. Additionally, the commitment of mentors to their duties could be made more sustainable by putting in place a clearly defined reward structure that is fully recognized officially and integrated into the employee grading system. To make school environments more propitious towards mentoring, schools must be structurally modified and re-cultured to create slots for mentoring activities, provide opportunities for informal professional interaction among teachers, as well as establish professional engagement forums, such as school-based learning circles. The research also suggests that student teachers should be allowed to choose their mentors through providing them with opportunities for early contact with their prospective mentoring partners. In an attempt to close the gap between college-based modules and field-based school experiences, the research further recommends that college-based modules be delivered in a way that ensures that they are fully integrated with student teachers‟ field experiences. Finally, mentoring could be better facilitated if schools and colleges adopted a partnership arrangement that is more aligned to mentoring. This implies provisionally shifting from the present separatist to the HEI-led partnership model, while preparing for the adoption of a fully-fledged collaborative partnership in the long term. The research was, however, by no means carried out perfectly. It was somewhat limited by its failure to take into account the view of officials from the Department of Education, as well as the input of colleagues in teacher education. In similar vein, the researcher felt that a more nuanced and fine-grained picture of the participants‟ mentoring experiences could have emerged if he had spent more time in the field, something which limited resources and work commitments did not allow him to do. Some significant issues arose from this study, but which it could not pursue. These include exploring the possibility of coming up with a model of teacher education that integrates ITE and CTPD in the context of mentoring, as well as conducting a similarly designed research into the mentoring that is taking place in secondary schools.