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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufh/vital:29362 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Shava, Nosizo |
| Publisher | University of Fort Hare, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | 307 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | University of Fort Hare |
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