The study is premised on the assumptions that the under-representation of women in leadership in academia is aggravated by weak implementation of gender policies. In light of this, the aim of the current study was to assess the nature and extent of the implementation of gender policy frameworks as a way of engendering gender parity in leadership in academia. The study was informed by the socialist-feminist theory and John Rawls’ and David Millers’ theory of social justice. The theories were chosen on the basis of their socialist-scientific approach to gender issues and also because of their resonance with the situation in Zimbabwe’s tertiary institutions. The theories were analysed within the context of Agenda 2063. The relevance of the agenda’s vision for this study is its recognition of gender equality, particularly in leadership in academia, as a critical cog for Africa’s development agenda. The researcher opted to use the qualitative approach which is embedded within the interpretivist research paradigm. The interpretivist approach makes use of qualitative methods of data collection, presentation and analysis. Data were generated from a sample of twenty four lecturers, two vice-chancellors, two pro-vice-chancellors and two registrars from two universities, a private church-run institution and a state university, mainly through interviews. Data were also generated through focus group discussions and document analysis. Data from documents were used to buttress data from the interviews and focus group discussions. The findings of this study showed that the male-management norm dominated in almost every strategic section of the structures of the two institutions. This was attributable to weak implementation of gender policies. The failure of the gender policies to bring a visible change to the institutional landscape in terms of gender equality was a result of an interplay of personal, cultural and organisational factors. Some of the factors that thwarted women’s career progression to leadership positions included, lack of inspiration from role models, lack of support from colleagues, lack of training in leadership, and the Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education’s (ZIMCHE) indiscriminate policy on recruitment of staff members. All the factors however, were encapsulated within the patriarchal stereotypical conception of a women as fit for domesticity. Within the same conception, men were considered to be imbued with the clout and traits consistent with leadership demands. Studies carried out elsewhere in Zimbabwe and outside the boarders of Zimbabwe have yielded similar results. This explains the continuing and relentless nature of gender inequality in academic institutions. In order to increase the participation of women in leadership positions, the study recommends the following: establishment of a monitoring and evaluation exercise designed to audit the effectiveness of the gender policies; establishment of a review of the university programmes with the aim of establishing or intensifying training programmes in academic leadership and management; establishment of a scholarship and research fund to encourage women to undertake higher degrees studies, and the intense application of affirmative action policies and gender mainstreaming in the universities.

This study offers an explanation of enabling and / or constraining factors in Zimbabwe‘s 3-3-3 secondary teacher education model for Post ‗O‘ Level Science. It is a theory driven study that derives its theoretical foundation from Roy Bhaskar‘s critical realism and Margaret Archer‘s morphogenetic approach to reality. The study therefore offers explanations about structural, cultural and agential influences that facilitate and / or hinder the 3-year program for Post ‗O‘ Level Science. This was a qualitative case study of one secondary teacher education college in Zimbabwe. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. One official from the Department of Teacher Education(DTE) at the University of Zimbabwe(UZ),the Principal, the Vice Principal and 10 lecturers from the studied college,3 Heads of Science department in secondary schools,3mentors and 5 groups of 10 and 11eleven student teachers participated in the study. The DTE Handbook (2012), vision and mission statements and core values of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science and Technology Development (MHTESTD),DTE and the studied college, syllabuses, teaching practice reports, policy documents, external examining reports, College Academic Board (CAB) minutes, admission records, mark profiles and pass lists among other relevant documents complemented interview data. As a theory driven study, structural, cultural and agential influences were found to be enabling and / or constraining the model. The acute shortage of Science teachers in secondary schools and the few Post ‗A‘ Level Science graduates led to the re-introduction of the 3- year Post ‗O‘ Level Science program in secondary teacher education colleges. The bureaucratic structures in educational institutions, the In-Out-In structure, institutional structures such as the family, the University, the studied college, secondary schools, infrastructural facilities, material and financial resources, transport facilities and utilities such as water, electricity and the internet were established as some among other structural factors affecting the 3-3-3 model. Discourses held about the teaching profession, the vision, mission and core values of the MHTESTD,DTE and the studied college, beliefs about what Science teachers should learn, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they should acquire and how they should be taught were established as cultural factors enabling and / or constraining the 3-3-3 model. Agential influences offering causal explanation for enablers and / or constrainers of the model were established as the decision by the Principal and the CAB to re-introduce the 3- year Post ‗O‘ Level Science program, the decision by the students to enroll for the program, the recruitment of under qualified students, the use of various teaching methods, conducting staff development and mentorship workshops and failure to increase staff establishment. The study has put forth recommendations for the improvement on constraining factors in pre-service teacher education programs. With the understanding that agency has power to reinforce or transform structures and cultures, it should not be seen to be reinforcing disadvantaged structural positions and cultures; instead, after having identified structural and cultural constrainers, it should engage in communicative and meta-reflexivity to come up with the best possible solutions to the hindrances. Courses of action should then be taken accordingly.

Up to 2005 early childhood education in Zimbabwe was organised, directed and run by non-governmental organisations, churches and private individuals. Such an arrangement meant that the curriculum, personnel and strategies used to implement the programme were varied. In 2004 the Ministry of Education directed that all primary schools attach two classes of children aged between 3 and 5 years with effect from 2006, thus effectively making early childhood education part of the formal primary school structure. The research presented in this thesis focuses on teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education in Zimbabwe. Located in the interpretive paradigm of qualitative research the study draws on a wide range of research methods. In particular a multiple case study was used to explore teachers' perceptions of primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education in a former government group B school, a church run school, a rural school, a former government group A school and, a council run school. Some of the key findings of the study are: • School heads who are the principal gate keepers in primary schools were not provided with any preparation for the introduction of grade zero/early childhood education. • School reliance on fees and levies, without direct Ministry of Education financial assistance, meant that resource conditions - hence state of readiness - greatly differed from one school to another. • No ongoing support was provided to school heads, teachers-in-charge and early childhood education teachers. • The quality of teaching and learning at the early childhood education level, in the multiple case study, depended on the nature of teacher preparation, availability of appropriate resources, adequacy and appropriateness of teacher support, and teacher state of preparedness. The study recommends interventions that curriculum policy planners and implementers can use to create conditions that enable schools to be ready for installing, implementing and institutionalising the early childhood education innovation.

This study investigated stakeholder participation in strategic planning processes in three teacher training colleges in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted within the qualitative research methodology. Three colleges of education were purposively sampled. All principals in the sampled sites took part in the study. Two Heads of Departments (HODs), two Lecturers in Charge (LICs) two Students Representative Council (SRC) members as well as College Advisory Council Board Members (CACBM) participated in this study. A total of 18 informants participated through interviews. Documents such as strategic planning minutes were scrutinized. Strategic planning meetings were also observed at two sites. The findings were that the practice of strategic planning still appears to be rigid and bureaucratic for organizations that operate in rapidly changing environments such as those in Zimbabwe. Secondly, participation in strategic planning is not all inclusive; only a select few individuals do take part in the planning exercise. Colleges of education and the Ministry focus on the product activities, that is, crafting the strategic plan. They seem to ignore the process activities such as reviewing plans periodically and taking note of key performance indicators which promote continuous improvement. The study also found that participants received no formal training in strategic planning and that the planning process was skewed towards control and compliance; and exhibited managerial accountability tendencies which lie within central bureaucratic approaches. The main recommendations were that the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and the Department of Teacher Education, at the University of Zimbabwe, in consultation with relevant stakeholders should, develop norms and standards for teacher education to align Zimbabwe‟s stakeholder participation in strategic planning to the global trends. Colleges should supplement their understanding of operational contexts by exploring possible future trends and circumstances. The criteria for reviewing strategic plans should be developed by peers, and practitioners in the field, in consultation with national norms and standards for teacher education.

No description available.

The introduction of Technical Vocational Education (TVE) has been marred by a myriad of challenges, and this has not spared universities. The incompetency of lecturers, the perceptions of both lecturers and students, the relationship between universities and the world of work as well as support strategies have been the most contested issues in TVE. The researcher used the mixed method design which is rooted in the post-positivist research paradigm that integrates concurrent procedures in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data. Post-positivist research paradigm attempts to enhance one’s understanding of the way certain phenomena are and that objectivity is an ideal that can never be achieved. The sample of the study comprised two Heads of Department (HODs) from the universities under study, 18 lecturers for the interviews, 18 lecturers who responded to the questionnaire, 24 students formed the 4 focus groups for both universities with 6 students each. Two industrial personnel were also interviewed. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, observations and document analysis. The researcher employed the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) to summarise, compile tables and graphs on quantitative data and qualitative data was analysed using content analysis through emerging themes. The study established that lecturers were not competent enough to deliver CT curriculum in universities and this was as a result of the type of training lecturers received which was no longer congruent with the technological advancement which have taken place in the textile industry. It was also instituted that universities were producing students who lacked the hands-on skills necessary for them to be acceptable in the world of work. There was a stern shortage of equipment and machinery in CT departments in universities. The machinery and equipment in the departments were too old and broken. Furthermore, the study established that there was no collaboration between universities and industries. Industrial personnel lamented that universities were not willing to put into consideration all the suggestions they gave them and that time for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) or placement was too short for them to impart all the requisite skills to students. It was also established that students were discontented by the teaching methods that lecturers were using and the way they were being assessed. Students conveyed their desire for the industry to be involved in assessing them whilst they were in universities. Based on the above findings, the study concluded that lecturers were incapacitated to deliver CT due to the training they received in colleges and universities which was no longer congruent with the dynamics of technology. The study also concluded that the shortage of machinery and equipment also demotivated lecturers and incapacitated them. It was also concluded that the lack of collaboration between universities and industries posed serious challenges to both lecturers and students. The study recommends that the quality of the existing lecturing force must be improved mainly through extensive staff development training programmes.There is need for lecturers to be staff developed through training workshops in order to improve on competence. There should be collaboration among University management, lecturers and the industry during curriculum design, implementation and monitoring to improve their attachment and sense of ownership of CT programmes. To improve on students’ acquisition of skills, the study recommends that time for Work-Integrated Learning should be lengthened so that students leave the industry well equipped with relevant skills and knowledge.

The research study focused on the integrating of indigenous African knowledge systems in teaching and learning at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe. The curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe offers a number of degree courses. The study sets out to address the problem with the curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, namely, that it is to a large extent dominated by Western knowledge and gives little priority to indigenous African knowledge systems. The majority of the courses offered at the CUZ are Eurocentric in nature and give little regard to the indigenous African knowledge systems. The study was undergirded by the Afrocentric theory which focuses on giving the African world view in terms of knowledge. The research study was informed by the constructivist paradigm which focuses on how individuals analyse and construct meanings of social situations. The research approach is qualitative in nature that means it is based on social interpretation and not numerical analysis of data. The data in the study was generated through face-to-face interviews, focus group discussion and document analysis. The data was presented under different themes. The study found out that they are few courses in the CUZ curriculum which include IAKS. Most of the knowledge and theories in the courses offered at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe curriculum are Western oriented. The knowledge in most of the courses is reminiscent of the colonial education system and gives no regard to indigenous African knowledge systems. The recommendation is for the inclusion of indigenous African Knowledge systems in the CUZ curriculum. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

The concept of campus environment and its implication to student development is important to any institution of higher learning and student affairs in particular. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The aim of this study was to investigate the responsiveness of rural primary schools in Zimbabwe to the needs of in-school OVC. The study adopted a qualitative approach in which the phenomenological and case study designs were employed to study in-school OVC in their natural setting. The target population for the study comprises OVCs, principals and school counsellors. From this population, a sample of 24 participants was purposively drawn. Data was collected from the participants in the three sampled rural primary schools in Masvingo district through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, document analysis and observation. Tesch’s model was applied to analyse data qualitatively. The study revealed that rural primary schools’ capacity to address the needs of in-school OVC was deemed ineffective by all the participants due to a myriad of factors which include inter-alia: lack of specialist school-counsellors; lack of funds to initiate school-based projects aimed to assist OVC; lack of a comprehensive school-feeding scheme; and a dearth of workshops to equip principals and teachers with knowledge to handle and deal with OVC. To improve the responsiveness of schools to the needs of OVC the study recommends that the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education should train specialist counsellors in teachers’ colleges. The study also recommends that the government should increase funds allocated for the Basic Education Assisted Module scheme to cater for more OVC. In addition, the study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should conduct workshops in schools on how to deal with challenges confronting OVC. Lastly a model to improve rural primary schools’ capacity to address the needs of OVC was suggested, which proposes partnerships among stakeholders in projects aimed at supporting in-school OVC. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The study focused on investigating challenges and prospects of quality education in rural primary schools in developing countries particularly in Zimbabwe. Reviewed literature indicated that two theories; education as human capital and education as human right advanced increased access to education. Decline of quality of education in the expansion programme portrayed by the decrease of pass rates to below 50 percent, pupils’ low literacy and numeracy prompted investigation. A case study of Ngezi rural primary schools was explored using a sample of 50 respondents selected through stratified random technique. Data were gathered by a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods defined as triangulation. Self- administered questionnaires for heads and teachers, interview guide for grade 7 pupils and SDC and observation guide were the instruments employed for data collection. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics. Findings were that quality of universal education was affected by inadequate supporting inputs and facilities, inappropriate teaching methods and unmotivated teachers. However 80 percent of the schools were staffed with qualified teachers depicting government’s commitment to quality education. 40 % of the schools without qualified leadership were indicative of the effect of poor school conditions to staff turn up. In studies carried out in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and India quality also declined as access was increased due to similar causes. Recommendations were to create a strong collaboration among stakeholders through communication to ensure the four conditions for quality are met simultaneously as they are interdependent and reforming the curriculum to suit means and needs of the people.