Discourses on the Zimbabwe Schools National Pledge and the Religious Education Curriculum

There have been debates regarding the reciting of the National Pledge introduced in Zimbabwean schools on the 3rd of May 2016. Observations have been made that the National Pledge had a slant towards inculcating and a call to patriotism, total national commitment, respect to the departed and living war veterans, respect of the national flag and national consciousness and development. Yet civic organisations, Christians, human rights groups and mission-run schools allege that reciting the National Pledge is reminiscent of political propaganda. Christian critics and apologists claim that the National Pledge violates the constitutional rights of children to freedom of conscience and parental rights and Biblical teachings on oaths, vows and swearing. The current study established that there was a loud outcry from some parents, teachers and pupils over the recitation of the national pledge. The Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe subsequently ruled and took the recitation of the National Pledge as unconstitutional, four years after it was challenged in court by a parent soon after its introduction in schools. This motivated us to carry out a research to practically establish what people think about the National Pledge. This study used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. A sample of six school heads, six teachers, 90 students, 10 parents, two academics and the former Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Dokora, were used as participants in our research study. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, document analysis and observations. Despite what we view as setbacks resulting from the court case won against the National Pledge recitation, we proposed what we think would be a neutral pledge that does not infringe on peoples’ religious faith and constitutional rights.

The Quintuple Helix in action in Africa and Asia: the SUEUAA project

This article explores the role of universities and their engagement in selected Asian and African cities; and, the ways in which they contribute to developing sustainable cities in the context of the major social, cultural, environmental and economic challenges facing the global south. Drawing on multiple approaches to gathering data in six case-study cities, SUEUAA (Strengthening Urban Engagement of Universities in Africa and Asia) seeks to strengthen the capacity of universities to contribute to city resilience. The paper is structured in two parts: the first provides an overview of existing engagement initiatives beginning with the framework of the triple helix model and the entrepreneurial university, moving through the quadruple helix model and the civic university to the introduction of the quintuple helix which includes both the environment and also a more explicit focus on issues of sustainability; the second provides an international cross-comparative thematic analysis related to the challenges of migration, gender, the environment, the economy and current engagement policy.

Expectations of Zimbabwean Teachers and School Heads Regarding Forms of Professional Development Approaches Applied by Supervisors

The study sought to investigate forms of instructional supervisory assistance and professional development approaches teachers expect to receive from their supervisors. The investigation employed a mixed methods research design. The study population comprised all teachers and heads in schools in Harare and Mashonaland Central Provinces. It was conducted in 628 schools: 298 in Harare, and 330 schools in the predominantly rural Mashonaland Central Province. Harare being the largest city was specifically selected as a typical urban province; while Mashonaland Central, with many responsible authorities, was specifically chosen to represent predominantly rural province. The population was stratified according to province and position of would-be respondents. The required random sample was taken from each stratum. Sample size was 741 teachers and school heads randomly selected as follows: 373 from Harare and 368 from Mashonaland Central. Data were collected through questionnaires in which respondents indicated their expectations. Findings revealed that teachers expected the following forms of assistance from supervisors: making greater use of multi-sensory visual teaching aids; caring for needs of talented learners; evaluation of teacher’s own teaching competence, and conducting a good lesson. Both school heads and teachers viewed as effective supervisory approaches, participatory ones in which teachers jointly-planned and organized with supervisors. Major challenges faced by schools included shortage of time, inadequate teaching and learning resources, negative attitudes and low teacher morale. The study recommends that education Supervisors embrace these expectations and employ more participatory approaches.

Effects of ‘double-sessioning’ on Provision of Quality Education: Perspectives of Education Administrators, Primary School Heads and Teachers in Zimbabwe

The study sought to investigate the negative effects of ‘double-sessioning’ and perspectives held by District Schools Inspector (DSI), school heads and teachers, on pupil learning and provision of quality education in schools practising hot-sitting in Goromonzi District. It employed a mixed methods research design. The study population comprised the DSI, all heads and teachers in primary schools practising ‘double-sessioning’, commonly referred to as ‘hot-seating’ in the District. Six schools that were practising hot-seating were purposively selected out of a total of 85 schools in the District to participate in the study. The target population was stratified according to position of the respondents, i.e.: teacher, school head or DSI. The study sample size was 51, randomly-selected from each stratum. Data-gathering instruments included: structured questionnaires, interview schedules and Focus Group Discussion guides. Questionnaires were administered to 32 teachers while the DSI and 6 School Heads were interviewed, and 12 more teachers participated in Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Data were analysed using the thematic analysis technique. Findings revealed that double sessioning had the following negative effects on pupil learning and provision of quality education, viz: hot-seating reduces teaching-learning contact time; causes destruction of resources (e.g. furniture) through overuse; gives rise to increased challenges relating to the supervision of teachers, and compromises the quality of education. However, ‘hot-seating’ increases access to education for children. Based on the negative effects of ‘hot-seating’ that emerged from the District, the study recommends that Policy-makers and Education Planners need to review this double sessioning policy and practice.

The Role of Teachers in Community Engagement and Transmission of Government Policies and Political Ideology in Harare Metropolitan Province

Zimbabwe adopted a new economic blueprint, Vision 2030, whose goal is to transform and develop the country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030. The teachers' role is to make the education system become a tool that creates industrialisation and modernisation. Teachers are to embrace the Competency-Based Curriculum as a vehicle for the attainment of this Vision. The education sector has the key to transform the country. Teachers are expected to innovate in their teaching, play a role in community and pass on government policies and political ideology. The study sought to investigate teachers' role in community engagement and transmission of government policies and political ideology in Harare Province. It employed quantitative research design. It was conducted in 145 schools which were randomly-selected from 231 schools in the Province. Using National Education Association (NPA) formula, for a population size N=5656, 360 teachers constituted a representative sample at 5% significance level. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Findings revealed that teachers play a role in community engagement, providing leadership and guidance; but had no role to play in the transmission of government official political ideology which they regarded as no concern of theirs. They view politics as highly partisan, but not as defined by Harold Lasswell (1936), who views politics as the process of deciding 'who gets what, when, where and how?' Given that politics is inextricably linked to education, the study recommends that government puts in place teacher in-service re-orientation programmes aimed at equipping teachers with necessary political ideological education and conscientisation.

Perceptions of Primary School Heads and Teachers, of Strategies to Improve the Implementation of Inclusive Education for Children with Learning Disabilities

The study investigates perceptions of primary school heads and teachers of strategies to improve the implementation of Inclusive Education for children with learning disabilities in Goromonzi South District of Mashonaland East Province. The research employed mixed methods research design, and was conducted in seven schools selected from thirty-one schools in the District. A stratified random sampling strategy was employed in this study. The target population was stratified according to their position. The sample size was fifty-two would-be respondents, randomly selected school heads and teachers. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions, in which primary school heads and teachers indicated their perceptions of strategies to improve the implementation of Inclusive Education for Children with Learning Disabilities. The collected data were presented and summarised in tables. The findings revealed that respondents perceived the following as strategies that school heads and teachers could use to improve the implementation of inclusive education for learners, namely: creating a shared vision with parents, staff members and students; providing relevant In-service training to educators; providing adequate teaching material, learning resources, and equipment for children with learning disabilities; creating a child-friendly school with a conducive teaching and learning atmosphere; and facilitating inclusion through effectively communicating with, and involving parents and other key stakeholders in the learning of their children. The study recommends the need for Government to provide a comprehensive National Policy with a mandatory order specifying the services to be provided, and guiding all stakeholders to abide by its provisions.

Security Strategic Dimensions of the ‘Fast Track’ Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe: A Socio-Political Discourse

The article argues that the Fast Track Land Reform Programme should be viewed from a security and strategic perspective motivated by its historiographical heritage regarded as worthy of preservation. It has always been a sensitive issue so compelling that successive colonial administrations, setter regimes and governments were determined to utilize all their instruments of power to exert authority for its preservation and control. The Fast Track Land Reform Programme, like its predecessors was a clear expression of the close relationship between foreign, domestic and military policy in pursuit of national goals and values. The subtext of the article is the assertion of the principle of self-determination over the right of ownership of land on a people as expressed by the United Nations norms and values. The aim of the article is to interrogate the security and strategic dimension of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. The article argues that the involvement of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in the Fast Track Land Reform Programme must be understood and analysed from the long held Clauzewitzian philosophy of the crucial inter-relationship between; foreign, domestic, and military policy (Dimitriu, 2018). Four main areas are discussed: the historical land brutal military conquests through the foreign policy pronouncements at the 1884/5 Berlin conference; the United Nations Resolution on the colonised people and how the Lancaster House torpedoed the principle in 1979; the constitutional provisions and prescriptions on the repossession of land; the historical role of Armed Forces in supporting civilian authorities in the implementation of domestic and foreign policy objectives deemed to be of security and strategic nature by successive colonial and settler regimes in Zimbabwe. The major findings of the study provide the modern classical background theoretic, necessary principles that explain the legitimacy and rationale for the professional military involvement in politics of the day. The study concludes that the issue of land on a State or Nation is an emotive matter, which can easily be a source of conflict, if not addressed from a security and strategic perspective.

Resilience in Childrearing Under Forced Migration: The Case of Selected Mothers and Elders at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe (2013-2016)

Socio-political conflicts in the Great Lakes Region of Africa have caused an upsurge in the refugees who flee to other regions of the world for safety. Consequently, refugee camps have become common contexts of child growth and development owing to the forced movements of people from their original homes and countries into foreign and unfamiliar ecologies. This article reports part of the findings of a larger exploratory sequential study that explored the nature and quality of refugee immigrant caregivers’ childrearing practices at Tongogara Refugee Camp (TRC) in Zimbabwe. This study reports the resilience in childrearing among selected refugee immigrant caregivers resident at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe between 2013 and 2016. Eighteen (18) refugee mothers and thirteen (13) elders purposively sampled among refugees from DRC, Burundi and Rwanda participated in a qualitative study that used focus group discussions and key informant interviews to collect data. The main finding of the study was that under forced migration conditions, refugee immigrant caregivers become resilient and continue to raise their children despite their traumatic profiles and circumstances. Their resilience emerges from the possession of cultural psychological resources that protect them from traumatic profiles interfering with their child rearing. In addition, it was evident that reconstructed family networks, support from refugee elders as vicars of culture and resistance to psychosocial risk were other mediating factors. The study concluded that psychological cultural templates and reconstructed social networks are strong protective factors for the resilience of refugee caregivers. The key implication for the study is that social actors delivering services in refugee camps should integrate relevant cultural heritage issues in their programmes because they act as protective factors for traumatic experiences that may interfere with child rearing. Sensitive child development programmes are not complete when they exclude children’s socio-cultural context as an important variable.

Formal and Informal basis of Authority in Instructional Supervision: A Perspective of Heads of Schools and Teachers in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has achieved quantitative expansion in education. The focus is now on achieving academic excellence. One of the ways of improving the quality of education is instructional supervision. Effective supervision of instruction, through changing teacher behaviour, can improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. The basis of authority a supervisor has in a school is one of the supervisory dimensions that could impinge directly on the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Two major bases of authority in a school organization may be identified, namely, formal and informal authority, and both influence supervisee’s behaviour. The study sought to investigate which of the two bases of authority (formal and informal) is perceived by school heads and teachers in Zimbabwe to be more effective during instructional supervision. The investigation employed the survey research design. The study was conducted in 628 schools: 298 in Greater Harare, an urban province, and the 330 schools in Mashonaland Central, a predominantly rural province. Harare being the largest city was specifically selected as a typical urban province; while Mashonaland Central, with many responsible authorities, was specifically chosen to represent a predominantly rural province. The sample size was 729 school heads and teachers randomly chosen as follows: 368 from Greater Harare and 361 respondents from Mashonaland Central Province. Data were analysed using the SPSS. The findings showed that school heads and teachers perceived Informal Basis of Authority in instructional supervision as more effective while Formal Basis of Authority was perceived as generally not quite effective. The study recommended that supervisors broaden their supervisory influence, power and formal authority base by tapping into the informal organisation resource. Therefore, they should possess and tap both their expert and referent authorities, so as to augment and buttress their formal positional authority.