Lonaka Journal of Learning and Teaching

EDITORIAL

Boitumelo Tiny Ramoroka — 2023-12-06

PROMOTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LANGUAGE-IN-EDUCATION POLICIES THROUGH INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE-BASED SCHOOL CHOICE: EQUITY IN BOTSWANA AND NIGERIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Susan Olajoke Akinkurolere — 2023-12-06

A number of African countries are revising their language-in-education policies to improve their educational systems. In 2022, Botswana and Nigeria revised their language-in-education policies to recognize more indigenous languages and extend their functions in education. Sequel to the above, this paper is a shift from the policies of the two respective countries to the gaps identified in the implementation of those policies at the primary school level. It has been identified that most non-public schools run contrary to the stipulations in the policy documents by using English as the only language of instruction. Allowing private schools to continue using English as the only language of instruction in primary schools is contrary to the principle of equity which democracy promotes. Premised on this, this paper proposes a school choice policy that could be adopted in Botswana and Nigeria to encourage privately owned primary schools to implement the revised language-in-education policies. Through school choice, children will be able to attend private schools without losing the benefits that accrue from the use of indigenous languages as media of instruction.

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

Mavis B. Mhlauli — 2023-12-06

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.

EFFECT OF HEALTH-EDUCATION INTERVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE AND ADHERENCE TO COVID-19 PROTOCOLS AMONG KWARA STATE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

K. A. Jidda — 2023-12-06

This research examined whether or not secondary school pupils in Kwara State understood and followed COVID-19 recommendations after receiving a health education intervention. A quasi-experimental approach was taken for this study. Participants' entering behaviours or prior knowledge were assessed, and participants' knowledge gains following the intervention were measured using a non-randomized pre- and posttest control group design. All high school senior students in Ilorin, Kwara State, were included in the study, but only 116 students from the Ilorin East and South LGAs were surveyed for the study. Students in senior secondary school from two distinct local governments were randomly selected using a multistage selection procedure. The results showed, for example, that students who were exposed to the COVID-19 protocol (treatment intervention) scored higher on the post-test regarding their knowledge of COVID-19 compared to those who were exposed to the personal hygiene protocol (placebo), who scored higher on the post-test regarding their knowledge of COVID-19 but scored lower on their adherence to the COVID-19 protocol. The study revealed that the health education intervention significantly improved students' knowledge of and compliance with COVID-19 protocols in Kwara State's secondary schools. Consequently, it has been proposed that professional associations spanning several fields collaborate to provide health education interventions aimed at fostering compliance with COVID-19 standards, with a particular focus on the male demographic.

APPRAISING RESOURCE READINESS FOR INTERNET-MEDIATED ENGLISH LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES DURING COVID-19-NECESSITATED LOCKDOWN

Samson Olusola Olatunji — 2023-12-06

This study was carried out to assess the availability and utilisation of human and material resources for internet-mediated virtual classroom activities by English Language teacher education departments of selected Nigerian universities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The centrality of the English language to Nigerian life and the need to assess how well the experience of that period provided the pre-service teachers with necessary models for the deployment of resources for virtual classroom teaching prompted the study. A simple survey design was used. Two public and two private universities were selected through stratified random sampling. All the 197 English Language teacher education students of the sampled universities constituted the study sample. However, only sixty-four responded to the 20-item questionnaire that was administered via the google forms platform. The instrument had earlier been piloted and yielded 91.7 Cronbach alpha reliability. The obtained data were analysed using percentages and charts to answer six research questions. The findings show that lack of prior exposure to online classrooms hindered the faculty members’ and their students’ coordination. Inadequacy and non-affordability of Internet services on campuses and in the students’ neighbourhoods hampered the virtual classrooms. The conclusion, therefore is that the virtual classroom programmes were negatively impacted by inadequate readiness of both human and technological resources.