ABSTRACT
In this study the question of how to address corruption in Tanzanian society is
considered from the view point of learning positive values to contribute to reducing
corruption now and in the future. It is argued that by strengthening the teaching of
positive values to provide a foundation in values as alternatives for students to
consider, may impact their decisions while still at school and later in life as adults
and leaders for them to resist corruption when encountered. The study arises from
Transparency International surveys consistently ranking Tanzania early in the new
millennium amongst the 10 most corrupt countries internationally. Given the failure
of national commissions in Tanzania, legal institutions such as the Prevention of
Corruption Bureau, initiatives emanating from the office of the Presidency, amongst
others, to stem corruption, here it is argued for the use of education as state
institution to strengthen values teaching in 3 programmes in the state curriculum
through evaluation to address the problem. Adopting an approach to evaluation
which draws teachers into the process for them to drive it in part, developed by
Fetterman and Wandersman, capacity can be built within schools to do so, an
approach which is somewhat different to the norm where this capacity more
frequently may be driven from outside, coercive, and be disempowering of agents of
change within schools. Using the stepped procedure as well as the ‘facets’ of this
participatory approach to evaluating the 3 positive values curricula, and with
coaching by the evaluator, a measure of self-determination seemed experienced by
teachers to teach values like honesty and self-respect, self-reliance and personal
integrity, amongst others, to assist students resist corrupt practices when
encountered. Multiple self-administered instruments developed with teachers helped
gauge teachers progress towards goals they set themselves to achieve in one
academic year and assisted to build confidence in addressing this issues through
schooling, the sample of schools in the study being purposefully selected as they
educate between them more than half the professional and political leaders in the
nation. The study aimed to find what positive values are taught in 3 curricula [Civics,
Islamic Knowledge, Bible Knowledge], and how these are taught, as well as to find
out if this teaching was strengthened through using the tools of empowerment
evaluation. The data indicates firstly, shared values across these curricula and
values specific to each are taught, to provide alternatives for learners to consider
prior to action. This foundational guide for students seemed strengthened if secular
values are allied to religious values to provide value-informed choices for students,
and that this foundation may be further strengthened with self-directed changes to
the curriculum being made by teachers. Secondly, traditional pedagogical methods
seem to be less effective where values teaching is not linked to exemplarily teacher
behaviour, parables and storytelling, and moral actions of role models emulating
how to act morally. Thirdly, teaching positive values was found to be strengthened
through self-evaluation, as teachers seemed to experience a measure of
empowerment or self-determination in the evaluation, and to aim at self-improving
effective teaching of values. Finally, data indicates that where teachers are drawn
into the evaluation process, trained in these techniques facilitated by an evaluator,
that refinements to values teaching may be sustained in the short to medium term,
following the withdrawal of the evaluator from the field. Findings were corroborated
in part through triangulating the data, here with data from naturalistic observations
and questionnaires particularly. Amongst recommendations made in the light of the
study, one is the importance of the state employing religious teachers, as opposed
to these being functionaries of the mosque and church as at present, a second being
that positive values be made part of the compulsory core curriculum in all schools in
the system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/6227 |
| Date | 19 February 2009 |
| Creators | Sulayman, Hamdun Ibrahim |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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