This portfolio discusses various important aspects that affect teacher education. The portfolio has become an important tool for assessment in education. The research component of the masters' course that I attended is reflected in this portfolio. To complete this course several aspects were covered. The educational reform process in the Namibian context requires the use of appropriate resources, an environment conducive to learning, active involvement of the learners and teachers who should have a better understanding of the system adopted. Teacher educators are seen as important in transforming Namibian education in the sense of breaking the cycle of authoritarianism and inequities that existed in schooling prior to independence in 1990, and that still continue to exist in many Namibian schools today. Much effort has been devoted to creating conditions in colleges of education, where future teachers experience the same kind of teaching and learning that is envisioned for schools in the country. To accomplish this a great deal of effort has been devoted to the professional development of teacher educators. This masters' course was initiated to address the shortcomings of teacher education in Namibia. The preparation of teacher educators to be willing and able to prepare teachers in a manner that is consistent with national educational goals has been a neglected element of educational reform in Third World countries (Taylor and Peacock, 1997). Nahas Angula defines teachers as critical agents in creating the reform in relation to several broad principals: access, equity, quality, and democracy. As Ebbutt and Elliot (1998) point out, these principles are defined in very broad terms and provide the opportunity for teachers, teacher educators, and administrators to translate the ideals in particular contexts through practical reflection and deliberation. The Namibian reforms are underpinned by democratic ideals, the intention being to develop broad participation in defining and developing the reform tenets in specific contexts. In Namibia it has been recognized that qualitative changes in classroom practice will only occur when teachers understand them and accept them as their own. It is also recognized that because many teachers have been educated under the authoritarian system of the past, conceptual changes are needed in the minds of the teachers for the reforms to be successful. These include a shift from the belief of teachers as civil servants who are merely to "deliver" a curriculum dictated from above, to one of teachers as reflective professionals who play important roles in interpreting and defining the reforms and in giving meaning to such values as learner-centered and democratic education, continuous assessment, and critical inquiry (Swarts 1998). In the case of Namibia, we have a situation where there is an attempt to fundamentally transform an authoritarian education system that emphasized repetition and rote learning of received knowledge to one where learners are active participants in the learning process and where the curriculum is relevant to and respectful of different cultural traditions and communities. The learner-centered philosophy that guides post-independence educational reforms in Namibia calls for breaking down the authoritarian teacher-student relationships of the past. It encourages teachers to begin instruction by gaining an understanding of their learners' existing knowledge, skills, and understandings and to actively involve them in the learning process toward the goal of preparing citizens for a democratic society. The background above will help the readers to understand the sections covered in this portfolio. In the first part, the portfolio looks at a case study that analyses pre- and post-independence teacher education in Namibia. This study focuses on the Rundu College of Education and investigates the implementation of the Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) Broad Curriculum in relation to the History syllabus. This paper presents information on what led to post-independence teacher education reforms in Namibia and why the reform was necessary. The BETD Broad Curriculum advocates the principles underpinning teacher education reforms in Namibia. The analysis looks at whether the History syllabus applies the principles of teacher education reform in relation to practice in the classroom. This paper addresses the historical background of a History curriculum, which shows the importance of a contextual understanding of the theoretical framework. The second paper looks at the theories underpinning the pre- and post-independence curriculum and the reform process in Namibia, how each theory views knowledge and why a decision was taken to apply them. The third paper is a literature review that links the epistemological ideals of reform to the classroom situation. This paper provides the basis for a small-scale empirical research. The research proposal included in the portfolio emerged from the earlier studies and identifies a key area for investigation within the domain of my particular area of teaching. The identified research problem investigated is presented in the final paper of the portfolio. These research findings can be applied to different situations in different schools. The portfolio is completed by the presentation of a short reflection of the role of the portfolio in this masters' course.

This Portfolio was submitted in 2005 to Rhodes University as a Research Portfolio presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in General Education Theory and Practice. The Portfolio consists of seven (7) key parts. The reader of this Portfolio is courteously informed that the structure of this portfolio is to some extent differ from the thesis structure. Thus, the reader should be attentive not to weigh against the two. Further more, I hereby declare that this portfolio is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of references indicated at the end of each part. Part 2 and 6 are the core parts of the portfolio. The focal point of part 2 is the contextual curriculum analysis of Grade 8-10 Oshindonga Curriculum in order to investigate its implementation in four educational circuits: Oshigambo, Onathinge, Onyaanya and Omuthiya in Oshikoto Region. Based on the findings of this analysis, lack of critical inquiry and reflective practice among Oshindonga teachers was identified as one of the major obstacles that preventing the effective implementation of the curriculum. Most of these teachers are Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD) postgraduates. Thus, part 3 and 4 were developed as supplements to inform the main research paper (part 6) which is related to teacher's professionalism in the classroom. The focus of part 3 (literature review) was on the teacher as a reflective practitioner. This is in line with the Namibian Education Policy, which identifies reflective practice as the heart of teacher professionalism. In this part, I explored a variety of views related to the notion of professionalism in teaching. I have also focused on views related to teacher's professional development both on macro and micro levels. These views provided a clarification and an underpinning framework on which to base my analysis of reflective practice as professionalism in education. Part 4 (education theories) focused on the digging of understanding of knowledge as an important theoretical domain of behaviourist and constructivist theories. I have tried to establish how the two theories (Behaviourist and Constructivist) view knowledge and its acquisition and to gain an understanding of how the two theories have been informing the practice. Subsequently, part 6 meant to investigate and assess the extent to which Basic Education Teacher Diploma postgraduate teachers are autonomously applying the theory of critical inquiry and reflective practice in the classroom. Both part 2 and 6 have findings. There is much correlation between the issues and problems in the implementation of the curriculum as identified in part 2 and the findings of the main research paper (part 6). Though critical inquiry and reflective practice is the key journey towards a high level of reflectivity and one of the significant characters of teacher professionalism in the classroom, most issues and problems identified were related to the insufficient practice of critical inquiry and reflective practices. Low correlation was found between critical inquiry and reflective practice theory and teachers' practices in the classroom. Despite to the fact that various rationales were mentioned as to why critical inquiry and reflective practice successful implementation is not taking place, the study positioned an emphasis on team working at school, cluster and circuit base that could contributed to a great extend to making teachers more competent and supporting themselves in mastering the applicable critical inquiry and reflective practice skills.

The study investigates how rural Grade 4 teachers and learners experience the transition from Oshikwanyama to English as a medium of instruction. The study was conducted at a rural school in Oshana region in northern Namibia. The research site and participants were purposefully selected. Grade 4 teachers and learners were interviewed and observed. Relevant documents were also analyzed. The purpose was to understand participants’ experiences, perceptions and practices in relation to their experience of the transition to English medium instruction. The study revealed out that both Grade 4 teachers and learners are struggling to teach and learn through the medium of English. This was borne out by participants’ responses, classroom practices and document analysis, especially learners’ oral presentation and written work. The conclusion is drawn that limitations in English proficiency overshadow the good intentions of the curriculum. This was evident in the fact that Grade 4 learners at a selected school found it difficult to cope with the demands of the curriculum. In addition, most of the learners have poor literacy skills even in their mother tongue, Oshikwanyama. In the linguistic sense, proficiency in the first language can pave the way for second language to flourish. If the reverse is the case then the learner might find it difficult to acquire linguistic skills in the second language. The study concludes that for the sake of effective learning, an intervention on professional development needs to be in place. This might help rural lower primary teachers to upgrade their existing skills particularly in terms of the English language proficiency as well as how to prepare learners for the transition to English.

Tutors are key supporters within semi-distance education and as such comprehensive support of tutoring is necessary to provide the best possible support to learners. This case study investigates how tutoring can be better supported within a semi-distance part-time professional development course in environmental education. The course, aimed at adults working in environmental education fields, is seen as an important strategy for helping participants become critical, reflexive and active environmental education practitioners who can start working on solutions to environmental issues. This study found that most challenges to successful tutoring lay in the availability and competence of human resources within Namibia. Additionally improvement in the management of tutor and learner support systems, information, guidance and enrolment and finally of learning resources is seen as essential to better support a successful tutoring process. An alternative model of tutoring is offered as a way of overcoming the major tutoring challenges outlined in this study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

Thesis (MEdPsych (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH SUMMARY: The research problem of this study is how learners with visual impairments are included in a Namibian mainstream secondary school. This study is important since Namibia is new in the inclusion process of learners with visual impairments. This process was made a priority by the Ministry of Education in Namibia since a special school for the blind in Namibia only offers education up to Grade 10. With this study I aimed to analyse and describe how a group of learners with visual impairments were included in a mainstream secondary school. I therefore aimed to analyse the nature of support as well as the adaptations and accommodations made for the learners with visual impairments; and describe the culture and context of the school community using the opinions and experiences of the participants in the study. In order to obtain the opinions and experiences of the participants in a detailed, descriptive and in-depth manner, I designed a qualitative case study with a mainstream secondary school where the learners with visual impairments were integrated as the „bounded system‟. I purposefully selected the participants and used semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and the gathering of artefacts in order to obtain in-depth and rich data from multiple perspectives. From the research it was found that even though the learners with visual impairments are now physically integrated in the mainstream classes, they are not yet truly included. The teaching methods and materials are not adequately adapted for them and the physical environments within the classes and school grounds are also not yet truly accessible for them. The teachers are not adequately supported and trained, and the parents of most of the learners with visual impairments as well as the community are not involved in the learners‟ schooling. The school needs relevant resources as well as a change of attitudes – teachers and peers are often negative towards the learners with visual impairments and do not understand the rationale behind inclusive education. However, there are exceptions to this – the Grade 11 class of 2009 have accepted the learners with visual impairments in contrast to the classes before them. Finally, the policies that were developed by the country do not provide clear and practical guidelines of how to make inclusive education a reality in Namibia. I hope that the findings of this study will be of valuable use to the particular school and to the Ministry of Education with regard to the school‟s progress in the inclusion of the learners with visual impairments. Key Concepts: inclusion, disability, impairments, visual impairment, visual disability, blindness, and partially sighted. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsingsprobleem van hierdie studie is hoe leerders met gesiggestremdhede ingesluit word in „n hoofstroom sekondêre skool in Namibië. Die navorsing is belangrik aangesien inklusiewe onderwys „n nuwe innovasie in Namibië is. Die insluitingvan leerders met gesiggestremdhede was „n prioriteit van die Ministerie van Onderwys, aangesien die skool vir blindes in Namibië (Windhoek) net onderrig verskaf van Graad 1 tot Graad 10. Die Graad 11 en 12 leerders moes dus vanaf 2006 ingesluit word in „n hoofstroom sekondêre skool. Met hierdie studie het ek beoog om die konsep van inklusie asook die beleidsdokumente aangaande inklusie in Namibië te analiseer; om die tipe asook die wyse van ondersteuning vir hierdie groep leerders met gesiggestremdhede te analiseer en beskryf; en om die kultuur en konteks van die skool te beskryf met behulp van die perspektiewe en ondervindinge van die deelnemers in my studie. Ek het„n kwalitatiewe gevallestudie ontwerp om „n ryk, digte beskrywing te verseker. Die deelnemers is doelbewus gekies ten einde in-diepte en spesifieke perspektiewe en ondervindinge te verkry. Die metodes wat gebruik is vir data-insameling sluit semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, nie-deelnemende waarneming en dokumente-analise in. Hierdie studie het bevind dat alhoewel die leerders met gesiggestremdhede fisies in die hoofstroomklasse geïntegreer is, hul nog nie waarlik ingesluit word in die hoofstroomskool nie. Die onderrigmetodes word nie genoegsaam aangepas nie en die leerders benodig meer hulpbronne en toerusting om gehalte leer te verseker. Die onderwysers het nie voldoende opleiding om kinders met gesiggestremdhede te onderrig nie en die ouers van die leerders met gesigsgestremdheid en gemeenskap is nie genoeg betrokke by die skool en die leerders nie. Nie die klaskamers of die skoolgronde is toegangklik vir die leerders met gesiggestremdhede nie en die houdings van beide onderwysers en leerders is met enkele uitsonderings negatief teenoor die leerders met gesiggestremdhede. Ten slotte, die nasionale beleidsdokumente aangaande inklusie gee nie praktiese maniere hoe om inklusiewe onderwys „n werkliheid te maak nie. Ek hoop dat die bevindinge van hierdie studie van waarde sal wees vir die spesifieke skool asook vir die Ministerie van Onderwys in die ontwikkeling van inklusiewe onderwys. Sleutelkonsepte: Inklusie, gestremdheid, beperking, gesiggestremdheid, visuele beperking, blindheid, en swak sig.

Peace Corps Volunteer teachers have played a significant role in Namibia’s attempts to restructure education in line with its policy of education for all. While we have learned a great deal in recent years about how Peace Corps Volunteer Teachers have achieved their stated goals and objectives of teaching students and training serving teachers, we still know relatively little about the role they may have played in school management. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Peace Corps volunteers work on the management and leadership of the schools they serve. The study focuses on the work of two volunteers based in a combined school in the Ondangwa West educational region of Namibia. The study adopts a qualitative approach and seeks to establish whether there has been an impact by Peace Corps volunteer’s work on the management and leadership of this school by focusing on (a) activities performed by Peace Corps volunteers; (b) the experiences of both management and staff in working with Peace Corps volunteers; (c) whether the presence of Peace Corps volunteers that served at the school influence the management and leadership of the school; (d) how the duties and activities performed by these volunteers were perceived by the students, teachers and community. The interview questions that were used to collect data from seven respondents were based on the literature from Peace Corps and the Ministry of Basic Education, Culture and Sport as well as education management and leadership literature. The findings indicate that volunteers that served at this school performed management and leadership related activities with the students, teachers and community and that these activities are having an effect on the management and leadership of the school.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contradiction between the teaching of integration in ETP and the actual practice of compartmentalisation within ETP at the Rundu College of Education. The second part of this study is to explore and examine the way teacher educators could integrate subjects into their specialisation areas at college level. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the following: • The reason (s) why there is a contradiction between the teaching in ETP and the actual practice of compartmentalisation within the ETP. • Examining and investigating factors that have contributed to the teaching in a compartmentalised way.

Tutors are key supporters within semi-distance education and as such comprehensive support of tutoring is necessary to provide the best possible support to learners. This case study investigates how tutoring can be better supported within a semi-distance part-time professional development course in environmental education. The course, aimed at adults working in environmental education fields, is seen as an important strategy for helping participants become critical, reflexive and active environmental education practitioners who can start working on solutions to environmental issues. This study found that most challenges to successful tutoring lay in the availability and competence of human resources within Namibia. Additionally improvement in the management of tutor and learner support systems, information, guidance and enrolment and finally of learning resources is seen as essential to better support a successful tutoring process. An alternative model of tutoring is offered as a way of overcoming the major tutoring challenges outlined in this study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

This study was carried out to investigate the strategies used by teachers to foster environmental learning in the Namibian Life Science curriculum in four schools in Swakopmund, Erongo Education Region. This study is a qualitative case study. I used semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis as instruments to collect data. Two schools were selected to participate in the case study. Research participants included four teachers (two teachers from each school) of which two teachers are teaching at each school. The study was contextualised through a review of policy changes in Namibian education, which focus on learner-centred education. The study identified six strategies used by teachers to foster environmental learning in the Life Sciences curriculum. These are planning; working with information; practical, excursions and clubs; involving the learners; using visual aids and teaching materials; and choosing topics with a local focus. Through a consideration of the different strategies used by teachers, in relation to the learner-centred nature of the educational reform project in Namibia the study provides insight into the way in which teachers view learner-centred education. The study also illuminates how strategies used by teachers reflect learner-centred education principles and it outlines a number of tensions emerging in the fostering of environmental learning in learner-centred ways. The study identifies further support required by teachers, and makes recommendations which will further enhance the strategies used by teachers to foster the environmental learning focus in Life Sciences, and also enhance learner-centred teaching in Life Science.

This study sought to investigate the involvement of parents in the development of their children’s literacy. The study was conducted in a rural school in the Omaheke region of Namibia, a school selected for reasons of representativeness and convenience. The research took the form of an interpretive case study focussing on a study sample of nine parents, their children, and one teacher in the Ngeama community. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then subjected to comprehensive descriptive analysis. The findings of the study indicate that parents in the Ngeama rural community have not been effectively involved in their children’s acquisition of literacy, for a number of reasons. These include the parents’ not feeling appropriately empowered to influence the development of their children’s literacy, the absence of environmental literacy programmes within the community, and the shortage of literacy materials such as newspapers and magazines. Perhaps the most important factor is that there is no public or school library in the Ngeama community. In view of these findings, the study recognizes a need for parental empowerment in terms of knowledge, skills, understanding and resources allocation regarding the education of their children. It recommends that a relationship of trust and understanding be built between the school and the community to ensure the sound development of literacy skills. The study further recommends the establishment of a library in order to enhance the literacy levels of teachers, parents and children alike.