East African Journal of Education Studies
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Published By East African Nature And Science Organization

2707-3947, 2707-3939

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-25
Author(s):  
Raymond Ndubisi Anyanwu ◽  
Rosianna Jules

Action research is regarded as a dynamic strategy to galvanise teachers to determine what works best for them and their pupils. Teachers’ experience in action research has been investigated in some developing countries without involving any of the small island states in the Indian Ocean. Hence, this study explored the experience of teachers from Seychelles regarding action research focusing on their understanding of the nature, meaning, and purpose of action research; the benefits they gained from doing action research; the difficulties and the challenges they encountered while conducting action research, including their background characteristics. Its aim was to identify their successes, concerns, and issues. Participants were 33 primary school teachers enrolled in the two-year Advanced Diploma programme at the Seychelles Institute of Education during the 2019/2020 academic year. One of their assessment tasks required them to identify a difficulty that their pupils encounter and conduct action research on it with a view to finding a solution. Data collected using a self-reporting questionnaire designed by the investigators was analysed using both descriptive and interpretive techniques. Results indicated that the participants had a mixed experience of successes, concerns, and issues.


2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Juvénal Ntakarutimana ◽  
Ali Mohammad Fazilatfar

This study investigated the EFL teachers’ conceptualisations of the use of PBLT in EFL instruction. Thirteen EFL teachers selected from two higher education institutions in Burundi participated in the inquiry. The inquiry set out to assess participants’ beliefs and attitudes towards three constructs, namely the use of philosophical questions in the EFL classroom, the use of the EFL classroom as a community of inquiry, and the impact of PBLT in developing the EFL students’ speaking skill. A background information questionnaire, a Likert scale questionnaire, and an online structured interview were used to collect data from participants. The findings revealed participants’ positive views and attitudes towards the role of PBLT in EFL instruction. The use of philosophical questions in the EFL classroom as well as the use of the EFL classroom as a community of inquiry in enhancing EFL students’ productive and receptive skills was found to be highly favoured among participants. Furthermore, it was found that participants believe in the high potential of PBLT in developing the five components of speaking, namely fluency, accuracy, range, coherence, and content. Participants, however, showed a relatively diminished trust in PBLT when it comes to its role in enhancing the accuracy component, and this diminished trust may be attributed to the fact that accuracy relates much more to the linguistic form while PBLT puts greater focus on meaning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-137
Author(s):  
Kibigo Mary Lukamika

The study explores how poetry as a dual genre draws its themes from the origin, history and setting or environs of the author in the society. Basically, literature like any other art has its own way of expressing its aesthetic value. This is done through the channel of language. On the other hand, literature has many genres. Despite that, poetry is considered to be the most ancient genre in many communities universally. Poetry, therefore, is a genre that has a dual nature, which implies that it is a genre of both oral and written literature. Kiswahili poetry encompasses itself fully with the society in question, its ideologies, philosophies, traditions, culture, and the general life of the Swahili people without taking into consideration the language in which it was constructed. Therefore, it is not possible to disassociate the Kiswahili poetry from their culture as it is fully drawn from their way of life. Since a people’s culture is enclosed in their language, this study selected two Kiswahili Poetry books through purposive sampling to show how poetry draws its themes from the author’s origin, history, setting, and culture. The selected books were: Sikate Tamaa (Said A. Mohamed) and Dhifa (Euphrase Kezilahabi) The study employed the Hermeneutics theory as interpreted by (Newmark and Michael Forster, 2007) . This theory was very vital to this study as it puts into consideration the words used, the history and culture of the author, context, and specific analysis of the text to come up with the objective of the general text. The study also used textual analysis as well as an observation checklist to analyse data. The study discovered that poetry is rich and has a lot to be desired as far as teaching and depicting the author’s origin, history, and setting in the society is concerned hence drawing the themes from that. This study aimed at highlighting the need for more in-depth research as this can reduce the negative notion that poetry is a hard and complicated genre to some learners and scholars. There is also a need for the poetry learners to identify the history of the author in order to provide a starting point for the analysis in question. Therefore, the study proposes that poems be taught at all levels of learning and their various elements in order to enlighten the Kiswahili and English students, scholars, and researchers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-128
Author(s):  
Nancy Maino ◽  
Stephen Tomno Cheboi

This study sought to explore the influence of professional growth opportunities on the job performance of deputy principals of public secondary schools in Lugari Sub-County, Kenya. Adopting the descriptive research design, the study utilised mixed methods approach engaging both questionnaires and interview guide. The focus population for the study included 28 principals, 28 deputy principals and 420 teachers of public secondary schools within Lugari Sub- County. All the 28 principals and 28 deputy principals were purposively sampled for study whereas, 200 teachers were identified for study by simple random sampling technique. A pilot test-retest study was conducted in three public secondary schools from nearby Uasin Gishu County and a reliable Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.79 and 0.81 was obtained for the deputy principal response questionnaire and teacher response questionnaire, respectively. Supervisors and researchers from Mount Kenya University School of education were engaged to ascertain the validity of the research instruments and necessary adjustments effected on the tools before use. The questionnaires gathered quantitative data from teachers and deputy principals whilst the interview guide assembled qualitative data from the principals. The statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0 was used for the analysis of quantitative data yielding frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation. Qualitative data were analysed thematically based on the objectives and presented along with the quantitative data. The findings established that schools in Lugari Sub County hardly support deputy principals for in-service training, the majority of deputy principals perceived unfairness in promotion procedures and that the position of deputy principal did not adequately prepare deputy principals for principal-ship. The study recommends that deputy principals need to be supported by the school management to collaborate and improve their requisite skills to discharge their duties effectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Caroline Wambui Mwangi ◽  
Rachael Koross ◽  
Betty Cheruiyot

Pre-primary teachers need support from the government to ensure that they perform their instructional duties in the classroom effectively. With the devolving of Early Childhood Development Education from the national government to the county level, it was expected that this action would improve the standard and status of learning in these institutions. However, studies have shown that the expected reforms have been done at a slow pace affecting the achievement of ECDE objectives. This paper looks at the kind of support that teachers are provided with by the county government and its impact on the retention of pupils in public pre-primary schools in Wareng Sub County, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. This study was conducted in 83 public pre-primary schools in Wareng Sub County, Uasin Gishu County. The study applied a descriptive survey research design with the target population involving 166 pre-school teachers and five county government ECDE field officers. The research instruments involved the use of questionnaires and interview schedules. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in data analysis. Research results showed that all respondents agreed that there has been a significant change in public pre-primary centres because of the devolution support. Correlation statistics showed that there existed a significant positive relationship between pre-primary teachers’ support and retention of pupils in public ECDE centres in Wareng Sub County, Kenya. The study recommends that additional pre-primary teachers should be employed in schools with a higher learner population and terms of employment should be permanent and pensionable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-106
Author(s):  
Wondim Tiruneh Zeleke

The study was conducted based on primary and secondary sources of data. To achieve the objectives of the study, I used qualitative research methods. The techniques employed in the study were Semi-structured Interviews, Observations, Focus Group Discussions, and Document Analysis. The researcher has also consulted written materials such as books, articles, reports, research papers, and related researches in order to fill historical gaps. The findings indicated that although many instructors and students have positive attitudes towards the benefits of learning history through the discussion method, there are some teachers and students interested in teaching and learning through the lecture method


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-97
Author(s):  
Margaret C. Kimwarey

Teacher education worldwide has been recognized as an important sector of education whose role is to prepare prospective teachers with the requisite knowledge, skill and attitude for the achievement of quality education. Lately, it has been given prominence because its end result is expected to become the strength of change for sustainable development. The purpose of this study was to explore supervisors’ responses on the preparation of the scheme of work during teaching practice. The objectives of the study were to examine the scheme of work prepared by student teachers and to determine supervisors’ responses on student teachers’ preparation of scheme of work. The study was guided by the social cognitive theory. The study was based on the constructivist-interpretivism paradigm and adopted the qualitative approach. The research design was a descriptive survey that used document and content analysis. The sample size comprised student teachers on teaching practice and their supervisors. Data collection instruments included Lesson Observation Forms and documents where data was collected, sorted, categorized and coded as per a supervisor. Data analysis was done from the themes, forming patterns and presented thematically. The results of the study showed that student teachers’ preparation of the scheme of work was not uniform. While other student teachers were able to develop a well-presented scheme of work, others were unable to present the expected as per the requirements offered during training.  Anomalies noted specifically were on filling of the components which failed to show a relationship between one and another. The results of the study form a basis for refocusing on training bit on the preparation of the scheme of work. The results will benefit all stakeholders’ teacher trainers, the department of curriculum and instruction, KICD and the Ministry of Education at all levels, especially those tasked with the training of teachers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-88
Author(s):  
Evelyn Chepngeno Mitei ◽  
Teresa Mwoma

Creative activities play a critical role in improving intellectual, emotional, and social skills among children. This study aimed to explore the availability of teaching and learning materials on creative play activities among public pre-primary school children in Bureti Sub-County, Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive survey design and was guided by Sarah Smilansky’s theory which emphasises the child-centred approach in teaching creativity. Sarah Smilansky’s theory lays emphasis on allowing young children to control their way of learning by stressing self-expression. The population targeted was 135 public pre-primary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Ten per cent (10%) of the target population representing 14 public pre-primary schools was utilised during the pilot study. The sample size for the study was 236 participants. This comprised 92 head teachers and 144 preschool teachers from 121 pre-primary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Questionnaires and observation schedules were utilised to gather data. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was utilised to organise data for analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The data was presented in the form of percentage tables. The results revealed that (73.9%) of the respondents indicated that there was insufficient learning and teaching materials listing out that the most available materials are manila papers, clay, paints, tires, pencils, and maise corps. The study recommended that learning and teaching resources should be made available by the County Government for learners to use while embracing creative play activities. There is also a need for adequate time to be allocated to play to enhance creative play activities in school.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-81
Author(s):  
Simon Riatum Kilimo ◽  
Stephen Tomno Cheboi

Innovative and creative instruction is key towards helping learners in schools understand concepts being taught and perform well in their studies. One of the expectations from teacher performance appraisal and development (TPAD) is that teachers should make sure that they make their lessons to be innovative and creative in order for learners to develop knowledge and acquire required competencies. This paper looks at how teachers are using creativity and innovation in their teaching and its influence on learners’ academic achievement in public primary schools. The study was conducted in public primary schools in Marakwet East Sub County involving all teachers (581) and headteachers (83) employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). A descriptive survey design was utilised for this investigation. A sample size representing 20.0% of respondents 17 head teachers and 117 teachers who were selected via a simple random sampling method. The instruments used to collect data consisted of questionnaires for teachers and interview schedules for headteachers. Data collected was analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The study found out that teachers’ use of creativity and innovation methods influenced learner academic achievement. However, the research found that the usage of ICT resources was low and this explains how very few teachers were accessing and utilising online resources for their learners. This means that despite teachers having the capacity to effectively make sure their classrooms experiences involve innovation and creativity is hampered by a lack of adequate infrastructure facilities like computers, laptops, internet, and electricity. In conclusion, teachers’ use of creativity and innovation approaches in teaching was found to influence the academic performance of learners in public primary schools in Marakwet East Sub County. The paper recommends that government needs to ensure that all schools are connected to the national grid of fibre optic cable and electricity


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
Ouma Omito

The study assessed the readiness levels of public primary schools in Homa Bay County for the integration of digital teaching and learning. A population of 556 teachers in public primary schools that had already received Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) devices for teaching and learning were used whereby a sample size of 56 teachers was reached at. 12 teachers were also interviewed. A reliability coefficient of 0.962 was obtained. Interview questions that were unclear were either modified or removed. Content validity confirmed the appropriateness of the content and the research tools used during the study. Findings from observation checklists were analysed quantitatively by use of descriptive statistics. Data from interviews were transcribed, coded and grouped into major themes and then reported. The study found that majority of the sample schools (55.4%) had not started teaching using DLP. The study also showed that teachers who were practicing using the DLP devices were more proficient in computer use compared to those who either kept or feared using such devices for educational activities. The study concluded that the government’s initiative of digitalizing schools was a noble idea that needed to be embraced by all sectors of the economy.


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