Teachers' Approaches to the Teaching of Geography in Eswatini School
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Teachers’ Approaches to the Teaching of Geography in Eswatini School by DLAMINI BOY BONGANI 214583322 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Curriculum Studies School of Education, College of Humanities University of KwaZulu-Natal (Edgewood Campus) Durban South Africa Supervisor: Professor. S.B. Khoza Co-Supervisor: Dr M.E. Shoba Date Submitted: June 2019 i DECLARATION - PLAGIARISM I, Dlamini Boy Bongani declare that; 1. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This thesis does not contain other persons' writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced b. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. 5. This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the References sections. Signed Student number: 214583322 As the candidates’ supervisors we agree/ do not agree to the submission of this Dissertation. Signature: ……… Prof. Simon B. Khoza Signature: ……… Dr Makhosi E. Shoba ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to God Almighty who has been with me ever since. To my parents who sacrificed their all and supported my education, Mntfwanenkhosi ngiyabonga mlangeni (May your soul rest in peace) and you Phephetse, Nkhosikati yemalangeni” thank you. Church Friends and colleagues, who prayed and wished me well through this lonely journey, thank you very much. My family, siblings and my critical friends thank you guys. There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. -Jiddu Krishnamurti iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following, whose unwavering support was instrumental towards the completion of this study: I would like to unreservedly thank the Lord Almighty for His unmerited favour in making all this possible and for giving me strength and perseverance in this long strenuous journey. A special thank you is in order to my amazing supervisors, Prof. Simon Bheki Khoza and Dr Makhosi Shoba. Words fail me in expressing my gratitude towards your support, patience and motivation coupled with tactics in dealing with everything. Working with you in this study has taught me a lot, not only to my professional development, but has also enhanced my social skills and personal tenacity. I am also highly appreciative to the teachers who participated in this study and all educators who contributed in one way or the other. iv ABSTRACT This thesis presented Eswatini geography teachers’ approaches to teaching a section of research skills in Form 5 for the Swaziland General Certificate of Secondary Education (SGCSE) syllabus. The study is qualitative, and utilised the interpretivist approach, and the case study design. Four geography teachers were purposively selected as participants. For generation of data, three data generation methods were used: a reflective activity, classroom observations and one-on-one semi-structured interviews. A conceptual framework was produced from literature on approaches to teaching, which was also utilised in analysing data. Literature on curriculum development approaches afforded three curriculum approaches which influence the teaching approach a teacher uses in enacting the curriculum: technical, communicative, and pragmatic approaches. The following concepts: teachers’ rationale for teaching, teaching aims, roles when teaching , content used to teach, teaching methods, teaching resources, role of the community, and testing types used in class were concepts employed to determine the approach the teachers use in teaching the section of research skills. Findings for this study revealed that teachers’ approaches revolved around these three components of curriculum development such that the teachers showed limits to understanding learner-centred and teacher-centred approaches. It is recommended that the curriculum be sufficiently elaborated in stating which approach it assumes, making it easier for teachers who enact the curriculum to be guided by the expectations of the approach. Furthermore, the study recommends that, in the event of a curriculum change, there should be adequate training to minimise misinterpretation of the syllabus by teachers. v LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS GCE’O Level – General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level ECESWA – Examination Council of Eswatini NCC – National Curriculum Centre SGCSE – Swaziland General Certificate of Secondary Education vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1.1 – Conceptual framework……………………………………………………….37 Table 3.1 - Participants details……………………………………...……….……………..70 Table 3.2 – Data collection plan………………………………………………..…………..76 Table 4.1- Questions, concepts and propositions…………………………….……………86 vii Table of Content Contents Date Submitted ........................................................................................................................................ i Declaration ............................................................................................... Error! 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DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ v LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................... vii Figure 1.1 – Conceptual framework .............................................................................................. vii Table 3.1 - Participants details ...................................................................................................... vii Table 3.2 – Data collection plan .................................................................................................... vii Table 4.1- Questions, concepts and propositions ......................................................................... vii Table Of Content .................................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND AND ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Title ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Focus and purpose of the study .......................................................................................... 1 1.4 Location of the study .......................................................................................................... 1 1.5 Rationale of the study ......................................................................................................... 2 1.5.1 Contextual motivation .................................................................................................... 2 1.5.2 Professional and personal motivation ................................................................................... 2 1.6 Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................................... 3 1.7 Critical Research Questions ................................................................................................ 3 1.8 Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 3 1.9 Research Paradigm.............................................................................................................. 4 1.10 Research Approach and Design .......................................................................................... 5 1.11 Sampling .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.12 Data- generation Methods ...................................................................................................... 6 1.12.1 Reflective activity ...........................................................................................................