An Insight into the Processes of the Localisation of Science Curriculum in Botswana

The performance management system in different forms has been in existence in many countries for some years. In 1999 Botswana like other countries decided to implement a performance management system (PMS) across the entire public service including schools. At its introduction, the government explained the purpose for which this reform was being implemented. Drawing on a grounded theory study about school management’s perceptions of the implementation process in senior secondary schools in Botswana, school heads, deputy school heads and heads of houses in twenty-two of the twenty-seven schools were interviewed. The implementation process of the PMS in schools is primarily the responsibility of these management team members. This paper, part of a bigger study conducted to investigate perceptions about the implementation of the performance management system in senior secondary schools in Botswana, explores factors that may have caused senior management to be dissatisfied with their capacity to implement the PMS.

<p style="text-align:justify">Different forms of the performance management system have been implemented in many countries for some years. As in other countries, in 1999 the government of Botswana took a decision to implement a performance management system (PMS) across the entire public service including schools. The government explained the purpose for which this reform was being implemented. Using grounded theory, school heads, deputy school heads and heads of houses in twenty-two of the twenty-seven schools were interviewed about senior management team’s perceptions of the implementation process in senior secondary schools in Botswana. These members of the senior management team are responsible for the implementation process of the PMS in schools. This paper looks at participants’ perceptions regarding the expected benefits of the PMS in senior secondary schools.</p>

Gender, sexuality and schooling: Everyday life in junior secondary schools in Botswana and Ghana

Adolescent hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors tend to track into adulthood. Consequently, there is a need to determine the prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension, and its co-existence with glycaemia, obesity, tobacco and alcohol use among senior secondary school students in Botswana. A cross-sectional study was undertaken between December 2015 and March 2016 among students in selected rural and urban senior secondary schools in Botswana. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire, measurements and fasting blood glucose testing. Participants were asked about cigarette smoking, alcohol use and levels of physical activity. Body weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels were measured. Hypertension, pre-hypertension, overweight and obesity were defined based on gender, age and height from normative tables. A total of 252 students with a mean age (standard deviation) of 17.1 (0.9) years participated in the study. Rural students were older than urban students (17.5 vs 16.7 years; p < 0.001). The prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension were 13.1 and 15.5%, respectively. Physical inactivity (37.7%), overweight/obesity (10.3%) and alcohol intake (9.1%) were also prevalent. Cigarette smoking was rare (2.0%). Impaired fasting glucose levels were found in 1.6% of participants, and none had diabetes mellitus. Hypertension ( p < 0.001) and cigarette smoking (p = 0.019) were more prevalent among male than female participants. Female students were more likely to be overweight or obese than male students ( p < 0.001). There were no urban-rural differences in hypertension, pre-hypertension and smoking. Urban students were more likely to drink alcohol than rural students (p = 0.008). Hypertension, overweight/obesity and alcohol intake were common among these adolescents in Botswana. Strategies to reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases should be urgently developed and implemented to prevent cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality in the future.

Purpose: This background or concept paper develops a case into school leaders’ perceptions as change agents in the implementation of the performance management system (PMS) in Junior Secondary Schools in Botswana. As change agents, school leaders were expected to fully implement the PMS. Research has demonstrated that PMS has been unsatisfactorily implemented in Junior Secondary Schools in Botswana (Koruyezu, 2010; Bulawa, 2011; Nkwe, 2015; Molefhi, 2015, Pheko, Bathuleng &amp; Kgosidialwa, 2018). The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for the study which will investigate school leaders’ perceptions as change agents in the implementation of the performance management system (PMS) in the South East and Southern Regions’ junior secondary schools in Botswana.&#x0D; Methodology: The study plans to use the quantitative research approach to explore school leaders’ perceptions as change agents in implementing PMS in their schools. A Likert scale questionnaire for data collection from school heads, deputy school heads, heads of department and senior teachers will be employed. This background paper draws from transformational leadership theory to outline an agenda and approach for change agent leadership.&#x0D; Findings: This is an empirical study whose findings will establish views from school leaders on what issues they encountered while implementing PMS. Furthermore if objectives of this policy have been implemented and achieved. From the findings it will be succinctly clear what change attributes school leaders as change agents require in order to effectively implement the PMS. Recommendations will be developed to assist the Ministry of Education Skills and Development on better alternatives of implementing PMS policy including meeting the skills of school leaders to become effective change agents.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: as a practice school leaders are mandated to ensure that any approved change for the schools meet the agreed objectives, but there is no study that have focused on the perceptions of the school leaders with regard to this. It is therefore crucial for this proposed study to indicate what type of policy would be appropriate to show the necessary skills required for the implementation of the PMS in the schools. This approach is validated by the transformation theory. Therefore, its unique contribution would be to bring forth the necessity for school leaders to have the requisite change attributes.

Pupils with albinism potentially face a number of challenges in accessing quality education in schools in Botswana. Physical issues such as poor eyesight related to the condition and the problems of sensitive skin in such a dry and warm climate are both contributing factors to making learning problematic for some pupils. This study by Gareth Dart of the University of Worcester, Tiroyaone Nkanotsang from a junior secondary school in Botswana, Ose Chizwe from the Government of Botswana and Lily Kowa from a junior secondary school in Botswana, considers the educational experience of two particular pupils with albinism in junior secondary schools in Botswana. Case studies were carried out by student teachers on teaching practice. Issues arising from the case studies of the two pupils were combined with the life story of a third student teacher who himself has albinism. The authors conclude by making some recommendations as to how the experience of pupils with albinism might be improved in the light of local conditions and principles of development.

The purpose of this study was to assess childrens understanding of plant nutrition. The research was done on a sample of secondary school pupils in the age range of 16 to 19 years in two senior secondary schools in Botswana. The sample contained 137 senior secondary pupils all in their final year of study. These children were above average ability. The children were given a test on plant nutrition composed of two parts namely forced and free responses which were based on the Botswana senior secondary school biology syllabus.After the administration of the test to the pupils, interviews were conducted to give children the opportunity to explain their answers. The majority of children experienced little difficulty in providing accepted ideas about plant nutrition. However, analysis of childrens responses showed that mistakes were often made in the process of where plants make food rather than in the process of how plants make food. In conclusion, suggestions and recommendations were made with the hope that they would help teachers teach plant nutrition in a meaningful way.

This paper examines the factors which influence the choice of geography by final year students as an optional subject in a Botswana senior secondary school. It is often the case that a year to their final year in school, it is mandatory for students to offer some compulsory (core) subjects such as English and Mathematics, and Setswana but also have to choose some courses from a given list of optional subjects. In recent years, it has been observed that more students opt for geography from the list of available optional subjects. What factors influence those students opting for geography at the expense of other optional subjects in the same category? What are the implications for teacher education at this level of education? These and other related questions form the basis of this investigation. Data were collected from a sample of 218 final year students from a senior secondary school in Gaborone with the use of an instrument titled ''Students' Choice of Geography.'' A major finding was the preference of Geography by students because of its relationship with their intended careers. The implications of this study, among others, include the organization of frequent workshops to students and the need to tailor teacher education curriculum to include career choice and the effective use of counseling facilities in schools.

This article, based on a study conducted at four senior secondary schools, discusses the role of code-switching (CS) in the classroom in Botswana where the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) of 1994 states that English is the sole official language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in schools, including senior secondary schools (Government of Botswana 1994). The data were collected through lesson observations and questionnaire administration to teachers and learners. The findings indicate that Setswana (national language) is also often used; hence CS is employed as an instructional strategy because the learners are not proficient in English. However, CS has both educational benefits and drawbacks. Positively, it increases learner participation and lesson comprehension. Negatively, it does not contribute to developing the learners’ proficiency and confidence in speaking English. Its use also (inadvertently) contravenes the LiEP. However, the use of CS is inevitable because the LoLT is a foreign language for both learners and teachers.

This paper first presents and then discusses the attitudes towards and perceptions of education officers regarding introducing a school-based continuous assessment of speaking in the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) ESL examinations as provided for in the BGCSE English syllabus in Botswana. Three categories of education officers that are responsible for developing and evaluating syllabuses, teaching supervision (quality assurance), and assessment of the BGCSE ESL curriculum in senior secondary schools in Botswana were interviewed, using an interview guide. The findings indicate that there are two opposing views held by the various categories of education officers regarding the importance of speaking in English in the Botswana linguistic situation. While on the one hand Curriculum Development and Evaluation (CD &amp; E) officers and Senior Education Officers (SEOs) generally regard English speaking in the Botswana linguistic situation to be just as important as reading or writing, Examinations, Research and Testing Division (ERTD) officers did not think that speaking in English was that important.

Attempts to improve the quality of education in Botswana have, inter alia, included an emphasis on a learner-centered pedagogy. Attempts at implementing this pedagogy have been made within the ambit of the technical rational model of curriculum development. The attempts, however, have produced inconclusive results, and these results have often been rationalized in technicist terms, e.g., as being due to lack of resources and poorly trained teachers. Overlooked in this technicist model are the teachers' perspectives on the innovation. Using the case-study approach within the rubrics of the qualitative research paradigm, this study sought to establish the perspectives of geography teachers in a senior secondary school in Botswana vis-a-vis the learnercentered pedagogy advocated in Education for Kagisano ( Social Harmony ), a report produced by the 1977 Commission on Education. The findings indicated that teachers' classroom practices were influenced by many factors other than technical ones: these included the teachers' assumptions about the nature of knowledge and the ways it ought to be transmitted, their perceptions of students, and the goal of schooling. It also emerged that their assumptions were incongruent with the basic tenets of the learner-centered pedagogy. The findings, then, are an indictment of the technical rational model of change implementation applied in Botswana. They indicate that disregarding what teachers know and think about their taken-for-granted classroom practices when effecting change can lead to disappointing results.

Innovative design of new products proceeds by way of cognitive processes of analysis, critical thinking, creativity, conceptualization, cognitive modeling, synthesis, prototyping, and evaluation. Design phases invariably consist of divergence, transformation, and convergence operations. Designing is a creative faculty of the mind, akin to the conceptual faculty of learning arts, sciences, and languages. The author dwells briefly on cognitive, graphical communication, morphological, philosophical, and psychological aspects of design, together with educational imperatives, and proposes that designing new products requires the same cognitive processes regardless of their size, shape, and complexity.The author has drawn upon his own experience of designing a variety of things and has quoted references to design of household artifacts, office equipment, and industrial products. Reference is made to the ‘Design and Technology’ subject being taught at junior and senior secondary schools in Botswana and elsewhere. Examples are also drawn from some recent world-class designs. These establish the belief that human design cognition is the same for all products, small or large.

Kimbell and Perry (Design and technology in a knowledge economy: A distinctive model of teaching and learning, London) suggest that design and technology is about creating a change in the made world, about understanding the processes of the change and about becoming capable in the exercise of making. In their view, when Honda produces a new car, Westwood a new outfit, Boeing a new airliner, Salomon a new ski, Bovis a new house or Ericsson a new mobile phone, they exemplify not only the diversity of our material culture but also the creativity underpinning the change making process.

Botswana is one of 14 Southern African Development Cooperation countries. It has developed rapidly during 39 years of independence and has a GDP of $3917 per person (2001). The population is approximately 1.8 million. Like many neighboring countries, it has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, so many resources are diverted from development to HIV/AIDS relief. The pandemic has reduced available human resources: the need for well trained science and technology personnel is critical. Botswana currently has one university, the University of Botswana (UB) that enrolls 15,425 students (13,104 full time and 2321 part time for 2004). Women comprise 50% of the enrollment but only 25% and 13% of the students in the Faculties of Science and Engineering and Technology, respectively. There are plans to establish a second university, which will focus on science and technology. Currently, many students who qualify for tertiary education but cannot gain entry into UB are sent to tertiary institutions outside Botswana, mainly through government sponsorship. The Faculty of Science currently has enrolled 1384 students, 25% of them women. Of 646 students who are registered for physics (years 1–4), 148 are female (23%). The dropout rate is also high among females (57 of 148 year-1 females [39%]). According to Thabang Macholo of the Ministry of Education, who analyzed primary school exit results in 2003, 41,056 students took the examinations, 51% of them girls. Girls maintained their superiority in performance compared with boys across the five subjects (science, social science, mathematics, English, and Setswana). Ministry of Education data also show that of the nearly 36,000 students with Junior Certificate results in 2001– 2003, the percentage with grades A–C in mathematics rose from 22.7% in 2001 to 23.5% in 2003. In integrated science, the percentage with A–C grades increased from 24.8% to 26.3%. This is an indication of the pool that can cope with senior secondary science and mathematics material. While the results show a gradual increase in the number of learners that attain A–C grades, there is much room for improvement. The analysis also indicated that female students in mathematics had a marginally better pass rate than that of males (23.5% compared with 23.2%), while in integrated science boys did better than girls (27.8% compared with 24.7%). These candidates feed the numerous senior secondary schools that offer the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). At the BGCSE level, mathematics is compulsory and students select from three science combinations: Pure Sciences (physics, biology, and chemistry = 3 science credits); Double Award (2/3 physics, 2/3 biology, and 2/3 chemistry = 2 science credits); and (3) Single Award (1/3 physics, 1/3 biology, and 1/3 chemistry = 1 science credit). In 2004, 23,481 candidates took the examinations. Of these, 9440 were registered for single awards, 6829 for double awards, and just over 2540 registered for the Pure Sciences curriculum. This distribution has been consistent throughout 1999–2004, and in 2003/04 the overall performance indicates that more boys than girls achieve A–C grades (Figure 1). Male students have enrolled in greater numbers than girls in physics, chemistry, and biology since 2000. For the same period, boys also outperformed girls in physics (Figure 2), chemistry, and biology. Mathematics test results during 2003 and 2004 reveal that male students outperform female students in achieving A–C grades. What are the reasons for the sudden dip in performance of girls once they reach the senior secondary level? Why are there few female students in the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering? Why are there few female role models for science careers in the country? With many female students opting for the Single Awards in science, what prospects do they have for a career in the sciences? With a new university of science and technology being developed, what prospects do students with Single Award and Double Award backgrounds have for becoming top-class scientists? What is being done to remedy the situation?

This study examined how teachers of business subjects empower learners for entrepreneurial mindset through integrated entrepreneurship education. This endeavor is a major engine for economic growth, job creation, upgrading of new technology increased productivity as well as changing various economic benchmarks which enable development within the economy. For this reason, learners need to be empowered through entrepreneurial skills. In this study, data were purposively collected through interviews and reviewing of documents. The study found out that business subject teachers cited self-employment as being one of the most important aspects for empowering their learners through entrepreneurial skills. Hence in their instruction, teachers familiarize learners with how a business is run, managed and marketed. However, the findings of the study indicate that, inadequate teaching skills of the subject matter and limited time allocated for business subjects seem to hinder teachers to further explore learner-centered methods like simulation, project based and case studies among others.