The Attitude of Grade 12 Learners towards Schoolwork in the Zambezi Region, Namibia

Abstract

The attitudes that learners hold towards schoolwork more often than not influence their intentional behaviors and commitment towards their studies. The main aim of the study was to survey and establish the attitudes that Grade 12 learners had towards schoolwork in the Zambezi region of Namibia. The study followed quantitative research design and used structured survey questionnaires to collect data on the learners’ general attitudes towards their schoolwork. A sample of 750 learners from the twelfth grade made up of 420 male and 330 female learners were randomly selected from nine out of eleven senior secondary schools in the region to participate in the study. The study found that learners had diverse preferences for doing revision of schoolwork after completing the syllabi. While a high percentage prefers teachers’ revisions of the completed schoolwork, others prefer to read on their own before examinations. A good number of the participants indicated that they did not jot down main points when their teachers were teaching. Instead, they listened and waited for the teachers to give notes at the end of the class. Many learners also indicated that they rarely asked or answered questions in class due to shyness. Some learners showed that they did not like to set target of performances in assignment, test or examination for themselves. It was also found that whenever the learners would be absent from school, a good number of them did not inform the class teachers. They rather informed only their friends or nobody at all. Generally, the analysis of variance of the learners’ responses differed statistically (p < 0.05). The study strongly recommends robust school guidance and counselling programs that would help learners to develop hardworking attitudes towards schoolwork in the study area.