Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the understanding of and experiences in the implementation of learner-centred education (LCE) and enquiry-based teaching of Grade 10 Geography teachers against the backdrop of curriculum reform in Namibia. The Namibian curriculum is premised on the view that there is a need for the holistic development and preparation of learners for a knowledge-based society. Globally, LCE, with its potential for broadening access to quality education, has been a recurring theme of national reform policies and has been promoted as an innovative way of teaching. The usefulness of the LCE approach and associated enquiry-based teaching is embedded in constructivism and is introduced with the promise that it will enable learners to develop investigative and critical thinking skills that will put them at the centre of learning. This interpretative study employed a case study approach that utilised qualitative methods to gather information on the experiences of the three Geography teachers at the sampled schools as they implement LCE and enquiry-based teaching. The main data-gathering techniques in phases 1 and 2 of the research respectively were semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that the teachers have different understandings of what LCE and enquiry-based teaching approaches are, although their teaching employs some elements of it. The research also indicated that there is one big factor that impinges on their implementation of LCE and enquiry-based teaching approaches. The teachers admitted that, due to the pressure of learner success in the end-of-year Grade 10 examination, they rather teach to the test. This diverts their teaching from focusing on implementing approaches that actively involve learners in the learning process and nurture enquiry skills when these skills are not formally assessed in examinations. Consequently, teachers fail to implement the syllabus as intended by policy makers and curriculum developers. Even though the findings of this study may be specific to the sampled schools and the participating teachers, it can be assumed that similar situations exist in schools with comparable contexts. It is therefore important that education policy makers and relevant stakeholders strive to allocate sufficient support and resources for teachers to implement LCE and enquiry-based teaching effectively in schools. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die verstaan van en ervarings met die implementering van leerder-gesentreerde en ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrig van Graad 10 Geografie-onderwysers teen die agtergrond van kurrikulumhervorming in Namibië. Die Namibiese leerplan berus op die siening dat daar „n behoefte is aan die holistiese ontwikkeling en voorbereiding van leerders vir „n kennis-gebaseerde samelewing. Leerder-gesentreerde onderrig met sy potensiaal om toegang tot gehalte onderwys te verbreed, is „n tema wat wêreldwyd herhaaldelik in nasionale hervormingsbeleid voorkom en as „n innoverende wyse van onderrig bevorder word. Die nut van die leerder-gesentreerde benadering en gepaardgaande ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrig is in konstruktivisme gebaseer en word voorgestel met die belofte dat dit leerders in staat sal stel om ondersoekende en kritiese denkvaardighede te ontwikkel, wat hulle sentraal in die leerproses sal plaas. Hierdie interpretatiewe studie het 'n gevallestudie-benadering gevolg en kwalitatiewe metodes gebruik om inligting in te samel oor die ervarings van drie Geografie-onderwysers se implementering van leerder-gesentreerde en ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrig by skole wat as steekproef gekies is. Die belangrikste onderskeidelike data-insamelingstegnieke in fases 1 en 2 van die navorsing was semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en klaskamerwaarneming. Die bevindinge toon dat die onderwysers verskillende begrippe handhaaf van wat leerder-gesentreerde en ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrigbenaderings behels, hoewel hulle onderrig sommige elemente daarvan toon. Die navorsing het ook aangedui dat een belangrike faktor inbreuk doen op hul implementering van leerder-gesentreerde en ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrigbenaderings. Die onderwysers het erken dat die druk van leerdersukses in die graad 10-eksamen aan die einde van die jaar hulle eerder met die oog op die toets laat onderrig gee. Dit verplaas die fokus van hul onderrig weg van die implementering van benaderings wat leerders aktief by die leerproses betrek en die koestering van ondersoekvaardighede, veral ook omdat hierdie vaardighede nie formeel in eksamens beoordeel word nie. Onderwysers slaag gevolglik nie daarin om die leerplan soos beleidmakers en kurrikulum-ontwikkelaars dit bedoel, te implementeer nie. Selfs al sou die bevindinge van hierdie studie slegs spesifiek op die betrokke skole en die deelnemende onderwysers betrekking hê, kan aanvaar word dat soortgelyke situasies in skole in vergelykbare kontekste bestaan. Dit is dus belangrik dat onderwysbeleidmakers en relevante rolspelers daarna moet streef om voldoende ondersteuning en hulpbronne vir onderwysers beskikbaar te stel om leerder-gesentreerde en ondersoek-gebaseerde onderrig effektief in skole te implementeer.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers‟ perception(s) of the relevance of performance indicators for school improvement and development in Namibia. The study employed a case study involving two school principals, two heads of department (HODs) and five teachers. Interviews were used to collect the data. The study found that almost all teachers acknowledge the importance of the PIs and believe that they succeed in improving the provision of quality education if they are properly implemented. The study also found that both school principals experience many challenges with the implementation of these PIs. The analysis was framed by interpretive theory as the study is exploratory. Performance indicators (PIs) have become the yardstick by which internal and external school evaluators can assess whole school performance. The focus of this case study was on Grade 10 school performance in the Katima Mulilo rural circuit and an urban secondary school in the Caprivi education region of Namibia. Grade 10 is one of the school levels in which low academic performance has been found to be common in the Caprivi region. The study included a literature review of studies on performance indicators in different parts of the world. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMING: No Afrikaans abstract available

This thesis attempted to develop insight into why, contrary to expectation and predictions, learners in Rundu obtained better scores in a standardised English comprehension test than learners in Katima Mulilo, given that the conditions of teaching and learning were judged to be least favourable in Rundu.

Maternal health care services are one of the health interventions to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. The health of mothers of childbearing age and of the unborn babies is influenced by many factors some of which include the availability and accessibility of health services for pregnant women. Low quality of health services being provided, and limited access to health facilities is correlated with increases maternal morbidity and mortality. This situation is caused by long distances between facilities as well as the people's own beliefs in traditional practices. This study was about the assessment of the women's knowledge on benefits of delivery in a hospital, the barriers to delivery services, and the perception of the delivery services rendered in the maternity ward of Okakarara hospital.

No description available.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Geosciences University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Namibia, the 6th largest producer of uranium globally, has produced uranium from Pan African granite-hosted (primary) deposits since 1976, and from palaeochannel deposits since 2007; exporting 3 472 tonnes U in 2016. The large granite-hosted deposits at the Husab Mine are expected to add over 5 700 tonnes U/year at peak, while three large primary-hosted deposits remain in various stages of development at Goanikontes, the Ida Dome, and Valencia. This study presents a comprehensive geological, geochemical and uranium mineralogical appraisal of four of the major primary-hosted uranium deposits, all situated within the southern Central Zone (sCZ) of the polydeformational (D1-D3) Damara Belt. The sCZ comprises highly deformed Neoproterozoic sediments, unconformably draped over rheologically competent granite-gneiss domes and inliers of a Palaeoproterozoic basement. A suite of fractionated sheeted leucogranites (SLGs) are a characteristic of the final stages of Orogenic deformation; while most SLGs appear to precede D3 deformation and metamorphism (ca. 510 Ma); most of the mineralised SLGs across the region invade reduced-facies sediments in pressure shadows formed in the hinges and limbs of upright D3 antiforms, proximal to basement inliers. A pre-existing, six-fold, alphabetised SLG classification scheme is revised and extended to categorise distinctive and consistent field and petrographic characteristics of the SLGs across the region. Discriminating SLG sub-types is less consistent in standard geochemical diagrams, except where high field-strength (HFS) and rare-earth elements (REE) are concerned. REE profiles in pre-D3 SLGs reflect abundances, or paucities, of characteristic accessory mineral assemblages; while REE profiles show relative REE enrichment, prominent REEfractionation and -ve Eu anomalies in the uraniferous SLGs, reflecting lower-percentage partial melts in the more uraniferous samples. The overwhelming majority of primary uranium mineralisation is in magmatic uraninite, followed by coffinite which predominate as a replacement phase of uraninite, and more rarely as solid solution with thorite. The refractory minerals betafite and brannerite are rare, but are locally abundant in discrete, magmatic textures within uraniferous SLGs of some deposits. Hydrated uranyl silicates predominate in the supergene portions of the orebodies across the region. An electron microprobe study presents the first comprehensive assessment of uraninite compositions in the region, while Husab deposit betafite and brannerite compositions allow for a well-rounded comparison with refractory minerals from the Rössing deposits. Key Words Primary Uranium, Granite, Orogenic, Damara, Namibia, Rare Earth Elements, Mineralisation, Fractionation, High-grade Metamorphism, Economic Geology, Mining, Processing, Uraninite, Coffinite, Etango, Goanikontes, Husab, Ida Dome, Rössing, Valencia / XL2018

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Johannesburg, 2015 / The Chiniquodontidae is a family of Triassic carnivorous cynodonts well represented in the Middle-Upper Triassic of Argentina and Brazil. Chiniquodontids were more recently discovered in Madagascar and central Namibia, representing the only record of the family outside South America. The Namibian specimen was discovered in the Upper Omingonde Formation and is represented by the skull and a partial skeleton. The new chiniquodontid was identified as Chiniquodon and is diagnosed by the postcranial characteristics identified; a strong bend in the proximal portion of thoracic ribs, reduced curvature of the clavicle, although this may be due to deformation, robustness of the neck of the ilium, differences in the angulation between the edge of the posterior lamina of the ilium and the margin of the neck, and a large ischium, which is more than twice the size of the pubic plate. The postcranial material of the chiniquodontid from Namibia is described and compared with that of South American chiniquodontids. Chiniquodontids lack costal plates on ribs, show a tall and slender scapular blade, a large acromion process positioned well above the scapular neck and absence of disc-like phalanges in the autopodium. The Namibian Chiniquodon provides the first evidence of elements from the pes in chiniquodontids, and one of the few for non-mammaliaform cynodonts. Sedimentological studies confirm that the Upper Omingonde Formation of Namibia represents fluvial deposits of braided and meandering rivers formed in a predominately arid climatic regime during the Middle Triassic.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. May 30, 2016. / In statistics, a model is as good as the data fed to it. Data about hydrological events continues to grow rapidly over the years, with different variables being recorded on a continuous scale. These variables can be interpreted and used in a different manner among disciplines. Thus, choosing the right variables and interactions among variables is an important statistical step in building a good and accurate model. This dissertation involved the development of a statistical model which can be used to predict weekly water level within the Okavango river in northern Namibia. The parameters of the statistical mixed model were estimated based on two methods for longitudinal data, the Generalised Estimating Equations (GEE) which is a well known method of parameter estimation in longitudinal data analysis when the observed variables are correlated, and the Restricted Maximum Likelihood Estimation (REML) which is a likelihood based approach method, unlike the GEE. Using cross-validation and a simulation study, the GEE method of estimation was found to be less accurate and inconsistent in terms of prediction of parameter estimation of water level while the well known REML was found to predict the water level with a good degree of accuracy, consistency and with lower variance. Parameters from a simulation study have also shown less bias in REML method and predicted the cross-validation test-set with less bias. / GR 2016

Groundwater is a very scarce and sensitive resource in many parts of the World especially in Africa and in arid areas such as Western Namibia. The Western Namibia hosts the Erongo region which named the Uranium Province world class deposits of uranium and high exploration and mining in the area. The majority of the Erongo region in Namibia depends on groundwater from the Swakop River compartment, hence, is important to understand the mining effects to this precious resource. The safe guarding of groundwater pollution from various sources including mining is vital. The extensive exploration and mining activities in the area raised environmental concerns especially threat to the huge ground water resources and the Aquatic systems in the proximity and hydraulically connected to the Swakopmund and Khan catchments. The study looked the impact of uranium mining in the area specifically focusing on the impact of the unlined uranium tailing dams at Langerheinrich uranium mine on the Gawib River a tributary of the Swakop River. The study reviewed the previous work on the Langerheinrich Uranium Mine that is related to groundwater pollution including the Environmental Impact Assessments carried out by the consultants for the mine. Ten water samples were obtained for the purpose of this study, the samples consists of the groundwater samples, recycled water and the fresh water supply to the mine. The hydrochemistry, stable isotopes and tritium results show that there is contamination from the unlined uranium tailings into the Gawib shallow aquifer system. This could spread to deeper aquifer systems mainly through major structures such as fractures and faults in the area. The contamination plume will also spread downstream to the Gawib River towards the Swakop River unless serious mitigation measures are put in place. There is also a very high risk of the plume to reach the Atlantic Ocean by seasonal flash floods that occurs in the area approximately every after few years. Keywords: Uranium Province, Langerheinrich uranium mine, Groundwater, Pollution, unlined tailings and Gawib River

Delaktighet är ett vanligt förekommande begrepp som bland annat används inom socialpedagogiken för att studera mänskliga relationer. Det finns dock många dimensioner av delaktighet, begreppet kan av individen upplevas ha både en subjektiv och objektiv betydelse. Enligt barnkonventionen har alla barn rätt att gå i skolan. Vidare påpekar barnkonventionen att skolan ska skapa delaktighet för barnen. Att känna sig delaktig kan således anses vara en mänsklig rättighet, men hur pass delaktiga upplever eleverna på skolan sig egentligen? Föreliggande studie har haft till syfte att studera och analysera hur elevers delaktighet framhävs i skolmiljön utifrån ett elevperspektiv, både under lektionstid med lärare och utanför lektionstid elever emellan. Arbetet har bedrivits i en kommunal namibisk skola med hjälp av deltagande observationer, semistrukturerade intervjuer och en mikroetnografisk metodologisk ansats. Resultaten av arbetet överensstämmer till viss del med tidigare forskning. Eleverna upplever mycket social och informell delaktighet mellan varandra, men skolan brister på att skapa relationell pedagogik och delaktighet i klassrummet. Bristen på inflytande över lärandet påverkar studiemotivationen, vilket i sin tur upplevs som dålig studieprestation av lärarna och leder till att eleverna bestraffas. Till skillnad från resultaten av tidigare forskning påvisades i föreliggande arbete ingen socioekonomisk påverkan på elevprestation. Detta har troligtvis att göra med att skolan kompenserar elever med lägre socioekonomisk status genom att erbjuda billigt boende, mat och skoluniform. Resultaten från arbetet kan användas för att bedriva liknande forskning. / Participation is a common concept, which is used in social pedagogy to study human relations. However, there are many dimensions of participation and the concept can be both a subjective and objective meaning. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), all children should have the right to go to school. Additionally, the CRC points out that the school should create participation for the children. To feel involved can thus be regarded as a human right, but how participated does the pupils experience themselves? This study aimed to study and analyze how pupils' participation is emphasized in the school environment from a pupils' perspective, both in class with teachers and outside of the classroom among the pupils themselves. The study has been conducted in a municipal Namibian school using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a micro ethnographic methodological approach. The results of the study are consistent to some extent with previous research. Pupils experience very social and informal participation among each other, but the school fails to create relational pedagogy and participation in the classroom. The lack of influence is affecting the pupils study motivation, which in turn is perceived as bad study performance by the teachers and they therefore get punished. Unlike the results of previous research, this study shows that socio-economic status does not affect pupil performance. This probably has to do with the fact that the school compensates pupils with lower socio-economic status by providing affordable accommodation, free food and school uniforms. The results of this study can be used to conduct similar research.