Bochum, Universiẗat, Diss., 2003.

The Namibian curriculum favours knowledge with understanding and application of knowledge and skills, because facts that are learned with understanding are easier to remember. This made learners to be able to represent mathematical situations in different ways and for different purposes. It also motivates teachers to contextualise the content to make mathematics teaching and learning more interesting and enjoyable to teachers and learners. However, some mathematics teachers are challenged by being required to teach multigrade classes, due to a massive response to improved access to education.Multigrade teaching is seen as a difficult practice especially when teachers are not well prepared to teach combined grades. This case study focused on the teaching of mathematics at Upper Primary Phase. An Interpretive paradigm was used to understand the teachers’ experiences and their teaching ethods. Hence the study aimed to investigate how teachers deliver their mathematics lessons in multigrade classrooms, considering the good practices and challenges that may occur. The findings revealed that teachers mostly use their monograde pedagogical knowledge,resulting in using quasi-monograde with a common timetable approach when teaching mathematics in multigrade settings. Although learners have access to the common mathematics syllabus, the quality of teaching the subject in multigrade classrooms seems to be affected due to the lack of teacher training in multigrade teaching. Also, equity and democracy need to be considered more than it currently is in terms of resource distribution to multigrade schools. Good practice of multigrade teaching existed in building on lower grade competencies, introducing lessons with common activities, as well as the concentration on lower grades which make learners independent. However, insufficient time, lack of knowledge in multigrade and curriculum knowledge in particular seem to challenge teachers and learners. Therefore, multigrade teachers need to be part of curriculum development for them to master the syllabus. These teachers will assist in developing multigrade resources for integration, contextualisation and more enrichment activities for high achievers.

This research project investigates the implementation of formative assessment policies in the Life Science curriculum at two schools in the Keetmanshoop District, Karas Education Region. It takes the form of an interpretive case study and adopts a qualitative approach. Several data collection tools were used: classroom observation, document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Two of the eleven schools in the Karas Region offering Grade 10 Life Science were selected for the study, and the research participants at each school consisted of one Grade 10 Life Science teacher and five of their learners. The study situates itself in the context of Namibian educational reform by reviewing relevant literature pertaining to learner-centred (constructivist) education and assessment practices in pre- and post-independent Namibia. The study highlights issues pertaining to formative assessment that are at variance with reform policies, identifying six recurring themes that explain how formative assessment policies are implemented. These are teachers' perceptions of formative assessment and its role in teaching and learning, the type of learning being developed, marking/assessing assessment tasks, the integration of formative assessment into classroom instruction, strategies teachers used to implement formative assessment, and types and purpose of activities. The themes that evolved during the data gathering process provide insight into the ways in which teachers perceive formative assessment in relation to the ideals of Namibian educational reform policies. In the light of these findings, the study makes recommendations concerning the implementation of formative assessment policies so as to render these congruent with the theory underpinning leamer-centred education.

This study was conducted in order to understand how Grade 1 teachers teach reading in mother tongue with a focus, firstly, on teacher beliefs and how such beliefs influence teachers’ practice, and secondly, on the methods they use to teach reading. The study was carried out in the Caprivi Region of Namibia. It took the form of an interpretive case study. Three schools were selected for study: one urban, one peri-urban and one rural. The purpose of this sampling was to consider the influence of context on teachers’ practice. The data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews with open ended questions, as well as lesson observations and stimulated recall with the individual teachers after every lesson. This was important in order to have clarity on areas that were not clear during lesson presentations. The key findings are that the teachers I studied taught reading without using books, and there was an absence of shared reading with the learners. Other key findings are: teachers had great love for stories; they had a problem of language, and had no proper understanding of the concept ‘literacy’.

Globalisation and technology change have created a new global economy fuelled by information and driven by knowledge. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been touted as potential powerful tools for enabling educational change and reform. Namibia is among those countries that have adopted the use of ICTs as a vehicle for change. This thesis explores the role of school principals in promoting and managing computer usage in selected schools in Namibia. The study was conducted at four schools in the Caprivi Region. The study employed a qualitative case study to collect and analyse data. A total of four school principals and four computer coordinators were interviewed, and responded to questions pertaining to the role of principals in the following areas: acquiring ICT equipment; providing access to the computer labs; promoting the use of computers; maintaining computers; capacity-building of teachers, and addressing challenges that could prevent computer usage. Two focus group interviews were also conducted at two schools, to find out what they perceived to be the role of school principals in supporting and ensuring the effective use of computers in schools. The findings on acquisition of computers reveal that principals were often the initiators of the acquisition process. Ministerial deployment is the most common form of acquisition, followed by the use of the school’s development fund to purchase administrative computers. Only one of the participating schools did not acquire its computers through Ministerial deployment. Some schools were more resourced than others. Availability and maintenance of equipment depended on the kind of school (advantaged or disadvantaged) and the way the computers were acquired rather than on the role of the principal. Schools that acquired their computers through the ministerial deployment received satisfactory technical support from the ministry while schools that acquired their computers through other sources had to rely more heavily on the principal to pro-actively seek support. School principals that demonstrated the qualities of transformational leadership promoted the usage of computers by taking part in training offered to teachers and encouraged teachers on different platforms to make use of computers. The study also found that schools in which principals actively supported and promoted the use of computers were successful in the usage of the computer labs, while in schools where principals left the running of the computer lab to an individual teacher, the usage was minimal. It was found that a number of challenges are hampering the usage. These include lack of internet connectivity, qualified personnel to cascade training, and minimum infrastructure. The study recommends that school principals should adopt trategies that encourage teachers to use computers in their daily routines. It also makes suggestions for further research on the impact of school culture on ICT integration.

This study was aimed at investigating the perceptions, knowledge and understanding of desertification and its causes among decision makers in northern Namibia. The focus of investigation was on desertification and its major causes as identified in the general literature, viz. deforestation, overgrazing and overcultivation. Particular attention was given to the socioeconomic and cultural factors which are behind these perceived 'ecological' causes of desertification. Furthermore, the respondents were also engaged in the generation of solutions to the problem of desertification and its causes. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews with the regional governors, councillors and chief headmen from the four northern regions. A qualitative approach was adopted for the research and findings are essentially descriptive and qualitative. It is anticipated that the study will make an important contribution to the current debate on desertification in Namibia, specifically with regard to the perceptions, knowledge and understanding of desertification and its causes among the decision makers in northern Namibia.

Text in Afrikaans / Tydens teeninsurgensie is daar 'n duidelik waarneembare intensivering van die burokratiese wedywering tussen die polisie en die militere, wat in wese om kwessies soos prestige, uitbreiding en modernisering sentreer. In die onderhawige studie is die problematiek rondom die rolverdeling van die polisie en die militere in teeninsurgensie aan die hand van die rewolusionere oorlog in Namibig, as 'n gevallestudie en met besondere verwysing na die rol van die polisie, ondersoek. In die studie word 'n aantal algemene bevindinge, sowel as 'n aantal primere en sekondere bevindinge gemaak. Die kern van die bevindinge bestaan uit 'n drieledige gevolgtrekking: eerstens dat die rolle van die polisie en die militere in teeninsurgensie komplementer is; tweedens dat daar 'n tydige en duidelike rolverdeling moet wees; en derdens dat, alhoewel die polisie 'n beperkte militere rol het, die swaartepunt van die polisie-teeninsurgensierol buite die militere dimensie geleg is. / During counterinsurgency there is a clearly perceptible intensification of the bureaucratic competition between the police and the military which, in essence, revolves around questions such as prestige, expansion and modernisation. In this study the problems surrounding the role division of the police and the military in counterinsurgency, as manifested in the revolutionary war in Namibia and with specific reference to the role of the police, were investigated as a case study. The study concludes with a number of general findings, as well as a number of primary and secondary findings. The nucleus of the findings consist of a threefold conclusion: Firstly, that the police and military roles in counterinsurgency are complementary; secondly, that there must be a timeous and clear role division; and thirdly, that although the police have a limited military role, the centre of gravity of the police counterinsurgency role lies outside the military dimension. / Political Sciences / M.A. (Strategiese Studies)

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / Understanding the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the Namibian's health sector is important in the global information society It is not clear how ICT is being deployed to support the delivery of health services to the Namibian patients. Health service providers (HSP) in both private and pUblic health sector must be aware of ICT use patterns because this may influence how they deliver services to their patients in the future. This study thus seeks to investigate how ICT have been used in the delivery of health services to patients in the Khomas and Oshana regions of Namibia. Based on the literature review and data collected from the HSP and patients, a 'generic' health service delivery landscape for Namibia was developed and regional landscapes for the Khomas and Oshana regions were further derived from it. The landscapes depicted health service provision to patients in the different health sectors in Namibia. After mapping the health landscapes primary data was collected from the health service providers (HSP) in private, mission and public health institutions using a questionnaire A second structured questionnaire was administered on the patients A total of 21 and 134 HSP patients respectively, responded to the survey questionnaire. Results from the descriptive analysis indicate a relatively high ICT use by both HSP and patients.

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Technology: Biomedical Technology in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2015 / Aim: The aim of the study was to compile pre-tested laboratory results stored in the laboratory database of the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP). The study also aimed to assess the usefulness and validity of using retrospective laboratory results of different patients in varying degrees of health and which were produced using various methods in different laboratories in Namibia. Methods: 254,271 test results (female: 134,261, male = 117,091, unknown gender= 2,919) consisting of Haemoglobin, serum Urea, serum Creatinine, plasma Glucose (fasting and random), serum Cholesterol, serum Triglycerides and serum Uric Acid was extracted from NIP Laboratory Information System over a period of four years and of the 13 different regions of Namibia were analyzed.. Each data set was sorted in ascending order and outliers were eliminated using SPSS Box plot function. Data available for analysis were Haemoglobin: 18,999 (male = 7,716, female = 11,283, serum Urea: 8,111 (male = 3,836, female=4.275), serum Creatinine: 8,794 (male=4,099, female= 4,506), plasma Glucose: 78,106 (fasting=32,591, random=45,515), serum Cholesterol: 48,354 (male=24,815, female=23,539), Serum Triglycerides: 22,138 (male=9,291, female=12,847) serum Uric Acid: 37,389 (male=18,972, female=18,427). Results of tests were also analysed according to the 13 regions in Namibia. Outliers were removed using the Box plot function of SPSS and statistics were calculated for each of the parameters. Tables and histogram as well as percentile ranges (2.5th -97.5th and 5th -95th) were determined for each parameter. Results: Non-parametric percentile ranges were as follows: Haemoglobin (2.5-97.5: M=6.64-16.9, F=7.81-15.2 and 5-95: M=7.39-16.3, F=8.48-14.7) g/L, Urea (2.5-97.5: 1.3- 9.1, 5-95:1.6-8.4) mmol/L, Creatinine (2.5-97.5: M=37-141, F=33-103 and 5-95: M=43- 133, F=39-117) μmol/L, Glucose (2.5-97.5: fasting=3.4-9.5, random=3.7-7.1 and 5-95: fasting=3.9-9.1, random 4-6.9) mmol/L, Cholesterol (2.5-97.5: M=2.6-6.9, F=2.8-7.0 and 5- 95: M=2.9-6.1, F=3.1-6.2) mmol/L, Triglyceride (2.5-97.5: 0.39-2.72 and 5-95: 0.46-2.5) mmol/L and Uric Acid (2.5-97.5: M=0.21-0.62, F=0.17-0.51 and 5-95: M=0.24-0.58, F=0.19-0.48) mmol/L. Conclusion: A statistically significant difference between the mean values of the study and the mean values of NIP reference range was detected and differences between these values and reference values in the region were observed. More work needs to be done to improve the data extraction process, data selection criteria and improvement of statistical analysis. If these can be addressed, it can be stated that using patient laboratory data values is a relatively easy and cost effective method of establishing laboratory and population specific reference values if skewness and kurtosis of the distribution are not too large.

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / In order for any organisation to achieve its goals, a committed workforce is essential. It has, however, become a great challenge for organisations to attract and retain employees as the power of success has shifted from organisations to employees. The organisation that is committed to attraction and retention of staff is likely to gain a competitive advantage, as staff members are satisfied and give optimum production levels. The purpose of the study was to determine and investigate factors that affect attraction and retention of staff at NIP in order to suggest possible interventions that could be employed to attract and retain staff in future. In order to obtain desired results, the researcher used a mixed-method approach. Questionnaires were distributed to all non-management NIP employees and semi-structured interviews were conducted with four (4) purposively selected NIP managers. Statistical analysis was used to analyse data, which was obtained by means of questionnaires, and content analysis was used for data that was obtained by means of semi-structured interviews. The study revealed that NIP staff members are dissatisfied with the company policies and practices, as the company does not always pay effective attention to them. Some of them indicated that they only worked as a means of survival; because of passion for their jobs; to save lives; and owing to the scarcity of jobs, since the industry is small. It is, therefore, necessary to pay attention to factors that this study has produced as obstacles in the way of NIP to employ an effective recruitment and retention strategy for its employees.