INFLUENCES OF TEACHER THINKING ON CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN UPPER CLASSES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BOTSWANA

Abstract

This article comes in the wake of the dwindling research on teacher thinking over the years and intends to reignite the discussion on influences on teacher thinking. The study aims to understand how teachers’ experiences and relationships influence their thinking about citizenship education in upper classes in primary schools in Botswana. Drawing from the qualitative approach, the study employed the naturalistic inquiry paradigm to understand the teachers’ experiences and relationships. Eleven Social Studies teachers in six primary schools in the Central District in Botswana participated in the study. Purposive sampling through the snowball technique was used to select the teachers who participated in the study (Patton, 1990). Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, participant observations and document analysis. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative technique. The findings of the study indicated that teachers’ experiences and relationships have a great influence on how they think about citizenship education in Botswana. The conclusion drawn from this study is that the way teachers think about the issues of citizenship impact their instructional decision making processes. The study recommends that teacher educators should engage novice teachers in action research for evaluation purposes and further redress.