Pedagogy as Social Practice and Teachers’ Pedagogic Choices in Tanzanian Primary Schools A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Kristeen Chachage IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOHPY Frances Vavrus, Advisor January, 2020 © Kristeen Chachage 2020 Acknowledgements This research and dissertation could not have been possible without the support of many people. First, and foremost, I’d like to thank my family, especially Tuli and Bukaza, for moving, encouraging me and supporting me throughout the process, as well as all my siblings who supported us along the way. I am greatly indebted to the UMN professors who provided stimulating and challenging courses and comments throughout the program. I would especially like to mention my advisor, Professor Frances Vavrus, as well as Professors Joan DeJaeghere, Timothy Lensmire and Peter Demerath. Equally important were my colleagues in the Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development graduate program, CIDE cohort members—from my year group and our ‘elders’—as well as colleagues from Curriculum & Instruction, including all the MCF and TERI fellows. Finally, I thank my parents for providing me with the inspiration to seek a PhD since the time I was a child. This dissertation was also made possible by the generous support of a University of Minnesota Graduate School Thesis Research and Travel Grant, as well as the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development John & Grace Coogan Graduate Research Fellowship and the College of Education & Human Development Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Circle. i Abstract Amidst the current push for improving the quality of education in Sub-Saharan Africa, a technicist approach to pedagogy, which focuses on inputs and technical teacher training, has come to predominate international aid to education and much of the related literature. In this dissertation, I argue that considering the intertwinement and simultaneity of multiple sociocultural aspects of classroom encounters can lead to deeper understanding of why teachers choose particular pedagogical practices. Sociocultural aspects include how classrooms and interactions are organized, teachers’ conceptions of knowledge, and moral aspects, such as what is considered good and proper behavior. I set out to understand from teachers’ perspectives, why they preferred certain pedagogical practices. I specifically analyzed how the availability and organization of resources, the competing discourses found in the curriculum and examinations, and moral norms and ideals influenced teachers’ practices, using the conceptual framework of pedagogy as a nexus of practice. I drew on ethnographic data gathered through intensive participant observation, informal discussions, semi-structured interviews, demographic surveys and review of curricular, policy and teaching materials in two Tanzanian public primary schools to understand teachers’ perspectives and identify key influences on their pedagogic choices. I found that the concepts of competence-based curriculum and learner-centered practices driving school quality reforms are largely tangential to teachers’ frames of reference. The teachers’ decisions are based on ensuring that students pass terminal exams and that they learn to live with/in the community’s norms for obedience, respect and cooperation. Their choices are further constrained by the material conditions in which they work, and by the degree to which teachers felt empowered to flexibly use available resources to meet student needs. These findings have implications for the feasibility of and approaches toward changing teachers’ pedagogic practices and systemic approaches to educational change. ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I ABSTRACT II LIST OF TABLES VII LIST OF FIGURES VIII ABBREVIATIONS X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Mainstream “Best Practices” Discourse in International Development Education 3 Research Questions 7 Inter/national Education Policy Context 9 Conceptions of Pedagogy 12 Technicist Conception 13 Sociocultural Conception 17 The “Thinness” of Anglophone Conceptions of Pedagogy 19 My Definition of Pedagogy 21 Conceptual Framework: Pedagogy as a nexus of practice 22 Situating my study in its fields 28 Outline of the Dissertation 30 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF THE TANZANIAN PRIMARY EDUCATION SYSTEM 32 Context as a “Matter of Concern” 32 Historical Phases of Tanzania’s Primary Education System 35 Precolonial Education 35 Missionary and Colonial Schooling 36 Independence and Education for Self-Reliance 38 Neoliberal and Human Capital Development 40 Current Organization of the Education System 45 Recent Policy Developments 45 National Curriculum Review 47 iii National Standardized Assessments 51 Conclusion 52 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 53 Methodology 53 Ethnography as Methodology 53 Data Collection Methods 55 Overview 55 Informed Consent 59 Participant observation 60 Interviews and Surveys 62 Key participants. 63 Document analysis 67 Data analysis and Trustworthiness 67 (De)Limitations of the study 71 The Study Location 72 The School Sites 74 Selection of school sites 75 Overview of School Facilities 78 School Staff 80 Student demographics 84 Researcher positionality: Belongingness and Difference 86 Conclusion 88 CHAPTER 4: THE INTERACTION ORDER 89 Organization of Classroom Space 92 Class Size and Management 101 Class Size and Discipline 104 Teaching and Learning Materials and Pedagogical Content Knowledge 108 Forms of Teaching and Learning Materials. 108 Use of Materials and Pedagogical Content Knowledge 113 The Effect of Time on Teaching Practices 122 Calendar 122 Schedules 123 Classroom-Level Impact of Larger Policies and Practices 125 iv Conclusion 128 CHAPTER 5: DISCOURSE IN PLACE - CURRICULUM, EXAMS AND EPISTEMOLOGIES 132 How Do We Know? Major Discourses of Epistemology in Tanzanian/African Education 133 From Binaries and Teacher Deficits to Selective Appropriation 139 Jifunze and Somesha Teachers’ Practice and Beliefs Regarding Knowledge and Learning 141 Just What is “Participatory?” Revisiting Question and Answer 142 “Mtoto ana Kitu” – The Child has Something 147 A Constructivist “Provocateur” 149 Instances of Hands-On Learning 153 Recall, Coverage and Correct Answers 155 Propositional and Given Knowledge 159 Exams as a Driver of Propositional, Given Knowledge 162 Curricular-Exam Disjuncture and Teachers’ Interpretation of the New Curriculum 168 Conclusion 172 CHAPTER 6: DISCOURSES IN PLACE - MORALS, BEHAVIOR AND PERSONHOOD 174 Elimu Inamchonga Mtu “Education Carves [Shapes] a Person” 175 Moral Equivocations, Ideal Behaviors and Personhood/Utu 178 Moral Equivocations – Maadili and Translation 178 Teachers’ Ideals for Good Morals and Behavior 184 Morals as a Part of the Discourses and Philosophy of Utu/Personhood 187 Greetings as Enactment of Morals and Utu in Everyday Life 193 Moral Norms and Personhood in Pedagogical Practices 196 Explicit Teaching of Morals 196 Implicit Teaching of Morals 200 Contestation of Social Norms and Moral Ideals 205 Conclusion 215 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS 217 Dissertation Summary 218 Discussion: Convergence and Disjuncture in the Nexus 221 v Implications for Policy 226 Implications for IDE 229 Directions for Future Research 230 Conclusion 232 REFERENCES 235 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS 263 APPENDIX B: SURVEY PROTOCOLS 274 vi List of Tables Table 1.1 Subject Areas in the Primary Curriculum . 48 Table 3.1 Data Collection Timeline . 57 Table 3.2 Background of Teachers I Observed and Interviewed . 64 Table 3.3 Jifunze and Somesha PSLE Rankings, 2015-2018 . 77 Table 3.4 Jifunze and Somesha SFNA Ranking, 2015-2018 . 77 Table 3.5 Parents’ Occupations, according to Standard IV Student Survey . 85 Table 5.1 Extract from the Standard IV Civics and Moral Education Curriculum . 170 Table 6.1 Definitions of Maadili and Morals . .182 vii List of Figures Figure 1.1. The three elements of social action (Scollon & Scollon, 2004, Fig. 2.1…. 25 Figure. 1.2 Conceptual Framework …………………………………………………… 27 Figure 1.3 This study at the intersection of four fields ………………………………. 30 Figure 2. 1. Extract from Standard IV Civics and Moral Education Curriculum, (TIE 2016b, p. 22). …………………………………………………………………………. 50 Figure 3. 1. Map of Iringa within Tanzania …………………………………………… 73 Figure 3. 2. The Entrance to Somesha Primary School. ……………………………… 75 Figure 3. 3. The entrance to Jifunze Primary School. ……………………………… 79 Figure 3. 4. Teachers’ Qualifications ………………………………………………….. 82 Figure 3. 5. Teachers' ethnicity ………………………………………………………... 83 Figure 3. 6. Comparison of Students’ age and sex…………………………………….. 84 Figure 4. 1.Teachers with piles of notebooks to be marked. Somesha school staffroom 89 Figure 4. 2. Jifunze Standard IV Classroom layout …………………………………… 94 Figure 4. 3. Somesha Standard IV classroom layout – sunny ………………………… 95 Figure 4. 4. Somesha Standard IV classroom layout – cloudy ………………………... 95 Figure 4. 5. View from standing in the back row - Jifunze Std. IV English class…..… 97 Figure 4. 6 Mr. Josephat demonstrates the use of three key materials …………… 108 Figure 5. 1. Mock Exam Extract – Personality & Sports Subject …………………… 163 Figure 5. 2. Mock Exam Extract - English Subject. …………………………………. 164 viii Figure 5. 3. Mock Exam Extract, Personality & Sports ……………………….…… 165 Figure 6. 1. Good habits/behavior for children …………………………………..….. 184 Figure 6. 2. Menkiti’s diagram of conceptions of society……………………………. 191 Figure 6. 3. Personality & Sports class notes to be copied